Chapter 5 Proper Positions and Other Pomposity #2
The human held another parcel aloft—one with more than the ordinary number of sharp corners—chest heaving, eyes unblinking. “What in the hells does that mean?”
“Relinquish your weapon, and I will explain.”
“No.”
They stared at one another for a long moment, and Azrion considered her all over again, trying to see the strangeness other demons did, the rounded ears, the earthy skin, teeth with no bite, a crown with no horns, and those eyes.
I’d paint her in a field of blue delfias under the glow of Ockna herself.
“Shit,” he whispered then put down his shields.
There was no hope for him if that’s where his mind kept going, but failure simply wasn’t an option.
“I wish to hire you to playact as my mate—in public, not private—so that I may inspire jealousy in another demon.” Quickly, he held his empty hands in front of his face.
When nothing hit him, he peeked around his palm to see her considering it—really considering it—and he chanced half a grin.
Her shoulders had sunk and her gaze had dropped to the floor.
She brought the unflung parcel to her chest and squeezed it with a tenderness she’d not yet displayed.
Ah, no fair. Now I really can’t lose you.
“Why would you ask me to do a thing like that?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You’re beautiful.”
Her eyes went dark then, glaring at him with hatred he’d never expected, and she slammed the parcel down onto the table. She took up a letter instead and turned away.
It was as if his heart shattered when presented with the back of her, like she’d turned on him for good and never again would he get a chance to make her smile. Not that he’d yet succeeded, but eventually. He had to.
There was a ladder leaning against the wall, and the human made quick work of scaling it, but the daggers she had stared at Azrion were still firmly lodged in his gut.
Truth be told, he enjoyed the fire he accidentally stoked in her, but this was much worse.
This felt bad. “Do humans have some cultural taboo about compliments?”
She said nothing, and the silence was deafening.
Azrion rounded the table, watching the graceful movement of her long limbs as she climbed higher. “I apologize, but it is true. You would inspire the kind of envy I could only dream about.”
She snorted from about twelve feet up, pressed her foot into the wall, and then the entire ladder swung. Azrion bolted toward it, sure she was about to topple to the ground, but apparently the ladder was on wheels, and she simply sailed down the length of the wall away from him.
“Even more graceful than a sober tormot,” he murmured.
She gave him a quick glance—one full of malice and not the kind that aroused—before hooking a finger into one of the drawers and pulling it open to deposit the letter inside.
Azrion had never considered how the mail system worked. “Is this what you do all day?”
“Be bothered by self-important demons? No, not usually.”
Azrion chuckled, crossing his arms and admiring the setup of the other ladders as he paced. “Oh, you have a little covert nastiness in you, don’t you? Good, you’ll need that if you’re going to hold your own on my arm.”
The human’s face reddened. “I didn’t agree to anything, and I definitely won’t if you don’t really tell me why.”
He thought he had, but then there was actually a little more, and it was only fair she knew.
“My mate—or, former and future but not current mate has ended things, though she’s done this many times before.
I’ve failed to win her back in the more traditional methods, so now I must resort to pretending I’ve moved on to entice her back.
It’s a drastic measure, but it’s worked on both of us in the past. Our relationship is always healed, and everything goes back to normal.
” Azrion ran his tongue over his fangs as they inadvertently sharpened. Blazingly colorless normal.
The drawer hung open before Kat as her face lost its animosity. “You’ve done this before? With the same woman?”
“Always the same.” He nodded.
Her lip curled slightly, and Azrion could feel disgust drip down the ladder.
“It’s a game!” he said with a brightness that made even his stomach turn. “And you could get paid to play.”
She worried the rung in her hands, her next question quiet like the softest brush stroke. “You said it would be a lot of coin?”
“As much as you—”
There was a squawk, and Kat jerked backward making the ladder sway.
Azrion was sure this time she would fall and ran forward, arms out, a spell on his fingertips and eagerness in his heart.
He didn’t exactly want her to tumble two stories to the earth, but if he caught her, she might be so grateful that she’d have no choice but to agree.
Nothing landed in his outstretched arms, though, and so imagined ease slipped through his fingers.
A drayk had popped out of the drawer and was sweeping through the chamber.
Azrion leaned against the ladder to stabilize it while watching the winged creature dive at Kat then make playful loops up to the ceiling.
“No, no, you can’t be in here. You belong out there where the mail goes, you little feathered fu—hey, get away from the ladder!”
Azrion jolted, eyes wide as they darted up at her directly above him. “But I’m helping.”
