Dark Symphony Page 0,131

herself, fresh from the shower, uppermost in her mind. "What do you do for clothes when you shape-shift?"

"I will make certain you have clothes, cara. "

"Did you touch Paul this evening? Is he going to be all right?"

"Yes, he is weak and in pain, but he will heal. Tasha and Justine spent the night with him. At the moment he is resting. We will attend him when we reach the palazzo. We should go. We must tell Don Giovanni we are to be married immediately. I think it will be better if I ask him for your hand in marriage. While I am doing that, you can tell Tasha. I am certain she is bound to throw things, and it will be better if I am not present."

"Coward." The smile faded from her face. "Before we do anything else, we have to talk to Marita. I can't have her in the house, even if she is Franco's wife, if she's involved in some sort of theft ring." Antonietta shook her head, touching her dark glasses to make certain they wouldn't come off. "If she's involved in some way, the children and Franco are going to be devastated."

"Marita is easy enough to read, Antonietta. And it is time we push past some of these barriers to see just who has been adding poison to your meals. It has to be someone in the house. As much as I know you want the culprit to be someone other than your family, few outsiders have access to your food."

Antonietta turned away from him. She couldn't bear to think that a member of her family would try to kill her, let alone Don Giovanni. He could be stern and even at times seemed unforgiving, but she knew he was a loving, generous man whose life revolved around his family.

"Are you ready to try shape-shifting? Something easy. A bird, something familiar to you." Byron captured her hand, wanting to take her mind off her fears and give her something to anticipate.

"I've been ready since I woke up."

Byron bent his head to kiss her. "I knew you would say that."

It was all she could do not to jump up and down on the bed like an eager child. She knew exactly how Josef felt. "Tell me what to do."

He led her out to the verandah overlooking the sea, "Merge completely with me. I will hold the image of the owl in your mind. At first you will be caught up in the beauty of flying, but you have to work at remembering to hold that image yourself. It takes years of practice to perfect it. And the actual shifting feels strange. You are submerging yourself, the essence of who you are, into another creature, another form. You have to control that form and all of its urges."

"Do the other women who have been converted have help?"

"From what I understand they do, they just accept it without question. I am not certain they even realize the image and control is being held by their lifemate. We stay merged so much, can you always tell who has the first thought?"

She nodded. "Let's do it then."

The detail of the bird was amazing. She studied it carefully, paying attention to every curve, every feather. She caught the first shimmer of awareness in her mind. Her skin prickled. She kept her eyes closed tightly and let it happen, allowed her body to change while somewhere inside she felt the entire process. She stayed very still, afraid if she moved she might make a mistake. Afraid it wouldn't happen.

Try your wings.

Cautiously, she stretched the layers of feathers to their full length and fanned the air experimentally. Joy burst through her.

I'm an owl. Stay very close to me, Antonietta. Keep that image uppermost in your mind. You have to provide a map. If I try to open my eyes, I'm disoriented. Just stay close. When we get to the palazzo, we can practice shielding our physical bodies from the sight of others. Oh my gosh! Like an invisibility cloak. The invisible man. This is so fantastic. That is later. This is now. Really concentrate, Antonietta. You can get in trouble and fall from the sky. Hop up here to the banister, and we will launch out over the sea. So if I crash, I'll just fall into the sea and drown as opposed to hitting the ground at record speed and breaking every bone in my body. That will not happen. I can