He whispered to her in his language, unable to find another way to express the deep connection and commitment to her. He made love to her, slow at first, watching the way her pleasure built, feeling her body tighten around him until he could only thrust harder and deeper, surging forward to keep that connection forever. She had tears in her eyes when the powerful quakes rocked through their bodies and left them gasping for air, struggling to slow their hearts; they were limp with exhaustion.
Vikirnoff rolled his weight off of her, kissing her neck as he drew her against him. «It is nearly dawn. We must sleep.»
Natalya struggled to find a way to talk without proper air. Her lungs were burning and her body still rippled with pleasure. «Aren't you going to sleep underground? Shouldn't you? I'll sleep right here, over the top of you and protect you from all the gremlins,» she insisted. «The only thing you have to worry about is the Troll King.»
«I have provided intricate safeguards. Even your infamous Troll King would have to pause to unravel them and I would awaken. We will be safe here.»
Natalya pillowed her head on his shoulder. «I really don't mind if you need to go to ground, Vikirnoff. I can handle it.»
Vikirnoff wrapped his arms around her. «I prefer to sleep right here beside you,» he said.
«I like holding you. If you should wake and I appear dead…»
«I know, I know,» she interrupted. «You're really asleep. Stop flattering yourself, I'm perfectly fine without you.»
«You get into trouble without me.»
«Every morning, when I finally am tired enough to go to bed after watching television all night alone, I call up a dream of my childhood with my brother, Razvan. I've been doing it for years. It was the only way I could feel like I wasn't so alone, as if I still belonged and had family. This is the first time in many years I will not feel as if I have to call him to me.»
«You do belong,» he said. He pressed kisses against the nape of her neck. «You belong with me, thanks to those binding words you disliked so much.»
She frowned, snuggling closer. «Don't think I'm giving up on undoing the spell. I'm tenacious.»
«It is not exactly a spell.» His eyes were heavy and his arms were taking on the leaden feeling of his kind. «But did you figure out the first two lines?»
«Of course.» She felt smug; she couldn't help it. She had always had a gift for. languages and she had the advantage of speaking earlier languages before they had evolved into the twentieth century patterns. She was familiar with the way many words were considered unnecessary in the earlier languages. «The first two sentences translate more exactly to something like this: 'you wedded wife-my'. There is no specific word for the word 'are'. The second line comes out something close to: 'to me you belong, wedded wife-my.' I'm not certain of the exact phrasing, but it is far closer than the more modern form.»
A slow smile lit his eyes. «Really?» He arched his brows at her.
«Yes, really,» she said, undeterred. «I know you think it's funny, but I refuse to be trapped into something whether I want it or not. It's not good for you to think you've got me tied to you. I'm not a passive person and I wouldn't want you to think I am.»
His laughter was soft, his breath warm against the nape of her neck. «Passive? You? I cannot imagine anyone, least of all me, making that mistake.»
She grinned, closing her eyes. «Razvan said I needed to curb my tongue and that if Shakespeare had met me, Kate wouldn't be the famous shrew, Natalya would.»
«He said that, did he?» Vikirnoff was wise enough not to agree aloud. Not when her body nestled so comfortably next to his. «What else did Razvan have to say?»
«He said I needed to learn how to sew, to be more restful and soothing and to censor most of what I say.» There was laughter and affection in her voice.
«I cannot imagine.»
«I told him I did censor most of what I say. If he could read my mind…» Her voice trailed off, her lashes lifting so she could meet the amusement in his gaze. «Lucky you. You get to know the real me with no censorship.»
«Good night, Natalya.» He kissed her again and succumbed to the sleep of his kind, feeling very lucky to know the real woman.
Chapter 15
«Razvan! Where are you? I'm so happy. Come to me tonight. Where are you? Why won't you answer me?» Natalya hurried down the cobblestone steps leading to the great garden. They always met in the garden if they'd been separated for the day, but she couldn't find her brother anywhere.
«Why are you so happy?» The voice came from a distance and Natalya spotted her twin seated on the slabs of slate overlooking the fountain. He looked glum, his legs drawn up, his elbows on his knees, chin propped in hand. «Where have you been, Natalya? Do you even realize you deserted me? I didn't know the safeguards and I had to see grandfather.»
That brought her up short. They never referred to him as grandfather. Xavier was supposed to be dead. If they talked about him he would punish them, and his punishments were terrible. Xavier. Their Grandfather. They were forced to live with him after their father had disappeared. Natalya frowned. Why couldn't she remember Xavier when she was awake? She knew exactly what he looked like when she conjured up her dreams of her childhood, but not when she was in present time awake. How did that happen? «Don't call him that. We are to call him Uncle. He might hear you.»
«Why didn't you give me the safeguards, Natalya? How could you leave me wide open like that?» Razvan stood up slowly, turning as he did so, lifting his shirt. «Look what he did to me.»
Natalya halted instantly. «Oh, no! Razvan, why does he take it out on you when I make a mistake? I hate that. I hate that we're so afraid to be together we have to meet like this. Did he take your blood?»
«He always takes my blood. If not mine, then he would take yours. You know that. I don't care if he punishes me; he isn't going to get your blood.»
«Why do we stay? Why are we allowing him to dictate to us and keep us small children? I have power. He can't control me. He wants me to believe he can, but he can't. You have the same power in you, Razvan. You've resisted him for years. Together we can break free
of him.»
«We have different strengths, Natalya. You're good at commanding the elements. You have a quick mind and can figure things out.»
«You come up with the ideas in the first place, Razvan. Without you, we would have been dead a long time ago.» The words caught at Natalya. She looked down at her hands. They weren't the hands of a child, but those of a grown woman.
Shock spread through her. She looked up at Razvan. «What happened to us?»
The form of the teenage boy shimmered, became translucent and a man's image superimposed itself over the child. «You betrayed me. You chose the hunter, my enemy.»
Natalya shook her head, reaching out toward her brother. «I chose happiness, Razvan. That was something our grandfather didn't understand, could never understand. What was the point of longevity? I've watched people die over and over, but they led happy lives while I just lived on and on alone with no one to share anything with. Neither sorrow nor joy.» Her arms dropped back to her side, empty.
«We have power beyond imagination.»
«No, we don't. I've seen power beyond imagination, but it doesn't matter to me. Those people who are born, live their lives together as a family and die surrounded by family; they know how to live. What do we do? What does he do? He hides from the world with his malevolent schemes, drinking blood to stay alive-for what? Why live so long without happiness? I choose to be happy, to share my life. I will not apologize or feel guilty for that.»