Thirteen
The weeks passed uneventfully, and we settled into an easy, familiar rhythm once again. Normalcy was underrated, I decided, as I dug elbow deep into a trough of perfectly balanced potting soil. I didn’t normally grow every single flower for our arrangements because it would tax my magic too much on a daily basis. Or at least it used to. Before everything happened. For this, I planned to dazzle the shit out of the Shifter Lord.
Simone had sent the plans over quickly. Caelan had requested arrangements for twenty round tables and the main showpiece for several rectangle tables pushed together in a long line. I’d already finished the smaller arrangements and decided to go all out. Every piece was a living, green automaton performing scenes from The Wolf and the Fox, a little-known fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm.
Each scene told the story of a greedy, evil wolf who abused the poor little fox living with him until the fox tricks the wolf and escapes, leaving him to die at the hands of the angry farmer who catches him.
I cackled the entire time I worked on it. Every arrangement was a living, breathing work of art. Ferns curled and uncurled,swaying and reshaping themselves into the forms I coaxed them into, greenery twisting and rolling, flowers unfurling and blooming before turning back into tightly held buds.
The spell was complicated, but simple. Each scene would play repeatedly until close to the end of Caelan’s event. Except for the main centerpiece. That one was a little different. While it was an automaton, I’d designed it to show one scene until 9:45, fifteen minutes until the end of his event—the fox betraying the wolf and the greedy wolf’s inevitable demise at the hands of the farmer.
Once the clock hit ten, that same automaton would shift into a graveyard scene with fog created by dandelion puffs and rain created by guttation from pothos vines. A headstone would pop out of the ground, the epitaph simple and heartfelt.
Here lies the Shifter Lord.
A male who never learned
A clever fox will always rule over an aggressive wolf.
Five minutes after that, just as people were beginning to leave, the entire piece would explode in a riot of blooms and petals like a Fourth of July fireworks display.
Caelan wouldmurderme. Well. He would try at least.
I put the finishing touches on the spell. The automatons wouldn’t begin until fifteen minutes after the start of the event. To the untrained eye, my work appeared to be a stunning display of florals with a slight hum of magic. Unless someone was a well-trained Floromancer, they’d assume the source of the hum was a preservation spell.
True. But not the entire truth.
Once the spell clicked into place, I stepped back, put my hands on my hips, and grinned.
One of Moira’s eyebrows lifted when I walked back into the main part of the shop.
“Everything ready?”
I nodded.
“Simone called earlier. They’ll be here in half an hour.”
I grabbed my purse. “Great. I’m running out to grab some lunch. Mind texting me when they’re done?”
Moira shook her head, a rueful smile on her lips. “You sure about this?”
“Yup! I want you, Ash, and Tess to leave early this evening. The banquet isn’t over until ten, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Tess floated over and paused. “Powerful magic back there, Evie. It’s some of your best work.”
Surprised by the comment, it took me a moment to respond. No one knew exactly what I’d done, but even without the automaton magic, the floral displays by themselves were stunning. “Thank you, Tess. It was nice stretching my wings. The Shifter Lord gave me free rein, and I took it to heart.”
Ash wrung his hands together, his face drawn in a mask of concern. The dryad could be such a worrywart sometimes. “I don’t like this, Evie.”
I reached over and brought him into a one-armed hug. “What’s my motto on bullies?”
Ash sighed and rolled his eyes. “The only way to stop a bully is by standing up to them.”
Moira grinned.
I squeezed Ash. “Yes. Caelan is a bully.”
“And he’s the Shifter Lord.” He grunted and tried to wiggle away, but I held tight.
