She leaned back and sighed. “One of these days I’ll make it to the crossroads and save you the trouble of leaving. I really do want to see the great hall.” She turned to me. “Hello. I’m Hailon. Seir’s?—”
“Wife,” he confirmed with a smirk and strong nod. “My incredible wife.” He kissed her cheek as he passed us by with the tea before setting them on the table.
“I don’t recall being invited to a wedding,” Tap said, but the tilt to his mouth let me know he was teasing.
“Unnecessary formality,” Seir waved his hand.
I accepted the hand Hailon held out, which showcased a ring that argued Seir was correct. It was a simple band with a piece of obsidian in it. Unusual, perhaps, but pretty. As I met her eye, I was momentarily stunned. The coloring of them was beyondunique—the left a deep brown on one side and a light jade on the other, the right bright blue and opaque yellow. Despite her youth, Hailon’s hair was nearly all white with just a few threads of pitch black which was intriguing as well. But it was the burst of warmth that passed between us when we touched that truly surprised me. “Phin. Pleased to meet you.”
“Please, make yourselves at home.”
Tap pulled out one of the dining table chairs for me. I sat, blushing as both Seir and Hailon watched us intently.
“You’re helping set the deals library to rights?” Hailon asked, pushing a plate of finger foods my direction.
“Yes.”
“I fear I didn’t accurately describe the scope of the job before she agreed to it,” Tap said, tone light but eyes still apologetic. He quickly added a healthy drop of honey to my cup before doing the same to his own.
“It’s a big project, but I don’t mind. It’s nice to see the progress every single day.” I curled my fingers around the steaming teacup and brought it toward my face. It smelled faintly of oranges and warmed my whole body when I took a sip.
“I bet. I feel the same way about pulling weeds or cleaning up. If I can see a difference, I feel like I’ve been very productive,” Hailon agreed.
I nibbled on the tasty little jam covered toasts I’d taken as Tap spoke kindly about how much progress I was making already. I felt like he was exaggerating quite a bit but appreciated the praise.
Hailon turned back to me, patting my hand where it sat on the table in a friendly manner. Another jolt of awareness jumped between her hand and mine. Her head tilted to the side. “What’s that about, I wonder?”
I blinked. “You feel it too?” My voice came out as a whisper.
She smiled. “I do.”
“That means you’re… you have…” I stumbled over my words, unsure how to formulate my thoughts coherently. I’d never met anyone with angelic blood outside of Heaven.
“I’m a null,” Hailon offered. “I’ve a bit of everything in me. Perfectly balanced, or at least that’s the claim. I beg to differ though, because I didn’t even get wings.” Her gentle smile helped me breathe evenly again. “I’ve never had that happen with anyone else.”
“There aren’t many of us.”
“Hmm. I can relate to that too.” She patted my hand again. “Nulls are very few and far between. I didn’t even know what one was until I was informed, myself.”
“Tap always was a bit contrary,” Seir teased. “Can you imagine what the boss would say if he knew you’d hired an angel to sort out the contracts? That you’re living together at the crossroads? Picturing his face will keep me entertained for days.” He hooted with laughter.
Tap paused mid-bite and blushed, trying to swallow the bit of bread he’d eaten without choking. “Can’t imagine he’d be all that surprised, honestly. He knows how I am.” Seir found his response even more amusing, and Tap cracked that low, gentle smile again. Butterflies swarmed in my gut, and I drank some tea to disguise any outward signs that a simple smile had had an effect on me.
“Boss?” I asked.
“Lucifer,” Tap said softly.
“Oh.”
“It’s easy enough to forget that at the end of the day, that’s who Seir’s actual employer is.” Hailon sighed and shook her head. “Saints know I keep trying. It’s very stressful sometimes.”
“He’s not that bad,” Seir insisted. “It’s not like I’ll ever be summoned back again, I made sure I negotiated those terms.And you’ve met Lilith. Do you think she’d tolerate him if he was truly awful?”
Hailon laughed. “We had all of ten seconds worth of interaction, so I’m not sure that’s enough to gauge an understanding of what she’d tolerate. Besides, she seemed incredibly angry with him, so…” Her head tilted.
Tap huffed a breath. “So, same as always?”
Seir’s smile went wide. “Naturally.”
