Page 36 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)

Chapter

Thirty-One

M y mother was stunning. Considered one of, if not the most beautiful goddesses of the fae, Cliona or Cliodhna, sat on my porch, her skirts gathered around her feet.

Shining dark hair flowed down her back and gently shimmered in a phantom wind.

Her eyes were the same color as mine, but her features had always been more delicate.

I had a stubborn chin and higher cheekbones, and my skin had always held a faint golden sheen.

Cliona’s skin was pale as pure Irish cream, her face unmarred by freckles or age.

She straightened when she saw me coming, a slight wrinkle of her forehead breaking up the perfection of her features. “Cavorting through the woods again?” she said by way of greeting.

I ignored the insult. “Hello, mother.”

Cliona rolled her eyes and rose, graceful as a swan. “Come. Invite me in for tea and let me catch up with my daughter.”

I made no move and stood there like a statue. “We both know you only visit when you need something. What is it this time?”

Displeasure flickered in her eyes, her staggering magic loosened for a second before she brought it back under control. Lightning cracked atop our heads, and thunderclouds rolled in, there and gone in an instant.

I hoped Ben stayed hidden. The last thing anyone needed was my mother’s interest.

“We are not peasants, Evangeline. That is not how you speak to a queen.”

“It is if that queen is my mother,” I muttered.

One of her dark eyebrows rose.

“Mom. Come on. What do you want?”

She huffed. “I want a cup of tea and to see how my daughter is.”

Sensing she wouldn’t give up, I sighed and opened the door.

Mom sailed in before I could swing it all the way open, her eyes cataloging everything and missing nothing.

I kept all my treasures hidden in a below ground room and spelled to avoid detection.

My mother had been to my house a few times and had yet to sense it, though it wasn’t for lack of trying.

She tried to inhale discreetly, scenting out magic.

“Searching for anything in particular?” I asked, my voice dry as the Sahara.

Mom clicked her tongue. “You honestly think the worst of me, don’t you?”

If the shoe fits. I stilled my tongue and busied myself putting the tea kettle on. Mom walked around the living room investigating everything before she pulled a chair from the island and settled onto it, crossing one slim leg over the other.

“Tell me how you are settling in, Evangeline.”

“I’ve been here for five years.”

Five years was nothing but a blink of an eye to the Fae, and I sometimes forget how ancient my mother truly was. Understanding her felt like someone dumping Scrabble tiles onto the floor and asking me to assemble a ten-letter word in five seconds. Overwhelming and futile.

I pushed over a cup of Earl Grey tea and took out a small jar of sugar and the small silver container of cream I kept fresh just for her random visits.

“None for you?”

“No. I’ve been outside all day. Summer in this town is rough.”

Mom paused in the act of stirring. “You don’t enjoy it here?”

What I didn’t enjoy was the sudden gleam in her eye. “I enjoy this place very much.”

“Hmm. You can always come home, you know.”

“Home?” My mother put me out at eighteen with a small amount of cash and a pat on the back with strict instructions to make my way in the world and never come home again. Now I was even more suspicious.

Mom’s delicate snort put me on edge. “Yes, home.”

“As in the Otherworld?”

Mom gave me an annoyed look. “Where else could I be speaking of, darling?”

I stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she was gaslighting me. “I’ve never lived in the Otherworld. Why would I want to go back there?”

She scoffed. “Nonsense, Evangeline. You lived there for years!”

I one hundred percent had never stepped foot into the Otherworld.

My mother had left me with human parents until I was fifteen, though she’d paid them handsomely to ensure I stayed alive, I guess.

She visited me twice a year, and it felt like the sun had come out every time I saw her.

After that, she purchased a house in Seattle, and we lived there until my eighteenth birthday.

“Mom,” I said firmly. “You left me with humans, remember? Then we lived in Seattle?”

Mom’s brow furrowed. Her eyes clouded for a moment before she smiled. “Oh. Silly me. Yes, of course. It doesn’t mean you can’t visit now.”

Mom always swore I wouldn’t be welcomed into Underhill because of my “filthy human blood.” What the hell was going on?

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said slowly. Mom’s moods were capricious on a good day, and with Ben in the woods, I didn’t want to set her off.

Speaking of Ben, I sent a small wisp of magic through the ground and had the vines close to him curl around themselves until they spelled out:

Everything is fine. Thank you for a nice afternoon. I’ll see you around.

An abrupt dismissal, yes, but Mom showed no signs of this being a short visit.

“Evie, have you had any visits lately?”

Ah. Here it was. “Visits? I own a shop in town, so lots of people come and go.”

Mom rolled her eyes. “I know you have a flower shop. I’m talking about dream visits or day walking from any...fae or other creatures.”

