Chapter 14
Ambrose
My knees hit the packed dirt in front of Evelyn as I reached for her, attempting to catch her before she fell. I realized too late the danger I’d put myself in. She wasn’t falling so much as collapsing into her shift. Now, her veil cat’s yellow-green eyes pinned me in place.
They looked so different from Evelyn’s deep brown. They were no less alluring. Gods, I needed to focus. The variance in color signaled that the animal might have been more in control of this particular shift than Evelyn was.
Evelyn was a veil cat shifter.
Puzzle pieces slammed together in my mind. How scared she’d been that I might have seen it. Her line of inquiry about the current Vesten Point’s form. It was certainly not a common shift. The current Vesten Point was the only one in recent history.
More concerning than the type of animal she shifted into at this particular moment was the fact that she did not seem to have any control over the change. The cat stared at me for another moment, and then one paw moved toward me.
I wasn’t sure if I should shift into my wolf or if that would only make things worse. My animal whined in my head with indecision.
“Evelyn,” I tried.
The veil cat growled as the yellow-green eyes I stared into shifted to brown.
Interesting. Interesting and dangerous. Evelyn’s growl showed off her sharp, lengthy teeth.
Her ears went back, and her hackles raised.
All the straightforward signs that I needed to give her space.
Still on my knees, I shuffled farther back until my shoulders hit the bushes surrounding the small enclosure.
Evelyn was in control when the veil cat’s eyes matched her own.
I got the sense that Evelyn in control of her veil cat was worse for me.
A strong, innate understanding told me that she wouldn’t attack, but honestly, I had no idea where that confidence came from.
My cowardice had allowed her to leave the tavern embarrassed and alone.
I’d followed her into this secluded space, and now I’d seen the shift she was hiding.
She was probably pissed at me.
Before I could decide to crawl back through the bushes, her eyes shifted to yellow-green again.
With the change in eye color came a significant reduction in her signs of aggression.
Her movements were quick toward me, and I didn’t have time to get away.
Not that I wanted to at this point. I still hadn’t told her what I needed to about our bond.
And the way she kept losing control of her shift worried me.
I didn’t think she should be left alone.
I understood what was happening. Like with her not knowing how to use her fire magic to warm herself, she must not have had anyone to explain this to her, either.
She was acting like a young Vesten first learning about their magic.
Our court was blessed with both fire magic and the ability to shift forms. Most outside of the court didn’t understand how the two magics went together, but we considered them two sides of the same coin.
The flame ignited the change from fae to beast and back.
Once one understood that, they tended to realize that the animal itself wasn’t separate from us.
It was a part of us, just like our fire magic.
Evelyn’s eyes shifted color again, and the separation between her and her veil cat was evident.
She was fighting too hard; she wasn’t comfortable in this second skin.
How long had it been like this?
I knew nothing about Evelyn’s fae father.
Her mother had stopped by the library a few times for meals or to drop something off.
I’d liked her immediately. My Vesten hearing came in handy when she was around.
Her first question after asking Evelyn about her day, or whatever errand had brought her there, was always about me.
A broad smile usually followed her asking where the handsome Ambrose boy was hiding.
Her mother seemed to enjoy the way Evelyn’s shoulders tensed at the mention of my name.
Admittedly, I liked it, too.
The veil cat’s eyes shifted once again, and with the brown came a growl that should have scared me more than it did.
Anger flooded me that no one had taught Evelyn about her shift.
Where had her father been? Where were any other Vesten fae who could have helped her?
I counted myself as one of them, and something clenched in my chest at the thought.
The feeling had nothing to do with the magic that bound us.
My heart broke for Evelyn, and heat surged through my veins, arching my back like I, too, might shift uncontrollably.
I never lost control of my magic. Before exploring blood magic, I had trained for years to perfect my use of the Vesten flame and shift. Fire flared in my palm now as I wondered how anyone could consider Evelyn less than perfect.
She’d moved closer to me. Her steps paused as my fire erupted, but she didn’t flee. I held my breath as she leaned in even closer. The tip of her nose sniffed my flame. Her eyes were that yellow-green color.
