He continued to watch her with curiosity.
"I think you're a boy. What name would you like? You have blue eyes like Gavin. Maybe I'll call you Gavin Junior. Where is he, by the way? Did you see him this morning?"
The bird eyed her, tilting his head sideways.
"We've been married for what… twelve hours, and already he doesn't want to spend any time with me."
The hawk made two low chirps, almost like a sad, soothing sound.
"Even you feel sorry for me. Where does he go every day?" Dani gazed across the landscape again. Sunbeams pierced through the clouds in the distance, almost like spotlights. "Wow, look at that, like rays from heaven. So beautiful," she whispered.
Gavin, in hawk form, perched on the stone, watching Dani as she delighted in the view of his homeland. Aye, Scotland was indeed a bonny land, but he often failed to appreciate it during the day, locked in this animal form, and with so many concerns weighing down his soul.
"I would love to share this view with my new husband. I bet he knows this land like the back of his hand. He could tell me the name of each of those mountains, the loch, and the glen."
New husband… his heart clutched into a tight ball. He loved hearing her say those words and knowing she wished to spend time with him.
But… she appeared miserable and had every right to be.
Why had the blighted spell not ended, as his father had predicted? Mayhap his father was naught but a madman with no insights, wisdom, or secret knowledge about the resolution.
Dani observed him with such a pained and discouraged expression it near broke his heart. "I thought Gavin liked me."
I do!
"Last night, he didn't seem to be using me for unhexing. But maybe he was." Staring down at the golden wedding band, she twisted it round and round. "Since the curse is history, he probably has no more use for me. He might have mistresses all around the country."
The curse remains, and I have nay mistress!He wanted to yell the words at her, but he could do naught but emit a high-pitched screech.
"Ow." She stuck a finger in her ear and glared at him. "You're loud!"
Well then, cease accusing me of things I've nay done.
But he knew she had no notion where or what he was.
She sat in silence for a few minutes, staring first in one direction and then another. The tears welling in her eyes surprised him, and he took a step closer.
"I'm here all alone," she whispered. "I'll probably never see Mom and Dad again. Or Gracie. If I'm stuck here, I'll never have a career or money or nice clothes or anything. Just—" She glanced down at her moth-eaten cloak. "Hand-me-down clothes." She wiped her tears away. "But worst of all… the loneliness and isolation. No one to talk to but a bird. The only female I've seen since I've been here is a witch… apparently. Who knows?"
Saints! She gutted him with her painful musings.
"I wish I could talk to Amelia." She looked at Gavin. "My best friend. She won't even know where I've gone to. I'm a missing person. My career is down the tubes."
Gavin didn't know what tubes were, but he felt bad for her. Until now, he had only been thinking of himself and his clan. He hadn't considered things from her viewpoint. Unsure what he could do at the moment, he lowered his head.
If only he could be in human form right now, he would hold her in his arms, cradle her and comfort her. He wished he could tell her how precious she was to him.
He would tonight.
"Oh no. Not that mean owl again!" She stared into the distance.
Startled, Gavin turned his head, his sharp vision catching the movement of the eagle-owl with brown speckled plumage—Wilona or a natural owl, hunting mice? It descended behind a rock outcropping, out of sight.
Moments slipped by as Gavin observed the spot. A movement to his right snagged his attention.
A wolf?
Chapter 15
