I woke up feeling strange. Dizzy. Disoriented. The room swam around me as I blinked, trying to focus.

Rayan was beside me, still asleep. But something was off about him. Something I couldn't quite place through the fog in my mind.

The smell hit me next. Even by chicken standards, this room reeked. I looked around and saw bird shit everywhere—white splatters on the floor, on the walls near the window, even on the bedframe. Had I done that? Had we both?

I tried to sit up, and that's when I froze.

My hands. I tried to use them to push myself up, but they weren't there anymore. I looked down at my sides and saw feathers. Long, beautiful feathers. Wings.

They'd grown completely overnight.

I pulled them in against my body automatically, tucking them against my back. I'd known this day would come. I'd hoped it would be the last change. The final one.

I stood up from the bed, and I heard my bones crackling, rearranging themselves. A moment later, I was standing on my talons, and it felt... natural. Easier than before. My balance was perfect.

I looked down at myself. Brown feathers covered my body. My tail fanned out behind me, black-tipped and glossy. I looked exactly like a chicken. A very large chicken.

I remembered there was a mirror in the hall. I needed to see.

I walked out of the room, my new gait smooth and effortless. Dried cum crunched under my talons—leftover from last night with Rayan. I didn't let myself think about it.

I reached the mirror and stared.

I couldn't believe it. I looked like a chicken, just oversized. The only human thing left on my body was my beautiful red hair, hanging from my head like a strange, familiar banner. My face had changed completely. I had a chicken's face now, with a large red comb on top and waddles dangling below my beak. I turned around, examining my back. My cloaca was hidden under my feathers, at least. No one would see it unless I wanted them to.

I stared at my reflection for a long moment. The only things left of Merry were my hair and my mind.

Then I remembered. Rayan. He'd changed too.

I hurried back to the bedroom. He was awake now, sitting up, looking dizzy and confused.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice …