Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

She was in a labyrinth of caves somewhere in the San Bernardino National Forest, one no one knew existed, with ancients no one knew existed, and she didn’t even know how to get out of the caves. She was fairly certain all of the men existed on the blood of humans. She was the only human in that chamber, but they looked well-fed to her. She glared at Sandu.

They fed aboveground, not on you. They are here to protect you, Adalasia.

Of course they were there to protect her. Just as he was there to protect her. She pushed down her resentment. They were all waiting for her to start. To give them answers. Where did one begin? She couldn’t help looking at Sandu. He was so gorgeous in a rough-looking way. She tried not to let the tremendous pull he had on her or the fact that physically she was attracted to him persuade her in any way.

He had taken decisions out of her hands by binding them together. Maybe she would have agreed to it once she understood what it meant, but he hadn’t asked. He hadn’t told her exactly what it entailed. He’d taken. He’d compounded that sin by taking her blood without her permission. Again, she most likely would have given it to him freely, but she thought they were entering into a partnership. Now she knew that wasn’t so. That meant she had to be very, very careful what she told any of them, Sandu included.

Was this really about him? His past? His family? She moistened her lips and decided to just plunge in, although she wasn’t going to tell perfect strangers everything, even if they had fangs and she was the only human and they were underground in a cave system she couldn’t hope to find her way out of alone.

“I read the tarot cards not only for others but for myself. My deck is very old and has been in my family for generations. It’s been passed down from mother to daughter, the same deck for centuries. Long before credit was given for tarot readings.” She had to admit that. There was no getting around it.

The one Sandu had introduced as Siv turned his blue-green eyes on her, studying her intently, as if he thought she might be lying. “How would these cards hold up through the centuries and not disintegrate into dust with time and use?”

It was a fair question. She put the velvet pouch on the table between them. The cards, from being contained in the sack, held concentrated power, and she knew the moment she released them, all of the men would feel it. They were sensitive to energy, just as she was. She opened the bag carefully and shook the deck into her waiting hand, observing the men’s reactions.

All of them, including Sandu, sat back slightly as the power radiated outward. It was a distinctly feminine energy. She gathered it easily as she swept up the familiar cards. They nearly leapt into her hands.

“What do you sense?” She asked the question to answer the question.

“Blood,” the one introduced as Petru said immediately. “Carpathian blood. Female.” Already the energy was pulling back into the cards. “What is this? What kind of trick are you playing?”

Adalasia became aware that Sandu had gone very still. If there was a way for an ancient to go ashen, he had. He stared at the cards in her hands and then slowly lifted his gaze to hers. All traces of tenderness evaporated. A shiver went down her spine, icy cold. He looked what he was, a killer. Top of the food chain. An apex predator.

“That is not just any blood,” he said softly. “You had better start talking fast, Adalasia. That is the blood of my family.”

The other four Carpathian hunters looked from Sandu to her. There was no friendliness in their expressions, either. She took a deep breath. She hadn’t been truly afraid. Now, her heart pounded. She knew they heard. When she had awakened, her hearing had seemed to be much more acute. She knew theirs was, too, just by little signals they gave one another. Before, those signals had made her feel safe—sort of—but now she was just a little terrified.

“Sandu, you had the opportunity to feel the card’s energy in my shop. I thought you felt the connection then. Why are you reacting now?” It took great effort to control her heartbeat in the midst of the predators surrounding her.

“The cards hid the source from me. They only showed your fear of our relationship. I knew there was a connection to Carpathians, but not specifically to my bloodline.”

His tone was low, so soft it should have been calming, but instead, she felt a distinct threat. A frisson of fear slid down her spine. She stayed silent, afraid if she opened her mouth, her voice would tremble, and she refused to give him—or the others—the satisfaction of knowing they were scaring her.