Danger, my senses screamed. I kept my heartbeat perfectly steady. “Um. No. That’s an odd question. Why do you ask?” Telling her about Cernunnos seemed like a bad idea.

“Odd magical pulses here and there,” Mom said, her azure eyes pinning me to the chair.

“Who would visit me? No one knows I’m here.”

“Your attack brought many questions,” Mom hedged. “There are some who are interested in knowing about your abilities and how they might have changed.”

“No one knows about my attack, Mother.” Or they shouldn’t.

Mom waved a delicate hand. “They have no idea what attacked you. Only that you were seriously wounded.” Her lips pursed in a perfect pout. “Everyone was asking about you, and it seemed like a natural time to bring it up.”

My hands tightened around the edge of the countertop. “And you thought the worst night of my life was a great conversation starter?”

Anger flickered in the azure depths of her eyes. “You are my daughter, Evangeline. Naturally, I worry about you.”

“Naturally,” I said, unable to keep the deep sarcasm from my voice. “We both know no one ever asks about me. I’m not sure why you’re here, but I think it’s time we get to the point.”

Mom set her mug down with a sharp click. “No one has visited you?”

This must be it. “No one ever comes to the property unless it’s for work, Mother. And my dreams are just that. Dreams.”

Worry flashed over her face, there and gone so fast I almost missed it. “Who would you think would be visiting me?”

“No one,” she said far too quickly.

Cernunnos’ words from his first visit came back to me in a flash of memory.

Do you know who your father is?

And me answering that he was human, only for Cernunnos to ask me if I was sure.

Mom hated when I brought up my father. The subject could send her into a blinding rage, but I tried to broach the subject once more. In a roundabout way, of course.

Fae hated direct conversation and confrontation, very reminiscent of a southern mother-in-law. “Is there something I should know?”

Mom’s stillness betrayed her. “Of course not.”

I waited, but she didn’t elaborate. “I’ve heard reports of rogue pockets of magic. Could it have something to do with that?”

Mom shrugged. “I’m worried about you.”

No, she wasn’t. “Why? Everything is normal here.” No sexy Shifter Lords on my tail. No hot, gentle shifters walking my land, and certainly no Council sniffing around me.

“Have you discovered any...new abilities?”

I kept my face uninterested. Mom was under the impression I’d developed zero new abilities after the Chimera mauling.

She knew what attacked me because she showed up right at the tail end, but she had no idea of the aftereffects or that the tattoos I wore protected me from others sensing what I was.

Hazel had watched from the woods until my mother disappeared, leaving me to die brutalized and alone, then hurried to gather me from my almost grave and helped me save myself.

Even I didn’t know what abilities a Chimera had other than being able to shift into almost anything.

Cliona asked no questions unless she had an ulterior motive.

“Nothing,” I said with a rueful smile. “Looks like my half fae blood purged most of the virus. Every once in a while, I get a red tinge to my eyes, but other than that, I’m the same old Evie.”

I had to give her something. She was far too smart to believe I’d walked away from that attack completely unscathed.

“My kind are gathering around this place. They sense anomalies in the magic.” Her eyes narrowed. “Are you sure you’re not experiencing anything new?”

I held both hands up and shrugged. “Not that I know of.”

Mom rose, gathering her bright shawl around her shoulders. “Our kind flocks to power, Evangeline. Something dwells in this town that’s drawing the wrong kind of curiosity. If you receive any visitors in your dreams, you must let me know at once.”

“I still don’t know who’d visit me. I’m sure I can take on a demi-fae with no help from my mother.” I smiled to soften my words.

Cliona left her mug on the counter. “The Fae King is sniffing around this place, Evangeline.”

I laughed. “There’s no way he’ll pay me a visit.” It took years of practice for me to lie successfully to my mother. “I work with plants and flowers. I’m far under Cernunnos’ radar.”

Mom flinched when I said his name. “Never let his name pass your lips,” she hissed. “You’ll draw unwanted attention.”

“Could it be my father?” I asked quietly.

Mom froze, her eyes turning from the color of a Mediterranean Sea to a frozen over lake. “Your father is dead.”

I pushed my luck. “Is he?”

For a moment, my mother disappeared, and the Banshee Queen stood before me, pale and terrible, unholy magic crackling around her like a lightning storm. Ghosts screamed through her body, and my house turned into the land of the dead.

A second later, we were back in the kitchen, and my mother wore a rueful smile, the only sign of her horrific magic the puff of steam my breath made in the still freezing room.

“Oh, Evie,” Mom said with a click of her tongue. “I would never lie to you.”

She bent down and pressed a cool kiss against my skin before disappearing in a puff of mist.

It took a long time for my hands to stop shaking.