Her voice filled him with love and warmth. He felt so peaceful Gabriel wanted to stay there for eternity.
“I want you to see him as I once, did. “
Gabriel wanted her to understand his great sorrow in the face of their love. He wanted her to know he valued her all the more because of Lucian, never less. He opened his mind fully to her, sharing his past, the terrible battles, the endless loneliness that only his link to his twin had made bearable. He showed Lucian’s endless strength and power, his great genius, his search for knowledge to understand the mysteries of their race. Time and again Lucian had risked his body and soul for Gabriel’s safety, for the safety of their people and that of the human race.
Francesca watched the scenes playing out from Gabriel’s memories. She could see Lucian as he had once been. Without the taint of a vampire. Intelligent. Always placing himself in danger to shield his twin, always taking the lead in every dangerous situation. Countless times he gave his blood when he was mortally wounded himself, countless times he dragged himself to his twin and healed him when he was close to death. Gabriel saw his twin as the most selfless Carpathian ever born and he shared that memory with Francesca. She understood and her heart ached all the more for her lifemate.
He had exchanged vows with Lucian, promising to destroy him should he lose his soul and become the very thing they hunted. Gabriel knew Lucian would never have rested until he had completed the task, and he could do no less. Francesca understood the enormity of that vow, knew it was a part of Gabriel as much as the lungs he used to breathe. She loved him all the more for his devotion, was determined to find a way to aid him.
Lucian was alive to her now. She had shared their lives and those centuries of loneliness they both had endured. Gabriel now had her, but Lucian was lost to them, lost to their people along with his great genius and his iron will and tremendous power. His loss was a senseless, terrible tragedy.
With effort, Francesca inched her body closer to Gabriel’s so that their skin touched. Their limbs felt like lead, lethargic and heavy. Normally they shut down their hearts and lungs during daylight hours, sparing themselves the terrible knowledge of their helplessness and vulnerability to enemies. Francesca lay close to Gabriel for a long time before she spoke.
“When you felt the disturbance, Gabriel, and Skyler’s fear,did you reach for Lucian?”
Gabriel thought it over.
“I cannot honestly say, I felt him with me as I always do in moments when I need strength and power. It is an ingrained habit neither of us seems to be able to break.”
Hewas silent a moment. “
If you think to find a way to exploit this strange phenomenon between us to defeat him, I have already tried. It is as natural as breathing. I do not know when I do it and neither does he.” “Yes, but he is a vampire. An undead creature. He should not be able to travel while the sun is at its highest peak. You are the most powerful of our males and it was a great effort for you to release your spirit from your body. How could he do such a thing, being a vampire?”
Gabriel gave the mental equivalent of a shrug.
“His mind shared mine and he threw his power behind me. He could have just as easily attempted to stop me or kept me from reentering my body. It is just as well that whatever game he thinks to play requires our Skyler. His power is great, Francesca. I would have been happy throwing up a wall in front of the doctor, but Lucian was not. He twisted my power so that Brice felt thousands of insects crawling on his skin.” “Don’t remind me. “
Francesca was not happy with that at all. She felt guilty about Brice. Something was happening that she didn’t understand. “
I tried to tone down his memories of me so that he would think of me only as a friend, but it didn’t work. I’ve never had that happen before. “
Gabriel’s fingers tightened around hers. He knew the reason she could not control the doctor’s mind and Francesca must know it also. She simply wasn’t ready to face the truth. Gabriel wanted to hold her close in his arms to protect her. In his mind he surrounded her with love and support.
“A vampire has somehow managed to ensnare him. There is no other explanation.”
Francesca wanted to shake her head in denial.
“There are other explanations. I saw him popping pills.” “And why did he lead you to the cemetery where the vampires were waiting for you? He is in league with them and does not know it. They are using him to get you. That is why you cannot control him. He is controlled by the undead. When you attempt to reach his mind, there is nothing there but the orders they have given him.” “Is it Lucian? Has Lucian done this to punish me for my feelings for Brice?” “You cannot imagine what it is like to be unable to feel emotion. Lucian has no need to punish. He feels nothing at all. He uses others as puppets in the hope of feeling amusement, but he cannot. I did not detect the taint of his power, yet I cannot say for certain. Lucian prefers to work alone at all times. To my knowledge he has never brought another into what he refers to as ‘the game’.” “Can you undo what they did to Brice? Is there a way to make him whole again? This is my fault, Gabriel, entirely my fault because I became friends with a human. Now they think to use him against us. He is totally helpless. “
Gabriel could not bear her unhappiness. He would do anything to take the sorrow from her mind. He tightened his fingers around hers even as he flooded her mind with love and warmth and comfort.
“You are so right, my love. We are not alone in our struggles and our tasks. We have each other to draw strength from. As long as we believe in each other, it will all come right. I will do what I can for Brice. If you wish me to try to save him, you know I will have to take his blood. Without a blood bond, I doubt if I can break what others have wrought.”
Francesca turned that idea over in her mind. The blood bond was a powerful weapon. Would it somehow put Gabriel in danger? Would the vampire, perhaps Lucian, expect such a move and somehow be able to use Brice as a weapon against Gabriel?
Gabriel, locked as he was to her mind, was enormously pleased that her first thought would be for him, for his safety. She loved him in the way of a true lifemate. For who he was and what he was. Unconditionally. She saw good in him where he was never certain it really existed, but he lived up to her expectations all the same.
“Do it then, Gabriel. Take his blood and I will see to his healing with you. I owe him that much. He is a great doctor and the world would lose much if his healing abilities were destroyed.”
She smiled up at him even as her lashes drifted down.
Gabriel felt her smile in his heart. It was like that with her. She turned him inside out with one look. Just by closing her eyes. He lay for a long while beneath the earth, feeling its vibrations, allowing it to murmur to him, soothe and comfort him, rejuvenate his body with its nourishment. He left the chamber at the first setting of the sun and fed well before returning to awaken his lifemate. He lifted her body in his arms, floated to the bedchamber hidden in the rocks of the earth yet fitted with human comforts—the four-poster bed, the long, heavy drapes, and hundreds of candles.
The candles sprang to life with a simple wave of his hand, immediately enveloping the chamber in a soft, fresh scent. He inhaled sharply, then took in the sight of her body. She was so beautiful, so feminine. Gabriel bent over her and whispered softly, “Wake, my love, I want you so badly I do not think I can wait until you are breathing properly.” His mouth moved over her neck, her small shell-like ear. He found her pulse and lingered as it began, as her body heated beneath his hands. His teeth scraped her exquisite skin. So soft, so perfect.