Page 18 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

Chapter

Ten

M oira insisted on driving me home later that night, telling me it wasn’t safe to keep riding the bicycle with everything going on, especially with my mother in town. I grumbled a little but acquiesced, mostly because every muscle in my body hurt.

All the tension over the last few days was starting to get to me.

Moira waved as she started the car, then urged me to sleep with a weapon under my pillow. After a lame joke about my two fists being weapons, she rolled her eyes and spun out of the driveway, leaving me sitting on the front steps contemplating the chaos that was my life.

The weather had taken a sharp turn toward the cooler, a blessing in this part of the country.

I relaxed on the front steps for a little while before dusting my pants off and going inside to drop my purse and keys off.

It had been a while since I last walked the property.

With the new wards I’d put up, it was more important than ever to ensure there were no weak areas in the magic.

I’d left the wards open to Ben and Caelan, but now I wondered if that was a mistake. Shaking my head, I changed into a pair of joggers, a tank, and a soft cardigan before sliding my feet into a flexible pair of sneakers.

The weight of everything followed me onto the property, so many decisions and forks in the road swirling through my mind.

But soon enough, the fresh air and the wild flora and fauna on the land began to relax me, my Floromancy a humming, living thing inside my veins.

I walked the acreage, siphoning my too full magic into plants who needed it, patchy areas of grass, trees lacking in nutrients, vines and other wildflowers I thought could use a boost, and soon enough, happiness and contentment had settled into my soul once again.

I rarely took my magic for granted, but I’d been far too busy and stressed lately to use my Floromancy like I should. Siphoning the magic helped immensely, and my shoulders felt loose for the first time in a couple of weeks.

My land had flourished under my touch, a wild space in a town controlled by powerful Lords.

Much of Joy Springs had become commercialized under Caelan’s hands, but there were still wild spaces on the outskirts.

Places I needed to visit to really siphon my magic.

My land could only take so much, and letting my magic out in one wild burst would be a mistake.

Collateral damage was real, and there’d be far too many questions if the entire town suddenly looked like a garden.

I visited the greenhouse next, wincing when the broken windows came into view. Making a mental note to contact Caelan’s handyman, I pulled the tray of thyme over, hoping this time I could boost their growth without my magic going haywire.

Nervous but hopeful, I sent a tendril in, and my magic responded with no issues. Siphoning had helped. Letting out a sigh of relief, I spent the next hour inside working on all the plant life.

When dusk fell, I stretched out the stiff muscles in my back and left the greenhouse.

But the second I stepped onto the grass, I sensed a disturbance on the land.

Heart thumping, I turned toward the new fencing at the back of the house.

The fertile soil had taken on a brittle feeling in my mind, and some of the flowers were wilting, impossible since I’d just boosted them less than two hours ago.

Frowning, I got closer, only to sense a familiar hot prickling of magic.

A cloaked figure stood by the fence, but I recognized Finn right away.

Swearing, I gathered my magic, but it came too hard, too fast, reacting to the Chimera’s presence.

An oversized Thistle grew in my palm and shot out toward Finn, embedding itself into the oak fence with a sharp thwacking sound.

My tattoo flared with heat, a scream tearing from my throat as my skin burned from within. Finn’s mocking chuckle sounded through the air, his silent message clear as day.

I can find you anywhere.

He disappeared with a mocking wave.

I stood there for several minutes, waiting for my land to settle once more. Disturbed, I turned back to head inside, but not before reinforcing my wards once more.

Later that evening, I burned a blend of sage and lavender, protective herbs, but when I lit the charcoal briquette, the flames burned green and too high.

Cursing, I extinguished the blaze, but it had lit the charcoal, still allowing me to burn the herbs.

As I walked through the house, coating the rooms in protective smoke, I watched the charcoal carefully and extinguished it using water when I was finished.

Back in my bedroom, I glanced at my cell and suppressed the urge to contact Ben or Caelan. Neither of them could help me in the way I needed it, so I put the cell on the charger and grabbed a dagger for under my pillow.

Sleep was a long time coming, but when it finally did, my dreams were disturbed and confusing.