Page 61 of Shifting Winds
Twenty
Nonsensical whispers nudged me awake. I lay in a cocoon, encased in glowing magic. My abdomen no longer hurt, but gentle tugs against my skin were concerning.
“Stay still, Evangeline.”
My father loomed above me, his brow furrowed as he concentrated. A soft beam of emerald and gold magic poured from his fingers into my abdomen.
“Oh. That’s why it doesn’t hurt.”
“No,” Cernunnos said. “I believe the magic inside the seed has numbed you in anticipation of tearing its way out of you.”
I blinked. “Well. That’s not very nice.”
A soft snort above. I flicked my eyes to the left to see Ben close to my dad. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving your life,” my father said.
I don’t think I could move at all, thanks to Ben’s gentle magic wrapped around me, but I heeded his warning and didn’t even try. “This feels like the world’s strangest C-section.”
“Except the world might end if we tear this thing open before it’s ready,” Cernunnos said.
“You never told me I’d give birth to this thing.”
“No one has ever swallowed the World Seed, so there was no way to know you’d be a mom,” my father said dryly.
“Aww,” I cooed, trying to quell the rising panic, “a bouncing baby tree.”
“Evie,” Ben said, his teeth gritting with effort, “stop talking, please.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
“How do you think we feel?” Ben muttered. “I came because I thought you’d been hurt, not because you got pregnant by a magical tree. This one is out of my wheelhouse.”
Cernunnos let out a bark of laughter. “I’m about to extract the seed. Can you take your structure down? Gently?”
“Um. I can try. It’s usually automatic.”
Cernunnos shut his eyes and let out a breath. “Alright. Try gently.”
I closed my eyes and sent a thread of power out. Pain flared through my veins. A cry of pain tore from my throat. Tears squeezed from my eyes as I breathed in short, choppy gasps.
“How can I help her?” Ben asked.
“See if you can break it,” Cernunnos advised. “Gently.”
“Is it safe to drop my power?”
“Evie, Ben is going to release you. It’s imperative you don’t move a muscle.”
“Okay. Got it. Maybe don’t pull the seed out just yet?”
“Couldn’t if I wanted to. I’m still working around your organs to extricate the roots.”
“Dear gods,” I whispered.
Ben shot him a dark look. “She could have gone without knowing that.”
“Evie needs to know how delicate this is. There’s a chance I won’t be successful.”
