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When he saw her and how ill she was from the poison ivy, he almost dropped the tray in shock.
He knew what was ailing her.
He had seen this kind of rash before on the legs of the children who had gone farther into the forest than was usually allowed and got entangled in the poison vine. Some of them had become very ill because of it.
They had even lost one child whose body had been too weak to fight off the horrible effects of the poison vine. Even his grandfather Shaman had not been able to stop the child from dying.
He looked more closely at Mia’s legs, worried when he saw just how badly she was afflicted by the poison of the vine. Were she to die, he would always blame himself for having brought her to his village. Why had she felt the need to flee his people even though she had not been mistreated?
But he understood. She saw herself as a captive, and the very word was enough to send dread into anyone’s heart.
He wished now that he had told her he saw her not as a captive, but instead as a woman he had deep feelings for.
And now?
No sooner had he found a woman who affected his heart in such a sensuous way, than he feared he might lose her.
“I must get you to Shadow Island,” he exclaimed, already setting the tray on the floor. “Now. Not later.”
“Shadow Island?” Mia asked meekly, still nervous of Wolf Hawk after seeing him appear in such a mysterious way yesterday.
But she couldn’t ask him about what she had seen. She was afraid of what his reaction would be.
“Shadow Island is where my grandfather Shaman lives,” Wolf Hawk said.
He bent to his knees to sweep her into his arms, then stopped. He had never taken a white person to Shadow Island before, but now he must. He knew that he must get Mia to his grandfather and ask Talking Bird to use his magic cures on her. The woman was so ill. Talking Bird was her only chance of surviving this horrible sickness.
And Wolf Hawk was desperate for her to survive. He cared deeply for her.
He had hoped she would want to stay at his village, not flee from it, as he now knew she had tried to do yesterday. After she had asked him to leave the tepee, he had followed her tracks far from his village and straight into the poison vine area.
He knew that was why she had returned. She had surely had experience with the poison vine before and knew that she would have a bad reaction to it.
She had actually returned to plea for help; his.
“You are so kind to do this for me,” Mia murmured as she felt his powerful arms lift her up.
“My grandfather knows all things,” Wolf Hawk said as he carried her from the tepee, ignoring the surprised looks of his people, and hurried toward his canoe.
He would have preferred to fly her over to the island, but knew that seeing him in hawk form would terrify her. No. He had to keep her from discovering his mystical abilities.
He gazed into her eyes as she looked up at him while he gently laid her in the canoe. “My grandfather will make you well,” he said, searching her eyes. He was glad to see trust in them. But there was something else, too. It was a look of wonder, as though she knew something that he didn’t.
He was curious what that look meant, but he had no time to dwell on it now. He had to focus on getting her well. He did not want to lose her after having just found and falle
n in love with her.
He had been attracted to many women of his tribe, yet none had spoken to his heart as had this woman.
He did not want to believe that his people would shun him were he to announce his feelings for this white woman. They knew him well and understood that he always acted out of the goodness of his heart.
Mia lay on the floor of the canoe as Wolf Hawk shoved it out into the water, then climbed aboard himself.
She began shivering, both from a fever that had just claimed her, and fear of what lay ahead. In the river she could see a small island that was partly obscured by mist.
Although her flesh was hot, she shivered with a chill that made her teeth chatter.
Aware that Mia was growing worse, Wolf Hawk drew the paddle more determinedly through the water, his eyes now focused on the island.
