Eiarex, World of Her Birth (On Hold)

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I am a hawk. I am a red-tailed hawk. I have a beak, sharp talons, and am covered with feathers. I soar among the clouds and spot my prey with my keen eyesight. I am a hawk.

It wasn't working, again. Nyril sighed is exasperation. She was a weakling at using faery magic, and she was a failure as a shifter. "This isn't working, Mylee." She said to the young woman who had taken over her training this day after a week without success with Krath as her teacher.

"Don't give up. It takes time for it to make sense in your mind. Just because you're an adult does not mean it will automatically sink in for you." Myleest gently assured her, full of infinite patience.

"She needs a real reason to shift. She needs to think she's in danger," Rafe offered from the edge of the clearing.

"I have been in danger, and it didn't work then either." Nyril reminded him. By now everyone knew of her unfortunate escapade with the vampyre. Whispers had been heard of her connection with the vamp and a few clan members had claimed she had no right to devote herself to a shifter when she had such a bond with a dark one. There had even been some people saying that she shouldn't be a part of the clan because of her pathetically small amount of shifter blood in her veins. It hurt and made Nyril feel unwelcome.

"But you did not have any shifter training at that time." Rafe pointed out, grinning and chewing on a twig.

"Stop eating a stick, Rafe." Myleest scolded him, before turning back to Nyril. "Ignore him. Krath would never allow you to be put in the slightest of dangerous positions."

"We could always let her walk out of the village at night, following her closely, keeping to the shadows. The vamp is bound to make a move sooner or later." Suggested Rafe, gnawing on the twig with renewed vigor just to annoy the young shifter woman, who was, apparently, his cousin.

The entire village was aware of Archibald's nearby presence. His scent had been picked up several days ago, but he kept himself well hidden. He had even developed a method to dull his scent dramatically, making it more difficult to track his movements. He had not yet entered the shifter town, but he did roam its outskirts. Nyril had gotten better at picking up smells as well, but she was not proficient enough to detect his scent. However, her blood bond allowed her to sense his presence was near, and the dark part of her mind yearned to go to him. Several times in the evening she had to physically stop herself from going to him. Thank goodness she had guards posted outside her door, or she may have been tempted to sneak out. It was also a good thing that she could not yet shift, or she might have transformed into a bird and flown into his arms.

Nyril was ashamed of her dark craving to be with her vampyre. She had Krath, who loved her unconditionally, and she truly wanted to be his and his alone, yet that small part of her that whispered Archibald's name captivated her in ways that were unholy. Usually she spent her dreams with Krath, walking and talking together in their dream glen. They had come close to making love in their dreams once or twice, but Krath had stopped them, saying that when their bodies came together on the night of their joining, he wanted it to be real, physical, and special. He didn't want it to be tainted by the memory of a spiritual mating.

But Nyril also dreamt of Archibald. It was always in the early hours of night, before Krath went to sleep. Archibald had no qualms about keeping a physical closeness in their dreams. When she dreamed, he entered her mind and kissed her, stroked her, drank from her. In her dreams with Archibald she was the one to stop him from joining their bodies together. It was incredibly difficult to resist him. The pleasure that flooded her veins while with him made her nearly mindless with want. She had to rely on her memories of Krath to give her strength enough to repel Archibald. Deep down she knew it was only a matter of time before she was in his possession again.