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flight uncomfortably pleasant. It was a strange feeling for Haytham, to find himself aroused by carrying another. He’d never had the sensation when carrying an elf, the times when the queen asked the use of his wings for reconnaissance against her enemies.
    But Sade was somehow solider, more… present… than an elf. The flowered perfume that the elves had bathed her in faded in the wind, leaving behind only her true scent: something musky with a hint of sharpness, that traveled straight to Haytham’s loins. He was grateful for the pain of the shift back to his human form, to remove any signs of arousal that might have lingered.
    Careful, Haytham, he admonished himself. Yes, the princess wanted Sade seduced, but he’d have to strike a delicate balance if he chose to be her lover as well as her instructor. They were already living in intimate quarters.
    Then again, maybe fucking Sade would get the urge out of his system. The chase was always more exciting than the kill.
    Haytham left her with the basket, sending her to gather flowers to supplement their meal, and shifted again. Surely there would be a good deer somewhere in the valley between these two peaks. He could descend upon it, snapping its neck, and then he and Sade would eat well for days. He would also be able to use its pelt to fashion her a blanket. As it was, they’d be sharing his blanket tonight.
    He cruised down to the valley, found a deer quickly and equally quickly dispatched it, hauling its limp body back to his home.
    As he approached the cave ledge, carrying his burden of meat, he saw that Sade wasn’t at the flower patch where he had left her. But he spotted her not far off, at the thicket of berry bushes, gathering fruit in a swath of silk she must have taken from her clothing.
    Haytham couldn’t help being struck by the intimacy of the situation. Rarely did he bring a lover to his den. And never had he taught anyone the wind dance.
    Sade looked up as Haytham descended, dropping the deer on the cleared expanse of stone in front of his cave. Her large brown eyes were wide, and a bit afraid.
    He landed on the ledge, and closed his eyes, letting the shift wash through him. It was always agony, having his bones and flesh reform itself in human skin, but when the pain had passed, he could stand and breathe again. His hands and nails were still bloody from where he had held the deer.
    He needed to skin it first, so he went back into his den and took his knife from the shelf. The air had grown chill with the approach of evening, so, after wiping his hands on the pelt he kept for the purpose, he pulled on a pair of loose trousers and a sleeveless tunic.
    Back outside, he saw Sade standing over the deer, clutching the basket of flowers and fruit in her right arm.
    “It was a clean kill,” Haytham said. He wanted to dispel the look of horror on her face.
    Sade swallowed. “That’s…good.”
    Perhaps now wouldn’t be the best time, after all, to discuss using the hide to make her a blanket. “Why don’t you go inside the cave and get the fire started?” Haytham suggested.
    Sade looked at him blankly a moment. “I’ve never started a fire.”
    Yes, of course. Coming from living in the elven court, she wouldn’t have any useful skills at all.
    He suppressed a sigh. “There’s a stream about a ten-minute walk away, along that ridge.” He pointed. “Leave your basket inside. I’ll give you a container you can use to draw the water, while I get the fire started and begin our dinner.”
    Looking frankly relieved at the suggestion, she followed him quickly into the cave.
    Haytham handed her a tightly woven basket. The inside was treated so that it wouldn’t leak, and it had a long handle; he usually used this while he was in bird form, holding it in his talons when he wanted to get water quickly. But the handle would fit comfortably over her shoulder.
    Sade took the basket and started toward the mouth of the cave.
    “Wait,” Haytham called after