Chapter 4
Everly
Iwoke up to two men staring at me.
Normally, this would freak me out, and I’d go into full-blown ninja mode.
Luckily, I remembered just in time that I was a bird, that ninja mode was just me flailing a lot, and that the bigger man was the one I’d been trying to find for the last several days.
He kept glaring at the smaller man, then yanked him back by the collar when he got too close to me.
“Give her space.”
“Stop growling at me. I have to be close to see the magic wrapped around her.”
“If you don’t give her space, I’m going to toss you into a frozen lake.”
The other man sighed and sat on the coffee table across from me, while the bigger man folded his arms and sat in the recliner, glaring at him with suspicion.
I fluffed my feathers unconsciously as I studied them.
I hadn’t yet learned which human colors matched which raven colors, but I could tell there was some variation in these men’s skin tones, and their hair colors were vastly different.
How any of it correlated to human eyesight and the colors I was familiar with? No idea.
I closed my eyes. The way ravens saw color made me dizzy. There were just… so many. It was overwhelming. I missed looking at things and understanding what I was seeing. I opened my eyes again and sighed. I’d get used to it. I had to.
“Hmm.” The smaller one tilted his head. “That’s some powerful magic wrapped around you.”
I wished I could ask their names. It was maddening not being able to communicate.
As if he’d read my mind, the bigger man said, “My name’s Alaric. This guy is my friend Shay. He’s a warlock—a pretty good one.”
Shay snorted. “That’s like saying you’re sort of large.”
“Don’t brag,” Alaric said, giving him a look.
“It’s not bragging if it’s true.”
“The sky doesn’t brag about its beauty.”
“The sky isn’t alive and can’t talk. I can.”
A laugh tumbled out of my beak that, unfortunately, sounded like I was choking. These guys really did sound like they’d been friends forever.
“Is she okay?” Alaric asked in alarm, half-rising from his seat.
Shay waved him back down, peering at me curiously. “She’s fine. If you can believe it, that’s her laughing. She’s laughing because we’re ridiculous.”
Alaric settled back down, his posture relaxing. “That means I’m funny, right?”
Shay rolled his eyes. “Not even close.”
Well, I thought he was funny. Did that count? Clearly not, since I didn’t have a voice to say so.
My stomach snarled at me. Alaric must have heard it, because he leapt up and disappeared into the kitchen, returning with another plate of food and a little bowl of water. I demolished both in short order, then settled into the pillow again, watching the two men.
My body felt heavy and loose with exhaustion.
I didn’t know how long I’d slept, but I clearly needed more.
So far, in my raven body, the pain of my illnesses had been muted, and I seemed to have more stamina.
I wasn’t sure what that meant. But even if it was just a pause on the pain and symptoms, I’d take it gladly.
Shay cleared his throat, drawing my attention. “Do you want the good news or the bad news?”
I glared at him with both of my beady black eyes and trilled in frustration. Both, obviously!
“Don’t be a jerk,” Alaric said. “She can’t talk. Just tell her what you found.”
“You’re so protective,” Shay murmured.
Alaric raised a brow, and I felt the threat in the expression.
Clearly, Shay did too, because he smirked and held his hands up in surrender.
“Okay, okay.” He turned to me. “The spell will likely last several months. My best guess is three. But here’s the good news—maybe in as little as a few days, you’ll start shifting back into human form for a few hours at a time.
It was written into the spell—specifically for you.
Whoever cast this was brilliant. And that’s coming from me, a literal genius. ”
Alaric snorted. “If you’re so brilliant, why haven’t you figured out how to teleport yet?”
“The difference between being able to teleport and casting a basic spell are leagues apart. Teleportation is one of the most advanced forms of magic! It’s right up there with shapeshifting!”
Shay looked both embarrassed and frustrated, but Alaric merely smirked at him. “I bet the warlock who gave her family this magic could teleport.”
Shay glared at him. “Do you want my help or not?”
I laughed again—their interactions seemed more like brothers than friends—and both men turned to me with a smile.
I could admit, my raven laughter sounded like I was choking on something, and it was pretty funny.
But it was in that moment, with both of them focused on me, that I realized they were both gorgeous.
The swirling colors made it hard to tell, but I was fairly certain they were.
And I was stuck as a bird with both of their very focused attention on me.
