CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The red fire in the crib burned brighter and hotter. Tia pulled Amanda back to stop her from lunging forward. There was a loud whoosh and the fire died suddenly. The red flames simply vanished.
Tia and Amanda rushed to the crib. Caine was breathing heavily as he gripped the edges of the crib. They stared in disbelief at the pile of ashes on top of the blanket.
“Sarah! Sarah...” Amanda shrieked hysterically.
Caine held his mother’s shaking shoulders and said, “Mom, it’s okay. Calm down...”
“Where is my granddaughter?” Amanda screamed. “How could she have been burned to ashes in the blink of an eye? It’s not possible...”
“Look.”
Amanda turned to the crib and gasped. Tia’s eyes kept rounding as she watched the ashes move and pile together to form a shape. It took the shape of a small bird.
The bird shook itself and the ashes became bright flame-colored feathers.
“A phoenix,” Tia breathed.
Caine smiled and hugged his mother. “Sarah is a phoenix! I knew she was a shifter by her scent, but I couldn’t identify her animal. She’s a phoenix.”
The tiny, beautiful phoenix spread her wings and looked up at them with her green, gold-flecked eyes. The young phoenix shivered and sat down on the soft, fluffy blanket. With a tiny cry, the phoenix shifted back to a red-haired baby girl.
Sarah tugged at her blanket and gurgled. She smiled and raised her arms to Caine.
“Oh, that was your first shift,” Caine said proudly as he lifted her from the crib. “You are a beautiful little phoenix, Sarah!”
“No wonder she was fussing so much,” Amanda said, looking relieved and amazed. “I should have recognized the signs. Just before your first shift, you were in a terrible mood too,” she remarked to Caine.
“I remember my niece, Corinne, biting everything and everyone just before her first shift,” Tia recalled, smiling. “I’ve never come across a phoenix shifter before,” Tia added, staring at Sarah who seemed to be in a much better mood now that her animal had emerged.
“They are like dragon shifters,” Caine said. “There are only very few of them left. Most people think that they’re extinct.”
“So...her mother was a phoenix,” Amanda said softly.
Caine nodded. “Mark was human.”
When Tia held out her arms, Sarah squealed and happily dove into Tia’s arms. Tia laughed and bounced the little girl up and down. “You’re so adorable! I’m honored that I got to witness your first shift, Sarah.” Tia grinned at her, and the girl grinned back.
A phoenix shifter.
Wow.
This assignment was getting really interesting, and pretty damn cool.
Tia was actually glad that she got chosen for this assignment. She liked the Taylors a lot. She took an instant liking to Amanda and she found herself feeling protective towards Sarah.
She had only just met them, and they were her clients, but somehow, she felt inexplicable close to them.
Tia turned and saw Caine staring at her. He was smiling and gazing at her and Sarah with love and pride in his eyes. The most important females in his life.
Was she one of them?
Tia’s heart skipped a beat and she turned away to hide her blush.