Dark Song

12

Ferro was the most exacting taskmaster in the world. Elisabeta had successfully shifted into the female owl dozens of times, spread her wings, hopped around and shifted back without one mistake, only to be told to do it again.

Is there a part where the owl actually uses her wings? She never would have dared to ask him had she been in human form. The little owl hopped more and more into the open, stretching her wings, getting used to the new shape, the feel and size of the bird.

The male owl called to her with his song. He sounded mellow and calm, just the way Ferro always sounded. Elisabeta felt the female owl’s immediate response, the pull toward the male. She wasn’t in the least annoyed with the male. She wanted to be with him. She hopped closer, singing back to him.

He spread his wings and took to the air, not high, just flying in a low circle along the ground, calling to the female to follow him. The female hopped several times, wings spread wide. Nothing happened.

Let her fly, Elisabeta. Be the owl. Let her fly.

Elisabeta turned what her lifemate said over and over in her mind. She was making the actual act of shifting and flying far too complicated. Ferro was telling her that in the form of the Western Screech Owl, she was the owl. She became the owl, and she had to be that female with all the instincts of the bird. She had to let go of Elisabeta just as she did when she entered another Carpathian who was in need in order to heal them.

The male owl sang to her again. She loved that he called the female with song, just the way Ferro called to her every rising. Her lifemate had chosen well for her first shifting. She identified with her owl. The song resonated with her. She let it carry her closer to the male. The female fluttered her wings and sang back, calling out to her mate. She spread her wings and lifted into the air.

Triumph nearly had her tumbling to the ground, but she steadied herself and followed the male in a low, sweeping, very tight circle in the clearing, right next to the tree line. The owl flew in absolute silence, the wingbeats soft, steady and rapid. The strokes were fast at five beats per second. The wind ruffled the feathers, adding to the feeling of absolute freedom.

Are you good? Do you want to go higher?

Elisabeta had been concentrating on how it felt to fly. She let herself look at the world through the eyes of the owl. Her hearing was excellent, so much so that she heard the cry of a mouse at least half a mile away. But it was her vision that shocked her. Turning her head, she could see everything in the owl’s world so clearly. She expected to feel sick and disoriented, but she was the owl, that beautiful little female flying for the first time in a whole new world, experiencing true freedom.

I am good. So good, Ferro, thank you for this.

We are going to go just a few feet higher, circle once and go back down.

His voice was very firm and held a hint of command she dared not disobey. She didn’t mind in the least. She knew he was determined that nothing go wrong this first time, and he wanted to assess her to make certain she was fine. She was. She knew she was and she would continue to be. She hoped he would allow her to practice more, but if he thought she was going too fast, she would be disappointed, but she would accept his decision.

The male rose higher into the air, and she followed, rising several more feet off the ground so they were a good fifteen feet up. She took in the blades of grass, the beetles and cicadas, a small frog that sat on a rock a few feet from one of the trees. She was beginning to distinguish creatures now, prey the female owl would hunt. All too soon they had completed the circle and returned to the starting point. The male glided easily to the ground. Her landing wasn’t quite as smooth, but she managed not to tip over and fall on her beak.

Shift back to your form, Elisabeta. That was definitely a command.

She obeyed without thinking. She hadn’t been wearing clothes so she didn’t have to worry about what she needed to put on, she simply took her normal form, fitting back into her own body easily.

Ferro caught her to him, hugging her tight. “You shifted and flew for the first time, Elisabeta. You did amazing.” He sounded as happy as she felt. “I’m so proud of you.”

He caught her chin between his thumb and finger to tip her head up to his as he brought his down so he could kiss her. Once his lips touched hers, it felt as though he’d lit a match and she’d caught fire. Flames licked over her skin, poured down her throat to rush through her veins, spread to her breasts and gather low. The burn deep inside her was hot, wild and out of control that fast.

She ran her palms up his chest and dared to link her fingers behind his neck so she could lean fully into him. Suddenly, she wanted his mouth between her legs where she was hot and damp and that burn was so terrible it bordered on brutal. She felt the slickness growing as she kissed Ferro back, giving him everything she was, promising him whatever he wanted with just her mouth, with her body, the aching in her breasts and the tight, hard nipples pressing into the hard, defined muscles of his chest.

