“I didn’t know you could heal like this.” He sucked in a breath. “My arm.”
I smiled. “Is back and whole again. I wasn’t sure about that one, though I’m glad to know it’s possible to regrow a limb.”
“Shifter healing allows for regrowth depending on the wound.” His mouth tightened. “I’m not sure mine would have. The wound was…extreme.”
“You almost died.” I blinked tears away.
He brushed wetness from my cheek. “You mourn for me even when being treated so poorly.”
Ben sighed. “I did not deserve you. Caelan is the better man.”
They’re both good men. I shifted, soil and roots digging into my back. “I should start looking for a way to get us out of here. You’re being far calmer about this than I expected.”
Ben chuckled. “If I were here with anyone other than the most powerful Floromancer in the country, I might be a little more flustered.”
“Don’t get too relaxed,” I muttered. “This is the first time I’ve ever been underground. I’m scared I’ll collapse the entire thing down on us.”
He squeezed my hand. “I have faith in you.”
“That makes one of us.” My cell was in the clothes I’d left above ground, and there was no way Nadia and Donovan had left Ben with his, but I had to ask.
“No chance of a phone on you? A flashlight would come in handy right now.”
“No need,” Ben said. His eyes began to glow ice blue mixed with a ring of gold.
Just as I suspected. We were buried in the dirt on all sides. I shifted my body and investigated, reaching out to touch the barrier. Thick, dark dirt and roots on all sides.
“Alright, I’m going to send up some vines to gauge the depth. Try not to move.”
Ben nodded.
I sent a thin vine from my fingertips up through the dirt, thickening it as needed to break through the thick, moist soil. We had to be under the surface of the store, and if we were down here, then we must have broken through the concrete and foundation.
I winced. That would be an expensive bill.
Ben shifted closer, his hand snagging around my waist. I stilled. “Ben?”
“It’s cold in here.”
I huffed a breath. “Liar. We’re in a cocoon. It’s plain toasty.”
His large, calloused hand splayed over my bare stomach.
“Ben.”
Lips pressed to the side of my neck, and God bless America, it took everything I had to keep my thoughts somewhat coherent.
“Hmm?”
I cleared my throat. “This would have been welcome a few months ago. But I’m with Caelan. If we break through the dirt, and Caelan is there, you might lose another arm.”
His lips stopped moving. He chuckled, warm air shuffling through my hair. “You’re right.”
A heavy sigh and then, “I’m sorry.”
“Maybe move your hand back over to your side. We’re at least six feet deep here and still going up.”
Ben stilled. “What the hell happened?”
