Severath.
Attie wiggled until he seemed to understand, shifting his legs wider so he was soon straddling her.
“I’m so sorry, sir. She’s not usually like this,” Aofe said, trying to wave Attie out from between his legs. She smiled at the other human. “Hey, Ember? I’m Aofe. That’s Kizros, my… uh, um, mycolleague?”
Well, at least she’d called himhers. Could be worse.
The other woman gave a half-wave, looking confused and perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the chaos.
“It’s, uh, she’s not going to slice me with her tail, right?” Severath asked.
Aofe jerked her head up in confusion. “What?”
“Atteapir tails can ignite. The fire is so hot, it can slice through their prey.”
Ember snorted, but Aofe’s wide gaze snapped to Kizros. “She can dowhat?”
“No, no,” Kizros hurried to explain, coming to stand with Aofe. “She’s a runt and doesn’t have that ability. She’s harmless.” He gave the red demon a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head nervously. “Hey, Severath.”
Severath’s arms slowly lowered as he nodded in greeting, allowing the demonlight to better illuminate his face.
Kizros hadn’t seen him since before the attack, but he’d made several potions for Balran to deliver to the demon who had been injured saving one of the other humans from the Dreadmoor. Severath had a patch covering his right eye, and considering the state of his damaged horn, he had at least started to use some of the oils on the bone and filed down the worst of the jagged break.
“Wait, Severath?” Aofe asked, gaze darting back to the red demon. “You were one of the warriors who saved us?”
The demon swallowed, glanced at Ember so fast Kizros almost missed it, then nodded carefully.
“Thank you.” Aofe gave Severath a gentle smile. “I didn’t get a chance to say it when I woke, but you should know I’m very grateful for you and your entire patrol.”
He blinked, something like surprise passing over his features before he offered her the briefest of smiles. “Of course.”
Warmth bloomed in Kizros’s chest at that gesture. At a glance, it was simple, but Aofe probably didn’t understand how profound acceptance and gratefulness was coming from one of their greatest and possibly most aloof warriors.
A warrior who was also still awkwardly straddling an atteapir. But as Aofe shifted on her feet, Attie bolted upright and positioned herself behind Aofe. Ember took that opportunity to inch closer to the red demon, her wary attention on the crowd of demons moving through the festival.
Severath cleared his throat, gesturing to Aofe’s crutches. “You are also a warrior who was injured in battle?”
“What?” she asked, glancing down, then laughed. “Oh, no. I was… it’s a human condition I was born with. Not a warrior. I just struggle to walk on my own.”
“Just because your fight looks different does not mean you aren’t a warrior,” Severath stated, so plainly that Kizros barely recognized the male when he also added—looking directly at Kiz while speaking to Aofe—“The flowers are pretty. They match your hair.”
Aofe blinked, and by the time everyone’s gaze had fallen on him, Kizros’s cheeks were burning. Someone cursed behind him as his tail thrashed, and to make matters worse, Attie’s six eyes were trained on him like she was moments away from abandoning Aofe to calm him down instead.
It was like taking one of Severath’s arrows to the gut. Part of him wanted her to recognize how much he cared for her and what all his gestures meant in demon culture, like Severath had. But if she knew, would she stop looking? If she chose him back, was it willingly, or was she simply settling because she hadn’t seen everything else Heck had to offer?
Kizros was trapped in an endless cycle of his own making. The guilt for keeping her, wanting her, versus the aching of showing her there were so many better options.
To no surprise, his selfish, primal desires won out. His tail curled around her hips, and he wrapped an arm gently over her shoulders.
Aofe met his gaze, something vulnerable passing through her eyes before she nestled into his embrace.
“Ember,” she said calmly as she turned, her eyes staying on Kizros until the last possible second. “Sorry we interrupted your evening with Severath. It’s nice to see you.”
The woman’s head tilted slightly as she shrugged a shoulder. “It’s my first time out.”
“I don’t like to get out much,” Aofe said, offering her a warm smile. “It’s a little hard for me to get around, but you’re welcome to visit the apothecary any time. Sit out in the greenhouse in silence or whatever. Oh, there’s this fruit, vefuricot, that is really good cold. You have to try it.”
Severath choked on his breath, eye going wide as his head whipped toward Kizros. He pointedly ignored the look, including the ones the women were now giving them.
