Zeth catches Aamon's gaze as they enter the house and he gives Aamon a short nod. Aamon nods back, heading towards the glass door of the balcony, Zeth and Levi follow out after him.
"We got the last three together tonight." Zeth starts to explain.
Aamon's eyes flicked sideways after lighting and taking a deep drag from his cigarette. "I assumed that was the purpose of leaving."
"It was," Levi said flatly. "But it wasn't clean."
Aamon's gaze sharpened. "Explain."
Zeth exhaled. "We used Jade."
The words landed wrong. Aamon's head turned, slow and deliberate. For a heartbeat, he bore the look of a ruler deciding whether the next action would be an order or an execution.
"We didn't touch her. We didn't hurt her. We just used her presence." Levi added casually.
Aamon's jaw flexed. "Go on."
Zeth found his rhythm, the way he did when he was trying to keep a room from collapsing. "Monty won't ignore a table where the stakes smell big. Tanner can't resist the idea of protecting someone in trouble if it means he gets to fight. Bell…" Zeth hesitated, then shrugged. "Bell doesn't chase anything. But he does notice everything. He saw her panic in the crowd."
Levi's voice cut in, calm and sharp. "And because she's Jade, she didn't hide it. She looked like prey in a room full of predators."
Aamon nodded, disliking the idea of putting Jade up for bait, but he understood the logic. The fast they were all gathered, the sooner preparations for the shift could be made, and that meant more time to hide Jade from the angels.
"Bell may have been a bit much. Jade still thinks he wanted to kidnap her." Zeth sighed as he explained.
Aamon's eyes narrowed. "She believed she was being kidnapped."
Zeth winced. "Yeah. Thing is, Bell might be lazy but he notices everything. He saw us walk in, I know he did. So when he saw Jade alone in the crown freaking out. Well, Bell did what Bell does. He was trying to do the least amount of effort to fix the most amount of problem. He was dragging her out of the bar to meet us, but I think Jade might have gotten the wrong idea."
Levi's mouth twitched. Not a smile. Not sympathy. Just irritation at the universe. "She's a mortal. Mortals assume the worst when you don't explain things. It's so tiresome."
Aamon stared out again, breathing slow. The air around him felt warmer, like the night itself knew not to press its luck.
Behind the sliding door, just inside the dark living room, Jade stood frozen. She'd heard voices outside, thought she'd catch a few words, maybe a clue.
Instead, she'd heard that. Her fingers curled tight against the doorframe.
It didn't matter that Zeth sounded guilty. It didn't matter that Levi sounded like, Levi. It didn't even matter that Aamon sounded angry on her behalf. The one thing she'd heard, loud and clean, was that they had decided something about her life without asking her. Again.
Jade swallowed hard. Then she turned and walked back toward the kitchen before anyone could see her standing there.
In the kitchen, Zoe had already prepared dinner, and the kitchen smelled like the kind of warmth Jade had spent her whole life pretending she didn't want.
The table was crowded with plates and serving bowls, the kind of spread that felt like a family was about to enjoy dinner together. Luke sat too upright, intent on keeping his perfect posture. Bealz sat with food in hand already, chewing like he had been starving since the beginning of creation. Oz lounged like he owned comfort itself, leather jacket thrown over the back of his chair.
Zoe had tossed Oz an old T-shirt. "You can't be shirtless at my table." She scolded him.
A moment later, Zeth and Levi entered, filtering into their places. Aamon entered last, taking the chair at the head of the table.
Bell was already seated on the far side, hunched like the entire concept of dinner was a personal inconvenience. He shoved a bite of steak into his mouth, chewed slowly, and looked dead ahead like no one in the room mattered enough to acknowledge. Jade caught him sticking his finger up his nose again and grimaced, convinced he was doing it intentionally now.
Jade took the seat across from Levi, next to Luke, and tried to focus on something neutral. The rim of her plate. The pattern in the wood. Anything that wasn't the word bait echoing in her skull. When focusing on inanimate objects failed, Jade decided to steal glances at the new commers.
Tanner looked like he'd been born in a bar fight. He was heavily built, rugged looking. Red hair, battle scars, shoulders that made doorways look narrow. He had a bright smile though and he laughed loudly without apology. He seemed the kind of man who did as he pleased regardless of the consequences.
