Ducking my head, I gave him a rueful smile. "I promise, I wasn't trying to leave the realm. I just need to…to…fly."
He cocked his head, then somberly nodded. "I understand. At times my nature calls me to go running through the woods."
"What are you? What do you shift into?" I hadn't yet figured that out, but, being Cambyra, he would be a shifter, too.
He shrugged, breaking into a smile. "A fox, my lady. I am a fox-shifter. Which is why I camouflage so easily in the woods. It is my nature." He glanced around. There was no one else near us. "You take your flight and I will stand guard by the tree. This is the tree that His Highness—your father—often comes to. I find it interesting that you should single it out."
I gazed up at the oak. It was gnarled and ancient and had been struck by lightning several times but rose dizzyingly into the sky. I glanced back at Check, then slipped out of my robe, naked except for my pendant. As I swung up to the lowest branch of the oak, I tried to avoid bark burn. I crouched, getting my bearings as I gazed up at the network of branches and limbs above me.
Standing, I balanced with my hand against the trunk, and then, in what was becoming familiar and easier moves, stretched up on my toes, grasping the branch above me. I used my feet to walk myself up to where I could swing onto it and then repeated the move, working my way up the thick trunk until I stood some thirty feet from the ground. I inched out along the limb, wincing as stray splinters caught hold of my pubic hair, but nothing seriously injured me, and then—I was overlooking the ground, with space enough to shift as I went into free fall.
I leaned my head back, staring at the sky, knowing that outside these protected walls, the long winter waited for me. And then, sucking in a deep breath, I spread my arms and legs wide, captured my courage, and toppled forward, into free fall.
There's something exhilarating about free fall, about watching the ground rush up to greet you. The rush of wind through the hair, the sudden plunge as you barrel toward the ground and then…and then…and then the shift…
My body began to morph, fingers to feathers, arms to wings, legs to taloned feet, shrinking in mass, transforming into a being so alien to myself and yet so familiar.
My Cambyra nature was that of a barred owl, and though I had yet to see myself in a mirror, at one point when we weren't on the run from Myst, Rhiannon had taken a picture of me in owl form so I could see what I looked like. As I had held the photograph, staring at the image, it struck me so odd that the creature in the picture was me. And yet so utterly familiar, even after such a short time.
In the picture, I was poised on a branch, my wings outstretched. My talons curved over the limb. My wings and tail feathers were a study in shades of grayish brown, striped with white, and my head and body, a blending of the two colors, interspersed almost as if I were a tortie cat. My yellow beak was the only pop of color on my body.
Now, those wings were standing me in good stead. I'd had to train them when I first began to shift…or perhaps, adapt to using them would be a better way to phrase it.
With a satisfied sigh, I caught the updraft and—Ulean laughing in glee beside me—swept up, buoyed on the currents in her wake. I spiraled, turning, twisting, rising to the top of the tree where I could survey the pale dawn.
The air swept past me as I glided, my wings riding steadily on the breeze. A rumble in my stomach told me I was hungry, but I reined in my desire to hunt. Mice didn't set well in my stomach, nor did rabbits, and as good as the warm blood and fur felt going down, it felt equally bad coming back up when I was back in my regular form.
I circled higher, almost dizzy with the joy of no longer being soil-bound. After making several laps over the tops of the trees, I straightened and headed toward the deeper part of the forest, intoxicated by the freedom. Ulean was beside me, catching my mood, shrieking with laughter as she slipped beneath me, causing me to rise even farther. I responded, going into a nosedive, pulling up as she rushed in front of me. She leapfrogged behind me, and I made another dive beneath her wake. I couldn't see Ulean, not unless I was dreamwalking with Kaylin, or when I was in the grips of the winds. But I could feel her, sense her presence, hear her on the slipstream.
We played tag, turning, wheeling through the air, caught up in the freedom that only flight can bring. In the past few weeks, the most precious thing in my life had gone from being my Pontiac GTO to discovering my ability to shift into an owl.
As much as I loved Grieve, as thrilled as I was to meet my father after all these years, nothing could quite compare with the rush and freedom of turning into an owl, of escaping the earth and leaving all my problems behind, even if it was for only a little while. I'd never before had anything remotely resembling the freedom that shifting shape brought to me. There were times when I enjoyed the change so much, when it felt so natural, that I wanted to just stay that way—fly off and never look back—but I couldn't do that.
As the sun rose, here in the realm of Summer, I regretfully turned back to the tree where I'd shifted. Another few moments and it came into view. There was Check, standing below, waiting at attention. I screeched loudly, then slowly circled lower, taking care not to buzz him, until I landed on a fallen trunk nearby. As I began to shift back, I slipped, nosediving for the ground. I still hadn't mastered a graceful return to myself—Check bounded forward and caught me, his arms lifting me before I could hit the ground.
Before I could say thank you, he draped the robe around my shoulders and then, with a flourish, said, "May I escort you back to the palace, Your Highness?"
He was so heartfelt, so gentle and yet so protective, that I couldn't help but give him a graceful smile. "You may." And so we returned to the Barrow, my need to fly assuaged for the moment.
Grieve sat up, yawning, as I padded across the cobbled floor to where Druise, my maid, was waiting. She was trained to obey, and she would have stood there all day if I had told her to. As I stepped into the steaming bath she'd prepared, she quickly moved forward to wash my back. I started to wave her away, but the chagrined expression on her face stopped me. This was her job. This was what she did. If I refused her help, I negated her worth.
I wanted to linger in the bath, but we had to get over to Rex's place to watch the announcement that Regina had instructed us to. So after I'd lathered up and let Druise wash my back, I stepped into the towel she was holding and she wrapped me in the soft, warm fleece. I wasn't sure what material it actually was made from. The cloth felt like terry cloth, but I knew it wasn't.
As Grieve watched, she handed me clean underwear and black jeans. I slipped into them, then allowed her to help me into a cobalt blue corset top, leaning against the table as she laced it. Lainule had acknowledged that I didn't have to wear a dress if I wanted to, but she'd put her foot down at tank tops unless I was going out on a mission.
"You must wear something that sets you apart." Since nobody argued with Lainule, I had acquiesced.
And so, I agreed to the corset. Fashioned out of dyed leather, it was embellished with silver buckles and studs, giving me a badass but elegant look. The laces were black and silver. I wasn't sure quite what I thought of it, though I was leaning toward loving it. I had, however, put the skids on letting Druise lace it so tight that I'd have a hard time running in it. After a few days, I'd discovered that it actually did a good job of supporting not only my boobs but my back.
I sat down at the dressing table, and the girl began brushing my hair.
"What would Her Highness like me to do with her hair this morning?"
I frowned, wanting her to just call me Cicely, but that was another thing I was going to have to get used to: being addressed in a royal manner. I felt like Cinderella must have after the happily-ever-after: new to the Court, out of place, and hanging on for dear life.
"Just let it hang loose, thank you." I wasn't sure what I wanted, but that would be the simplest and get the morning routine over with. I had balked at letting her put my makeup on for me, and while she brushed away, I quickly smoothed on foundation, powder, eyeliner, and mascara, then rubbed a little light gloss over my lips. By the time I finished, Druise was done with my hair.
"Thank you, Druise. You may go now."