Page 26 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)

Chapter

Twenty-One

T he Night Market came much faster than I was prepared for, but we all pitched in and finished the preparations a few hours before we had to be there to set everything up.

None of us had any idea what to expect, but we’d all attended the market multiple times and knew the crowds would be diverse and heavy.

We’d brought as much as the van would hold, every available inch stuffed to the brim with corsages, boutonnieres, bouquets, wreaths, and all shapes and sizes of vases filled with flowers.

Each of us wore a small flower pinned to our chest, primed with separate charms. Mine was a charisma charm.

Every word that fell out of my mouth would loosen a customer’s purse strings, only if they were leaning that way in the first place.

Tess’s charm was for patience and forgiveness. She was efficient and competent, but sometimes my girl was dark. If she said something about the dead or someone dying while wearing the charm, customers would be more apt to show her grace.

Moira’s charm was for beauty, not that she needed much help in that department, but men were more apt to buy when charmed by a beautiful saleswoman.

Ash’s charm was one for aesthetics. People who talked to him would want to buy something natural to liven up their space. Green things made you feel better, though most people, even magical, dismissed their power.

Was it cheating? Nope. Every single vendor there would be wearing something similar to ours, and some of their compelling charms would be much more powerful than ours, borderline black magic.

We knew this because we frequented the market quite often as customers, and all of us were too powerful to fall prey to such a spell.

And we avoided the sellers who strayed too far away from giving someone a gentle nudge versus a punch in the face.

We might not continue wearing them after our first market, but I wanted to start out with the best chance for success I could.

The sun had set about an hour ago, though the sky was still filled with streaks of pink and purple. Summer temps in this area were hot, but the humidity wasn’t as bad as it was closer to the coastal areas.

Think of Houston as a swamp, and this area more like a summer picnic at a lake.

Night time is when Joy Springs really shone.

Temperatures and humidity dropped even lower, and it was comfortable to walk outside without breaking into a sweat.

I’d spent time in Houston during the summer, and I’d rather be waterboarded than do that again.

The Night Market was hidden from prying eyes by mysterious magic no one could quite decipher.

A few days before the market was held, each shop chosen to attend would receive a postcard with a magical QR code you had to scan for entrance.

To avoid forgeries, you also had to submit a single drop of blood for every attendee that would be matched with the QR code.

The market had never been infiltrated by anyone who wasn’t invited.

I was safer here than I’d ever been in my shop.

Even with the lights, the stars were still visible above. Magic hummed in the air, every flavor of power skimming over my bare shoulders. I sensed shifters and sirens, plant mages, dryads, and others. Marnie and Twila were here somewhere, hopefully with a new coffee blend.

Ash was first out of the van. He let out a happy sigh, stretched, and allowed his arms to form multi-knobbed branches.

The sight made me grin. The dryad rarely shifted in the shop.

He wore a day-to-day glamour because of all the human tourists, so it was nice to see him feel comfortable enough to shift at will.

Moira was next. She carried a water boiler by the handle so she could serve hot tea blends. We should have power at the booth to keep the water at proper temp, but she’d have to constantly refill it. We’d see how that went. A larger water boiler might be on the list soon.

Tess didn’t bother stepping out of the vehicle. She reverted to her half wisp form and floated out, stopping beside Moira. Her pale eyes were wide as she watched all the vendors setting up.

“Alright,” I said when we were all at the back of the van. “Looks like we have one power strip for mundane appliances and fae lights to string up around the tent if we want them.”

“We want them!” Moira said.

“Then I’ll let you set them up with Tess. Let’s get unloaded, starting with the things we think will sell the fastest.”

We’d backed right up to our booth, so unloading wasn’t a huge hassle, and we could grab things as we sold out.

True to their word, the organizers had put us toward the front. We were sandwiched between an earth witch selling herb and incense blends and a wand maker. After polite greetings on all sides, we got to work beautifying the booth.

An hour later, and half an hour before the market opened, we stood before the booth, critiquing how it looked.

“I like it,” Ash said, “though it’s a little too girly for my taste.”

Tess’s breathy laugh surprised us all. “Did you forget who you worked with?” she asked.

