Chapter Seventeen

"What helps luck is a habit of watching for opportunities, of having a patient, but restless mind, of sacrificing one's ease or vanity, of uniting a love of detail to foresight, and of passing through hard times bravely and cheerfully."

- Charles Victor Cherbuliez

___

"This shouldn't hurt too much."

Izzy didn't flinch when Shea inserted the needle into her arm. Shea took a small amount of blood and pressed gauze over the vein. "There we go. Thanks again for your cooperation, Izzy."

"It's no problem." Izzy pressed the gauze herself, though she knew that her pinprick would close shortly. "If everything that you said comes true, this will be worth it."

"The effects of vampire blood are devastating. A person's mind and body can be controlled with a simple blood exchange, and the body itself can be mutated into a hideous monster with just a small sample."

"You have experience with this?"

"Not directly. But I know one of the Dragonseeker women lost two of her friends from such a venomous thing."

"I…don't think my blood can cure mutations."

Shea smiled slightly. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

Izzy shrugged and tossed the gauze into a nearby trashcan, the pinprick already healed. "So what happens now?"

"I'm going to run a few more tests with the blood. These cells are very durable, however. They don't tolerate invaders as all, no matter if the organism is an illness or a vaccine. Trying to mold it into a serum of sorts is not going to be an easy task."

"Hmm." Izzy fiddled with the paper sheet covering the table she sat on.

"Have you ever seen your blood cells work?"

"I've seen myself heal."

"I mean the blood cells themselves. Have you ever seen the effect it has on outer forces."

"…I saw it through Marach," she said, but her curiosity was piqued. She didn't favor the idea of experimentation being doing directly to her body, but this was a sample of blood outside her body. This shouldn't be too bad.

"Here, let me show you." Shea poured a little bit of blood onto a glass slide and slipped it under the microscope. Amplified imaging of the blood cells appeared on the computer screen. She reached under her desk and pulled out a jug of bleach. Izzy raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. She continued to say nothing when Shea poured a little bit of the bleach on top of the blood sample. "Now, watch."

Izzy almost couldn't believe her eyes. She knew that her body was capable of many things, but never had she seen something so…unbelievable. Blood cells attacking a chemical poison like bleach, and actively rejecting it. Bleach killed blood cells, not the other way around!

In the end, the blood cells expelled the bleach like Izzy's body expelled poison, and Shea calmly wiped up the after-mess. "Pretty amazing, isn't it?"

"I can see why you guys are so excited." Izzy ran a hand through her hair uneasily. "That's just…incredible."

"You've never seen samples of your own blood?"

"I've never really given it much thought. These healing capabilities have always come naturally to me, and Serenity as well. Our family doctor once showed enthusiasm over it, but then he changed his mind."

Shea stared at her, as though thoughtful. "Have you ever told anyone about this regenerative ability?"

"No, not really. Serenity and I don't like bringing unwanted attention to ourselves. Outside of my doctor, nobody knows and I can't imagine what would happen if more people did know." She shivered slightly and rubbed at goose bumps on her arms. Her body was taken by a sudden brush of warmth, no doubt sent by Marach, and she relaxed slightly. "We'd probably be experimented."

"Hmm." Shea slowly turned towards her computer. "This is so strange. Something as noticeable as regenerative blood must have garnered some attention, but you've never been approached about it?"

"No."

Shea shook her head. "Have you ever heard of the Morrison Center?"

"No. Is it a medical facility?"

"It's an organization offering the pretext of psychic research. In truth it's based around crazed vampire hunters who suffer from severe paranoia. They believe anyone displaying abnormal traits, such as telepathy or even rare skills, is either a vampire or is an accomplice of vampires, and therefore needs to be killed immediately."

"Oh my God!" Izzy jumped up from the table. "And they get away with this?!"

