Page 2 of Shift of Morals
I forced a smile. “Of course it’s a good thing. I hope Caelan and his new bride are very happy.”
A dry laugh sounded from behind. “You hope a meteorite strikes the wedding.”
I stifled my grin. “Ash! How terrible. I would never.”
“You would always,” he corrected. “God might not be petty, but you sure are.”
I laughed as Ash sauntered over and placed two coffees on the desk. “A cortado for Evie and a saltwater taffy latte for you.”
Tess gave a shy smile and slid hers closer.
“Thanks!” I popped the tab off my cup and took a sip.
The banshee grimaced. “I don’t know how you drink that.”
A cortado was my new favorite discovery. As coffee drinks go, it’s a simple one. Equal parts espresso and milk, and I took mine with zero sugar. The only downside was its size, and that’s because I was more American than anything these days. Four ounces of deliciousness was a small amount, but two ounces of espresso was enough to get me going.
Tess’s latte, on the other hand, was a monstrosity of artificial flavor and whipped topping goodness. I tasted it once and felt my mouth pucker, but the banshee drank one a day. I suppose it’s a good thing sugar doesn’t affect people like us as it does humans; otherwise, Tess would have fallen into a sugar coma months ago.
Ash sipped his coffee, a simple black breakfast roast. He might be a dryad, but his taste in coffee was simple. Moira, though, was all about the tea and turned her nose up every time she spotted one of us with the blue paper cups with the adorable Brewtide Beans logo.
The merfolk-owned coffee shop stood a few blocks from the flower shop and served up the regular offerings for the tourists, along with a few quirky offerings they could talk about once they got back home. There was a secret menu for the residents, serving up delicacies for the vamps and wolves, and Tess’s special order saltwater taffy latte.
Mine was one of the touristy drinks, but Lir, the main barista and owner, told me he was coming up with something extra special for me, and he’d have a sample to try soon. I was weirdlynervous about it because I had a human palate. What could he possibly make for me that would suit my unique biology more than a cortado?
Espresso and milk. Goddess bless the combo.
“What do we have on the docket today?” Moira asked, nose wrinkling when she spotted our cups. She held a delicate teacup, dotted with blue and pink flowers and a thin layer of gold coating around the rim. A light floral fragrance steamed upwards and tickled my nose.
Bergamot. One of Moira’s Earl Grey blends.
It smelled delicious, and I liked tea, but I loved coffee even more.
“That bouquet is still in the walk-in,” Ash said. “We’re already two weeks behind. Maybe we should move that up the priority list.”
“Ugh.” That bouquet was cursed. We’d stuck it in a magic dampening pouch several weeks ago and pushed it to the back of the storage fridge. I meant to take it out much earlier to take another look, but every time I got near it, I got a bad case of the heebie-jeebies.
Men normally didn’t touch their bride’s bouquets, but this one possessed a distinctly male, oily, malevolent feeling. A magical feeling, one not belonging to the natural world.
I went to the fridge and fetched the bouquet, keeping it at arm’s length as I carried it back to the desk. We gathered around and stared at the pouch.
“We should open it,” Tess said. “It’s hard to feel how bad the magic is with the dampening sack.”
“I don’t want to,” Ash muttered.
“She’s right.” Moira sipped her tea. “It’s too late to turn down the job since Evie has already put the client off twice.”
I winced. “I’ve been busy.”
Ash snickered. “Pining over an emotionally unavailable Shifter Lord.”
“Don’t forget engaged,” Tess said.
“He was not engaged when all this nonsense started,” I muttered. “But you’re right.” I threw up my hands. “Fine. Let’s get to the bottom of this creepy bouquet so we can restore it and get it out of our fridge.”
I reached for the pouch, but Moira slapped my hand away. “I’m the least vulnerable to rogue magic, so I’ll do it.” She undid the zipper and shook the bouquet out. All of us stepped back, expecting something to go boom, but nothing happened other than a rose head snapping off and plunking onto the table.
Ash cringed. “Can you fix it?”
