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When Chas was dragged out of the cha given a miracle-just like that day when the cat had run into the street and caused the accident which allowed him to sneak into Moldavi&039;s home the first time

He still had his stake, now hidden in his sleeve during the walk to the dining chamber with Belialand he was certain he&039;d be able to take at least one of his two captors by surprise

As he faked a stumble, a quick flick of the wrist slid the weapon into his hand and loosened the guard&039;s grip on one side of hihted himself and came back up, it ith the point of the stake ready It found its mark with the same ease and power it always did, and he breathed a silent thanks

By the tiuard realized what happened, Chas had hiainst the wall, the stake at his back "Get me out of here," he said "I want the way outside"

He had to get out of the place so that he could come back in and free Narcise And he knew exactly how to do that, what he needed to findfor it had all suddenly becoured out Cezar&039;s Asthenia

As he was observing everything that happened, from the time he and Narcise entered her brother&039;s chambers, and his reaction to her presence, Chas suspected there was so Moldavi had seemed so pleased to see themuntil they walked into the chamber

Then, he&039;d ordered the chamber," he&039;d told Belial

And every tied His breathing, his voice, even his body had tensed He&039;d tried to hide it, but Chas was used to watching for the signs of weakness from the prey he hunted

But Chas still didn&039;t coer chaer space in which to be confined with his Asthenia And he&039;d had Narcise stripped i taken from the chamber

Why would he do that unless there was soet out of the place? Without, of course, anyone realizing it

And that hen it all crystallized for Chas The vision Sonia had seen had Narcise in it, and it was clear that Cezar had some mixture of fear and ad an ivory fan

And in her clothing, she had been wearing a corsetwith the ivory busk that Chas had given her It was ivory Moldavi&039;s Asthenia was ivory

The next thing Narcise are of was Chas&039;s face, dark and frightened and furious, looking down at her

"My God, Narcise," he said, touching her cheeks as he gathered her into his ar "I came as fast as I could Can you Are you Holy Mother of God Narcise"

The feathers had disappearedthe pain was gonethe paralysis and heaviness had eased Her body throbbed in places, and was numb in othersbut she could breathe And think And re herself fro around frantically Had she lost her chance? Had she lost hied and he stepped back so that she could see the tanned body, sagging against the wall, arht above his head Giordan&039;s face was half-lifted, his glittering eyes scoring her, and as their gazes met, she saild relief in his

She slid off the table upon which she lay, her knees wobbly and the roo wet oozed from her shoulder, and there was blood and dampness in other places Her arms hurt, her back felt as if it had been seared She saw Belial&039;s body sprawled on the stone floor His head lay in a pool of dark red blood, its putrid scent nauseating, nearby

Chas caught her arround, and said, "Stay here I&039;ll see to him" His words were as taut and short as his movements, and Narcise felt a wave of remorse as she realized his pain

She watched as he released Giordan, saw the way he sagged and pitched forhen Chas cut hiht, and she had to move fro, her legs were stronger, her mind clearer

She looked around the chamber, and for the first time, she saw more bodies-dead, vampir bodiesand then she saw her brother

He was sitting in a chair on the dais, tied to his seat, surrounded by slender white items

He wasn&039;t deadbut he wasn&039;t

All at once, she had Giordan in her arainst her-and it was all she could do not to collapse into shameful tears

How much time had she missed? How much had she lost? She&039;d been so wrapped up in herself, in her center

"I&039;ll take care of things in here," Chas said, turning from them "See to him I think he&039;s-he needs" His voice trailed away and he walked off with jerky steps

"I&039;ht around her, and he leaned against her too heavily to be "well"

She smelled scents on hi back angry, horrified tears, she helped hilance at her brother

She knehere to go, and took hiuilt bothered her as she left Chas behind, and she proot Giordan settled

But he eak, with an ashen cast to his rich, golden skin, and she knew he&039;d need to feed before he recovered his strength How much blood had Cezar taken from him? Had there been others who&039;d fed as well?

What else had happened?

The smells and marks on his body told her more than she wanted to know, and Narcise blocked herthe shiny gray color to his face He was safe now Cezar wouldn&039;t bother hiain

When she eased him onto the bed in her old chamber, Giordan didn&039;t release her, and she tu aardly together Bare skin to bare skin, her breasts pressed up against his torso, his warm arms loose around her waist

"Narcise," he ain, "is it really you? Have you co away to look down at him "I&039;m sorry I don&039;t even knohat to I know that I can&039;t say anything to change what happened, to make amends for itbutI&039;m so sorry I didn&039;t understand I didn&039;t-" Her voice broke at the end and despair took over How could he ever forgive her? "Sosorry"

The Mark on her back shot a renewed blast of pain-orso-but whatever the case, she felt it

And along with the shock of hurt came an unlikely sense of satisfaction If Lucifer disapproved, then there was soood about it

And it had all ceased being just about her soo

"Shh," he said "Don&039;tsay anything"

"Are you hurt? What can I"

He covered herover hers with a softness that lided up her unclothed body, gentle and yet possessive

"Belial," he said, pulling away suddenly, his face hardening "He-"

"He&039;s dead," she replied "Chas" She shook her head and pressed her swollen lips together

"I would have killed hi him-" His voice trailed off and he looked at her, his brown-blue eyes deep and filled with grief "I knehat Cezar was going to do I tried to stop him, Narcise"

"By Fate, I know you did," she replied wildly, consu you could have done-"

"I would have done anything-"

"But you already did," she wept "You already did And I didn&039;t see it I was too I didn&039;t, I couldn&039;t, understandwhat you&039;d done"

He gathered her close, but she could feel the tre and weakness in his powerful arms She pressed a kiss over one of the wounds on his shoulder, tasting the remnant of luscious, warm, clean lifeblood Desire and affection rushed over her, and he shivered beneath her lips

"You need to feed," she told hi aside her own needs and desires "You can hardly lift your arms"

"No," he ht-"

"Please, Giordan Allow me" She raised her arm and offered it to him, at the same tihtly with dark hair "Just as you did for me"

He shook his head "I can&039;t Narcise I can&039;t" He turned his face away, hisas if he drew in her scent, but tried to force it away at the sa sharp and hard stabbed her in the heart He&039;d fed on Rubey She knew he hadshe&039;d scented and smelled the proof

If he loved her, ould he not take what she offered? Her heart thu in her insides, she looked for so to cut her skinjust as he had, when she&039;d deo

A lifetime for some But just a flash in the life of a Dracule

"Please," she said, wanting to help hi to erase the remnants of Belial that had been imprinted on her

She raked her arh: leaving a slender red line that burst into shiny pearls of lifeblood

"Narcise" He sucked in his breath and she put her arm therebut even then, he turned away "I can&039;t You don&039;t understandI&039;ve changed I can&039;t"

But then he shuddered, deep in his middle as he pulled in a breath His belly and torso flinched against hers, and all at once hisaround her ar the slender wound, leaving a moist, hot trail in its wake, and Narcise&039;s desire blosso low and deep