Page 68 of Shift of Morals
I poured more magic out until the wards finally snapped closed with a loud pop.
I sagged against the stainless fridge, my breath coming in gasping heaves.
“What the hell are you?” I whispered.
The bouquet quivered in response.
Fiery pain bloomed over my damaged tattoo. A sharp cry escaped, and I slapped my hand over my mouth before I alerted the others, hissing through my teeth as the pain came to a crescendo and slowly faded, leaving behind a soft golden glow.
One more weird thing to contend with.
Awesome.
The rest of the day was mostly normal. Tourists filtered in and out of the shop, and we sold almost all the seasonal arrangements Ash and I had worked on for so long. By the end of it, I was dragging.
Hazel snatched up my keys. “You look dead on your feet. I’ll drive us home.”
“Careful, Hazel,” Moira said, a wicked glint in her eyes. “Evie’s car is far different from your broom.”
Ash snorted.
Hazel’s eyebrows went up. “Watch it, girl. I’ll spike your blood with cyanide.”
“Mm,” Moira said. “Poison.”
The witch rolled her eyes. “Come on, Evie. Let’s get away from your terrible friends. I still need to take a look at your magic.”
“We need to wrap up the bouquet first.” I didn’t volunteer. “Maybe Moira was right. Should we burn that thing to a crisp and tell the customer we lost it?”
“I’m game,” Moira said.
“No.” Hazel held up a finger. “This is a puzzle piece. We need to find out where it fits.” She headed toward the back. “Give me five to wrestle with the damn thing, and we’ll get out of here.”
Lots of banging and cursing later, Hazel walked out with the magic dampening pouch, and we were on our way home.
Hazel handedme a glass of wine and pointed to the couch. “Sit.”
“Ugh. Do I have to? How many people are going to put their fingers inside me today?”
A beat of silence before horror spiraled through me. “I could have said that better.”
“Yep,” Hazel agreed, mirth sparkling in her eyes. “But my fingers won’t be any place fun.”
“Thank the gods for that,” I mumbled.
Hazel snickered. “Drink your wine and relax. This won’t hurt.”
Sighing, I settled back against the couch cushions and closed my eyes. Hazel’s touch and magic were familiar. We’d spent months together in Scotland, Hazel acting as caregiver while I tried to survive the curse raging through my body.
Her magic was hard to explain. Ash’s felt like ancient forests. Ben’s was cool and gentle. Hazel’s felt like walking into a circle filled with powerful women, thunderous and fierce, but completely painless.
Yet not relaxing, either.
When she finished, Hazel’s touch lifted. I opened my eyes to see my former mentor’s eyes glowing with concern. “Evie.”
“If it’s bad news, can I have another glass of wine first?”
Without responding, Hazel pulled the bottle over and topped me off. “Your body is acclimating to the Chimera magic. The first time we suppressed it.” She shook her head. “It’s far too late for that. Now we have to sit back and wait to see what happens.”
