Mikhail!She felt his anguish at the death of his favorite home burning above them. The putrid smell of hatred, fear, and smoke mixed.

We must go below. The house will eventually fall.In her mind the grimness he felt echoed sharply.

Raven attempted to drag herself into a sitting position, her movements painfully sluggish. We have to get out of the house. Going below will only trap us between the ground and the flames.

The sun is too high. We must go underground.His arms tightened perceptibly, as if he could give her the courage to face what had to be done. We have no choice.

You go, Mikhail,she said. Fear clawed at her. She was helpless in her present state. Even if she managed to move herself below to the cellar, she could never burrow into the soil, bury herself alive. She would be insane when the time came to return to the surface. She absolutely could not commit herself to such an act, but it was necessary to encourage Mikhail to do so. He was the important one, the one his people needed.

We go together, my love.He interjected strength into his voice, a strength his muscular body did not echo. His limbs were like lead. It took tremendous effort to drag himself off the bed, and his body landed heavily on the floor. Come on; we can do this.

The smoke was thicker now, the room beginning to heat like an oven. Overhead, the ceiling began to blacken ominously. The smoke hurt her eyes, stung enough to burn.

Raven!It was an imperious command.

She rolled off the bed, landing heavily enough to knock the wind out of her. It’sgoing up so fast.Alarm bells were shrieking in her head. There was so much smoke; the house was groaning above them.

Raven dragged herself, inch by slow inch, following Mikhail’s painfully sluggish movements across the floor. They could not even crawl; they were so weak, it was impossible to get on their hands and knees. They slid full length on their stomachs, using their arms to propel themselves forward until they were at the hidden entrance to the cellar. Raven would have done anything to get Mikhail to a safe sanctuary.

Heat sucked the air from the room so that their bodies were bathed in perspiration; their lungs labored and burned. Even with their combined strength, it seemed impossible to lift the trap door. Concentrate,Mikhail instructed. Do it with your will.

She blocked out everything: her fear, the smoke, the fire, Mikhail’s agony and rage at his burning home, the predatory beast rising in him. She narrowed her thoughts to the heavy door, focused, aimed. With infinite slowness it began to move, a groaning creak of wood and metal protesting movement but obeying reluctantly. Mikhail fed her power with his own. When the door lay open to them, revealing the yawning chasm below, they slumped exhausted against each other, clinging for a moment, their hearts laboring, their lungs burning with the clouds of smoke whirling around them.

Debris rained down from the roof to the ceiling above their heads. The fire roared like a giant monster, a stormy conflagration, loud and fearsome. Raven slipped her hand into Mikhail’s. He locked his fingers around hers. The roof went; the ceiling above us is going to go up fast.

You go, Mikhail; I’ll wait here as long as I can.The hole below was as terrifying as the fire itself.

We go together.Mikhail’s orders were law. Raven could sense the change in him. No longer man, but full Carpathian, a beast gathering its strength, waiting. An enemy was destroying his home, his belongings, threatening the life of his mate. A slow, deadly hiss escaped from Mikhail. The sound made her heart pound. Always with Raven, he was gentle and kind, tender and loving. This was the predator unleashed.

Raven swallowed her fear, closed her eyes, and cleared her mind. For Mikhail, she had to find a way to go down into that dark earth beneath the cellar below them. Mikhail swirled in her as strong as ever. You can do this, my love. You are light, like a feather, so light you float.He built the feeling for her. Her body seemed insubstantial, as light as the air itself. Raven kept her eyes closed even when she felt the air stirring gently around her, felt it fanning her skin. She could feel Mikhail in her mind, yet her body was no more than a fleeting wisp, tangled with his.

Darkness enveloped them, caressed them, carried them down to the fertile soil. Raven opened her eyes, astonished and pleased to find herself in the cellar. She had floated like a feather through the air. It was exhilarating. For a moment her pleasure drove out the fear and horror of the fire. She had moved a heavy object using only her mind, and now she had gone through the air, floating like the breeze itself. Almost like flying. Raven leaned against Mikhail, wearily. I can’t believe we did that. We really just floated.For the blink of an eye, she put aside the destruction happening all around them and reveled in the wonder of what she had become.

Mikhail’s answer was to pull her closer, his arms surrounding her, her slender body enclosed and protected by his large frame. Exhilaration faded. She was as much inside him as he was in her, and she felt the ice cold of his bitter, merciless resolve. It was nothing like the white heat of his black rage; this was far, far worse. This Mikhail was all Carpathian, as dangerously lethal as any mythical vampire. The utter lack of emotion, the entire strength of his iron will and total determination was frightening. He would retaliate swiftly and mercilessly. There was no middle ground. Romanov had become his enemy and he would be destroyed.

Mikhail.Compassion and a gentle calm filled his mind. Losing your home this way— the things that have surrounded and comforted you for so long— it must be like losing a part of yourself.She rubbed her face against his chest, a small consoling gesture. I love you, Mikhail. We’ll build another home together. The two of us. This is a terrible moment in our lives, but we can rebuild stronger than ever.

His chin rested on the top of her head, his mind sending hers waves of love, of warmth. But inside that utter coldness remained, unmoved by her words. Only with Raven did he feel tenderness; with the rest of the world it was equal force, kill or be killed.

Raven tried again. Grief does strange things to people. Rudy Romanov lost both his parents. His mother was brutally murdered by his own father. Whatever he found has made him blame you. He probably feels guilty for thinking his father was crazy. What he’s doing is a terrible thing, but no worse than what you did to those who murdered your sister.

I had no thought for my sister when I struck at the assassins.There was a grimness in Mikhail’s thoughts. The two cases cannot be compared. The assassins attacked us first. I would have left them alone had they not come after my people. I failed you once, little one. I will not fail to protect you this day.

We’re safe here. The people from the village will come and put out the fire. They’ll probably take Rudy to a hospital or jail. They’ll think he’s crazy. And don’t worry about people thinking we died in the fire. They won’t find our bodies. We can say we were visiting Celeste and Eric, planning our wedding.

She didn’t understand and he didn’t have the heart to tell her. They weren’t safe. The fire was roaring above their heads, consuming the basement floor just as quickly as the upper story. In a short time they would be forced to seek the sanctuary of the earth. He wasn’t altogether certain their combined strength would be enough to open the earth. And if it was, he knew he could not send her into deep sleep. His powers were drained, all but gone this time of day.