Author's note: Wow, I should just hold out longer and tease everyone...leave you hanging forever...or maybe I'll just drop more surprises along the way. I wouldn't do that, would I? -anne

Chapter 27

Armando stood in one of the doorways to the enormous meeting room in Mikhail's home. He and Janelle had just returned from their journey and knowing it was not uncommon for the council to meet at this time, he decided to pay Mikhail a visit. Once he ensured Janelle was safe, he flew out into the night and landed on Mikhail's balcony. The SongMaker could sense something was wrong as no one greeted him and he could hear a woman crying.

Cautiously, he approached the French Doors and was surprised to see a crowd of Carpathians larger than just the council. In the center of the room, there appeared to be two identical males, neither wearing a shirt. One was bleeding from his shoulder as Darius and Vikirnoff were beginning to lead him away. The woman appeared distraught, weeping while the other shirtless man held her. The SongMaker could not see them with his power to know who they were; he had keen eyesight, but Carpathians had to be in close proximity for him to see their bloodline. The woman cried out again and Armando stiffened, not understanding why they were separating the twins.

"What is going on here?" demanded Armando. Every head in the room turned, a clear indication that even Gregori had been too distracted to notice his arrival.

Mikhail was relieved to see him. "Armando, we had not expected you to return so soon."

The twins froze when Mikhail stated it was Armando in the doorway. Pierce stroked Carissa's hair and whispered in her mind. It is the SongMaker. He's here.

She had been crying so hard it was hard to catch her breath. Trembling, she turned her head to look past Pierce and saw a man standing just inside one of the French Doors. He had beautiful chestnut hair that was long and tied behind his head. But it was his eyes that caught her attention. Even from where he stood across the room, his eyes were vibrant, yet hard to distinguish a certain color. As he glanced at those in the room, Carissa swore they almost glittered.

Armando slowly walked in the room. "My lifemate grew tired from the journey, so we returned earlier than expected."

The man with the silver eyes spoke in a hard voice. "As she is with child, she never should have traveled in the first place."

The SongMaker's eyes flashed brightly for a moment and his voice deepened. "I did not ask for your advice on the health of my lifemate or my child, healer."

Healer? Carissa was flabbergasted. The man with silver eyes was known as the Dark One and a healer?

Yes, answered Pierce. Gregori is second in command to the Prince. He not only protects Mikhail, but also our people. There is nothing he wouldn't do to save our species. He has saved many Carpathians that would have died from numerous injuries if it hadn't been for his selfless acts.

And yet he's scary as hell, thought Carissa as Gregori's silver eyes narrowed at the SongMaker. It was obvious he didn't care for Armando's tone.

"It was unwise of you to insist on traveling during this time. No doubt she is fatigued and the child should be examined for signs of distress."

The Songmaker was closer now, and Carissa studied his face. While he still appeared young, there was something about him that made him look much older, like he was tired.

He is the oldest known Carpathian, Pierce reminded her.

Armando stopped walking and frowned at Gregori. "Our child is fine and it was Janelle's choice to take the journey."

"You should never have allowed it."

"I don't have to allow anything as it is her choice. Unlike you, I don't dictate to my lifemate."

Carissa held her breath, strongly suspecting no other Carpathian ever dared to even challenge Gregori. But Armando didn't seem to be too concerned about annoying the Dark One.

Gregori wasn't about to back down either, making the tension between the two of them grow even worse. "Exactly. You care more about her freedom than her health."

"At least I give my lifemate freedom."

"Which means little if she isn't healthy."

Mikhail's powerful voice broke through their argument. "Enough!"

Carissa was surprised when Armando fully bowed to Mikhail. She glanced at Gregori, who simply folded his arms across his broad chest.

The Prince let out a sigh. "Two minutes. I can't even expect both of you to be in a room together for two minutes without starting an argument."

Gregori privately linked to Mikhail. So very true. Think how much peace you had when the SongMaker was not here.

Mikhail hid his smile. Nice try. He looked at the SongMaker. "Armando, come forward and look upon these twins with your gift."

The SongMaker straightened and walked closer. Darius and Vikirnoff allowed Samuel to stand next to his twin so Armando could look upon both at the same time. He studied them for a moment before speaking in a clear voice. "Pierce and Samuel Falkland, twin sons of Alexei and Kostya Falkland."

Mikhail nodded. "And the woman. Tell us her name and which of the twins is her lifemate."

Armando was somewhat puzzled by this request. Surely the twins knew which of them was her lifemate. But he obeyed the Prince and looked down at the petite woman who was hesitant to let him see her. Pierce gently coaxed her forward and Armando examined her closely before speaking. "Her name is Carissa Brooks. I sense a faint trace of the ancient DragonSeeker bloodline. She was recently converted and is lifemate to…"

Pierce and Samuel held their breath as the SongMaker paused. They remained still as Armando's eyes looked from Carissa to Samuel to Pierce. And still, the SongMaker was silent.

"Well?" asked Lucian.

"Which one is her lifemate?" asked Julian.

Armando was truly confused. Now he understood why Mikhail wanted him to pronounce which twin was her lifemate. Unfortunately, the Prince was not going to like his answer. The SongMaker lifted his chin. "Carissa Brooks, lifemate to both Pierce and Samuel Falkland."

