"Took you long enough."
Jade heard Aamon's voice like it was coming from underwater. Calm. Dry. Like he hadn't just been a heartbeat away from watching her die.
She forced her eyes open.
The bar's dim lights swam. The stink of beer and old wood clung to the air. Somewhere behind the music, glasses clinked and a couple people laughed like the world wasn't currently trying to swallow her whole.
Zeth stood over Levi.
Levi was on the floor, one hand braced against the sticky boards, the other rubbing the side of his head with a scowl that looked like it belonged on a statue. His hair was mussed. His shirt collar had shifted. He looked… offended, more than hurt.
Zeth looked like he'd sprinted through a hurricane. He was panting, hoodie half-twisted, curls damp at his temples. His eyes were sharp and furious as he glared down at Jade.
His hand shot out toward her.
"Give it," he snapped.
Jade blinked at him, brain refusing to assemble the pieces.
Zeth's fingers wiggled impatiently. "Jade, you're a fucking moron," he hissed, then immediately looked like he regretted the insult, but he doubled down on irritation.
"Hand it over. I've only been in your head a few hours but I am done."
Jade stared at him, still catching up. Then she felt it, faint and sweet beneath the beer, like cold water and crushed petals. Her hand rose to the flower pinned in her hair.
Oh.
The hawthorn.
His heart.
Zeth rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful. "Yes, that. Come on. Hurry."
Jade's fingers trembled as she reached up. Her mind lurched into motion all at once, and with it came the surge of emotion she'd been holding back since Levi's breath had brushed her cheek.
If Zeth was here, that meant he'd felt her fear. If Zeth was here, that meant she'd been in danger. And if she'd been in danger… then Levi hadn't been bluffing. She looked at Levi on the floor. She thought of Aamon's hand knocking the drink away. His voice snapping at her. His heat leaning close like a shield he couldn't fully lift.
And a colder thought slid under everything else:
If Zeth hadn't shown up… would Aamon have let it happen?
Confusion and terror collided with anger so sharply it made her chest ache. Sadness followed, heavy and humiliating.
Zeth flinched like he'd been slapped, then slammed his palm over his forehead. "Oh my Grimm, Jade," he groaned. "Hand. Me. The pin." His voice dropped into a harsher growl as he squinted at her. "How are you still sane with this much crap ricocheting around your skull?"
Jade's fingers closed around the hawthorn.
Zeth's eyes narrowed. "We're even," he snapped, as if reading her question before she could form the words. "You don't owe me, I don't owe you. The universe can unclench. Now give me the damn thing."
She pulled the pin free and dropped it into his open hand. The hawthorn didn't fall. It dissolved, melting into frost that crawled over Zeth's fingers for half a second before vanishing into his skin. Zeth exhaled like someone released a pressure valve inside his ribs. He rubbed his temples again, slower this time, then shook his head as if clearing water from his ears.
"Thank every realm," he muttered.
He slid into the booth beside Aamon with a grimace. "I didn't think I'd be getting this back so quickly, but I'm not complaining." He patted his chest once, like checking a pocket for something valuable. Then he looked at Jade like she was rotten fish left in the sun. "You're a health hazard."
Aamon casually shoved him sideways with one hand.
Zeth toppled off the seat with a startled noise, caught himself on the table, and glared. He hauled himself back up and slid in again like nothing happened.
"You both disgust me," he mumbled.
Jade finally found her voice. "What… what just happened?"
Levi groaned and pushed himself upright, climbing back into the booth with the offended grace of a prince who wasn't used to gravity. He gave them all a look like they were the problem.
"What," Levi said slowly, "is going on?"
Zeth reached across the table, stole the remainder of Jade's drink without asking, and chugged it like it was medicine. "Levi, meet Jade," Zeth said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Jade, meet Levi. He is a pain in the ass. She is our friend."
Levi blinked like his brain refused to accept the sentence. "Friend?" Levi curled his lip as the word fell from his mouth like something rotten.
Aamon tipped his beer back and swallowed, unbothered. "Yes."
Levi's eyes darted to Zeth, then to Aamon, then back to Jade. His cold ice blue eyes glared daggers at Jade. Levi's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
"But she's mortal." He finally manages to get the words out.
"Yeah," Aamon said, noting that Levi was pointing out the obvious. "And?"
Levi stared at Jade like she'd personally insulted the laws of nature. The four of them sat in a brittle silence for a few seconds, the bar noise swelling in the gaps.
Jade's pulse finally slowed enough that she realized her hands were still shaking. She eyed Levi with caution. He was very tall with long whitish silver hair that must have gone well past his waste. He wore what looked to be a light blue robe with a black turtleneck underneath it. Jade lowered her gaze, taking note of the long black nails, the man had.
