Chapter 18
Chapter
Eighteen
Iawoke the next morning to a new shadow over my bedroom windows. Frowning, I reached out with my magic and probed the shadow, only to realize they were roses.
I had no roses on that side of the house. Confused, I rolled out of bed and opened the window.
A heady scent teased me as I peeked out, gawking at the insane growth of a pink double rose. “What the hell?” I whispered.
Careful not to shut any part of the plant in the window, I shut and locked it, then went to the kitchen to turn the coffee pot on. Thinking was hard without caffeine.
Once I was dressed and had a travel mug of coffee ready, I headed outside to track the errant growth.
As I came around the corner, I sucked in a breath. The entire side of the house was covered in blooms. The sight was stunning. Gorgeous multi-petaled roses grew up the siding and curled onto the roof, stems dripping with multiple flowers.
I touched the side of the house to check on the stability. While flowers and vines growing on a house can look beautiful, the weight can damage a dwelling quickly.
But the wood sighed with contentment. For now, it was happy, but where had the new growth come from?
The only roses I had were by the green house.
Carrying my coffee, I headed over only to stop in my tracks.
Plants and vines poured from the greenhouse windows, the glass scattered all over the ground.
“Shit.”
I held up a hand to open the door, only to see my palm flickering in and out of existence. What was happening to me? Willing my hand to stay in human form, I entered the greenhouse, almost surprised I had a clear path to walk through.
The place looked like a jungle. Every single plant inside was four times larger than it should be, even the new seedlings I’d planted only a few days ago.
Another side effect of merging with the Chimera. Yay. Fun.
With a sigh, I set my coffee mug down and got to work.
A few hours later, a vehicle pulled up. Moira, Tess, and Ash got out of the car and came to the greenhouse. Ash’s eyes were wide.
“How much have you gotten done since this happened?” he asked.
“Twenty-five percent,” I muttered. The most important thing was getting the plants away from the glass so I could have the windows repaired to keep the temperature regulated.
The plants would be fine for now. Outdoor temperatures were dropping, but there was no chance of a freeze for at least the next several weeks.
Moira whistled low. “Did you lose control?”
“I woke up to this.”
Tess floated around, investigating everything with her pale gaze. “Your magic is fluctuating. I can feel it pulsing around this place. You spend the bulk of your time here, soaking your plants in your power. I’m surprised this hasn’t happened sooner.”
“A hint would have been nice,” I grumbled at Tess.
She sent me a serene smile. “I am a banshee. Not a magician.”
Ash ducked to hide his grin.
“Right,” I said. “How silly of me to forget.”
Moira laughed. “I feel it too. This place is vibrating with power.” She sent me a suspicious look. “How much more powerful are you now that you’ve opened yourself to the Chimera?”
I looked around at the greenhouse and shrugged. “I have to be extremely conscious when I’m working at the shop, but this was done during sleep when I have no control.” I frowned. “Though I’ve never had such a slip during rest before.”
Ash touched the side of the greenhouse and frowned, though he didn’t look over at me. “Stand back,” he said.
We obeyed instantly. Ash’s magic was similar to mine, though his main domain was trees. My greenhouse was made of gathered oak that had fallen naturally. Ash’s eyes glowed emerald, his power groaning into the wood.
A pop sounded in my ears before the pressure I hadn’t realized was building up slowly drained away.
Ash patted the side of the greenhouse. “Poor thing. She was bloated with magic.”
Too focused on the glass and the extra growth, I hadn’t thought to check on the structure. “Thank you. I don’t want to kill anything, so I’ve been trying to transplant most of the extra growth. If any of you want anything, feel free to take it.”
“Have you called Simone?” Moira asked as she bent to size up an overgrown patch of French thyme. “She’ll want some of these.”
I thought about it. “I’ll transplant some into pots and bring them to the Keep. I don’t want her reporting back to Caelan about the current state of my jungle.”
“I’ll take whatever is left over,” Tess said. She reached a pale finger out to touch a moonflower blossom, one that shouldn’t be blooming this late in the morning.
“If you want some moonflowers, I have a massive bag of seeds in the house. You can take whatever you like.”
We worked in silence for a while, everyone rolling up their sleeves to help me get things under control. A warm feeling settled into my chest as they helped carefully cut all the growth back and painstakingly pot each new plant baby.
By the time we finished, the sun was setting, we were all covered in dirt, and my magic had settled into a happy, contented hum.
Maybe the problem wasn’t that I was having issues with the new Chimera power.
Maybe the issue was I was failing to burn off some of the excess and it was causing the excess to escape when I was unaware.
I sank onto the ground with a groan. “Wow.”
Moira, Tess, and Ash all found a seat. “That was fun!” Moira said.
“We haven’t worked like that in ages.” She wiped her dirty forehead with the back of her arm, leaving it worse than it was to start with.
“Being at the shop is always fun, and I love working with all the smaller plants, but this place was a jungle!”
Ash grinned. “You’re right. Maybe we should consider that when we talk about new offerings in the shop.” He eyed me. “How are you feeling?”
“Ugh. I knew you’d sense it.” I picked up a clod of dirt and tossed it at him.
Ash laughed and easily batted it away. “You look like your old self again. Dirtier, but healthy.”
“I feel good,” I admitted. “Really good.”
My muscles were the kind of sore you get after a good but not too intense workout.
The unending well of magic inside me slumbered like a tuckered-out kitten, and even the vicious Chimera’s power felt quiet and still.
Ash was right. I did feel like the old me, the one who existed before the Lords had come into my life.
