Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
CAELAN
Ben appeared first, followed by Evie, both wrapped around each other.
Both nude.
I had to close my eyes for a long moment and get myself together. This was the second time in less than a week that the woman I loved more than life ended up trapped with one of my shifters.
In Ben’s case, former shifter.
It wasn’t her fault. Evie’s nature was something I had to work with and not against. But seeing the way she and Ben were entangled…it took everything I had not to swipe his pretty face with a fistful of claws.
Both of their eyes were closed, their heads lolling against each other. And even though they were tangled together, neither was conscious. They looked as if their last act was to make sure neither was lost in the dark as they sought the light.
Evie’s vines went limp. I swore and reached for Ben, jerking him out of the ground, Evie still holding on. I tried to separate them, but neither would let go, almost as if they were glued together.
Gritting my teeth, I rolled Ben onto his back, forcing Evie right on top, and hit her in the middle of her back twice.
Just enough for her lungs to restart. She coughed once, twice, three times, and gagged, expelling an alarming amount of dirt.
Evie probably wouldn’t have died, not from inhaling dirt. Her nature, after all, was inherently tied to the earth. But seeing her prone, unconscious body stirred something dark and dangerous inside me.
Her eyes dragged open, unfocused and filled with dirt. She blinked away the worst of it, realized who she was on top of, gasped, gagged again, and threw herself to the side, her back thumping to the ground.
“Caelan?” she croaked, not seeing me yet.
I crouched beside her. “I’m right here.”
Her lips pulled back from her teeth in a grimace before dirty tears slid from her eyes. “Is he okay?”
In answer, I flipped Ben over none too gently and whacked him on the back, far more forcefully than I did Evie.
But nothing happened.
I shook his shoulder. “Ben?”
Evie scooted closer to him. She lay a hand on his shoulder. Seeing her touch him made my jaw tighten, but I kept my burning jealousy inside. “Ben?”
No movement.
Evie sat up abruptly. “Roll him over.”
I didn’t ask why, simply did as she asked.
She shook him again. “Ben!”
No response once more. She called her magic to her fingers and pressed her hand against his chest. Magic the color of watermelon tourmaline rose to the surface and covered his body from head to toe. As I watched, Evie snaked a vine into Ben’s body.
The Lord jerked, his back bowed.
“Turn him to the side,” Evie commanded.
I tilted Ben seconds before a torrent of dirt and gravel poured from his mouth.
Evie rubbed his back, withdrawing her magic. “Get all of it out.”
We watched as Ben shuddered and gagged, vomiting up black soil. When he finally finished, Ben sagged against the ground and groaned.
Evie winced. “I’m so sorry.” She looked up at me.
“I don’t know how it happened. I’ve never gone underground like that, not that far. If I do, I usually stay mostly above the surface.” Her voice trailed off as she got a good look around her.
Eyes wide, her mouth opened in a surprised oh. “I’d ask if I did that, but I know I did.”
She closed her eyes and exhaled. “Shit. That’s going to cost an arm and a leg.”
I couldn’t wait anymore and went to my knees, yanking Evie into my arms. She smelled like dirt and leaves and undeniably Evie. My fist tangled in her hair.
“I’m so fucking glad you’re alive. You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m so sorry.” Her arms tightened around me. She pulled away and put her dirty hands on either side of my face. “But did you see Ben’s arm?”
I nodded, feeling so proud of her my chest was close to bursting. “You’ve got a Lord in your debt.”
Ben let out a raspy laugh and came to a seated position. Christian hurried forward with an extra set of clothing. Pax came over with Evie’s.
“I’m sorry the earth keeps stealing my clothing.”
“Let’s try to get through a week where you don’t have to heal anyone, okay? If you wake up naked with another one of my shifters, I’ll get a complex.”
She smiled and pressed her cheek against mine. “Deal.”
I helped her up and walked her over to a spot where she could get dressed in private. She’d never be as comfortable with nudity as a shifter, and I thought enough people had seen her naked for the rest of my lifetime.
When she was dressed and wearing a grimace, she stepped out. “I need a shower,” she said with a shudder. “I have dirt in places I didn’t know I had cracks.”
I grinned and reached for her hand. “There’s only one potion left. Why don’t you use it, and I’ll get a flight home?”
She frowned. “How long were we in there?”
“Eight hours.” The longest eight hours of my life.
“You could take the potion, and I can fly home. Moira and Ash can run the shop. You have an entire Keep who needs you.”
“She can stay with us,” Pax said, his eyes lingering a little too long on Evie.
Ben, dressed but still filthy, came over. “Evie will be safe with us if you need to get back.”
The sound of a door opening made all the shifters tense. “No one should be here,” Christian said.
“Considering there’s a tree growing through the roof of the garden center, I can only guess the commotion alerted the authorities,” Ben said, rubbing his head as he stared up at the gaping hole in the roof and the massive tree growing through it.
After Evie melded with the World Tree, I had a difficult relationship with large trees, but this one didn’t feel like the other. This one had the look of a birch and pine but with bright red berries on the limbs.
But it wasn’t the authorities who stepped through the door.
The Shifter Lords had arrived and looked none too happy.