He lifted his head, his eyes that beautiful silvery-blue she loved so much, his hand sweeping down her back to shape her buttocks, possession in the way he touched her. His gaze drifted over her face for some time as if waiting. His expression didn’t change. He looked at her as if she were the most wonderful, beautiful woman in the world and he adored her. One hand cupped the side of her face, the pad of his thumb sliding over her lower lip.

“Are you tired? Do you think you can try again? This time in the forest? It is different there. In the trees you have to maneuver through the limbs.”

It was all Elisabeta could do not to pull his thumb into her mouth or slide one hand down his belly to caress his very hard cock as it lay against her body, thick and hot. She wanted to fly, but she wanted to be with him intimately. He hadn’t taken his thumb from her lower lip but continued to brush little caresses back and forth, mesmerizing her.

Ferro had told her to ask for what she wanted or needed. The burning inside her increased with every stroke of his thumb. She opened her mouth and drew his thumb deep. His cock jerked against her stomach. Immediately she brought her hand under his heavy sac to cup the weight and fondle the velvet balls with her fingers.

I am not in the least tired, päläfertiilam, she said softly, her mind to his. An invitation. She drew his thumb deep, sucked hard, curled her tongue around the heavy digit. I do want to continue the lesson, but there is a much more burning need you must attend to.

What would that be, sívamet?

Elisabeta had known all along what he had been waiting for. His eyes were more silvery than blue now, almost liquid silver, burning into hers, robbing her of her ability to breathe. The need between her legs had grown until she felt wild with it, unable to keep still, her hips rocking subtly, thighs rubbing together in an effort to alleviate the near-brutal ache.

I need your mouth between my legs, Ferro. Please. I burn and need you to make it better. I can barely think and it grows worse with each passing moment.

Ferro’s eyes grew warm. Then hot. Her stomach fluttered. Then her sex. Very gently he removed his thumb and waved his hand toward the ground to cover it with a soft mat. There was a large rise that went across the mat.

“We will try something different this time. Just a little different, to see if you like it. Lie on your stomach with your hips over the mound.”

Elisabeta immediately went to the mat, positioning herself as he had requested. She found that when her hips were over the mound, her buttocks were pushed high.

“Spread your legs very wide for me.”

Her heart beat wildly. He stood behind her where she couldn’t see him, but she could tell by his voice exactly where he was. From his position, he would be able to see how slick she was, that she was telling him the truth about her very urgent needs. She obeyed him, eagerly, opening her legs wide. At once the cool night air slid over her hot entrance, adding to the stimulation.

“You’re so beautiful, Elisabeta.”

He was much closer. On the mat with her. He’d moved so silently she hadn’t heard him. His hand went to the nape of her neck, making her jump. Very gently he ran his palm down her spine to the curve of her buttocks. She felt his breath at her entrance and her entire body shook. Then something sharp, like the tiny points of needles, rolled lightly along the inside of her thigh, bringing every nerve ending leaping to the surface. She started to turn her head to see what he was doing.

“Stay facing forward. Take a breath and relax your body. Turn yourself over to me.”

That was a direct command. Elisabeta did exactly what he said. Already his fingers brushed over her hungry clit. Her wet lips and slick entrance. Just little touches. His breath, so warm. His hand massaging her left cheek. The feeling of the rolling pinpricks just a little harder over the left cheek and then his hand came down in a gentle swat that sent every nerve ending spiraling out of control. His hand was back, rubbing and massaging, spreading heat, his tongue lapping at her entrance as she spilled hot liquid into his mouth, crying out, hips bucking so that he had to hold her down.

He lifted his head. “Hold still for me, Elisabeta.”

“It is very difficult.” She tried to lie quietly, afraid he would stop.

“Your body tells me you like what I am doing.”

“Yes, it feels shocking, but so good I can barely keep still. I will try, Ferro. I promise.”

He went back to rubbing her cheeks, his shoulders wedged between her legs. “You are being very good for me. I love to see you like this. Dripping for me. Needy. Hungry for my body. For what I can give to you. I love to make you feel good, just as I know you enjoy making me feel good.”