“No, you’re not—you’re looking up my skirt!”
“I am n—” Well, he hadn’t been, but then she had to go and say it, and all bets were off.
She had her hips bent away but was sweeping a leg through the air at his head.
He was too far down to be kicked, and her skirt went right to her ankles, but from his position there was an entire bare leg on display, deceptively long and nicely toned leading up to—“Fuck!”
Azrion caught her shoe right as it unfortunately but perhaps deservedly met his nose. He backed away, no need to wipe what he’d seen from his mind, the pain in his bridge more than enough to make him forget most of the day.
Kat grumbled as she descended the ladder, and Azrion paced a few more steps back to avoid frightening her, though, the fear was all his own in that moment.
When she reached the ground, she stood stiffly across from him in a dress that was too big, the sleeves gathered at the wrist to still be functional while hiding her away—a mistake of an outfit, but it was hers to make, he supposed.
She was taller than what he’d seen of the other humans, but still a fair bit shorter than him, even with the hunch to her shoulders.
Her bare foot tapped, rustling her skirt’s hem and embroidery there, vines swirling in a vibrant green.
It was a strange choice since plants weren’t that color, but it was doubly intriguing since the rest of her clothing was so damned drab.
She held out a hand, but Azrion didn’t offer up her shoe. “So, what do you say? Play my sweet but spurious lady love?”
“This feels like a trick,” she said, voice wavering as she dipped her head. “Like you’re lying to me to get me to do something else.”
The drayk dove for Azrion then, little claws hooking his rounded horn and tugging. He gasped and swatted at the thing, and it flew off again, but at least Kat found it amusing, hiding away a smile with her hand.
“Look, I can’t both be a terrible lech who peeked up your dress and also not find you unattractive, so pick whichever you’d like to believe for now and let me prove to you that my only immoral desire is to manipulate my ex-mate.”
The human gnawed on her bottom lip. “So you do actually know this weird thing you want to do is pretty bad, right?”
“I’ve probably done worse, but yes, of course!
In a perfect world, Melora and I would actually talk and we would…
well, things would be different, but that’s not the Heck we live in.
And really, who are you to be the arbiter of morality?
Melora likes having a fuss made over her.
We’re practically doing her a favor here. ”
Her face scrunched up. “I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“Yet.”
“And I definitely won’t if you don’t actually tell me why.”
“I need a human.” He shrugged as if it were simple. “There aren’t many demons that Melora would be jealous of, but a human? It might actually kill her.”
“So much for it being a favor.” She snorted. “There are five other humans to choose from, and they’d all probably be much better at—”
“It’s got to be you.” His next breath wouldn’t come as he locked his gaze onto hers, finally holding it so that those pretty blue-ringed eyes could only stare back.
He couldn’t say the reason—the real reason—because Azrion wasn’t privy to the plot and because he refused to really listen to his fate, but a kind of truth gnawed at his gut anyway.
He had not met her by accident, and his thoughts didn’t return to her by chance.
It was something more. Something akin to magic—and Azrion knew magic.
“I can tell you are discerning, subtle, and you know how to keep a secret. Many secrets, I would guess, but I won’t ask after them because I’ve a feeling I won’t get anything from you that you’re not absolutely willing to give. ”
“You don’t know anything about—”
“But I want to. And that’s what makes you perfect.”
That tightness to her features melted away, and she brushed a hand up the side of her face, curling her fingers into her hair.
“Perfect for this scheme, that is.” Azrion cleared his throat. “And you want coin—everyone does. So say yes.”
The drayk dove again, and Kat caught it out of the air before it could collide with her. “Oh, fine.”
“Wonderful!” Azrion threw his arms up and Kat winced like she wasn’t holding a squirmy, distracting creature. “Meet me tomorrow at Brew’d Awakening just before moonset, and we can work out all the details on our first date.”
“Date?”
Azrion waggled his brows and stepped closer, descending to one knee. “How else will we get to know one another?” He held out her shoe with a flourish, waiting for her to step into it.
“No,” she said flatly. “Just leave it there.”
With a great aggrieved sigh, he placed down the slipper and stood. “You must know, my appreciation is boundless, and—”
“Yeah, okay. Take the drayk out with you when you go.” She shoved the creature at him, her fingers just brushing his, and then pulled back like she’d been burnt. She clutched her palm and backed right into the wall. Well, he’d gotten his agreement, and that was enough of that.
Azrion flashed her another charming grin—at least, he thought so anyway. “By your command, darling.” And off he went, one drayk and half a mate richer.