Page 2 of How Not to Charm Your Human Colleague (Falling for Demons #2)

A COLORFUL HUMAN

Aofe

A ofe stared at the giant gold demon across the infirmary and pulled the blanket over her shoulders tighter.

She’d already assessed the thick, leathery tail—scary—the spiked barbs at the end—intimidating—and the massive body one and a half times her size—terrifying.

Not to mention the leather armor, three dozen blades, and two maces the size of her head that only a creature that big and muscular could swing.

No, running wasn’t an option. Not that she could run.

Not that she wanted to run. Plus, the metal bracelet on her wrist would prevent that, wouldn’t it?

Magical runes meant to keep them stuck in…

they’d called their city Heck. She’d gone from one type of captivity to another, even if this one se emed at odds with what she’d grown up believing of this realm.

At least, that’s what she was hoping for, thanks to some vague reassurance from one of the other humans who was working with the demons for their protection.

That was hours ago, and the absolute worst thing for Aofe—okay, not the worst worst, but pretty dang close—was to be left alone with her thoughts.

Hence the staring contest with the somewhat intimidating demon sent to watch her. He wasn’t all that scary if you ignored his size, the animalistic growls he sometimes released, or the twisted horns over his head that looked to be an even better weapon than the steel maces he carried.

What she hadn’t figured out yet were those depthless, black eyes that didn’t blink .

Or maybe they did, and this demon took his job of watching her way too seriously.

He hadn’t moved a muscle in over an hour.

But what did she know? She was a human stuck in their world.

Maybe she was the weird one for blinking?

Aofe cocked her head to the left, the blue strands of her dyed hair coming free from where she’d tucked them over her rounded ear.

The gold demon mirrored her in a freakishly smooth movement, his eyes tracking the shift of her dangling earrings.

If he hadn’t been sleeveless—shirtless, really, though the millions of leather straps weaving around his body gave the illusion of being clothed—she wouldn’t have seen the muscles of his neck and chest shift.

All deceptively human , or human-adjacent.

It was very clear that despite some of their human-like features, they were definitely not the same species.

The door to her room flung open, and Aofe jolted where she sat on the edge of the bed, blinking at the intrusion. By the time she silently huffed that she’d lost the staring contest with Goldy, he’d already turned to greet the newcomers.

The first to enter was another giant demon, skin a pastel orange with pink arching horns, and clothed in what definitely had to be a tailored suit.

His white undershirt was cut low to reveal more of his pastel orange skin, the jacket a beautiful sunset shade of red and pink.

That fabric hid the waist of his loose, similarly colored pants hanging to polished leather shoes.

Again, everything about his appearance and attire was human- ish , but not entirely human.

Oh, yes. Goldy was definitely shirtless under those weapon straps.

“Councilor,” Goldy said with a bow, and Aofe had to remind herself that it was perfectly normal for her to understand a gigantic, horned demon she’d been raised to fear.

Well, remind herself it was the new normal.

“Tonomoch, thank you for your time. Ozirax is preparing the debriefs and further instructions. After that, I believe your services are dismissed.”

Aofe wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved that her guard was so quick to leave without so much as a glance back her way.

Forgettable meant he wasn’t threatened by her or considering smashing her bones with his maces.

Forgettable also meant he wouldn’t think twice about her, and if she were in danger again, she might really appreciate those weapons.

“Here we are…” the councilor began, deep voice pulling her attention back. His nose was buried in a stack of papers, flipping through them and scanning the contents. He paused at one page, squinted, then tried bringing it closer to his face as he tilted his head.

“Aofe,” a voice supplied from behind him, and Aofe almost jolted again as the pretty human she’d met earlier poked her head from around the giant demon.

Rosalind was her name, if she remembered correctly from her panicked state.

She’d been the one to ease Aofe into their new reality when she’d awoken—the only one who’d had her panic managed, organizing what she’d called a work program for the other humans stuck here.

“Huh,” the orange demon hummed, still looking at the page with a frown. It was with utter horror that Aofe realized he was trying to read her handwriting, which meant those were the papers she’d painstakingly filled out with all her qualifications and previous experience.

