Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Vasilisa went to the nearest exit and opened the door. Nicu strode in. He was a tall man, all muscle, sleek and powerful. His facial features appeared angular. A scar curved from his left temple to the corner of his eye. His eyes were gray. He had long black hair he kept braided with leather cords. He appeared every bit as dangerous as the feral wolves who howled for his return.
He nodded to Afanasiv and leaned his tall frame against the wall behind Vasilisa, chewing on a toothpick. Afanasiv shed his physical body and all ego to become a white-hot healing spirit entering Andros. He moved through the royal’s body, examining the bloodstream first, then the vital organs, bone marrow, and lastly, he traveled to the brain.
All along, Afanasiv feared whatever had been planted within Andros must be in his brain. That would make the shadow very difficult to find. Not impossible, but difficult.
Siv. Vasilisa spoke quietly, making certain her telepathic connection to him didn’t spill over so her brother wasn’t bothered. Lilith was trying to acquire me this entire time. I have the blood of the royals in me, too. Why would she wire all of my relatives to murder me if she believed she was going to have me under her control? I don’t think these orders came from her. Do you?
He didn’t want to speculate, not with Vasilisa. She was too intelligent and asked all the right questions. I doubt that Lilith programmed your brothers to kill you. He agreed with her because one never lied to his lifemate.
There it was. A tiny angular dot clinging to a spot under one of the folds in the frontal lobe. This is the work of a mage. There is a small sliver of him here. Afanasiv looped in Nicu.
Xavier cannot travel to this realm. He is sealed in the underworld, Vasilisa objected. I was very thorough, Siv. He cannot cross into this plane.
He is one of three—a triplet. One of his brothers, Xaviero, is in the underworld, as well. If he put a sliver of himself in each of those returning to the surface, he would have eyes everywhere eventually. The fact that he decided to turn your family against you is most likely an order from Xavier and Olga. They both are very vengeful.
Nicu took charge, no longer leaning lazily against the wall beside the door. “When Siv drives the sliver from your brother, it will seek a host. I must destroy it before it manages to do that. Vasilisa, you must stay hidden and far from this abomination. I have to bring in a lightning fork to destroy it. That means opening the door and possibly allowing it to escape if I’m not fast enough.”
“I can open the door without being detected,” Vasilisa offered. She shimmered for a moment, became transparent, hovering above the door so Nicu could see for himself where she intended to be.
Nicu sized her up and then nodded curtly. The storm is overhead, Siv. We are ready.
Afanasiv immediately turned his white-hot spirit on the sliver, blasting it with pure light. The sliver shuddered, the edges curling, smoke rising as it raced away from the light. Afanasiv was faster, pursuing the tiny piece of Xaviero as it raced to desert Andros’ body in the hope of finding a new host.
“Now,” Nicu commanded Vasilisa.
She yanked open the door, and Nicu called down the jagged spear of lightning, aiming at the dark sliver as it slithered so quickly across the marble tile, racing toward the door and freedom. Lightning sizzled and cracked, the bolt of pure energy slamming into the tiny sliver so precisely the spear pinned the dark shadow dead center.
At once, a foul stench permeated the hallway. On the far wall, a figure in a long robe appeared in shadow form, his head thrown back in agony. He extended a long arm, bony fingers outstretched as if he might be able to grab Vasilisa before he was consumed by the flames licking at his feet and legs. The robe went up in a fiery display, and then he was gone in a flash-fire of orange and red.
Andros stared at the smoke and ash and then looked up at Afanasiv. “That thing was in my head? In my brain? It was telling me to kill my sister?”
Afanasiv nodded. “I fear your brother Grigor has one in his brain, as well. It is possible Lada and Karine are hosts to these slivers. If so, Xaviero has spread himself thin. Each piece lost diminishes him. They seem small, but they add up.”
“We should check Grigor first,” Andros said. “He can be very dangerous.”
“So can I when it comes to my lifemate’s safety,” Afanasiv warned.
CHAPTER
12
Vasilisa was excited to meet Skyler, Dimitri’s wife, but she wished she could do so under different circumstances. Skyler looked so young it was shocking. She had pale, almost flawless skin other than a small crescent-shaped scar above her temple. She had dove-gray eyes that were sometimes shockingly blue or green if one studied her long enough. Vasilisa recognized the same strange phenomenon in her that appeared in Afanasiv. Their eyes changed color depending on their mood or the circumstances. She realized it was a Dragonseeker trait.