Chapter 16 A Big Deal
A BIG DEAL
Rosalind
“No, that table needs to go over by that staircase,” Rosalind said for about the fiftieth time, and the fact that she’d lost count was a sign of stress she was going to ignore.
Enmona Manor looked beautiful, even if the tables were not in the right place yet.
The flowers had been arranged this way and that, some superstitious demon who always needed his tea in the exact same cup every morning running around changing them to fit his current state of overwhelm.
Another demon had been standing at the bottom of a narrow staircase for ten minutes letting other demons go before her while she held an auction item that needed to be displayed twenty minutes ago.
A third had started crying when Mozke gently reminded them they were supposed to be outside helping Lovable Loaf bring in their supplies.
At least Rosalind had felt a bit better hearing that Laz and Dav were here. Food was already being set up on tables at a pace that settled some of the nerves in her churning belly, even if she had yet to cross paths with them.
It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be fine once demons started arriving.
“Why are you not dressed?”
Fear surged again as Rosalind squeaked, covering her body quickly before realizing this wasn’t another nightmare where she stood naked in the middle of the gala while demons laughed at her.
There was fabric under her hands, though it took her longer than she’d admit to remember that this wasn’t her fundraiser attire.
“I’ve got time,” she told Mozke, which was a complete lie.
The blue demon, clad in a shimmering gold one-piece suit, shook their head. “Go put on your dress. I can handle things from here.”
“Are you sure?” There were still so many things that needed to be done. Napkins to be arranged. Signs to be posted. Wine glasses to be filled. Not that Argeth was going to do any of that since he’d yet to show up.
Mozke looked at her like they’d been insulted.
“Okay, okay,” she said, holding her hands up defensively. “Sorry.”
Rosalind hurried off, only giving a few more orders as she went in the hopes that Mozke wasn’t looking and wouldn’t hold it against her later.
She found her bag draped over a counter in the back of the kitchen, a very strategic place because some part of her desperately needed to see her demons, even for just a moment, if she had any hope of surviving the night.
She’d just started fighting with the laces when there was a sharp inhale behind her.
“It must be my lucky day.”
Rosalind spun in relief. “Oh, thank the gods. Please help.”
Lazerath chuckled, setting a stack of boxes down to assist. He was in an all-white uniform, just like many of the demons from Culture’s offices who were assisting them tonight. But where those demons looked out of place, Laz looked like the uniform was meant for him and him alone.
“You keep staring, beautiful, I’m going to make you very late,” he teased.
“Sorry, sorry,” she muttered, lifting her hair so he could tie off the bow.
“Hey, no apologizing.” He guided her hair down and then placed his hands on her shoulders. “We’re good here. Food is ready, and the decor is all set up. Everything looks amazing. You look amazing.” He glanced down at her skirt with an appreciative hum. “More than amazing.”
Rosalind twisted her hips and let the dark teal fabric and silver stars catch in the light. “I don’t know how Kat had the time.”
“Oh, she works with Brioni at the post. And her sister is the one in the guard.”
That brought a smile to Rose’s face, seeing Laz take an interest in the others because it mattered to her.
“Kalypso should be here tonight. I am going to be attaching myself to her until maybe some of her confidence rubs off when I ask rich snobs for money.”
“You’ve got this. Your project is important, and everyone is going to see how passionate you are about it. Any demon who doesn’t want to donate to it, I’ll… send Sev to threaten them or something.”
“Please don’t.”
“I will!” He folded his arms, like that might make him more menacing. “You should have seen him and Dav team up back in the day.”
“You say that like you’re older than thirty-three.”
“Some days a very old thirty-three,” he sighed.
“Hey, Laz?” came the deep voice behind him. Dav walked in wearing the same outfit as Laz, and fuck, how could two massive demons look so damn good in shapeless white uniforms?
Davarox ran his tongue over his lower lip, gaze lingering at her chest and corset. “Okay, I’d probably get distracted too.”
Laz snapped his fingers. “Shit, I was supposed to go find that lost cart of bronzeberry scones.” He turned back and kissed Rose long and hard enough to make her dizzy before pulling away.
