Page 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

Mandy floated on her back in the pool, letting the water cradle her. The late afternoon sun warmed her face while the cool water supported her effortlessly. Nothing but pure, blissful weightlessness. It was her third week here in the Airbnb, and she was still loving it as much as she had the day she arrived. She'd be sorry to go home tomorrow, if she were honest with herself.

A familiar ringtone shattered the peaceful moment - Sabrina's special tone, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Mandy's eyes flew open. Water sluiced off her body as she quickly made her way to the pool steps.

She reached for her phone on the nearby lounger with one hand, grabbing her towel with the other. Droplets of water spattered the phone's screen as she hurried to answer before it went to voicemail.

"Hi sweetie, what's-"

"Mom! Oh my god, Mom!" Sabrina's voice blasted through the phone, forcing Mandy to hold the phone away from her ear. "Turn on the TV right now! Hurry!"

"Oh, I'm out at the pool," Mandy said, still dripping despite her efforts with the towel.

"Pool?" Sabrina's voice held a note of confusion.

Oops. Mandy's stomach dropped as she remembered her cover story. She was supposed to be at a rehab place. Right. "Yes, there's a pool here," she said quickly. "It's part of the physical therapy program. Aquatic exercises are really good for recovery."

"Oh, that makes sense." The excitement returned to Sabrina's voice. "But Mom, you need to get to a TV right now!"

"Okay, okay, let me get back to the… to my room." Mandy gathered her things one-handed, trying not to drop the phone. Water dripped steadily from her swimsuit onto the decorative tiles as she hurried toward the glass doors. "Give me just a minute to get there and dry off."

She padded through the doorway, leaving wet footprints on the terra cotta floor as she made her way to the living room. Mozart and Bach watched her hasty entrance with typical feline indifference from their sunny spots on the window seat.

"Almost there," she told Sabrina, reaching for the TV remote. "What channel am I looking for?"

"Just turn it on! Any news channel! You won't believe- " Sabrina's breathing came in excited gasps. "Oh my god, Mom, hurry!"

"Slow down, honey. What's going on?" Mandy reached for the remote. "Okay, okay, I'm doing it." Mandy clicked on the TV, navigating to the local news channel. "Though I don't see what could be so-"

"Shhh! Just watch!" Sabrina's voice trembled with barely contained excitement. "Tell me when you see it!"

Mandy's mouth fell open as she stared at her TV screen. The newscaster's voice barely registered through her shock as shaky cell phone footage played, showing a bear emerging from a stand of trees, pursuing a terrified man in hiking gear.

"Are you seeing this?" Sabrina's voice squeaked through the phone.

"Oh God! That man! If he's getting eaten by the bear on live camera, I'm not watching!" Mandy shuddered, reaching for the power button on the remote.

"No! Mom, no! Keep watching!"

A woman darted into frame from behind some trees. Not much could be seen of her but her hiking clothing and mass of red hair. Mandy's grip tightened on her phone as she witnessed the impossible. The woman's form blurred, shifted, and suddenly a red fox stood in her place. The fox launched itself at the bear, latching onto its ear with sharp teeth.

"Oh my god," Mandy whispered, her jaw dropping. She leaned forward, transfixed by the footage.

The fox released its grip on the bear, landing lightly on all four feet, and danced away, staying just out of reach of the bear's massive paws. Each time the bear lunged, the fox darted aside with fluid grace, drawing the predator further from the hiker who scrambled to safety.

"Did you see that?" Sabrina's voice trembled with excitement. "She turned into a fox! Right there on camera! Everyone's seeing this!"

Mandy could barely breathe as the footage replayed in slow motion. The woman's transformation was unmistakable, even with the shaky camera work. The newscaster's voice finally penetrated her daze:

"This extraordinary footage was captured yesterday afternoon in Yellowstone National Park by tourist James Chen. Wildlife experts are baffled by what appears to show..."

"Mom? Are you still there?" Sabrina's voice pulled Mandy back to the present.

"I'm here," Mandy managed to say. "I'm just... processing."

The world had just changed irrevocably. Magic wasn't hidden anymore - at least this small piece of it had been exposed.

Mandy's gaze was fixed on the TV screen as the footage replayed yet again. The transformation seemed impossible - yet she'd seen impossible things herself these past few days. The Djinn, yes, but even so…

"It has to be fake," she whispered. "CGI or something..."

