“Close your eyes, love,” Arthur urged. She shut her eyes and focused on keeping her breathing even.
Nothing he could’ve said would’ve prepared her for the sensation of a ghost hand pressing something into her chest, the heat making her skin flush.
The same hand tugged something loose from deep inside her and drew it out. She gasped when the bonds snapped into place, flooding her with love from both Arthur and Titan.
“I can feel you,” she whispered, opening her eyes. “I can—”
Sharp, blinding pain streaked down her back on either side of her spine. Screaming, she fell forward, her vision wavering from the agony.
“Beatrix!” Titan cried out.
“I didn’t expect this,” Arther said. His voice was calm, but she could hear the fear. “Titan, use your claws. Get her shirt and bra off now!”
Titan pulled his hand free from hers, and she heard ripping fabric. Cool air hit her back as searing pain made her cry out again.
“Am I dying?” she sobbed.
“No, love, you’re not dying,” Arthur reassured her. “More of your pixie side is coming out.”
“What—”
She couldn’t finish asking what that meant; she was too busy trying to breathe as another wave of burning torment was accompanied by the feeling of her skin ripping apart.
“Can’t you help her?” Titan asked. She felt a wave of fear and concern and knew it was from Titan.
“There’s nothing we can do, but it’s almost over,” Arthur said.
As if his words had power, the pain vanished. Her back felt strangely heavy, but nothing hurt any longer.
“They’re so beautiful,” Titan breathed.
Feeling shaky, Beatrix sat up and looked at Titan. “What do you mean? What happened to me? Why didn’t you feel any pain when Arthur exchanged souls with you?”
“Because Titan didn’t have pixie wings emerging from his back,” Arthur said. “What Sopek started, we finished with our joining.”
“Wings?” she whispered. Titan jumped up to grab a mirror hanging off the wall and brought it over.
She gasped and reached out to touch her reflection. “I have wings!”
“I’ve never seen such beautiful pixie wings,” Titan said.
Dragonfly-shaped wings extended out of her back. Unlike the mostly see-through wings of a dragonfly, her wings shimmered with iridescent shades of emerald and jade green.
“Can I fly?” she whispered, withdrawing her fingers from the mirror and craning her neck around to see them.
“Probably,” Arthur said. “We can test that later, but I wouldn’t try them so soon after they’ve emerged.”
She twitched a back muscle, and one of the wings moved forward. “Oh, I can control them.”
“It would be hard to fly if you couldn’t,” Titan teased. She felt relief coming from him and Arthur.
She closed her eyes to focus on their bond. So much love flooded into her that she wanted to cry. “This is so beautiful.”
When she lifted her eyelids, Titan had set the mirror aside, and they were both watching her, exuding happiness.
They didn’t ask what she was talking about, they could feel her emotions just like she could feel theirs.
“I wish everyone could know how wonderful this is,” she whispered, holding her arms out. She felt their agreement as they both moved to press in close to her.
