“—I should also inform you Kizrosis in the building right now. If you want to save yourself a trip and pick up some gossip, I hear he’s causing quite the stir in his father’s office.”
Rosalind glanced down at the envelope in her hands, pretty sure she had an idea as to why. Because here was hope. For Kiz, for Aofe, for the other humans.
Maybe even her.
She stood and pointed a finger at Mozke. “We’re coming back to the hornless newborn thing.”
“They’re also tailless, in case you were planning on popping out a few.”
Rosalind was about to tell Mozke that wasn’t happening for alongwhile when a boom rattled the building. She managed to steady herself, confusion momentarily silencing her brain.
She turned to find Mozke frowning. “I don’t like that look.”
“I don’t like that sound,” Mozke answered with a shiver. “Usually a monster attack.”
“Are you serious?” Fear twisted in her stomach.
“The guard will handle it.”
“But the other women might not know that! Oh my gods, Aofe’s alone right now.”
“Go catch Kiz before he leaves,” Mozke urged, then shouted at her back, “And don’t leave the building until the all clear!”
Rose was sprinting, thankful only a single hallway separated her from Karroth Kosteri’s office because she caught Kizros’s tail fast enough.
“Kizros! Wait!” Fucking demons and their long legs, but she managed to catch up to him and pass off the envelope.
He tucked it away, already retreating and building momentum to run again. “I’m so sorry, I’d love to stay and talk?—”
“Go,” Rose said with a wave. “Make sure she’s okay.”
“Thank you.”
“Just invite us over when you get it set up! You know our deal, but I get first dibs!”
The only request she’d made of the green demon—that she got to see how they fixed up the greenhouse first. She’d never loved sunshine, but after weeks without it, she could admit that maybe she’d not appreciated it fully before.
Despite the urgency and fear, Rosalind smiled as the demon turned and left her to return to his home.
She’d gathered early on in their conversations that Kizros was the best of the best, especially for someone as brilliant and kind as Aofe. Seeing how obviously he cared for her… hells, how obviously helovedher, it was easy to feel hope in his presence.
That in itself was terrifying, and as she stood in the hallway with demons so casually returning to their offices and work despite the knowledge there was a fucking monster out there attacking Heck, she finally understood her own feelings and the root of her fear.
“Rose?”
What perfect and confusing timing that Lazerath was suddenly standing in front of her. Hisshirt was a little rumpled, worry etched into his features as he looked her over.
“Beautiful, are you okay?”
Rosalind blinked. “Yeah, I’m… Why are you here?” Her voice came out rougher than intended, but then all the worst-case scenarios to why Laz was standing in front of her flooded her mind. “Oh my gods, is Dav okay? Are you? What about?—”
“Hey, hey, we’re good. We’re safe,” he said, pulling her into his body. Arms and tail wrapped around her, a comforting blanket she suddenly needed more than air. “I was on my way to surprise you by bringing lunch.”
Rosalind peeled herself away enough to look him up and down. “You aren’t holding anything.”
“I sort of dropped it in a rush to find you. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be around to explain that this is normal.”
“Monster attacks are not normal, Laz.”