“If you need a break from those stuffy demons, come find me. We’ll see if you can keep quiet in a storage closet. ”
Rosalind wasn’t fast enough to smack him before he skipped away, dodging Dav’s whipping tail in a much-too-smooth evasion for the red demon who always tripped over his own thick tail.
Leaving Rosalind and Davarox alone.
Things hadn’t been awkward between them since Temptation, but she noticed more often the lingering stares Dav gave to Laz. The longing ways he opened his mouth as if to say something to his friend before deciding against it.
There was nothing uncomfortable or different in any of their interactions, though Rose expected that couldn’t last forever.
“You look stunning,” Dav said into the silence, a reserved smile tipping his lips. “You didn’t come back here to hide, right?”
“Maybe a little bit.” She cocked her head. “How are you doing?”
“A little nervous, but we’ve got more help than I know what to do with now. From here on, it’s just making sure the tables are refreshed regularly.” His finger popped up. “Speaking of refreshments…”
He bent down and picked up a crate from under a table, glass clinking together as he rested the case on the surface. Plucking a bottle out, he presented it to her.
“A bottle of wine?” she asked, a knot forming in her stomach as she took it to inspect.
He twisted it in her grip, red liquid sloshing inside. “A special recipe. No alcohol.”
Rose jerked her head up. “What?”
Dav only nodded toward the bottle in her hand like it wasn’t the most thoughtful gift she might have ever received.
Which was probably its own insult she would add to her list to unpack later.
“I made sure there was a case of it for you. It can get mixed around when on the tables, so I’ll make sure that you’re only getting this one. ”
Rosalind gaped, willing tears not to spill. “Dav, you—”
“It’s not a big deal.”
Yes, it is. “You have so much else to do tonight.”
“None of it is as important as making sure you’re okay.
You’ve got a big proposal coming up.” He said it so simply, like that was the only truth in the universe.
“But you will have to make sure you’re eating something in between.
The sugar content would make Lazerath look like he’s moving in slow motion. ”
Rosalind chuckled, shaking her head as she held the bottle a little tighter. “Thank you, Dav.”
He nodded, leaning forward to press a kiss to her temple. “Now, get out there and schmooze some assholes. And get something to eat before it’s all gone. I know you haven’t eaten all day.”
Rose was pretty sure she hadn’t peed all day either, so it was a good thing that once she’d rearranged another several tables and ordered demons around, she found Kalypso and dragged her away from a conversation.
She apologized to the demon noble Mozke had warned her about—a male who would spend the entire night disguising insults as friendly advice.
Saving Kalypso from bloodshed was probably good for both of them, but it also gave Rose a chance to just talk with another human again.
And pee. Good gods, she had to pee.
It was all going quite wonderfully, Rosalind thought, as she pulled Kalypso into half a dozen conversations to make it look like the giant woman wasn’t utterly disgusted with the whole gala.
It would look good for the guard and for Rose, who used that chance to soft pitch her project proposal to some smaller but still influential demons in the noble houses.
Whether they were just being polite because of the glaring human next to Rose or not, she appreciated not being outright dismissed.
Everything really was going well. She maybe hadn’t eaten as much as she should have, but every time she looked down at the glass in her hand, it was full.
And sometimes it was a glass of water she didn’t remember grabbing, but then she’d catch a glimpse of a gray demon disappearing behind a plant or a door and she’d smile knowing that someone was looking after her.
“Rosalind, you obviously know Tarzul,” Argeth was saying as she sipped her water. “And this is his nephew, Dolgeraus. You probably are aware of Kalypso, working for Harrox and the guard.”
Dolgeraus grunted, and Rosalind could already tell this was going to be about as enjoyable a conversation as pulling thorns from a scraped knee.
Then again, she’d been looking at the numbers, and there was something unsettling about the Horn of Finance and his business dealings.
His familiarity with Harrox’s assistant seemed just as odd.
More odd than the conflict of interest Argeth had with the former caterer.
She might not have had the confidence of Kalypso, nor the buzz of false bravado from alcohol, but perhaps that was all the better. The missing money was important, and when Culture suffered for it, why not see if she could read Finance for some answers to their antiquated laws?
