1. Karn

1

KARN

A crash echoes from the storage room. I lower my hammer, the half-formed sword on my anvil forgotten as I sprint toward the sound. Purple light seeps under the door.

"Luna! Nova!"

The door swings open to reveal my storage room transformed into a rainbow nightmare. My carefully organized metal stock shimmers in every color imaginable - ingar bars now electric blue, ingots in hot pink, silver rods gleaming neon green.

Luna floats near the ceiling, her violet eyes wide with delight. "Uncle Karn! Look how pretty!"

Nova stands below her sister, hands raised as she changes another shelf of metal from gray to sparkly gold. "We're helping organize by color!"

When the twins first came to stay with me, I thought it would be simple. They're only two, little toddlers. But I forgot how quickly demons grow, how at only a year most are walking - not stumbling - and showing magic. At two…

Well, let's just say I was wrong about it being simple.

"Down. Now." I reach up and pluck Luna from the air, her copper curls tickling my nose as she squirms. "What have I told you about playing in the storage room?"

"That it's dangerous and we should never ever come in without you," they chorus, not looking remotely sorry.

The shop bell chimes. Perfect timing.

"Stay here while I-" I turn to find empty air where the twins stood seconds ago. Their giggles drift from the front of the shop.

I rush out to find them circling my customer, their matching red curls flying as they spin. "Your necklace is so pretty!" Luna reaches for the woman's pendant.

"Luna." My voice drops to the tone that usually commands instant attention. Usually.

Nova tugs her sister's sleeve. "We should show her our colors!" She points at the storage room.

"No-"

Too late. The storage room door swings open, displaying my technicolor inventory to everyone. The customer's eyes widen.

"I do custom metalwork," I explain, running a hand through my hair. "My nieces are... helping with inventory today."

Luna beams. "We made everything rainbow!"

"I see that." The customer's lips twitch. "How creative."

Nova pulls at my pants leg. "Uncle Karn, can we make the swords sparkly too?"

"Absolutely not." I scoop them both up, one under each arm. "Please excuse me while I contain this magical situation."

Their combined laughter fills the shop as I carry them toward the stairs, leaving a trail of glitter in our wake. Just another normal day of trying to run a business while raising twin demon toddlers with more magic than sense.

I plant them on the bottom step and tell them to stay put, hoping that they'll listen. Just this once.

I return to find a different customer has entered - a well-dressed merchant with a sneer twisting his face. He taps his foot against my floor, arms crossed.

"This is completely unprofessional. Children running wild in a respectable establishment?" He gestures at the rainbow metals visible through the still open storage room door. "I need serious craftwork done, not some nursery playpen."

The muscles in my jaw tighten. I straighten to my full height, letting my demon heritage show clearly - violet eyes gleaming, pointed ears twitching. "My nieces are family. Family comes first here."

"Then perhaps I'll take my business elsewhere. Somewhere more... suitable." His gaze drops to where Nova peeks around my leg. My hope was futile - clearly. "Those half-breeds shouldn't be around paying customers anyway."

The temperature in the shop plummets. My vision tints purple as demon magic surges through me. The protection runes carved into the walls pulse with energy.

"What did you call them?" My voice comes out as a low growl.

The merchant steps back, finally noticing the burn scars coating my arms, the way I tower over him. His eyes widen as I let my magic build, filling the air even more than my massive frame.

"I- I simply meant-"

"Get out." I bare my fangs. "Now."

He scrambles for the door, nearly tripping over his own feet. The bell chimes violently as he flees.

Luna tugs my sleeve. "Uncle Karn, your eyes are glowing again."

I take a deep breath, letting the magic recede. Nova wraps her arms around my leg, and I reach down to stroke her copper curls.

"Nobody talks about my girls that way." I kneel between them. "You two are perfect exactly as you are."

"Even when we make rainbow metal?" Luna asks.

"Even then." I ruffle her hair. "Though maybe we should work on your color choices. Hot pink isn't very intimidating."

Their giggles chase away the last of my anger. I'll need to reset those protection runes later - they always flare up when I get protective. But for now, I have two little artists to supervise.

I'm sweeping up the last of the glitter - or I tell myself that, there's never an end to the glitter my nieces make - when the bell chimes. Rain pounds against the windows, and a gust of wind sweeps inside with my visitor.

