Chapter 15
FIT CHECK
Kalypso
“Fuck,” Kalypso muttered, turning down another hallway.
The package in her hands felt heavy, even if it was relatively light. No, it was more about the contents, the potential within the parcel, that had her scrambling to get out of this fucking office building.
She turned the next corner only to find more offices, but before she could snarl a curse, one of the doors was propped open and a red demon filled the doorway. Diaran had thick but sharp, sweeping horns, black hair tied at her nape and not a single strand out of place.
The demon glanced at her, a pinch to her brow. “You’re here for Korinaz?”
Kaly glanced at the placard outside the counselor’s door, feeling like an idiot for being so distracted that she didn’t just follow the room numbers on the damn walls to get out of here.
“Uh, no.”
That wasn’t for another few days.
Their first meeting, Kaly had sat on his couch for their allotted time and said nothing.
Neither had he. They’d just stared at one another, but not in a challenging way.
He didn’t pressure her to speak, didn’t try to peel apart her mind or get her to confess she was a worthless piece of shit. He’d just offered her silence. Privacy.
The moment their time had finished, she’d scheduled the next session. One where she… might try to say a few words. Work up from there.
Diaran frowned at the longer than normal silence. “So you’re just back here… looking to send something in the mail?”
Kalypso held the parcel a little tighter. “No. This is my outfit for the fundraiser tonight. I…”
She couldn’t quite admit that she’d gotten turned around, but it appeared she didn’t have to. Diaran jerked her head the opposite direction of where Kalypso would have turned in a clear indication to follow.
It was silent for a long time as they walked before the female said, “I assume your pants are tailored to not have a giant hole for a tail?”
Kalypso’s eyes flashed to the red demon. Was that a… joke? “As if I’d let any of those fuckers see my ass.”
Sure enough, Diaran twisted her lips in what had to be an almost smile. “You’ll do just fine.”
A loud, rumbling noise stopped them in their tracks. They glanced to one another, waiting in the silence until moments later it happened again. A rough inhale that sounded like choking.
As one, they faced the door they stood in front of.
The captain’s office.
Diaran reached a hand out, gently nudging the door open.
The male was sprawled on his couch, boxes of all sizes around the space and varying degrees of filled. Seems like they would remain that way for a while as the demon let out a phlegmy cough and went right back to snoring.
“Lazy piece of shit,” Diaran mumbled as she closed the door behind her.
“That’s how he’s spent his time since announcing retirement, instead of actually using that time to care about the scouts putting their lives in danger every day.
Harrox should have just cut him then. No captain would be better than this. ”
It explained why Kalypso had never seen him around. And why Ozirax seemed to always be the one managing the moving parts of the guard.
Now that she was going the right direction, they reached the exit in record time, but then Kaly stuttered a step when she and the demon started walking in the same direction.
“You… going back to your room?” Kalypso asked.
The demon nodded. “You’re going to get ready, I presume?”
Kaly shrugged. “I’ve got time, and not a lot of supplies. Just trade the training gear for whatever’s in here.”
Diaran’s brow dipped, and then she was shaking her head. “Come with me.”
Leaving no room to argue—not that Kalypso would argue with her—Diaran began her fast clip back to their quarters.
Kaly followed from just a step behind as a few of the guards watched Diaran with wide eyes, both fear and respect in their bows and muttered words of healing to her squad.
And as much as Kaly wanted to ask about it, she had a feeling the female was very similar to her when it came to public conversation. Or speaking about feelings.
Diaran pushed through her common room, the inverted version of the one Kaly resided in, only hesitating when Kalypso stopped at the entry.
“Sacred space?”
The demon’s features sank. “I don’t think my squad will mind while they are recovering in the infirmary.”
Kalypso stepped inside, feeling a sad weight settle on her shoulders. “I’m sorry.”
Dismissing the words with a wave, Diaran led Kaly to the back room. Identical to Ozirax’s, though a few more personal items hanging on the walls along with a vanity next to her desk.
When the demon didn’t stop her, Kalypso walked the perimeter, studying the parchment stuck on the walls. A few rather impressive sketches mixed in, but the majority looked to be made by a younger demon whose name Kaly couldn’t read.
“Those lekguine were not acting right. It’s a miracle we are all still alive.”
She felt the sadness in Diaran’s words, and looking at the walls, she could understand why.
Not a single one of them had walked away without severe injuries.
The squad leader had almost lost demons in her charge, but also a connection to a child who very much loved to draw Diaran holding hands with them.
But then, on the demon’s bedside table, she noticed something.
Kalypso turned, head cocked. “You’re applying to be captain?”
Diaran whirled, jars she’d been meticulously collecting on the vanity forgotten. “Stop snooping, human.”
A growl wasn’t going to stop Kaly. “No. You have the entire thing filled out. Why haven’t you turned it in?”
“How do you know I didn’t finish it this morning?”
Kaly folded her arms.
Diaran’s eyes narrowed. “I do not like you.”
“Yeah, not many do.”
“Ozirax does.”
“He tolerates me at best.”
“Then why do you smell like him?”
Kaly was about to argue that the last she’d seen of him, he’d been carrying her to the infirmary while she was trembling with shock.
And since Kaly just vaguely remembered her shower after finally getting confirmation Brioni was fine and resting, there was likely a good reason she would smell like him.
“Like sex, human. My nose is much better than yours.”
Kaly snarled. “This isn’t about me.”
Diaran only smiled. “I like you again.”
