Page 27 of Shift of Heart (Shifter Lords #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

“ H oly crap,” I groaned as I kicked my shoes off and dug my bare toes into the earth.

“That was awesome,” Tess breathed.

Moira sipped a cup of blood-laced tea. “We might need to hire more help.”

Ash had turned his bottom half into a tree and was soaking up some of the extra magic permeating the earth from the market denizens. “Do we have stock left in the shop or does one of us need to change next week’s order?”

I accepted a cup of non-laced tea from the vampire. “Bump up next week’s stock order. I may need to remodel the greenhouse.”

We sold everything. None of us could believe it. And not only had customers decimated our stock, we’d given out every business card we brought and booked two weddings.

“You’ve needed to remodel that thing for ages now,” Moira remarked. “The greenhouse looks like an abandoned asylum.”

“Har har,” I drawled. “It came with the house, and it has some odd energy, so I haven’t done much with it. But now that we’re doing these markets, I might have to start growing more stock to keep us in business.”

Ash frowned. “You’ll deplete yourself too soon.”

Moira and I exchanged a look. “I don’t think that’s the case, but if I start feeling drained, I’ll notify you to scoop up more stock for the week.”

Ash gave me an odd look but nodded and slowly pulled his roots from the ground.

A dryad couldn’t perform magic like most of us.

I could snap a spell off in seconds. Dryad magic was slow and thoughtful, much like a tree.

Their magic grew over centuries, not weeks, and Ash was a perfect example.

It would take him a good half hour before he extricated himself fully from the ground.

Tess, Moira, and I busied ourselves with taking down the display and cleaning up our area.

One of the tenets of the market was to leave the earth in better shape than you found it.

As a Floromancer, I tended to take rules like that to the extreme.

Once everything was packed neatly into the van, and Ash was in human form again, I went back to our booth space, settled myself on the ground, and dug my fingers into the earth.

By now, almost every vendor was gone, and the market had settled into a quiet, comforting hum. Fae lights still glowed in the booth shells, but the noise had died down to a murmur.

“We’ll wait in the van,” Moira whispered, gesturing for the others to follow.

I shot her a grateful smile and closed my eyes.

Magic thrummed against my fingers, itching to be commanded.

The noise died away as I sent a pulse of power into the ground, finding life shoved too far down.

I nudged those seeds closer to the earth and sent nutrients into the surrounding soil.

Wildflowers that never had the chance to grow soon sprouted from the ground in a twenty-foot diameter.

I fixed the dry patches of ground by rerouting water that wasn’t serving anything, and around the black magic practitioners, I repaired the dying life close to their booths.

As much as I disapproved of the practice, the Night Market allowed them in, so I did what I could.

When I opened my eyes, I had a curious audience giving me a careful berth. Around ten magic practitioners were watching me. I blinked and smiled awkwardly until one stepped forward.

“I’m Ruth.” She was a tall redhead and had a friendly smile. “None of us have ever seen Floromancy in action. We were curious, that’s all.”

I touched my chest. “Evie. I own Little Shop of Florals.”

“Oh! That’s the place right in downtown?” Ruth asked.

I nodded. “We’ve been there a little over four years now.”

“I’m in Fredericksburg, but I’ve heard of your shop. We’ve been involved in weddings where you did the flowers.”

I rose and wiped my fingers on a towel Moira had laid on my lap while I was out. What a thoughtful vampire. “Do you have a business card?”

Ruth dug in her pocket and handed one over. She quickly introduced everyone else, but I was still magic groggy, and all the names blurred. I gave everyone a polite smile and handed them business cards from my private stash if they wanted one.

We said our goodbyes, and it wasn’t until I turned around that I spotted what I’d done to the market.

“Oof.” Flowers were everywhere. “Shit,” I whispered.

Moira came up and linked her arm through mine. “You’re a regular fairy-tale princess.”

“Think they’ll be mad?”

“Only Hitler would be mad about wildflowers.”

A surprised laugh escaped me. “Well, I’m all about pissing Hitler off, so I guess we’re good.”

“That’s my girl,” Moira cheered. “Let’s get you home. You look wiped.”

She dug the van keys from my pocket and opened the passenger door for me before jogging to the other side.

I was asleep before Moira had pulled out of the market parking lot.

Ash nudged me awake. “We’re back at the shop,” he said quietly.

I yawned and let Moira help me out of the van. “That’s the first time I’ve napped in a long time.”

“You needed it,” she said. Moira handed me my purse. “Got your phone?”

I patted my back pocket. “Yup.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Will you be okay driving home?”

“Yes, mom.” I gave her a little shove. “We’ve had some late nights. I’m fine.”

Tess floated next to Ash. “This was so much fun! I can’t wait until the next one.”

“Glad you like it,” I said. “We’ll chat about what went right and what went wrong in a few days. I think we all need some time to recover.”

“On that note, I’m ready for bed,” Ash said. He brushed a kiss across my cheek. “Be careful.”

We waved goodbye, and I got in my car, wishing I had a cup of coffee to wake me up.

Once I flipped on the radio and pulled away from the shop, I rolled down the window to let some cool air in and pulled the braid from my hair.

Happy exhaustion settled into my bones, and a slow smile pulled my lips up.

