Page 15 of Ghosted AF
A teeny chirp sounded from the ashes, and a moment later, a naked baby bird lifted its head. About the size of a golf ball with protruding eyes and skin the color of midnight, it was so ugly it circled back around to being cute.
The chick let out another squeak, its beak opening wide as it bobbed unsteadily atop the comforter. I reached out instinctively, hesitating just before my fingers could brush its fragile body.
“Can I touch it?”
“Go ahead.”
I stroked a trembling finger over its bald head, smiling when it cooed and arched its neck to follow the movement. “This is really cool, but I’m not going to lie. It looks nothing like Mykal.”
Caius laughed, the sound warm, rich. “The chick will grow into an adult in about forty-eight to seventy-two hours. Then it will be able to shift between forms.”
I jerked my head up, my mouth falling open. “Will it turn into a human baby?”
Because I was so not equipped to deal with that.
“No.” He snapped out another surprised laugh and shook his head. “The bird will turn back into the Mykal you know, fully grown with all his memories intact. In the meantime, we wait.”
“What do I feed it?”
“You don’t. In fact, you don’t need to do anything.” He bent and scratched under the chick’s chin, his hand ridiculously largenext to its tiny body. “Most phoenixes go through the transition on their own. I know he looks delicate, but he knows what to do.”
“I should build him a nest.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Can I use your feathers?”
“That’s not—”
“Keep an eye on him.”
“What are you doing?” Caius asked, watching me with an arched eyebrow.
“I’m going to get some grass and twigs, of course.”
“Rylee, you don’t—”
“I’ll be back. Don’t let him fall off the bed.”
“He won’t fall, but this isn’t—”
“Just watch him.”
Then I hurried out of the room, a clear goal in mind as I latched onto the one thing that actually made sense. I had no idea how to be a mate to a powerful griffin shifter.
But I could probably keep a magical baby bird alive for three days.
six
~ Caius ~
Bythefollowingmorning,the chick had grown to nearly the size of an apple, making the nest Rylee had worked so hard on unusable. I had tried to warn him, but nothing I said had managed to dissuade him.
The bird had also sprouted an impressive amount of black fluff during the night, a downy coat that would no doubt begin molting in the coming hours. I had never witnessed a phoenix rebirth before, but I had to admit, I found it kind of fascinating.
Or it would have been if Rylee hadn’t gone to work and left me on babysitting duty.
A part of me understood his concern. While the chick would eventually transform into a grown man with a lifetime of memories and reasoning, for now, it really was just a baby bird.
