Numair watched as the sky lit, the crack of lightening setting his magic to crackling under his skin. He hated this feeling. He hated being this close to losing his control. Thunder sounded in the distance, obscuring his hearing. He strained, listening for any sound. She was out there somewhere. She had flown north of the Swoop yesterday in search of the location of a rogue minotaur. She hadn't come back.

A villager farther up the coast had come to the Swoop three days ago begging George to help. His daughter had been brutalized by the immortal. She was the fourth maiden to be attacked in half as many weeks. George had sent for them. They had been on their way to the tower. Still, it had taken them a day to make the journey. He hadn't wanted to come. They had almost been home. Jon had promised them they would have a three-day reprieve. Daine had needed that. Numair wasn't sure she had gotten an uninterrupted night's sleep in more than a fortnight. She didn't need this.

Another bolt of lightning shot across the sky, and he frantically searched it for her shape-shifted form before it went dark once more. They had argued. He had tried to convince her to ride on to the tower. He would meet her there. He didn't want her anywhere near this. It wasn't that he didn't think she was capable, but...he didn't think he was strong enough to handle the thought of her anywhere near a minotaur. He wished now that he had just told her that. Instead, he had all but assured that she would chase after the beast.

He closed his eyes, trying not to remember her face when he had told her that sometimes there were tasks "better suited to the male sex." He clenched his fist. He couldn't believe he had said that. He hadn't meant it. He didn't even believe it. However, the thought of Daine anywhere near a minotaur had left him physically ill and irrational. He could feel himself hit her anger, like it was a palpable wall. Her blue-gray eyes flashed, her mind becoming impervious to change. He knew he had lost any potential opportunity to reason with her. There would be no changing her resolve now...and he felt ashamed of himself for even trying.

She had left to scout in gall form as soon as they had arrived to the Swoop. He had followed her up to the battlements, hoping she would break the silence. He had told her long ago that friends should promise to never be parted in anger...they seemed to break that pact far too often. She had turned, and he almost broke at the glassy shimmer of her gaze. She was holding back tears. He took a step forward. Her wing brushed his cheek as she took flight. He felt his control waiver as he bent and picked up her empty cloak. Her scent lingered, and he fought the urge to bury his face in the material and cry.

He hadn't moved off the battlement since. George had tried to convince him to come into the keep. "Lad ye know the lass can take care of herself. Minotaur go after maidens, not galls." George's words brought him little comfort. She wasn't a gall. She was a girl. But she wasn't just a girl. She was Daine. His Daine.

He felt the first drop of rain strike his face. He let the tears he had been holding back begin to fall. No one would be able to tell now. The wind whirled off the coast, whipping his hair into his face. He didn't make to brush it away. A third bolt broke across the coast line, and he sent a wave of his magic out to bolster it for a few seconds longer. He thought he saw something, a flash of black against the blinding light. It quickly became obscured by darkness once more. He sent out another bolt of his magic to light the sky. The entire horizon became illuminated, and he heard shrieks from the courtyard below, as darkness became daylight. He relished in using the pent-up energy of his gift.

There! The unmistakable beat of birds wings against dusky sky. No natural animal would fly in this squall. He didn't know whether to be angry she had risked it, or relieved that he wouldn't have to spend another night standing on the battlement, worried about where she was. He resisted the desire to light up the sky again, knowing it would likely blind her in her flight. Instead, he lit the torches on the battlement, and sent out his magic to protect them from the gail.

The rain fell in earnest now. He tucked the fabric of her cloak tight against his chest, wanting it to be dry when she arrived. She had looked close. Why was she not here yet? Thunder rolled in the distance, the tempest moving further away now, and the sound only served to further his panic. What if she had lost her bearings in the storm?

He lifted his hand to send out his magic, when another strike of lightning cracked across the sky. He saw her then. A large golden eagle perched on the stone wall of the rampart. "Oh sweet!" He stepped forward, covering the bird with Daine's cloak. A breath later she was human. He pulled her into his embrace, tears mingling with rain drops as they rolled off of his face, and into her wild curls.

She shivered in his embrace, and he tried not to think about the feel of her body pressed so closely to his with nothing but a thin layer of fabric separating them. "I am so sorry magelet! I didn't mean it..." His voice sounded strangled, but he pushed on. "You can do anything. I know you are more than capable of doing anything you put your mind to." He pulled her closer, pressing his palm to the back of her neck and squeezing lightly. He needed her to understand. "I was just scared Daine. I..." He trailed off, meeting her eyes.

Her small hand, cold and wet, found the back of his neck. She clutched it, forcing him to tilt his head slightly. The gesture felt weak, and he felt her legs trembling in his embrace. She was exhausted. He brushed his thumb across the jut of her cheekbone, and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I know you can do anything Daine" he repeated, holding her glazed gaze. "I just want you to know that you never have to do it alone." He bent, sliding his arm beneath her knees, drawing her up into his grasp, and cradling her close.

He turned, startled to see George standing at the entrance of the bastion, a roguish grin playing on his crooked features. He pressed Daine closer, pulling her hood up over her face, and followed the older man into the keep.