Page 15

“That’s right,” she said quietly, glancing around her to see a massive creature at the end of the walkway.

It was almost like an ox, but it didn’t appear to have any hair, covered instead with leathery wrinkles and not one but two sets of horns.

Ember might have been afraid of the thing if it weren’t hitched to a cart filled with packages and gently nibbling at the deep blue moss growing on the stone fence.

There was also one of those drayks, this one lighter blue, curled up on its back like a cat, and if the snack-sized creature wasn’t worried, then it was probably safe… ish. “And you are…”

“Brioni, but you can call me Bri. I have something for you! Well, lots of things actually.” She lifted a satchel up between them, smile never fading. “Can I come in?”

“Um, I’m not sure?—”

“It’ll just be a minute.” She was still smiling, but her eyes had gone wide and baleful as her copper brows arched upward with a hopeful plea.

Ember hesitated, but the resemblance to one of her old employer’s children asking for sweets was uncanny, and she couldn’t help but nod and step aside.

Brioni swept in like a summer breeze, skirt swishing as she spun to take in the entry then peeked quickly into the kitchen and finally flitted into the parlor.

“Oh, it’s so cozy in here,” she said, hugging the bag to her chest as her eyes flicked this way and that.

“Is that fire magic?” With a gasp, she leaned toward the hearth and fearlessly stuck her hand right up to the flame.

Just as quickly, she snatched her hand back and stuck a finger in her mouth. “It’s so hot!”

“Well, it is fire.” Ember eased into the parlor, worry swimming in her stomach. Even her own footsteps felt too loud in Severath’s house, but here this woman was, a sudden whirlwind of noise .

“But Alamar’s hearth has purple flames, and they’re only, like, a little warm.” She shook out her hand and shrugged as she plopped the bag onto the floor. “Well, it’s super neat anyway. Now let me see, I have so many things for you, but I want to start with…this!”

Ember’s instinct was to swat away the woman when she came at her, but when she stopped an inch away and held up a shield between them, Ember kept herself still. Never mind that the shield was actually just a dress, and Brioni was tipping her head this way and that, observing her.

Only a few inches taller, Brioni radiated a kind of warmth if also plenty of nervous energy. She nodded as she admired the garment, sighed heavily in a pleased sort of way, and then tossed the dress over Ember’s shoulder.

“There’s more!”

Ember tucked the book from Severath’s shelf under her arm so she could use both hands to feel the fabric.

Another fiber she couldn’t place, but she knew it would be sturdy and yet soft against the skin.

The sleeves flared out at the elbows, which wasn’t at all practical, but they looked like they would actually fit, not fall over her hands and off her shoulders like the outfit she’d been given in the infirmary. “Where did this come from?”

“Camdran and Valgoth, these two demon ladies—well, duh, what else would they be? Anyway, they came into the post on our first day, and after they got over seeing humans, which was actually pretty funny if you don’t count the part where one of them screamed and made Kat cry a little, they went right out and collected a whole bunch of things for us.

Isn’t that nice ? Most stuff was too big and had, like, tail holes and wide necks for horns, but Kat hemmed everything—she’s really good, even did this little bunny detail for me here, see?

” She lifted the corner of her skirt to show Ember the embroidery in gold and pink threads.

“Balran took our measurements when we were all conked out. She said it was for research, but I think she was just kinda nosy.” She giggled and then dove back into the bag.

“I think Kat put some hibi raya blossoms on the neckline or the sleeve of…ah, here!” She pulled a tunic from the bag with a grand flourish, its deep neckline embroidered like her skirt.

“Rosie told us you were from Kaetong originally, so we thought you would like it, but I’m realizing now that might be a little presumptuous, and I should have asked first, but to be fair we weren’t sure if we were allowed to come talk to you which seems kind of silly because here I am, talking to you! ”

Ember stared at her a long moment, waiting to see if she was done, then accepted the tunic. She draped it over her arm and ran a finger over the stitched flower. She’d never actually seen a hibi raya outside of a drawing before because she’d left Kaetong before she had memories.

“Do you not like it?” Brioni sucked in a breath between her teeth. “Oh, I’m sorry, it was my stupid idea, please don’t be upset with Kat. I bet she would redo it with something you like, she’s a genius, she can do anything, if you?—”

“No, no,” Ember said quickly, then swallowed back the crack that threatened her voice. “I think it’s…it’s beautiful. An d it’s so thoughtful, I just…” Her voice trailed off, I don’t deserve it , echoing into her mind. She blinked the sting out of her eyes. “Thank you.”

Relief drew itself over Brioni like a ray of sunshine—well, maybe more like moonshine since she’d seemed to immediately take to Heck.

“That’s great because she also embroidered a whole bunch of them all down the seam in these leggings.

” Brioni passed over a heaping armful of clothing then, a small bag filled with essentials she rattled off too quickly to be memorized, a pair of appropriately sized boots, and then sprinkled undergarments atop it all with a wink.

“And finally…” she said as she dug something out of the hidden pocket of her dress. “I made you this.”

Ember reorganized her armload to free a hand and took the small figurine Brioni offered. It was so light it had to have been made out of parchment, but it had been folded over many times and shaped into a little animal of sorts with wings and a long tail.

When she looked up at the other woman, she could practically feel the need for approval seeping out of her.

She’d inched even closer, her hands in tight fists.

“It’s supposed to be a drayk. They’re those little feathered creatures that deliver the mail.

I know I didn’t get it completely right, but?—”

“I love it.”