I look up to see a woman stumble through the doorway, water dripping from her torn dress onto my floor. Dark hair hangs in wet ropes around her face. Her arms wrap around herself, shoulders hunched as if trying to disappear.

She's human. Small and frail and clearly underdressed and underfed. But even under all that…

She's beautiful. It's hidden behind the dirt tracked with rain and the bruises mottling her skin. But her green eyes are bright, expressive, and I find myself caught on them as I speak.

"We're about to close-"

The words die in my throat as she shifts, and her sleeve slips. The brand on her wrist is unmistakable - the mark of ownership that makes my blood boil. She quickly tugs the fabric back down, but her green eyes meet mine for a split second. Terror and exhaustion war in her gaze.

"Please." Her voice barely carries across the room. "I saw your runes outside. I just need..." She sways on her feet.

I move without thinking, catching her arm before she falls. She flinches at the contact but doesn't pull away. Up close, I can see the shadows under her eyes, the way her cheekbones stand sharp against too-pale skin.

"Uncle Karn?" Nova's voice drifts down the stairs. I finally got them settled in the apartment above for a few moments while I cleaned. "Is someone here?"

The woman tenses under my hand. I keep my voice gentle, like when the twins have nightmares. "I'm not going to hurt you." Though I don't really know what I'm going to do with her - but I have no problem with humans the way some demons do.

"They're coming," she whispers. "I can't- I won't go back."

I hate the desperation in her voice and for a moment Sarah - the twin's human mother - flashes through my mind. The protective runes pulse at my words. "No one's taking you anywhere."

Footsteps patter above us. The woman's eyes dart to the stairs, then the door. I recognize that look - a cornered animal searching for escape.

"The twins need their bedtime story," I say, loud enough to carry upstairs. "I'll be right there."

"But Uncle Karn-"

"Five minutes. Count the stars on your ceiling until then."

The woman's shoulders relax slightly at the domestic exchange. Her eyes find mine again, and this time there's a flicker of hope beneath the fear.

"You're safe here," I tell her. "Let's get you warm and dry first. Then we can talk."

I start to guide the woman toward the back room where there's a small wash area, not bothering to dry her clothes when she needs new ones, when tiny footsteps echo down the stairs. My heart clenches - the twins never disobey a direct order to stay put. Not since...

But there they are, copper curls bouncing as they descend. Nova clutches her favorite blanket, the one with stars embroidered on the edges. Luna leads the way, her violet eyes fixed on our visitor.

"Wait-" I reach to stop them, but they slip past my grasp.

Luna touches the woman's skirt, leaving a sparkly handprint on the wet fabric. "Your hair looks like night sky."

Nova stretches up on tiptoes, offering her blanket. "You're cold."

The woman freezes, water dripping onto my floor. Her green eyes dart between the girls, then to me. I brace for her to bolt.

Instead, her lips curve up. Not the practiced smile of someone humoring children, but something real that transforms her whole face. "Thank you, little one." She accepts the blanket with trembling fingers.

Luna tugs at her sleeve - thankfully not the one covering the branded wrist. "I can make your dress dry. Watch!"

Purple light swirls around the woman's skirt. I step forward, ready to contain whatever chaos my niece conjures, but the magic settles gentle as morning dew. The fabric lightens as water lifts away in glittering drops.

"Me too!" Nova waves her hands, and the woman's dark hair untangles itself, drying into soft waves.

The twins beam up at her, pride shining in their matching violet eyes. They haven't smiled like that since the accident - not that pure, unguarded joy that used to light up every room.

"You have beautiful magic," the woman says softly, kneeling between them. Luna immediately starts playing with her now-dry hair while Nova wraps the star blanket around her shoulders.

My chest aches watching them. These girls who barely speak to strangers, who cling to my legs when anyone visits the shop, now fussing over this woman like a new doll.

"What's your name?" she asks, looking between the two girls.

"Luna!" my niece shouts.

Her sister answers at nearly the same time, "Nova!"

The woman smiles, and I'm stunned by her. Who could look this good in a torn dress and rain-soaked hair? Apparently, her.

"I'm Mira," she tells them. "I was just coming into the shop for a few things…"

Her words trail off as her eyes lift to me, and I pray to the Seven that I'm not about to make a huge mistake.