Read Online Awakening the Wolf by Crymsyn Hart - Free Book Online Page B

oxygen was being sucked from her lungs. It seemed Illiana was dying. It was all she could do to hold on to her consciousness. Black spots appeared before her eyes. When she tried to sink to her knees, the fire held her up. Terror set in and pushed her heart into overdrive. When she thought she would be completely sucked under, the fire had parted and was not burning her.
    “You have passed the test. All fire spirits will know you now. The air can witness if there is any doubt.” The voice died, and the pressure left her body.
    Illiana stepped from the fire, and Coret grabbed her. Once she stepped from the blaze, she felt the air return to cool and calm her. Her aunt led her to the shade and offered her a dipper of water she pulled from a rain barrel. All Illiana could taste was the freshness of the water and how crisp it was.
    “Are you all right?” her aunt asked.
    Illiana ran her fingers over her wrist where the fire had touched her. There was a raised scar that had not been there before. When she listened, she heard the fire whispering to her, but it was mostly babbling until she focused on it. The air wrapped around her, hugging her, but the rest of her was not burned—not even her clothing. She shivered and smiled, knowing she had gone through another test and she had passed it. The next thing was to see if she could hold onto her wolf form and learn to shift into it with the same ease she had with her raven form. By accepting the fire, she had claimed another part of herself.
    “Yeah, I’m okay.”
    “What was that all about?”
    Illiana smiled at her aunt as she felt the heat of the fire spirit spark within her. “Trial by fire.”
    “I figured that, but why?”
    “The fire isn’t like the air. Air is all one big spirit—so big I can’t hear its voice—but the fire is different. It’s composed of smaller spirits that fight for dominance. When they work together, they become this whole other entity with one voice. When I was talking with them before, trying to get them to cooperate with me, I was only talking to some of the smaller ones within the whole. The element has something to do with the wolf, too. But I saw it, the wolf.”
    Coret shook her head and had an astonished look on her face.
    “What?”
    “I can’t believe how strong you are. You really should train for the priesthood because if people get wind of this, I’m not sure what they would do. If you were in the priesthood, then they could not touch you. If someone ever discovers this is all a farce, what you really are, then I don’t know how they would react.”
    “Was that the reason why my father left . . . because he was different?” Illiana asked. She took another sip of water before standing up. More and more she had begun to wonder exactly why her father had left.
    Coret shook her head. “I’m sorry. There are many things you need to talk to your mother about. That is one of them.”
    “What are the other ones?”
    “You have to ask your mother those questions. I think she’d be the best one to answer them.” Coret stood up and brushed herself off.
    “Where are you going?” Illiana asked.
    “It’s late, and I think you’ve done enough for one day.”
    “I thought you said you wanted me to try again and transform into the wolf?”
    “I do. Why not get some rest and try tomorrow? There is time. And your mother is worried about you. Go home and talk to her.”
    Illiana nodded. She watched her aunt’s form shrink and change into the raven. When she disappeared from sight, Illiana stood and dusted off her dress. The weight of the day piled on her shoulders, and the news of Christopher’s mating swam inside her thoughts. She turned it over and over again, wondering how or when she would confront him again. It would have to be soon and when he was alone.
    * * * *
    Belik kept to the shadows the way he had over the past three months, watching Illiana. After their initiation, he tried to see her. He had gone to her house