Ash stared at her with an open mouth. His cheeks went pink, and he looked away before clearing his throat. “No. I could never forget.”

Dude had it so bad.

I pressed my lips together and looked away. Moira was a little more shameless and wiggled her eyebrows at Ash, who snorted and waved her off.

Tess, bless her banshee heart, noticed nothing.

If Ash wanted her to know he liked her, he might have to be extremely blunt with her.

As in showing up with flowers, escorting her out the door, and saying something like, “Tess, this is the first step of a seduction. Do you know what a seduction is?” And if the poor girl said no, he’d have to present a bullet point presentation, complete with phonetically spelled definitions.

And if she still didn’t get it, Ash might have to resort to grabbing Tess and laying one on her, à la Rhett Butler and Scarlett O’Hara.

Until then, I didn’t mind watching this adorable, awkward one-sided courtship.

“Maybe less pink,” Moira said, steering us back to the issue at hand.

I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes, trying to see it through my team’s eyes and not mine. Pink was one of my favorite colors, but with the white tablecloth and the other mix of blush flowers, the display had a bit of a wedding vibe.

“How about magenta?” I said, tapping my finger against my chin.

“Yes,” Moira agreed. “Deep hot pink and maybe add some deep blues or purples in. Did we bring another tablecloth?”

I bent to rummage through one of the tubs. “Black and green.”

“What color green?” Ash asked.

“Forest.”

“Do the green,” Moira said. “If we have a black table runner, we can add that too.”

In ten minutes, the set up was finished, and the booth had taken on a deeper, more ethereal air.

I studied it, both hands on my hips. “I like it.”

The earth witch next to us leaned over. “Much better. Beautiful.” She gave us two thumbs up. “First market?”

I nodded. “Yes. We want to do it right the first time.”

“I’m Emmy. Don’t be afraid to switch it up during or for the next market. I’ve done this one for years and went through at least six set ups before I found the one that works for me.”

Emmy was short and had a riot of curly brown hair pinned up in no discernible order atop her head.

She had friendly blue eyes and dimples at the edge of her mouth when she smiled.

As was the case with most witches, I couldn’t discern her age.

She could be anywhere from thirty to eighty.

Witches weren’t immortal, but they were very long lived.

“Do you have a shop in town?” I asked. I’d never seen her before, but I was a creature of habit and didn’t often venture too far away from the town square.

“No. I live in Dripping Springs, so I only do the market once a month. Me and my best friend switch spots.” She smiled. “You’ll meet Yvonne next time if you’re here. She’s a besom maker.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Once things slow down, feel free to browse my wares. I offer a substantial discount to the vendors.”

“There’s tea over here if you want some,” Moira called. “Only three blends today because of our small water boiler, but I’m happy to make you a cup.”

“I’d love one,” Emmy said. “Once the market opens and things stop being so crazy, I’ll pop over.”

The wand maker was a tall, thin man who said very little, and only offered a polite smile by way of greeting.

He had small, round glasses, and a sharp jawline, but even with him sitting several feet away, I could feel his aura of power.

Wands weren’t my thing, and I never used them, but much like my new work table, his wares felt alive.

We each grabbed a chair and sat down, taking one last break before the market opened.

When the bell rang announcing the market’s opening, a sense of anticipation and giddiness filled me. As much as I hated us getting in here because of someone else’s influence, our shop’s talent would see us through. And if it didn’t, at least we had the opportunity to experience it once.

“Places, people,” I said quietly as I stood and tightened my apron.

Our booth was a riot of color, bright flowers blooming at their peak.

Each glass vase was a different color and shape, and we’d used stacked shelving to display each one at different heights.

Moira and Tess had strung fairy lights all over the booth and around the table, casting everything in a soft, ethereal glow.

Ash had the best handwriting out of all of us, so he’d taken on the responsibility of writing up clever descriptions of each product.

I don’t think we could have done it better, not for our first time.

Maybe when it was over, we could do a hotwash and discuss improvements for the next one, but pride filled me with what we’d already accomplished today, even without a single sale yet.

People of all shapes and sizes piled into the market.

“Here we go,” murmured Moira.