AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My first reaction was that I didn’t want this. No way, it wasn’t going to happen.
The more I thought about it, though, the more I thought about Emmie. Right now, I felt helpless as her mother. I didn’t know how to look after her, to protect her from the magic and theevilout there. I didn’t understand the shifter world. I wouldn’t be in touch with what she was going to do when she shifted, and I would never be able to really connect with her—especially when she finally shifted.
If I was a shifter, too…
The whole idea was so bizarre, but Liv and Circe both looked at me eagerly, as if all of this was completely normal and it was just a matter of me saying that this was what I wanted.
“Okay,” I said.
“That was a quick decision,” Liv said, looking worried. “Do you understand what it means?”
“No,” I answered truthfully. “I don’t know what any of it means, but I know that I need to be there for Emmie. I’m her mother, and if I can’t protect her and raise her to be sure of herself in this world, I’m obsolete.”
“You’ll give it all up for her? The life you know, the world you understand?” Circe asked.
I nodded. “I’ve already done that once, when I realized I was pregnant with her. I can do it again.”
Circe looked emotional, and when she looked at Liv, the angel’s eyes were a little misty, too.
“Okay,” Liv said. “Then there’s nothing holding us back from doing it right here, right now.”
“What do we have to do?” I asked.
Liv produced a knife, and I jumped up, backing away from her. The light glinted off the blade. She lifted the knife, but she pressed the blade against her forearm. The knife bit into her skin, and her blood welled up.
“What are you doing?!” I blurted, my fear turning into horror.
“Angel blood will help the shift,” Circe said.
She handed Liv a glass, and Liv let the blood drip into it. She didn’t get a lot out before her arm started to heal. I stared in wonder as the knife wound on her arm slowly knit itself back up, until there was no trace of the wound at all, save the trickle of crimson against her pale white skin.
“Drink this,” Liv said.
I hesitated before I took the glass from her, looking into it at the blood that was already starting to congeal.
“Circe is going to help me with the spell,” Liv added. “We have to work fast, or the blood will dry, and we’ll have to start over. Go on, it’s going to be okay.”
Her voice was gentle, and despite how bizarre this all was, I trusted her. She had a warmth about her that made me feel at ease.
Whatever happened now, this was the right thing to do. I didn’t know how I knew, I just did.
I squeezed my eyes shut, tilted the glass toward my mouth, and waited for the blood to run down. When the warm liquid touched my lips, power filled the room, thick and bright. It shone as if there was some kind of light source in the center of the room, and it blinded me.
Circe started to mutter words in a language I didn’t understand. Liv moved closer to me, and I realized thatshewas the source of light.
She reached for me. I wanted to cower away from the light. It was so bright and so perfect, it was terrifying.
Before I could do something like back away or recoil from what would have been her touch, her fingertips brushed against my skin.
Power rocked through my body like a wave, and I struggled to stay on my feet. I started to sway.
“Oh, it’s okay, I’ve got you,” Circe said, and she caught me with arms much stronger than they looked.
She lowered me to the ground, but I couldn’t focus on her or Liv anymore.
“My skin is burning,” I squealed.
It felt like I was on fire. Every part of me glowed like I had a fever, and I imagined my hair was nothing but roaring, dancing flames.