I scrunched my head into my shoulders and fluffed my feathers. I wanted the information, but I also wanted to sink into the floorboards. Why had I thought this was a good idea? Oh, right—because I’d been desperate.
Shay continued, “So, expect short stints in human form—maybe in a day or two. As time passes, you’ll be able to stay human longer. Eventually, if you choose, you can stay that way around the clock.”
If I choose? I would get to choose to be fully human again?
“What does that mean?” Alaric asked, brows drawing together. I bobbed my head at his question. He seemed to be asking all the questions I would if I had my voice, and I was grateful.
Shay’s tone turned playful. “It means that once the spell runs its course, she’ll be a full-fledged shifter. The shifter DNA will have fully melded with her body. She also has one other shifter gene spliced in…but I’ll leave that as a surprise.”
I gave him my best raven glare. I didn’t want surprises. I wanted answers! Why did he have to play games with my life? None of this was amusing.
“You’re being obnoxious,” Alaric growled.
“It’s my specialty,” Shay said with a cheeky grin.
I trilled in annoyance, eyeing Shay with exasperation. I was grateful he’d come to explain things, but he was clearly enjoying needling Alaric too much to be fully helpful.
Fed up, I hopped and glided over to Alaric’s chair. I nuzzled his knee in thanks for bringing Shay to help.
He froze at my touch, then slowly lifted his hand to rub my head feathers. I nuzzled his hand gently and trilled. His answering smile was soft and full of warmth.
Then I turned to Shay and offered a similar trilling sound. He got thanks, but no nuzzles. He was a pest, and his grin said he knew it.
I wanted so badly to ask him more detailed questions about my health. As though he’d read my mind, he said gently, “I’m not sure what your health was like in your human form, but from what I’m seeing, it looks like it was rough.” His sly grin was gone, replaced with genuine concern.
I nodded at his observation, my throat bobbing in a swallow.
Yes. Overwhelming. Awful. Obliterating. I’d often felt broken—emotionally, mentally, physically…
even spiritually. It was hard to pray when you felt awful and were in pain, or when your mind was so thick with fog that you couldn’t even string a sentence together.
Shay paused, and Alaric’s fingers stopped rubbing my head, as if he too was bracing for the worst.
“The good news is that those symptoms will be very diminished in your shifter forms. You’ll experience less pain and fatigue. Your shifter forms will also help you heal over time. But it’s going to be a slow process. Shifters heal faster, but not overnight.”
I felt like I was going to cry. Could ravens cry? I didn’t think so—not emotional tears, anyway. It didn’t matter. I was crying on the inside.
I would heal? Completely?
I started trembling, and the most awful cry came out of my raven throat.
Alaric, clearly not knowing what to do, hovered over me with his hands splayed, unsure whether to touch me or not.
Finally, he set his hands palms-up on his legs, giving me the choice to come to him.
I tottered somewhat drunkenly to his hand.
He picked me up, bringing me close to his chest, and covered my body lightly with his warm, gentle hands.
“It’s okay,” he rumbled softly. “It’ll be okay.” I almost felt like he was telling himself that as much as me.
Would it be okay? I didn’t know. But I had hope. And that was more than I’d had a few days ago.
I slept the rest of the day, only waking when my stomach started growling frantically again, like I hadn’t eaten for a month. Alaric, who was reading a book in the recliner as I slept, looked up and smiled.
“Awake? Good. I thought I’d make us dinner.”
Yes, please. And though I was craving something more substantial than my raven form could probably process, I didn’t care what it was, as long as it was filling.
We made our way to the kitchen, and he stood in front of the fridge and freezer, eyeing what he had. I butted into his space to look too, making him laugh.
His fridge was a little empty, but he had chicken, vegetables, and some teriyaki sauce that sounded good together. Reading my mind, or maybe just following my glances, he pulled all of the ingredients out.
“Shay left a few hours ago. He went back to his hotel down in Port Noble, the town at the base of the mountain.”
I bobbed my head, already familiar with the town’s bird’s-eye layout. I’d flown over it on my way here. It was rimmed on one side by an inlet that led to the Pacific Ocean, and bordered on the other side by forest.
It was more mountainous here than in Anchorage, so it was a good bit colder. I only knew this because Shay had complained about it endlessly before I’d drifted off into a nap. It seemed that neither Alaric nor I felt the cold much.
I could only think of a few fictional paranormals who could stay warm in cold temperatures, and after meeting Alaric, I was betting he was a shifter.