Lara looked out over the valley far below them. She could see the bogs shimmering with ice crystals, the meadows capped with white powder. The world had a shimmery quality she'd never noticed before.
«Take a deep breath.»
Lara did so. She drew the fresh, crisp night air into her lungs.
«Do you feel the energy? It surrounds every living thing. Tune yourself to it, the energy feeds your power, so you can use it to build whatever you need fast.»
«Carpathians use energy differently than mages,» Lara explained. «I've been mage-trained, I don't know how to just control it through me.»
Nicolas shook his head. «You have been doing it all along, when you get upset. At the inn, you blasted us out of fear. You gathered energy and used it against us. For now, you need to feel the power, the way it feeds you subtly.»
He lifted his arms to the night. In the distance, a wolf howled. Another answered. One by one several more took up the lonely chorus. «There. Hear that?»
«The wolves?»
«One wolf. That note that sounded different. There is a Carpathian running with our brethren tonight. You need to really listen, not just hear. You have the abilities, now you need the training and practice.»
Lara looked below her toward the darkened interior of the forest. «Carpathians run with the wolves?»
«Of course. We take the form of a wolf, choose a pack and are accepted into it if we desire. We will do that if you like, but first, you need your flying lesson.»
Lara shifted restlessly from one foot to the other while he explained-in detail, intedious detail-how she had to keep the image at all times in her head or she would fall from the sky.
«Okay already,» Lara said when he began to go over the instructions again. «I got it all the first time.»
His black gaze smoldered at her. «Do not be overconfident.»
She sent him a saucy grin. «You aren't going to let me fall.»
She closed her eyes and pictured the dragon in her mind. It had been years since she had seen her aunts, trapped in the form of a dragon, but she remembered every detail of their large, scaled bodies. She held the shape in her mind, the wedged head and large, jeweled eyes. Out of nowhere came a rush of energy, flooding her body, turning her warm. Muscles contracted and expanded. She felt her body bend and begin to reshape. Shocked, she pulled back from the edge of losing herself, so startled she nearly lost the image.
Nicolas was there immediately, just as she knew he would be, merged solidly, holding the image for her. She felt the brush of scales against her arm as his body changed. She waited a heartbeat and then she embraced the change, throwing herself into it, not wanting him to change his mind. She wanted to fly. And then she was crouched on the edge of the cliff, staring out over the valley with new vision. She spread her wings wide, standing on two legs, flapping her wings and creating a wind that blew out into the clouds.
Careful, Nicolas cautioned.You are scaring me, Lara. Pay attention .
You sound like an old hen. I'm just trying the whole thing out. This is so cool.
She was going to give him a heart attack. He felt like a mother hen, trying to watch over a baby chick. He was supposed to be the rooster, crowing and everyone falling into line instantly. If he was in his normal form he'd be sweating by now and sweating wasn't something Carpathians did much of.
Do I just step off the edge and flap my wings?
His heart bottomed out when the female dragon stepped to the edge as if to launch herself over. He leapt in front of her, pushing the smaller dragon back as he hovered in the air.Let the dragon take over. You are still thinking as you. If you want to fly like a dragon, you need to become the dragon .
How? I'm still me.
You are and you are not. You are there inside, but it is only your spirit left. Merge with your dragon and let it have free reign. Once you get a feel for flight and the way your dragon sees and thinks, you can allow your spirit to emerge a little more. Always, always remember to hold that image in your mind no matter what is happening around you.
Lara's dragon nodded its wedge-shaped head.Move back and let me try .
Nicolas, inside the large dragon, found himself smiling at the demand in her voice in spite of himself. He found he liked the little bite in her voice. He backed away from the ledge, all the while keeping his mind firmly in hers. Tension vibrated through his body as she stepped off the edge, great wings flapping frantically.
Let your dragon take over. He would give her a couple of seconds. If she couldn't let go enough to allow the dragon to take over completely, he would have to seize her mind and take complete control.
Don't you dare. I'll get the hang of it. Stop distracting me.
He felt the seeds of panic as the little female spiraled out of control. Every instinct screamed at him to take over her mind and right her, but he fought it back, holding on by a thread to give her a little more time as his dragon dove headfirst after its mate.
Deep inside the body of his dragon, Nicolas groaned as he realized Lara had a problem with giving up control. He should have anticipated and prepared for it. She had seconds before the illusion of giving control to her dragon became a reality as Nicolas would have no choice but to take over. The ground rose up to meet her as his male dragon went streaking after her. Nicolas fought hard to give her those few extra precious seconds.
And just that suddenly, Lara took a deep breath and let go of herself, turning control over to the dragon. Instantly the wings of the female dragon stopped the wild flailing and folded close to the body, stopping the spin. Then the wings came out, and with one powerful, coordinated stroke, the creature rose gracefully into the air.
