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He stares at me. “What are you saying? Like…sex?”
I nod. “The fire of life and regeneration.”
“That’s fun,” he says and then clears his throat. “So, uh, what about your phoenix form? When do I get to see that?”
“I’m not going to show you that. That isdefinitelynot something to share with an omega I’ve just met.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve already seen everything else,” Tyler says. There’s a small smile on his lips.
“I’d rather you see that again than show my phoenixform,” I tell him. “My bare ass won’t get me into trouble. My phoenix form could.”
“Okay, I understand. Then I guess you’ll just have to be a chicken in my head.”
“What?”
Tyler grins at me. “A red chicken. That’s what I’m imagining.”
“That is not what I look like,” I say as I climb up a large rock in the path. I turn around and take Tyler’s hands to help him climb up.
“Well, I wouldn’t know,” he says. “To me, you shapeshift into a fiery chicken.”
I know he’s teasing me, but sometimes my pride gets the best of me. How can I not react in defense of my clan? We’renotchickens.
I thrust my arm out in front of him and pull the sleeve up to my shoulder. Phoenix fire blazes from deep inside of my chest, erupting through my body like a spiraling vortex of heat. In the span of a second, I take control of it like an acrobat flipping onto the back of a charging bull. The energy wants to erupt from my grasp, but I will it into submission and bend it to my command. The skin on my arm down to the tips of my fingers hardens into black, plate-like scales as my nails become obsidian talons. Gold, crimson, and emerald flames swirl around my arm and burst into a drape of shimmering feathers. It’s only a partialshift, just barely a glimpse at my full phoenix form, but even this is something I haven’t revealed to anyone in years.
Tyler’s eyes are so wide I can see the colorful glow of my feathers in the shine of his irises. He stares like a man seeing a pile of precious gems. It’s a hunger I recognize. I’ve seen it before in the eyes of those provoked by the powerful allure of phoenix magic. But then Tyler blinks, and the look is gone and replaced by pure awe, like the eyes of a child seeing the sea for the first time. His smile is so pure, and it completely blows away the defensiveness I felt.
In a bright flash, the feathers are gone and my arm is human again. I quickly tug my sleeve back into place.
“Kalistratos!” he exclaims. “That was incredible!”
“Do you understand why we have to hide it?” I ask. “You felt it, didn’t you? The need.” I’m looking at him carefully.
“I felt something,” he says. “What was that? It was like…Frodo and the ring. I felt captured for a moment. Almost hypnotized.”
“Only a moment?” I say. “You truly are special, Tyler.”
He looks pleased to hear me say this. I smile at him, and we continue to walk up the path. The Delos has widened, and its waters froth over boulders and the limbs of bone-white trees washed down the valley from somewhere far upriver. The gentle gurgle is now a roar. We come across a wash of rocks that have fallen across the path from thevalley’s walls. This time, Tyler refuses my hand and scales the rocks himself. I watch him carefully. I’m concerned about his condition—caring for a pregnant omega is not a part of my usual set of skills, and I’m at a loss for what I’ll need to do if this mysterious baby continues to grow so quickly.
Alyx is standing perched on a boulder, his tail swishing quickly through the air. He’s alert, waiting for something. I step close to Tyler. I want him within reach if something happens.
“What is it?” I ask.
“The earth grumbles,” he says. “I feel it in my paws.”
“Is it not the river?”
He scans the valley. “No. Footsteps, and not yours.”
“We’re not alone,” I say.
“Quite possibly.”
Hell. Showing Tyler that glimpse of my phoenix form could’ve given us away.
“I don’t see anyone,” Tyler says. “You mean someone is coming down the path?”
“No,” says Alyx. “Someone is following us.”
