Page 45 of A Fae in Finance
A moment of complete silence and then, “My lady.”
I stood up and turned to see the Gray Knight in the doorway.
She raised an eyebrow, taking in the room. I glanced around, too: Lene and Doctor Kitten on the bed, her brown fur against his white; Gaheris, frozen before her, and apparently in such distress that his head-fires had gone out, leaving him looking a little bit sad in his too-red tunic; and me, half-turned by my chair, hands clasped nervously in front of me, biting my lip.
I should note that when I bite my lip, I do not gently take the center of my lower lip between one upper tooth and my lower teeth, making an alluring red dent and drawing focus to my mouth. No. I gnaw the entire right side of my mouth until the skin is taut, drawing my jaw forward like an off-ramp.
“Lady of the True Dreams,” she said, inclining her head. She walked past Gaheris and came to stand by me at the desk. “I assume you received my email.”
“I was incorporating the changes when you walked in,” I said, gesturing to the two screens. She smelled like… synthetic vanilla? Had the Gray Knight put on perfume? I felt myself sway closer to her, sniffing.
“Does it require clarification? I have come to assist you, if needed.”
I stopped myself, nostrils dilated, and met her eyes.
“We can go through them together,” I said, “since you came all the way over here.”
On the bed, Lene rolled away from Doctor Kitten and opened her right eye to stare at me. I frowned back, in a way that must not have been menacing. She smirked and then raised her very human-looking hand to her own mouth and started grooming it. I wondered if her tongue felt like sandpaper.
The Gray Knight closed her eyes and brought her hands together in a complicated twisting gesture. When she pulled them apart, an acorn hovered between her palms, covered in sparkling gray filaments.
The gray filaments were connected to her fingers, too, like a cat’s cradle. The farther she pulled her hands apart, the more they stretched the sides of the acorn; it grew until it was wider than her torso and as high as her waist. She flicked her left hand sharply, and the acorn spun to the floor; when it stopped, it had a seat carved into one side, and supporting legs that kept it upright.
She settled into the seat, hands on her lap, and stared up at me. I gaped back: The acorn had stretched between the fibers of her magic, pulled wider like taffy at her touch. My heart pounded.
She jerked her chin, indicating that I should sit.
I thumped into my chair next to her and grabbed the mouse, brightening the screens. I moused over to the Excel file, but the Gray Knight’s hand covered mine to keep it still. I stared down at her hand where it covered mine—satin-smooth brown skin, without the ridged texture of prominent veins. She had a little scar on her ring finger. The backs of my fingers tingled where her fingertips brushed my knuckles.
“Before we review the financial model, we should discuss the definitions for the contract you sent over yesterday,” she said, releasing my hand and gesturing to my Outlook icon.
Shaking off the discombobulation from her touch, I nodded. I pulled up the email I’d sent her and opened the draft agreement.
Understanding my purpose in Faerie would be far healthier for my cortisol levels than exchanging lingering hand touches with the Gray Knight. I highlighted the first point,Teach, and looked at the Gray Knight expectantly.
“You will provide six one-hour lessons per human week,” the Gray Knight said.
I stared at her.
She stared back.
“This is the beginning of the negotiation process,” Gaheris prompted, from somewhere behind me.
I turned to stare at him instead. I’d honestly forgotten that he was there. Had he created a portal? But when I glanced past him at the area he’d demarcated, there were lightly pulsating gray vines pouring from a sliver in reality. I looked away, because if you can’t see something, it isn’t happening.
“Sahir told me you would need guidance,” he said, by way of explanation, while I stared determinedly at my computer screen. “You must negotiate the terms of your bargain.”
“One lesson per human week,” I said to the Gray Knight, who I assumed would protect me from the… portal situation… if need be.
“Four.”
“Two.”
“Two lessons for two hours each.”
Shit—was Doctor Kitten safe? I glanced over my shoulder at him and found Lene curled entirely around his body.
“Fine,” I said to the Gray Knight.
