Page 69 of Power Shift
“It’s creepy how you do that,” I muttered.
Cernunnos’s toothy grin made me laugh. Moira waved me away as I started to rise. “I’ll grab it.”
A moment later, Moira stepped away from the door.
Caelan walked in, and silence so thick you could cut it settled around the room.
“Don’t be rude, Evangeline,” Cernunnos said quietly when I stared at the Shifter Lord dumbly.
Nothing could extinguish Cernunnos’s raw power, but Caelan’s magic thundered through the room, his violent naturerearing its head as he spotted the Fae King next to me. A golden sheen rolled over Caelan’s eyes.
“Why are you still here?” I hissed to the fae king. “Don’t you disappear when things get weird?”
Amusement glimmered in his ancient eyes. “Your Lord needs to hear this as much as your friends do.”
Caelan’s gaze dropped to the king’s cupped palm. His eyes narrowed. “What are you holding?”
“A nuclear bomb,” Cernunnos said, a toothy smile crossing his handsome face.
Caelan came closer. A soft thumping sound came from behind before Hannah leapt from the back of the couch, straight at the Shifter Lord.
A soft oof, and Caelan caught Hannah’s pot, cradling the flytrap against his chest. “Well, hello there.”
“I meant to text you, but the day got away from me. “
“She has a brand-new pot, so her journey worked out, I suppose.” Caelan walked to the kitchen table and pulled a chair away, carrying it over to the living room. “When I saw the shop closed, I figured I’d head here.”
Hannah waved her traps around.
“She’s happy to see you.” I frowned. “Hannah is much happier than Seymour was when he was young.”
Caelan’s gaze rose to me. “Hannah?”
“Evie named her after Hannibal Lecter.” Moira grinned.
Caelan’s laughter was deep and genuine. “Little cannibal.” His voice held genuine affection.
Cernunnos gently clearing his throat made us all still.
“Sorry,” I hissed. “But look at how cute Hannah is.”
“She’s very cute,” Cernunnos confirmed. “But let’s get back to the nuke I’m holding.”
Caelan set Hannah down. “You’re holding a seed. I’m supposed to believe that thing holds enough power to destroy us?”
“Your power belongs to the animal kingdom, Lord.” His lips curved up. “And elsewhere, doesn’t it?” Cernunnos tipped the seed back into my hand. “I know you sense the magic, but your kind can never feel its innate power.”
“If I can’t sense the power, how am I supposed to assist?”
Another enigmatic smile. “You are here to assist Evangeline.”
My attention snapped to Cernunnos’s face. “Excuse me?”
The fae king rose, moss swinging from his antlers. “No one is safe while your mother searches for the seed. You must keep it safe.”
A sudden, horrific thought occurred to me. “She doesn’t want to plant this, does she?”
Cernunnos’s eyes flashed. “Your mother is no Floromancer. The seed came to the one being who holds the power to nurture and care for the power. Evangeline, you’ve been entrusted as a steward to hold the power of the gods.”
