Chapter Three

Present day…

"Jenna!" Riordyn shouted, lurching forward in bed while reaching out to her. Within a blink of an eye, her image dissolved into a silvery mist and fade away.

Disorientated, he glanced around at his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. Although the heavy curtains were pulled closed, he still knew it was nighttime. The grand four poster bed did not look even remotely familiar, and neither did the expensive looking furniture in the bedroom. From the fragrant aroma of herbs wafting through the air, he discerned he was in the home of a fellow Carpathian, and it set him on edge. He searched his memory trying to figure out how he got there, and drew a blank.

At the sound of the doorknob turning, his head snapped up and his eyes narrowed on Julian and Aidan as they entered the room. The golden twins – his cousins both regarded him warily as if at any moment he might turn vampire on them.

"How did you find me?" he asked, hanging his feet over the side of the bed.

"It was you who found me, cousin," Julian said, crossing his arms over his expansive chest. "Do you not remember coming here three days ago?"

"Three days ago?" Riordyn raked a hand through his hair as he tried to recall what Julian said. Huge gaping holes littered his memory, and not just of the last three days. "What happened?"

"We have been waiting for you to wake up to find that out for ourselves," Aidan commented, and in a few long strides he crossed the room to tower over Riordyn. "Who is Jenna? Is she your lifemate?"

"Jenna?" Riordyn's brows knitted in confusion. "I do not remember anyone named Jenna."

"You called out to her when you woke," Julian said, and both brothers shared a glance. "Do you see colors, Riordyn?"

Riordyn looked around at all the various colors in the room and then down at the dark blue comforter on the bed, and nodded. "What does that mean?" he said, feeling as if he should know the answer himself.

"You have found your lifemate," Aidan said, and once again the brothers looked at each other. "We need to find her, Riordyn."

"Tell us the last thing you remember."

Riordyn pressed his eyelids closed as he once again tried to recall how he got to Julian's house. When he reopened his eyes, he let out a weary sigh. "I remember leaving the Carpathian Mountains."

"That was well over five years ago," Aidan said, taking a seat beside Riordyn. "You do not remember anything after that?"

"I cannot recall anything after that," Riordyn mumbled, staring at his hands.

"Do you remember why you did not want us to call Rafe when you came here?" Julian asked as he began to pace back and forth in front of them.

"Rafe?"

"Your brother," both Aidan and Julian said at the same time.

"I have a brother?" Riordyn scratched at the back of his head. "How is it possible that I can remember you two and not my own brother?"

"Do you remember Gregori?"

"Yes," he nodded, "the Dark One."

"Mikhail?"

"No," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Should I know him?"

Julian paused in his steps and both brothers looked at each other again, and for some odd reason, Riordyn felt as if they were talking to each other. Then Julian tilted his head to look at Riordyn.

"Over the past three days, Aidan, Gregori and I have given you our blood, and I believe that is why you remember us. Whatever happened to you has wiped your memory of everyone you've ever known."

"But if I didn't know you, how would I know to come here?"

"I don't know," Julian said.

Riordyn dragged himself to his feet, and trudged to the window. Pulling back the curtains, he stared up at the full moon. I have a brother. Closing his eyes, he traveled over the gaping holes in his mind, trying to find a single memory of his brother or his family, and only came up with scattered memories of Julian and Aidan. "I have lived a long time?"

"Almost two thousand years," Aidan answered. "You are an ancient one."

"I need to see my brother." Riordyn turned back to look at both men. "If I am to regain my memories, they have to start with him."

"Gregori does not believe that is a good idea."

"Not at the moment anyways," Julian added, placing himself between Riordyn and the doorway. "First we must learn what happened to you and find your lifemate. Then we will take you to your brother."

"So I am a prisoner?"

"You are my guest," Julian countered, and to show he meant what he said, he gestured for Riordyn to follow him as he left the room and went downstairs. A beautiful slender woman with long blue black hair met them as they entered the living room, and slid her arm around Julian's waist. "Riordyn, this is my lifemate Desari."

With her brow furrowing in confusion, Desari looked up at Julian and then after a moment she smiled at Riordyn. "It is good to see you again, Riordyn."

"I do not remember you," Riordyn uttered, frustration edging his tone. Every memory he had of Julian was clear, but anyone who might have been with him was blurred beyond recognition. His temples throbbed from trying to remember bits and pieces of his life, and seeing someone he should know but didn't, made it all the worse. "Your lifemate believes I shouldn't see my brother – do you think that is a wise decision?"

Desari was silent for a moment, and once again he had an odd feeling they were talking to each other. "He is trying to do what is best for you, Riordyn."

"You will remember everything in time," Aidan said, coming up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "But the first thing we need to do is find your lifemate. The longer you are apart from her without any contact, the harder it will be on her."

"Her life is in danger," Julian added, "she will not survive without you."

"Then how do I find her? If what you say is true, I won't know it is her until I've drank her blood." Riordyn sank down onto the leather couch, and rubbed at his temples. "There must be another way to regain my memory."

"At least we know her first name is Jenna," Julian said.

"And we are of the belief she is fairly close by," Aidan added, trying to sound positive even though his mouth was set in a grim line. "I have already been to your cavern in the mountains, and found no sign of her."

"They will find her for you," Desari murmured in a hauntingly beautiful tone meant to set his mind at ease. She left her lifemate's side, and came to sit beside him. "You will find her, Riordyn."

"Then I should be out looking for her." He was about to stand, but Julian was quick to place a hand on his shoulder to keep him where he was seated. "So I am a prisoner," he concluded with a low growl rumbling in his throat.

"Only until we figure out what attacked you."

"Why is that so important?"

"It may be trying to draw you out in order to kill your lifemate," Aidan said, and from the look he and Julian exchanged Riordyn realized there was more to it than either man was telling him.

"Do you not believe I can protect my own lifemate?"

"I believe you would try – you would fail," Julian said without the slightest hint of doubt in his tone. "What made you a lethal predator is gone . . . it was ripped from you, and we are trying to figure out how to counteract it."

"You mean I am no longer Carpathian," Riordyn uttered, chest tightening as he tried to imagine what that meant for him. "That is why you do not want me to see my brother. You do not want him to know I am nothing."

"Gregori believes someone used the darkest of magic against you, and he is working to find a solution as we speak," Aidan said, confirming Riordyn's belief that they saw him as less than their equals. "We will find a way to heal you, Riordyn."

"And until then I should just sit here waiting for someone else to save her?" None of the three would meet his gaze, and the silence that met his question was almost deafening. "I will not be made a coward by anyone. If I must fight as a man then I shall defeat my enemies as a man."