Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 594(@200wpm)___ 475(@250wpm)___ 396(@300wpm)
Tomas turned his attention to Sarika. She had taken that first piece from Mitro. He had been so caught up in his vicious, brutal behavior that she had been able to steal the piece from him. Tomas tried more than once to replay the details back from his memory, first to identify the features of the two women who had been with Sarika, and second to see where she had secreted the piece of weapon.
The women’s faces were hidden from him, always in the shadows. That was strange. He couldn’t identify them, and he should have been able to. He had excellent vision in the dark. He knew what Mitro was forcing the one woman to do to him, all the while torturing her. But she held out so Sarika would be able to take the weapon from him. It was very courageous in the face of the brutality he knew Mitro had done to women over the centuries. It was also odd that he couldn’t see her. He could only see Sarika clearly.
He knew his brothers struggled to find details, especially after Sarika noted that there were three families with royal bloodlines. Solange’s lineage was considered the top of the royal bloodlines. Luiz’s family and then Jubal’s were both branches of royal blood. As far as anyone knew, Solange, Luiz and Jubal had been the last of their kind. Others might have a small percentage of their bloodlines, but no one else alive had that pure blood that gifted them with speed, agility and cunning.
Jubal had two sisters. They were fast and more than capable, just as Solange’s cousins were, but it wasn’t the same. Jubal had a different father from his sisters, although they had not been told that until their mother tried to kill Jubal. Tomas turned that information over and over in his mind.
He knew Sarika was concerned that they were all missing the larger picture. That a threat was developing, yet the Carpathians were not feeling it. If that were true, it would be another first for Tomas and his brothers to experience in centuries of battling the enemy. They were ancients and well tuned to the presence of evil in any form.
Are you certain Sarika is right? She’s overwrought with everything that has gone on the last few days, Mataias said.
Tomas didn’t think overwrought was a good word choice. He wouldn’t describe his lifemate as being overwrought. She had a right to her feelings, even the panic attacks. There was more working here than met the eye. Sarika seemed to be the only one feeling those underlying currents, the threat to the women and children and therefore the ancients.
Tomas, listen to yourself, Lojos said. This could be her imagination. She is fearful of your claim on her, and unpleasant memories of her past have surfaced.
Unpleasant memories? he echoed. You don’t have to believe she is right, but it would be negligent to ignore the possibility.
He was angry with his brother, an unfamiliar emotion. Lojos always countered each topic with an opposite point of view. He shouldn’t be bothered by his brother’s casual assessment of Sarika, but he was.
She is your lifemate, Luiz pointed out. She is the one who guarded your soul for centuries. She gave you back life. She is giving that same hope and life to your brothers. And she is extraordinary. All the traits you most admire, Sarika has in abundance. She has every reason for panic attacks. Unlike your brother, I believe there is something evil here, and it is orchestrating a strike against our women.
There was comfort that he wasn’t alone in that belief. Sarika had calmed and was still pacing, but she seemed to have managed to overcome the fears she had been dealing with. That allowed Tomas to breathe easier. He hadn’t realized how difficult adjusting to emotions would be. Normally, he would have shared that information with his brothers, but he was thinking about Luiz’s assessment of the situation.
Luiz was jaguar. He was from the same line as Sarika. Truthfully, no one thought of Luiz as jaguar, and they hadn’t for some time. He was fully Carpathian and from one of the most powerful families. He exuded power. No one who came near him would think him anything but one of the most powerful of ancients. But unlike the other ancients, he felt uneasy, just as Sarika did. Tomas felt that same dread through Sarika. It wasn’t his own warning system; it was hers. And now Luiz’s.
Did you ask Dominic if Solange was feeling the same uneasiness? Tomas asked Luiz.
He said she was, but they both are putting it down to her nervousness around large groups of people. Solange doesn’t normally interact with more than one or two people, and she has to know them very well to be comfortable.