Two for Tea: Welcome to Azathé by C. M. Nascosta

Author:C. M. Nascosta [Nascosta, C. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Fantasy, Contemporary, Adult, Monster Romance
Amazon: B0BC3F7L5Y
Goodreads: 62856402
Published: 2023-09-29T05:00:00+00:00

OOTD: Unstructured maxi dress with moth-wing shawl, flats that are probably going to only be comfortable for three minutes, jeweled ear cuff.

They moved exclusively through the shadows. The shop’s windows were long and high, and the stacks of books and cases of curiosities were placed in a way that allowed the light to bounce off them all across the shop, casting long shadows for the shadowy host to traverse. She didn’t know what they were, but the shadows were a necessity.

The first time she’d realized they needed the shadows to move had been the afternoon a section of the dining room was closed off. What had started off as a dreary late morning when she’d left the house had swelled into a monsoon by the mid-afternoon, thunder shaking the building as the rain pelted down, the sky a uniform wall of dark grey cumulonimbus botting out any hope the sun might yet make an appearance that day. Hope for other people, of course. She was thrilled with the unexpected deluge, content to sit in her little nook and drink tea while the thunder rumbled all afternoon.

“Why do I get the impression this weather suits you,” they’d accused, sliding up to her table after the tea cart had made its mysterious circuit of the room, depositing plates and steaming pots to the handful of other patrons.

She grinned at the corner. A half shade darker, likely imperceptible to most people, but when your entire wardrobe was black, the differences between coal and raven and tar were unmistakable. “You’re not wrong,” she’d agreed with a laugh. “I love weather like this. Perfect for reading.”

Several candelabras had been lit around the bulk of the dining room, but the back of the room, where it opened into the glassed-roof solarium, was cordoned off. The flickering candle flames cast bouncing shadows all around the room, but the back of the room was uniform in its dimness. Shadows. They don’t need darkness. Only shadows.

Now she knew where to look. Harper liked to imagine that they were sitting across from her, enjoying savories and scones, sipping hot tea instead of leaving her alone . . . until she realized she knew nothing about them. How rude. They ask after you all the time. They know about your home life and mental state, your degree; they know you’re a witch. You don’t even know what they are!

She got her opportunity the very next day. Storms were in the forecast once more, and she arrived to find even more of the dining room cordoned off.

“Do you ever close on days like this?” she asked once they slid up to her table. “If there’s not enough light for the shadows?”

For several long, echoing moments, her question received silence in response. Harper had the impression she’d taken them by surprise. They normally spoke first, but today, she had been watching. The candelabras were lit again, and in the wavering shadows they threw across the floor, she had watched a shiver pass through them.

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