She closed her eyes, gasping as his mouth closed over her, tongue stabbing deep, curling inside her, drawing out hot liquid and then retreating to circle her clit. Blood pounded. Hammered. She was acutely aware of sharp little needles rolling gently over her wet lips and then her clit, making her cry out and buck her hips. His mouth covered her clit, sucked strongly, his tongue flicking, and then his finger penetrated so that her sheath closed around it, dragging at him, desperate to have him inside her.

“Ferro.” She breathed his name.

“This is where I belong, piŋe sarnanak, right here, deep inside your body. Right now I am craving the taste of you, so hungry. As much as I want to show you all the different ways I can draw out your pleasure, I need to devour you.”

Ferro held her body and simply turned her over, catching her bottom in his hands so that her legs went over his shoulders. He lifted her soaked entrance to his mouth and proceeded to eat her as if she were the finest meal he’d ever had and he was starving.

She couldn’t stop the cries escaping. It seemed impossible to drag enough air into her lungs. The assault on her senses was massive, coming from every direction, until her entire body was in a full-blown raging firestorm. She writhed under his relentless mouth, his tongue and teeth, the flick of his fingers and the brush of his thumb. Flames licked at her body, roared through her mind. It was beautiful and savage, merciless and perfect.

His palm went to her belly, fingers splayed wide to press deep, holding her in place while his mouth ravaged her. Deep inside, the coiling wound tighter and tighter until she thought she might die if the spring didn’t release. He didn’t let up, devouring her more. The growling, hungry sounds he made were sexy, adding to the sensual experience, feeding her own urgent need of him. The desperation for him was growing in her. She wasn’t certain what “more” she wanted of him, but she wanted a great deal more.

The burning inside her grew hotter. His mouth was an instrument of the most exquisite torture. She didn’t know if she could stand much more. She whispered his name, her hands finding his shoulders, digging her fingernails deep to anchor herself in the real world when she felt she might be in danger of flying apart, flying too high. It felt too good and she was afraid of losing herself. Of losing him. Of this. Things could be too perfect. She hadn’t had good or perfect.

Let go, sívamet. Let yourself fly. That is what this rising is all about. We are flying in all sorts of wonderful ways. Relax and I will catch you.

She was learning that Ferro’s word was golden. He would catch her. He would be there for her. Her rock. Her sword. Her shield. Whatever she needed him to be. The inferno burned wild and she had no choice, it was either have complete belief in him or go insane. She let go and let the firestorm take her. The blaze raced through her, out of control, sweeping through her body, an ever-widening conflagration that shook her to her core.

She felt as if she spiraled completely out of control, ripples building into wild waves of pleasure, taking hold of her body, burning through to leave her in ashes only to start all over again. She was dimly aware of Ferro lifting his head, wiping his face on her thighs and then pulling her shivering body into his arms, holding her until she calmed.

She buried her face in his neck, stunned that she could feel so wonderful and yet so completely out of control. Little aftershocks rocked her, over and over, until gradually her body quieted, leaving her feeling somewhat sated and yet still feeling as if she might be missing out on something big.

She lifted her head to look at him. “Thank you, Ferro.”

“I am very proud of you for asking me for what you wanted, Elisabeta. It gives me great pleasure to see you like that. There is so much more, but we will save those lessons for another rising. The anticipation always makes the reward greater, as we both have discovered.”

She smiled up at him. “I am willing to do whatever you wish.” She secretly thought continuing along the lines they had just gone might be perfect.

“We are working on flying, and shifting is very important for a number of reasons.” He brushed kisses over her eyes and along her nose and then released her.

Elisabeta rolled over onto her stomach again and laid her head on her hands, closing her eyes to savor the feeling of belonging to such a man. He gave her so many new experiences, all of them good. Every time he touched her, he brought her pleasure. Even now, he rubbed her bottom gently, massaging her, keeping the heat moving so exquisitely through her body.

“I feel so lucky to have you for my lifemate, Ferro,” she said. “All those centuries I felt lost and alone, guarding your soul, but it truly was worth every single moment because you are worth everything the vampire put me through and much more.”