"Most of their crimes are concealed as accidents, and a great deal of their victims are loners without families." Shea paused before she continued. "I was a target by them, but they never really got hold of me. My lifemate, though…" a look of pain crossed her face before it eased away. "Well, in any case you claim they've never contacted you?"

"I've never heard of them until now."

Shea nodded. "It's all for the better then. At least for right now. Do you know of anyone else in your family with these abilities?"

Izzy sat back down. This question required a lot of reaching on Izzy's part, so she was taken off-guard by sudden memories that flooded her head. For a brief moment she was extremely annoyed Marach invaded her memories, but it gave her enough to tell Shea the truth. "When I was little, I use to think my abilities were natural. Serenity healed the same way as me, and my parents never said much about it, other than to never tell anyone. I have grandparents and an uncle and his family on my mom's side, but my dad lost his parents years ago.

"But anyways, I thought it was natural. That is, until I saw a boy get a horrible cut while playing on the playground. He severed a vein in his hand, and blood was everywhere. Everyone was screaming, but I figured the wound would seal. When it didn't, I began freaking out and started exclaiming that something was wrong with him, that he lost his powers." She shrugged half-heartedly. "I was only four then, so nobody took what I said seriously. But then my parents really pushed the point home that I needed to keep my mouth shut about this. That not everyone had our abilities and it would make people jealous and angry with me if they found out. So I kept my mouth shut."

"Does anyone else have your abilities?"

"I've never seen anyone else in my family heal the way Serenity and I do. There might be more, but I've never seen it."

Shea gave her a close look. "I'm curious in your eye color, Izzy. I've never seen lavender eyes before."

Izzy nodded. "It's not a common color, but my mom says they're pale blue. But I know they're purple."

"Does your mom have violet eyes?"

"No, my dad does."

Shea stilled suddenly. "Izzy…your father does?"

"It's an awkward color for a man, but he tells everyone his eyes are blue."

Shea wrote a quick note. "Does your father have these same abilities?"

"I don't really know. I've never really seen him injure himself, and…" Izzy trailed off. "Wait…what does my dad have to do with this? We just share his eye color, that's all."

"And both Serenity and you have the same regenerative abilities. It might be possible your father has this ability."

Izzy sat there stunned for a moment. Then she burst out laughing. "My dad?! There's just no way! He's sanguivoriphobic! And we know how our blood effects vampires! What would he have to fear from them if he had this trait?!"

"Does he know if vampires really exist?" Shea asked.

"Uh…" Izzy shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Dragă." Marach's voice was suddenly in her head. "Think of what Shea is implying. You have said that you haven't seen these abilities in your parents, but this isn't true. You know that it's not your mother."

"She—"

"I can see a memory you have which shows her accidentally cutting her finger. Her finger didn't heal, Isabel. Serenity and yours powers didn't appear out of thin air. You both have violent eyes, and so does your father. It's very likely that he is the one you inherit these traits from."

"Don't talk about my memories as if you know them!" Izzy delved into these memories as she said this. "I can think for myse—"

"Kid, get out!"

"Get off her! GET OFF!"

Izzy snapped back into her present frame of mind. A cold chill overtook her body. "What was that?"

"I must have produced a repressed memory." The guilt poured out of Marach. "I'm so sorry, iubita mea."

Izzy groaned and raised a hand to her head. "Repressed memory? But I…I only saw a couple of seconds, but…Marach, what is in that memory?"

"I don't know. I saw that your mind was deliberately shielding you and so I didn't invade it. We can look at it together later if you wish."

"…All right. I don't think I want to look at that alone." Izzy opened her eyes to see Shea looking at her. "I'm sorry, I was talking to Marach."

Shea smiled. "I have a lifemate too, Izzy. I know the drill."

"But…I can see your point about my dad. Does this mean he's in danger?"

"I can't say for sure. I'm just very puzzled that you were able to avoid detection after all these years. But I think that in it of itself is a blessing." Shea turned back to her desk. "If Morrison had ever found out about you, I have a sinking feeling we would've never met either Serenity or you."

