«How are the girls behaving this evening?»
«Kicking a lot. We're getting closer. I don't think they're going to wait much longer.»
«Maybe I should talk to them,» Gregori suggested. «It is not yet time. They are too anxious and need to stay where they are safe.»
Savannah laughed, the sound happy and bright, dispelling some of his tension. «I don't think you should talk to them again. You always sound gruff and stern, and the little one is a rebel. Whatever you order, she does just the opposite.» She glanced mischievously up at him. «I have a feeling she's going to be a lot like you.»
«Don't say that. I was a very bad child.»
Savannah laughed again and Gregori found himself smiling. He dropped several kisses on her nose. «Have I told you that I'm madly in love with you?»
«Not recently.»
«Well I am. I haven't quite forgiven you for twins, especially that they're female, but I'm so in love with you, sometimes I can't think straight.»
The smile faded from Savannah's face. «Each time we go into the ground, I worry that the microbes will attack the babies again. And Lara is exhausted.»
Xavier had found a way to use extremophiles to attack the Carpathian females and babies, very effectively reducing the population over hundreds of years so they were now on the brink of extinction. The pregnant women were terrified of losing their babies, and Lara, Razvan's daughter, could not be fully brought into the Carpathian world because, while the extremophiles could detect the Carpathians hunting for them, they could not detect Lara, as she was mage.
«She does a sweep on all the pregnant women each evening, and yet there's always a recurrence. Even though she makes certain the men are without the microbes, it doesn't take long before we're all infected again. She has to be converted soon. Neither of them complain, but it is difficult for Nicolas.»
Gregori's fingers settled around the nape of Savannah's neck. «She has years before she will be in trouble, but yes, it is difficult on her lifemate. And if she gets pregnant . . .» He trailed off with a small sigh. «I am hoping Ivory and Razvan are the answer.»
«How can they be?»
«I don't know, but I think your father does. He was too calm, too certain that Razvan wouldn't drive that knife into his throat.»
«He is sure of his skills, Gregori.»
«That is true, although he should take more caution with his life. Still, it was more than that. He trusted Razvan when he shouldn't have.»
«You can't know everything, Gregori,» she said gently.
His brooding silver gaze slid over her. «When it comes to your father, I should. He is my greatest responsibility. Without him, our species would fade away, lost as so many others have gone.» He spread his fingers over her rounded womb, holding his children to him. «We have to safeguard their legacy, Savannah.»
«We will,» she replied, leaning into him.
Gregori lifted his head. «We are about to have visitors. They've spared our daughters another lecture from their father.»
Savannah's laughter warmed him. She hugged him. «They are very grateful to our visitors, especially the little one. She gave the equivalent to rolling her eyes.»
His silver eyes slashed at her. «You are not encouraging them, are you? I thought I would not have to deal with that behavior for another twenty years or so.»
«She thinks you are very bossy.»
«I am bossy because I know what's best for her.»
Savannah laughed again. «You argue with her and she isn't even born yet.»
Gregori huffed out another breath, a man driven beyond endurance by his stubborn unborn child, but his fingers lingered with loving strokes. Savannah laid her hand over his and they stood quietly a moment, feeling the presence of their daughters, surrounding the twins with love.
The knock on the door was expected and Gregori opened it to Syndil and her lifemate, Barack. One was never far from the other, he'd noticed. He welcomed both of them with a traditional Carpathian greeting. «Pesasz jelabam ainaak-long may you stay in the light.»
Syndil and Barack responded in kind and stepped into the house. «How are you feeling, Savannah?» Syndil asked.
«Very pregnant,» Savannah replied with a small smile. «If I get any bigger I might pop.»
«It is good to gain, especially with twins,» Gregori said. «You are right where you're supposed to be.»
«He monitors me carefully to make certain the babies are growing properly,» Savannah explained. She leaned in to kiss Barack on the cheek, ignoring Gregori's sharp reprimand.
There is no need for kissing.
Savannah laughed again and rubbed her cheek against Gregori's shoulder affectionately.
«Mikhail sent word that you wished to talk to me.»
Gregori indicated for her to sit. Barack sank into the seat beside her and took her hand.
«I am certain you've heard the news, that Razvan has escaped Xavier and that Ivory Malinov is alive. You were not raised in the Carpathian Mountains, and did not know the rumors of these two, but suffice it to say it is a shock to everyone to find out all we believed of them is wrong.»
Syndil tangled her fingers with Barack's. It always surprised Gregori to realize this one woman who wielded so much power was so shy and humble. She walked on the ground and new life sprang up after her. She danced and sang and toxic soil was restored to health. They had chanced on the knowledge, the prince spotting her healing an entire battlefield destroyed by vampire venom. She had been so quiet about her talent, so modest, no one would have ever known had Mikhail not seen her gift with his own eyes.
Syndil merely nodded her head, shifting just a little toward Barack. He moved closer to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders.
Gregori sighed. «I have no right to ask this of you. Indeed, it may be risky.»
Barack frowned.
«The pair encountered a master vampire and took him on in order to save a family. While Razvan has little or no experience fighting, Ivory is an extraordinary warrior. Together they managed to hurt him and run him off, but at great cost to their bodies.»
«You know I would aid you,» Syndil said, her soft voice musical, «but I am no healer.»
«I would disagree with that statement, Syndil.» Gregori leaned forward. «You understand the earth better than most. You hear her talking to you, crying out when she's wounded, and you're able to fix every injury.»
«That's different.» Syndil waved a dismissing hand. «Not at all like healing a wounded Carpathian.»
«I cannot do what you do,» Gregori said. «I do not always hear our mother speaking to us. This couple, what is happening with them, I do not understand-and I've tried. I listen to Mother Earth, but she whispers and I can't comprehend what she is saying. They are suffering. In agony. Both of them.» He hung his head and ran both hands through his hair in agitation. «I'm helping them, yes, but so slowly, and each night that passes and I go to them, they feel untold pain.»
«What would you have Syndil do?» Barack asked.
Gregori shook his head. Savannah perched on the arm of his chair and slipped her arm around him, her fingers sliding into his hair to soothe him. «Just tell them, Gregori. Let them decide.»
«I have never seen anything like what is happening. Razvan's body was hacked up, literally. He had his arm chopped off and in pieces. He had six spear holes, three fatal. His wounds were horrendous. Slices all the way to the bone, in many cases cutting through the bone. The blood loss was unbelievable. Instead of attending his wounds, he aided her in the battle.»
Barack sat up straight. «And he survives?»
«So far-yes. I don't know how. She also had many wounds, and yet she managed to merge with him in some way; I do not know how. They are separate bodies, but their hearts beat as one, their minds are one. Even that is not the issue. If I have access to his arm, the rest of his body is encased completely in mineral, as if he is part of the earth itself. When I share their bodies, I hear the earth whispering. I can hear the rhythm of its heartbeat, but I can't understand what she is saying to them. Could this be? Could Mother Earth be healing them? Not just rejuvenating them?»