A purple hand-blown glass vase filled with Belgian chocolates and a stainless-steel hand shovel topped everything off.
The sender had tucked a card inside that read simply:
You surprise me, Evie. You didn’t have to, and yet you did.
Again.
Lena fares well and sends her sincerest thanks. Her mate, the guardian wolf, also wishes to express his deepest gratitude for your actions.
It was signedCaelan.
An aggrieved sigh escaped me. He knew it was me in the woods. I realized I probably couldn’t keep that secret bottled upforever, but more time would have been nice. Her wound was mortal, but she had very little power compared to the Shifter Lord. My magic didn’t require me to go as deep to help her as it had with Caelan.
I triple checked the basket to ensure he hadn’t slipped anything weird in, like a camera or listening device, but as I carried it in, an idea formed. The basket and thank you card was a nice gesture, but it didn’t absolve him of responsibility for him coming into my house and creeping in my bedroom. I’d been working on a little side project for Caelan so I could send him the check with style. But I had a plan for a little payback while I was at it.
After I’d finished a cup of coffee and chatted with everyone, I headed to the back to check on the Venus flytrap I’d nurtured from a tiny seedling. But...I’d given it a little something extra.
Caelan was going to have a field day with this one. I chuckled to myself and reached for the bucket of handmade compost.
The Red Dragon flytrap greeted me by clicking dozens of its traps, the main, larger one stretching out to reach me.
“Hey Seymour.” I gently gave it a scratch underneath the main trap. It made an odd cooing noise that made me laugh.
“Hungry?”
All two hundred of the baby traps snapped in unison. “Okay. I brought you something extra today.”
After a few freeze-dried worms, Seymour settled down and allowed me to freshen up his potting soil. I’d experimented with the flytrap in a way I never had any other plants before. He was a project of my Floromancy and my rage at Caelan. I’d chosen a carnivorous plant for obvious reasons, but Seymour was a distraction while I enacted my true revenge.
“You ready for a new home today?” I asked Seymour.
The flytrap tilted itself the way a dog tilted its head when curious.
“Remember what we talked about?”
Another head tilt the opposite way.
“It’s okay if you don’t remember, just toss the check at him.” I smiled. “Then bite him if you can.”
I fed Seymour another worm and gave him a tiny bit of water to tide him over, then carefully packaged him up, adding an envelope with a check so large it made me hyperventilate, and note that simply said:
Check & Mate.
I also checked the seeds I’d placed in a spelled container and tipped them out into a small brown baggie to take with me this evening.
Satisfied with everything, I tucked the bag into the transport box, tossed Seymour another worm, and carried it to the front of the store.
“Don’t touch Seymour,” I warned. “He’s got an attitude.”
Tess peered into the box. “Aww. He’s adorable! I’ve never seen one that color.”
“Special variety.” I grabbed my purse and hugged Moira who was giving me a thoughtful look. She knew something was up.
“Spelled how?” Ash asked as he looked into the box and physically recoiled. “Why is that thing so large?”
I pointed to the bag of worms. “Those and lots of love.”
Ash’s brow furrowed. “Flytraps are notoriously angry plants, but…” His voice trailed off, and he barked a laugh. “That’s why you named him Seymour.”
