The Prophecies (The Sentinel Series Book 2) (27 page)

Quinn, realising that I was now decent, sat down next to me and put his arm round me.

‘I was just saying to Lucas this morning that now you had changed once, it might mean that you could change again. How did it happen?’

‘I’ve been feeling funny over the last few days, ever since Sophia forced me to change. But I didn’t really put the two together. I just thought I was coming down with some bug. I was so hot, sick and dizzy. It felt like my insides were melting.’

‘Oh hun, the first time I shifted I was ill for days before hand, running a temperature, and feeling dizzy, I felt like I was made from jelly. Luckily my Dad recognised the signs, and he explained to me what was happening. When I shifted I knew what to expect. I wish you’d said something to me. If you’d told me how you were feeling I would have known straight away what you were going through.’

‘I just thought I had the flu or a sick bug, I didn’t want to make a fuss. I thought it would pass. Today was weird, like I couldn’t retain my form anymore, like my body was struggling to stay solid. I was with Seth and my legs wouldn’t work properly. He went off to get Cassidy and then I melted. It was horrific. I didn’t have a clue what was happening,’ I shook my head. ‘I still feel really wobbly now.’

‘Yeah you might change again in a minute, try to stay calm,’ Quinn said.

My heart suddenly leapt. ‘Seth, he’ll be worrying where I am…’ My words trailed off as I melted again. I looked down at my golden paws again and wanted to cry. Was I going to spend the rest of my life changing at the most inappropriate moments? I was supposed to be getting married today.

‘It’s ok Eve, I’ve already told him, he’s on his way up here now,’ Lucas explained. I looked across at Quinn who was grinning at me.

‘I know this is all a bit scary for you now, but it won’t take long for you to be able to control it. Then you can have some real fun with it. Being a shape shifter really is one of the coolest things ever.’ He wrapped the duvet around me.

He was right. From when I found out that Quinn was my brother, I’d been so jealous that he could shape shift and I couldn’t. Now that I could, it would be cool to run with him as a cheetah or fly with him as a bird. As long as I could control it. The nakedness could get embarrassing if I couldn’t.

The door opened and Seth, Eli and Cassidy walked in. Seth sat down tentatively on the bed next to me.

‘Eve?’ he said, warily.

I nuzzled against him, a strange purring noise coming from my throat. He chuckled. I closed my eyes and envisioned being a human again. Instantly I felt myself melt, as Quinn held the duvet tightly round me, trying to give me some privacy.

Eli sighed with relief and Seth pulled me tightly towards him, also relieved.

‘Baby are you ok?’

I nodded.

‘You had me so scared there for a while, I had just got to the infirmary when I felt your signal go out. And when I came out and you were gone, I didn’t know what to think.’

‘Yeah, I felt your signal go out, and then Isaac told me there was a shape shifter in the corridor and half of us was looking around for you, the other half was trying to kill the shape shifter,’ Eli said.

‘I thought you had been kidnapped, I was tearing through the woods looking for you, when Lucas called me to explain what had happened,’ Seth said.

I looked at them with confusion. ‘My signal went out?’

They nodded.

I turned to Lucas. ‘But you knew it was me?’

‘Yeah but it’s not your signal I can feel, it’s something different, like when you astral project. I felt your signal go out too, but I could still feel you, I still knew where you were, I just couldn’t slide to you.’

‘So when I shift, you can’t feel me anymore?’

They all shook their heads.

I thought about this for a moment. ‘I wonder if I can still communicate telepathically or use my powers.’

Immediately, my body giving me what my mind wanted, I shifted again, into a lioness. Eli eyed me warily, even though he could see me, he didn’t like that my signal had gone out. I tried to reach out for Seth’s mind, his mind was always easier to find than anyone else’s but there was nothing there. I reached for my powers but again I came up empty handed. Being an animal meant I was completely alone, completely defenceless. Unless of course I shifted into something bigger like a bear, I could defend myself then.

Immediately, I grew and caught sight of myself in the mirror and almost smiled when I saw the great grizzly bear sitting on the bed, towering over Quinn and Seth.

Quinn chuckled as he tried to wrap the duvet round my gigantic form.

I concentrated on being human again and felt myself shift back, shrinking so I was back to my normal size.

