Page 17 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

And…we had a magical bird roosting in the office, one who’d shown up unexpectedly and threatened to upend my life.

It started with an egg and ended with a Phoenix hatching in the middle of my office, delighting my raven, Poe, and horrifying the rest of us. Mom had three magical birds capable of resurrecting the dead, and one of them was the mom of our brand-new baby bird.

If Cliona found out we had her baby, she’d lose her ever-loving mind.

Tess had placed a magical damper on the bird’s presence, but I hadn’t asked her if she’d refreshed the spell lately. In my defense, I hadn’t expected my mother to show up so soon after her last visit.

Mom sniffed. “I smell the banshee. Where is she?”

“Tess is off today. I’ll tell her you stopped by.”

Mom gave me a tight smile. “Must it always be so antagonistic between us?”

Ash pressed a cup of coffee in my hand. Goddess bless the dryad. I sent him a thankful look and focused on my mother. “Why don’t we get to the point? You never visit just to visit, Mom. You’re obviously here for something.” I checked the clock on the wall. “You have seventeen minutes left.”

“Evie, honestly,” Mom said with a huff. “I am your mother.”

I set my mug down and crossed my arms. “Sixteen minutes.”

“Fine.” Mom exhaled. “There’s someone in town you should know about.”

“Alright.” I waited. Mom liked to draw things out. Our relationship was nothing but antagonistic. I thought sometimes I’d crawled out of the womb with the urge to argue with my mother.

“A god walks this town, Evie. A dangerous one.”

“All gods are dangerous. Especially the one sitting right in front of me.”

“This is not a joke, Evangeline!”

Silence fell in the shop. Magic crackled around Mom’s form. Her hair lifted in a phantom wind.

“Mom? What’s wrong?”

“Neit is here,” she said softly. “I cannot protect you from him.”

Numbness settled in my bones. “Neit, your ex-boyfriend?”

“Evie, I swear to the gods, you are infuriating! He is the god of war. And he hates me. You are a target for him.”

I studied my mother. She seemed genuinely bothered, but her ability to lie with a straight face could win awards if she were in Hollywood. “Neit and I had a decent relationship. Why would he want to come after me?”

“Because you belong to me!” She blew out a breath and picked her teacup back up. “I recommend you vacate this place for a while.”

Ah. Now we were getting somewhere. “This is my place of business. I can’t just vacate it temporarily.”

She waved her hand at Ash and Moira. “You have people to take care of things while you’re gone.”

“And where would I go that Neit would not find me? If he’s so adamant about getting to me?”

“Home, of course.”

“To Seattle?” I asked, deliberately playing dumb. My mother wasn’t as devious as she thought. I knew exactly what she’d suggest, but the question was why?

“No, Evie. Our home is the Otherworld.”

“Your home,” I corrected. “I’ve never been there.”

“You lived there for a period.”

“Mother. No. I lived with humans and then in Seattle. With you. Don’t you remember?”

My mother’s face turned crafty. “I’d forgotten why you don’t remember.”

The fingers of the grave walked down my spine. “Why would I not remember such a large part of my life?” If she were telling the truth, that meant she’d done something to me, somehow manipulated my memories. And if she had, again, the question was why?

The fae had always been manipulative and fickle, even if I were one of them.

“You’ll return with me to the Otherworld.” She drank the rest of her tea and rose. “I’ll be back to collect you soon.”

I gawked at her while I gathered my thoughts.

She’d ignored my question and assumed I’d do whatever she wanted.

In the past, I would have, but that was before…

everything. I was no longer Evie. My body and mind were not my own, not completely.

And there was no way I’d divulge those secrets to the woman who would do nothing but use them against me for the rest of my life.

“Thank you for the tea. I’ll see you in twenty-four hours.”

Ash, Moira, and Tess wore similar looks of horror.

“No,” I said, the words clear in the quiet shop.

Mom’s eyebrows went up. “Excuse me?”

I rose. “I said no. I’m not coming with you. If Neit wants to come after me, he can. I’ll be ready for him.”

A muscle ticked in my mother’s cheek. “I am your mother,” she gritted out.

“And I am a grown woman. This is my home and my shop, and I don’t plan to run every time someone wants to come after me.”

From my peripheral, Ash and Moira high-fived.

The shop trembled, glass vases clinking against each other as my mother’s magic rose.

“Remember, you are here on guest rules,” I said softly.

“You cannot beat me,” she said confidently.

“You’re right. But my wards will expel you before I have to.”

The bell over the door jingled. I stilled, cursing myself that I’d forgotten to lock it with such a dangerous guest inside.

But familiar magic slid over my shoulders, curling around me sinuously.

“Am I interrupting something?” Caelan’s rumbly voice asked, his stormy eyes landing on my mother.

Shit. Fuck. Damn.

He would sense what she was immediately.

“My guest was just leaving,” I said, keeping my eyes on Cliona.

My mother’s eyes narrowed. “You are the Shifter Lord.”

Caelan inclined his head. “I am. And you are…”

She held out a graceful hand. “My name is Cliona.”

The only surprise Caelan showed was a slow blink. He took her hand, palm down, and brushed a kiss over the back of her palm. “To what does Joy Springs owe the pleasure of hosting a goddess in our midst?”

My mother smiled prettily, her fae glow so bright she was almost painful to look at. “I’ve always heard you were a charmer. I’m here to visit?—”

Oh gods, please don’t.

“My daughter.”

Caelan’s brows flicked up, his gaze going to me for a split second. I could almost see his furiously spinning thoughts. “Our Evie has been keeping secrets,” he murmured.

