"You need to go to ground now," Gregori pointed out. "I will fix the safeguards and ensure we are not disturbed." "With a big sign saying 'Gregori lies here, do not disturb'?" Mikhail asked softly, his voice a warning. Gregori lowered Jacques's body deep within the healing earth, in no way disturbed by Mikhail's sarcasm. "You may as well have written your name in the sky with your challenge, Gregori." "I want the vampire to be very clear about who I am, whom he has chosen for his enemy." Gregori's shoulders shrugged in a lazy ripple of power. Need crawled along Mikhail's skin like a thousand biting ants, stinging his organs and gnawing at his sinews. He raised red, swollen eyes to Gregori's harsh, yet curiously sensual features. There was such power in Gregori--it blazed in the silver of his eyes. "You think with Raven that I am complete and no longer have need of you. You deliberately draw the danger to yourself, away from me and mine, because in your heart you believe you can no longer hold out. You welcome the danger of the hunt, and you are seeking a way to end this life. Now, more than ever, our people need you, Gregori. We have hope. There is a future for us if we can survive the coming years." Gregori sighed heavily, looked away from the steel in Mikhail's eyes, the censure blazing there. "There is purpose in saving your life, but for me, not much else." Mikhail pushed a hand through his thick mane of hair. "Our people cannot do without you, Gregori, and quite simply, neither can I." "You are so certain that I will not turn?" Gregori's smile was self-mocking. "Your faith in me exceeds my own."