Zane rounded on her once the door to the hallway was closed behind them. "So, what about this second form of yours that I've heard so much about?" he asked with a grin.
Naturally, Kyra's automatic response to the teasing tone was a roll of her eyes. "What about yours?" she echoed his teasing. "But I think it might be a better idea to do demi forms first."
A simple nod of his head was his answer before the cobra locked eyes with her. It was then that she finally actually felt the effects of the cobra's eyes being able to hypnotize onlookers as they became slightly brighter in color and the pupils reformed as slits. His mouth parted slightly—as was common in full-blooded snakes when they used their sixth-sense of seeing heat—allowing her to see the sharp fangs there. Only a few moments later, dark snakeskin rippled into being across his normally pale, human skin. It surprised Kyra that the scales didn't look odd to her; they looked as natural as his human skin somehow.
Zane squirmed moderately under her curious gaze as if uncomfortable. Now, that looked unnatural to the eagle—enough so to snap her out of the effect of his hypnosis. She'd seen how still Zane could be if he really wanted to. It was truly ominous, the way he could simply stop moving except for the slowed rise and fall of his chest that signified that he was breathing. It was almost the calm before the storm effect. She supposed it was kind of cute, the way he seemed to care about what she thought so much that it would make such a normally graceful creature vaguely awkward.
"Well?" he asked quietly.
"Stunning," Kyra assured him. It seemed to completely startle the poor cobra whenever she leaned forward to kiss him. Her curious tongue probed his mouth for a moment before finding what it sought. Gently, she traced the sharp point of one of his fangs before retreating to find that his pupils were wide with what she could only define as desire.
"I've never kissed someone while in this form," he admitted at her confused, questioning expression. "The feeling is a little overwhelming." Though, it was quite a relief to him that she didn't mind touching him in his demi-form, let alone kissing him.
"Ah. Let me guess, it's my turn?" Kyra asked.
Zane's answering nod was accompanied by the snake-like characteristics dissolving back into his human ones once more. Stillness overtook him once again as he waited for her to take her turn.
"One thing before I do, though," she said quickly before actually shifting. "While it isn't uncommon for my people to walk around in their demi-form, it is wildly inappropriate for one who isn't mated to a person to touch their wings. Even alistairs aren't supposed to touch them. It's a highly personal, intimate act for someone to be allowed to."
"Okay," he said in understanding. "I won't touch."
Kyra chuckled a little. "No, Zane, you misunderstand me. You take my warning as me telling you you're not allowed, but you are. I was just informing you how big a deal it is to my people."
His eyes widened. "But why . . .?"
"Because you are my mate, and you mean so much to me already," she answered simply.
Then it was his turn to be amazed as she turned so that her back was facing him and shifted into her demi-form. A pair of large, black wings formed where her shoulder blades were as he watched. They were obviously the wings of a predator judging from the shape alone; they were obviously designed for strength and speed, much different than the wings of crows he'd seen on the battlefield. Looking more closely, Zane could see tinges of purple striking through some of the feathers. This caused him to wonder if the feathers at the nape of her neck—that he'd only ever felt not seen—had the same odd coloring.
From what he'd heard from Eleanor, the wings seemed to be larger than the rest of her family's demi-forms, too.
His hand reached out almost of its own accord to touch the stiff-looking feathers. Kyra jumped slightly when she felt those cool fingers skim against the top of one of her wings. She didn't know if it was because he was her mate or something else entirely, but it seemed that she was hyper-aware and sensitive to the touch, whimpering slightly in the back of her throat when he lightly carded his fingers through the feathers.
Zane jerked his hand away quickly at the sound. "Are you okay? Did that hurt?" he asked worriedly.
Kyra shook her head quickly. "No, it's just like you said. Never really had anyone do that before. I didn't expect it to feel like that."
He gave an awkwardly relieved chuckle at the news. "Oh, I was worried there for a second." Without even thinking about it, he fluidly moved around to stand in front of her and pulled her into a sweet kiss. His hands threaded into her hair and feather gently to bring her closer. "You are amazing," Zane whispered when she pulled away slightly with a shiver.
It was incredible just how intimate the entire exchange of forms had turned out to be, and they hadn't even shown their full secondary forms yet.
"You first," Kyra murmured against his lips as her wings receded back into nonexistence.
Zane nodded as he backed away. "Just be careful if you pick me up. According to my sister, I tend to be kind of testy."
Again, as she watched, Zane's body simply changed in a way that was so familiar but also so alien to her. She'd seen her own kind shift thousands of times, but there was something different about him shifting into a form that was so vastly opposite to the birds she was so acquainted with.
Then, sitting before her instead of the attractive man she'd grown to like—they hadn't known one another nearly long enough for something as strong as love, Kyra's mind quickly made clear—was the form of a large King Cobra. Since he was coiled up, it was impossible to say how long his body now was, but he was easily half her height in the part of his body that was vertical to allow her a better look at him.
He was jet black in overall color with faint bands of pale yellow down the length of his body; his belly scales were this same shade of yellow. While more common species of cobra had the distinctive eyespots on the backs of their hoods, Kyra could see that his simply remained black with those same bands through it. Looking at him in this form, Kyra could understand why his family was so feared by Avians. He was rather intimidating even to someone that knew he would never harm her.
