Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cadel's nose twitched. And for a few seconds, he wasn't sure why he'd woken up. Then, his brain registered the faint scent of smoke and heat on his skin. He leaped out of bed, and as he did, a fiery bird shot through the middle of the blanket.
Well, that's great.
He stared at Everest, who must have shifted in his sleep and was now flapping about the room, threatening to set the curtains, the sofa, and the smoldering bed sheets on fire.
"Everest, this is not a good idea." It didn't matter what Everest planned on doing. It was not a good idea.
He wasn't even sure that if Cadel talked him down and tried to hug him that there was anything to hug as he was made of fire with no physical body. That and he didn't want to be burned. Sure, he could shift and heal, but he didn't fancy being burned, and healing large injuries was unpleasant.
After what had happened to Gerrit, he'd been warned that a phoenix shifter getting stuck in shifted form was a bit more serious than it was for other shifters. A phoenix couldn't eat. And a shifter who couldn't eat ran out of energy fast .
"For fuck's sake," he muttered under his breath. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?" He spun on his heel, watching as Everest did another lap of the room. Was Everest even here or experiencing a memory?
Cadel's mind went blank as he watched the beautiful and deadly bird. If Everest embraced him, Cadel was one hundred percent sure he wouldn't survive long enough to shift. He'd been in shitty situations before, but not this shitty.
He was not equipped to deal with a burning bird whose mind was halfway destroyed. Everest didn't need a lion-shifter bodyguard. He needed a psychologist…a mind reader…a miracle.
He blew out a breath. He needed a plan.
Everest, in his human form, responded to sex. Maybe all he had to do was tempt him down? Was that even a thing? Would it even work?
Cadel hooked his thumbs into his pajama pants. There was only one way to find out. And if it didn't work, he'd need to come up with another plan. He'd keep going until something worked.
And he didn't have all day because the Shadow Board expected them for breakfast.
Awesome.
He got that feeling in his gut that this entire job was about to become a shit show. Death by phoenix was not a bad way to go; he'd rather that than a Shadow Board slave. That he was even contemplating the best way to die was fucked.
He'd thought the worst part of this job was possibly taking a bullet for the prince. Clearly, he was a fucking idiot.
He dropped his pants and stepped out of them, feeling like a twit. Because now he was naked, the plan had not gotten any better.
What was he supposed to do, jerk himself off?
He glanced at his uninterested dick. That wasn't going to happen. However, when he'd taken the job, he'd laughed at the idea of being seduced by Everest. What a difference a month made because a month ago, no one knew what Everest was planning.
And there they were at Shadow Board Central, trying to rescue a missing phoenix when Everest needed rescuing himself.
Cadel dropped to his knees and looked up at the bird. His flames burned into Cadel's retinas, and the heat washed over his skin as the phoenix moved closer. At least he had Everest's attention.
"Sir, what would you like me to do?" He lowered his head enough to be respectful without taking his eyes off the phoenix. Though how he was going to defend himself, he had no idea.
As the phoenix swept closer, his lion pushed to the surface. The hair on his arms prickled, and a growl lodged in his throat, filling the room with its low rumble. A warning.
Not that a lion could take on a phoenix.
The phoenix stared at him, his eyes like hot coals boring into Cadel's soul. He swallowed and resisted the urge to shiver even as his pulse quickened and fear turned his stomach. It was a nightmare he would never escape.
He wasn't sure anyone should ever look into the eyes of a phoenix and live to tell about it. What had Everest said about him being a demon?
He understood why some ancient people might think that as he leaned back a fraction of an inch. His eyeballs dried, and the skin on his cheeks tightened. If Everest came any closer, Cadel was sure his hair would catch fire. If that happened, he was shifting and running for the bathroom. He'd turn on the taps with his paws and hide in the shower. Though that only saved his ass, and he needed to save Everest's .
And if they weren't in Shadow Board Central, he'd be on the phone to Lenoir already.
"Everest, sir?" That he was naked and kneeling at Everest's…well, not feet because he didn't seem to have any…was not lost on him. Though this isn't what Everest had in mind. Cadel had said when the mission was over, and it wasn't. Everest said he wouldn't die until the job was done. The job…that might work. "You need to get ready to meet your brother."
The phoenix tilted his head.
How he heard and understood when he didn't have a fucking brain, Cadel didn't know. Was he sentient fire? Was that a thing? What was a phoenix?
"Whatever you're remembering, it happened a long time ago." Cadel tapped his chest. "I am your present." That was a bold assumption. However, if it worked, he was willing to say and promise anything. He did not want to return to the castle with an egg.
He wouldn't return to the castle without Everest—regardless of the form.
"Please, sir. I can't do this without you." If Everest refused to return to human, they were fucked. Olier was trapped, and Everest had wasted three lives setting this up only to fail at the last hurdle.
He reached out his hand, not sure what he hoped for.
Everest let out a screech that sounded like someone was running their nails over Cadel's bones, then wrapped his wings around him.
His skin heated and blistered, and his lungs tightened. He didn't need to draw his shifting heat up as much as let it loose. His paws hit the floor, and he roared.
He hated rapid shifts. His skin smarted from the fur pushing through and the healing of the burns.
The phoenix fluttered back like he was shocked to see a lion sitting where a man had just been. Cadel tilted his head to the side, making his neck crack. Then he did the other side and flexed his tail. His spine felt a little better, but his cheeks still stung from where whiskers had pushed through.
He took a step forward and gave a warning grunt.
The phoenix dropped to the ground, and Cadel expected the carpet to go up in flames. Instead, all the flames shrank and disappeared as the man reformed. His pale skin was smudged in ash, and he coughed like he'd breathed in too much smoke.
Cadel took another step forward, and Everest glanced up, his dark eyes filled with fear. That was not a good look on him.
And it wasn't going to be good for either of them.