Chapter 105: The Office, the Orbit, and the Breaking Point
Chapter 105: The Office, the Orbit, and the Breaking Point
Elyn’s POV
I pored through the papers spread across the desk, floor, and every available flat surface like my life depended on it—which, given the subject matter, felt uncomfortably close to the truth. Names blurred into dates, dates into locations, and locations into a messy web that refused to sit still in my head. I traced lines with my finger, muttering to myself as I tried to see what Ignivar and Naviel might have missed. Not because they were incompetent—far from it—but because networks like this thrived on blind spots. And I hated blind spots.
I also hated people who benefitted from selling their kind, be it humans or demons, especially children. Children who hadn’t even gotten the time to explore the world. Children who should have been given the chance to choose what they wanted. I hated people who took that opportunity from them.
I didn’t care that Zorathys had stationed himself in the far corner of the office, half-shadowed, with the kind of rigid discipline that meant he was losing a fight with sleep.
I didn’t even care that he wasn’t even trying to help... knowing Zorathys, it was better he was at that corner fighting sleep than him being right next to me, giving me more work.
His head dipped. Corrected. Dipped again. At one point, he blinked so slowly I was convinced he’d fully passed out standing up. Given the fact that I’d seen Zorathys sleeping in the air, I wasn’t even surprised. Not one bit.
Ignivar hovered near the main desk, methodical and precise, handing me files when I asked. Naviel stood close too, but not too close as to crowd me—just enough that he could be helpful.
Morthen worked silently. He and the other shadow demons in the office were arranging files and jotting down things I circled.
And Vaelory... Vaelory was... well, Vaelory was everywhere, and she moved with an eagerness I never even realized she had in her.
She moved with an eagerness that bordered on suspicious, always a step ahead, always conveniently positioned near Naviel. Every time he reached for something, she had it. Every time he turned, she was already there, holding a paper like it had personally requested her assistance.
Try as I might, I couldn’t ignore it. I mean, I noticed it, and I am not even going to lie—the fact that she was always around Naviel wasn’t surprising at all. Not even in the slightest.
I knew from the first time she saw Naviel that she had a crush on him. Her eyes had literally had stars shining out that day.
It was kind of comical seeing it, though, especially since Naviel was obviously uncomfortable and was more focused on getting the job done so he could get out of the office and just get some sleep.
"Naviel," I said without looking up, "I need the list of recovered children cross-referenced with the border towns. The ones that reported disappearances but didn’t file formal claims."
He nodded and turned to look for it.
Before he could even take two steps, Vaelory was there, paper already in hand. She dipped her head slightly as she offered it to him, a smile curving her lips. It was small and shy... it didn’t fit her, because I’d never known Vaelory to be shy.
Naviel paused, surprised, then accepted it. He gave her a nod.
"Thank you," he told her.
Vaelory smiled wider. She tucked her hair behind her ears and even blinked coyly. I’m just glad I had what is normally referred to as self-control, because if I didn’t, then I’d be laughing outright.
Naviel cleared his throat and handed the paper to me. I took it with a nod and went back to work, firmly deciding that whatever that was, it wasn’t my business. I had demons to catch. Preferably all of them.
Oh, that’s a lie. I was only going to pretend like it wasn’t my business while I did my business, while also minding their business. Spectacular plan.
I went through the list before looking up, finding that I still needed something else—another list—and since Rin had been the one in charge then;
"Rin," I said, "pass me the family registry from the Hellfire territory."
Rin turned, spotted the paper, and frowned when she realized it was closer to Vaelory than anyone else. "Vaelory," she said, gesturing, "pass it to me so I can give it to my lady."
Vaelory didn’t respond, though.
I frowned but kept pretending to mind my business while also minding theirs.
"Vaelory," Rin repeated, louder.
There was no reply.
"Human maid."
Silence.
"The human maid called Vaelory who always faints when she sees other demons. Have you suddenly lost your hearing?"
There was still no reply. Instead, Vaelory touched her ears like they itched.
And I knew then that things were about to take another turn. Rin wasn’t going to let that slip. The fact that she knew Vaelory could hear her but was pretending not to was not going to be let go.
Rin’s eye twitched. "So now you can’t hear me? But Naviel didn’t even have to speak before you passed him the paper, right?"
Vaelory huffed, finally turning, cheeks pink. She picked up the paper with exaggerated slowness and shoved it toward Rin. "There," she said to Rin. "Now can you stop disturbing me? I’m trying to work here."
Rin snatched the paper from her and handed it to me. I nodded my thanks, eyes never leaving the text.
I thought maybe everything was done then. That perhaps Rin would let it go since she got what she wanted from Vaelory, but I should have known better. This was Rin after all, and she had clearly decided that work hours were now interrogation hours.
She turned back to Vaelory. "What is wrong with you?"
Vaelory frowned at her. "I don’t understand what you mean."
Rin let out a sigh of exasperation. "Of course you wouldn’t understand. Your ears seem to not be working after all."