"No, Mom!" Sabrina's excitement bubbled through the line. "There are like a dozen videos of this! A whole group was on some bridge taking pictures when it happened. They all caught it from different angles."

The news switched to another shaky video, this one showing the scene from higher up. The quality was better, the woman's transformation into a fox even clearer. Mandy leaned forward, studying every detail.

"Look, they're showing another one!" Sabrina's voice rose with excitement. "See how clear that one is? You can actually see her clothes kind of... dissolve or something as she changes!"

Mandy's breath caught as the footage played in slow motion. The woman's form seemed to blur around the edges before shifting, her clothing seeming to melt away as fur sprouted and her shape altered. The fox that emerged moved with fluid grace, its russet coat gleaming in the sunlight.

"No," Mandy told her daughter. "No, the clothing's there, but it happens fast. Next time they play that section, see how the fox comes out of the clothing?"

"Okay, I"ll look. And they're saying there are more videos coming in," Sabrina continued. "People are uploading them all over social media. It's completely real, Mom. A shapeshifter! An actual shapeshifter!"

Mandy watched another clip begin. This one showed more of the aftermath - the fox leading the bear away from the open meadow, its smaller form darting into the trees with practiced ease.

"The hiker she saved is being interviewed right now on Channel 7!" Sabrina's voice crackled with static as she presumably changed channels. "Quick, switch over!"

Mandy fumbled with the remote, disturbing Mozart who gave an irritated meow. The hiker's pale face filled the screen, his hands gesturing animatedly as he recounted his experience.

"I thought I was dead," he was saying, his voice still shaky. "That bear was right behind me, I had no chance, and I knew my life was over. And then this woman just... she just turned into a fox! Right in front of me! She attacked that bear, to let me get away. She saved my life!"

The camera panned to a woman clutching a little girl's hand. Her face was still pale with remembered fear as she spoke into the microphone.

"We were just picking wildflowers," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Sarah loves the yellow ones." She pulled the small girl closer against her side. "Then we heard shouting, and this man came running out of the trees with the bear right behind him."

The little girl buried her face in her mother's jacket as the woman continued. "I grabbed Sarah and froze for just a minute - I couldn't even scream. And then we started running, and the bear was so huge, and we were right there in its path, along with the man. The ground was rough, though, and we fell." Her free hand pressed against her chest as if her heart was still racing. "I thought... I really thought that was it for us."

"But then this woman appeared out of nowhere," the mother continued. "She was yelling at us to run. And she just... changed." She shook her head in amazement. "One second she was a woman, the next she was this beautiful red fox."

The little girl peeked out from where she'd hidden her face against her mother's jacket. "The fox was pretty," she whispered loud enough for the microphone to catch.

"I don't care what she is," the mother said firmly, pulling her daughter close again. "Woman, fox, whatever. She saved us. That's all that matters to me. I just... I just want to thank her, whoever she is. And if you're out there listening," she said, looking directly into the camera, "thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. From the bottom of my heart. You saved our lives - my daughter's life."

The phone was silent as Mandy and Sabrina watched the impossible footage playing across their TV screens. The silence stretched between them, punctuated only by the newscaster's voice providing updates.

"I..." Sabrina's voice cracked slightly. "Mom, I don't even have words. This changes everything, doesn't it?"

"It certainly seems that way," Mandy replied carefully, conscious of her own recent magical encounters. If only Sabrina knew about the Djinn prince who'd been sitting in this very living room just yesterday.

"But how is this possible?" Sabrina's voice held a note of desperation. "People don't turn into animals!"

Mandy smiled, as Mozart left the window seat to jump up on the sofa. "Apparently some do," she said mildly, as he flopped down against her leg, nudging her arm in a play for attention.

"You sound awfully calm," Sabrina observed, puzzlement creeping into her voice.

"Well..." Mandy paused, choosing her words carefully. "I write paranormal romance, honey. I've spent years imagining these possibilities. Maybe that makes it easier to accept?"

"I guess." Sabrina didn't sound entirely convinced. "But this is real, Mom. Actually real! Not just stories anymore!"

"The world's full of mysteries, sweetie," Mandy said, watching yet another replay. Maybe we're just starting to see them more clearly now."

