Jayden took a deep breath, his pulse still racing. His body felt lighter now, the oppressive sensation of transformation slowly left, but his mind was stuck in that moment. Was any of it real? Or had Hawkbone simply played a cruel trick? It took him several minutes of staring at the bustling café to convince himself that everything was indeed back to normal—or at least, as normal as it could be.

The waiter approached with a polite smile, and Jayden instinctively reached for his ...