Beside her, he went utterly still. His hand ceased moving. He was in her mind and she was aware he would know she meant what she said. Guarding Ferro’s soul had not been easy, and she didn’t want Ferro to know the terrible tolls Sergey had forced her to pay time and again throughout the centuries, but she had held out against him. She would never give up her lifemate’s soul. Never. That had been her line in the sand, so to speak. If Sergey wanted her alive, he would have to come to terms with that. There were times her defiance drove the vampire mad, and he had made her pay dearly.

She should have known Ferro wouldn’t leave it alone. He had been careful not to search too far into her memories, as she hadn’t into his. Now, however, she felt him move through her mind. She shook her head, starting to sit up, but he placed his palm very gently between her shoulder blades and held her down on the mat.

“Please do not. It is not necessary for you to see.” She spoke in a low tone. He would see so much—too much. So many times she had traded lives for what she would not give the vampire. Several times she had taken her own life, only to have the vampire bring her back. He would see that. Ferro had been so strong, refusing to meet the dawn even when he had gone past the point of hearing whispers of temptation—when there was nothing left but being a danger to the very people he had protected.

“What the entire cost to you was? I think it is more than necessary, hän ku vigyáz sielamet.” His voice was very gentle. He kept his hand on her back, a connection between them as he moved through her mind.

He’d called her the guardian of his soul. She had been that. She had fiercely guarded his soul because that was all she had. It was the one thing Sergey couldn’t take from her. Not even the memory of having to protect it and what it meant to a Carpathian woman.

“Ferro.” She whispered her protest again, tears burning behind her eyes. She didn’t want him to see her cowardice. Her failures. Her many humiliations. After the perfection of the rising with him, for him to see her in such a terrible light, she couldn’t bear it. She wanted to run and hide herself away.

His hand moved up her back very gently to the nape of her neck, where his fingers began the familiar slow, gentle massage. It felt good and she wanted to press herself into those strong fingers like a cat, but she also wanted to bury her face on the furred mat and cry her heart out.

Elisabeta. Be calm. You always think the worst of yourself in spite of me telling you how I feel about you. You saved my life and the lives of so many. Had I turned vampire, which I would have if Sergey had gotten to my soul, I would have killed many before I would have been destroyed, if indeed I could have been destroyed.

As always, his voice was steady and calm. Ferro started at the beginning of her captivity, not at the end. He knew Sergey would try when she was young and terrified to get what he wanted from her. She could barely remember those days, yet she could vividly recall the horrific punishments he meted out when she refused to hand over her lifemate’s soul.

Elisabeta, there is no need for you to experience these memories again. I want you to lie still and think of flying. Re-create the female owl in your mind. Every feather. Her ears. Her beak. Her tail. I especially want you to hear the notes of her song so you can sing the duet with her male. Any vampire listening must believe the female is truly a bird. That is a command. Do you understand me?

She closed her eyes, tears leaking out. His voice was so gentle, as only Ferro’s could be. He would spare her those ugly memories. She hadn’t looked at them in centuries. The earliest ones were the worst—before Sergey had learned to fear she would really kill herself and he couldn’t bring her back. She had chosen that option only out of sheer desperation, unable to think of any other choice when the vampire threatened the lives of children or entire villages to get to her lifemate’s soul.

She had endured the torment all those centuries for Ferro—her lifemate. He had been the reason she had continued. She’d feared for him. Feared what it would do to him if she was gone from the world. She’d sensed him somewhere, still alive, still hunting, still holding on. As long as he could, she had vowed she would. And yet there had been so many moments of weakness . . . She was so ashamed.

Ferro surrounded her with warmth. Wrapped her in the intensity of the emotion she had come to realize was love for her. His love for her.

You will feel such shame of me if you persist in looking into my memories.

I will love and admire you more. Do as I command of you, little songbird. Give me time to look upon the crimes this vampire committed against my beloved. It is necessary for a man such as me. I have waited for you to tell me, but realized it would be impossible for you to do so. I am not asking you, sívamet; I am telling you. This is something I need and must have.

It was impossible for Elisabeta not to obey. She had been conditioned by centuries of obedience, but he had called her his heart in that voice that could turn her inside out. She kept her eyes closed and turned her mind to studying the little female screech owl, focusing her attention on the small details she might miss if she ever became distracted.

