Page 5 of Power Shift
Look what you’ve become.
The bloom in my hand turned to ash, a gentle wind blowing its remains across my worktable.
“Shit,” I whispered. “I’m sorry.”
And that was the other side of the coin, the one I’d been hiding. Moira and the others knew my magic had been malfunctioning and encouraged me to allow my Chimera to fully merge with my body. Even Cernunnos, who may or may not be my father, said I’d die if I kept the beast at bay any longer.
I’d done it and found a new power I couldn’t have imagined. But…as with all wonderful things concerning magic, there were some side effects. A few, like the amount of meat I ate daily, were harmless, except for the pain my new appetite caused my pocketbook. Others, like the ferocious boost in Floromancy power and how much more upper body strength I had, were a little more concerning.
I could probably lift a car if I wanted to now. Not that I’d ever had the urge, but I could probably rage out properly if ever given the motivation.
Which is why I should stay away from the Shifter Lord. The male could push all my buttons in all the wrong ways, and I’d done some stupid things over it.
Then again, the amount of money he was offering for me to show up at this stupid gala was nothing to sneeze at. I could fund Tess’s retirement account, give everyone a healthy bonus, and expand my property quite a bit if I wanted to. All I had todo was show my face, set the arrangements up, smile and wave, and haul ass home. That’s all the contract said, in not quite those words, but close enough.
Show up half an hour early. Stay for dinner. Remove the arrangements once the event was over, and I was free to leave, no earlier than twenty minutes after the set closing time. If I played my cards right, I’d be out of there by ten thirty.
I pulled the contract back over and read through the clause again.
My contract has a no-delivery clause, I texted Caelan.
He responded almost immediately.
I’m aware. Exceptions are common in contracts.
Not mine.
A beat of silence before three dots appeared again.
An addendum, then.
I thought about it.
Alright. Here are my terms. Non-negotiable.
Everything in business is negotiable.
Keep pushing me, and I’ll flood your land with poison ivy and man-eating vines.
I could almost see his manic grin.
Very well. I reserve the right to decline.
First, I doubled the amount of money in the contract to an eye-popping amount.
Done. What else?
I almost swallowed my tongue. “Dammit. I should have tripled it.”
Every time you try to speak to me, you’ll pay a day’s worth of triple-time wages.
That’s unreasonable.
I never claimed to be a reasonable person.
I’ll think about it.
I’m not done.
