Page 5 of How Not to Charm Your Human Colleague (Falling for Demons #2)

PERENNIAL BLOOM

Aofe

A ofe’s gaze whipped to the demon in shock. Surely he hadn’t said apothecary .

The tight aisles between tall shelves filled with very breakable glass items kind of shop?

And he wanted her as an assistant?

Rosalind had mentioned this was a better fit than working the post, but really? How was she suited to work in an entire shop of expensive breakables with crutches?

“What do you think?”

She jolted out of her panic to find Kizros’s beaming face looking at her. That smile, such a contrast to his enormous frame and strong jaw, unfortunately did nothing to calm the panic once again rooting itself into her chest .

But Aofe was a master of deflection, so she pasted on her own smile and said, “I love it.”

Which was the truth, once she shoved her panic down and told it not to come back until she was alone.

The exterior was breathtaking. A gray-brick facade highlighted the front of the shop, pillars woven with deep purple and blue vines framing dark windows.

She could just make out the outline of shelves inside, but then Kizros was grabbing his bag and the papers from the cart and encouraging her out of it.

He didn’t seem bothered by her slow descent, only stood nearby and continued to stare at her—which increased the pressure and time it took for her to exit without showing how much her legs ached.

But the moment she was clear of the cart, it took off down the street, and Kizros was leading her to the door.

“I’ve run this shop for twelve years now.

Threw everything I had into the building and the start-up materials.

Took an apprenticeship when I was eighteen, spent eight years studying the craft with the best, and when he decided to retire, I bought up his inventory and a better location,” he said as he unlocked the door.

Considering Kizros had no qualms about staring at her, Aofe didn’t feel so bad as she watched his hands work the keys.

Everything about his movements and shape were all so human-like, it was almost more curious than if he’d been entirely monstrous.

Five fingers, an appropriate number of knuckles, and a body that bent in all the right places .

But then there were the things that set him apart.

The soft green of his skin, and darker green of his hair and horns.

Claw tips that extended from his fingers instead of nails.

A tail which, upon closer inspection, was much thinner than Goldy’s and ended in a blunt spade instead of spikes.

And she was fairly certain she’d seen him flash a fang before, which had made her unintentionally flinch away.

Though she was almost entirely positive he was harmless, sometimes bodies would react to a perceived threat whether it was truly there or not.

“Take a look,” Kizros said, and even with those black eyes, it was a safe bet to assume he’d meant that as an offer to study himself as well as the now open shop.

Aofe was more brave with his back turned, so she climbed the single stair and stepped inside to the chiming bell overhead.

Without the moon and starlight, it was much darker inside, but she could make out the shapes and the reflections of hundreds of glass vials.

Plants—not greenery, though she could make out some of that color among the masses—climbed over every surface, tangling with the vials but somehow seeming to cradle them in the darkness rather than threaten their perches.

Light flared behind her, with it a soft warmth, and Aofe whipped around.

Kizros stood in the doorway—which seemed massive around even his large frame—a small whiteish-yellow light glowing from his palm.

He reached overhead, and that light left his hand, pulsing out from the ceiling and spreading wide to illuminate the shop.

“How did you do that?” Aofe gasped, staring at his non-glowing hand as he lowered it. “Magic?”

He frowned, stared at his palm, then brought another light to its surface. Just as quickly, he squeezed his hand and it disappeared. “We all have this gift. There is color variation, depending on our magic, but it is the most basic of our skills.”

None of what he’d just done seemed basic to her. She’d witnessed magic ! And not the destructive kind that she’d been warned human sorcery was, but something beautiful and warm.

“What do you think?” he asked, gesturing behind her.

Aofe had almost forgotten about the interior of the shop, but now she turned to take it in.

A rainbow of color greeted her, from vials to plants to artwork, all stretching in either direction.

Deeper to her left, shadowed by the giant shelves, looked to be a workroom door, and to her right was a tall counter where she assumed most people brought their purchases or made requests.