Monty took one slow look at the table, the faces, the food, and then the girl. Jade felt his eyes on her and refused to flinch. He looked like a loan shark had a manic baby with a bill collector. Dangerous maybe, but not as creepy as Oz and certainly not as rude as the other one. Jade thought as he eyes flicked to Bell and then away again just as fast when he flicked something from his finger again.
The room fell quiet for a moment. Not awkward. Not hostile. Just the brief stillness of a group assessing what the night had brought home.
Zeth lifted his hands like he was about to give a toast. "Shall we say grace?"
He burst into laughter before anyone could answer. Luke and Oz laughed easily with him. Levi let out a dry, humorless huff. Tanner stared like Zeth had just committed a crime. Monty's brow ticked upward. Bell didn't react at all. Bealz kept eating, wide smile and crumbs falling as he chucked through bits of food.
When the laughter died, Bell looked straight across the table at Jade, then to Aamon.
"So…. the mortal?" Bell asked, slow and flat, like the question bored him.
Aamon's gaze flicked to Jade. Then away. Before he could decide how to keep the room from detonating, Zeth jumped in, smiling a little too brightly.
"Like I was saying earlier, this is Jade. She's become our friend." Zeth smiled.
"She got us in a little trouble with the Reapers." Levi added casually.
Tanner leaned forward, elbows on the table, grin spreading. "Reapers? Like, actual Reapers? Did you fight one?" A smile spread on his face as he watches Jade with an excited expression. Jade let her eyes fall back to her plate, unsure how to respond.
Zeth's smile wobbled. "Not exactly."
Tanner's disappointment flashed across his face so fast it was almost comical. "Shame."
"Trouble how?" Monty's voice slid in, deep and smooth, with that old mob-boss cadence that made it sound like every question had teeth.
"And why does the Sovereign look like he's toleratin' this instead of endin' it?" Monty raised a brow, giving Aamon a questioning gaze.
Aamon's gaze landed on Monty. Calm. Heavy. A reminder of who sat at the head of the universe. Monty's mouth tightened, just slightly. He didn't bow. He didn't look away. But his tone eased by half a notch.
Levi spoke up instead. "She freed Zeth. She freed me. No contract. No deal." Levi sighed, hoping this was the last time the story would need to be repeated.
Tanner let out a loud bark of laughter. "A human freed Levi?" He looked at Jade like she was a new kind of weapon. "You got guts, kid."
Jade didn't respond, just offered a half hearted shrug.
Monty's eyes narrowed. "No contract," he repeated slowly. "Then she put you both in debt."
Zeth nodded once. "That's why the Reapers stepped in. Grimm got involved."
Bell finally lifted his head. His gaze slid to Jade. "You went to Interstice." It wasn't a question.
Jade's fingers curled under the table. The memory of Interstice still felt like a nightmare clinging to her skin.
Levi sighed, as if even speaking the name of that place was annoying. "Yes."
"And she survived?" Monty asked, a look of something resembling respect crossed his face as he looked at Jade with new eyes.
Levi's eyes flicked to Jade. "She did more than survive interstice. She stood toe to toe with Grimm himself."
Tanner's grin faded, replaced with shock. "Little miss?" He looked at Jade with admiration.
"What did Grimm want?" Monty pressed.
Levi's mouth tightened. "Prophecy."
Silence hit the table like a dropped blade. Even Bell's expression changed, just a fraction. Raw interest.
Luke, ever helpful in the worst possible way, leaned toward Tanner and Monty like he was offering gossip. "Long story short, she doesn't burn."
Tanner blinked, then looked Jade up and down like he expected scorch marks to appear. "You touched Aamon?"
Jade's face heated. She could feel it. That stupid human response that betrayed her before she could control it.
Oz leaned back, smirking. "She threw herself at him when she came back. Like a cat in heat."
Tanner's grin came back, bright and dangerous. "Oh, this is getting good."
Belz munched away as if watching live entertainment during his meal.
Monty watched Aamon, waiting for the Sovereign to deny it, confirm it, or set the table on fire. Aamon set his coffee down with controlled precision.
"She isn't under contract," Aamon said. "No one has made a deal with her. This isn't a transaction."
Monty's gaze flicked to Jade. "Then why is she here?"
Aamon's voice didn't change, but the air felt heavier. "Because the universe decided this Shift would be different."
Jade stared down at her plate. She had no appetite. Her stomach was hollow, but her chest felt tight, like it was full of rocks. Her mind replayed the balcony conversation.
