“Why’s everyone here so early?” I asked as I tossed my purse onto the desk.
Ash lowered his book. “I take it you didn’t check the email.”
I was too busy plotting revenge against everyone’s favorite wolf. “No. I was busy repotting a plant, and I went to bed early.”
Moira fixed me a cup of tea and passed it over. “We’ve been invited to the Night Market.”
I almost dropped my tea. “What?”
“You heard me.” Moira smirked. “The notice came in last night.”
“I—I didn’t even apply this time.” The Night Market came to Joy Springs twice a month, and I’d spent the last four years trying to get in, only to be rejected every single time. Last month, I decided to stop trying. A girl could only take so much rejection before it felt personal.
“We know,” Ash said. “So, we did the application for you.”
Moira snapped up a sheet of paper and waved it at me. “Three days from now, you have one of the front spots at the market, renewable without an additional application for the next twelve months.”
I gave her a dubious stare. “We have a front spot for the next twelve months?” That seemed far-fetched. Or...like someone had pulled some strings.
“Sonofabitch,” I growled. “Caelan.”
Moira grinned. “Seems that way, but we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. You’ve been trying to get into that market for years now. It’s great for us, great for the store?—”
“And one more way Caelan owns us,” I finished.
Ash made a humming noise. “He does seem way too interested in you, Evie.”
Tess moaned and floated over. “I think I should talk to Caelan’s ghosts.”
Three pairs of eyes swung her way. It took me a moment to unscramble my brain so I could formulate a response. “I’m sorry. You just said Caelan’s ghosts? Does he have ghosts?” Sometimes Tess said the weirdest shit and expected us to react like everything about it was normal.
Tess nodded. “Everyone has ghosts.”
Moira choked on her tea.
Ash sighed. “Tess.”
She moaned. “Am I being weird again? I’m sorry. I always assume people know things only to find out they don’t.”
I pinched the space between my brows. “Let’s get back to the ghost comment. What do you mean, everyone has them?”
“Spirits linger close to those they love. When someone passes over, sometimes their ghosts don’t travel on like they’re supposed to. Stronger bonds make it harder for spirits to pass on to their afterlives.”
“Shouldn’t we be able to see them?” Moira asked.
“None of us have any,” Tess pronounced. “I made sure of it.”
None of us knew how to respond to that ominous announcement, so I chose to ignore it. “Can you get close enough to Caelan without him sensing you?”
Tess nodded. “Easy peasy. Shifters ignore spirit traffic because there’s so much around. One more won’t bother him.”
I shook my head. “Too dangerous. I’m new and shiny. That’s why he’s interested.”
Moira’s lips quirked. “And your solution is to not be so interesting?”
I shot her a dark look. “Time is the solution. We ignore him, and eventually he’ll find something or someone else to obsess over.”
Ash set his book down. “I don’t think our Evie understands how obsession works.”
