“Ooo. I’m doing it.”
But the chill faded, and she opened her eyes to see her very human arms and legs. What was the key to shifting? She had to learn to shift into and out of fox form, or her life would be a huge mess even if she did survive the Mage Duke and the demon wyvern. She could be driving and shift and wreck the car and kill people, and what about cooking? If the oven was open and she was sliding a tray of scones in and she shifted, she might set the bakery on fire.
Hekla hugged herself, her breath coming too quickly and splotches of itchy heat rising along her neck. She forced herself to take a slow, deep breath.
“I can do this. It’s good that I’m afraid. Fear breeds courage, right?”
She had to laugh at how she and Coren both talked to themselves. They’d discovered they had that in common the night they’d binged old Buffy the Vampire Slayer and made friendship bracelets. Too bad Coren didn’t know anything that could help Hekla shift properly. Hekla had questioned Lucus more after working in the casting chamber, but he didn’t have any helpful tips either.
Remembering the feel of the snow and the way her skin had changed, Hekla tried to shift again. But it just wasn’t happening. She rubbed circles on her temples. It had been so weird to be a fox; she surprised herself in wanting to experience the change. Through her fox eyes, she’d seen the world differently. Scents like the damp road and the fall leaves had been so much stronger. The colors of the buildings and the very air had been different, glowing in shades of blue and pink and red. And her fox body was so light and quick that she nearly felt like she could jump over buildings.
Her human body trembled, and suddenly the snowflakes began twisting around her limbs. A storm of white clouded her view of the tapestry and the window until she was blinking up at the ceiling that seemed much farther away than it had a minute ago. She wiggled her hand—no, it was a paw. She had done it! She was in her fox form.
But how had she managed to shift? Imagining the feelings of the cold and the swirling snowflakes hadn’t done it.
Imagining her point of view as a fox had.
Grinning and twitching her puffy, white tail, she recalled how it was to be human, to see green grass through human eyes, to make a fist, to run on two long legs.
Heat spread across her fox body, and a sensation like falling out of bed crashed over her. She stood tall as a human once again, touching her clothes to make sure they had survived shifter magic.
“All good. I’ve got this.”
With a bit more pep in her step, she left the chamber to find Coren.
21 Coren
Shouts from outside the castle filtered in through the window in Lucus’s bedroom. He’d left to rest in the largest of the pines in the courtyard. I yanked the duvet off me and threw my clothes on. No one but us could see the castle, so whatever was going on couldn’t be anything to do with us.
But the voices were growing louder as I pulled a brush through my hair, and one voice stood out over the rest.
Nancy Striffer.
“Damn it.”
I stalked out of the room and down the dim corridors to the courtyard. Lucus wasn’t in the tree anymore. He stood beside Kaippa and Hekla. They faced the castle door like they were considering opening up.
“What is going on?” I tucked in my shirt, then pulled my hair into a riotous bun.
“My next meal did me the favor of delivering itself.” Kaippa grinned with all his teeth. Though his wings were glamoured away, he still looked one hundred percent Not Human.
“No. You are staying here. I will deal with this. And Hekla?”
Hekla joined me. “Of course. Yeah. But how are they even seeing us?”
“No idea. I screwed that curse up big time. I guess anything is possible at this point.”
“Unless they only see a hill.”
“Maybe. Ugh. No caffeine and I have to deal with Nancy. Pretty fitting torture for a gal who’s been sleeping in a medieval castle.”
Hekla snorted.
Raising the portcullis with the lever and chains, Lucus met my gaze. “I will be watching from the wall. Lift one hand for assistance.”
“Thanks, love.” I led Hekla under the archway.
Wearing more hideous yellow, Nancy led a group of her nephews and a load of other people up the hill. I didn’t see any guns, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. Hell, for all I knew, Nancy had a .45 tucked into the back of her ironed slacks.
All eyes were on the castle, brows creased with concentration like they were having trouble seeing through the broken magic that was attempting to hide it from their sight. A girl in black walked among them—it was Raven.
“That’s my neighbor,” I said.
“Yeah, the girl who met Lucus?”
“Yep. I think she saw the demon when I loosed that arrow on it during the fight.”
“And there’s your other neighbor, that Tony guy, right?”
“Shit. It is. He hates me.”
“Well, you don’t recycle.”
“Don’t start.”
Hekla held out her hands. “I’m just saying.”
Nancy stopped in front of us, that bearded Dain guy and the always preppy and usually armed Evan flanking her like generals. Nancy’s eyes narrowed, and she clutched her pink purse closer like I was about to mug her.
I gave Nancy a smirk that would’ve made Kaippa proud. “To whom do we owe the pleasure of this little shindig?”
Hekla rolled her eyes. “Coren. Not making things better.”
“What? I’m simply curious whose idea it was to hike up here and what exactly they have in mind.”
“You need to leave town, Coren Connelly. You and all your friends.”
“Why? What exactly do you think we’ve done wrong?”
Dain’s beard twitched before he opened his mouth. “We had no