Childlike laughter rang in Nicolas's ears. A vise seemed to squeeze his heart at the sound of that young, carefree voice. She had never had a childhood, never been able to play or laugh, to feel the freedom of the wind in her face, to look down at the tops of the trees and the glistening meadows, to somersault in the night sky and just have fun. Now, sheer exhilaration sent her singing through the sky. The wind flew in her face, cool and brisk and he felt the joy in her.
Nicolas! This is… amazing.
Yes, it is. She was amazing. She did something to him inside he hadn't expected, turning him inside out with her simple happiness of the moment. In a way, he relived his own first experience of flying, but somehow, he enjoyed hers even more. She had never tasted true freedom. This was her first real exposure to the beauty of their world and he wanted her to enjoy every moment of it, to see the night in the way he did.
Nicolas was astonished to find he was beginning to need her for more than to calm his demons, or spread light through the darkness-he needed to hear her laughter, to see the childlike delight in her sparkling dragon's eyes. He found himself admiring her courage. She had risen from the ashes of cruelty and horror yet maintained a sweetness and hope that he had never imagined could be possible under the circumstances.
Flying through the night sky with her, it suddenly occurred to him that she might be a better person than he, that where duty and honor were ingrained in him, he thought himself superior to those he protected, but Lara truly did care. She cared about her two friends, and her aunts, and was beginning to worry about the father she had believed for years was a monster. He had protection to offer her, but what else?
He had thought finding his lifemate made him entitled to her, that she would worship the ground he walked on-that sheshould worship him, yet he hadn't considered that he might lose his heart to her. The possibility hadn't entered his mind, not even for a moment. She was supposed to lose her heart, but he would remain the same. Now, everything was changing inside of him and he felt off balance-and vulnerable. He didn't want to lose her and not because she was the other half of his soul and could save him. He simply didn't want to lose her and the stirrings of that emotion terrified him.
Nicolas! Come on. Let's race to that huge gray cloud.
He let her get a head start, holding his drago
n back to a more leisurely pace until she got several yards away. Then she built up a great deal of speed. The female dragon shimmered with metallic reds and gold, her scales gleaming whenever the moon managed to sneak out from behind a cloud and illuminate her as she sped across the sky. She gave off a halo of light, glowing, an age old call, female dragon to her male.
Nicolas was so startled he nearly lost his image of the dragon. Lara's female was calling to her mate, and in her innocence, with her spirit still dwelling on their kiss, Lara was inadvertently heightening the female's drive for her mate. Lara was unleashing a storm of hunger so intense Nicolas could feel his own instinctive reaction-his own demon rising.
No! He tried to hold back the male, but his dragon roared, tearing himself free of Nicolas's control, diving after his mate, powerful wings creating a windstorm as he flew after her. Lara's laughter washed over and into him, her mind rubbing intimately up against his in her excitement. She was innocent in her enticement, entirely unaware she was arousing the heat in the male-and in him.
The ground below seemed far away as the dragons rose sharply into the sky, dancing as the star dragons had done, performing an aerial ballet. Swift and lithe in the air, Lara soared free, growing more confident as she felt the dragon's strength. The creatures held power and magic and she identified strongly. She tried a series of rolls and then glided through the air before somersaulting in a graceful acrobatic display.
Nicolas felt his dragon gathering himself-waiting-watching as he chose the moment he needed to capture her in midair. There was no stopping the male, unless he took both of them out of the sky. He was almost as enraptured as his dragon, counting the beats of the wings, as the male increased his speed,
circling to come in at an angle just below her. Hot blood surged through his veins, filled his groin, lust punching hard and mean. The female spread her wings wide and the male made his move, sending his large body into a roll, coming upside down below her, belly to belly, wings wrapping her in a tight embrace, his talons locking with hers as he took possession of her body, burying himself deep.
Nicolas felt Lara's shocked excitement as the two dragons spiraled toward earth, heads entwined, wings tight around each other, talons locked, the male plunging over and over into the female. Lara and Nicolas were separate from the dragons, only their spirits held in the physical bodies, yet both felt every heated stroke, the love of two mates expressed in dizzying passion in the air. Nicolas wanted Lara with that same intensity his dragon felt for his mate. The dragon passion only increased his need. He stroked Lara's mind, a soft intimate brush, showing her without words how he felt.
Without warning, a bolt of fire speared through the air, impaling the coupling dragons, entering straight through the male dragon's back, passing through his belly to the female and out her back. The male trumpeted, the female screamed, blood sprayed into the air, droplets scattering across the cloud, mingling with the snow falling to the ground.
The male tried to hold the female, talons digging deep even as he lost strength with the great flow of blood. The ground was coming at them fast.
Nicolas seized Lara's spirit, ripping her from the female dragon, shifting to mist and abandoning the mortally wounded dragons.
We can't leave them. Lara was horrified. And then she coughed. More droplets showered the clouds, falling like rain to dot the white landscape in red.