Mother’s laugh sounded like hundreds of tinkling bells. “She’s quite good at her secrecy,” she agreed.

“And the purpose of your visit?”

“Stop being nosy, Lord,” I snapped.

Caelan’s grin made me want to stab him in the kidney.

But my mother, pretending to be vapid and guileless, kept spilling our business. “I’m trying to convince Evie to return home.”

Caelan’s eyes flickered. “Oh? And where would home be?”

“She’s half-fae, Lord. Evie belongs in the Otherworld, even if she’s temporarily chosen this place as a waypoint.”

“Mother, your time runs out in less than a minute.”

Caelan glanced at me, his brow furrowing.

“I demand an extension,” Cliona snapped.

“No,” I snapped back.

“Evangeline.” Her voice turned deadly.

“Forty seconds,” I said.

“You are being a terrible host,” Cliona said.

“I never claimed to be a good one. Thirty seconds.”

“This is not over. I will return in twenty-four hours.”

“And my answer will be the same. No. Fifteen seconds.”

Our gazes clashed, magic swirling in the fathomless depths of my mother’s eyes.

“Five seconds,” I said with a smile.

Cliona disappeared in a puff of golden smoke.

No one breathed for the next several seconds until we were sure she was gone. I sagged back to the couch and exhaled.

“Fuck me,” Ash breathed.

“Your mom is a fucking bitch,” Moira said, making me laugh.

Caelan stared at all of us, a curious expression on his face. “So…half goddess, Evie?”

I didn’t like the way he was looking at me, part possessive and part cunning.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Caelan sauntered uninvited over to the coffee pot and made himself a cup, but just as I was about to bitch at him about it, he poured two cups and brought one over to me. I’d drunk far too much caffeine today, but I accepted it gratefully and curled my freezing fingers around the warm mug.

“I assure you, it matters very much.”

Ash and Moira scattered to the back as Caelan sat opposite me in the same spot my mother had just vacated.

“Does anyone else know?” he asked as he sipped his coffee.

Ben knew the gods had visited me, but he didn’t know of our relationship.

“Not that I’m aware of.” I studied him. “So tell me, Lord. How will you use this against me?”

A flicker of a smile. “You assume the worst of me.”

“Am I wrong?”

He didn’t deny it, and I didn’t expect him to. “The other Lords would pay dearly for this information.”

“And will you sell it to them?”

He took far too long to answer. And just when I wondered if I should go to the Otherworld to see what my mother was hiding, Caelan shook his head. “No. The secrets of your heritage are safe with me.”

“What do you want in return?”

Caelan laughed. “Have we always been this transactional, Evie?”

A dumbfounded snort escaped me. “Have you forgotten about our short history, Lord?”

“Caelan,” he growled. “We are in private.”

“Fine, Caelan. Our entire relationship is transactional.” My gaze skimmed down the slate blue suit he wore, snagging on another boutonniere. Disgust made my upper lip curl. Before I could stop myself, I slashed my hand downward turning the carnation and rose monstrosity into ash.

Caelan looked down at himself, sighed, then burst into delighted laughter. “My dear Evie, how will I explain this when I get home?”

I held up a finger. “Wait here.”

Stomping back to the fridge, I wrenched the door open and gathered a few things before heading to my work table.

In less than five minutes, I’d put together a small, stunning boutonniere made with the Anastasia Chrysanthemum and a deep black orchid, topping it off with a small spray of eucalyptus, and tying it with a deep black ribbon and a silver wax impression with the initial C.

A small touch of my magic boosted the life force of the cut flowers, ensuring it would last for weeks if properly cared for.

When it was finished, I double checked my work and stomped back over to him, anger at myself and my possessive behavior simmering in my chest. “Stand up,” I snapped.

Caelan’s slow grin made my heart turn over, but he rose.

I unhooked the cheap safety pin and tossed it into the closest trash can and fastened the new one to his lapel, brushing away the residual ash as I worked. When I finished, I stepped back and inspected it before taking him by the arm and leading him over to the mirror behind my work desk.

“This is something befitting of a Lord,” I growled. “But no one should be wearing a boutonniere unless you’re going to a formal dinner or prom. It’s not something you wear during the day.”

Caelan’s lips twitched, his tan fingers brushing over the fresh flowers. “It’s stunning.”

“I know.”

His chuckle made me want to smack him. “The arrangement will last for weeks if you store it in the refrigerator after you wear it.”

“Why?” he asked, our gazes catching and holding in the mirror.

I wasn’t sure why, but I’d felt the need to mark him. And how could a Floromancer do that better than with flowers? “If I’m to be the florist for your wedding, I want my work advertised properly, not with cheap discount store boutonnieres.”

“Ah. Of course,” Caelan said, though I could tell he didn’t believe me.

I shook my head. “Why did you come by today?” If there was a purpose, it was completely derailed by now.

“Gianna sent me with more photos.”

“She could have emailed them.”

“I know.” His fingers brushed over the flowers once more, eyes sparking gold. “I like wearing a piece of you.”

I swallowed hard and took a step back, turning away from him. “You can leave the photos on the couch. I’ll add them to your file.”

“Evie.”

I stilled but didn’t turn around.

“I will keep your secrets. You can trust me.”

I scoffed. “You are a Shifter Lord. Every one of you deals in secrets. Mine are safe until you need something from me.”

Caelan fell silent. I went to the register and opened up the shop email. A few moments later, the bell jingled, and the Shifter Lord was gone.