But today I was less afraid, and I couldn’t explain why. Maybe because I was coming to accept that I wasn’t just one thing. I wasn’t only a Floromancer, or only a demi-god, or only a Chimera. I was Evie, mixed up and still learning as I went.
And that was okay.
I’d spent the entire day avoiding thinking about Caelan and the hurt in his eyes when I told him what I needed.
But I wasn’t sorry about it. My confession was the truest thing I’d ever said to him.
I wouldn’t marry someone who didn’t know me.
But I wouldn’t allow someone to know me until I had complete control of this thing living inside me.
Even then, I wasn’t sure I’d ever relax and open myself to trusting again.
Not after the divorce and Finn, and what happened to me afterward. Too many terrible events in such a short time had left an indelible mark on my soul.
Maybe in another life, I would give into my impulses with Caelan.
But not this one. Not now.
Ash reached over and touched my arm. “You’re going to be okay.”
I put my hand over his. “As long as you guys stick around, I’ll be great.”
Moira scooted closer. “You’re never getting rid of us. We’re like ticks, burrowed inside you.”
“Gross,” Tess said with a shudder. “Ticks live in my nightmares.”
“Mine too,” Ash said.
“I get what you’re saying and thank you. You’re stuck with me, too. Like peanut butter and jelly.”
“Much better!” Tess grinned.
A shimmer of magic appeared in the air before us seconds before a scroll dropped into the middle of our grouping. Everyone froze.
A red satin ribbon with a thistle and a small bone kept the scroll together. The scent of a familiar woman floated up.
“Shit. It’s from Rhona.” But I made no move to collect the scroll.
“Can we ignore it?” Ash asked, brow furrowed in a wrinkle of distaste.
Tess reached over and snatched the scroll, carefully unwrapping the parchment.
“Broken keys still open doors,” she read.
When she said nothing else, I frowned. “That’s all it says?”
Tess turned the note around and showed us.
No signature. Only those few words. “I’m not sure what to make of that. Is she threatening me?”
Moira’s lips pursed. “A broken key. Do we have one of those?”
“Not that I know of. Everyone has keys in their junk drawer to doors they no longer use. But keys are hard to break, aren’t they?”
“Unless she’s not talking about an actual key,” Tess said. “Maybe Rhona is trying to open something.”
A contemplative look stole over Moira’s face. “Spells open things,” she mused. “What could Rhona want to open and why would it concern you?”
The sound of breaking ceramic clattering in the greenhouse halted their conversation. I rose to my feet and put my finger to my lips. On silent feet, I crept to the greenhouse. The door was still open, and I poked my head in. Rustling greenery to the left caught my attention.
I stepped inside and used my magic to move some of the greenery aside. A rhythmic thumping came from deeper within until a deep red trap lined with “teeth” appeared above the greenery.
“Seymour?”
The thumping stopped abruptly, the plant’s traps snapping shut.
I peered closer. “Oh no. You aren’t Seymour at all, are you?”
There was a faint stripe of green atop its main trap. “Aren’t you a pretty thing?”
Thump, thump, thump. In a few short moves, the flytrap stood before me, opening and shutting its trap. I reached for its pot only to realize it was broken.
“You tried to plant yourself,” I whispered as I spotted its roots spilling out from the bottom of the ceramic and other roots gripping the sides to move itself. “How about I help you?”
Quivering traps told me yes; it would like that very much. I scooped up the flytrap and cradled it in my arms. Before going to the potting bench, I poked my head out the door.
“All good!” I called. “A new friend popped in to say hello.”
Everyone cooed when I held out the new flytrap.
“That’s not Seymour!” Ash said.
“Did he have babies?” Tess asked, floating over to take a closer look.
“I don’t think so, but I’ll ask Caelan. Give me a few. I need to repot this poor little guy.”
“I want to watch!” Moira said.
In the end, the new Red Dragon flytrap found itself in an adorable blue and white ceramic pot dotted with flowers.
And I was left wondering how the hell another sentient flytrap had found its way to me when I hadn’t created it.
Not technically. My magic burned inside the plant clear as day, but another whisper of power clinging to its roots held me in awe.
My power dominated, but Caelan’s power was somehow mixed in its roots.
How had this happened?
Moira and the others had gone home a little while ago, leaving me in the greenhouse finishing up a few things. The flytrap kept me company as I swept up the rest of the glass, occasionally thumping its pot when I got too far away.
When I finished, I scooped the pot up and headed back to the house.
“You have to be careful,” I lectured the flytrap. “Your pot will break if you jump too high and land too hard. I need to put you on the shelf where there’s extra light. Okay?”
It waved its traps in agreement.
Suddenly, I realized where it had come from. “You little minx. Did you escape from the Keep?”
More trap waving. Shaking my head at its naughtiness, I reached for my cell and sent a message.
I have something of yours.
The response came quickly. My heart? My soul?
I couldn’t stop my laugh. Instead of responding, I snapped a quick picture of the flytrap and sent it to him.
How did it get there?
No idea. I found it in the greenhouse.
It’s not an it. She’s a girl.
I smiled. Oh?
Strong feminine energy. Jealousy when Seymour came around. It makes sense. She couldn’t take not having me all to herself anymore.
Idiot.
It’s true. Want me to come around and get her?
If you want her back, you’re welcome to send Simone by the shop tomorrow.
The response took longer this time.
If I choose to come myself?
You can come if you want. But she’s in good hands.
I’ll see you tomorrow, flower girl.
I didn’t respond. And the leap my pulse took was merely due to the a/c being turned down too low.