Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

By now, she was positive this was about a concentrated attack on the gate. Her family had been tasked with guarding and keeping it locked for centuries—and they had done so. Now, for an unknown reason, Adalasia’s family and her heritage were being tested. She wasn’t going to fail. She had been thinking about each of these visits as a way to look into Sandu’s past, but now, she thought maybe it was more than that. Just as her childhood had been a preparation to hone her fighting skills, to bring her to this point, was it possible she was supposed to be continuing to learn?

Her tarot cards had always guided her, and yet now that they were on the path of danger, she had jealously locked them away, taking them out to read each evening before they met with a couple. Had she missed the true importance of what the cards were telling her each evening? She could feel heat gathering under her skin, and it wasn’t the heat of the rain forest. She had forgotten her training. Her skills. The very gift she’d been given from birth. The cards.

“Adalasia’s family has been tasked with a burden handed from mother to daughter. The enemy is from one of their line. Blood calls to blood. We never have much time. They find us very fast. We don’t want to put your lifemate in danger, Dominic.” There was no mistaking the sincerity in Sandu’s voice.

“It appears your lifemate is in danger,” Dominic said. “Solange would never forgive me if I allowed a woman to remain in danger if we could aid her simply by having a conversation.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

That brief action made him appear even more handsome, in spite of his scars, than Adalasia had first thought. One side of his face had scarring, but strangely, those scars only served to make him more appealing.

Sivamet, it would not be a good thing for me to develop a trait as unseemly as jealousy.

Adalasia did her best not to laugh out loud. She wanted to throw her arms around Sandu and kiss him right there in front of everyone, but she could tell he was still protecting her from whoever was in the trees protecting Dominic. She could only assume it was the absent Solange. She wanted to be like Solange—able to disappear and be counted on to have Sandu’s back at all times. Dominic didn’t look to see if she was there; he knew she was. They were partners.

You have no reason to develop such a trait. I observe, that is all. There is no one to compare with you. That is a given. Sandu couldn’t fail to read the absolute sincerity in her.

“Our home is not far from here. We will certainly be safe there.” Dominic turned and began to walk back into the strange curling fog.

Sandu held out his hand to Adalasia. The farther Dominic got from them, the more he became translucent, as if he were like the cat she saw in her mind rather than in reality. Nicu and Siv were in motion, following the Dragonseeker into the rolling clouds of vapor coming off the forest floor. Sandu urged her to stay in step behind them. She tried to keep her heart in sync with Sandu’s, but it was difficult the moment they actually entered the darker fog.

Adalasia felt the difference on her body. She knew what mist felt like when it touched her skin. This wasn’t the same at all. When she looked down at her legs, there were tiny pinpricks in her calves and ankles. She moistened her lips and couldn’t help tightening her grip on Sandu. So much for being a warrior woman like Solange. She didn’t want to look at her body as the steam rose higher and thicker around her.

Ahead of her, Nicu and Siv were nearly transparent. She could see the dark gray fog roiling right through them. It had risen up like a fogbank, surrounding them, coming through the trees, a shield to hide in or a shimmering veil to transport them from one realm to another. Adalasia wasn’t certain which it was, only that the Dragonseeker had created the wall for them to step into, and they were doing so willingly.

Then her body felt as if it were disintegrating slowly, piece by piece. Those little holes widening until, when she looked down, there was nothing left of her. Her breath caught. She nearly called out in fear to Sandu. He must have felt her terror, because his mind moved in hers. Gentle. Steady. He didn’t speak to reassure her, and because he didn’t, she remained silent as well.

Adalasia had so many questions, but she refrained from asking them. Clearly, Sandu was unfazed by this strange phenomenon. He didn’t take it as a threat, and neither did the others. That had to mean they had some kind of protection against it that would extend to her; otherwise, Sandu would never have allowed her to step inside it. Once she reasoned things through, she was able to relax again.