Page 61 of Shift of Morals
And blissful unconsciousness.
Chapter
Sixteen
Hazel wasn’t amused that I got up early and headed to work. After a blistering lecture, I hurried out the door and headed to the shop, leaving Hazel glaring at me from the porch.
Less than half an hour after I got to the shop, Hazel stomped in, cursing a blue streak.
“Do they know what happened to you last night?” she groused, giving the others the hairy eyeball.
“Yes, and they don’t want me here, either,” I said mildly. “I’m fine, Hazel.”
A bald-faced lie, but I was fine enough to come into work today, so true enough.
Moira snorted.
I shot her a dark look. “I’m here. I’m standing, and I’m functional.”
Hazel muttered something under her breath. “I’ll be in the back looking at that damned bouquet. Call me if things go awry.”
“That could mean a lot of things,” Ash said.
Tess let out a soft moan and floated closer to me. “We’ll keep an eye on her.”
“See that you do, banshee,” Hazel lectured, lifting her bag over shoulder and bustling past us.
When the doors closed behind her, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
“She’s intense,” Moira whispered.
“That’s Hazel,” I muttered.
Ash pushed a fresh mug of coffee my way. “Are you alright?”
I was exhausted, bruised internally and externally, and my magic felt fried. “I will be,” I promised. Cernunnos’ warning kept replaying in my head, the real threat of dying hanging over me like a scythe made all my muscles tense.
I felt different, every cell in my body snapping and alive. And I felt the desire to change.
I could be anything I wanted.
The thought scared the hell out of me.
Everyone had goneoff to run errands for the shop earlier, leaving me alone for a while. I enjoyed the silence, using the quiet time to think about my new body. Because that’s what it was. Every piece of me felt different, alive in a way it never had before.
But in the mirror looking out was the same old Evie. All the new pieces of me lay deep inside.
The bell over the door jingled not long after, revealing Ben holding a large box of our favorite pastries. At the same time, banging, yelling, and eventually black smoke billowed from under the doors to the back. Hazel cursed up a blue streak before slamming open the doors. Her hair stood up on end and soot streaked half her face.
“That bouquet is a menace!” she barked.
Ben slid the box onto the counter. “Need any assistance?”
Hazel waved him away. “Bah. No. I’m going to crack that thing open like a coconut soon enough.”
I came around the back of the desk and hugged Ben, but there was a hesitancy in his touch this time.
A small piece of my heart broke at that moment. I stepped away and smiled, but Ben had trouble meeting my eyes.