She hadn’t thought about how a vampire might hear her calling back to her mate and realize her notes weren’t exact. It would be a small detail, such as a single wrong note, that would give her away and, in doing so, her lifemate. The things he was teaching her weren’t just for fun; they could well be the difference between life and death.

Ferro’s owl’s call was beautiful. He showed her the muted trill of the male’s hoo, hoo, hoo that sped up at the end but always maintained a continuous pitch. Sometimes he sang to his female a different song, one of double trills, a much more rapid burst. He had a soft croon when greeting and an excited bark. During mating season, their duet included a trembling note, a rapid tremolo call from the male, answered by a short tremolo from the female. The two owls sang a duet together and she practiced her part in her mind over and over for every season.

Ferro had a beautiful voice and often sang to her when she was upset. She loved their song. He added verses to it each rising, soothing her when she was so afraid. Now, his male owl sang to her female with that beautiful wild call, soothing and calm to his lady the way Ferro was to her. He was such a rock, an anchor in the worst storm. He didn’t make her feel as if it was only that she belonged to him; he made her feel as if he belonged to her, that it was mutual.

The male owl was that same rock to his female. They protected each other and their nest fiercely, even against humans, creatures much larger than they. She studied every aspect of the owl’s life that she could find in Ferro’s mind. She had been in the female owl and she drew on what she had found there as well.

Elisabeta had no real idea how much time had passed when Ferro suddenly yanked her into his arms, startling her with his aggression. He held her to him, nearly crushing her, his palm pressing the back of her head tight into him, so her ear was over his wildly beating heart.

“Elisabeta. Beloved. What you suffered to protect me.”

She tilted her face up to look at him. Bloodred tears dripped from his eyes and her heart nearly stopped. She couldn’t take his sorrow. At once she swamped him with soothing harmony, surrounded him with love, with everything she was, giving him all that she knew how to give. She wrapped her arms around him and held him just as tightly, closing her eyes and breathing for both of them, willing his heart to find the slower, steady beat of hers.

Ferro held her for a long time, rocking them both gently, while Elisabeta continued to keep them entwined together in a cocoon of peace. She didn’t speak, not knowing what to say. In her wildest imaginings she never would have expected her legendary warrior to care enough to shed the bloodred tears of their kind for her. That kind of sorrow and respect was reserved for greatness.

She didn’t know how to react. This was Ferro. Her lifemate. She felt panic-stricken. She had no one to tell her what to do, only her instincts. His hands stroked caresses in her hair, and every now and then she felt his lips brush kisses on top of her head. There was such an intimacy that had nothing at all to do with sex, straddling him, her body crushed against him, rocking with him, their hearts beating together.

Elisabeta felt such a part of him. She’d been terrified for him to see her past, the terrible choices the vampire had forced on her, and yet now she felt closer to him than ever before. Each time she feared Ferro’s reaction, he always came through, teaching her to trust. Not everyone was cruel like Sergey, certainly not her lifemate.

“I know I do not say it to you, Elisabeta, and you most likely need the words, but they are in my song to you. When I tell you a world of love awaits you, vaster than the ocean, I am not merely singing a lyric to you. These words are yours. For you alone. What I feel for you is incomprehensible to me. Unimaginable. I hunted centuries for you. I carved the vow to you into my body, yet even then I did not know what I would feel for you. How could I? Until I merged my mind with yours and learned to know you, found out the tremendous gift I was given, there was no way of knowing how the love in my heart for you would grow.”

He couldn’t say such things to her. She would fall apart. Already she was weeping, pressing her face into his chest and weeping like a babe. They held each other for comfort, still rocking gently, her soothing, peaceful cocoon surrounding them like his shield.

You do not have to give me the words, Ferro. I hear them in your song to me. I feel them in the things you do for me. I especially feel them in your touch. She couldn’t tell him aloud because she would be sobbing if she tried to speak.

“Never think, for one moment, that I am ashamed of you. Any sacrifice you think I made pales in comparison to what you made for me. I could not feel. I had no emotions. You felt everything. Every lash of torture that evil creature thought up, the emotions of those he forced you to witness being tortured, you endured all of that—for me.”

