Joie blinked up at him. "You sleep in the ground?"

"In the soil. It rejuvenates us."

She closed her eyes. "Oh, G.o.d. I don't even know what to say to you."

He bent his head to steal another kiss. "Hang on. I am about to take you flying."

She made a noise somewhere between laughter and choking, but her mouth responded, soft and firm and very pliant. He indulged himself for a few more moments, kissing her again and again, finding her mouth a sweet, hot haven he could lose himself in. When he lifted his head, she looked a little dazed.

Traian smiled down at her. "You're being very brave."

"You're cheating. And I'm not being brave. Has it occurred to you I might be afraid of flying?"

"You were engaged in astral projection the first time I laid eyes on you," he pointed out.

"I thought you were drug-induced," she confessed. "I'd been experimenting, but I didn't really believe I was actually accomplishing it. I thought I just sort of hypnotized myself. I would never have been so open with you had I thought you 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 pa.s.s. 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 a.s.sumed. He had the enormous wings of a huge owl, yet human arms held her against the soft, feathered breast. The feathers tickled her skin, and sent a shiver down her spine when she realized it was all too real. She closed her eyes trying to keep her heart rate normal, certain he would notice the difference if she didn't. She was so aware of his every breath and couldn't imagine that it wasn't the same for him.

I have been unable to see beauty in my surroundings for some time. Traian looked around him. You are right, it is beautiful. Thank you for giving me such a gift.

Joie took a cautious peek around her once she had calmed her accelerated heartbeat. She was flying through the air with a man who could shift shape. Astral projection was cool, no doubt about it, but this-this was amazing. The sensation of the wind in her face, the way Traian could drop down low and skim the lakes and gorges. Everything, even the leaves on the trees were amazingly clear.

I think you've given me a gift as well. I never thought to experience such a sensation. It's far better than jumping out of an airplane.

She felt his heart leap in his chest.

You jump out of planes?

With a parachute of course. I just don't leap out and pray I'll find a soft landing. Soft laughter bubbled up. Traian flew across the night sky, faced vampires, and shifted into birds, yet he was obviously disapproving of her jumping out of airplanes. How very ludicrous was that?

You are a bit on the medieval side, aren't you?

Perhaps. There was no apology in his voice. Your need to do dangerous things has got to be curbed, Joie. You have no idea what you have saved me from. I cannot begin to convey to you how necessary it is that you live.

Joie frowned. He was very somber. She could feel the utter sincerity in him. He was taking a roundabout way to the inn just to allow her the amazing sensation of flying and to really see his homeland. He might be a little on the medieval side, but he was also very kind and thoughtful.

He was turning her inside out and she didn't really have time to consider what was happening to her. She simply let him overpower her with his blatant s.e.xuality, with the intensity of his personality, and the fact that like her, he was a warrior. He was strong enough to stand up to her and she could respect that-and him. She knew she had a strong personality. She automatically took charge in nearly every situation.

Jubal, like her father, was far more laid-back. He would never run in a fight. He was always calm and reasonable and then he got the job done. Gabrielle was fierce in a lab. She was adventurous enough to go with her siblings and parents to high mountaintops and down into deep caves, but she was not aggressive in the same way Joie was.

I'm going to drive you crazy, she confessed to him.

I am well aware of that, Traian replied, amus.e.m.e.nt filling her mind.

She couldn't help but laugh too. I'm not certain I want you running around in my brain. The laughter faded. You know I nearly committed myself to a hospital because I kept hearing your voice. It was really disturbing when I couldn't stop it.

Traian frowned. It was that foreign to you? Even when you are able to speak to your brother and sister telepathically?

That's entirely different. We've always been able to speak to one another, but not anyone else. We just thought it was a Sanders sort of thing. My mom and dad can do it too.

It could be considered arrogance to think that only your family was capable of telepathic communication.

Joie found herself laughing again. I suppose you're right. I definitely take it for granted in our family. We've always been that way.

Both parents?

She tried not to hear the suspicion in his voice, or feel it in her mind. He really had a prejudice toward mages. Yes, both parents. And we're entirely human. I can show you my birth certificate and all my really bad school photos.

I would be interested in seeing your bad school photographs, just because I am interested in everything about you. I cannot imagine you looking bad, especially as a little girl. You have grown into a beautiful woman.

He said it so matter-of-factly, Joie couldn't protest. Like most women, she felt far from beautiful, but it was nice to know he thought she was. She turned her face up to his and smiled. Thank you. I'm glad you think so.

Lights from the inn lit the ground below them. Traian dropped to earth some distance from the building, where the shadows were deep. Music spilled out of the two-story building, floating out in all directions. People mingled on the wraparound verandah and on most of the balconies, some dancing, some talking, and others pressed close to one another.

"The festival," Joie said. "I forgot about it. Look at me-I'm a mess."