And also her limitations.

She did her best not to bring attention to the crutches leaning on either side of her legs, or the small tremor currently making her fingers twitch.

The councilor gave up trying to read and flipped through the papers. “Sorry it took us so long. I have been holding interviews with the volunteers.”

“Volunteers?” Aofe asked, though it was more a squeak as she immediately pictured demons lining up to eat them, auction them off, or hunt them. Plus a dozen more ideas, each more horrifying than the last, that all made her fear the new cuff keeping her prisoner here.

“We’ve interviewed sponsors ,” Rosalind corrected, oblivious to Aofe’s panic.

She gestured back to the orange demon with her own cuffed hand.

“Councilor Argeth is the Horn of Culture in Heck, and offered to sponsor me in this world so I can continue to help the relations between us and the demons. I’ll work in their offices and act as liaison between the humans and the work sponsors to ensure everyone is protected and able to integrate into day-to-day life.

It’s safe here, and”—she blushed and looked away—“probably a better scenario for most of us, even if we were able to return.”

Aofe nodded, not entirely sure what to say to that. Did she wish they could return to the human world? No, definitely not. But the human world was familiar. At least she knew what to expect when she walked down the street or ate at a restaurant or tended her workroom.

Argeth tucked her papers under his arm with an oddly charming smile that both reassured her and made her squirm under his endlessly black eyes. “Looks like you’re all set up, Opha?—”

“Ay-fa,” Rosalind quickly corrected.

“Aofe,” Argeth amended. “There are some… extenuating circumstances surrounding a few of the other women”—that didn’t sound reassuring—“so their situation will lo ok different, but we’ve graciously opened positions at our post for mail runners, along with generous living quarters and…”

Aofe didn’t hear the rest, too caught up at the thought of being a mail runner.

Deliveries meant she’d be on her feet for long hours of the day.

It meant sitting and standing constantly, moving locations, adjusting to new transportation in a city she didn’t know the size or layout of.

She wasn’t helpless on her feet, but this wasn’t a great start to her time here.

Time that could be shortened if she didn’t earn her keep.

But Argeth was still talking, so she pasted on the best smile she could afford even as panic settled in her chest.

“… I’m sure you’ll have no issues settling in to Heck.” He clapped his large hands together, the hint of a scaled tail swishing behind his back. “I know this situation is unfortunate, but?—”

A small hand on his elbow had him quieting, and then he was bending down so the human could murmur into his ear.

Aofe admired Rosalind’s bravery at touching the giant as she curled tighter into her blanket, unsure if she even had the guts to ask for something warmer to wear or a different job after they had clearly worked so hard to get this set up in such a short time.

Neither request escaped her lips when she saw—somehow—the demon’s black eyes dart to her bed—no, the crutches—then back to Rosalind. He pursed his lips at whatever she was saying, then seemed to consider something before nodding .

“Right,” he announced, standing back to his full height. “I think there’s been a…” Aofe watched him struggle for the right word, all while his gaze remained awkwardly on her face, before he finally settled on mumbling, “I’ll be just a moment.”

Almost as quickly as Goldy had left, Argeth hustled through the door and let it close behind him.

“You’ve really been busy, haven’t you?” Aofe asked when she knew they were alone.

Rosalind’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I just want to do what I can to keep us safe.”

“Are we?”

The other woman’s features shifted before she gave a resolute nod.

“Yes.” She clasped her hands, then pulled them away when her fingers met the metal of her cuff.

“I’ve made sure our work and living accommodations are more than acceptable.

Argeth was a little overzealous about spinning this positively for his platform that he might have overlooked some things, but that’s why I’ve been following him around, reminding him we are human, with human limitations. ”

Aofe kicked one of her crutches. “I don’t want to be an inconvenience.”

Rosalind shook her head. “You’re not. He initially assigned you to be with two other women, thinking that would help us feel safer, but it’s not a good fit for you. I met someone earlier that I think might be better suited to help you.”

A knock on the door interrupted Aofe before she could ask how Rosalind was handling everything—besides just throwing herself into work making sure they were safe.