Page 20 of Magic Betrayed

Whatever. Bossy dragons and high-handed elementals weren’t the worst of my problems right now. I could come back and demand answers later.

So I changed the subject. “Have you smelled anything weird?”

One eyebrow went up. “Define weird.”

Fair point. To most shapeshifters, my entire family probably smelled odd. Apparently, when in human form, a shifter’s sensitive nose was more attuned to differentiating between different kinds of magic than the scents of individuals. Mundane humans all smelled very much the same.

So there was Kes, who was half-fae, and probably smelled slightly of fae magic. Ari and Logan were technically human, so unless they used magic, they had no defining scent. And I had no way of knowing whether Ari’s teleporting left a scent trail, because…

“If it helps, I don’t detect anything that smells like unfamiliar magic. Without changing shape, the only Idrians I can tell were here are Kes and Faris. So I guess the next question is, have you been practicing your shifting?”

Andtherewas the question I’d been desperately hoping he wouldn’t ask me.

“No.” I didn’t see any point in lying.

“Why not?”

The answer was complicated. Yes, I’d decided to embrace these powers I hadn’t asked for, and to use them to protect other victims like me. But I’d had no one I felt comfortable asking for help. No one I hadn’t feared would hate me for the source of my power.

I probably could have asked Kira, but she’d given me so much already. And our friendship was so new and tentative, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to remind her of my origins. Or of the Idrians who’d had their magic—in some ways, their very identity—stripped away with no hope of return.

Also, the first time I’d shifted, I’d had no idea how to shift back. I might still be stuck as a fox without Kes’s help, and I could never ask her to do that again. Every time she used that power, it hurt her—in more ways than one—and I refused to do that without a very compelling cause.

“Raine.”

I reluctantly turned to face Callum.

“I’m not your enemy,” he said softly.

Something about that statement stabbed deeper than it should have. As if I’d been waiting to hear those exact words. Waiting to weigh whether or not it was actually true, because for some reason, I still hesitated to believe it.

Why would he help someone who wasn’t even a real shifter?

“I haven’t tried shifting because… I’ve been busy,” I muttered. Part of me wanted to tell him the truth. But how could I explain my fear when he knew I’d already shifted back once? He would ask how I’d done it, and I couldn’t share that information.

“Busy?” His eyes seemed to see right through me. “Or afraid of how the rest of the shifter community will look at you?”

Drat him.

“Maybe.”

“Then today is a good day to try putting that aside.” His gaze was still steady. Compassionate. Without a trace of judgement. “First of all, when you shift to your other form, it accelerates healing even more. And second, you’ll have a much more acute sense of smell. You should be able to identify magic—if any was used—and possibly even catch small details about your attackers that you otherwise wouldn’t notice.”

A compelling argument. However…

“And I can help you shift back if you get stuck,” he said quietly. Almost like an afterthought. As if he’d somehow read my mind.

He’d said the same thing the first time I shifted, but I hadn’t trusted him then. Hadn’t been willing to make myself that vulnerable in his presence, especially not after I’dbittenhim… I felt my cheeks flush at the memory.

Did I dare be that vulnerable now? Did I trust him enough?

The answer was surprisingly easy. “All right. I’ll try.”

I stepped away from the island, shut my eyes, and then opened them again in dismay.

“Um… how do I…”

The first time I’d shifted had not been a conscious choice. I’d been feeling angry. Trapped. Desperate. How did it work when I was actuallytryingto shift?

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