There was a gasp from those in the room and everyone started talking at the same time. None of what they were saying mattered to Carissa as she joyfully ran and hugged Samuel who kissed her. Pierce placed a hand on his twin's shoulder. "You've lost a great deal of blood, my brother."

"And yet I've just gained back my lifemate." He smiled at Armando. "Thank you, SongMaker."

Vikirnoff hissed. "There is no reason to thank him, because he is wrong."

That comment just about sucked all the conversation out of the room. Carissa cringed as the man called the SongMaker very slowly turned his head to look at Vikirnoff. His eyes flashed white then glittered again and she had the urge to run as the room felt like it crackled under his power. Samuel held her firmly, not even thinking about moving and the more she thought about it, maybe it was a wiser strategy to stay put.

"Vikirnoff, brother to Nicholae of the Von Shrieder bloodline," said the SongMaker.

"You already know who I am-"

"Lifemate to Natalya Shonksi," continued Armando.

"That doesn't prove-"

"She was marked at one time by the Troll King."

Vikirnoff froze. "How did you-"

"And apparently she likes hairspray to create flames. However, I have no idea what hairspray means…is it a weapon meant to catch hair on fire?"

Vikirnoff closed his mouth with surprise. Some of the hunters around him chuckled.

Armando narrowed his eyes at Vikirnoff. "I am never wrong when it comes to my ability to recognize all Carpathians and their lifemates."

"But how did you know about the troll king?"

"When I look upon any Carpathian and use my power to recognize, I see brief images of their own lives and those they are connected to by blood."

"Fine," said Vikirnoff who was now obviously flustered, "but how is this situation with the twins possible? What caused this?"

The SongMaker looked at the twins. "They appear to share one soul."

Julian spoke up. "Moments before you arrived, Samuel's shoulder was injured and the same wound appeared on his twin. But when Pierce healed, Samuel did not."

Armando looked at Mikhail. "I am sorry. I do not know why that would happen or why the twins share one soul."

Everyone in the room began talking at once again. It was clear this news was upsetting to the council and many of the hunters. The commotion was making Mikhail agitated, the stress of the situation already weighing heavily on his mind. He spoke in a firm voice, making everyone quiet. "Samuel and Pierce Falkland have told us the truth." He looked at the twins. "You are free to go."

"Mikhail," Lucian protested, "we do not yet know what caused this. The three of them may need to be further examined."

The Prince glanced at the SongMaker who briefly shook his head. "I trust the SongMaker and they pose no threat to us. Samuel and Pierce, I would ask for you to please stay within the Carpathian Mountains for a while longer as we discuss the issue."

Relieved, Samuel and Pierce agreed. In fact, it would give them time now to spend with Carissa in their homeland. They smiled down at her with reassurance and were about to leave when Julian came forward.

"My twin brother and I have many investments with you."

The twins looked at each other, noting Julian had made a point to state his brother was also a twin. Pierce answered. "And those investments are safe within accounts which protected most of your assets."

"Most, but not all," replied Julian in a hard tone.

"I spoke to Aiden. It was a small amount that was lost. We will easily make it back, if not grow your investments even more."

"I don't think so. The circumstances surrounding all of this are too suspicious. We want full control of our investments."

Pierce drew a deep breath, feeling like he just received a heavy blow to his chest. "I assure you, the virus was controlled and contained. It's true there was someone trying to target our assets, but we will always be a step ahead of them."

"I highly doubt that. It's clear both of you are too distracted."

Samuel's anger surfaced. "You mean we are distracted due to fact that we share a lifemate. Therefore, how could we possibly concentrate on the protection of your money?" he asked with heavy sarcasm.

Julian folded his arms across his chest. "Fine. As you brought it up, yes. There is too much at stake here. My brother and I are perfectly capable of handling our own investments."

"I'd like to see you triple the size of your wealth in the same amount of time we did," spat Samuel. "If it weren't for us, you wouldn't be anywhere near the figures I know you have today."

Mikhail intervened. "You will still handle all of my investments. Your superior strategies in the business world over the last hundred years has earned my trust and grown all of our wealth."

Julian stiffened as murmurs were heard throughout the room. He clenched his jaw for a moment, most likely communicating with his own twin. "Our decision stands."

Samuel was about to snap at him again, but Pierce stopped him. "We understand. You will have full control of your investments. You know how to securely send us the information as to where you want the funds transferred."

"Good luck on keeping it safe," said Samuel in a low voice.

"Does that mean you will sabotage the transfer?" accused Julian.

Mikhail held up his hand just as Samuel was about to lash out again. "The twins will safely see to the transaction, Julian. I trust them." Julian's hands curled into fists but he said nothing.

Realizing the room was very quiet, Samuel and Pierce looked at each other. They had the distinct feeling more of the Carpathians would soon be making the same requests to withdraw their investments. Although the SongMaker had declared their union with Carissa as real, they would still be treated as outcasts.

It's time to go, Samuel.

He looked at Pierce. We haven't told them about Morrison or Tyrell.

I think its best not to push things right now, replied Pierce dryly.

Carissa agreed. I want to leave.

The three of them backed away, with Pierce and Samuel bowing their heads to Mikhail. The Prince nodded his farewell and the twins transformed into large brown owls. They flew to the balcony railing and waited for Carissa. She nervously glanced at Gregori one last time, then transformed into the small owl again. She flew out the door and into the night with the twins closely following her, leaving Mikhail to face those still in the room.