The Only Purple House in Town (Fix-It Witches, #4)(92)

Her parents did, sometimes, strike her as alien beings.

“What an interesting thought. But we should go,” Rain said then. “We’ll return soon.”

“Probably. We’ll do our best to keep track of time on your side of the veil.” Fen stood and offered their hand to Rain.

It felt weird as hell to walk her parents to the basement, but when was anything about her life normal? The others stayed upstairs, allowing her a final moment with Rain and Fen. As the light gathered in the seams of the portal, she blurted, “You said it’s possible for me to change forms. How…how would I do that? If I wanted to.”

Fen paused, energy wreathing them in garlands of light. “It’s difficult to explain. In the Otherworld, it would be as simple as a thought. It requires more focus and more energy here where everything is…”

“Heavier,” Rain said. “I would say that the first step is believing that you can, however. Believe that you’re not limited. Believe that you’re not chained. Believe in your own potential. You truly are infinite, precious blossom.”

Rain kissed one cheek while Fen kissed the other, and then they went, melting into the light. Iris would be lying if she claimed she wasn’t curious, but it was also a relief to some degree. She had so much to process, and that wasn’t even factoring for Eli.

Now that she’d had a chance to calm down, she could see that maybe she’d overreacted. A tad. Not that she had no reason to be upset at all, but maybe it wasn’t an offense worthy of cutting all contact and going scorched earth.

I miss him.

I miss us.

I miss dance lessons, and I miss hugging him when I feel low.

“Okay, so I wasn’t trying to spy on you, but I couldn’t resist seeing that portal magic in action,” Rowan said from the middle of the stairs.

Iris jumped so hard, she nearly fell over. “Oh my God!”

Rowan rushed to her side, steadying her with a hand on her arm. “Sorry! I thought you knew I was there. Sidenote, I can’t wait to capture the magic of this moment. Thanks again for the digital tablet! I can’t believe how great everyone has been to me. I’ve literally never been happier in my whole life.”

That was supposed to be for Rowan’s birthday, around Thanksgiving, but nobody had been able to resist delivering it early. “Mira organized everything. She should get extra ice cream for a week.”

“You always do that,” Rowan said.

“Do what?”

“Deflect praise and appreciation instead of just saying, ‘You’re welcome.’”

“Oh. Okay. You’re welcome?”

Rowan grinned. “That’s much better! But…did I hear you right? Were you asking about changing shapes?”

Crap.

“I was just curious,” she said.

“Are you interested in becoming a hawk, by any chance?”

Oh my God, how do they know?

She mumbled something noncommittal and rushed upstairs, but Rowan didn’t let her off the hook. “You’re trying to get closer to him, huh? Does that mean you’re ready to make up?”

Iris sighed, sinking into a kitchen chair with confusion dancing the mambo in circles around her. “Maybe. I do feel like we should talk. I don’t feel great about the way I just…evicted him. Yeah, he messed up, but I’m not perfect either.” She paused. “Do you…happen to know where he is?”

“I do,” said Henry Dale and quickly recited the address.

Once she had the info, she didn’t know what she intended to do until she got upstairs. The normal reaction would be to call him or get in her car. Since when was I normal? My parents are Rain and Fen. I’m extraordinary. I’m fae. Calmly Iris undressed in the main bedroom and folded her clothes; then she opened the window.

She imagined her body getting lighter and smaller, feathers instead of skin, hollow bones, and wings that would ride the wind. Her body was only a suggestion, not the lines that confined her. A chosen shape, not the only one, and then—

She was a hawk. Like Eli. Flying felt so natural that she let out a triumphant shriek and caught the updraft, circling the house.

Then she arrowed in the direction of her heart.



* * *



First there was a red-tailed hawk, circling overhead in graceful motions, and then there was a naked woman on Eli’s porch. Not just any woman.

Iris.

He hurriedly dragged her inside without asking a single clarifying question. Her eyes rounded when she spotted Liz, currently sprawled on his couch in comfy clothes. Liz had been sleeping on the sofa, but this probably looked bad. Oh shit. What the…? Why now?

“Uh, hello there. There’s probably an interesting explanation,” Liz said, carefully keeping her gaze on Iris’s face. “I look forward to hearing it after you get dressed.”

He pulled Iris through to his room and quickly found her a T-shirt and jogging pants. Eli turned to close the door as she put the clothes on. “It’s good to see you,” he said.

“All of me?” The laughter in her voice said she wasn’t upset.

“Okay, admittedly, this isn’t how I would’ve chosen to get you naked the first time.”

“You’ve thought about that, have you?”

“I’m not a saint,” he muttered. “Those dance lessons…”