Her jaw tightened like a steel trap.
Shepherd stood and faced her. “You spend a lot of time with my son. Convince me that I shouldn’t be afraid you might hurt him.”
“I would never hurt boy.” When she lifted her eyes to meet his, he saw tenderness in them. Someone who was alone—living with secrets, living without friends. Switch had a life outside Keystone, but what kind of life was this for Kira?
“Do you know whatfriendmeans? Your English is good, so I think you do. You look after my son, and if you saved his life, I owe you at least my friendship if not a favor. Friends trust each other. They’re someone you can talk to. I’ve never been much of a friend to anyone, but I know how to keep a secret.”
Shepherd lowered his gaze. This woman hadn’t liked him since day one, so what made him think he could get her to open up to him? Ashamed for cornering her, he shook his head and headed for the door.
“Why do you have that mark on your arm?” she asked.
He half-turned, holding his hands in front of him, turning them over. “I got these scars protecting my family.”
“Ne, not scars. Um…” She pointed to her upper arm, looking at his.
Shepherd lifted his sleeve, revealing the phoenix tattoo. “It’s a tattoo.”
The soft glow of candlelight flickered from behind her, casting shadows on her face. “Why that animal?”
He shrugged. “I guess I wanted to be born again after my world ended. I wanted to rise from the ashes and do something meaningful after a tragedy. What about your tattoo?”
She reached behind her neck, seemingly shocked that he knew about it. “It is my mother’s tongue. She was from an ancient time. Viktor knows this language as my father taught him. We are old family. The mark is a…” She searched the room, her gaze settling on a painting of wolves. “Protection. Not like shield but…” She struggled with finishing her sentence.
“Like a charm or talisman. Something you wear to give you power or protect you. Only you wear it on your skin.” He stepped forward, his stomach twisting into a knot. “Is someone after you?”
She cupped her elbows. “The world. My father would not approve of this conversation. He was good man. But so afraid for me.”
Shepherd lost himself in counting random freckles on her face. Her features were so feminine, and yet when she looked at him, he sensed her power.
Kira lowered her arms and gripped the desk behind her. “Will you make promise to not harm me?”
He dipped his chin. “I wouldneverhurt you.”
She averted her eyes. “I am not like Viktor. I am not like anyone.” Kira took a deep, shaky breath. “I am like your tattoo.”
He glanced at his own arm, certain her words were lost in translation. “What do you mean?”
She tilted her head to the side, staring at his ink. “I am phoenix.”
“There’s no such thing.”
She untied her kerchief and ran her fingers through her wavy hair, the ends fading to a light yellow-orange. “My kind was hunted. Feared. Shifters thought us an abomination. We make fire. Because the phoenix did not exist in nature, others said we were from the devil.” Kira turned away and sat down in one of the chairs. “That is how I save Hunter and Claude from bad man. And the day Vampires come here, I burn them.”
Shepherd remembered the charred grass out back that no one had an explanation for—all the ashes on the lawn. They had chalked it up to one of Gem’s energy balls. Blue mentioned seeing or hearing something out of the ordinary, though she couldn’t remember the details. “Are you telling me you’re a phoenix Shifter?”
She nodded.
“And you can burn the hell out of everything in your path?”
He covered his mouth, his hand trembling from the thought. “Can you control it? Do you remember when you’re in your animal form?”
She nodded again. “That is why I cannot hurt boy. I protect children. My phoenix is not evil. Immortals killed us, not humans. My mother say in ancient times, they drink our blood to live long life.” Kira mumbled a few words in Bulgarian or Russian before continuing. “They would eat us. Men believed wild animals who ate phoenix become immortal, and that is how Shifters were born. They would remove our beautiful feathers and use them.”
“Use them how?”
“I do not know. Writing in magic books. It does not matter. I do not know if I am the last one. I have never seen another. An old hunter killed my mother. Hunted her. Did not know about me. My father was afraid someone would find me. So we lived alone on big farm.”
Shepherd sat his ass down next to her and tried to process everything she’d just told him. He couldn’t wrap his head around it. Phoenix Shifters? He’d heard all kinds of crazy shit in his life about extinct or rare Breeds, but half the time people chalked it up to being an urban legend. Despite all the magic in their world, even Breed could be skeptical. Usually those with excessive powers were hunted to extinction, and any remaining would never feel safe in the open.