___

Izzy and Serenity had been taken from Gregori's home and moved into temporary living space where Shea and the others had their labs. They would be staying in a building over the caves in which the labs were located.

Marach slowly sat down at Serenity's bedside, watching the sleeping woman closely. She was a ticking time bomb. Keeping her asleep temporarily solved their problems, but this couldn't go on forever. Serenity couldn't just stay comatose like this forever.

He sighed softly, running a hand through his hair. He cared for this woman because she was his lifemate's sister. He'd seen the real Serenity through Izzy's memories, and it was disheartening to see this mess of her life. She didn't deserve this, but it was now clear she didn't want their help. She didn't have a blood connection with Parn, but he was still her lifemate.

She wanted to save him. But she couldn't. And all Marach could do was try and soften the blow of such a tragedy for a woman who was deep in denial…

"Marach?"

At once he relaxed slightly, and stood up as Izzy entered the room. "Hello, Isabel. You are not distressed over your session with Shea?"

"I don't know." Izzy slowly walked over to the bed. "I don't like that she was worried about the fact that nobody has noticed us. Maybe we're just lucky? In any case, I'm trying to mull over whether or not Dad has these same abilities, but I keep going back to that memory." She shuddered slightly, and Marach quickly took her into his arms. "I want to know why I repressed it. Generally repressed memories involved sexual abuse, but I don't think that's the case." She blushed slightly but continued. "It had to have been bad though, if I can't even remember it."

"Do you want me to open it to you?"

"…No. Not yet at least. I don't think that memory's necessary to this present moment. I want to focus on helping Serenity." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "And I know you're worried."

"I made a promise to you that I would help her. But I haven't been able to help her at all. She's not getting better, and…"

"Do you think I blame you? Look what happened to me when I tried to break the truth about Parn to her. Denial isn't strong enough of a term for her behavior. But we're here, and we're still trying. And I have Gregori and the Carpathians—" she sucked in a breath slightly and winced. "God…I still don't know how I could've done all of this without you. Any of you. If I had to deal with all this alone…"

Marach kissed her very tenderly on her cheek. "I will always be here, iubita mea. There is nowhere else for me to be." It was with great satisfaction that he could feel her body relaxing more and more in his arms. Their relationship was sexual, but Izzy was still trying to sort out her feelings, in addition to trying to deal with Serenity's dilemma. But, slowly but surely she was opening up more and more to him, in body and spirit, and it was uplifting for him. He hadn't been joking when he told the others that all he had was his lifemate, but his was the same as all Carpathians. Without his lifemate, he had nothing else in his life.

And Serenity counted for this, too. He would save her, no matter what. Even if it meant he had to hurt her by killing Parn.

"Warriors! Everyone report in, emergency!"

The words ripped through his head, and then through Izzy's. Images filled his words and horror gripped his heart. He abruptly released Izzy and sucked in a short breath.

"What is it?! What's wrong?!" Izzy cried.

Marach forced himself to calm down and focused on his lifemate. "One of Falcon's daughters has been taken."

___

"Little Emma?" Mikhail asked. He kept his tone neutral and authoritative, but only Raven could sense his fear at this predicament.

Falcon nodded stiffly. "We got a call from Slavica that Emma disappeared from her youth group at the center. Nobody's been able to find her, and memories have been tampered with. All of the workers have the same scripted story of where she may or may not be." He paused and only continued with Sara's insistence. "We can't sense her at all."

"I don't think she's dead," Gregori said immediately. "Neve must have a hand in this and might be shielding her presence. What was the story the workers had at the center?"

"That someone claiming to be Emma's auntie came to pick her up to go get ice cream. Emma has no auntie, obviously."

"Did they say anything about the car, if the kidnapper was driving one?" Marach asked.

"Nobody said anything about a car," Sara said. "She just upped and disappeared into thin air."

"Warriors!"

