I called up the full force of my new power, which shot my height up over six feet, my skin rippling out into red and gold as my feathered, flaming wings grew larger than ever. I then topped it all off with my wolf-human face.

The shock was instant and complete and… I liked it.

There was no name for me. No previous knowledge of one who was a wolf phoenix, but here I was, and I would not be apologizing for my newfound state.

Shadow, who so far hadn’t allowed me to stray far from his side, cupped my wolf-human face. “Perfection,” he growled. “My true match and mate.”

He shifted in an instant, and then he was Anubis, towering over me. My power went nuts, our bond near visible as energy strummed between us. It was neither the time nor the place to lose ourselves in that, so we had to pull away and focus on the others.

Our pack continued to stare at us, shaking their heads as another Egyptian “god” popped into existence, and they weren’t the only ones as the locals crept out of wherever they’d been hiding.

Shadow and I wore our flames differently—mine were mostly trailing along my wings while his ran across his arms, but we were clearly imbued with the fiery power of the Nexus. When the locals bowed down before us, as if we were literal gods, I felt a twinge of unease in my chest.

This sort of blind worship didn’t sit well with me, but I knew it was the only way for them to comprehend the truth of what we were. To slot us into a category so they could understand and not fear us.

“Please stand,” I said, my voice deeper and stronger than in my other form. “You don’t need to bow. Not when you were brave enough to help us against the Danamain. We appreciate your help.”

They didn’t straighten immediately, but they did eventually resume their upright positions, the closest ones finally meeting my gaze. They held it for a beat before giving me a single nod, then turning to leave the clearing. A hushed sort of chatter followed, and I heard enough to know that they were marveling at what they’d just witnessed.

A great sense of imposter syndrome hit me, but I decided not to have a midlife crisis yet. I’d save that for after we dealt with one power-hungry goddess.

Shadow and I released our power to return to our human forms, and he turned his back on the others, blocking me from sight so I could dress again. At this rate, I was going to drain his magic just by needing new pants every ten minutes. I made a note to try to learn how to create clothing myself.