Page 3 of Lessons with the Mothman

"It's in your writing," I pressed.

She stepped forward, and I fought the impulse to pull the note out of her reach, keep it for myself.

"Oh shit," Astraeya murmured. "I forgot about that. Where did you find it?"

"It was stuck to a file. What is it?"

"My office has been a mess with all the reorganization lately," Astraeya said.

What is it?I wanted to shout, wings rustling impatiently at my back, antennae twitching.

"It was an email to the agency that I found in the unassigned stack. A woman looking for collaboration from companies like ours to help her research monster sexuality and interspecies relationships. I just thought it was…" Astraeya trailed off, staring at me. "Oh!"

"You thought it wasinteresting," I said, looming over the petite succubus slightly. "And you didn't mention it to me?"

Across the room and from under his breath, Rafe sang an ominous, "Dun, dun, duuuun." Rafe could stir soup and shit at the same time, apparently.

Astraeya rose—slightly, she was still very short—to Rafe's bait, and I resisted the urge to sigh. A succubus was no slouch, and I hadn't been trying to pick a fight. The fine and sensitive hairs on my body all rose to attention as an oppressive throb of energy pulsed in front of me.

"Contrary to what you seem to believe, Elias, I don't actually report to you. I occasionallyenjoyworking with you, and you have always served the agency's clients to extreme satisfaction, which is why we are so willing to cooperate with your whims, but I don't have to share every one of my notes or files or thoughts with you," Astraeya said, prim and powerful all at once.

"Of course not," I said, surrendering the note to her slim fingers, in spite of the urge to tuck it away in my pocket. There wasn't any useful information on it anyway, aside from the woman's name—Victoria Dempsey, old-fashioned and teasingly sweet. "Is the Agency interested in assisting her?"

Astraeya relaxed and shrugged. "She's not really asking to be a client, although she could certainly book an appointment to watch, but pairing the right workers together to create something authentic would be?—"

"Is there anything stopping you fromreferringher to a connection through the agency?" I asked.

Astraeya blinked and then stilled, studying me. I wasn't entirely sure of the entire breadth and limitation of Astraeya's ability as a succubus. I wasn'tarousedexactly at the moment, but I was excited, intrigued, and perhaps she was able to sense those emotions as well.

"Honestly? Probably," she said, frowning. I opened my mouth to object, and she raised a hand to pause me. "Inmostcases, referring an employee of the agency for outside work would be a breach of contract, even if Miss Dempsey has no intention of utilizing them in the same manner. However, you're a freelancer."

"I am."

"And a highly connected one. With a studious nature," Rafe chimed in from the background.

I dipped my head in acknowledgement, but kept my gaze on Astraeya. She wasn't convinced yet.

"I don't want to get you in trouble with the Agency," I said, which was true. It didn't mean I wouldn't act even without her assistance, or that I would feel especially bad if Astraeya did suffer consequences, but it wasn't mygoalto create a problem for her.

"It's not that," she said softly, eyes narrowing. "You've been…flighty lately."

"Is that a pun?" I asked, my wings flaring briefly at my back.

She rolled her eyes. "You reject most clients, take a few and then change your mind about them. I just want to makesure you'll take this woman and what she needs for her work seriously."

Taking someone seriously, offering them what they needed, was exactly what I was looking for.

"I will," I said. "This interests me."

"Even if all she wants is an interview?"

I can offer so much more than an interview, I thought, recalling the note perfectly. Testimonials. Demonstrations. She needed someone with a connection to the world of monsters, one who could cast a wide web for information and willing participants.

"I certainly have plenty to offer in an interview, more than what might be conveyed in a single session," I said.

Apparently this didn't reassure Astraeya, because her eyes narrowed further. "I don't understand why this is the one."

The one. A commonly used phrase in regards to loving partnerships. Were the words a coincidental slip of the tongue? Probably. And yet…

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