Everyone stood to attention as Ivory swept into the room. Marach kept his body stiff, as he sensed animosity from the warrior woman. Ivory walked over and handed Mikhail some photographs. "These were found around the area of the youth center."

Marach hurried over and looked at the photos. They were harsh tire streaks on the asphalt. Marach looked at them very closely, and then recalled in Izzy's memory of her run-in with Neve. A mental comparison brought a smile to his face. "Ferrari."

"Are you sure that's a Ferrari?!" Falcon asked. "I-If Neve did this to her…"

"It's the same tire marks." The smile faded as Marach looked back at the photos. "Neve isn't one for discretion. I don't want to think she would kill a little girl, but—"

"Don't speak like that!" Falcon shouted. "Emma is going to be all right! If I have to murder that woman to ensure her safety, I most certainly will!"

"Falcon, calm down," Mikhail said. "Neve took Emma for a reason. She won't do anything to the child until she gets what she wants. We can still move one step ahead of her. She's still a human, no matter if she's a mage. By doing this to Emma shows that we cannot show her mercy." He looked out over the warriors present. "There is little doubt she will try to play mind-games with us. And there's a possibility that she has a lifemate out there looking for her. But the sad truth is we can't risk waiting for him to show up and claim her. We must stop her, and if that means killing her then we must kill her. Do all of you understand?"

As the Carpathians answered in kind, laughter suddenly rang through Marach's head. It was so soft, like a brush of cold air, but it made Marach's skin crawl. "Mikhail?"

Mikhail reached for him with his mind and frowned. "A vampire is taunting you."

"Cassander." Marach quickly reached out with his mind towards Cassander's voice. It didn't surprise him that the brothers were working separately, even while together. But he had a dark feeling Cassander had a hand in Emma's kidnapping. Although, Emma was kidnapped during the middle of the day, so either Neve or one of her mage allies had to be the one who picked her up.

He wouldn't put it past her to leave the child in the hands of a vampire. And that sickened Marach deeply.

"Marach…" he found Cassander, and the vampire spoke his name in a sing-song tone. "Want to play?"

"What do you want?" he asked the vampire coldly.

"No, no. This isn't about ME, Marach. This is about all of you…and this sweet child in my arms…"

"Where is Emma?!" Falcon was suddenly in Marach's head and was shouting at Cassander. "What have you done with my daughter?!"

"Emma? Ah, so that is the name of this sweet, sweet little girl. I feel such a flutter in my chest looking at her cherub face. Her body is so small, and yet so soft—"

"You sick bastard! I will rip your heart out of your chest and force you to eat it before I kill you!"

Cassander only laughed at Falcon. "Temper, temper. You don't want anything to happen to this little angel, do you?"

"Vampire, I am Mikhail Dubrinsky." Mikhail found the link to Cassander through Marach and reached out to him. "And if in fact you have that child with you, you are to return her to her parents immediately."

Cassander hissed suddenly, his voice full of fury. "I am not under YOUR domain any longer, Mikhail! I follow my own path! As for this child…I just might have my sights on her—"

"She is a human girl and you will do no such thing."

"And what if she's my lifemate? You have spared my brother in the face of HIS lifemate. Although…I know what sort of bull this all is."

"Parn is not being spared, and you can tell him we will be coming after him very, very soon."

"Well, forget about Parn. Think about this precious little child, in her precious little pink dress, with white lace and white stockings—"

"BE QUIET!" Falcon roared.

Cassander's tone was calm. "I'm standing under a crescent-shaped rock. Search me out and find me within the next half-hour, or little Emma will become a little mess in this valley." The connection abruptly shut off.

"It's a trap," Gregori announced immediately. "They're trying to lure us away from the Crane sisters. Neve is targeting Izzy for a reason, and Cassander is the brother of Serenity's lifemate. Kidnapping Emma must be a diversion."

