Tariq was such a good man. There was no ego – and that, she decided, was what made him such a good choice for a husband and father. He didn’t care who was credited for what. He didn’t have to be a hero, and that made him one in her eyes. He allowed three ancients inside her, moving through her body, and more, her mind, in order to bring her peace. To remove a threat to her. She loved him all the more for that.

Through Charlotte, all those present felt Vadim’s cunning hatred of all Carpathians, but in particular of the prince and his family. He cared nothing about women or children, only about what use they could be to him. She caught flashes of him ripping through several people, drinking blood, splashing it around and shoving them off a ship. She knew the others did as well. Nothing was sacred to him. Nothing at all and yet… his entire focus was on the Asenguard compound. There was something there he wanted and he would sacrifice every one of his soldiers, his pawns, his massive army to get it.

Charlotte felt another blast of pain as the splinter buried in her rib changed tactics. Now that her rib was broken, the thing had more wiggle room. It swayed from side to side under the terrible, relentless blast of white-hot energy. She forced herself to lie as relaxed as possible, drawing strength from Tariq’s arms while the splinter attacked her. It was an attack, nothing less. Vadim wanted to force her to stop them. She was just as determined the vampire wouldn’t get what he wanted.

I’m in love with you, Tariq. She needed to tell him and now seemed a good time. Her body hurt like hell, and she knew his did as well. He felt far more pain than she did and she figured letting him know what he meant to her was a good way to tell him thank you.

Tariq’s arms tightened and he buried his face in the nape of her neck. More than life, Charlotte. The very air I breathe. You are fél ku kuuluaak sívam belső, my beloved. You are also truly and literally hän ku vigyáz sívamet és sielamet, keeper of my heart and soul.

When he spoke in his language, in that beautiful, mesmerizing voice she loved, the one that felt like love, the splinter went very still, as if it were paralyzed. Instantly the three ancients struck hard, blasting it with energy and the white-hot light. Charlotte felt that terrible flash, the burn along her broken rib. She took a breath and let it out slowly, trying to ride on top of the wave of pain.

The splinter couldn’t escape the light pouring over it, through it. Her rib felt as if someone were taking a torch to it, and she knew Tariq was shouldering most of that pain as well, shielding her as he would from every other terrible thing that came her way. Just as he would shield their children.

I don’t know how to tell you in your language, which sounds sexy and beautiful when you speak to me, but you’re the keeper of my heart and soul, Tariq. For as long as you want me, I’ll be your woman.

She meant every word and surprisingly, her voice sounded soft and loving. No, it felt soft and loving. So much so that she heard Vadim shriek his anger and frustration. She felt his fear and it rocked her – rocked her that the terrible monster she thought unstoppable could know fear when the Carpathians facing him didn’t feel it at all. She reached for Liv.

See, baby? He’s as afraid of us as we’ve been of him.

He is. There was wonder in Liv’s mind. Shock. Knowledge.

Charlotte was too weak to go to her. She didn’t even know if she could ever stand again, and the three ancients were deep inside her, determined to rid her of the splinter. Beneath the layers of soil, Charlotte was naked. She had no idea how much of her the others had seen…

Sielamet. Just that. One word. But it carried so much meaning. Right now it was male amusement. A reprimand. I would shield you always. Carpathians do not share well with others.

She loved that in the middle of life and death, the conversion, the struggle to destroy a monster’s hold on her, Tariq was always the calm eye of the storm. So steady. Her rock. He thought to keep her naked body from the others and she was grateful to him. Grateful that when her body expelled all toxins, he shielded her and the earth absorbed everything, keeping the mess from the sight of the others.

She thought it strange that she simply accepted lying in soil, using it as a blanket, packed tightly around her. The knowledge that they were packed in the dirt should have made her heart pound in trepidation, but her mind was too occupied with whether she could take more of that terrible burn in her ribs. That and the fact that the older children should be able to go through the conversion without harm or too much pain.

Relax, Charlotte, Tariq advised. His hand moved soothingly over her back as he pulled her into him, her front to his front.

She hadn’t realized she had tensed up, fighting the pain, but it was growing worse, burning along her rib until she wanted to scream. She glanced up at Tariq’s face. It was stoic. Without expression. She moved through his mind…

Don’t! It was a sharp command.

She knew. He was taking most of what she felt while the three ancients attempted to destroy the splinter. Vadim fought back, attacking her, trying to force her to make them stop. Again, Tariq stood solidly between her and pain that would have been far too much for her.

She put her hands on his chest, shocked how the soil responded to her movement, almost anticipating what she wanted. She felt warm and cocooned. Closing her eyes, she began to breathe deeply, slowly and steadily, using her meditative breathing to stay relaxed. She pushed everything out of her mind but that splinter.

You will not defeat me. I will kill those children in front of you. Your lifemate’s blood will run like a river over you as I allow Fridrick to take what is rightfully his.

Tariq’s body jerked once, the only sign that he heard. Blaze and Liv both made a sound of shock, of denial. They all heard Vadim’s sneering voice.

Dragomir, Siv and Val poured the white-hot light on the splinter, widening their blast so that there was nowhere for the tiny parasite to go. It had smashed the bone almost beyond repair, but Tariq had stopped Charlotte from feeling the worst of that pain and she remained still, refusing to call a halt to the slow, tedious work of extracting Vadim’s shadowy splinter from her body.

We will find you and destroy you, piece by piece, Tariq answered. His voice wasn’t goading – his tone was matter-of-fact, as if it was a forgone conclusion that eventually Vadim would be caught and destroyed.

Charlotte couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through her body as the master vampire retaliated against her, the splinter jamming itself into one of the many cracks and smashing the bone. Vadim poured power into the splinter vengefully, focusing on hurting her, wanting her to scream at the ancients to stop.