Page 28 of Power Shift
Ash turned away, shoving both hands through his hair. “Who would have done something like that?”
“Evie is the one who had motive,” Moira said.
At my squawk of indignation, the vampire rolled her eyes. “Relax. No one here thinks you killed her, but it’s true. Anyone with two working eyeballs would have seen the sparks flying between you and Caelan, and you were not exactlyinconspicuous when he escorted you out and you two teenagers slipped away into a hidden alcove.”
I blinked. “Um.”
“Yep. I heard about it later. You fools thought you were so sneaky.”
Heat colored my cheeks. “In my defense, I was walking to the door and was yanked into said alcove.”
“Mm hm.” Moira clicked her tongue. “Regardless, you were the spurned wannabe lover of a Shifter Lord and thought if you got Gianna out of the way, he’d return to you.”
I gaped at her like a fish. “That’s insane!”
“But it fits,” Ash said. He settled heavily against the wall and sighed. “We owe Cernunnos a debt of gratitude. If he hadn’t pointed Gianna’s body out, Evie’s property might be crawling with cops.”
“And our lovely little Evie would be in the clinker,” Moira finished.
The thought of a magical prison made me shudder. “I don’t look good in orange.”
“You really don’t,” Tess agreed and floated away.
Ash chuckled. “You always know where you stand with her, don’t you?”
“Is that a banshee trait or just a Tess trait?” I wondered aloud.
“I’m not sure I want to meet another banshee,” Moira said. “Two women moaning about death all the time is too much.”
Ash snorted. “Flowers are a way of life for Evie. Death is Tess’s. She can’t help herself. For Tess, death is as natural as the sun rising in the east.”
Guilt flooded me. “Ash is right. I never think about how annoying it must be to hear me talk about flowers all the time, and I didn’t give Tess the same courtesy.”
Moira grunted. “True, though my caveat is corpses are way different than dahlias, but I get your point.”
Tess’s voice came through the wall. “You know I can hear you.”
“Sorry, Tess!”
“It’s fine.” Her voice trailed off before adding, “But maybe we could buy fewer lilies? They remind me of a funeral home.”
Ash burst out laughing.
“I—yes,” I said with a huff of amusement. “Fewer lilies and more patience on all our parts. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“I think we should redirect this conversation toward ways of getting Caelan back for his presumptuousness,” Moira said.
I held up a hand. “Absolutely not. Antagonizing him only seems to excite Caelan. I’d like him to focus on other things. We’ll deal with the Lords when they show their hand.”
Tess floated back in with her coffee mug. I wish I knew how it didn’t fly out of her hand when she went incorporeal.
“Another flytrap?” Ash suggested.
“Already did one in his boutonniere.” I rolled my eyes. “He loved it.”
“Maybe instead of being violent, you could go romantic and befuddle him,” Moira said.