"He described the outfit she'd worn to the facility today," Falcon sneered. Not even Sara's hand on his arm calmed him down. "This is no diversion! He really has her!"

"We don't doubt that," Mikhail said calmly. "But we must have a plan before we mobilize to protect her. We must protect the people who are under our protection as well, and add further protection to the child. Right now we're going to assemble a team to get Emma back, and the rest will be dispersed to add to the aforementioned protections. Understood?"

He once again received affirmations, and Falcon reluctantly nodded. Mikhail looked at Marach. "You have a blood connection to Cassander, so we must rely upon you to find him. Can you do that?"

"Absolutely," Marach said. "And I in turn will trust in you to watch over my lifemate and her sister."

___

Neve calmly looked at her watch, and then looked at Eis. He nodded and pulled the vampire forward. "You still have your link to her, don't you? We'll link with you and then we'll be able to do it."

Parn snorted. "What makes you think you can break the compulsion of the Dark One?"

Neve smiled thinly. "I will not be defeated by filthy vermin such as these Carpathian scum. Just do your part and you'll have Serenity with you."

Parn shrugged and closed his eyes. "It's a simple feat to link with my lifemate."

Neve sighed heavily. "Parn, what are you on about what that garbage? Lifemates don't exist. They never have and never will exist outside of fairy tales nonsense. Get it through your daft head and don't lose your focus."

Parn glared at her. He imagined the skin of her beautiful face bubbling like hot water, melting like wax. "Cassander sends his love. And he thanks you for the little girl—"

Neve waved a hand and Eis grabbed Parn by his throat in a tight fist. "And you tell Cassander that if he acts upon his perversion I will pull his intestines out through his urethra. Be sure to put the emphasis that as a mage I can most certainly make sure this happens!"

Parn didn't seem fazed by the hold on him, but he sent the message to Cassander. His brother only laughed, both at her order and Parn's predicament. "He think it's funny, but he's sticking to the plan."

"Good." Eis let him go. "Now hurry up and wake up the Sleeping Beauty!"

Parn took in deep, haggard breaths, but he closed his eyes. Neve stared into the darkness and then stared down at her right hand. A vial of blood was there. "It's nearly time. And if I must…"

___

"Serenity…Serenity. You must wake up. Why are you asleep? Do you want to be asleep? Do not let them control you beyond your will. Open your beautiful eyes. Please…"

Serenity groaned quietly. Her head ached her terribly, and her body felt paralyzed. It felt like air was no longer passing through her lungs. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe…

"You can breathe, sívamet. Don't let them think that you can't. Concentrate on your senses. Think that you are breathing, no suffocating, and you will feel the air."

Serenity did. It was with great difficulty that she finally felt the air passing through her lungs. Tears stung her eyes and she groaned again. "What do I do?"

"Wake up, Serenity. Open your eyes and awaken. Awaken…and come to me."

Serenity's eyes fluttered before they finally opened completely.

___

They'd found Emma under the crescent-shaped rock, as Cassander said she would be. The poor little girl was curled up in a ball upon the grass, deeply asleep but obviously very terrified even while asleep.

But…she was alone.

"Emma." Falcon scooped the child up into his arms. He examined her tiny neck and found no evidence of bites. He could sense no blood loss from her either, and her clothes were intact. She could possibly be possessed, but Falcon hugged her for dear life. "Oh, baby. Oh, my poor little angel…"

"Falcon, step away from her," Gregori said sternly, raising a hand. "We cannot have a similar incident as with Travis."

Falcon only released his child with great reluctance, and Marach continued to scan the area. He'd felt Cassander around here, but moments before they arrived his presence abruptly disappeared. One moment he was here, the next he wasn't. Gregori was checking Emma very carefully, but Marach could tell that nothing was wrong with the child.

It really was a diversion, then.

"Isabel, be on your guard. We'll be returning shortly, but our enemy is going to try and attack you."