Bait. So that was it. She wasn't a guest. She was a tool. A lure. A solution. It made her fingers shake. Her eyes lifted, slow, scanning the faces she was trapped with.
Bealz: Watching intently while eating like the world might run out of food.
Bell: looking bored, but watching everything, occasionally flicking boogers into oblivion.
Tanner: smiling excitedly as he listened.
Monty: calm, composed, and calculating like a man who could buy and sell whole lives with a handshake.
Jade's heart beat harder, she felt her own anger bubble once.
Bell's voice cut across the table again, blunt and indifferent. "It seems the soon-to-be Queen hasn't made up her mind."
Aamon cleared his throat, caught off guard by Bells perception. "There are matters that still need to be discussed later."
Jade's hand tightened around her fork. Always later.
Then Monty spoke again, looking directly at her now. "So then, sweetheart. You're the reason everyone looks like they've swallowed broken glass."
Jade stared at him for a heartbeat, then forced her voice out. "It's not like I choose to be here."
She should have stopped there, but didn't. Her anger wouldn't let her be silent any longer. She turned to Bell, eyes sharp. "But you. I don't like you. You tried to kidnap me."
Bell blinked slowly. "Kidnap." The word fell out of his mouth slowly, as if he did not understand the meaning of it.
"You grabbed me. You wouldn't let me go. You were trying to make me leave with you." Jade furrowed her brows.
Bell's gaze stayed flat, he pointed a finger to Zeth. "We were leaving." He said plainly as if it was enough to explain.
Jade's mouth opened, then closed. She blinked, unsure if she'd misunderstood him. After a moment of thought, she decided she no longer cared about explanations and pleasantries. She dropped the fork onto her plate with a clink and stood up, palms planted on the table like she was bracing herself against the entire room.
"My room is the first door on the right," she said, voice firm. "I realize you're all men and I'm a woman, but I have no interest in any of you, and you have no business entering my room without permission. Ever."
Zeth opened his mouth. Jade shot him a look that could've shut down a volcano. He closed it.
"You four are new." Jade continued, turning toward Tanner, Monty, Bell, and Bealz, "So let's get it out of the way now."
Her eyes swept the table, landing on each face like she was taking names.
"Yes, I'm mortal. Yes, I made friends with demons. No, none of us made deals. I'm not food. I'm not a toy. I'm not stupid. And I'm not afraid." Jade said pointedly to each face as she listed her points.
Then Jade's eyes locked on Aamon again, voice sharp.
"What I don't know, and what you're going to explain, is what kind of bullshit you're not going to let them do to me, and what it actually means if I become Queen."
The room froze. Even Bealz stopped chewing, his most recent bit slipping from the fork with a wet thunk as he stares at Jade with his mouth half open.
Luke tried, timidly, to smooth the moment. "Jade, dear, no isn't—"
"I want the explanation now," Jade snapped, locking eyes with Luke.
Tanner's laughter exploded across the table, loud and delighted. He slapped his palm down like he'd just won something.
"I like her," Tanner announced, grin huge. "She's got teeth!"
Jade's face heated again, but she kept her chin up.
Tanner leaned forward, eyes bright. "Name's Tanner." Tanner lowered his head slightly. "And you have my vote for Queen, little miss."
Monty adjusted his tie, expression composed. "Monty," he said smoothly. "And I don't enjoy being yelled at."
Monty lifted one hand, palm out, like a man calming a room without needing to raise his voice. "But I'll let it slide. Given the circumstances."
His gaze flicked to Aamon for half a second, then back to Jade. Not submission. Recognition.
Bell spoke last, voice lazy. "Bell. I didn't kidnap you."
Jade stared.
Bell shrugged. "Time to go. You weren't moving." It was the most Bell explanation possible.
Bealz finally looked up, crumbs on his shirt. "Bealz," he said through a mouthful of food. "Don't touch my food and we won't have problems."
Jade's anger wavered, just a little. She really had misunderstood them.
Jade exhaled sharply. "I'm sorry," she muttered, the adrenaline draining out of her like a punctured balloon. "I misunderstood the situation. I just, I don't want more misunderstandings."
Jade looked back at Aamon. He met her gaze for just a second. Long enough for Jade to see something in his eyes that wasn't anger. It looked a lot like restraint.
She let her gaze drop with a long sigh. "Sorry." Was all she could say in the end.