Klutz: Phoenix Unleashed

Klutz: Phoenix Unleashed But Did You Die? Book 5 Copyright © 2023 by Sedona Ashe Gobble Ink, LLC This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. www.sedonaashe.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review. For more information, address: [email protected] Cover artwork by Ana Cruz Arts www.anacruz-arts.com Interior formatting by Cauldron Press www.cauldronpress.ca A huge thank you to- Allison Woerner for Alpha Reading. Maxine Meyer for Copy Editing. Imogen Evans for Proofreading & Editing. Sensitivity Note Spoilers Below This book features a female who is bonded to multiple fated mates. These shifters have special equipment which they use to ensure their mate is thoroughly satisfied and sated. This book also touches on death and loss. I’m dedicating this final book in my But Did You Die series to my incredible readers! When I wrote Klutz: Phoenix Down (Book 1), I wasn’t sure anyone would even want to read my slightly insane and completely quirky book. I have been overwhelmed at the outpouring of encouragement and love. I’ve found my tribe of weirdos, and you know what they say… Friends come and go like waves of the ocean, but true ones stick, like an octopus on your face. Good luck getting rid of me now… ‘cause y’all are stuck with me! CONTENTS Recap Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Dinosaurs, Disasters & Albert Einswein About Sedona Ashe I raced outside and climbed to the train car’s roof. Balancing carefully, I called for my magic. “What are you doing?” Mace shouted over the whipping wind. “I have to go see if I can stop the explosives from detonating. I want you to go find Anzac and try to find a way to slow the train. That might be the only hope these people have if I fail.” I started running, pretending I was back on the white-sand beach instead of a snow-covered roof. My magic crackled around me, and fire ripped from my back just as I reached the end of the car. Without hesitation, I leaped into the air and raced for the bridge. I had just made out the silhouette of the bridge in the distance when a deafening explosion lit up the night sky and shook the ground. A blast of wind slammed into me seconds later, almost knocking me into a tree. It was too late. I glanced over my shoulder to see the train in the distance. It hadn’t slowed. I’d failed. No! I refused to give up and just watch while a train fell into the river. With a surge of adrenaline, I shot through the sky, faster than I’d flown before. Reaching the smoking bridge, I circled it while studying the damage. Two of the main rails had curled, bending at strange angles and creating a ten-foot gap in the tracks. If the train hit this part of the tracks, it would be thrown off the rails and careen into the river. But that wasn’t the only damage. The explosive must have been strapped beneath the gaping and twisted part of the tracks, because the support beams crisscrossing beneath it had suffered extensive damage as well. Even if the main rails had been perfect, it seemed unlike this part of the bridge could support the train’s weight. Iron and steel. Both were things that became pliable with heat. Could I burn hot enough to heat the rails and support beams? I’d have to be fast, because they needed to cool and harden before the train tested their strength. The magic slid beneath my skin, a reminder of the power I still hadn’t called on. It was now or never. I called my magic and gave myself over to the power instead of fighting against it. The change was swift. The air wavered, my power bending the world around me. My ears popped, and suddenly the world was in sharp focus. The scent of pine trees and ash assaulted my nose, and my ears throbbed with the shrill call of a startled eagle in the distance. Glancing down at the sluggish river below, I nearly fell from the sky at the reflection. My reflection. I was a phoenix. I’d shifted into a full freaking phoenix, and I was huge. Flapping my fiery wings, I made my way to the top of the bridge and landed on the rails just before they began to curve. Grasping one rail in each of my massive claws, I sent the power of my fire surging into the rails. The metal under my claws began to heat and glow a faint red. I watched as the heat continued to rush along the rails. I walked down the rails and slowly pushed the bent part of the rail back into place inch by inch. Hope flared in my chest. It was working! But I had to move faster. I sent another surge of liquid heat through the rails and molded the rail back into its original position. I melted the metal on the ends to fuse the rails together before turning my attention to the braces. Dropping beneath the rails, I grabbed onto the crossbeams and sent out another burst of fire. A dark shadow passed overhead, and I looked up to see a black dragon circling overhead. Xerxes? I asked through our mental bond. The dragon screamed, sending out a stream of emerald green fire. Okay, I was taking that as a yes. Was this supposed to happen? I didn’t think dragons possessed a full beast anymore. The dragon