"Is Emma all right?" Izzy asked him, and he couldn't help but smile at her concern.

"The vampire did her no harm, dragă." He sensed her relief as well. "But be watchful over yourself and Serenity. Neve or Parn or possibly both will try to strike you."

"I'll go look in on Serenity now."

Marach turned back to Gregori, but saw the grim horror in his face. Looking at Emma, Marach rushed forward. "What's happened to her?!"

"Not to Emma," Gregori said grimly. "But to Serenity."
___

Izzy pushed the door to Serenity's room open. She screamed when she saw Serenity not only awake, but up and about in the room! "Serenity!"

Serenity barely glanced at her. "What is it, Izzy?" she looked around the room. "Where's my stuff?"

"It's back at Gregori's. Why do you want your stuff?" Izzy closed the door behind her. "Marach, Serenity's awake."

"We know."

Izzy didn't like that answer.

"I have to leave, Izzy." Serenity acted as though she were looking for something, but wrung a hand through her hair nervously.

"Leave? But why?!"

"Because these people aren't helping me. They've kept me in a coma all this time and…" Serenity shook her head and waved a hand. "I'm not staying. They can't force me to."

"Yes they can, Serenity. Just…" Izzy walked over and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Calm down. They're trying to help you."

"No, they're not!" Serenity shoved her away. "I'm suffocating here and I need to leave! If you won't help me leave, then get out and out of my way!" she eyed the door and made a mad-dive for it.

Izzy tackled Serenity and pinned her to the floor. "Just stop it! Stop it and listen to me! Parn is lying to you! He—"

"Get off!"

Izzy was blindsided by the blow Serenity dealt her to the face. She tumbled off her and Serenity jumped back to her feet. "Stay away from me, Izzy. You don't care about me at all!"

Serenity grabbed the doorknob, but Izzy was on her again. Izzy restrained Serenity with all her might, but Serenity wasn't just struggling. She was kicking at Izzy and punching at her. Several blows landed upon Izzy's face. "Serenity! Serenity! STOP!"

"Let me go right now!" Serenity clipped her in the side of the head and began pulling her hair. "You can't keep me here! I don't want to be here!"

Izzy had no choice. She didn't know where the other Carpathians were, but she had to defend herself. She tackled Serenity to the floor once more, trying not to hear the loud 'smack' their bodies made, and Izzy's cell phone flew out of her pocket and clattered to the floor. When Serenity threw another punch at her, she reflexively punched her back. None of this seemed to help, but then Serenity became more focused on fighting Izzy than in escaping, and that helped.

But not very much.

"Somebody HELP!" Izzy cried, trying to dodge another punch. She hit Serenity again, and her stomach twisted when the punch landed square on her nose. It dazed Serenity considerably and she groaned, cupping a hand to her face as blood spilled out.

Suddenly, Izzy's cell phone began to ring. A cold chill overtook Izzy as she recognized the ringtone. It was designated for their mother.

But…an idea came to her. She dove across the floor and flipped open the phone. "Mom!"

"Izzy, is everything all right?" Mrs. Crane asked her, and Izzy nearly laughed. Nothing was all right. But she had something at the moment and she had to act.

"Mom, how would you like to talk to Serenity?" Izzy asked her loudly.

"I don't want to talk to her!" Serenity wailed, sill holding her nose. "I just want to LEAVE!"

"Serenity's awake?! Put her on, put her on right now!"

"Absolutely, Mom." Izzy moved over to Serenity. "Talk to our mother, Serenity."

"Just away from me, you bitch! You broke my nose!"

"Who broke whose nose?" Izzy could hear her mother say.

"You started it," Izzy pointed out. "Now shut up and talk to our mother." She shoved her cell phone into Serenity's free hand.

Serenity nearly moved to hang up on Mrs. Crane, but hesitated. She slowly raised the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mom."

Izzy crossed her legs underneath her butt and sat and watched. And waited. Serenity lowered her hand from her face. Her nose was no longer swelling or bleeding, but her face was still twisted.

