Page 90 of A Phoenix Reborn at Christmas

Footsteps pounded down the corridor. Grady and Briar ran into the room. Surprisingly, they were covered in dirt and gravel.

“Fuck.” Grady looked around. He let out a breath as he looked around. “Is everyone all right?”

Percival and Leo nodded.

“I am fine.” Uzoth walked up beside Grady, wrapping his arm around Grady’s shoulder.

“What about this?” Grady pointed at the patch of dark-grey skin, darker than the rest of him. It was where the sorcerer had hit him with the bolt of ice.

“You do not need to worry, Grady. It does not hurt and will heal in no time,” Uzoth said.

Still, Grady frowned.

Briar ran to Wulfric, who had shifted into his human form. “Are you all right, Wulfric?”

“I think I’ve got a few injuries.” Wulfric clutched at his own arm. “But otherwise, I’m fine.”

“Where are the guards?” Uzoth looked towards the door.

“We managed to lose them,” Grady said.

“What guards?” Percival asked.

“The guards protecting the factory. We realised that although Uzoth could fly past them, Wulfric and Leo couldn’t.” Grady gave a half-smile. “So Briar and I led them on a merry chase.”

“Hey!” Uncle Ignatius gasped. “I am not fine! I was hit!”

Percival looked to his uncle. One of Sorceress Elayna’s stray shots must have struck him. But his uncle didn’t look to be on the verge of death.

“Untie me this instant!” his uncle yelled.

Uzoth walked towards Uncle Ignatius. Letting out a breath, Grady went with him.

Cyprian, now reborn into a phoenix chick, hopped across the floor.

Chapter

Forty-Two

The phoenix chick sat within Percival’s palm, leaning against his chest.

“Cyprian doesn’t look like a murderous prick like this.” Leo leaned against Percival.

Cyprian opened his little red beak and trilled. Then he snuggled against Percival’s chest.

Percival sighed. Because despite the fact that Cyprian had tried to kill him, Percival couldn’t help but feel protective towards the fluffy little orange ball in his hand.

They stood in his uncle’s office, away from the dead bodies in Percival’s own.

“How long until he grows?” Leo asked. “You grew into an adult phoenix and then shifted into a human as soon as I found you.”

“It’s usually at least a couple of hours. But it could be up to a day.” Thankfully, Percival now remembered the basics of a phoenix’s rebirth. “Which gives us a bit of time to deal with everything and hopefully be home.”

He wanted to go home to Leo’s home and Leo’s room.

The guards, who Briar and Grady had led on a chase, had returned to the factory. They’d been horrified and confusedby all the dead bodies. Thankfully, Uncle Ignatius had allowed Grady to take charge.

Or at least, he’d not contradicted Grady when he started giving orders. Grady told the guards to watch the bodies whilst he and Uzoth went in search of the nightwatchmen.