She spread her hands out in front of her. «It is my calling. A small talent, but strong.»
The prince shook his head. «I do not believe it is a small talent. We would give this couple to Mother Earth to heal. If you could choose, where would you put them?»
«Here,» Syndil pointed to a spot without hesitation.
«The soil is rich there, no toxins?»
She frowned, holding her hands over the spot. «It is the best in the caverns, but I can make it better.» She glanced at Riordan. «If you don't mind waiting.»
«Not at all,» Riordan replied. Gregori was healing him even as Mikhail was watching the woman prepare the soil. «I am grateful to you.»
Syndil knelt and closed her eyes, palms down toward the earth. She sang softly, calling to the soil, encouraging the wealth of minerals to double.
Mikhail tightened his fingers around Raven's. My God, Raven. She's the real thing. She can do this, enrich our soil for us.
It takes its toll on her. Look at her.
Syndil swayed, pale, much like Francesca and Gregori, when she stood. Barack reached for her, circling her waist to steady her. Mikhail nodded. We will all aid her as best we can.
Syndil stepped back and smiled at Mikhail. «There. The soil should really help both of them.»
Riordan, holding Juliette to him, floated down into the bed of rich loam. Around them,
the dirt filled in to cover them. Rafael stepped forward and began to weave safeguards while the Carpathians drifted back to their homes.
Mikhail bowed to Syndil. «If I asked you, would you consider choosing the birthing place for Shea? I could take you around and have you look at various sites we're considering. I would greatly value your opinion.»
«I know nothing of birthing.»
«But you know much about soil.»
Syndil glanced at Barack, who nodded. «Of course, although I doubt I'll have time to make anything for the dinner tonight.»
«Believe me, this is far more important,» Mikhail assured.
Raven agreed. «I have the dinner well in hand. Shea's birth is the most important thing we have going and our biggest reason to celebrate.»
I think this very humble woman is our greatest reason to celebrate, Mikhail declared.
Chapter 12
«We're in for it now, Ginny,» Colby De La Cruz said with a small sigh as she braided her younger sister's hair. «Rafael is going to be crazy now. He hardly lets me out of his sight as it is. And I was just making progress too.» She cast a quick glance at Rafael, her lifemate, pacing furiously the length of the room, every now and then casting her a smoldering, warning look.
«Why is he so upset?» Ginny asked.
«Your Aunt Juliette was injured.»
Rafael spun around, his dark eyes flashing with anger. «Your Aunt Juliette disobeyed a direct order from her lifemate. She ignored her own safety and nearly got both of them killed.»
Ginny gasped, one hand flying to her mouth. «Are they all right, Rafael?»
«They're both fine,» Colby answered, glaring at her lifemate. «There's no need to try to scare her to death.»
«There's every need,» Rafael declared, reaching out a hand to tangle it in the mass of red-gold hair surrounding Colby's face. «And just who are these kids-that boy over here? What do we know about him?»
«You mean Josef?» Ginny asked. «He's nice.»
Rafael's scowl deepened. She does not need to be thinking that boy is nice. I do not want her around boys at all.
Colby sighed. Ginny is not yet in her teens and she's human. I hardly think Josef is going to look at her that way.
I looked at you that way.
I'm a grown woman and in any case, Paul is with Josef. You know her brother would never allow anything improper.
I'm going to go show my teeth to that young man. If he knows what's good for him, he'll go home. Rafael stalked from the room, his face set in harsh lines, his jaw stubborn. «And wear your hair down tonight for this thing. I like it that way.»
Colby rolled her eyes at Ginny. «That man has way too much testosterone. He's going to scare Josef.»
«Why?»
«Because Josef might look at you wrong. Lord help you when you get old enough to date, Ginny. I think he'll have ten bodyguards-all female-surrounding you.»
«All my friends are afraid of him,» Ginny conceded, «but he's always sweet to me. And Paul spends most of his time with Rafael.»
«I know, baby, he's really great, but he does love to order us all around.»
«Not like his brothers. Well, except for Uncle Riordan. He's nice, but the rest of them are scary.»
The half smile faded from Colby's face. «Scary how? None of them are mean to you, are they? They are sworn to protect you and Paul. Rafael promised me.» It was difficult to integrate her human family with her Carpathian one, but Colby thought they were working things out fairly well. Unfortunately, Rafael had four brothers and only Riordan had found his lifemate. And that meant the other three brothers were extremely dangerous. Manolito was close by. Zacharias and Nicholas were in Brazil overseeing the ranch near the rainforest. Colby was certain neither trusted themselves around so many others. They were too close to turning.
«They aren't mean to me,» Ginny denied hastily. «I just don't like to be around them very much. They're just scary. It was kind of nice coming here because they didn't come with us. They're always watching me.»
Colby sank into a chair at the kitchen table. «Baby, you know if you're unhappy, all you have to do is say the word and we go home to our ranch in the United States.»
«No! I love living in Brazil. I can even speak the language-a little. Paul's helping me and so are my uncles. I love the ranch and the rainforest and all the animals. I don't want to go back-really.»
«Hey chick-a-dee.» Paul strode in and pulled his sister's braid. «Why are you hiding in here with Colby? Everyone came over so we could all get to know each other.»
«Are they having a good time?» Colby asked.
Paul grinned at her. «Well, we are now that Rafael came in to scare the heck out of Josef. He's sharpening a knife, but Josef isn't paying attention and all the kids think it's funny.»
«Oh, dear.»
«I'm going to go see,» Ginny said cheerfully, and skipped out of the room.
Paul sat opposite Colby. She studied his face. Some of the lines that shouldn't have been there were smooth again, but he still looked too old for his seventeen years. «What is it, hon?»
«You know how Mom was always so smart? I mean really smart. Not ranch smart, but book smart? Chemistry, physics, that kind of smart?»
«Which you have clearly inherited.»
«What do you know about her family? There's a man here with the same last name as our mother and he looks like her. Well, she's prettier, but they really do look alike and they say he's really smart. He's human, Colby, like me.»
«Does it bother you that I'm Carpathian and you're not? Rafael allowed you to keep all your memories because that's what you wanted, but if it makes you feel too different…» She trailed off. There was no way for Paul to become Carpathian. As far as she knew, he had no psychic ability whatsoever. Ginny hadn't displayed any either. Colby had a different father and one who had come from a direct line to the Carpathians.
Razvan. She didn't want to think about him, didn't want to ever admit that he had been her birth father. Razvan was grandson of the dark mage Xavier, mortal enemy to all Carpathians. Long ago, Xavier, the most powerful mage, had taken on a gifted Carpathian student, Rhiannon. He murdered her lifemate, kidnapped and impregnated her, igniting a terrible war. Triplets were born, Soren, and his two sisters now lost. Razvan and Natalya were Soren's children. Razvan had betrayed his Carpathian blood, blood of the famed Dragonseekers no less, betrayed his twin sister, succumbed to the lure of black magic, joined with the vampires and led them in a plot to assassinate the prince. It shamed her to think she carried Razvan's genetics, especially now that she had come to the Carpathian mountains and met so many of Rafael's people.