Waking on the couch, I’m smothered by the concern of my caretakers. My fingers and toes are numb, excluding where my hand was directly connected to Brody. It’s twitching. Bright side: my eye is not.

Derry’s scowling, and Brody’s standing as far away from me as he can while maintaining visibility.

“Who won?”

Tally, who I didn’t realize was functioning as a footrest, laughs and clips me on the shin. I groan when the amplified sting vibrates through my body.

“Give her another dose,” Tally demands. “She’s still tingling.”

The pain is awkward and new. I haven’t been damaged before. Not a fan. Ryan places my gyrating hand in his. A flooding warmth pools in the areas hurting the most. A few minutes later, the throbbing dissipates, along with the warm feeling.

“It was a draw,” she advises. “Tie breaker needed.”

I hold my free hand up for a high five. “Not losing feels like a win.”

Brody grunts, Derry grimaces, Ryan shakes his head, and Tally slaps her palm against mine.

“What’s with the face, Peepy D?” She pokes at Derry.

He sucks in a breath.

“What?” Bringing my hands to my temples, I rub slow circles to alleviate the pulsing current in my head. “What’s wrong?”

She huffs. “I think it’s an improvement.”

“What’s an improvement?”

Derry coughs, Ryan’s brow hits the ceiling, and Brody points to his head, conducting my thought train trajectory to my hair.

My hair feels different. It takes me a second to register the change. It is not straight with a bit of sexy wave. My long, auburn hair is now curly! Not loose, flowing curls, either. These things are coiled as tight as my fists, now pounding at my poor head in time to the tiny construction workers wreaking havoc in there.

“It looks…nice,” Derry offers.

My eyes are heat-seeking missiles aimed at him that he dodges in favor of his suddenly interesting feet.

“It suits you,” Brody claims, something strange in his voice. It’s softer. Reverent. My cheeks spark.

“You okay, Brody?” Ryan prods. He doesn’t look okay.

He shrugs.

“Bug Zapper is less than impressed with his new ability,” Tally announces.

I lift a brow. “His new ability?”

“For someone so connected to the feelings of others, you sure fizzled out on this one,” she chides.

“It seems when you broke the bond between Brody and the Tribunal, you completely separated his ties to the Sentry,” Ryan explains.

“That was the goal.” I eye Brody warily to gauge his reaction to the news. “Did you know?”

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“I haven’t shapeshifted since you broke the connection,” he admits. “I didn’t want to test your limits.”

“And now?”

He furrows his brow. “Shapeshifting isn’t an indoor activity.”

“Well, let’s have a go at it outside,” I suggest.

“Sheyla,” Derry chimes in, “you need to rest.”

I ignore him. I feel fine. Ryan, the magic hand man, sorted any lingering electrical strain. I do, however, flip Derry off on my way out the door. Brody begrudgingly follows.

“Give it a go,” I encourage from a respectable distance.

Brody flexes his muscles and focuses on shifting. His will, though strong, isn’t enough to invoke transformation. Frowning, I approach him. An electrical current radiates from his form. It’s like standing too close to power lines. The hum gives me goosebumps.

“How long has this been going on?”

“Since you knocked me into the force field.”

The Sinsear Scholars thought Brody would be the first water-glider in a century, but they were wrong. He ended up a land-walker who could shift into a wolf-bear. The Sentry keeps strong ties to their Scouts, so tight they don’t have any free will. Literally. I broke those bonds, but as with everything I fix, there are wonky side effects.

“What if I didn’t take your ability to shapeshift?” I reason. “What if I changed what you can shapeshift into?”

“What do you mean?”

“What if you aren’t a land-walker anymore? What if the prophecy was right? What if you’re a water-glider?”

“Dude. I’m producing an electrical current over here,” he contends. “Water and electricity don’t mix.”

“Yes, they do.” I crinkle my nose at his lack of associative capabilities. “Think eels, catfish, and rays.”

He sighs. “Why am I not flopping around on the ground like a fish out of water? I’d assume the shifting technique is the same.”

“Could you do anything else when you were a land-walker? Could you manipulate the element in any way?”

“Nothing like this,” he insists. “I was stupid strong and had an above average weapon proficiency.”

“What if your shapeshifting was your primary ability before but is your secondary ability now? Maybe you need something tangible to invoke the change? Maybe you need to be in the water.”

“Last I checked, the body is fifty to sixty percent water,” he states condescendingly. “That should be enough.”

“Maybe it’s a gradual adaptation.” I pace back and forth, tapping my finger on my dimpled chin. “We should try submersion.”

“Let me help!” Tally offers cheerfully. “I want to see this sucker turn into a water dog.”

She disappears into the house, returning with a bucket of water. I point to the expanse of water just outside the force field. “That would’ve sufficed.”

“Not nearly as fun,” she tuts. “Ready to seal the deal?”

Brody stink-eyes her. That one was worth a derisive snort, at least. Tough crowd.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She smiles wickedly, tossing the water at him.

Brody concentrates again. The water drips from his hair, down his face, and onto his shoulders. He doesn’t transform into a water animal, but his electrical current grows. The water magnifies his voltage. I look toward the house. The lights inside are flickering. Is encouraging his power a brilliant idea? I’m thinking not. I’ve been jolted by it before. Definitely not a brilliant idea. Eek.

The force field zaps and hisses, the sparks illuminating the surface like a globe. That isn’t the most spectacular sight. Oh no. Brody’s truly adapted into something else, and I find myself backing away as far as I can from him. He looks like an ex-ray panel, his insides visible with each electrical flash.

“Well, isn’t this a shocking discovery?” she deadpans.

When the lightning bolt steadily building inside Brody decides to abscond, Tally blocks the blow by bringing the ground up around us like an earthy blanket. I brush the dirt from my eyes in time to see Brody falling, convulsing where he lands.

“Get Ryan,” I order.

“Already on it, Fire Fiend.” She runs toward the house just as everyone else comes running out. They’re screaming for me to stay clear of Brody.

What do I do? I ignore them. Obviously. I run to him, sheathing him in my arms. I’m not particularly worried about the lingering effect his energy has on me. It’s gone. All that’s left is the Brody I know, the sturdy rock who stood by me from the start. That part of him won’t change despite adapting into something much more powerful than his Sentry station ever allowed.

My Brody. The one who’s always stood by me, no matter how dangerous I was. I’ll do the same for him, and if that means standing against the flood of fear coming from my family, I’ll let them drown me in it before I let one single drop of it trickle over to him.

We’ve all adapted, me most of all. There’s no dividing line. The strength of my flame has fused the threads holding us all together, and I’m not letting any of them go. Heck yes, we’ve adapted. Now, it’s time to overcome.