"Mom, I…i-it's not like that…" tears were filling her eyes. "Oh, Mom…I'm so happy to be hearing from you!" she choked on a sob, but soon was crying uncontrollably. "Oh Mom…I'm so lost…no, no, you don't understand! I'm in so much pain! It…"

She didn't speak for a long moment, her breathing ragged. Izzy could hear the soft mumble of Mrs. Crane's voice on the other line…maybe even their father's voice too.

Then, Serenity spoke. "…I love you too, Mom. I want to see you too." She sniffled and wiped at her nose. Thankfully, there was no more blood. "Yes…yes, I would love to come home. Yes…but I can't. Yes, the doctor's taking very good care of me. Of course Izzy is too. Did you speak to Marach?"

Izzy smiled and she felt tears sting her eyes. Serenity didn't smile, but her sister looked a lot better. She wasn't violent in words or any other way. Finally, she flipped the phone shut and Izzy frowned. "Hey, didn't they want to talk to me?"

Serenity took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm so sorry, Izzy…"

"Hey…" Izzy crawled over and threw her arms around her. "It's okay. I love you and I'm here for you."

Serenity hesitated, but then clung to her tightly. "I love you too, Izzy!"

There was a sudden crash outside the room. The door disintegrated and a body flew through the room and slammed into the opposite wall. Izzy cried out as the Carpathian male's body slide lifelessly to the floor, a spear made out of ice sticking out of his sternum.

"Well, well."

Both sisters jumped and looked at the doorway. Izzy dug her fingers into Serenity's sleeve as Neve strolled into the room as though nothing were out of the ordinary. Serenity's face froze.

And Parn was just behind her.

Neve looked at the fading bruises on her faces and chuckled softly. "Have a go, did you ladies?"

"Serenity." The hairs stood up on Izzy's arms as the vampire turned his attention on Serenity. He looked so clean now in comparison to his earlier appearances. "I am here as I promised. We woke you from that horrible sleep the Dark One induced upon you. Here." he held out a hand to her. "I have come for you."

Izzy half-expected Serenity to seize his hand. To her surprise, Serenity hesitated. She looked at Neve carefully before quickly looking at Parn. "S-She?! You came here for me with her?!"

"Little girl." Neve bent over slightly and addressed Serenity as though she were a child. "It's because of me that you even met Parn. Do not be so disrespectful to me."

"Are you the one who beat my sister up?!" Serenity said suddenly, her tone sharp. "And you…you did…" she shook her head.

Neve blinked, and then straightened. "I was defending myself, Serenity. And you should not ask such questions when you did the same to her just now."

"Serenity." Parn knelt down and grabbed her shoulders. "Please, come with me. You…" Izzy noticed he wasn't looking at her directly once again. "Just come with me. Please." She could almost hear the compulsion in his tone.

Serenity's purple eyes grew hazy, but she suddenly blinked them away. "Do you really want to do this, Parn?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I last saw you, you begged me to kill you. I believe you wanted to die that day, but now…" she shook her head. "Are you here because of me or because of her?" she indicated Neve.

"Forget her!" Parn shouted. "Just do as I say as your lifemate! Come with me!"

"Parn, you are hurting." And the pain was back in Serenity's voice. But…she somehow seemed stronger now. "I feel your pain deep inside me. I want to help you. I want to save you. But…" her brow knitted. "You can't lie to me. She brought you here, and she helped you wake me up. I will help you, but not when your will is bended because of her. Especially because of her…"

Parn seemed at a loss for words…and a loss of will. He didn't say anything, but…Izzy saw his hold loosen on Serenity's shoulders.

"PARN!" Neve grabbed Parn and pulled him away from Serenity. When he snarled at Neve she shot a hand out and a mask of ice slapped over his face. "You bloody idiot!"