I felt useful today. Every day I opened my shop, I felt helpful, but today, people were interested in our booth, drawn to our display, and ninety percent of the customers who stopped by actually purchased something.

The other ten percent had placed special orders.

This was the first time I’d ever taken specific charm orders for people.

Normally, I gauged what someone needed based on my intuition and responded accordingly without their knowledge.

Today, I listened to people and what they needed and had sold dozens of made-to-order charms. The next few days would be busy.

And that meant even more money coming into Little Shop of Florals.

Lost in my thoughts, I missed the first low snarl. As I slowed for a red light, a lone wolf howl rended the air. My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. When a second howl tore through the night, I leaned my head out the window and listened.

When the third came, I pulled my vehicle off the road and parked. A sharp, pained yelp and the sounds of animals fighting had me barreling from the car.

Caelan was my first thought, followed by Simone. He could take care of himself, but the memory of him lying in the dirt mortally wounded flashed through my mind, and I bolted toward the sounds of fighting.

A quarter mile later, I peeked around the corner.

Several wolves surrounded each other, a massive dark wolf at the head of one side, wolves of all colors behind him in a semi-circle formation, facing off against a pack of all white wolves.

Getting involved right now would be dangerous for everyone, so I stayed downwind and observed.

I’d never seen Caelan in wolf form, though I assumed he was the large wolf based on the coloring of the tuft I’d found in my yard.

A smaller, reddish wolf stood tensed on his right side, and a huge gray wolf stood on his left.

The others stood tensed behind him, heads lowered and fangs bared, protecting his back and flank.

I wasn’t worried about any of them as long as I stayed far enough away to avoid them scenting me. The one I was worried about lay prone on the ground next to Garrett, bleeding heavily from a stomach wound. Life still flickered around the wolf, but I could tell she was close to death.

My magic itched to heal, power sputtering at my fingertips. I waited for my moment, every second one taken away from the wolf’s life.

When Caelan’s mournful howl ripped through the air, and all the wolves lunged at each other, ripping and tearing, I saw my moment.

Keeping my head low and my body closer to the ground, I stayed near the wall. The fight had spilled away from the wounded wolf, but one, a smaller white and gray wolf stayed close, protecting her. I’d have to deal with that one before I could help the other.

Once I came within ten feet, the second wolf turned, a low, deadly snarl rumbling from its chest. I held my hands up and stopped. “My name is Evie. Your Lord is familiar with me. I can help her.”

For a moment, I thought the wolf was going to lunge. My muscles tensed, and I ripped magic from the stone, holding it in stasis until the wolf decided how big of a threat I was.

“I’m a Floromancer, and I can heal your friend. But there isn’t much time. Decide now, or it will be too late.”

The wolf snarled once more before dipping its head and watching me warily.

I nodded and hurried toward the wounded shifter. Going to my knees, I dug my hands in the wolf’s fur, searching for the worst of the wound.

“You need to shift,” I said urgently.

But the wolf, a she I decided, was too far gone. I’d never helped a creature shift, but I took the magic I’d gathered and gently touched her on the edge of her wound. Earth magic soaked into the wolf’s body. She glowed green and pink, and a low whine came from deep in her throat.

I put a touch of command in my voice. “Shift.” Channeling more power into the shifter’s body, I searched for the source of her magic, and when I found it, I gave it a good zap.

The injured wolf yelped, causing the other one to snarl. I held a hand up. “Not helpful,” I barked. “I promise you I’m helping her.”

The second wolf whined and came around to my side and sat down. “Keeping guard? Alright then. Just don’t interfere.”

A slight huff made me smile. “Your friend needs to shift. She’s dying.”

The wolf yipped and bent to gently nudge the other. I pushed more power into my voice. “SHIFT.” Power rumbled the ground as magic shimmered around the wolf. A yelp of pain tore through the wolf’s yips, and a few seconds later, a young, nude woman lay before me.

“Good,” I breathed. “I’m so sorry. This is going to hurt.”

I laid both hands on her and pulled power from the ground.

Cement cracked around us as vines rose from the ground, curling around the shifter’s arms and legs.

Magic the color of watermelon tourmaline flowed from my fingers and slowly knitted the edges of the jagged wound in her stomach back together.

Yips and snarls and yelps of pain rang all around us as the packs continued fighting, but I tuned them out, focusing only on the female shifter.

When I felt her blood stabilize, I withdrew, allowing my vines to stay wrapped around her.

They’d continue pumping the healing magic of the earth within her until Caelan was ready to take her home.

“The vines will stabilize her,” I said to the watcher wolf. “Don’t remove them until you have to, and I ask that you not cut them. Touch them and gently ask them to let go. They will. Be careful not to jostle her too much. She will be okay if you get her back to your keep soon, okay?”

The wolf whined and nudged me with its cold nose. I reached out and scratched it behind the ear. “If Caelan asks, maybe say you have no idea who I was?” I smiled hopefully, but the wolf gave me a baleful look.

“Right. Fine. But if he doesn’t ask, you don’t have to tell him.”

The wolf huffed which I took for a yes. “Alright. Be careful.” I eyed the other wolves still involved in what appeared to be a fight to the death. “Good luck.” I rose and carefully crept back along the wall until I disappeared around the corner and hurried the rest of the way to my car.

I might regret this later, but my Floromancy was a magic of life, and if I had the opportunity to save someone, I would always find a way.