Shady

“I used to be a translator.” Ky shrugged. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned that, either. Oh well. “Drafted a few contracts out that way.”

“I know,” Ky murmured with a nod. “I’ve been. It’s… unpleasant.”

“Oh, wow!” Ky’s eyes went wide. No wonder she seemed so confident, perhaps on the border of arrogance. Ky probably would, too, if she’d been an actual employee of someone ...

“Oh, very nice.” Six years seemed like more than enough time to Ky to get a reliable feel for the family. But she wasn’t going to question it. “What did ...

That seemed like dangerous territory, to agree Tomhas was better than Gaius, when she was standing in Gaius’s home talking to Gaius’s employee. “I’m very fortunate and greatly appreciate his ...

Ky flinched at that. Holy hell. Imagine being one of Michael’s children. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want that at all. Or even Cecily, for that matter. The woman ...

“Great!” Ky smiled. “I appreciate the help.”

Ky continued to be startled by Elise’s brisk demeanor. “Um… honestly, you’re the expert here, so I’ll defer to your judgment… but, um, well… I guess I’m not super interested ...

Well, that was frustrating. She wasn’t sure she necessarily cared about astronomy to that degree, she just wanted to know what the orrery was. The floating sky balls could worry ...

“Yes, ma’am,” Ky answered. “I know nothing about it whatsoever, honestly.”

Ky laughed at that, startled but amused at the joke, and followed her out. She felt like she should make a joke in return, but the only ones that came ...

“Yes, ma’am.” Ky smiled and dipped her head. “I’m Gaius’s new niece. I’ll be staying here the next few months, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of me.”

“Um…planets, I guess?” Ky buried her hands in her pockets. “I want to learn more about the thing upstairs.”

The state of this office made Ky anxious, and she felt like she should help, but she didn’t have the first idea of where to begin. So instead she awkwardly ...

“Hi, sorry to bother!” Ky said, very much feeling like she was intruding— or at the very least, interrupting for no reason. “My name is Ky Ruiarc. Are you, um, ...