I cursed myself for letting my guard down, even if it was just Lyon. "Yeah just give me a minute to pick up."
He knew what I meant, Lyon was one of the few people who knew what I really was, him and Kari, and they both knew how uncomfortable I can get by staying in my human form. In a rush of magic my daemon features were hidden again, making my body feel cramped once again but not nearly as bad as it had been, and I quickly picked up the feathers that had fallen off my wings and hid them in my pocket.
I unlocked the door and opened it with a smile. "Sorry! Paperwork was killing me."
He nodded and gave me a knowing smile. "The festival is coming up but more people means more crowns and more contracts. But that aside! I present the new Jayde!" He stepped aside with a flourish as Jayde embarrassingly tugged at his new clothes.
"Well what do you know. There is a presentable young man under all that after all," I teased and messed up his, now short, hair. "You clean up nice kid."
"Thanks Miss Ro- I mean Sapphyre," he quickly corrected himself after I shot him a look. His embarrassment turned to excitement as he looked passed me and his eyes fell on Shade. "You have a dog?"
"He's not a dog," I grumbled as Shade greeted him happily. "He's a wolf, a full blooded Eyrisian wolf."
Jayde began scratching behind Shade's ears and the large black canine happily slumped to the floor and rolled over on his back in hopes of belly rubs. "Sure acts like a dog to me."
"Only around people he likes. Don't be fooled I've seen him rip a man's throat clean out on two seconds flat."
Jayde was unperturbed by this and continued to shower Shade with affection. "I bet he was just being protective is all."
He's not exactly wrong I guess. "Why don't I show you to your room?" I suggested and dismissed Lyon with a nod. "It's just a few doors down."
As we entered the room Jayde's eyes widened at the sight of the it and he ran his hands along the surface of everything he could. "And this whole space is mine?"
"Yours, and yours alone. I know it's pretty empty right now but as time progresses you can fill it with whatever you want."
He nodded, still in awe, and removed the jacket Lyon had gotten him, revealing his scars. I frowned and knelt in front of him, holding out my hand. He took it, a little confused as I turned his arm over to get a better look at them.
"How did you get these?"
"My mom died in a house fire," he gently took his arm back and began to nervously rub the scars. "She got trapped inside and I tried to lift a burning beam to free her. I couldn't do it though. She died and I got these scars."
I felt a pain in my chest and smiled sadly at him. "You're very brave Jayde. I'm sure your mother would be proud of you," I rolled the sleeves of my shirt up, revealing my own scars. "Scars are just proof that you've lived," I pointed to a few of them. "I got this one from a mugger in the slums who tried to rob me. This happened in a bar fight a few years ago. I didn't start the fight but I sure finished it. Here I got bit by a wild dog. It was scared and injured but now it lives happily with a friend of mine. I've got a burn scar of my own from an attempt at helping in the kitchen. Best to leave some things to professionals."
Jayde reached up and tapped at the scar that marked the left side of my face, down my left eye. "What about that one?"
I smiled sadly. "I got that one for breaking a promise I could no longer keep."
"What promise?"
I stood from my crouched position with a groan. "That is a story for another time. It's still pretty early. What do you say to learning the ropes a bit?"
He nodded eagerly and I led him back downstairs and into the kitchen where an amused Kari stared at us as she hovered over our cook, Galen. "Come to teach the new blood the ropes?"
"He's gotta learn sometime and he's pretty excited to get started as soon as he can. I figured he would mostly be cleaning up after customers and bringing out food but I don't see any harm in Galen teaching him how to cook."
Jayde peeked around Kari and up at the chef. He was a tall, muscular, man with shoulder length black hair he kept tied back while he cooked and I watched Jayde's eyes quickly fall to his right hand where he was missing part of his ring finger.
"He'll tell you he lost it in the jaws of a sea monster he wrangled while fishing but really he just learned the hard way how to be good with a chef's knife," Kari winked at him.
"Ever had Lycan boar?" Galen glanced down at Jayde, keeping his neutral expression.
"I don't think so," he answered and Galen dipped a spoon into the stew he was making and gave it Jayde, who immediately lit up after eating it. "That's so good!"
I gave the big chef a few good pats to the back. "Galen here is one of the best chef's around. He would be a good teacher if you were ever interested in learning some of his recipes."
After an enthusiastic nod from Jayde, I left him in the company of Kari and Galen and almost collided with Lyon on my way out of the kitchen, but I could tell the second I met his gaze that something was wrong.
"What happened?"
"He sent another one," Lyon sighed, crossing his arms in annoyance.
I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. "Deilos sent another dog?"
"And this one is different than the others, more stubborn, doesn't scare easily. And there's something about him that seems...off."
"I was really hoping the last one was...well...the last one," I grumbled as we made our way back to my office.
Lyon stopped me outside the office doors. "You know he wont stop sending people until you agree to his deal. Deilos isn't used to hearing the word no."
"My answer will never change," I seethed. "I refuse to be one of the king's dogs."