I shook my head, as I held onto the duvet again. ‘It really is the most bizarre feeling; your whole body just melts.’

‘You’ll get used to it.’ Quinn grinned. I could see he was loving having another shape shifter with him.

‘Why do I change into a lioness? All the other animals I think about changing into, but the lioness happens almost automatically.’

Quinn shrugged. ‘All shape shifters have an animal that they shift into the easiest or when they shift for the first time or when they’re ill or tired they have one animal that they seem to be drawn too. Mine’s a lion too.’ I looked at the lion necklace, the amber eyes glinting in the warm sunlight streaming through his window. Was that why our Mum had given him the lion? ‘Well actually I have two,’ Quinn pressed on. ‘The other is the dog. That’s rare though, most will only have one. Some shape shifters can only change into that animal and nothing else.’

‘What about people?’ I remembered Quinn changing into me the other day. Sophia had too, but she had taken some of my blood to help her. Quinn had done it all by himself.

‘People are very hard, not many shape shifters can do it, and most of those that can do it, do it very badly. Whereas, when you shift into a rhino, you just have to think about what a rhino looks like, to be a convincing person, to pull off an identical replica, you have to look at every part of that person: how their hair is styled, the shape of their eyes, the contours of their shoulders, you have to physically think about changing every part. For me, changing into people has been a recent acquisition; I practised shifting into you for ages, until I got it right. Now I can do you, I can do others as well, more easily,’ Quinn explained.

I snuggled into my duvet, yawning. ‘I feel really tired and weak.’ Seth put his arm round me.

Quinn nodded. ‘Yeah you will be, the first few times you shape shift, and it’s painful and really exhausting. I spent days in bed when I shifted for the first time. I thought I was actually going to die at one point. My parents couldn’t come anywhere near me as every time they tried to kiss me or hug me, it was agonizing. That’s how I knew I was about to change, because when anyone touched me it felt like they were stabbing me. I bet you found that this morning if Seth was hugging you, I bet it was excruciating, like his fingers were digging into your skin. You’re going to be shattered today and probably tomorrow. You’ll be hot too. You’ll shift without wanting to or realising it and then shift back without any control, but it won’t take you long to learn to control it.’

‘I’m supposed to be getting married today,’ I said, quietly.

‘We can always do it another day,’ Seth suggested, his voice strange, strangled almost.

I shook my head; I didn’t want to hide anymore. If I held out any longer my lies were bound to trip me up eventually and I wanted my wedding ring back on my finger. ‘No, but maybe we can limit the number of guests or the whole fort will be seeing me naked by the end of the day.’

Quinn chuckled. ‘Yeah the nakedness is an unfortunate side effect. I’ve ruined so many clothes when I’ve burst out of them and then you have to wait until you’re back in your room until you can shift again. You’ll get used to it.’

I smiled to myself. It was really quite exciting; the possibilities of what I could change into were endless.

‘I might go and have a rest for a while, before the wedding,’ I stood up.

‘Eve,’ said Eli. ‘Can I ask that if you shift again, try and stay something big like a lion or a dog? I’d hate to accidentally tread on you.’

I nodded. ‘I’ll do my best Eli.’

‘I’ll keep an eye on her,’ Seth said. Didn’t he always?

I walked back to my room with Seth at my side. As soon as I was back in the privacy of my room, I shrugged off the duvet and pulled on my pyjamas. I sat next to Seth on the bed, leaning against him sleepily. After a while I realised his arm wasn’t around me, like it normally was. I looked up to see his face. His jaw was clenched angrily.

I sat up. ‘You’re angry at me?’

‘Yes I am.’

‘Oh.’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ his eyes were filled with a hurt anger.

‘That I was feeling sick? I didn’t want to make a fuss; I just thought it was a bug or something.’ I could feel myself getting hot again now.

‘No not that, that I was hurting you. When we were together in bed this morning, I hurt you didn’t I?’

I shrugged. ‘Maybe a bit.’

Seth’s jaw tightened. ‘Quinn said it would be agonizing, that hugging you would be like stabbing you. We did a bit more than just hugging, and you were in excruciating pain, the whole time.’ He balled his fists up to his eyes. ‘You had your eyes closed, which I thought was odd, you normally keep them open, normally look at me as we lie together. I thought… I thought you were enjoying it, but you were in agony and you never told me.’ Pain ripped through every word.

