Chapter Eighteen

“Hey, David! Some of the packages you were waiting for came!” I called, carrying in a stack of boxes.

“Careful with those!” David sighed at me. “You’re going to break something in those heels. I swear, you’re trying to make me go gray.”

“Hmmm? This little human works here?” A man in unfamiliar attire shifted to look at me. He looked unimpressed at first, but soon his foxlike ears flicked forward, and his chartreuse eyes glinted with mischief. “She’s too cute to be a mere servant. Sell her to me.”

“Celia is an employee,” David stated, narrowing his eyes at the man. “You’ve been in the Underrealm for too long. Slavery is illegal these days.”

“Slavery?” The foxy man laughed. “You misunderstand me. I want her to become one of my wives. She would make a wonderful addition to my collection.”

A thinner fox-man leaned toward the first and whispered something, earning a heavy sigh.

“Celia,” David gave me a pointed look, “go get something to eat. It’s past your break time.”

“Uh…okay.” I edged away from the odd trio before fleeing to the cafe.

The fox-people looked human aside from the ears, tails, claws, and fangs. Well, there was their hair and eye colors too. How was that kind of behavior acceptable, and what was I supposed to do about it?

I sighed, staring at my toes. More and more inhuman clients had been coming by the shop for the past two weeks, yet I hadn’t seen Tsukiyo since the evening we had watched a movie with Emily and Richard. Maybe I really had screwed up.

After shaking off the negative thoughts, I hurried with my lunch and then returned to the main floor of the store. David was still in deep discussion with the fox—kitsune perhaps—so I was able to sneak past unnoticed. There was an utter mess of books strewn about, and I intended to fix it.

Maybe a mess was an understatement. The entire section on folklore and mythology looked like a hurricane had come through. I wasn’t too surprised—ever since inhumans became visible to everyone, we’d had a constant flow of customers coming in looking for books on the newly re-encountered races. Most of the city was still in a panic, but it had gradually lessened as time passed.

Instead, new problems had begun to surface. A lot of people were taking issue with my family enslaving the inhuman races, while others saw it as protecting humankind. Thus, a new political rift had formed—on a worldwide scale. No country had laws to support fair treatment of inhuman citizens or visitors, and most didn’t care to create them. Most saw a workforce to enslave, much as my family did.

Others wanted inhumans to have the same rights as the rest of us.

Then, there was a handful of countries that treated the inhumans with reverence.

“Celia, dear, you’re still working in this squalor?” The woman’s voice made my blood run cold. I whirled around to find my grandmother, father, and three skydwellers standing behind me.

Father’s skydweller gave me a subtle nod as I looked between the group.

“Squalor?” I sighed, deciding to bite back any snarky comment. “People have been making a mess when they come in. That’s all.”

“But you can see them now, can you not?” Grandmother placed a hand on her two Skydwellers’ shoulders. Both men grit their teeth. Their eyes were obscured by masks, but I didn’t see any blood.

“Yes…why?” I frowned. What did my grandmother want from me?

“Read this.” Grandmother shoved an open book at me. When I opened it, all I saw were blank pages. “What does it say?”

“It’s blank. Did you want me to write something in it?” I asked, reaching for a pen. Grandmother snatched the book away protectively.

“You still can’t see this manner of writing?” Grandmother rose her voice as the front door jingled. I glimpsed long black hair before Tsukiyo tucked himself out of sight. “You can’t truly be talentless! With such an incredible bloodline, we were on track to have you become the most powerful member of the family after me!”

“What are you on about?” I sighed, rubbing my temples. The skydwellers’ mouths twitched, but they seemed practiced at keeping their expressions passive.

“Celia, the Nightingale Family is the most powerful family of sorcerers and sorceresses to have ever existed!” Grandmother exclaimed. “Between your paternal and maternal bloodlines, you should have inherited great power. I even had tests run to make certain you weren’t another man’s child! Something, somehow, went wrong. Were you cursed, perhaps?”

“I hate to intrude,” Tsukiyo purred from somewhere behind me. His forearm came to rest on my shoulder as he stopped beside me. “But I am a busy man, and David assigned Celia to consult with me. We have business to discuss.”

“Is this the new boyfriend?” Grandmother squinted at Tsukiyo, oblivious to her skydwellers and my father stiffening. “Interesting. I never thought Celia would fetch something other than trailer trash, yet she’s caught herself a corporate genius?”

I stuttered, my face growing crimson from both embarrassment and anger. “W-we’re no—”

“Celia is a delightful, intelligent, and driven young woman, Mrs. Nightingale,” Tsukiyo stated, narrowing his eyes at Grandmother. “Whatever your thoughts of her may be, I think she should be treated like royalty.”

“Smooth words from an even smoother businessman. I’m sure you even have her believing them.” Grandmother flapped one hand. “Do with her what you will. She’s useless to my family. I don’t have the patience to deal with arranging a formal marriage for her.”