The shelving behind that desk was mostly rolls of parchment, but beyond that, she could see another shadowed hallway.

Despite all the glass and breakables, Aofe noticed a glaring oversight she’d had upon learning of his shop.

The aisles were massive.

There was so much space between each shelf; she could be comfortable walking between them without fear of bumping anything fragile.

Sinful sugar, of course it was massive—the demons were huge. And with tails flicking left and right, it was obvious they’d need a little more space to move around.

Kizros hovered behind her, hand rubbing the back of his head. “I know it’s a little small, but?—”

“It’s beautiful,” she said, and truly meant it. Not just because her earlier panic was floating away, but because it really was lovely inside.

“There’s so much color and life in here,” Aofe said, letting go of her crutch to touch one of the purple vines before second guessing that decision. For all she knew, these sorts of things were poisonous to humans.

But to her horror, the vine wiggled and then seemed to unstick itself from the edge of the shelf to reach for her.

She squeaked and jerked back, only to run into a solid chest. Hands folded over her upper arms to steady her, and a rumbling laugh followed.

“It won’t hurt you. They’re just curious,” Kizros said, then removed one of his hands to reach out. The vine undulated as it separated from the shelf, twisting gently over the demon’s fingers—clawless fingers, Aofe noticed—before poking itself toward her again.

“Are you sure I can touch it?” she whispered, dangerously tempted to pet the magical plant regardless. “There’s not something in here that could poison or eat me?”

“Unless it’s from the Dreadmoor, which I would never have out in the open, everything in the shop should be perfectly safe. Though don’t go chugging anything on that shelf,” he said, pointing toward the back. “Those are particularly strong, even for demons.”

Aofe lifted a finger toward the purple plant, still a little unsteady. The thing seemed to match her tremor, and despite her efforts, the distance didn’t seem to close.

A large green hand slid underneath her forearm, softening the shakiness of her fingers as it took their weight. Almost instantly, the plant connected with her fingers, a cool contrast to the warmth of the demon’s touch.

“This is Tim, an iostritimisannah. Under the right conditions, they can pick up the behavior and intention of who planted them. He’s one of my oldest.”

Aofe giggled as Tim explored the exposed skin of her wrist, avoiding the metal Kizros had called a rune. She twisted her head so she could look up at the demon. “Wait, if someone was trying to steal something from the shop, he’d react? He’s a guard plant?”

Kizros blinked, then huffed a laugh. “Yeah, I guess he is.”

She played with Tim for another minute before he slowly retracted to curl against the shelf again.

It wasn’t until the vine was still that Kizros slowly removed his arm from holding hers up, and while Aofe felt guilty about needing his assistance for something so simple, he almost looked nervous as he turned away and rubbed at the place where they’d touched.

Quickly, he began talking about everything she’d be doing as an assistant for him, and the confusion was lost in a panic to keep up.

Aofe followed him diligently around the shop, wishing she had been able to sit and write it all down as he rambled on, but when he repeated the same instruction for the fourth time during the tour, she realized something.

“You weren’t prepared for hosting me, were you?”

Kizros froze mid-sentence, then adjusted his glasses. “Ah, you figured that out?”

She swallowed, feeling a small glimmer of hope fizzle out at the thought of being reassigned to another demon for work. If he didn’t have use for her, who would?

But it was Kizros who was faster than her disappointment.

“It’s not a problem,” he said, almost too quickly, but there wasn’t a twitch in his eye or a look of queasiness to his features, so she believed him.

“I just have to get used to an assistant again, and with our species being different, I’ll admit I don’t know much about human ailments or any medicines you might need.

But you have that experience, and I’m sure the other humans might come down with… ”

It was endearing how he continued to ramble in search of some ailment that humans might require that wasn’t extreme enough for a doctor—or healer, as she’d heard them called here.

For as intelligent as Kizros seemed, there was a nervous quality to his speech that softened the way he’d explained everything in the shop.

