The Romanov's Pursuit (19 page)

Sasha nodded. “I’m glad as
w
ell
because anyone who is capable
of using blood
magic has powers beyond belief
. We’ll have to work as a team and get Nya out as quickly as we can because once Grigori is alerted to our presence there’s no telling what he’ll do to her.”

And that’s what scared him. “Let’s get this over with.”

Sasha rose and held out her han
ds. “The only way we’ll be able
to get through these wards is doing it together. Blade took one of Sasha’s hands and Cutter the other. Steel took Blade’s other hand and Jagger closed the circle.

Their four vampire companions, Dante, Giovanni, Romeo and Christine gave them space to work the counter-spell.

Blade prayed that they could make it through in time. He didn’t want to think of the consequences otherwise.

<><><><><>

Grigori looked over his collection of weapons. Each one had
meaning
to him and he’d used all of them on Nya exact for one. It was an ornamental dagger that once belonged to
his
father
. The way he saw things, it would be fitting for him to kill the Romanov twin’s mate.

He picked up the knife and lightly ran his finger down the blade.

“Something is happening.” Anya walked into the room interrupting him in the middle of admiring his collection of weaponry.

Grigori turned away from his task to stare at Anya. He was more than a little annoyed by her presence. He thought he’d be rid of her by now but she was still of some use to him. “What are you talking about, Anya?”

“I feel a presence. Several presences about us.”

Probably humans who stumbled onto the property by mistake. Never interrupt me again for such minor issues.” He waved her away.

Anya shook her head. “No. Whoever is above us has great strength and power.”

“Whoever it is can’t get past the wards I’ve erected over this place.”

“But what if it’s the Romanovs?”

“I would have felt them….” He wondered if he would or not because he hadn’t felt any of their presences for the lasts several hours. He’d
done the blood spell perfect so he still should have been able to know their comings and goings. By the off
chance
,
they were currently above them, there was no way the twins would find their precious mate.

Now more than ever he
was determine
d
to complete his task before teleporting away because if what Anya said was true and there were people
outside attempting to
foil his plot the
n
he need
ed
to be quick.

Grigori teleported
to the room
where Nya was chained. He neglected to put the blindfold on her the last time around because it really didn’t matter she’d passed out. He lit the room with a snap of his fingers yet Nya didn’t open her eye. His last round of knife play must have taken a lot out of her.
He examined her to see that the wounds on her body have healed despite the clumps of dried up blood that had oozed from her body.

Walking over to Nya, he pulled his hand back and slapped her across the
f
ace. “Wake up
vampire
. You don’t get the luxury of sl
eep just yet, not until I’m done with you. Trust me you’ll be able to sleep for the rest of eternity then.”

“Then go ahead and do it you piece of shit.” Nya hissed.

Grigori admired how feisty she was in the face of certain death. Again he almost regretted that things would end for her for no other reason than who her mates were. “Will you be saying so much when I do this?” He placed the tip of the knife against his chest and would have inserted it when the entire house shook followed by a loud boom.

Chapter Eighteen

It took a significant amount of their powers to break through the wards guarding the underground fortress but Cutter was determined and he wouldn’t let anything deter him from getting his woman. When that was done a large metal door appeared
o
n
the ground. It
was a welcome sight because met
al manipulation was their specialty. With concentrated focus, he, along with his siblings and nephew blasted through the entry way causing a loud explosion. The now open space led to a long stair.

Cautiously he and Blade led the charge, taking the stairs two at a time until they were inside of what looked like a grand castle. Many of the decoration was from centuries ago. It was a place where time stood still, a ghost house but the evil presence that lurked within
could not be ignored.

As they stepped further into the room a blast slammed into his chest so hard, Cutter went flying against the wall.

“What the fuck!” Blade yelled.

Their small group was on alert and ready to face the threat that loomed. Cutter wobbled to his feet as he tried to cat
ch his breath. Whatever that force was
,
it
had taken him
by
surprise. He stood up to see a pale woman with long raven black hair and eyes to match. “If you’re here to save your precious vampire friend, it’s too late,” she taunted.

Cutter would have felt the connection
of their mate bond
broken
if Nya was dead. He was
certain she was somewhere in here
but judging by the size of this massive building it would take some time finding her, precious time they didn’t have. “Where is she?” Cutter demanded.

The black eyed witch laughed. “You won’t find her in time.”