Slowly, Kyra held out a hand with the palm perpendicular to the floor, indicating that she was going to touch him if he allowed it. Zane seemed to take the initiative by relaxing his hood and carefully running the side of his head along her hand. Taking that for the invitation it was, she ran a few fingers down the length of his head. The skin was surprisingly smooth to the touch.
He flicked his tongue against her hand, causing her to laugh a little at the tickling feeling before unwinding enough that he could move away. Moments later, the man had returned to his human form and was sitting cross-legged in front of her.
"You are a big-ass snake," she informed him with a wide grin.
The absurdity of that statement broke Zane's nervous silence and had him laughing. "Around twelve feet long, actually. Used to annoy Anjay that I was scarier than him," the laughter ceased with that memory. Kyra then remembered that Irene was the only other Cobriana to have survived the war outside of Zane and their mother. "He was only ten feet, and I passed that when I was thirteen."
Without hesitating, Kyra reached out to squeeze his hand. "We'll trade family stories another time, Zane. It won't help us to focus on the past right now."
He nodded, grateful for the little gesture of support. "I know." It took a moment longer to push the memories out of his mind, but he managed somehow. "I believe it is your turn."
Unlike Kyra, Zane had actually become quite familiar with how it looked when birds shifted forms because of his time on the battlefield. When she was finished shifting, however, he was genuinely surprised at the sheer size of the bird in front of him. He'd known that eagles were much larger than their hawk cousins, but this was amazing.
Kyra looked exactly like golden eagles he'd seen in the wild before, but it looked as if her feathers had been dipped in black ink. The color was quite beautiful in its unique way. The purple he'd seen splashed across her demi-form's wings were present throughout the inky feathers.
When she'd said she was a black eagle, he'd expected the species he'd known as a black eagle that had white feathers on some parts of its body and face. Her features were entirely black—beak, feet, and face. The only color that stood out in the blackness was the purple accenting her feathers and the familiar red eyes that were gazing back at him.
She ducked her head as if nervous when Zane reached out to pet her head in a similar fashion to what she did earlier. The texture that greeted him was not what he expected. He'd expected stiff feathers to greet him like her wings had been, but the ones on her head were rather soft to the touch.
This was allowed for a few minutes until she decided to flap a couple of times and hopped away so she could shift back into her human form.
"Judging from what I've seen of your family's second forms," Zane said once she was sitting in front of him in her human form, "it is not surprising that Nacola fears you. You could easily take them down based on size alone. If she had bothered to look past that, though, she would understand that you would never do such a thing to the people you hold dear."
Kyra couldn't help but give a melancholy laugh at that. "You seem to know me so well after such a short time, and no one but Danica and Rei ever tried before I met you. You are correct, though. If my mother had cared about me in the slightest, I never would have done anything to prevent harm coming to her, but as it is . . . She would be lucky if I didn't lend an assassin the knife should anyone feel so inclined as to try to kill her."
Zane's had reached out of its own accord to rest on top of hers. "Do not speak such falsehoods, Kyra. She may have wronged you in the worst way a mother can, but she is still your mother. Someone like you could never directly wish ill on her."
A deep sigh left her. "I know," she admitted. "But that doesn't stop it from hurting every time she looks at me like I'm a monster."
That prompted the cobra's hand to squeeze hers in a gesture of solidarity. "After tomorrow when we are bonded in the eyes of your people and once Danica takes over for your mother it will not matter. You will not be forced to come into contact with her again unless you wish. She will be able to hold nothing over you since she will not have power. I'm sure if Danica agrees—which she probably would based off what you've told me—the ban on you revealing your second form would be removed."
Kyra's brow furrowed into a thoughtful expression. "That . . . is actually an incredible idea, Zane."
"I've been known to have them occasionally," he smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
"No, seriously, I'm going to go talk to Dani about it, like, now. I've hidden in the shadows for too damn long as it is."
"I would not have suggested it if I expected any less. Go, talk to your sister. Sleep is calling my name, so I'll see you when you return since I'm assuming we're still going to forgo that pesky Avian custom of never really sharing a bed you told me about."
That earned a quiet chortle from the eagle. "Of course, Zane. I have no desire to start having nightmares again without you there; it is an amazing luxury to have someone to chase them away for me." With that, Kyra shifted forms once more.
Zane watched in muted awe as she hopped over to the window before spreading those magnificent wings and taking flight. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her to have such an ability as flight and having to restrain herself from using it because of some stupid decree of her mother's. It was bad enough for him when he'd been a kid and being grounded from shifting for some stupid prank or another he'd managed to pull on Anjay.
He shook his head in a physical attempt to free himself of the memory. Now was still not the time to recall the things he'd lost to this stupid war, not after they were so close to ending it officially. He sighed as he retreated to the bed.
Upon undressing enough so that he was comfortable and crawling in, he discovered that Avian beds were nowhere near as luxurious or comfortable as the ones he was used to sleeping on when not on the battlefield. Zane had the sinking feeling that neither Kyra nor he would be getting much sleep before the ceremony the next day.
Meanwhile, Kyra's first flight in weeks ended much too quickly for her tastes as she landed on the rail of Danica's balcony. She let out a quiet cry to call her sister's attention while she sat there. Needless to say, the hawk was surprised to see a familiar inky eagle sitting outside her door and quickly opened the door.
"Kyra? What're you doing here? I hadn't expected to see you until tomorrow morning!"