Ferro suddenly caught her chin and tugged until she was forced to look up at him. His eyes glittered down at her, more rust than iron. He looked like what he was, a violent, dangerous predator, the legendary hunter the Carpathian people spoke of in whispers.

“I am privileged to be your lifemate, and you are more than worthy to walk beside me.” He sounded fierce. “Understand me, hän ku vigyáz sívamet és sielamet, you would always be my choice.”

He called her “keeper of his heart and soul.” Not his soul. His heart and soul. She felt her lips tremble before her smile broke through. Happiness blossomed.

“You are my choice, Ferro. You will always be my choice.”

Something moved through his eyes, something she couldn’t quite catch, but she wished she had because it was important, and then he bent his head to hers, his mouth brushing hers with that exquisite gentleness he had that turned her heart over. She parted her lips to let him inside and he kissed her. Really kissed her, going from gentle to possessive instantly.

The moment his tongue swept inside her mouth, he poured love into her. She felt his emotion in her throat, in her veins, rushing through her bloodstream until it spread to every part of her body. He was pure fire, flames licking at her skin and settling deep in her core all over again. Just when she squirmed restlessly, he lifted his head, those eyes of his glittering down at her, all liquid, silvery-blue, making her shiver with need.

“All right, minan piŋe sarnanak, we have more work to do. I want you to learn to fly in the woods. The more you practice shifting into the owl, the faster you will be at it and the more comfortable. I trust you studied her from every angle so you know exactly what she looks like down to the smallest detail.” He sounded steady.

She took a deep breath, trying to match his calm demeanor when she was a bundle of sexual nerves.

“Yes.” She was grateful she had honed her ability to pay attention to detail over the centuries. It had been necessary to keep her mind active, and Sergey insisted that she aid him in his fight against his brothers.

“Good. Go ahead and change for me.”

Elisabeta shifted into the form of the little female Western Screech Owl. Ferro had her shift dozens of times, just as he had the first time. He wanted faster. He wanted smoother. She didn’t protest, knowing he wanted her to be absolutely comfortable, to have the details so ingrained in her mind it would be second nature to her.

It is rather nice that she is larger than the male. She felt very daring pointing that out to him since he was an extremely large man. Carpathian women were tall, and she was no exception. The males were taller as a rule, but she noticed that the brethren seemed to all be extraordinarily tall and broad shouldered.

Male amusement filled her mind. I should have given you a few extra swats on your beautiful bottom while I had the chance. Fortunately for me, my ego is not fragile and the size difference does not matter in the least.

The female owl spread her wings and fluttered them as she hopped along the ground. I do believe you are protesting a bit too much. It is okay. I know you are used to being much larger and probably have trouble being so small.

Only attempting to squash certain body parts down.

That made her laugh hard enough that she had to shift back to her normal form. She landed abruptly on the ground with her arms out for balance, glaring at him. “That was not fair.”

You have to stay focused no matter what. He sounded very self-righteous. Shift back.

Elisabeta shifted immediately. I think that was cheating but it was funny all the same. Her little female turned her head this way and that, taking advantage of the ability to rotate her head about 270 degrees in order to see around her.

It is much different flying in the woods than in a clearing, piŋe sarnanak. You have to be certain to keep your head tucked in tight as you were doing, but do not allow it to come up at all. We will not hover or glide, but move more like a bat might, flying erratically through the trees and branches. At first, we are going to practice flying low through the trees and land back here. When I feel you have the hang of it, we will learn to land on the limb of a tree.

Even within the form of an owl, Elisabeta felt her heart quicken. It was exciting to learn to fly this way, to really be able to shift and have Ferro teach her to do something so freeing and exhilarating as flying through the woods and landing in trees, even if it was really just in the very edge of the woods.

You will do exactly as I tell you. When I say to land, you are to do so immediately.

Of course, Ferro.

She was not going to fail him, or herself. He had given her so much this rising. Too much. She knew no matter what happened in their future, she would always look on this rising as the one that made her feel as if she could eventually find her way back to her birth brother—because of Ferro. She could eventually grow confident and have friends—because of her lifemate. He had given her a belief in herself.

You tell me if your eyes are giving you problems, piŋe sarnanak, or if you begin to tire.

I will. She gave him her assurance, trying not to hop in her owl form, but she desperately wanted to fly in the forest. The woods beckoned her.

