The Third Bloom: Hidden Blooms, #3

The Third Bloom

Hidden Blooms : Book 3

Chera Carmichael

Copyright © 2022 by Chera Carmichael

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover Design by Starlight Book Cover Design.

Editing by Excel Designs

Contents

The Tags

1. Finding Their Places In Their Shared Spaces - Kei

2. Quiet Reflections - Loren

3. An Unlikely Friend - Kei

4. The Problem With Danya - Loren

5. In Which More Conversations Are Had - Kei

6. The Right Company - Loren

7. Night Time - Kei

Also by Chera Carmichael

Author’s Note

Ghost-Hunting off-Realm?

Have You Read The Prequel?

GLOSSARY

Character List

About the Author

The Tags

To my faithful readers who requested my ‘rambling fic tags’. This is for you. I now tag book #3 as:

They both have feelings and they don’t know it. Is this mutual pining? Loren’s little flower shop. Kei is a good assistant. Danya is a repeat client. Merrow and land walker differences.

1

Finding Their Places In Their Shared Spaces - Kei

By the time Kei made it into the actual shop, he was sure his face would be stuck with a permanent blush while a thoroughly unbothered Loren waltzed through the shop and around the counter, uncaring of his shirt-less and spell-cleaned state.

The shop was precisely as he remembered it from the previous day. Cool and open with gentle wisps of air trickling on through, keeping a fresh sort of atmosphere around the place. Wooden slat walls, vintage decorations of faded hand-painted herbal prints layered with preserved charms and an old-fashioned register parked in front of a small, side window for walk-in guests.

Well, outside guests. He'd really never seen anyone actually come inside the shop and apart from the very nice Quinn Kalzik who had dropped by to pick up some kind of nutritional booster, he'd yet to see any of Loren's actual clients.

Danya's in the back, Loren said, waving him forward to follow around the front counter. You're welcome to sit with her, if you like. She loves to have company, because the slime takes a while to work and she gets bored far too easily. I'm not her favorite conversationalist, so she'll probably chatter at you until your brain numbs over. She means well, most of the time. Don't take any of it personally. You'll probably hear a lot about all sorts of things, if you're up for it.

Kei flushed again. That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement of any kind-

It's not meant to be, trust me. I don't have the patience for it, most times. Usually, she'll wind up reading or watching something, but I think her most recent adventures have—stressed her a little bit. She doesn't want to sit still and wallow.

Kei slowly followed along, wondering exactly what kind of stress and how it'd been enough to cause whatever was giving Loren a headache about it. Constant chatter wasn't something he could stomach much either, but perhaps someone who had a little more to say than a few sentences every couple of hours—could work.

Maybe. He could at least give it an honest try.

She's over here," Loren said, scooting a wooden box across the floor and away from a narrow doorway with a chalked rune on the front that almost looked like a proper language.

The door swung out to show an equally narrow space, but well-lit in soft blue and purple light with a panel that could've been a window, installed overhead. Wooden walls seemed almost mesmerizing with the shimmering light that played along their lengths, giving an underwater vibe to the entire space.

Magic shimmered at the edges, proof that the actual atmosphere and appearance was likely changed to suit whoever occupied the tub at any given time. Perhaps from personal preference or what would best help the healing process along.

Of course, the main point was the very large, very deep tub of hewn black stone filled to the brim with thick, blue-green slime. A thin white curtain was pulled back at the far end, revealing the prettiest blonde woman he'd ever seen, looking curiously in his direction.

Her hair was a brilliant shade of golden yellow, with deep rich streaks of blue peeking out from underneath the bright strands. And what he