We have no choice. He held her to him with his ruthless determination, blocking out everything but the danger they were in.They are part real, part illusion, we are all real. We have to get to safety . He was wounded as well. Already in need of blood, he had given to Lara twice, he couldn't afford to lose much more-not and fight the undead.
Thunder cracked, the roar shaking the ground as a lightning bolt simultaneously slammed from ground to sky, narrowly missing them. As it was the shock wave threw them apart, and sent Lara tumbling toward the rocks below.
Nicolas reversed direction, masking her blood, shifting the air to cushion her and bring her down gently, even as he left himself exposed to draw the vampire's fire. It wasn't long in coming. Sensing an advantage, the undead revealed himself, swooping across the sky, streaking as fast as he could to get to the wounded hunter.
Lara landed softly in a snowdrift, holding up her hands to assure herself she was back in her own skin. The moment she moved, she felt pain knifing through her body and looked down to see her stomach coated in blood. She was sprawled naked in the snow, crimson streaks smearing the pristine whiteness around her.
Looking up, she saw Nicolas shifting back to his own body, meeting the vampire in a crashing blow that sent both tumbling out of the sky. Her heart nearly stopped, then began to pound so hard, blood splattered onto the ground. She had to do something. She pushed herself shakily to her feet and raised her arms overhead. She couldn't stop the vampire, but she could give Nicolas a few precious moments.
Ropes of silk, strong as iron, come forth now to hold and bind, legs of eight, fast to spin-spin
your web, holdfast within, weaver of the web hold tight, that we may stay, stand and fight.
Spiders dropped from the sky, raining down on the vampire as he fell. The vampire became entangled in the spider threads, shiny and thick, like the poisonous webs she'd practiced weaving in her cave when she first thought she might stop Xavier with such a thing.
The more the vampire fought the sticky ropes of silk, the faster the spiders spun and wrapped him up, giving Nicolas time to land in a crouch, scoop up precious soil from beneath the snow and press a hand front and back to stay the bleeding.
Use the soil, Lara. You are Carpathian enough for it to work. Mix it with your saliva and press it into your wounds.
She did need to stop the bleeding and weave clothes for her shivering body. She couldn't go into shock in case Nicolas needed her. She fell to her knees and dug through the snow until she uncovered the soil beneath. It took a moment to force herself to mix saliva with the dirt and pack her wounds, but she did it, all the while watching as the vampire hit the ground hard a few hundred yards from her.
Snarling with rage, red eyes glowing, the face was a mask of fury. He turned those soulless pits her way and bared his savagely sharp teeth.
Get out of here, Lara. Go now. Run to the village.
Leave him? How could she do that? She stretched her arms to the sky, needing clothes to cover her so she'd at least feel as if she had armor against the vile evil that tore through the silken spiderweb. Once more she turned to the snow spiders, calling on them to begin spinning their gossamer threads for her warmth this time.
Spin little spinners, weave little weavers, fit me tight. Spin and weave with your crystal light. Fit to me a second skin so that I might feel warmth again.
Hastily she ran across the ground away from the vampire, in the direction of the village. She made it into the tree line and stopped to drag on her clothes.
Chapter 11
Lara spun around, turning in circles, trying to find Nicolas and the vampire. One moment they had both been there and now she couldn't see either one of them. Cursing, she ran back out from the trees. The soil may have stopped the worst of the bleeding, but it didn't take away the pain of torn flesh. She could barely breathe with the pain, yet she managed to shove it aside in her anxiety for him.
Nicolas! The moment she called to him she was afraid she had distracted him at the worst possible moment.
Several yards away, just over a rise, she saw snow blast up into the air. She sprinted, or at least tried to, sinking ankle-deep into the powder. She needed snowshoes on her feet, or at the very least, the ability to run across the surface. Weaving a pattern with her graceful hands, Lara leapt as if she were a snow hare.
Strings of sinew, finest bone, bend and shape, form and hone. Weave and place upon these feet, lightest paws of a snow hare be.
Lara felt a tingling, stretching sensation in her feet as she landed back in the snow and hurried across the meadow toward the rising slope. The pain in h
er back and stomach grew with every step, but she forced her body forward, afraid for Nicolas. He had taken the brunt of the attack. Now she could hear the vampire snarling and growling. The sounds were hideous. Nicolas was totally silent, making her pulse pound and fear clutch at her.
Instinctively, her mind reached out to connect with Nicolas and found-a killer. There was no hint of her charming lifemate, so intent on courting her. There was no mercy, no gentleness, nothing but a killing machine made of sinew and bone, honed by centuries of battles and a mind made for combat.
She skidded to a halt, pressing her palm to her mouth. Did she want to see him like that? Know him like that? The killer was as much a part of him as that smooth, charming man, the one who had kissed her senseless and taken her on the wildest ride of her life, and he was in a fight for his life-both of their lives.
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