“Come down before the statue falls. I will catch you.” He held out his arms.
There it was again. I was not a connoisseur of the male anatomy, but damn. Ward huffed and covered his essentials with a kilt, so I was able to meet his amused and exasperated eyes again. “Get down, Viper.”
I slid to the edge of the Goddess’ cupped hands and tipped over the edge and slid and slid and slid some more until I was a couple feet from Ward. Wait… was I longer?
I could almost reach Ward from the statue. So instead of a cute snake, I was now a giant hideous snake? I let go and fell the few feet into Ward’s open arms, ending up as a rope of soft serve in his arms, across his shoulders and over his face. I was so much longer.
What the hell? I’m supposed to be human, not a demon-sized tube,I groused.
“Try to shift now,” Ward commanded.
I thought hard about all the stuff Maggie told me about finding your inner self—everything I told her to go shove into a dark hole. Still, I remembered enough of it to breathe and find myself in there and just let it out. I didn’t do it often, the bar trip being the first time in a long time, but suddenly I stood on two legs, staring up at a healed Ward. His perusal of my naked body rivaled mine, and it brought a rough blush to my cheeks. Shyness grabbed my tongue.
“Um…” Brilliant, Evie. Stare at his dick like a psycho and then eye him like you’re going to eat him.
Ward whispered some words, and a silvery kaftan floated over me like a cloud. How did his magic get the fabric to sparkle? Three territories should have banned its touch against my skin.
“Thanks.” Equally as brilliant.
He smiled in a heart-stopping way that had no business stopping my heart after a whole five hours with this man. “Where is the relic?”
To buy time, I patted myself down like I was going to produce it from the kaftan’s pockets and then shrugged. “Um. I ate it.”
He blinked at me. His mouth fell open. “You what?”
“It didn’t look too terrible.”
Ward stared at me like I just farted in the middle of a fae ball.
Now I frowned. “What!?”
“Evie.”
That tone didn’t promise a happy ending. Sweat snaked down my back. “Oh my God, what? Was it poisonous? You said to contain it. I panicked!”
He put his hands on his hips like that helped him see me better. “I didn't mean you should eat it. It’s a holy relic of a Goddess.”
“Well, it tasted like it.” I don’t think I had ever had something so gross and delicious at the same time.
His jaw worked. “That was the Goddess’ distilled blood!”
It was my turn for my mouth to hang open. “You didn’t have to tell me. There isn’t enough brain bleach in the world for me to un-know that. The job got done. I might still be a snake, but these folks aren’t trying to kill us or each other anymore.” I spread my arms wide and noticed that all eyes locked on us. All the air left my lungs as I started back into Ward’s body, my scales rubbing against him.
Is that going to happen every time? Not controlling this snake thing is getting old. Like ancient.
“You’re an exquisite and terrifyingly large snake now. These are not normal shifter rules, mate. I’m as lost as you are.”
I forced myself human again, but already my control of it wobbled. Not human, not a shifter. Great.
“You saved us.” A woman stepped forward who had to be the wasset from before with her narrow features and white hair.
I flinched as the rest of a very naked horde rushed us to extend their well-wishes. I kept my eyes above the neckline. Not that anyone seemed to care. Joyful faces ringed us and I tried not to shrink under their attention, the general mood of celebration seeping into my face until it produced a smile. That was until I saw Ward’s dour look.
“What?” I asked him.
“Let’s get you home, Evie. It’s been a long day.”
“But I’m still a snake! This fixed nothing,” I squawked.