I swallowed, my heart contracting at the grief I had caused him. I took his hand. ‘Because I didn’t want to hurt you.’

He looked at me incredulously. ‘The whole time I was stroking you, touching you, kissing you, it was absolute hell for you, and you’re worrying about my feelings. What about last night when we were together, did that hurt, and on the beach the first time we were together, did that hurt too? I thought it was the most amazing moment of my life and all the time you were in so much pain.’

‘No! Seth the first time was beautiful. I never realised it would be like that, it was amazing, and last night too. It was only this morning that it hurt.’ Sweat prickled down my neck, down my spine, a wave of immense tiredness drifting over me again.

Seth looked away from me angrily. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. We’re married, we’re supposed to be honest with each other, tell each other everything.’

‘I’m sorry, I just… You worry so much about me. I didn’t want you to worry any more than was necessary. You spend almost every waking hour comforting me, holding me, protecting me. I love you so much, I couldn’t bear to hurt you.’

‘Funny that, because that’s how I feel about you, but you’re talking about my feelings, I physically hurt you.’ He looked down at my hand in his. ‘Is this hurting you now?’ he said quietly.

I shook my head. ‘No, I’m not in pain anymore, I’m just hot and tired.’ Burning hot and so incredibly tired.

Seth looked at me sceptically.

‘I promise.’

Seth shook his head. ‘Get some rest. I’ll check in on you in a bit.’ He stood to leave.

‘Stay,’ I said quietly.

Seth hesitated but then walked out, his hands still balled up in fists.

I sighed and got into bed. I would have to get better at being honest with him. Or just get a lot better at lying.

I lay in bed, hot and sweaty, dozing restlessly, my heart seemed to be racing. I tossed and turned, hovering on the brink between sleep and the waking world. My duvet wrapped itself tightly around me like an octopus surrounding its prey and I writhed around, half asleep, trying to free myself from the creature that held me prisoner. A sense of panic seemed to engulf me as I fought against my captor, as I tried to force myself awake. But I couldn’t wake. Couldn’t escape. Amongst my sleep filled angst, hot hands were suddenly round my waist and I was pulled into the comforting safe arms of my love. Immediately the panic, the restlessness disappeared and I fell into a deep, calm sleep.

Seth woke me later, stroking my face, and kissing my forehead.

‘I’m sorry,’ I mumbled sleepily.

Seth sighed. ‘You make it impossible for me to stay angry at you, I love you too much.’

I smiled, kissing his neck.

‘How you feeling?’

‘Still really hot, still really tired.’ I sat up. ‘What time is it, is it time for us to get married again?’

‘Yes, but if you’re not up to it, maybe you should just stay in bed.’

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood up shakily. ‘No let’s just get it out the way.’

Seth smirked. ‘Such enthusiasm for getting married.’

I crawled back on the bed so I could kiss him. ‘You know I didn’t mean it like that, I just don’t want to keep that we’re married a secret any longer. I want to tell everyone about it, I want to wear my ring, I want to call you my husband, I want to be Mrs Hamilton. So let’s get married, and then I can come back and sleep for a year.’

Seth kissed me then got out the bed and went to the wardrobe. He pulled out my dress and laid it on the bed for me. I sat weakly on the edge of the bed watching him. He went to his wardrobe, and dressed in a white shirt and black trousers. He really was so beautiful.

As he fastened his tie, he turned to look at me speculatively. ‘You getting married in your pyjamas then?’

I stood feebly, then sat back down again.

Seth tutted and came over to me, helped me out of my pyjamas and into my dress.

‘It’s a good job we are already married, or I wouldn’t be able to do this without blushing.’

I smiled, as he helped me to my feet.

My wedding, my second wedding, was the most bizarre event I had ever attended. I was so glad that me and Seth had had our romantic, blissful wedding in Mexico, as my second wedding was a farce. I was also glad that only Quinn, Persia, my personal guard, Cassidy and Freya attended or more people would have seen me naked. I turned into a lioness a grand total of six times: three times during the ceremony, once as I signed the certificate and twice during my first dance.