He spoke to her plainly, safely, as if he was truly excited to have someone to share details with and hoped she’d enjoy the work.

“I have some experience,” Aofe said when his rambling became a series of non-word sounds. “Not exactly formal ,” she added, “but I can come up with a list and see if you have the appropriate ingredients?”

Kizros’s features brightened as he blurted, “Yes!” He cleared his throat, tempering his excitement as he leaned casually on the front desk.

Tried to look casual. “I mean, yes, and I can always direct to the appropriate substitute. There’s a workroom behind the desk with all my books, and you are welcome to study them— most of them.

There are human ones, too, and all the proper recipes and steps for certain potions.

I can teach you some runes for preservation or bonding reactive agents, too. ”

Aofe was already feeding off his excitement—mind whirring as she considered first what might be most helpful for the humans stuck here—that she dismissed the possibility she could perform magic.

She herself had a long list of medicines she’d only just now realized she’d have to recreate, but she could ask the other girls about their history. Find out what they might need.

“A contraceptive.”

It wasn’t until there was a clattering that Aofe realized she’d spoken aloud. Kizros’s arm had slipped out from where it was supporting him, sending papers, empty vials, and trinkets scattering to the floor. His long tail whipped behind him in a frenzy.

“A con—” His voice squeaked, then his hand snagged his tail, and he held it firmly against his side. “A contraceptive? ”

Her cheeks burned, and if Kizros’s darkening cheeks were indication, she’d guess he was also blushing.

“Monthly bleeds,” she blurted. Though she was unashamed of natural bodily functions, explaining to a demon the details of human women’s reproductive systems was not how she thought she’d be spending her evening.

“They can be pretty painful, and something like a preventative can reduce the symptoms or length, and I know the ingredients for one that prevents them entirely. Do, uh, female demons not?—”

“I’m familiar,” Kizros said, readjusting his glasses. “Not monthly, but we are familiar. If you make a list, I can have the ingredients ready for you in an hour?”

Aofe blinked, but not about the speed at which he’d be able to gather ingredients that took her almost a week to collect in the human world. “You’re not tired?”

“No.”

“Oh,” she muttered, glancing out the shop window where there were still a surprisingly high number of demons walking around. “I just thought, it’s the middle of the night?—”

“It’s mid-afternoon.”

She whipped her head back to Kizros who was frowning. “The moon is out.”

That seemed to confuse him further. “Yes?”

“So it’s light out through the night?”

“It’s light out right now.”

Aofe gaped at him. “This is your daytime?”

She peered back at the window, noting the cooler blue tint to the moon. No yellow reflections from a sun.

Kizros joined her on the other side of the counter, following her gaze. “I did not consider how much you’ve gone through today and how much of an adjustment this is. You should rest. We can talk more tomorrow.”

Aofe didn’t mean to sound ungrateful, but an exhausted weight began to settle on her shoulders at everything she’d need to learn about this place… and what she was meant to do about the lack-of-sun situation.

She expected Kizros to lead her toward the front door, but instead he gestured beyond the front desk. “My apartment is upstairs. There’s a second room with all the amenities you’ll need… I think.”

“Is there somewhere I can take a bath first? Or collect the water?” She didn’t even want to think about the challenge it was going to be to carry it upstairs with crutches.

He raised a brow. “You have your own bathing chamber. With running water at whatever temperature you desire. Why would you need to collect it?” At her dumbfounded look, Kizros shook his head. “That’s new to you, isn’t it?”

Aofe nodded silently.

“Well, then,” he said, gesturing to the hallway and the stairs. “I’ll leave some of my clothes for you when you finish, and while you’re resting, I’ll get to work on securing your own wardrobe. Anything upstairs is free for you to use, eat, or borrow. ”

She was too enticed by the idea of a hot bath, too exhausted from such a change in her life, she didn’t even ask about how she’d pay him back for his generosity.

First, she’d conquer the stairs. Then, she’d sleep until her body decided to have a proper freak-out about her situation and new problem of a missing sun.