Always remember that the danger of shifting to another form is that there is simplicity in taking an animal form. The longer you are in it, the more you might wish to remain. You cannot do so, Elisabeta, no matter the temptation. Your life has been difficult and the vampire knew that if you were aware of how to shift, he would lose you. I do not want to lose you to temptation.

For the first time she caught real fear from him. Not in his voice, that was as steady and as calm as ever. Not in his owl. The little male was a completely wild creature. Ferro was merged deep within her, and it was there she felt his trepidation, that very real worry that had been there all along and she hadn’t seen. In spite of his fear of losing her to shifting, Ferro had still chosen to teach her, to give her that gift. His present meant all the more to her.

I do not want to be apart from you, Ferro. No temptation would be that great.

Elisabeta had no other way of reassuring him. She wasn’t used to speaking directly to him yet, and she didn’t know how to put together words of affection, or of love. She wanted to express how much she cared for him, as he had done for her, but she didn’t write songs and she didn’t know how to express the things in her heart properly.

For one moment, Ferro, the man, moved through her mind, as if seeking reassurance, and then he was back to being her instructor.

When we hunt, it is normal to hunt from a perch at the edge of the woods such as this. We can make short forays into the open fields to capture flying insects.

She couldn’t help her natural reaction to his suggestion, pulling back and shaking the owl’s head back and forth in repugnance.

There may come a time when you have no choice. If you are under a vampire’s scrutiny, you have to follow through. Your owl must keep the need to hunt uppermost in her mind. Small prey is normally swallowed whole on the spot. It is your owl consuming the prey, not you, and you must allow it. You have to let go of yourself so not the slightest hint of you remains for our enemy to detect.

Deep inside the owl’s body, Elisabeta made the commitment. She let go of all ego, of all sense of self, when she needed to bring peace to the ancients, and she could do so when tricking an enemy. If that was what was required of her, then she would do it with no squeamishness. She felt Ferro’s instant approval and it warmed her.

Larger prey such as a vole will be carried in your beak to a perch just inside the woods and torn apart. He gave her a list of the various types of prey the Western Screech Owl hunted.

Now that she understood why she had to accept that she might have to hunt insects and deer mice and even devour them, she became very dedicated to learning that art as well. She was well versed in shedding her ego, that was never her problem. She needed to know the mechanics of being an owl, so she wanted to be at the forefront while she was learning. She needed to be. Now, more than ever, she paid rapt attention to every detail.

Her little female made it into the air with no problem when Ferro finally gave her the go-ahead, and then was able to fly in ever-widening circles, higher and higher, around the clearing. She didn’t allow the soaring elation to distract her.

Is your eyesight good?

She realized that as the owl, not only was she able to focus her eyesight much more clearly and for longer distances, but when she had taken back her own form, she hadn’t once even noticed that she was looking at the clearing or woods without seeing through the bars of a cage when peering around her.

Ferro, I did not have to put bars in front of my eyes.

I noticed, Elisabeta. And now?

Of course he would notice. Nothing about her seemed to escape her lifemate. My owl sees perfectly.

Good. Let her follow me into the woods. Stay right with me, sívamet. You do not want to hit a branch and knock yourself out.

She definitely didn’t want to do that and end the fun. She loved the woods. Flying was great excitement, but the forest called to her. The trees and brush, all the various animals, even the insects, made her feel as if she belonged with them.

We are Carpathian, a part of the earth, Elisabeta. You bring peace to those around you. I have noticed that even the creatures are drawn to you, so it stands to reason that you would be drawn to them.

She felt his amusement welling up.

It seems I will always have rivals for your attention. Not only the ancients but the children and now the creatures of the woods. Perhaps even the insects.

He took an extra turn around the clearing. She knew he did it on purpose so she was able to share his laughter with him. He didn’t want her distracted before she began learning to fly through the forest where the trees were close together and the branches could be high or low.

The lessons continued for some time, landing on various sizes and shapes of branches, listening and identifying prey, and, finally, hunting and trying to actually capture their quarry. By the time Ferro called a halt it was close to dawn and she was ready to return to their home and the welcoming soil beneath it. She’d never been so exhausted but happy in her life.