Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
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.