were real.” Joie turned her face up to the sky, her head cradled on his shoulder.
“Then I am glad you thought you made me up. I think I will like your family very much, mage or not.”
“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions until you’ve met my mother. She’s absolutely devoted to us and to our father, but she doesn’t welcome others at all. My teachers frankly detested to have her come to school for conferences—especially the male teachers.”
“Nevertheless, I intend to win her over. I have not had a family in so many years, the idea of one did not occur to me. Yet now, when I watch you with your brother and sister and feel the love you have for them, it makes me envious.”
Her heart turned over at the longing in his voice. Joie had never thought she would feel so intensely about a man. The mere tone he used could make her shiver like the caress of fingers, or wrap around her heart like a fist.
“Did you have siblings? Were you close?”
He rubbed his chin on the top of her head just to feel the silky strands of her hair against his skin. “Actually yes. I had a sister, Elisabeta. She, of course, was much younger than I was. Carpathian children, as a rule, are born fifty to a hundred years apart, but not always. She was very young when I was sent away from the Carpathian Mountains. I have searched for news of her, but no one seems to know what happened to her. I remember her running barefoot, her long hair streaming out behind her, and it seemed as if every plant turned their head to watch her pass. Our gardens were crazy after she was born. She had a free soul.” He closed his eyes, savoring the memory of a little girl, not more than six summers, her laughter making his heart sing when he shouldn’t have felt a thing. He had stayed longer than a warrior should, basking in the child’s presence.
“Most of the ancient warriors, those that had already lost their emotions and had fought too long and taken too many lives, gravitated toward our home just to be around her. She could make emotions appear when they were long lost. A little miracle really.”
He shook his head, blinking down at Joie’s upturned face. “I have not thought of her in centuries. Far too long. I accepted that she was lost to our people.”
“And to you,” Joie said softly. “I’m so sorry, Traian. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my brother and sister. I really don’t.”
“It was many years ago, Joie, although in truth, I lost my emotions, and sorrows were much easier to bear. They are fresh again with memories returning now that my lifemate has provided a way for me to feel again.”
“That’s such a difficult concept for me,” Joie admitted. “I’ve never wanted to give myself to anyone, not wholly,” she admitted, looking up at him. “Not all of me. I didn’t want anyone to see inside me. But you already do, don’t you?” Her eyes met his. “You do see me like no one else ever has.”
“Yes.” Holding her close, protectively, Traian took to the air.
They soared across a night sky so dark it was nearly purple. A blanket of stars sparkled overhead. The few remaining storm clouds drifted rather than spun. Far below them the ground dropped away—mountains and valleys, forests and lakes hiding secrets best kept hidden for all time. The scene below them was a mixture of old world and new.
She could see farms scattered, with great haystacks and patches of gardens struggling for life. Sheep dotted the mountainside along with some cattle and goats. A herder’s cabin sat here or there in the remote places higher up on the mountain and more than once she saw stray dogs poking around looking for food along dusty roads.
Old ruins of a castle and a monastery along with numerous churches came into view. The country was beautiful and intriguing. Horse-drawn carts were no more than flatbeds in many cases with rails and car tires. The beauty of the countryside overwhelmed her as well as the simplicity of the villages.
I love it here, she admitted. You were lucky to grow up in such a beautiful place.
She looked up at him and her breath caught in her throat. She was half terrified and half fascinated at the shape Traian had assumed. He had the enormous wings of