Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Fenja, stay out of sight. I’m going to open the door so Tora can come in. Anything out there will be concentrating on me and, hopefully, fail to notice her coming inside.”
At the moment, I’m in the form of a bird. When you are going to open the door, I’ll shift to molecules and drift in, unless any of the demons try to get inside. Then I won’t care if they see me because we’ll have to destroy them.
Silke made her way to the door and stood with her hand on the knob. She could barely feel the presence of the four demons. Their energy had been low even before Tora had approached the house. Somehow, although she was in the form of a bird, they must have sensed her presence. In all the years they had trained and battled together, no demon had ever sensed Tora close when she didn’t want to be seen. Again, this was something new and worrisome.
Silke had to figure out what was happening and how the demons were evolving, and she had to do so quickly. Tonight. She had ideas, but they were still forming in the back of her brain.
Ready when you are, she told Tora.
At door now.
Silke opened the door and stepped into the doorframe, deliberately taking her time looking around the front yard. As she did so, Tora slipped inside, brushing against Silke to let her know she had safely made it into the house. Silke unhurriedly closed the door and leaned against it. “Did you feel them at all?”
Tora materialized, crouching down beside Silke’s ankle. “No, not unless I was merged with you. Then I could get a sense that something not right was out there watching the house.” She let out a low whistle. “You’re lucky this isn’t broken.”
“Hurts like it is,” Silke admitted. Can you fix it and still have enough energy to help Fenja?
Yes, of course. And I’ll be fine when we get to Raik. I fed well tonight.
Chapter
8
Silke Vriese Reinders was absolutely beautiful. In his long existence, Benedek had never once considered what was beauty in a woman. They came in all sorts of forms and sizes, with various hair and eye coloring. To him, they had all been the same. He lived in a gray world, so he’d never really seen the differences other than in height and shape.
He had never expected to find his lifemate attractive in the sense of physical beauty. Above all else, he valued loyalty and intellect. Looks didn’t matter in the least. There was just something compelling about her that drew his attention. She was truly fascinating to him.
There was no question that she was suspicious. He could feel her reaching out, extending her senses in an effort to locate the watchers. Somehow, as impossible as it should be, she knew they were there. He had wanted a chance to observe her before he introduced himself to her. Nicu, Lojos and Tomas, like him, struggled with the continual whispers tormenting them to kill while feeding. As if the bloodlust weren’t bad enough, the cravings grew around the close proximity of the villagers. Mataias fed and brought the necessary blood to each of them. It was the only way to ensure they could keep the villagers safe.
They had entered the home of a fisherman when a woman opened the door and invited the healers inside. As she didn’t specify who she was inviting, the Carpathians were free to enter as well. Silke and Tora greeted her warmly, calling her Imka and asking after her husband and daughter.
Benedek and the others were adept at concealing themselves in the air itself. Tora hadn’t been in the least aware of their presence in the house. His lifemate, on the other hand, had acted suspicious from the moment they had gotten close to her home. Now that they had followed her into Imka’s home she was doubly suspicious. That was unprecedented. They were ancients, and no one should have been able to detect their presence. Was the lifemate pull that strong? Had she sensed they were close to her because she carried the other half of his soul? That didn’t make sense to him.
Silke looked cautiously around the room. Benedek could feel her reaching out, trying to ferret out if they were alone. The ancients remained very still, becoming part of the room they were in. Settling into cracks in the fireplace. A knot in the wood panel. On the ceiling fan blades. It should be impossible for his lifemate to be aware of them, but he knew they were the ones making her uneasy.
Benedek admired her for that ability. She was a warrior. A fit partner for someone like him. She understood duty.
“How was Raik last night?” Tora asked Imka.
“He was very quiet and is still sleeping,” Imka confirmed.