Feehan's Dark Carpathians - Part 3

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Dark Magic
Christine Feehan
Book 4: Dark series
ISBN-10: 0-505-52389-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-505-52389-2

Gregori. The Dark One. The Bogeyman of the Carpathian people.  For a thousand years he has been loyal to the Prince and when Mikhail and Raven have a daughterGregori knows that she is his lifemate , for he has manipulated things to ensure it.  But when he goes to her, to claim her when she is 18 years old, her fear of what having alifemate means and her terror of Gregori himself, touches his heart and he vows to give her 5 years of freedom before he forces his claim.  And force it he will have to do, for after she flees the Carpathian Mountains and escapes to her mother's homeland, Savannah's independence and fierce will only grows in strength. Gregori has held the darkness at bay for too long though and without her light he will become the very thing he has always hunted - Vampire - and no one, not even Mikhail, would have the strength and power to destroy him.

Savannah does not want to live under any mans control and she sees the bonds of a lifemate as a type of cage.  She can not imagine being happy with any man, least of all Gregori, whose name she's always heard whispered in tones of awe and fear.  All of the Carpathian people tremble at his power and the undead live in terror of facing him in battle.  She can not comprehend how she can be expected to anchor such a man.  Then he comes for her.

The Beast is crouching close, too close, when Gregori comes.  It is only his immense will and deep strength that has allowed him to hold on as long as he has.  Savannah is his only hope, yet still he fears that it is too late for them and that he'll be condemning her to an eternity of loneliness.  The depth of his darkness is proven by their disastrous claiming/mating ritual when he very nearly kills her in hisbloodlust .  It is her goodness, her compassion and her willingness to sacrifice her life for his, that pulls him back from the brink of madness and allows him to fight off the part of himself that would become the deepest of evils.

She looks inside him and sees something she must save.  Savannah know that their lives will not be easy - he's an arrogant, domineering man and she's got a fiercely independent spirit - but the more time they spend together, the more she comes to believe that they can be happy.  The longer they dwell within each other's mind and soul, the more assured she becomes that their love will save them both.

They travel together from San Fransisco to New Orleans in hopes of drawing out those who seek to take Savannah from him.  In the course of their investigations they meet Gary Jansen and they decide to 'take him under their wings,' drawing him further into their world.  They also stumble upon an ancient vampire who has stalked the swamps and people of New Orleans for more then a century.  To protect Savannah, Gary and the innocent people of N.O.,Gregori must defeat this ancient evil and in doing so risks all that he has gained.  In the end, both his and Savannah's survival is in Gary's hands and they can do no other but trust in him.

We saw in the first three books of the series [Dark Prince, Desire, and Gold] that Gregori was a force to be reckoned with but that the darkness within him was vast and nearly enveloping him.  In this book we see a man, a strong Carpathian hunter who is scared of himself, despite of and because of his own power.  He knew that it was too late for him to face the dawn.  He knew that Savannah was his only hope, but even in his darkest of days he remained honorable and loyal.  In this series we see many great men, many powerful men and many strong women but it is in this book - Dark Magic - where we see the first hint of the true strength of theDaratrazanoff line and depth of magic that lies in their souls.

Next we'll see how the past can shape the future and how powerful love truly can be.  Keep an eye out next weekend for Part 4 of Feehan's Dark Carpathians when we witness the return of the first Ancient.