Liora had worked for difficult people before.
Impatient managers.
Rude customers.
Coworkers who believed that because they arrived five minutes earlier, they had somehow become superior human beings.
But none of them compared to her new employer.
She had known the man for approximately ten minutes.
Already, she disliked him.
Not enough to quit.
The salary was far too good for that.
But enough to mentally insult him every few minutes.
Liora walked through the corridor carrying the list of tasks she had been given.
She looked down at it.
Clean the west wing.
Organize the library.
Check the kitchen supplies.
Assist with the garden.
Prepare dinner.
And somehow make sure everything was completed perfectly.
She stared at the list.
“Does he think I’m a maid or a small army?”
A passing servant glanced at her.
Liora smiled.
“Nothing.”
She continued walking.
The west wing took longer than expected.
The mansion was enormous, and whoever designed it clearly believed that walking was an acceptable substitute for transportation.
By the time Liora finished cleaning, her arms were aching.
She moved on to the library.
The library was beautiful.
It was also enormous.
Rows upon rows of books covered the walls.
Liora stopped in the middle of the room.
She had never seen so many books in one place.
For a moment, she forgot she was working.
She walked toward one of the shelves.
Her fingers brushed over the spines.
History.
Magic.
Politics.
Medicine.
Ancient kingdoms.
She pulled out a book.
Then another.
Then another.
“This place is dangerous.”
Not because of the magic.
Because she could spend her entire salary buying books.
She reluctantly returned them.
Then she noticed something.
Several books were out of order.
Liora frowned.
She fixed them.
Then she fixed the next shelf.
Then the next.
Twenty minutes later, she stood back and admired the perfectly organized shelves.
She smiled.
“There.”
A voice came from behind her.
“You weren’t asked to reorganize them.”
Liora nearly jumped.
She turned.
Lucien stood at the entrance.
She placed a hand over her chest.
“You really need to stop appearing like that.”
“I walked through the door.”
“Quietly.”
He glanced at the shelves.
“You changed the arrangement.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they were wrong.”
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
“You’re certain?”
“I’ve worked with books for years.”
“You’re a maid.”
“And apparently one who can read.”
Silence.
Liora immediately wondered if she’d gone too far.
Lucien looked at her for several seconds.
Then he said,
“Leave them.”
She blinked.
“You’re not angry?”
“No.”
“Good.”
She turned back toward the shelves.
“Because they were bothering me.”
“I noticed.”
Liora looked over her shoulder.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He left.
She stared after him.
“Strange man.”
By evening, Liora had discovered another problem.
Her employer didn’t eat properly.
She noticed it when she entered his study carrying his dinner.
The tray from lunch was still untouched.
She stared at it.
Then at him.
Then back at the tray.
“You didn’t eat.”
Lucien continued reading.
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten since morning.”
“I’ll eat later.”
“When?”
He didn’t answer.
Liora sighed.
She put the new tray down.
“Eat.”
His eyes lifted.
“You’re giving me orders?”
“I’m preventing you from collapsing.”
“I won’t collapse.”
“That’s what everyone says before they collapse.”
Lucien stared at her.
Liora folded her arms.
“You hired me to take care of the household.”
“Yes.”
“Taking care of the person who lives in it seems reasonable.”
Another long silence.
Finally, he picked up the fork.
Liora smiled.
“Good.”
She turned to leave.
“Liora.”
She stopped.
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
She looked back.
For the first time since she had arrived, his expression wasn’t completely cold.
It wasn’t exactly a smile.
But it was close.
Liora blinked.
Then quickly looked away.
“You’re welcome.”
She left the room.
Outside, she leaned against the wall.
“Why was that almost pleasant?”
She shook her head.
“No. Absolutely not.”
The next morning, Liora discovered the garden.
She had been sent outside to check the herbs.
At first, everything seemed normal.
Then one of the flowers moved.
Liora stopped.
She stared at it.
The flower stared back.
At least, she was fairly certain it had.
Its petals slowly opened.
Inside were tiny, sharp-looking teeth.
Liora stepped backward.
“No.”
The flower snapped at the air.
“Absolutely not.”
She turned around.
Lucien was standing behind her.
She pointed at the plant.
“That thing tried to eat me.”
“It’s harmless.”
“It has teeth.”
“Yes.”
“Why does a flower need teeth?”
“Magic.”
Liora stared at him.
“Of course.”
She looked back at the flower.
The flower snapped again.
“You know what? I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that.”
Lucien’s mouth twitched.
Liora narrowed her eyes.
“Did you just laugh?”
“No.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You almost did.”
“I suggest you return to your duties.”
She walked away.
Behind her, she heard a quiet sound.
A very quiet laugh.
Liora smiled despite herself.
Maybe the demon wasn’t completely hopeless.
Then she remembered his attitude.
Never mind.
He was still a demon.
That afternoon, Liora returned to the library to finish the work she hadn’t completed the previous day.
She climbed onto a small wooden stool to reach a book on the highest shelf.
She stretched.
Almost there.
Her fingers touched the spine.
Then the stool shifted.
“Oh—”
The next thing she knew, strong arms caught her.
Liora froze.
Lucien stared down at her.
She stared back.
Neither moved.
Then she realized exactly how close they were.
Her face heated.
She tried to step away.
Her foot slipped.
Their faces moved closer.
Their lips brushed.
Silence.
Complete, horrifying silence.
Liora’s eyes widened.
Lucien’s expression became unreadable.
She immediately stepped backward.
“I can explain.”
He stared at her.
“Can you?”
Liora opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
“No.”
Lucien looked away.
“You should be more careful.”
“I was being careful.”
“You fell.”
“The stool moved.”
“You were standing on it.”
“It was the only way to reach the book.”
“There are ladders.”
Liora looked toward the other side of the library.
There was, indeed, a ladder.
She looked back at him.
“That feels unnecessarily relevant right now.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Perhaps you should return to your duties.”
Liora nodded quickly.
“Yes.”
She hurried toward the door.
Then stopped.
“Wait.”
Lucien looked at her.
“If you’re planning to fire me because of that, please don’t.”
He said nothing.
“I really need this job.”
His expression softened slightly.
“I haven’t decided.”
Liora took a breath.
“Then give me three days.”
“Three days?”
“Let me prove I can do the job.”
He studied her.
“And if you fail?”
“I’ll leave.”
“No argument?”
“No argument.”
A long pause.
Finally, Lucien nodded.
“Three days.”
Liora smiled.
“Deal.”
She hurried out.
Lucien remained in the library.
He looked toward the stool.
Then toward the door.
For some reason, he found himself almost amused.
Liora walked down the corridor.
She touched her lips.
Then immediately dropped her hand.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It was an accident.”
A pause.
“A very embarrassing accident.”
She took a deep breath.
Three days.
She could survive three days.
She had survived worse.
Besides, there was no way she was going to let one stupid accident cost her the best-paying job she’d ever had.
She straightened her shoulders.
“I’m keeping this job.”
Behind her, Lucien watched from the library doorway.
He couldn’t help wondering whether she actually understood how unusual she was.
Probably not.
And strangely enough, he wasn’t sure he wanted her to.