Who was she kidding? This was…
“Beautiful,” she gasped, staring up at the little ball of light. Despite its size fitting in the building, it felt just as warm and comforting as the real sun was outside of this realm. There was a buzz to that light, an energy she was starting to recognize.
She whipped her head toward the doorway. “This is your magic.”
Kizros had closed the greenhouse door and was now leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He was more relaxed, watching her closely. “The shop light is a variation of my magic, but this”—he pushed off the jamb and gestured toward the ball of sunshine—“is my real gift.”
He turned his palm up as he approached, allowing another smaller ball of light to grow in hishand, just like he’d shown her that first day. She followed it until he held it between them, the additional heat sending a pleasant shiver down her spine.
“Light and warmth,” Kizros said, so quietly that Aofe pulled her gaze away from the dimming magic to look at him. He was smiling down at her, not the fading light, but there was a sadness to it. “I’m so sorry, Aofe. I should have realized. Not just the stairs, but this.”
She shook her head. “Kiz, this isn’t?—”
“I have one more gift.” He reached down to a pouch on his belt, and Aofe noticed light and dark blue flowers where the yellow ones had once been. And from that pouch, he tugged out a golden chain. He draped it over his hand, centering the charm on his open palm so she could see it.
A little U-shaped sunburst was attached to the chain, the yellow metal almost glowing against his green skin. But it wasn’t leftover from the magic he’d just created—it was coming from the golden charm.
With wide eyes, she looked up at Kizros to see a different kind of softness on his features. More than just kindness, it was care and compassion, but somehow that wasn’t deep enough a description for the emotion in his eyes.
At his silent question, she nodded, staring up at this large demon who was so gentle and sweet and understanding.
“The greenhouse is open whenever you need. For sunshine or silence or to plant your own garden. But you can’t take that light with you, so…” He tapped a rune on the chain, allowing it to open before reaching out and securing it around her neck, all while they stayed facing one another. “You have so much light and joy in your heart, Aofe. I never want to see it dimmed. Now this can be your own personal sunshine.”
Kizros’s fingers slipped from the chain, but his touch hesitated on either side of her neck, and Aofe could feel so much warmth in the moment. From his skin so close, from the magic of the charm and rune now blooming in her chest, and then the tension that hovered in the space between their bodies.
“Plus,” he added, flicking a long finger against her earlobe, “it matches the rest of your jewelry.”
Aofe let go of her crutch handles, gripping Kizros’s lingering forearms for balance as she pushed up on her toes. It was a little bit of a stretch, but he was so surprised he remained completely still when she pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Thank you,” she whispered, biting back the tears of happiness that threatened to spill over at his caring gesture.
But as she pulled away from him so she could lower herself, she froze.
The darkness of his eyes simmered, and now she could see how deep of a green they were, not black, as he stared at her.
Not a stare of curiosity, but one of unwavering shock and heat.
Her surprise sent her stomach swooping, and Kizros’s arms tensed to counteract as she wobbledin place. He was still staring, and her thoughts contained just a flicker of excitement that he might close the distance when he glanced to her lips. But then there was a loudthwack, and the spell was broken.
Kizros swung his head around toward the noise, and Aofe caught a glimpse of the dent his tail left in a raised metal bed before he snatched it out of whatever frenzied flicking it was doing. His other arm still helped to lower her heels to the ground, but the moment she was balanced, he cleared his throat and stepped backward.
“Right, uh, sorry,” he mumbled, hand scrubbing the back of his head. His cheeks had darkened again, and Aofe could have sworn the magic overhead and at her chest flared. When the grip holding his twitching tail couldn’t hold it stable, he grabbed it with both hands. “You, uh—sunshine, greenhouse. There’s a bench somewhere”—he seemed to realize his hands were occupied so he jerked his chin past her, all while backing up and stumbling with each step—“that way. Stay as long as you’d like. Or leave whenever you like? Um.”
His shoulder clipped the door, and he looked around in surprise before releasing his tail and fumbling for the handle behind his back. He managed to get it open after the third try. “Yup. Okay, that’s…”
Kizros trailed off, stared at her a moment longer, then turned and fled.
As the door slowly creaked closed, Aofe realized her cheeks were hurting with how wide she was smiling afterhim. And with one hand holding the charm around her neck, there was no sting of rejection that Kizros had left her, or awkwardness at the realization pinging through her head.
She wanted to kiss a demon.Reallykiss him.
And she was pretty sure he wanted to kiss her too.
8
A LESSON IN... BODY PARTS?
Kizros
