Page 11 of Zodiac Monsters

“So you can just tell when someone isn’t human? Just by looking at them?”

Oh? Was she starting to figure out that she wasn’t human? Or was that ignorance all an act, and she’d been simply trying to disguise as one? Maybe I’d misread, and she was worried I’d figured her out rather than deeply in denial.

“It’s in the eyes, mostly.” I adjusted my glasses. “But it can also be discerned via scent, mannerisms, occasional slips from human idiosyncrasies, or accidental partial shifts while excited. Particularly in the case of young shifters, it’s not uncommon that a fang might appear in a moment of arousal, or eyes might turn to slits while surprised. Though non-shifters, like ogres or golems or mermaids, typically hide using enchanted accessories or cloaks. But even with magical enchantment, it’s fairly obvious who is who if you’re observant enough.” I started with the generic answer. I was going to feel her out a bit more before I explained her tell.

“You do have unusual eyes.” She pondered on that for a moment.

It seemed that it never even occurred to her to look into her own reflection and better examine her rose glittered irises. Maybe she believed those gorgeous sparkles were ordinary. Or maybe she didn’t look at her own reflection closely enough to notice. I couldn’t say which, but both were oddly tragic.

“As do you.” I offered, rather bluntly.

“Not really.” She shook her head. “Maybe by shifter standards, but for a human, brown is pretty common and boring.”

By the devil, woman. I knew she wasn’t an idiot, but she was painfully oblivious. “There are a few other tells that have nothing to do with mannerisms.” I supplied next. “As we noted earlier, scent can tell you a lot. Not to mention—” The door chimed, and I cut myself off before I could finish that thought. My sigh was purely internal, while my face wore a perfect smile, as I turned to greet the new customer.

Lila was just as quick to revert to a flawless customer service front. She was a natural at hiding in plain sight.

I finished helping the young human woman who was looking for a new coat, mildly annoyed at the interruption. I had to accept that this wasn’t the time to be discussing such sensitive information anyway. It would be nice to get Lila more fully alone, in a setting where no one would interrupt us, but to ask such a thing was much too forward at this point.

When yet another handful of customers entered the shop, some human, some beast, we both agreed to continue at a later time with a silent nod.

That was fine. There was no rush. Maybe I just had to talk her into an overnight shift on one of these full moons.