Page 26 of Shift of Morals (Shifter Lords #2)

I popped the last of the treats in my mouth and chewed, realizing everyone had stopped and was staring at me.

“What?” I said with my mouth full.

Tess slowly slid the box of remaining donuts back over. “There are three more.”

Moira’s eyes narrowed. “Evie. You alright?”

I nodded. “I skipped dinner.”

True. Because I was comatose and near death.

Ash exhaled and leaned closer. “May I?”

I sighed and reached for another donut. “Go ahead.”

Ash touched two fingers to my wrist and closed his eyes as he sent his magic through my body. His magic was different from Ben’s but still gentle. Ash’s felt like running through a forest on a crisp autumn day.

When he pulled away, he tried to give me a reassuring smile, but we’d all known him too long.

“Is she alright?” Moira asked, her voice sharp.

“She’s not sick,” Ash reassured her. “But the incident last night changed Evie’s genetic makeup.” His eyes narrowed. “Are you having issues controlling the shift?”

My pause was answer enough.

Moira swore. “Evie. Do you need to take some time off?”

“Nope,” I said through a mouthful of donut. “Caelan’s wedding is coming up. There’s too much to do.”

“We can handle it,” Ash said.

“And so can I. This is a blip on the radar. I should be okay.”

“Time will tell,” Hazel said ominously.

“I will be,” I insisted.

“We’ll see what we’re dealing with when we get back to your place this evening,” she retorted.

As if I were something to deal with.

“And the tattoo?” I asked. Ben had fixed the cut across the thistle tattoo, but the magic had petered out, broadcasting my heritage to anyone with a sharp enough nose. Chimeras weren’t common, but if anyone had ever had dealings with one, they would recognize me soon enough.

Even with my fae heritage mixed in.

“I slapped a magical patch on it,” Hazel said. “It will hold until I can make a new one.”

“Should we remove the old one?”

“Not until we’re ready to put the new one on. Until then, I suggest you cancel any meetings with your Lord or anyone who might figure out what’s happened.”

“No meetings on the books,” I promised. “Any update on the bouquet?”

Hazel gnashed her teeth like a fairytale goblin. “Nothing yet. I might take it back to the house tonight. Toting it around is dicey but leaving it here feels like a bad idea.”

“I felt the same.” Checking the clock, I clapped my hands. “Alright, team. People are starting to roam outside. Ready for the day?”

Nods all around. “I’ll finish up Hattie’s arrangement and get that delivered. Hazel will keep working on the bouquet. Ash, you good with ordering inventory today?”

“Got my list on my phone.”

“Awesome. Let’s get to it.” I saluted them with my coffee mug and headed to my work table. As soon as I laid my palm against the table, the table pulsed. There was a usual hum every time I used it because a fae built it for me.

But it had never pulsed like this. Curious and a little concerned, I placed both palms against the table’s top. Ash was walking past and stopped, watching me.

“Everything okay?”

“It’s pulsing.”

Ash frowned and came around beside me. “Take your hands off for a moment.”

I obeyed, and Ash placed his palm on the top, in the same place mine had just been. His skin turned to bark and his eyes glowed.

A few moments later, he removed his hand, the roots slipping back into fingers. “Nothing to worry about. My uncle formulated the table for you, and it’s confused.” He snorted. “It recognizes you, but your blood has changed. Put your palms back on the table and wait. You’ll know when it’s ready.”

“It won’t bite, will it?”

Ash grinned. “There’s no telling what failsafe my uncle put in that thing, so I can’t promise anything.”

“Great.” With more trepidation after Ash’s not so comforting words, I slowly put my palms back on the table and waited.

It took a while, and I felt a little violated when it was over, but eventually the table pulsed once more, flashing a bright green before it settled into its usual hum of comforting magic. I lifted my palms, waited a few seconds, and put them back down again.

The hum was still there.

Nice. One thing went right today.

Let’s hope I was on a streak.

Hazel’s shout of frustration made me laugh. As long as the bouquet wasn’t actively trying to kill Hazel, she’d be fine.

Moira breezed back through the doors after popping out for another tea, this time at another shop. “I have hot goss,” she sang. “About our resident Shifter Lord and one hot mess of a flytrap!”

I’d just put the finishing touches on Hattie’s bouquet and gently moved it to the side.

Ash sailed to the front like he had wings. Hot goss was Ash’s bread and butter. “Do tell!”

“Should we get Hazel?” Tess asked.

My eyes widened in horror. “No! She does not need to know what I sent to Caelan,” I hissed.

“She’d get mad about a bloodthirsty, semi-sentient plant?” Moira said sweetly, batting her eyes at me.

“Spill before I animate another one of my plants and make it bite you every time you walk past.”

Moira grinned. “Seymour ate the drapes in Caelan’s office.”

I choked. “What?”

Ash let out a low laugh. “All of them?”

“All of them,” Moira said with wicked delight. “The entire Keep is talking about it.”

A laugh bubbled from my lips. “How the hell?”

“Don’t ask us,” Ash said. “You’re the one that created that freak of nature.”

Moira held up her index finger. “I am not done.”

I groaned. “No. The drapes are bad enough.”

Tess bobbed up and down. She was spending less and less time on solid ground and preferred floating these days. All fine and dandy if we were the only ones in the shop, but a floating assistant would be hard to explain to any humans who walked in. “I think Seymour is psychic.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to Tess.

“I’ve heard of a plant psychic but never a psychic plant,” Ash said, staring at her with wonder. No matter what weird shit Tess said, Ash never judged her.

“Why would you say that?” I asked. Seymour was partially sentient, but most of my plants were. Having a higher level of intelligence and autonomy was part of the deal with a Floromancer around.

“He sends me dreams sometimes.” Tess floated over to the coffee station to make a new pot.

“Dreams,” Moira echoed, sending me a bewildered look.

“Mm-hmm. He thinks Caelan needs to eat more vegetables.”

I burst out laughing.

“We could all use a few more veggies,” Ash said dryly.

“He’s also concerned about Caelan’s stress levels.”

I stilled. “Oh? Any specifics?”

“Not really. Caelan keeps muttering about flowers and bondage.”

My lips twitched. “Bonding maybe?”

Tess’s brow furrowed. “That’s it. Thought the bondage thing was weird, but I don’t judge.”

Ash’s amused look turned to one of contemplation. I needed to shut this conversation down before things got weird.

Moira grinned. “I also heard Caelan tried to put Seymour back into your greenhouse, but the thing was back in his office the next day.”

I slapped my hands over my mouth, horror rising inside me. What had I created? “Maybe I should go retrieve him next time I’m there.”

Moira looked horrified. “Absolutely not! I am living for this ridiculousness.”

The others wholeheartedly agreed. “Fine.” I held my hands up. “I surrender. Seymour will stay at the Keep and continue being a chaos goblin.”

Everyone cheered.