PORTSTEAD — "EMERALD PETALS" FLORAL & APOTHECARY
Lady Mercedes Crane smiled like death was a scheduling inconvenience.
"I've been waiting since the first time you died," she repeated, softly, as if she'd said *good morning*.
The shop smelled like roses and something metallic underneath—like coins soaked in blood.
Sera didn't blink.
Neither did I.
Mira's pen stopped moving.
Behind us, the door clicked shut on its own.
Not slammed.
*Decided.*
Mercedes turned the sign to **CLOSED** without touching it.
"Before you do anything dramatic," she said to Sera, "I have wards layered in this building designed to punish reality manipulation."
Ezra would have called that a challenge.
Sera just looked mildly offended.
"You're threatening me in a flower shop," Sera said. "This is the most insulting setting I've been threatened in all week."
Mercedes's smile widened. "Good. That means you're still human enough to feel insult."
