Page 23 of The Spellreader and the Phoenix

“Great,” Max said, admiring the cheek. “I’m probably a bad influence in a lot of ways, but I’d prefer it not to be academically.”

Alex waved and headed off, and Max wandered back to the bookshop, feeling weirdly optimistic. He hadn’t meant to hire someone, and he was pretty sure a part-timer who was only fifteen wasn’t at all what Evie had meant, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was going to work out, that it was maybe happening… exactly like it was supposed to.

(Max had never bought into any sort of divination, knowing full well that no such spells existed, and so being incredibly skeptical of any claims to the contrary. But still, he felt… something.)

Red’s little feet clenched and unclenched on his shoulder as they shifted back and forth, seeming agitated. Max reached up to stroke their feathers.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he soothed. “I’ll get you some seeds and water as soon as we get back, okay?”

Red and Nōwē had eaten before Max left, but he hadn’t given them much time. Maybe Red hadn’t had enough.

He unlocked the door to the bookshop, stepped through, and closed and locked it behind him. He’d have to open soon, but he wanted to make sure that Red was comfortable first. They seemed distinctly uncomfortable now, still chirping and shifting.

They hadn’t left, though, so hopefully it wasn’t anything too serious.

Max hurried upstairs and let them into his apartment. Nōwē made her displeasure known that he had abandoned her there.

“I know; your life is so hard,” he commiserated as he walked into the kitchen area. “You have food and toys and blankets and cat trees and a whole apartment to hang about in with no responsibilities whatsoever.”

Nōwē meowed loudly at him. Red’s feathers rustled louder. Max refilled Red’s dishes of seeds and water. Red fluttered down, but they didn’t eat or drink. They kept hopping around, half-flying, half-walking along the island.

“What’s the matter?” Max asked, really beginning to worry.

They hopped off the island, flying down to the ground… where they transformed into a man. A very naked man.

Chapter Six

Rory

“I’m sorry!” Rory said, as soon as he had human vocal cords that his mate could actually understand. “I didn’t think of this as hiding anything. Because I’m still me as a bird, you know? Just like I’m me as a human. So it didn’t occur to me that you might consider it hiding or that I was keeping anything from you. But when you talked about animals being honest, I realized it might not seem the same way to you. Are you angry?”

He looked at Max beseechingly. His mate was staring at him with a shocked expression. From his new human perspective, Rory could see that Max was only a couple of inches taller than he was. His nose really was a bit too big, but Rory thought it gave him character. His hair was dark and a bit shaggy. He was broader in the chest and looked stronger than Rory—although in Rory’s case, that was deceptive. Shifters were generally stronger than witches or normal people, and mythical shifters were stronger still, since their strength didn’t come solely from muscle but also from magic.

Rory liked everything about Max.

“Why are you naked?” Max suddenly burst out. “Clothes shift with shifters! It’s magic! Everyone knows that!”

Rory looked down at himself and then back up again.

“Ah,” he said blankly. “I kind of forgot that I wasn’t wearing clothes the last time I shifted.” He’d been recently reborn, and clothes did not survive his burning. He cleared his throat and tried a winning smile. “Did you know that shifters are always naked when they’re in their animal form? So it often seems quite normal… maybe more normal than it does for witches and normal people?”

There was zero appreciation in Max’s eyes, but based on other things he’d said, this didn’t surprise Rory. He was pretty sure his mate was on the ace spectrum, which was totally fine. Rory liked sex, but not more than he liked his mate. He’d much rather get to know the person the Magic had thought could be his ideal partner.

Unlike witches and normal people who’d grown completely out of touch with the Magic, Rory trusted it and his instincts. He went where he was guided… but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still make a total muff of his first human impression.

Nōwē took the opportunity to meow at him and come over and begin to coil around his legs, marking him. There was a lot more of him to mark in this form. He leaned down and began to pet her. Hands were very good for petting.

“I don’t suppose I could trouble you for some clothing?” he asked carefully. “I would go buy some, but I don’t have any money on me, and I’m pretty sure the shop proprietors would not be delighted by my appearance.”

Thankfully, this made Max snort an amused sound. “Yeah, no, let’s not add an arrest to an already weird day. Uh, hold on, let me see if I can find something that will fit you.”

Max disappeared into the bedroom, and Rory stayed where he was, not sure if he was still allowed to make himself welcome, even though he’d spent days flying around the apartment and hanging out on Max’s shoulder.

The witch returned a few moments later with a little folded stack of clothes.

“I think these will work. I need to open the store shortly, but we can go get you some other clothes afterwards. You can change in the bathroom. And take a shower if you want.” A ghost of a smile crossed his face. “I don’t know how well those saucer baths worked.”

Rory grinned at him. “They were the best! Thank you! Human me likes hot showers, but bird me loves bird baths.”