She swept back her hair, although there was really no need. No stray strands had escaped, but she felt shaky and in need of covering it. "I feel as if I failed him. The moment we knew Dimitri was missing-that Vikirnoff found evidence he'd been taken by the Lycans, both Bronnie and I took to the sky, but even with dragon vision we couldn't find him. I was so worried about Fen, I felt so desperate to save him, that I just didn't take my dragon up fast enough."
"Our best and fastest hunters raced after them," Gregori pointed out. "Nothing has ever escaped so many hunters, and yet they came up empty, Tatijana. Dimitri's disappearance is not your fault."
"Zev told Mikhail that two of his elite hunters had taken him," Tatijana said, shaking her head. "Do they want to start a war? Don't they realize Fen will never stop until he gets Dimitri back? Never, Gregori, he'll be relentless in his pursuit."
Gregori nodded. "I'm well aware of that and so is the prince. Zev has given Mikhail reassurances that Dimitri will be safe for the time being. The Lycan council has sent word that they will come to a meeting with Mikhail. The Lycans don't want a war with us. Neither species will win. We all know that. They won't harm Dimitri while this summit takes place."
"Why can't we reach him? Why can't Skyler?" With her hand still over Fen's chest, for a moment, she thought she felt his heart flutter, and her heart jumped for joy, but when she looked down at him, he hadn't moved.
"She's little more than a child," Gregori said dismissively. "You say they have a particularly strong connection, but look at you and Fen. He's right here, close to you and yet he doesn't awaken at your request. Sometimes the spirit travels on its own while the body heals."
"Are you saying you suspect Dimitri is so hurt that he can't respond?" Tatijana asked. "Because if that's the case, time is of the essence and we need to go after them. Zev must know where the Lycans would take him."
"I'm certain he does. Dimitri is probably on his way to their council. He is Han ku pesak kaikak-Guardian of all to us, but Sange rau to them and they fear the Sange rau more than anything else," Gregori answered.
"Do they fear the Sange rau more than they fear war with us?" Tatijana asked.
Gregori sighed. "I wish I knew the answer to that, but Mikhail has called in all Carpathians for this summit. We've made it very clear to the Lycans the summit doesn't happen if they kill Dimitri. They're still coming, which they'd be insane to do if he wasn't alive."
"He's alive," Tatijana said. She was tired of explaining to both Mikhail and Gregori that she knew he was alive because Skyler knew. They insisted on viewing Dimitri's lifemate as a child and didn't really give credence to her abilities.
"Mikhail has quietly begun putting together some of our best hunters. Once you wake him and we know he's strong enough, the hunters trying to track Dimitri will slip away with Fen leading them. We know that a couple of the Lycan hunters are nearby, watching to see that we don't launch an attack on their people or try to retaliate, so we have to do this under their noses without getting caught."
Tatijana couldn't imagine Fen caring one way or the other that the Lycans knew that he was coming for his brother, Dimitri. He probably would want them to know. He would be absolutely merciless, implacable and maybe the Lycans needed to see that.
Gregori must have caught her thoughts. He leaned forward and shook his head. "You can't let him go off after his brother without thinking of the consequences. If they know we're coming for him, they very well could kill Dimitri. We don't know where he is. They've found some way to silence him."
"That's more frightening than anything else," Tatijana admitted.
Again there was that strange fluttering beneath her hand. She leaned over Fen and brushed a kiss over his mouth. Come back to me, my love. I need to know you're alive.
"I believed Zev when he said he had no part in taking Dimitri, but more importantly, Mikhail believed him. He knows when people speak the truth. Zev didn't give the order to take Dimitri prisoner, he didn't even know he was of mixed blood," Gregori said. "I suspect the two Lycans observed Dimitri in the battle and he gave himself away out of necessity."
"Does he know Fen has mixed blood?" Tatijana strained to keep her voice even, but she thought it quivered a bit.
Thankfully, Gregori pretended not to notice. "He doesn't know Fen and Dimitri are brothers. No, I think he believes Fen stays close because he's fallen in love with you. He spoke to Mikhail and said such a match would be forbidden by the Lycans. It is obvious he both admires and respects Fen and wants him to join his pack as an elite hunter."
Tatijana frowned. "It's forbidden for Fen to fall in love with me just because I'm Carpathian? Isn't that just a little archaic?"
"They know Carpathians exchange blood."
"They were happy enough to have our blood when they were wounded," Tatijana hissed. Again Fen's heart fluttered. She pressed her palm hard over his chest, nearly crying out. That had to be a heartbeat. She wasn't mistaken. She felt tears burning behind her eyes and clumping in her throat. He was alive. He was coming closer to the surface.
Beside them, Fen stirred, his body still covered in the rich healing soil of Mother Earth. Tatijana let out a cry of joy. His lashes fluttered and he looked up at her. His face was very pale and there were lines that hadn't been there before, but he smiled just for her.
"You're a beautiful sight to wake up to, my lady."
"I think you're rather beautiful yourself." She was not going to cry. She kept her palm flat over his chest, needing the reassurance of his steady heartbeat. It was music to her.
"You're back with us," Gregori observed, his silver eyes missing nothing. Fen was breathing a little shallow and was still in some pain, but he was very aware of everything around him. "How much of our conversation did you get?"
"Enough to know that"-Fen had to reach for his voice-"we need to find out why the two Lycans were at the lake in the first place. How did they know where we expected the last Sange rau's lair might be? Dimitri and I found it because we knew Abel when we were young."
"A very good question," Gregori agreed.
"If Zev didn't know where we were, and he didn't send those hunters to aid us, why weren't they with their pack, fighting the rogues?" Fen asked. "Zev is dominant over the pack alpha, he's the big boss. No self-respecting alpha would ever allow his pack to desert a fight and go off without a word."