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“Oh, you’re so beautiful,” Catherine coos as she climbs down from her perch. “Your leg scales shine like jewels.” Layla roar-groans and Catherine hums in agreement. “And yes, obviously, the feathers are dazzling. You’re like a sunset come to life.”
“That’s what I was thinking,” I say, nodding toward the rocks at the edge of the pool. “Want to test out your new legs on land?”
Juliet nods with a full-body shiver that make the shorter feathers around her neck fluff out like a tiny scarf. It’s adorable, but I keep that to myself, knowing she’s been hoping for fierce in her shifted form, not cute.
“Don’t be nervous.” I glide through the pool to the water’s edge. “You’ve got this. If it’s anything like when I first shifted, it’ll feel like you’ve been doing phoenix things your whole life.”
“Because you have,” Catherine says, putting an arm around Layla’s furry shoulders as I set Juliet gently on the stones. “In your dreams and in secret under the skin. This beautiful bird has always been in you and with you, waiting to come out and play.”
Juliet arches her neck, looking up at the pocket of sky as she shakes her feathers, sending water droplets dancing into the air around her.
And then, without a second of hesitation, she launches into the air with a thrust of her legs and a flap of her wings. She soars to the top of the cave and dips and swoops, navigating the small space with a confidence that makes my smile even wider.
“You’re killing it, Jules,” I call out.
“You’re amazing!” Catherine agrees.
Juliet lets out a celebratory cry in return, like an eagle’s scream but melodic and as beautiful as tingly old church bells. And then she turns and shoots a stream of fire out of her beak, hitting the opposite cave wall with enough force to make steam rise from the water nearby.
“Holy shit,” Layla says, now back in her human form and watching Juliet with wide eyes.
“Holy shit indeed.” Catherine’s lips stretch in a wickedly gleeful grin. She glances my way as she adds, “I think the tables just turned, what about you?”
I nod, beaming as Juliet shoots another firebolt through the hole in the cave’s ceiling before doing a little backflip in the air. “Hell yes, they did. If Juliet’s on Beck’s hit list he’s going to be very surprised. And very sorry.”
“I can’t wait,” Catherine says. “I can’t wait for that sad excuse for a man to get what’s coming to him. Karma, as they say, is a bitch.”
“And now, so is Juliet,” Layla adds with a laugh. “A flaming bitch.”
“No, she’s an avenging angel of fire,” Catherine says. “And I can’t wait to watch her burn.”
“Agreed,” I murmur.
And we won’t have long to wait now.
Just two more sleeps until the trials begin on Wednesday morning.
* * *
Juliet
I want to fly through the cave ceiling and up into the sky. I want to twist and flap and dance through the air like a kid splashing through puddles in a pair of new rain boots.
I can’t remember the last time I felt so full of unbridled joy.
Flying is a hug from an old friend I thought I’d lost forever and shooting fire is almost as good as a Ford-induced orgasm.
Almost…
God, Ford. In my phoenix form I feel nothing but happiness and gratitude for him. I want to wrap my wings around him and warble my appreciation for the friend he’s been to me into the crook of his neck.
But the sun is setting, and I can’t very well fly back to campus and leave the others behind. I want to keep my new form quiet until the trials start, after all, and I want to celebrate with my friends even more.
I touch down on the rocks beside Layla and Catherine and flex back into my human form fast enough to make my teeth knock together.
“Ouch.” I giggle as I grip the back of my now aching neck. “That could have been a little more graceful.”
“Just take it slower next time,” Layla says, throwing her arms around me. “But it was great! You were great!”