Cutter ripped a metal support beam off the side of the wall with the force of his will and propelled the object toward her. An invisible barrier deflected the hunk of steel. The witch laughed with evil glee.

“There’s
an invisible barrier
surround
ing
her,” Sasha noted. “But Jagger and I can take care of it. She’s powerful but I don’t think she can withstand the two of us. The rest of you go look for Nya. I feel two more
life forces
in that direction. But I sense that there’s another level below us.” Sasha turned to the other witch and placed her hands out sending out a current of bright light to counter the spell protecting the evil woman who stood cackling as if she was taking delight in their panic. Jagger
placed his hands on top of his mother’s which amplified the magic.

The smug expression melted from the witches face and it seemed as if she was making a concerted effort to hold on to a barrier that wouldn’t last much longer.
”

Steel grabbed Cutter’s arm. “Let’s go. We’ll find the entrance. My precognitive abilities aren’t as strong as Sasha’s but I believe we’ll locate it.”

“I’ll stay with Jagger and Sasha,” Niccolo spoke up.

“Good idea,” Blade agreed. “Romeo and Christine, maybe you should stay behind too just in case.

Christin
e
shook her head. “Absolutely not. I need to be there for Nya. She saved me before and now it’s my turn to return the favor.”

“And I go where you go,” Romeo assured his mate.

“I’ll stay back,” Giovanni volunteered.

Cutter gave a curt nod now that their teams were formed. “Let’s do
this
.

<><><><><>

Grigori cursed and frantically paced the floor. “They’re here. They shouldn’t have made it inside the fortress,” he raged. His face was contorted in a series of angry lines. The entire area of his eyes including his pupils and sclera turned
onyx.

Despite the pain that racked her body, Nya laughed. “You were so confident before. They’re coming for you and there’s nothing you can do about. They will string you up and everything you’ve done will be for nothing.”

“Shut the fuck up, bitch.” He took the knife and stabbed his leg making the blade
cut
through muscles and hit her bone.

She grunted in pained surprise. To her agony, he drug the knife through his flesh and though it didn’t seem to cause him any pain, Nya felt every excruciating bit of it. She screamed until her throat went hoarse.

Grigori then pulled out the knife and shoved it into his throat. Nya begin to choke on her own blood making it impossible for her to scream. The new gash in her neck gushed red everywhere and it wouldn’t be long before she bled out. The blood loss might not kill her but
it would incapacitate
her for a long time to come. She
felt her life force draining from
her.

He
beg
an
to stab himself all over not giving her body a chance to heal. Nya could feel her life force ebbing away. He only needed to connect with her heart and she was almost certain it would be the end.

Nya no longer had the strength to raise her head. There was one last thing she needed to do before she died. Opening her mind, she called out to Cutter and Blade hoping one of them would hear her. She’d never attempted to establish a mental bond with them before, but they were her mates and this was her only chance if for nothing else than to say goodbye.

Cutter, Blade. I’m so sorry
.

Nya!
She heard two voices in her head at once.

We’
re at the entrance. He has another ward on the door but thankfully it’s not as strong as the one he’d had guarding the entrance of this fortress.
That was Blade’s voice. It was funny how they sounded so alike but Nya could tell the difference.

It’s too late,
Nya said with regret that stemmed from the fact that she’d most likely never lay eyes on them again.
There’s not much more life in me.

Don’t stay that. We just need a few more seconds,
Cutter interjected.

It’s okay. I’m not afraid. I just want you to know that I’m glad you two found me.

A
blast shook the room, Nya heard several people enter the room.
Two of those people were Cutter and Blade but she didn’t get an opportunity to see them because at that moment something pierced her heart.

<><><><><>

Blade raced into the old fashioned dungeon just in time to see the warlock who he assumed was Grigori shove a blade into his heart. It threw him off at first until he saw the man yank the knife out and the wound had instantly healed.

“Nya!” Christine screamed.

He
turned to the direction of the young vampire and his heart sank.

Nya was chained to the wall with stab wounds all over her body. She looked dead. He was torn between charging at the warlock who stood on the other side of the room with a wide grin
or checking on Nya
. “You’re too late. She’s gone and now you know how it feels
to lose someone who matters to you
. You may have somehow f
ound your way to me this time, but trust me I won’t stop until every single one of you suffer.”

Cutter took the decision
out of his hand and
raced toward
the rogue warlock
who
vanished into thin air. “Come and fight us you bastard.”