"That's... surprisingly philosophical of you." Sabrina's laugh held a hint of hysteria. "I'm kind of freaking out here, and you're all zen about it."

"Someone has to be," Mandy replied, wishing she could share her own magical revelations with her daughter. "Besides, panicking won't change anything. And obviously, shifters have been here all along. We simply didn't know about them until now. But - I have questions. So, so many questions," Mandy added.

"Oh, do you think?" Sabrina's laughter bubbled through the phone, the hysteria in her voice fading slightly. "Oh shoot. Lauren's calling - I bet she's seen the news too. I should probably..."

"Go ahead," Mandy said, still smiling as she scratched behind Mozart's ears. "Call me later if you want to talk more about it."

"I will. Love you, Mom!"

"Love you too, sweetie."

The line went dead, leaving Mandy alone with her thoughts and her cats.

Mandy stared at the black screen of her television long after switching it off, and her thoughts churned.

The shapeshifter's existence had blown the magical world wide open. Kieran would surely know more about this. She was simply dying to know more. Her fingers curled around the pendant, but something held her back from speaking his name.

The thought of summoning him made her stomach twist uncomfortably. The pendant's magic technically gave her that power, but it felt... wrong. Like treating him as some sort of supernatural servant, bound to appear at her whim.

"What do you think?" she asked Mozart softly, tickling his ears. "Is it rude to just... summon someone like that?"

The mental image of an alchemist drawing magical circles and commanding demons rose in her mind, making her cringe. Kieran was a prince, for heaven's sake, not some supernatural being to be ordered around at a human's convenience. He might be bound by magical laws to respond, but that didn't make it right to exploit that obligation.

Mozart headbutted her hand, demanding attention. She stroked his head, and gave him chin rubs, grateful for the distraction from her thoughts. But the questions wouldn't stop spinning through her mind.

A Djinn Council - Kieran had mentioned it, hadn't he? What must they be thinking now, with proof of magic splashed across every news channel? She remembered Kieran's careful explanations of magical rules and boundaries. Surely there would be consequences? Repercussions? Certainly both, now that the existence of shifters had just been revealed to the entire world.

There was no denying that this changed everything. The news footage played through her mind again - that incredible moment of transformation, captured forever on dozens of phones. There was no putting this particular genie back in the bottle, she thought with a wry smile at her own unintended pun.

The magical world hadn't just been exposed - it had been broadcast globally, undoubtedly going viral on social media, impossible to deny or explain away. Even now, experts would be analyzing those videos frame by frame, trying to understand what they were seeing.

What did this mean for beings like Kieran and Jacinth? Would they need to be more careful now? More hidden? Or would this force some kind of official acknowledgment of their existence?

A faint smile tugged at her lips as she remembered how carefully Kieran and Jacinth both had sidestepped any mention of other magical beings. But now - if shapeshifters were real, what other creatures might be walking among humans? Her writer's imagination kicked into overdrive, powered by years of crafting paranormal romances.

Vampires? The thought sent a delicious shiver down her spine. She'd written enough vampire stories to populate a small city. A giggle escaped her as she remembered Jacinth's intense curiosity about her series featuring merfolk. The Djinn had practically devoured the details about her worldbuilding, asking such specific questions about how she imagined mer-society functioning.

"Oh my god," Mandy whispered, her hand flying to her mouth. She remembered both of the Djinn thinking she wanted to wish to be a real mermaid. They'd entirely re-directed the conversation, but… could it be? And then there was Jacinth's barely concealed excitement when discussing her books, the series with the mermaids. Had the Djinn been checking to see how close Mandy's imagination had come to reality? The thought made her head spin.

Mandy zipped her last suitcase and wheeled it into the entryway, adding it to the neat collection of luggage waiting by the door. Mozart and Bach watched from their carriers, their expressions clearly conveying their displeasure at being confined again.

A familiar tingle of magic raised the hair on her arms moments before Kieran materialized beside her. The silver-white strands of his hair looked windswept, and faint lines of tension marked the corners of his eyes.

"I thought you'd be too busy dealing with..." Mandy gestured vaguely at the TV in the living room.

"Indeed, I am." His deep voice held a note of weariness she'd never heard before. "The Council has been in session since the news broke. But I could not leave you to make your way home alone."

