Chapter 280: Cry Babies, Unsettling Gazes, and the Pest Who Agreed Too Enthusiastically
Chapter 280: Cry Babies, Unsettling Gazes, and the Pest Who Agreed Too Enthusiastically
Elyn’s POV
Azerion sighed then, rather loudly, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders — which I was very certain he didn’t.
"Aziren," he said, shaking his head, "you should get your head checked."
He paused and then turned to Retheris. "Maybe you too should get your head checked."
Aziren tilted his head in confusion.
"Why?" he asked softly, his brows furrowed.
"Because there is nothing likeable about the King," Azerion said flatly. "Nothing at all."
The moment the words left his mouth, shadows appeared.
They rose from the ground around Azerion like a slow-moving wave, wrapping around his small frame with gentle but unmistakable intent. Not tight enough to hurt. But I didn’t doubt that if Zorathys wanted it to hurt, then it would in the blink of an eye.
Azerion went very still, and Zorathys smiled.
"Be careful with your words, snake," he said, his voice as lazy as ever, but with something sharper beneath it. "Just because the Queen is here does not mean you can say anything."
Azerion’s jaw tightened.
His blue eyes, round and soft, flickered toward me for just a moment. Then back to Zorathys.
Zorathys continued, tilting his head slightly.
"I am trying to be on my best behavior," he said. "Do not make that difficult for me."
I rolled my eyes.
Again.
Because apparently that was just going to be my default reaction to everything Zorathys said for the rest of my existence.
"Didn’t you just claim," I said, turning to him, "that you’re always on your best behavior?"
Zorathys looked at me.
And then he smiled. It didn’t take over his face, but the smile was real — unlike the one he had given Azerion.
"Yes," he said simply.
Then he turned back to Azerion.
The shadows retreated slightly, loosening their hold but not disappearing entirely.
"Be on your best behavior," Zorathys told him. "I am watching you."
Azerion glared at him.
The glare was impressive, honestly. For someone so small, he had managed to pack a considerable amount of hostility into that single look. His blue eyes narrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line, and the jewel on his forehead seemed to pulse once.
Zorathys just smiled.
He did not look away.
He did not blink.
He simply stood there with that same pleasant expression, letting his shadows curl lazily around his feet, and waited.
Azerion’s glare deepened.
"If you do not want to cry like you did the last time," Zorathys said pleasantly, "I suggest you control your gaze."
There was silence for a while and then we heard a gasp followed by a chuckle, both from the same demon.
"You cry?" Velira asked Azerion.
Zorathys nodded. "He does. He’s quite a cry baby too."
"You’re a cry baby," she said, looking at Azerion with undisguised delight.
Azerion’s head snapped toward her.
"I am not a cry baby," he said.
"But you are," Velira insisted. "The King just said you are."
"The King was lying," Azerion said.
Zorathys tsked. "Now watch your words, snake. We are supposed to be on our best behaviors today."
"I’m on my best behavior. You are the one who lied and said I was a cry baby," Azerion said to Zorathys, who just stared at him.
"Is that a tear I see?" Velira asked.
"Shut up, you succubus," Azerion said.
"You snake!" Velira said.
Zorathys turned to me then.
"Do you really think we can take these pests with us? I don’t think they are ever going to be on their best behaviors today," he told me.
I sighed and rolled my eyes.
"Did you do this on purpose?" I asked him.
He gasped, and his shadows moved like they too were shocked by what I just said.
"Why would you say something like that?" he asked me. "I’ve been on my best behavior from the moment you said I should be on my best behavior."
I gave Zorathys a look.
"You may be a good liar, but you forget I’m getting to know you better, and I know when you lie," I told him.
He paused and then he smiled.
And instead of replying, he turned and immediately paused, that look of irritation back on his face because Aziren was still staring at him with bright eyes.
"Firefly," he said softly.
"Yes?"
"Are you certain this pest is not broken?"
I laughed at that. I couldn’t help it.
"He’s not broken," I said. "He just has good taste."
Zorathys looked at me.
Then at Aziren.
Then back at me.
"I am," he said slowly, "reserving judgment until later. He has good taste, yes, but he has an unsettling look."
Aziren just beamed at him.
The flames in his hair danced higher.
And somewhere next to me, I heard Velira whisper to Thalira.
"Azerion is definitely a cry baby," she said.
"I am not," Azerion whispered back.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am—"
"Children," I called out, and they both stopped immediately.
I smiled at them.
"We have a tour to start," I said. "So unless you want to keep arguing about who is a cry baby—"
"We weren’t arguing," Velira said quickly.
"Velira."
"We were having a discussion," Azerion added.
"A discussion," I repeated.
"Yes," they said together.
I looked at them.
They looked back at me with matching expressions of innocence that fooled absolutely no one, and then I sighed.
"Right," I said. "A discussion."
Beside me, Zorathys made a small sound.
"Now, pests," he began, and Aziren nodded.
Zayrion adjusted his glasses and said in a very tiny voice.
"We are both pests."
"You behave like one," Zorathys said, and Aziren once more nodded.
Zayrion only just sighed.
Zorathys then spoke up again, his gaze on Zayrion.
"One of you agrees you guys are pests," he said, and Aziren nodded again.
Honestly, at this point I was very certain Aziren would nod at anything Zorathys said.
Zayrion just sighed and shook his head.
"Now, you pests should be on your best behavior, else Firefly will send you all back to your parents," he told them.