Gabriel pushed open the front door, stepped back to allow her to precede him. He was continually scanning the area around them, a habit long since drilled into him by his lost brother. Sorrow welled up out of nowhere. “I sometimes think I could have destroyed him by now if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t bear to be in the world without him. I gave my word of honor to him long ago that I would be the one to destroy him should he lose his soul. We both did. If one turned, the other would hunt and destroy, yet I have been unable to fulfill my promise to him. Is it deliberate, Francesca? Is it?” He sounded lost and very alone.
She closed the door firmly against the light beginning to streak through the early morning sky. “No, Gabriel, you would have honored your promise if you were able to do so. And I believe that you will. You honor him.”
“Lucian lost feeling while he was a mere fledgling, long before our males normally do, yet he endured for two thousand years. I had emotion far longer than he did, so I shared what I felt with him. I still cannot believe he turned. I have seen the evidence of his kills. I have even come on him when he was making a kill. But something in me will not believe it. I cannot comprehend that so strong a man, such a leader, a defender of our people, would have, chosen to give up his soul to the darkness for all eternity.”
“You love him, Gabriel. It is only natural that you would want him to remain in your heart the way you have always known him,” Francesca said softly. She tugged at his hand and moved through the house, taking him with her. “I need to call my attorney and ask him to draw up the appropriate papers making me Skyler’s guardian. Before we retire to our chamber, we must send inquiries to ask if any of our people have human families they would trust to aid us in caring for Skyler during the day while we sleep.”
He followed her to the study, watched as she spoke quickly and firmly to the lawyer. She gave him no real chance to argue with her; there was compulsion in her voice, and Gabriel automatically aided her, adding the weight of his power to hers. Her attorney would have everything in order for them by evening. No one would protest. Who would want Skyler Rose Thompson? She was an orphan with no relatives. Francesca had money and influence. Any judge would gladly grant her wishes.
Gabriel watched carefully as she turned on her computer and began typing at a rapid rate. It amazed him, the capabilities of the new technology. Her fingers flew on the keyboard with total confidence. She had watched this technology as it had grown. She had experienced the things he could only read about. He could read about them, but he could not go back and watch them as time unfolded. Francesca was comfortable with speeding cars and airplanes that blasted across the sky. With spaceships and satellites. With the Internet and computers.
“I’ve got a hit, Gabriel,” Francesca said. “Savage, Aidan Savage in the States. I’ve made several lovely pieces for his house. I am certain I heard his lifemate was once a human psychic. Aidan has a twin brother, Julian.”
A slow smile spread across Gabriel’s face. “Julian, I remember him. He was just a boy with wild blond hair, very unusual for our species. He was eavesdropping on a conversation Lucian and I were having with Mikhail and Gregori. He was quite a handful even as a boy. I sensed a darkness in him, but there was no time to examine him closely.” His white teeth flashed. “Gregori was very protective of him, and I did not wish to challenge my own kin. We were hundreds of years apart, but our blood is the same. I would like to know what happened to both of them.”
“Well, I do not know much of Julian’s fate—I am careful not to rouse curiosity with my inquiries—but I have done business with Aidan on more than one occasion. He does not know me, only my fictional Carpathian male, the artist who owns my company. I’ll e-mail Aidan and see what he can tell us of his human family and how it works. I can include a question about Julian. As far as Gregori, it is well known his lifemate is the daughter of our Prince.”
“Please do ask about Julian. It is interesting that you can talk so quickly to someone halfway around the world. One of our own people. You must be very careful about the way you talk to our people. Anyone might be able to intercept your mail,” he cautioned.
“Trust me, Gabriel, I am very careful. I’ve always had to be careful.” She turned off the computer and took his hand once more to lead him to the chamber beneath the earth. Her heart was beating so loudly she knew he could hear it. They walked through the halls at a leisurely pace, through the large kitchen passageway leading to the sleeping chamber.
Gabriel brushed her temple with his mouth, lingering for a moment against her pulse. “I want you, Francesca, I will not pretend that I do not, but I have told you I want us to be friends. I will be satisfied with holding you.” He wanted the comfort of her arms, her closeness.
Francesca tightened her fingers in his. She was just as capable of reading his mind as he was at reading hers. He was determined to put aside his own needs and see to hers first. He wanted to give her as much time as she needed to accept his claim on her. Her heart gave a curious lurch at his consideration.
“How did you manage to walk in the sun at midday? Our ancients are unable to do such things, yet you managed to find the secret.”
There was so much admiration in his voice, Francesca felt color steal into her face. “I knew the only way to avoid recognition by my own kind was to train myself to think like a human and walk and talk like a human at all times. When I reached the point where I wanted to be able to go out into the sun, I had already given up so many of our gifts, it seemed like a kind of return, a treasure. I had been researching why our women cannot usually conceive more than one child successfully. I came to the conclusion it was nature’s way of balancing our population. Then I turned my attention to why we lose so many children during the first year of life. Our children are much like human children—they do not drink blood, their teeth are not developed, and they cannot go to ground, shape-shift, or do anything we can do as adults. Their parents, however, must rest during the daylight hours, and the children are certainly at risk without supervision because they must be above ground when their parents put them to sleep.”
“That is very interesting, but it does not explain how you managed to go out in the sun.” His chin rubbed the top of her hair in a little caress. Tendrils of her hair caught in the stubble on his jaw, tangling the two of them together with the silken strands.
She smiled up at him. “I theorized that if we could do so as children, then we could do it again. What changed us? Our body chemistry altered, and we required blood to sustain our lives and our gifts. Yet we could survive for long periods of time with transfusions and with animal blood. I experimented and eventually changed my actual body chemistry. I was weak and unable to shape-shift or do most of the things that are necessary to our species.”
Beside her he stirred. She felt the sudden pounding of his heart. His lifemate had been alone, unprotected, performing dangerous experiments to enable her to walk in the sun. He was proud of her, but the thought frightened him. Francesca found herself a bit pleased at that reaction. She hid her smile as she moved the large bed with a command so that they could open the chamber below the ground.
The chamber was cool and welcoming, the darkened interior inviting. Francesca waved her hand and the earth opened to reveal the dark, rich soil. Gabriel glanced at the bed. The quilt was thick and soft with intricate swirls and ancient symbols. He slipped free of Francesca’s fingers and went to examine the fine craftsmanship. Francesca had accomplished so much in her time on earth. “How did you change your body chemistry?” he asked. “It is a tremendous feat and one that might be very useful to our people.”