Dark Destiny (Carpathians, #13) - Christine Feehan

383 pages
Rating: 5/5

Her childhood had been a nightmare of violence and pain until she heard his voice calling out to her. Golden and seductive. The voice of an angel. He had shown her how to survive, taught her to use her unique gifts, trained her in the ancient art of hunting the vampire. Yet he could not bend her to his will. He could not summon her to him, no matter how great his power. As she battled centuries-old evil in a glittering labyrinth of caverns and crystals, he whispered in her mind, forging an unbreakable bond of trust and need. Only with him can she find the courage to embrace the seductive promise of her...Dark Destiny

Dark Destiny is different from the other books in the Carpathian Series in that Destiny is a Vampire Hunter - making her the first woman Carpathian in this role.
Nicolae is the voice she turned to when as a psychic human child she was ensnared by a vampire who then killed her parents and brutalized her. With no other way to save her, Nicolae teaches her to become a hunter and kill the vampire…and he’s there for her every step of the way after that.
The dynamic between these 2 is interesting in that they've known each other almost all of Destiny's life. So even though she fights the attraction between them, she realises she needs him for her very sanity. Destiny was infected with Vampire blood by the vampire who captured her when she was younger and the infected vampire blood burns her because of which she cannot exchange blood with Nicolae.
Nicolae's solution and his attention and care for Destiny makes him one of my favourite Carpathians. This is one great story, that you have to read.

I like both Von Shrieder brothers, and i love Vikirinoff's sense of humor and his conversations with Nicolae.

That's another thing you'll love about this book - the quirky conversations between Destiny, Nicolae, Vikirnoff and even Mary Ann. And then there are the ones that fit in the 'words of wisdom' category:

Destiny: "Have you forgotten that you had to warn us I was tainted?"
Vikirnoff: "Your blood is not who or what you are. It merely runs in your veins. If a human has cancer growing in his body, does that make him a tainted being? Do not allow this vampire to run your life any longer. He does not own you. He is long gone from this world. Let him stay dead."

Destiny: "You know, MaryAnn, I'm beginning to think you make it up as you go along, you and Father Mulligan."
MaryAnn's eyebrow shot up. "Are we supposed to have the answers? You don't have the
answers—how would we? You can only keep moving ahead, Destiny. You keep your eyes open and with luck you see the pitfalls before you step into them, but you embrace life and live it as best you can."