Then Serenity did something unexpected. She screamed in unexplainable fury and lunged at Neve. "You bitch! You horrible bitch!" she began punching at Neve the same way she punched at Izzy.

But Neve was hardly fazed. She slapped Serenity hard, not in the face but in the head, right in her right ear. Izzy cried out, knowing that such a thing could damage her sister's hearing…even if for half a day. Screaming an oath, Izzy grabbed at Neve's arm and punched her.

Neve's brown eyes alit with fury…and burned with burgundy. "So you want to play, little girl?! Then let's play!" she pulled a vial out of her pocket and crushed it in her fist. It bloodied her hand, but Izzy somehow knew it wasn't her own blood.

"You can't scare me!" Izzy yelled, directing Neve's attention away from Serenity. The two exchanged punches a few more times, though Izzy wanted to avoid the blood in her hand. It could be vampire blood for all she knew.

Neve laughed sinisterly at her words. "Oh, Isabel Crane! I swear you will know real fear!"

She grabbed a fistful of Izzy's hair and jerked her head forward so hard, she nearly induced whiplash. Her bloodied hand closed into a fist, but Izzy could've sworn she heard her speaking.

"Meus parum lepor lepos/

Vicis vobis ut satus/

Nunquam haero quod commodo noceo/

Habitum is somes quod rip is seorsum."

She punched Izzy hard in the small of her back. A sharp, unexpected knife of pain ripped through Izzy and she screamed.

"Let her go!" Serenity jumped on Neve's back and began pulling her hair. "Let her go right now!"

It was enough of a distraction for Neve to comply, but another shout rang through the air. As Izzy nursed her head, arms swept around her and she was lifted up. "Are you all right, Isabel?"

Marach. She leaned against him and closed her eyes. "I will be…"

Marach turned his eyes on Neve, fury intent upon her. "You have harmed my lifemate and my charge…I won't forgive you!"

Neve wasn't intimidated, though. She cupped a fist to her mouth and blew into it. All of a sudden, snow swept into the dilapidated room. More Carpathians arrived, but the sudden snowstorm was too much. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough for Neve and Parn to get away.

"Is Emma okay?" Izzy asked earnestly, looking at everyone arriving. She'd asked before, but she needed a distraction from her pain.

"She's fine," Gregori said, though he looked very displeased. He looked between Izzy and Serenity. "How did she wake up?"

"Neve aided Parn, and it appears another mage added in magic," Marach said gravely.

Gregori walked over to Serenity, who visibly flinched. He pulled her to her feet, ignoring the bruises on her face, and touched her head. "They nudged her awake, but she awoke fully on her own."

"I…" Serenity looked at everyone, guilt evident on her face. "I'm sorry…"

"Do you understand your situation?" Gregori asked, but his tone had dropped to a soothing one. "Do you know what Parn is willing to do to you?"

Serenity quickly shook her head. "H-He hesitated…I don't believe he would've taken me."

"Sere—"

"But…that woman mage is bad news. Something is going on, and…" she trailed off and shook her head again. "But as long as he's with her, I won't answer to him. She…"

"…Good enough, but you'll still be monitored," Gregori said.

"My mom called and they talked," Izzy said. "Maybe my parents need to come here? Having familiarity might help her in keeping her focus."

"No," Mikhail said. "We do not need to add more people to our protection at the moment. But it appears talking to her family will help greatly."

Marach cupped Izzy's chin and turned her face towards him. "Both Serenity and Neve?"

He spoke of the fading bruises on her face. It was embarrassing that several of the bruises were caused by Serenity, but the same could be said of her sister. "Yes…but I'm fine."

"I know." He leaned over and kissed her cheeks. "But I'll make them better."

The pain in her back had faded, so Izzy didn't mention it. However, a soft pulse of blue energy formed on her skin beneath her shirt. Nobody noticed it, not even the other Carpathians. Within moments the light faded, and in its place was a white-lined scar in the shape of an intricate design.