Blade placed his hand on his twin’s shoulder. “He’s gone. Nya needs us.”

Steele had already started working on the chain binding her wrist and feet. The metal was clearly enchanted but he managed to free her from the wall.

Blade pushed his older brother away as Nya’s body collapsed, he caught her in his arms. He then gently laid her on the ground.

“Is she dead?” Christine trembled with tears streaming down her face. Romeo pulled his mate into his arms to comfort her.

Cutter knelt down on the other side of her. She looked so still and lifeless but when Blade placed a shaky hand on the bleeding wound over her heart he felt something there. “She’s still alive.”

“Oh God,” Cutter released a heavy sigh of relief.

“What do we do? Her wounds aren’t healing. That knife
Grigori used must have been tinged with his black magic that somehow prevents some of the healing properties
in
her body. I’ll reach out to Sasha to see how she’s handling Grigori’s minion.”
Blade
was about to mind link with his sister when she appeared with Jagger,
Niccolo
,
and Giovanni.

The old vampire lost all color when he saw Nya’s prone body. “Nya!” He knelt at her feet.

“Sasha what can we do?” Blade asked, desperate
to find a
way
to
save the woman of his heart.

His sister moved towards Nya and sat on the floor beside Blade. “I’ll have to cleanse her. My guess
is that he was able to take
control
of
her because she ingested enough of your blood to make his spells work.”

“He stabbed himself but Nya was the one to take the injury. I’ve never seen anything like it outside of Hollywood movies.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know much about it either but for now, let me purge her
of
Grigori’s enchantment. I need some space.”

Blade was reluctant to
move away but did so for Nya’s benefit. Sasha placed one hand on Nya’s forehead and the other over her heart and begin to chant.

If the situation wasn’t so dire, he would have been impressed by the level of power his sister displayed. Not very long ago, his father had bound her magic but once she’d been unleashed her power level surpassed all her siblings and then some.

Blade placed his hands on Sasha’s back to lend him her his strength.

“His hold on her is so powerful. So much darkness.” She sounded as if she was struggling. Suddenly her eyes went pitch black and she released a scream.

“Sasha!”

“Mother!”

Niccolo and Jagger called out simultaneously.

Sasha shook her head. “Stay back. I need to do this to save her.”

“Then I’ll lend you my power.” Cutter placed his hand on her shoulder.

“And mine.” Jagger joined his mother and placed his hand on top of her head.

Steel placed his hand on Sasha’s back. Sasha’s chants grew louder and Blade could feel the darkness coursing through his being. He joined her in the chant and soon they were all echoing her words.

Suddenly and a strong malevolent force sent
Blade flying back. They all fel
l away from Nya. A large shadow figure loomed above them. Its shape reminded them of Grigori.

“Get it!” Sasha yelled. She held her hands out and sent bursts of light toward the creature.

Once Blade had gotten hold of his
b
e
aring
s
, he joined his sister. Light filled the room and the shadow released an ear-splitting roar before dissipating.

When it was gone, Sasha returned to Nya and touched her heart that appeared to be healing slowly. “The darkness has been purged, but she’s lost a lot of blood. Her life force is extremely weak because her heart is damaged. She’ll need a lot of blood.”

Blade looked at his twin. “We’ll do it.”

“She’ll need more than just from the two of you.”

“I’ll gladly give her mine,” Christine offer.

“As will I,” Giovanni added.

“Good. The more blood she receives, the faster she’ll heal.”

Blade positioned himself on the floor and placed Nya’s head in his lap. He then tore into the skin of his wrist to draw blood before placing it against Nya’s lips. “Drink
solynska
. You
must
get stronger. Do it for us because Cutter and I can’t live without you.”

As if she’d heard his plea, Nya began to drink from the wound on his wrist. She
sucked
, gently at first but she became more aggressive with each passing minute.

“That’s enough.” Giovanni tapped him on the shoulder. “You need some of that blood for yourself.”
Blade would have
gladly allowed Nya to drain him if it meant that she would be all right.

“My turn.” Cutter nu
dged Blade aside and offered her wrist his
. By now some of her wounds were healing nicely but it was clear to see that the vampire femme still had a long way to go before she was one hundred percent. Once she took what she needed from Cutter, Christine took his place, followed by Giovanni.

Niccolo then took a turn and then Romeo.
Everyone on the team donated their blood to Nya. By the time they’d finished her color had returned and her wounds were completely healed.