Carpathian 17 - Dark Curse

become the dragon .
    How? I\'m still me.
    You are and you are not. You are there inside, but it is only your spirit left. Merge with your dragon and let it have free reign. Once you get a feel for flight and the way your dragon sees and thinks, you can allow your spirit to emerge a little more. Always, always remember to hold that image in your mind no matter what is happening around you.
    Lara\'s dragon nodded its wedge-shaped head. Move back and let me try .
    Nicolas, inside the large dragon, found himself smiling at the demand in her voice in spite of himself. He found he liked the little bite in her voice. He backed away from the ledge, all the while keeping his mind firmly in hers. Tension vibrated through his body as she stepped off the edge, great wings flapping frantically.
    Let your dragon take over. He would give her a couple of seconds. If she couldn\'t let go enough to allow the dragon to take over completely, he would have to seize her mind and take complete control.
    Don\'t you dare. I\'ll get the hang of it. Stop distracting me.
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    Christine Feehan: Dark Curse
    He felt the seeds of panic as the little female spiraled out of control. Every instinct screamed at him to take over her mind and right her, but he fought it back, holding on by a thread to give her a little more time as his dragon dove headfirst after its mate.
    Deep inside the body of his dragon, Nicolas groaned as he realized Lara had a problem with giving up control.
    He should have anticipated and prepared for it. She had seconds before the illusion of giving control to her dragon became a reality as Nicolas would have no choice but to take over. The ground rose up to meet her as his male dragon went streaking after her. Nicolas fought hard to give her those few extra precious seconds.
    And just that suddenly, Lara took a deep breath and let go of herself, turning control over to the dragon.
    Instantly the wings of the female dragon stopped the wild flailing and folded close to the body, stopping the spin. Then the wings came out, and with one powerful, coordinated stroke, the creature rose gracefully into the air.
    Childlike laughter rang in Nicolas\'s ears. A vise seemed to squeeze his heart at the sound of that young, carefree voice. She had never had a childhood, never been able to play or laugh, to feel the freedom of the wind in her face, to look down at the tops of the trees and the glistening meadows, to somersault in the night sky and just have fun. Now, sheer exhilaration sent her singing through the sky. The wind flew in her face, cool and brisk and he felt the joy in her.
    Nicolas! This is... amazing.
    Yes, it is. She was amazing. She did something to him inside he hadn\'t expected, turning him inside out with her simple happiness of the moment. In a way, he relived his own first experience of flying, but somehow, he enjoyed hers even more. She had never tasted true freedom. This was her first real exposure to the beauty of their world and he wanted her to enjoy every moment of it, to see the night in the way he did.
    Nicolas was astonished to find he was beginning to need her for more than to calm his demons, or spread light through the darkness-he needed to hear her laughter, to see the childlike delight in her sparkling dragon\'s eyes. He found himself admiring her courage. She had risen from the ashes of cruelty and horror yet maintained a sweetness and hope that he had never imagined could be possible under the circumstances.
    Flying through the night sky with her, it suddenly occurred to him that she might be a better person than he, that where duty and honor were ingrained in him, he thought himself superior to those he protected, but Lara truly did care. She cared about her two friends, and her aunts, and was beginning to worry about the father she had believed for years was a monster. He had protection to offer her, but what else?
    He had thought finding his life mate made him entitled to her, that she would worship the ground he walked on-that she should worship him, yet he hadn\'t considered that he might lose his heart to her. The possibility hadn\'t entered his mind, not even for a moment. She was supposed to lose her heart, but he would remain the same. Now, everything was changing inside of him and he felt off balance-and vulnerable. He didn\'t want to lose her and not because she was the other half of his soul and could save him. He simply didn\'t want to lose her and the stirrings of that emotion