Once the intruders were all gone, Tsukiyo let out a low snarl and stuffed both hands into his pockets. I wasn’t sure if I should apologize for my grandmother’s behavior, so I kept my mouth shut and turned to look up at Tsukiyo instead…and the delicious, fitted pants and double-breasted vest he wore. Ugh. If those pants had been leather, I’d have died on the spot.

“That was Quinn Nightingale?” Tsukiyo muttered. “Is she losing her touch?”

“I wouldn’t know.” I linked my hands behind my back and forced myself to tear my eyes away from the undone collar of his dress shirt—or more specifically, what the v-shaped gap showed. “You said we have business?”

“We don’t. You just looked uncomfortable.” Tsukiyo smiled and reached up to brush my hair out of my eyes. After, his gaze wandered down to my turtleneck dress and high heels briefly. “Are…you going on a date tonight?”

“Hmm? No. This is how I usually dress.” I glanced down at myself, then back at Tsukiyo. He looked…relieved. “Oh! I’m probably keeping you from whatever you came to do, though. I’ll get out of your way and back to work.”

“I’d…” A soft sigh escaped Tsukiyo. “I’ll come check on you again once I’m done speaking with David. It’s been too long since I could come visit.”

With that, Tsukiyo turned and strode away, leaving me wondering what he actually wanted to say. The soft, fleeting touches made me think that, maybe, there was more to the kiss he’d given me than I’d first thought.

I shook my head hard and busied myself with tidying the mythology section of the store. That, at least, was something I could control and understand. Something I could tangibly gauge.

It wasn’t long before the Aloryi king returned, a slight but pleasant smile on his lips. “Are you alright, Celia?”

“I’m fine. Though, I’m curious where you came from, if you don’t actually have business with me.” I peered up at him. The sheepish smile he shot me didn’t help.

“Ah… You see, I have been keeping an eye on you in case something like that, or worse, happened,” Tsukiyo murmured, bringing the back of a knuckle to his lips as he thought.

“Keeping an eye on me?” I frowned.

“I haven’t been able to leave my home this past week, so I chose to use a scrying technique to watch and make sure you were safe,” Tsukiyo answered, his expression apologetic as he lifted a hand to cup my face. “I should’ve asked if—”

“You know how to scry?!” I exclaimed, leaning forward and grasping his hand in my excitement. “Do you think you could teach me? I’ve always thought it was fascinating! Even if I probably can’t do it, I’d love to learn more about it!”

“Ah…” Tsukiyo grew still for a moment before clearing his throat and giving me a pointed look. “My hand… Modesty, Celia.”

“Huh?” I followed his gaze, then felt a spike of adrenaline rush through my system when I realized I’d dragged his hand practically between my boobs. I quickly released him. “I-I’m sorry!”

“You don’t need to apologize.” Tsukiyo gripped my chin between his thumb and index finger when I glanced away from him. “Perhaps you forgot, but I’m still a man. That dress of yours is tempting enough as it is. Simply…restrain yourself if you aren’t willing to see where your antics might lead you.”

I stared at Tsukiyo in surprise, but probably not for the reason he expected. “Tempting? Me? I…kinda thought you and your people would find humans gross or ugly.”

“You…” Tsukiyo sighed in disbelief. “This isn’t the time or the place. Yes, I find you tempting, yes, that means I find you attractive. No, I’m not ‘just saying that.’ Furthermore, you’re interesting. Only people who aren’t worth your time would think otherwise.

“With all that said, I really do have to go back to work. My sister and Mayar will meet you here when your shift is over and see to it that you get home safely. I’ll come by when I can, if it isn’t too late.”

Before I could respond to the whirlwind of information, Tsukiyo turned and walked away. I opened my mouth and moved to catch him, then stopped. I had no idea what to say, and he had responsibilities to deal with.

His ass really does look amazing in those slacks, I tilted my head slightly, watching him until he rounded a corner. Sighing, I returned to work, feeling slightly dazed.

Tsukiyo found me…tempting. That was an interesting, useful piece of information. I smiled to myself. The idea of being a little bolder crossed my mind. It was fun to theorize what his reactions to blatant teasing or taunting would be. But…I knew damn well I didn’t have the guts for that. Just being in normal pajamas around him had felt inappropriate!

Even so, I wished I had the balls to be more forward. Not even just with Tsukiyo, but in general. I hated being so…timid, all the time. But I also didn’t want to deal with confrontation—I had enough of that from my family over the years.

I closed my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. At the very least, I had to figure out a way to not be dumbstruck every time Tsukiyo did or said something that could be construed as affectionate. Maybe he saw humans as potential, adorable pets, or maybe he was attracted to me in a more meaningful way.

Whichever it was, it wouldn’t go anywhere if I went blank over every little thing.