"That's very kind of you," Mandy said softly, touched by his consideration despite what must be overwhelming demands on his time. "But surely there are more important things requiring your attention right now?"

"The Council can manage without me for the brief time it takes to see you safely home." His ice-blue eyes met hers, and despite his obvious fatigue, warmth flickered in their depths.

Mandy's heart skipped as Kieran's gaze held hers. The way his silver-white hair caught the sunlight, the quiet strength in his tall frame, the subtle warmth beneath his formal demeanor - all of it called to something deep within her that she'd thought long dormant. Her fingers itched to reach out, to discover if his hair felt as silky as it looked.

She jerked her attention away, squashing the foolish impulse. Magical being or not, he was still bound by duty and responsibility. The last thing he needed was a formerly disabled writer mooning over him like a teenager with her first crush.

The doorbell's chime broke through her thoughts, making her jump. Through the decorative glass panels flanking the front door, she recognized the uniformed figure of the limo driver from her arrival.

"Perfect timing," Kieran said, moving to open the door.

The driver nodded respectfully to them both before efficiently gathering her luggage. Mandy watched as her suitcases disappeared one by one into the trunk of the sleek black vehicle.

"Ready?" Kieran asked softly beside her.

Mandy took one last look around the beautiful house that had been her sanctuary these past weeks. The morning sunlight streamed through the windows, painting golden patterns across the terracotta tiles. Even Bach and Mozart seemed subdued in their carriers, as if they too were reluctant to leave.

Kieran's hand settled briefly on her lower back as he guided her toward the waiting limo, the touch sending tingles up her spine despite the layers of clothing between them.

Once back at her apartment complex, Mandy fretted, watching anxiously as the driver made multiple trips carrying her luggage - which was now so much more than it had been when she left here - into her apartment. Her fingers fidgeted with her purse strap, torn between offering a tip and potentially offending someone who worked for a Djinn prince.

"Should I give him a tip...?" she whispered to Kieran, who stood beside her with his usual quiet grace. "I mean, I know he works for you, but it seems rude not to..."

A low chuckle rumbled from Kieran's chest, the sound sending pleasant shivers down her spine. "The driver's compensation has been quite thoroughly arranged," he assured her, amusement dancing in his ice-blue eyes. "You need not concern yourself."

"Oh." Mandy felt her cheeks warm at his gentle teasing. "Of course. I just wasn't sure about the etiquette of tipping limousine chauffeurs."

The driver made one final trip, setting down her last suitcase with practiced efficiency. He nodded respectfully to them both before departing, closing the door softly behind him.

Kieran's expression grew serious as he turned to face her. "I cannot stay," he said, regret coloring his deep voice. "The Council requires my presence. There are endless meetings and consultations to attend regarding this... revelation."

"Of course." Mandy nodded, trying to squash the feeling of disappointment. She had expected that would be the case. "I imagine everyone is in an uproar."

Kieran pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "You have no idea. The exposure of shapeshifters affects many aspects of our world. Jacinth, too, may not be able to get away as frequently. She is quite occupied with matters in her community as well, where there are many shifters, some her close friends."

"I understand completely," Mandy assured him, meaning it. The magnitude of such a revelation must be causing chaos throughout the magical community. "You have responsibilities. Important ones." She smiled at him. "I'll be fine."

"Nevertheless." Kieran stepped closer, and Mandy's breath caught in her throat. "Do not hesitate to call upon me if you have need. Or when you are ready for your second wish."

Mandy's pulse quickened as Kieran lingered, his tall frame casting a shadow in the morning light. His glacier-blue eyes held an unfamiliar warmth as they searched her face, and his usual formal demeanor seemed to waver.

He lifted one elegant hand, the gesture almost hesitant - so unlike his usual assured movements. Mandy's breath caught as his fingers hovered near her cheek, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin. Time stretched like honey, sweet and slow, as she waited for his touch.

The air crackled with possibility. Mandy's pulse thundered in her ears as Kieran leaned closer, his silver-white hair catching the sunlight. For one electric moment, she thought he might actually kiss her.

Then his hand dropped, and he stepped back. With a flash of magic that raised the hair on her arms, he vanished, leaving only the faintest trace of his distinctive scent in the air.

Bach meowed plaintively from his carrier, breaking the spell. Mandy pressed her cool fingers to her burning cheeks, trying to slow her racing heart.

Had that really happened?