Brioni made a sharp squeal of a sound then and bit her lip, and that was nice, really, to have made her happy and to have received so many thoughtful gifts, but Ember’s chest sank.

She had left this woman to die, and even if that was understandable, surely they wouldn’t have been so kind if they knew the truth of why Ember wasn’t delivering packages with the rest of them. “You mentioned Rosalind. Did she…did she say about me…”

“That you killed a guy?” Brioni’s head tipped and her curls bounced like the ears of a curious dog.

Ember’s mouth fell open, but no confirmation mustered itself up through her throat. Where was the animosity? The disgust? The fear?

Brioni blew a sound through her lips and waved her hands.

“Almost everybody I knew back in Ankerick killed somebody. In fact, my father sort of made a business out of it.” Very briefly a look passed over her face that was starkly different from all the others, but when it was gone, she beamed even more brightly.

“So, no, I don’t care. And Rosie told me a little about the trial, which sounded awful by the way, but that you had to do it because?—”

“Rosalind,” she cut in, heartbeat quickening as she pushed the tribunal chamber out of her mind’s eye. “She’s okay? You’re all okay? They put you in safe places?”

“Oh, yeah! Rosie started working with this important demon on the council right away—well, she sort of made him work with her which was really smart, if you ask me—and she got us all set up with jobs and great places to live. Me and Kat are at the post—I run packages and she sorts the letters so fast I can barely keep up. Aofe was supposed to come with us, but this green guy showed up and she went with him instead, and I sort of get it because he had these cute glasses and that’s definitely some peoples’ thing, ya know?

And Kaly—oh my goodness, it’s so wild, but she’s on the guard .

Can you believe that? I mean, I guess it’s kind of easy to understand once you get threatened by her.

” Brioni chuckled to herself, a little color peppering her pale cheeks.

“And then there’s you, who I really should have asked about first!

” She looked around conspiratorially. “Are you okay?”

“Oh, uh…” Ember knew that being on house arrest wasn’t good, but she indeed felt fine. In fact, she had new clothes, a giant bed, and an endless supply of Heck’s best bread. “I think so.”

Brioni didn’t look entirely convinced, voice lowering to a whisper as she pulled a vial out of her bag.

“Are you sure? I know this is one of the guard’s houses because Balran asked me to deliver this pain tincture here, and I may have accidentally found out that some of them can be a little…

aggressive. Do you really feel safe here? ”

“With Severath?” Ember shrugged a shoulder, and the words came naturally if they were a surprise. “He’s harmless.”

“Oh, am I?”

Brioni squeaked, and Ember spun to see a hulking figure fill up the entryway. Severath wiped a linen over his face, but that did nothing for the sweat still glinting on the crimson skin of his chest and stomach as he strode into the room.

“Oh.” Brioni giggled like someone had dug a finger into her side. “Hi there.”

Ember shot her a quick look from the corner of her eye.

“Another human,” said Severath flatly. He swept a hand between his spiraling horn and the cracked base of the other one, pushing back damp strands of black hair. “What infraction have I committed now to have two of you in my home?”

Brioni laughed again, elbowing Ember. “Well, don’t worry, I have a lot more packages to deliver.

And this one’s for you, sir.” She presented the vial, walking up to the demon without even a flicker of fear.

Severath frowned but took it with a muttered word of gratitude.

She turned back to Ember. “My rounds should bring me by every week or so, I’m still working out the schedule, but if you need anything, send a drayk.

They know where to find me.” And then, as if they were old friends, Brioni threw her arms around Ember’s shoulders and squeezed her tight.

Ember couldn’t return the embrace, not with her arms so full of all the things she’d been given, but she was sure she wouldn’t have regardless. Her body stiffened, and her mind emptied of everything except the fact someone was touching her.

But then Brioni let her go, and Ember’s next exhale was neither terrified nor ragged. She was…she was okay? She had been touched, briefly if forcibly, and yet it hadn’t resulted in pain. In fact that was…that was just a hug, wasn’t it? And it had been so long since she had been hugged.

As Ember stood there, mind slowly catching up, Brioni simply slung her bag over her shoulder and flounced out the door.

Quiet fell on the house again, the quiet that Ember had been so wary of disturbing in the previous days.

It hung between her and Severath, but for once Ember did not want to sneer at the demon and scurry away.

Instead, she did her best to avoid the muscled length of Severath’s bare torso and gave him a polite nod.

“They finally delivered your clothes,” he said with a casual interest instead of animosity.

She fought the corner of her mouth turning up, but she really was pleased, so she looked back down to the pile to hide her grin.

“I didn’t expect this. It’s very—” Then her eyes went wide at the lacy underthings that were right on top.

She tugged the book out from under her arm and covered the pile while clearing her throat. “It’s very kind.”

“That wasn’t delivered.” Severath stepped closer and took the book.

Ember hugged everything else to her chest and felt as though strange hands were on her again, body tensing as she watched him flip through the pages.

“I was just tidying,” she lied. “I was going to put it back and then there was a knock?—”

“You can borrow it.” The focus of Severath’s black eye shifted from the book to her, and it was different than the times before when they stared daggers at one another. His face lost its sternness, and he almost smiled. “It’s childish, obviously, but it’s…a comforting read.”

When he offered it back, she was too embarrassed to say the only comfort she would get out of it would be the pictures, so she simply took it. Something expanded in her chest then, something that had been growing since the knock on the door and had been planted with breakfast that morning.

“Thanks,” she whispered and hurried upstairs before the strange sensation burst.