Kalypso smirked, then took the seat at the vanity when Diaran motioned her over. “Seriously. I’m sick of all this male posturing. If it would help, I’d submit a recommendation for you, but I don’t think Harrox thinks highly of me.”
“He doesn’t think highly of most females, even demons,” Diaran said, studying Kalypso’s reflection in the mirror.
She held up one jar of grayish-black powder, then another that looked nearly identical, then returned to the first, dipping her finger in the top.
“Regardless, it’s not worth submitting. Close. ”
Kaly closed her eyes. “Why fill it out?”
There was a press against her eyelid, and she only now considered the threat that the demon’s claws posed to her sight. But Diaran simply swept and dabbed gently across the lid.
“For myself, I suppose.” She moved to the other eye. “Just to…”
“Prove you can.”
Diaran swallowed. “Demons are more progressive than humans, but there are still some who would not appreciate a female captain. I was fortunate to gain my position with little resistance. The next steps are not as simple.”
“What else is holding you back?”
The demon picked up a fluffy brush and another jar, this one a subtle pink dust. “Trying for Korinaz’s job?” Kaly smirked, then settled her features again as Diaran began brushing the powder over her cheeks. “Recent events have given me a new perspective on what my career path might be.”
Kaly didn’t fail to notice the demon’s eyes flick to the wall of art.
Diaran moved to the other cheek. “My niece is my world. It’s funny, how seeing that little bundle changes everything you once thought about yourself, and she’s not even mine.
” She cocked her head, admiring the work she’d done on Kaly’s face, then fixed something Kaly didn’t notice.
“I always thought Severath’s softness was a flaw. It’s why he cut off our courtship.”
Kalypso leaned back, eyes wide. “Wait, you dated Severath?”
“Gods, you’re just like my sister. Going feral for gossip.”
Her mood soured as she eyed the package with her clothing inside, tailored by Kat. Was there a note in there for her? A little message of embroidery in the hem of her outfit that would tell Kaly everything would be okay between them again?
She cooled her expression. “Well, I’m surrounded by males comparing sword sizes all day, and that’s not a euphemism.”
“Obviously a polearm is superior.”
“Obviously you’re wrong.”
Diaran smirked, then tipped her head to the side. “Hair?”
“Never done much besides a braid.”
“I can work with that.”
They fell into gentle chatter, complaining about the males they worked with, favorite training routines, and even a few slips about their sisters, which had Kalypso’s heart aching.
Diaran braided a section of her hair in a simple crown plait but swept it along her nape to hide behind her longer waves of bronze. Kaly was so distracted inspecting the colored powder on her face, she didn’t notice until Diaran had unfolded her clothing and lifted it up for inspection.
“Oh, there’s—” Kaly cut herself off as she turned from the mirror. Diaran shook out the blouse and pants, thin black straps hanging around the shoulders of the outfit, but…
No letter.
No note.
“Your sister has done well,” the demon said, oblivious to Kalypso’s growing disappointment. “Though, no weapons are allowed.”
She hummed, then excused herself to dig around in her wardrobe, leaving Kaly to stand and approach the bed.
Her fingers dusted over the blouse, searching along the collar, the hem, the sleeves. And then she was running her touch along every inch of the pants, knowing before she even reached the last possible place to touch…
Kaly blew out a breath, throat and eyes burning as she fought the urge to cry. She didn’t cry. Not over this, not in front of someone who didn’t need to know what a fuckup she was.
“Here,” Diaran said, resting a strange contraption on the bed next to the outfit. A dozen chains swooping from a collar down to another delicate chain that Kalypso had only the barest idea was meant to be lingerie.
Sorrow shoved to the back of her mind, she smirked up at Diaran. “Where exactly is a badass squad leader wearing a piece like this?”
The demon shrugged. “I’ve been known to frequent a club or two. And maybe I want to see your sappy squad leader pant a little bit. You’ll thank me for that, and for these.”
She unfolded her palm, letting a collection of dark metal pieces scatter on the bed.
“Claws?” Kaly asked, looking closer.
“You can’t bring weapons, but demons are already a walking arsenal, not to mention those politicians using their sharp words. Consider this… me protecting a friend.”
“Diaran—”
“Dia,” she clarified, dipping her chin. “To friends, I’m Dia. Females have to stick together, right?”
Kalypso grinned at the warrior. “Submit the application, Dia.”
The female huffed a laugh. “You’ll do just fine tonight.
But call me Dia in front of anyone and I’ll deny I ever liked you.
” Her dark eyes softened, almost imperceptibly.
“Not that you asked, but you’re good for Ozirax.
That whole squad, sure, but especially him.
Never thought anyone could handle his spikes, but maybe that was his mistake. ”
“Trusting his spikes?”
“Thinking he needed to flatten them to be accepted.”
The way Dia was looking at her, Kaly didn’t think they were talking about Oz any longer.
“I do not like you,” Kaly hummed in response, though it was missing any real vitriol, and the demon’s smirk confirmed her jest.
Kalypso turned back to her outfit. An armor she needed to don, just not the kind she was used to. No blades, no spikes. Despite the beauty in front of her, there was still something that didn’t feel right as she continued to take Diaran’s time.
Her mind whirred as she got dressed with the demon’s help, and when she faced the mirror again, it was easy to see the physical changes since her time in this realm. The muscles, the filling out around her shoulders and waist. The brightness of her skin and hair.
Inside? Inside still didn’t feel right. But when that gut feeling tugged at her middle, a feeling she normally would have shuttered, Kaly leaned into it.
Gaze meeting Dia’s in the mirror, she said, “I need to tell you something about the recent monster attacks.”