Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“We call ourselves Carpathians because we settled in the Carpathian Mountains,” Aura continued at her nod. “The men have extremely difficult lives. After some fifty years, which is our childhood, we are beginning to go into adulthood. At two hundred for the men, the ability to see colors begins to fade, along with emotions. For some, it can happen much earlier. Some a little later. Because of the length of time we live, it is very difficult to live without feeling anything at all for anyone or to see anything but gray year after year.”
Safia tried to picture what Aura was telling her and had to admit it sounded pretty bleak.
“Vampires are Carpathians who choose to give up their souls, refusing to wait to find their lifemate. They kill to feel the rush when feeding. They prefer adrenaline-laced blood because it makes them high. Fear makes them high. The hunters are continually tempted with whispers to feel, just for a moment, that rush after centuries of nothing.”
Safia stepped back, her mind nearly refusing to comprehend what Aura had just revealed. She’d used the terms “feeding” and “adrenaline-laced blood.”
“Aura, you’re clearly Carpathian. Does that mean you take human blood to survive?”
“Yes.” Aura didn’t hesitate.
“This man I’m promised to—does he?”
“Yes. It is what we live on. We don’t kill as the vampires do. We are respectful, and those who provide for us generally aren’t aware they are donating. It was different in your family for many reasons.”
Honesty rang in Aura’s voice, but Safia needed a little time to process the things she was telling her. Vampires and demons were one thing. She could believe they existed, because not only had she been raised on the stories about them, but she’d been taught how to destroy them. But to think about Aura drinking someone’s blood turned her stomach. Or did it? It should. She thought about it. Why didn’t it?
“Are you able to control how I think or feel?”
Aura shook her head. “I can influence most people, but it is impossible with you. No one can. You were born with a shield too strong to penetrate. I believe it is protection for you against demons and vampires. Two thousand years of genetics has a way of preparing you for what you need to be. That’s why you learn so fast and have astonishing reflexes. The things you can do, no other human can do, Safia.”
Safia considered what Aura told her. Who else could control insects, reptiles and raptors? Or use the bats as sentries? To her, it was normal, but it really wasn’t. She had accepted that ability because she’d grown up first trying to connect with creatures as a game and then later developing a stronger and stronger link with them.
“If this man must drink blood in order to survive, will he expect to drink my blood?”
“Lifemates exchange blood on a regular basis, Safia. It is part of their ritual, but let’s move away from that for now and get back on track. You need to know how this all came about. We don’t know how your family, specifically you, could possibly become intertwined with our species the way it did. This was two thousand years ago. How is it possible that you are his lifemate? That’s the question. That was always the question. You’re human and he is Carpathian. It didn’t seem possible, and yet you’re the proof.”
“Could there be a mistake?” Safia couldn’t repress the hopeful note in her voice. She didn’t want to insult Aura. It wasn’t that she didn’t have respect for other cultures. She did. She’d been raised to appreciate other nations and their beliefs, even though they weren’t her own. It was just that she wanted to stay with her family. She was Imazighen. In her heart, she always would be.
“This man, the one you are promised to, his name is Petru Rares Cioban. He was not the oldest or most experienced fighter, but very quickly it was apparent he was the one who could assess the battlefield and lead. We were losing until he took charge. Not just losing; everyone was dying. The losses were not to be sustained. Once he took charge, it was like a wave of hope. I was a child, but I still felt it. He was our only hope.”
Safia had impressions of bodies on the ground. It felt as if doors creaked open in her mind. Ugly whispers. A harsh, scraping voice that dug into her memory and pulled out visions of horror. Or maybe Aura shared them with her. However it happened, she was suddenly on the battlefield from so long ago, watching with a child’s terrified heart as friends and family died right in front of her.
She became aware of one man the fighting seemed to be centered around. Every demon and every hideous vampire fought to get to him. That didn’t deter him from directing the others as he ripped through those attempting to destroy him. She realized some of the other fighters were doing their best to protect him, but he continually broke out of the circle because he was trying to get closer to the families, which meant closer to her.