31
Azrail kept a close eye on every one of his family as he, Kheir, and Maia stepped into the dimly lit shop, engulfed in the scent of dust and astringent fluids.
"Ah, the rest of your entourage is here," Isak said to Jaro with a flash of a smile.
Azrail marked the mischief in his eyes and kept an even closer eye on him, closing the door behind himself and crooking a finger at his dark smoke power just in case Isak turned out to be a danger.
The room was small and cloying, not as welcoming or as comfortingly cluttered as Heron's healer shop. Here, everything was dust-covered but neat and precise, as if the previous owner had been particular about his wares. Other than shelves full of liquids, bottles, and instruments Az didn't know the use of, a desk sat off to their left, and a tight staircase squatted in the far corner, mostly in shadow. A single window let in paltry light, the grime on the glass rendering it muddy.
Az scanned potential exits, glad the door was within reach even if he wished he could keep it in his line of sight. At least Ark was deeper in the shop and watching the door from the corner of his eye, the line of his body tense and ready for trouble.
"I'm Isak, as you probably know," Jaro's brother introduced himself, dark brown eyes glimmering as he looked them over. Did he not sense Maia was his mate? He gave no sign that he thought any different of her than the others.
"Let me guess," Isak went on, leaning on the messy desk against the shop's dark teal wall and crossing his ankles. "You're the mate," he said, waving a lazy hand at Maia. "You're the best friend." He pointed at Kheir. "And you two are their bodyguards." He grinned at Azrail and Ark, lopsided and careless. "And you must be ... father of the bride?"
"Close," Jaro said with a little laugh.
Bryon's rough face turned red at the latter comment, his mouth in a flat line. "I'm not that much older," he growled.
"Don't mind him," Maia said to Isak, aiming a smirk in Bryon's direction. "He was hoping you'd be older. He wants someone his own age to play with."
Isak laughed, no hint in his demeanour of the man who'd cried out his brother's name and limped across a road to strangle him in a hug. He raked a hand through his chin-length dark hair, a move to draw attention, and said, "I may walk with a stick, but I'm sorry to say I'm young and dashing. Sorry, my man."
Bryon glared fiercer, his nostrils flaring.
Whatever he was about to say was disrupted when bare feet thundered down the steps at the back of the room and a dishevelled young woman froze at the sight of them.
"Oh," she breathed, giving Isak a narrowed look. "People."
She did her best to pull the dress barely clinging to her body up her shoulders, covering her sizable bosom, but there was nowhere near enough fabric to cover her legs, too.
"Hey, I have a dress in that fabric," Maia said with a beaming grin. "Mine's less rumpled, though."
And likely back in her wardrobe in the palace.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Jaro asked, his freckled face softening with a welcoming smile. "I'm Jaromir, Isak's brother."
"Isak?" the dark-haired woman asked, and then snorted. "Oh,Vermillion, how heartbroken I am to learn that you deceived me in this way." She slammed a hand to her chest in dramatic fashion.
"I like her," Maia stage-whispered to Azrail, peering up at him with shining golden eyes. "Can we keep her?"
Az nearly choked. "No."
She grinned, elbowing him lightly. "As afriend," she emphasised. "Not a plaything."
Azrail shot her a loaded look, a smirk tugging at his mouth. He had one plaything, and he was more than content to remind her of that as soon as they were done here. Maia flushed, scowling.
"I'll see myself out," the woman said, hauling up the bodice of her dress as she crossed the shop on bare feet. "Nice to meet you lot, whoever you are. Vermillion, it was fun, but let's never do it again. Way too rough for my tastes."
Maia straightened, a dangerous light in her eyes, and now Azrail was the one elbowing her.
"I thought you didn't want him?" he mouthed.
She rolled her eyes and didn't reply, watching as the dark-haired woman crossed the shop with more dignity than Azrail would have mustered in her position. She kept her chin high and met their stares one by one, a dimple appearing in her cheek.
"I'm Dani if any of you strapping men want someone to warm your bed tonight," she said when they parted to let her to the door.
"We're taken," Azrail said with a quicksilver grin, draping his arm over Maia's shoulders and full of pride that he could publicly claim his mate as his. It felt far less dangerous to do so here in Venhaus where most people didn't recognise them.