Had no one taught her how to shift? Our Vesten customs to not discuss our shifted forms outside of family had boxed her out of learning—the same way our definitions of Vesten had kept her from our schools for so many years.
It wasn’t right. Even if, on some level, the shift was instinctual, it wasn’t something I wished anyone to have to go through alone.
There was a comfort that came with having the shift explained. I’d found an internal acceptance when my father did so for me.
She licked my hand, unafraid that my flame would burn her.
It wouldn’t—it’d be like my flame burning my own palm.
Evelyn the brown-eyed veil cat might not have wanted me around, but Evelyn entirely ceding control to her shifted animal seemed to like me. More than that, she seemed to trust me. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Slowly, I stood and doused my flame. I warred with myself about how to proceed.
There was nothing that truly angered Evelyn more than when I asked questions about her experimental method.
It didn’t seem to matter that I was trying to help—that I wanted her and everyone in the library to be safe.
She saw it as an invasion. Those were the times I knew she truly disliked me.
They were also, unfortunately, the questions I couldn’t help but ask.
It felt similar to the decision I faced now. Evelyn was an adult; if she wanted to give herself over to the shift completely, that was her choice. My mind was ready with the rebuttal. Is it her choice if she doesn’t know how to stop it?
The thought nagged at me. If no one had taught her, was this really her decision?
Her soft fur against the tips of my fingers had me glancing down. She’d wrapped herself around my legs, her tail curled to hold me in place. The position was such that the scruff of her neck was beneath the hand hanging limp at my side.
That was … intimate.
The tips of my ears went hot, and I was glad no one was around to see.
I didn’t want to leave her like this, but hadn’t she made it clear she didn’t want to talk to me tonight?
In her veil cat form, she nuzzled my knee, while I ran my fingers through my hair with indecision.
Without warning, a growl ripped from her throat. She hissed, and her ears were back again as she turned to face me. The brown of Evelyn’s eyes mixed with the yellow-green, and I didn’t think the result would be good. Evelyn was fighting herself too hard. This wasn’t going to end well.
“It’s alright, Evelyn,” I tried. “Breathe. The shift is you, you are the shift. Don’t fight so hard against it.”
It was obvious she didn’t listen from the way her whole body started to shake. I couldn’t leave her now. There was only one way this type of shift could end.
“You’re alright. You’re safe, Evelyn,” I tried to soothe her, like my father had done to me with my first shift, but it didn’t seem to help. Her lip arched to reveal even more teeth. Her hackles rose, and her massive, reddish-brown body shook even more intensely.
I held my hands out as if to prevent the burnout I knew she was barreling toward.
She shook again, and a yowl that chased down my spine like steel against steel slipped from her mouth. With it, she fell to the ground in a heap.
I dropped to my knees again beside her. Tentatively, I reached out to stroke her fur.
“You’re safe, Evelyn,” I tried to reassure her, but her eyelids were closed.
The slow, even rise and fall of the chest of her veil cat form made it clear she had passed out.
I hoped it would only be a few moments before she naturally shifted back into her half-fae form. The change didn’t come as expected.
The small shelter of bushes had served its purpose to preserve her privacy for the shift, but I couldn’t leave her here.
She was a large, wild cat, not at all a tame kitten I could easily carry, but that didn’t change my decision.
I scooped her up in my arms. Her size was unwieldy, but physical strength had never been a problem for me.
Getting back through the bushes without disturbing her required some maneuvering. From there, I only had one choice.
I didn’t know where she lived. Full dark had fallen, and in no world would she want anyone else to see her in this form. This part of the park was relatively empty; anyone taking a stroll had found their way home or to their evening meal. I covered her with my jacket anyway.
Her feline head pressed against me, and I chose the only option available.
We weren’t far from my apartment. It was the closest place I could go to protect her privacy and keep her safe.
If she didn’t wake up until morning, it would be less than ideal, but I would cross that bridge when we got to it.