Even in just a few days, seeing such a large demon doing such small tasks had become normal. She often found herself mesmerized by Kizros: the delicate work his fingers could do with and without claws that retracted, his passion whenever he got to talking about a potion idea he had, how he adjusted his glasses and smiled wide whenever she walked into a room.
He did that now as he looked up from his work, pushing the black frames up his nose. But that smile promptly fell off his face when he looked at her hand. “What… are you doing with that vefuricot?”
Aofe glanced down at the fruit in her hand. “Eating?”
Kizros gaped but said nothing else.
Momentary panic clenched her stomach. “What? Is it poisonous? It was on your counter?—”
“It’s safe,” he said quickly, eyes wide. His head cocked. “You… like it?”
She cocked her head right back. “It might be the best thing I’ve eaten here. If you don’t like it, why do you have it?”
“It’s, uh…”
Kizros didn’t often lack words, but when he did, it usually resulted in the same nervous mumbling—and blushing—he was currently experiencing.
Aofe chuckled. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Does it have any deactivating properties?”
“For…”
“The contraceptive I’ve been working on,” she clarified. “This flavor would balance the bitterness and make it consumable, if it doesn’t negatively interact with any of the ingredients.”
Kizros stared at her for a long time, and while he was not shy about that act either, this one was stranger than his others. Finally, he scratched at the hair twisting around his left horn. “Uh, that would work. You’re using the preservation rune on the vials?”
Her shoulders deflated. “Just the ones that you etched. I still can’t get the rune to work for me.”
His momentary confusion melted away, replaced with a soft, reassuring smile. “You’ll get it. I know.”
The bell over the shop door rang, and Kizros stood from his seat. He crossed the room in two strides and patted her shoulder. It wasn’t hard, just a casual touch that he’d made sure she was comfortable with as they’d started working together, but the contact with her joint sent pain searingdown her arm. Her hand flared, and if it weren’t for her proximity to the wall, she might have fallen.
He jerked his hand back. “I’m so sorry?—”
“It’s not…” She swallowed, forcing her fingers to curl back over the crutch handle. “You weren’t rough, just caught me off guard.”
She put a smile on her face, beaming up at him with what she knew was convincing nonchalance. She knew it was convincing because she’d used it on him all yesterday after he noticed her having trouble balancing, and he hadn’t brought it up again. Nor did he mention anything about the waning pallor of her skin after she’d reminded him that insults were rude.
The bell rang again, and since Tim didn’t have anyone screaming in his grip, likely a second demon entered the shop. Kizros nodded, then breezed past her to greet the customers.
Aofe blew out a breath of pain, then another as she prepared herself to go back out and survive the rest of the day. By the time she’d managed to spin herself around, the voices had started to carry.
“I’m aware, Moraxas, and I assure you?—”
“It’s not the same,” the customer was saying, and with how frustrated they sounded, Aofe hung back in the hallway. “Selling this to me is false marketing.”
“And I’m assuring you that there is no difference in the potency of this potion compared to the one you purchasedlast month.”
Even in the short span she’d known Kizros, Aofe could hear how strained his politeness sounded.
“No difference?” the customer spat. “Except it was one of those filthy humans who tainted it.”
“Humans do nottaint, Moraxas. I oversaw every step of the process, and just because she was the one to combine?—”
“You admit it, then. There’s a difference. The former potion you sold me was made entirely by demon hands and magic. This one was not.”
Aofe pressed herself against the wall, feeling an uncomfortable pit grow in her stomach. Her cheeks burned, but she held out, waiting for Kizros’s answer.
When it finally came, it was quiet. “I will refund you, and I can offer a replacement?—”
