Page 19 of Power Shift
Their eyes held. “Much can change in a few months.”
I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to Caelan. He cut a powerful figure in his charcoal gray suit and slate blue tie. But I felt a sense of fierce satisfaction when I noticed he wasn’t wearing a boutonniere. The last time he’d worn one, I’d turned it into ash on the table and sent him one I’d made.
Afterward, I realized I’d gone a bit crazy and acted possessive, which in hindsight wasn’t a good idea. But at the time, I couldn’t help myself.
I toed the bag at my feet and wondered if I should give him the one I’d brought tonight.
Caelan’s voice rumbled through the room as he spoke. All side conversations ceased as everyone focused on the Shifter Lord.
But as he spoke, anger grew inside me like a cancer. He had done this to get me here and disguised it as a charitable event.Any donations given during the night would be sent to a local hospital and used to sponsor events for sick children.
If I punched him in the kidney, it would have to be private because I didn’t want the world to think I hated sick kids.
Just Caelan’s manipulation tactics.
And I always fell for the damn things.
After he sang my praises for a little while and spoke about medical research, Caelan wished everyone a good night and made sure they knew who to give their checks to before retaking his seat.
“You must be feeling quite smug,” I whispered.
“The bastard is always smug,” Soren said.
Servers peeled from the walls and rushed the tables. Drinks were refilled and first course salads were served.
“Will you activate the arrangements?” Caelan asked.
I reached down and pulled a small carton out. “This is for you.”
Caelan’s lips parted as he took the carton and opened the top, revealing a boutonniere with deep burgundy ribbons and a creamy dahlia in the middle. Pretty, but nothing spectacular until you saw what was around those dahlias.
“Evie,” he murmured, reaching out to stroke one of the dozen traps of the flytrap plant I’d bordered the dahlia with.
That trap reached out quick as a snake and latched onto Caelan’s finger.
The Shifter Lord hissed in pain before a huff of laughter escaped him. “Is this one poisonous?”
“Paralyzing you in front of the community seemed like a bad idea,” I said sweetly. “Plus I didn’t have time to add the poison.”
Moira muttered a prayer under her breath. Soren’s eyes widened when several of the other traps began to sway in search of blood.
“I so love your violent gifts, Evangeline.” Caelan wiped the beaded drop of blood from his fingertip onto his napkin and carefully fastened the boutonniere to his lapel.
“Are you sure you want to wear that?” Soren asked.
“Of course, I do. This event is for Evie, and this is but a small display of her wild power.”
“Maybe don’t touch it again,” Soren said, his brow furrowed as he leaned over to study the carnivorous boutonniere.
“I plan to introduce this one to Seymour when the party is over,” Caelan said. “How long will this one last?”
My heart warmed. Maybe I should stop giving Caelan things. All he was doing was endearing himself to me every time I tried to get a negative reaction from him. “The flytrap can be gently extricated from the boutonniere and planted, but the others will only last for a few more days. There’s no preservation spell included.”
“Good to know.” A strange smile curved his lips. “Is it programmed to bite only me?”
“Anyone in the Keep is in danger if they come too close.”
His laugh made something uncurl deep inside, and I realized I’d rarely managed to piss him off. The automaton stunt did it, but he wasn’t as angry as I expected. Then he’d kept the garden and Seymour and somehow formed a bond with the bloodthirsty little flytrap.
