Page 59 of Shifting Winds
My answering smile was not friendly. “I know.”
The large shifter sighed. “I’ll keep your confidence. Tell me what she did.”
When I told the story, Ben’s eyebrows rose in shock. “She did what?”
“Yep. She’s in and out of consciousness, but I’d venture to guess the seed is what’s causing this now.”
Ben put his hands on his hips and bowed his head. “Why can’t she ever do anything normal?”
The frustrated question made me laugh out loud. “Because it’s Evie. Swallowing it was the only way to take the seed out of play. She took a wild gamble that her mother wouldn’t kill her over the decision.”
“The World Seed,” Ben murmured. “Fucking wild.” He blew out a breath and went back over. “Let me look at one more thing.”
I came over and crouched beside him this time, watching his power arrow straight into Evie’s abdomen, a gentle probe. When he withdrew, his face was grim.
I stilled. “What is it?”
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but the seed is…sprouting.”
I blinked. “What? It’s growing? Inside her?”
“Yep. Like the old wives’ tale about not swallowing watermelon seeds, but way worse.” Ben looked a little green.
“Is she in pain?”
“Not anymore. The stasis keeps her pain free, though she is oblivious to what’s going on around her.”
I thought about it. “Can you get it out?”
Ben shot me an incredulous look. “You want me to perform surgery on someone who’s enclosed herself in a magical construct to extract a deadly, potentially world-ending seed?”
I shrugged. “Can it be done?”
“Christ, Caelan.” Ben inhaled. “I might be a healer, but I’m not a mage. We need someone more versed in this type of power than we are.”
“Like me?” A deep voice interrupted. Power punched through the air, ancient and wild.
Annoyance spun through me at his casual foray onto my property which was warded to the teeth against intrusion.
Ben swore, spinning to face the Fae King. His mouth fell open.
“Caelan,” Cernunnos greeted.
I inclined my head. “This is Ben. We’re debating surgery.”
Ben punched me in the arm so hard I stumbled.
“No need,” Cernunnos said as he walked over to Evie’s construct. “She will be fine when the seed expels itself.”
“Expels,” Ben repeated faintly. “Define fine for me, please.”
A flash of amusement in those ancient eyes. “The seed is doing what it’s always meant to—grow.”
“And what about Evie? She’s hosting the thing in an odd, symbiotic way. Will she become the tree?”
Cernunnos reached out to touch the wood, a faint emerald and golden glow touching Evie’s cage. “I’ll ensure she does not, though she will always be linked.” His gaze rose and locked with mine. “You will be responsible for a dangerous legacy, Lord. You’ve chosen this spot, and Evie was too weak to argue. If the World Tree grows here, you will have to allow divinity onto your property.”
I swore, dark and heated. “Can we move her?”
