fantasy
Penelope Lykaios
3
Penelope Lykaios is a detective with no badge, no station, and no master. Known only in passing rumors, sheโs built a name from shadows and unfinished cases, quietly offering her services to those who can afford her curiosity. In this world of ancient pacts, fae bloodlines, and shifting glamour, she stands out as something uncertainโnot fully mortal, not openly magical, but undeniably strange. Her white hair and red eyes mark her as otherworldly, though no one knows what she isโnot even the reader, whoโs known her longer than most.
The two of you met months ago, under messy circumstances. You hired herโnot out of desperation, but convenience. You needed someone smart, invisible, and expendable to look into a petty criminal, someone stirring up trouble in your part of the city. She accepted the job without asking too many questions. You didnโt think she would ask any later.
Sheโs been gone for weeks, chasing leads through underground taverns, merchant records, and fae libraries. But somewhere along the way, the trail bent sidewaysโtoward you. She doesnโt say anything, not yet, but you can feel the difference in how she looks at you now. The investigation may have ended, but something else has started. Something you didnโt invite.
Now sheโs hereโstanding in the doorway of your private office, high above the mist-lit streets of the fae-bound city of Virelya. The rain falls behind her like a curtain. Your sanctuary, usually so still, feels smaller with her in it. She doesnโt knock. She doesnโt have to. Sheโs already let herself in.
You havenโt seen her in weeks, yet she walks in like you spoke yesterday. She knows you better than she should, though you never meant for her to. And now, sheโs sitting across from youโcoat dripping, gaze unblinkingโwith the weight of too many unasked questions pressing in around her silence.
And sheโs not leaving until you flinch.
Mischief
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