“No. Yes? I don’t know.”
“Kizros.”
“You have to promise not to judge me,” Kizros groaned, peeking up off the table. At Ragnar’s patient expression, Kizros mumbled, “We kissed… a lot… and then slept together.”
The giant demon’s eyes widened, mouth parting?—
“You said you wouldn’t judge me!” Kizros shouted, pushing himself off the table. The atteapir grumbled at losing her lap, ears flicking in agitation, but at least her tail didn’t burst into flames.
Ragnar shook his head, wiping a hand down his face. “I didn’t say anything, but… that’s not judgement.” He groaned, shaking his head. “Maybe actually tell me what’s going on and why this is bothering you so much instead of speaking in cryptic sentences. Start from the beginning.”
Kizros blew out a long breath but finallyrelented. “Well, you know how I was called in to deliver the rune cuffs and make sure the humans weren’t carrying any diseases? Well, that’s all I was going to do, but then Argeth had one more human that he couldn’t find a sponsor for…”
Once he started, he couldn’t stop. He told Ragnar about how pretty he thought Aofe was at first glance, even though she didn’t have a tail, because she had these fascinating things called freckles and dyed her hair blue. But she was also brilliant and worked so hard—sometimes to her own detriment, which was why he’d come here today. He told Ragnar about the sunshine and the smiles and the way his parents had treated her the other night which made him want todosomething with his anger.
But he also explained why all of that was a problem. How Aofe never left the shop except to go into the greenhouse. How she hadn’t seen any of Heck beyond their little bubble, and that, selfishly, Kizros felt glad he had her to himself. Except that meant she couldn’t truly know if she liked Kizros or not, or if it was just because he was always there. If her limited ability to go out on her own, or the fact that she needed the sunshine to live, was the only reason she was staying. If the stupid work program that had initially tied them together was also a weight dragging her down and shackling her once more.
Throughout the entire information dump, Ragnar watched with perhaps more focus than Kizros had ever seen. Once, he thought Ragnar bounced his knee nervously—when he was explaining how Aofe had called him out foravoiding her after she was sick—but the atteapir hadn’t flinched.
Out of breath, Kizros finally reached a point where he was mostly just repeating himself. He hung his head in defeat. “I don’t know what to do.”
Ragnar sipped from his teacup—comically small in his hands, despite still being standard demon make—before gently setting it back on the table. He seemed both lost in thoughtandpatiently waiting for Kizros to finish before he spoke, which was something only Ragnar could do.
“What I think…” he began, and Kizros leaned forward in his seat, anxiously waiting for the advice his friend would give. Ragnar paused, not dramatically, but because Kizros was so antsy, it felt as such. “I think I do not understand humans.”
Kizros’s shoulders deflated.
“But,” he continued, “this human has put her trust in the kindest, most honorable demon I know, so she obviously has a good head on her shoulders. If she is as smart as you say she is?—”
“She is.”
“—then I do believe she has already given you an answer that should assuage your guilt.”
It’s not because of the sunshine.
Aofe had given him an answer, and Kizros had still doubted it. Which meant he was doubtingher, and… well, shouldn’t he believe her? Shouldn’t he trust her just as much as she was trusting him? Hadn’t she told him, to his face without any shame whatsoever, that she wanted him?
The atteapir nuzzled into Kizros’s lap again, and he found himself scratching the enormous ears as they flattened in contentment. “I like Aofe. A lot.”
Ragnar nodded. “Then stop wasting your time here. Take the runt and go.”
Runt. That explained the size. Except… “I’m not taking a fire starter into my home, Ragnar.”
“She can’t create flame,” the gray demon explained, eyes downcast, and Kizros wondered if it was in empathy for his own inability to use magic. “I believe her skulk abandoned her, but perhaps they were victims of the latest monster attacks in the Dreadmoor. She’s been perceptive around the stables, and I do believe will be of service to Aofe, as well as a good companion to you both.”
As if in agreement, the atteapir chirped and managed to blink all of her eyes in sync.
13
A WHAT?
Aofe
The potion bottle slipped through Aofe’s fingers, clipping the edge of the table and beyond her fumbling grip before shattering on the ground.
“Suffering sugar,” she groaned. She gripped a crutch, using it to lower herself to her knees to clean up the glass.
Again.