It was convenient, then, for Argeth to leave Rose with the perfect segue before he ran off to accept more compliments about the fundraiser that he didn’t deserve.
“The traffic alone from our leading apothecary could do wonders for the demons who live and work there,” she said with a smile, even if the demons around her didn’t care.
“Imagine those streets at night, like a yearlong festival to celebrate the arts. Bustling bodies in the day between shops and the taverns… It’s just such a special place.
There’s so much potential within the art district, and the shopkeepers have been doing what they can—”
“That district is a joke.”
Rosalind had seen the Horn of Finance slowly losing interest, but she hadn’t expected the snap from Dolgeraus, who, in the short amount of time they’d been standing here, had already finished one drink and was nearly done with a second.
“You’re wasting your time with a proposal. There’s a reason funding was cut years ago for more important things.”
She already knew funding had been cut, but what important things? That was the money that had conveniently filtered through so many hands and laws that it ceased to exist anywhere on record.
And it was just so convenient that Dolgeraus’s intoxication had those particular words slipping between his lips. She hadn’t expected either demon to care, but the subtle glint in Tarzul’s eye and the way he’d shifted on his feet had Rosalind paying closer attention to the demon.
She didn’t have to worry about defending herself or her project when Kalypso stiffened next to her. “And what’s more important than the arts?”
Rosalind had threatened many demons during her time in Heck, mostly consisting of utter financial ruin and social humiliation. But never had her tone suggested that disagreeing would result in literal and immediate evisceration like Kalypso’s voice promised.
Dolgeraus, however, was undeterred, gesturing toward the large woman with his wineglass.
“The guard, obviously. The very thing you’re supposed to be petitioning for.
After the uptick in monster attacks and their proximity to Heck, it’s imperative that additional funding be allocated to our warriors.
Just yesterday, a human was attacked and our warriors risked their lives stepping off the carved ways, not to mention the damage to armor and weapons that must be replaced. ”
Brioni was doing fine, though. And from what Rosalind had gathered of the situation, it was Kalypso who had cleverly defeated the monster to save the other human, not just the other warriors. That alone deserved respect she guessed Dolgeraus would not extend toward her.
Rosalind suspected she had been dragged into something bigger than budget constraints as the pair exchanged barbs that rivaled the spikes on Ozirax’s body.
But try as she might, Rose could not locate the demon so he could provide some sort of buffer.
At this point, she would even welcome a physical fight as a distraction.
Instead, Kalypso was being ushered away for a dance and Rosalind was left helpless in Tarzul’s company. She half expected the demon to simply walk away without another word. The other half waited for—
“Don’t bother with the proposal.”
There it was.
She turned back to him slowly. “Pardon?”
The blue demon set his wine aside and made a show of adjusting his jacket so he wouldn’t have to look at her. “No one takes your silly little department seriously, let alone some human coming in and telling us how to manage our money. We were doing fine before you lot arrived.”
“Except you weren’t.” The words didn’t surprise her, only the fact that she’d spoken them aloud.
Perhaps Kalypso really had left an impression on her.
Emboldened, Rose continued. “You might have dismissed my comments the other day, but don’t think I didn’t notice that my suggestions were all implemented. ”
Some of which she’d done herself, but others had already been handled by someone in the financial offices. She doubted it was Tarzul himself, but likely under his direction.
“Would you like an award for doing your very basic and worthless job?” the Horn spat, dark blue creeping up his collar as he glared at her.
“Will you waste more time and money on a fundraiser where nobles instead choose to donate to the system that will protect them? No one cares about a water feature in a forgotten district.”
“Why are you so against seeing every part of your city thrive? It’s not because I’m human. You were originally the leading opposition for further funding in that space, and that wasn’t even your department.”
Tarzul roughly tugged at his sleeves, tail stiff behind him. “The other councilors will laugh you out of the room if you attempt this proposal. I suggest you give up now and stop putting your weak little nose where it shouldn’t be.”
The Horn of Finance stormed off.
But it was too late, and Rosalind knew exactly what final touch she was going to add to her proposal.
She was going to need some help.