Then a loud voice cut through the air like a thrown bottle, pulling Jade from her thoughts.
"There you all are!"
Zoe came striding toward them like she owned the building. Hands in the air. Grinning like she'd been looking forward to a fight.
"It's rude," she announced, "to leave me all by my lonesome. And look at this. Levi got here before me!" She planted her hands on her hips and pretended to pout, then kicked the side of the booth near Zeth's leg. "Move over, hurry up."
"Zoe," Zeth began, already bracing. Zoe ignored him and forced her way in anyway. The booth shifted. Bodies compressed. Zeth shoved Aamon in the process.
Aamon bumped into Jade. Aamon went rigid. The table went silent.
Jade didn't even notice at first. She was too busy trying to keep distance between herself and Levi, whose eyes kept sliding toward her like she was an experiment he wanted to dissect. Neither of them seemed to pay any mind to the silence but then, she felt it.
Warmth. Aamon's arm was pressed against hers. His hand, braced on the seat behind her, brushed her shoulder. And nothing happened. No pain. No blistering heat.
Zoe froze mid-adjustment. Zeth's eyes widened. Levi stared like he'd just watched the sun reverse in the sky.
Jade slowly looked down at the point of contact like she expected her skin to be on fire. Aamon shifted, careful, almost reluctant. His gaze dropped to his own hand as if it belonged to someone else. Jade swallowed, her eyes flicking back up to Aamon.
Then without warning, warm hands wrapped around her, firm and controlled, and she was lifted over Aamon's knee with startling ease. He placed her down again on his opposite side, like she weighed nothing. Aamon slid over making room, closing the space Jade had made with Levi.
It took Jade a second to realize what he'd done. Aamon had moved her. Away from Levi. Her throat tightened for reasons she didn't want to unpack.
She looked up at Aamon, dazed with gratitude, and smiled. He gave a small nod. Nothing dramatic. Just a quiet acknowledgment, like: I saw it. I handled it.
The booth stayed frozen, breath held. No one wanted to acknowledge the obvious shock that Jade had not melted under Aamon's touch.
Zeth finally broke the silence with a low, exhausted groan. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that."
Zoe nodded slowly. "Right. It's kind of creepy."
Levi's mouth hung open again. "That is not possible." Levi's gaze sharpened, cold and calculating. "What is she?"
Zeth pointed a lazy finger at Jade. "Annoying." He smirked, teasing her. Jade frowned and smacked his arm playfully. "You're one to talk after you stole my beer, jerk."
Zeth blinked. "You were about to die."
"And you drank my beer." Jade huffed.
Zeth stared at her like she was a puzzle that made him tired. "You're impossible."
Zoe elbowed Levi lightly. "She's my new gal pal," Zoe declared. "So, you better not mess with her again. Got it?"
Levi looked like he wanted to laugh. Then he glanced at Aamon. And decided breathing was a better choice. Aamon's eyes flicked to Jade's hands, then to her face. "No burns this time," he said quietly, like he was testing the words.
Jade shook her head. "No."
Aamon's gaze rose, ember-bright, and fixed on Levi. "She's important," he said. Levi's posture shifted instantly, shoulders drawing inward, chin dipping. Aamon didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
"If you make another attempt on her life," Aamon continued, "it will be me you answer to."
Levi swallowed. "I understand, sir."
Aamon held the stare a second longer, then finally leaned back. The tension in the booth loosened like a cord being cut. Jade stared at the floor, stomach twisting. Zeth watched her carefully, his expression softening in a way that annoyed him. Zoe's grin had faded into something more guarded, more protective.
Jade's voice came out small. "I think… I'd like to go now."
"Aww," Zoe whined immediately, back to being loud. "But I just got here." She pretended to be sad for a fraction of a second before Zoe's expression softened. She made a dramatic show of sighing. "Fine. But you owe me girl time later." Zoe pointed a finger at her like a threat. "I'm not letting you hide in a bedroom forever."
Jade managed a weak smile. "Sure, Zoe."
Zeth slid out of the booth first. Jade stepped out, keeping her eyes away from Levi.
"I'm going to make a quick stop at the office," Jade said, voice steadier now that she had a plan to cling to. "I think I left a few things undone the other day. I'll meet you all back at home, though. Okay?"
Zoe made a dramatic "boo" noise. Jade waved anyway already heading for the door. As she stepped out into the cooler air, she heard Zeth's footsteps catching up to her.
"Don't," Jade muttered.
"Too late," Zeth said flatly, already beside her. "You're not walking around alone after what just happened."
Jade's jaw tightened. "I told you I'm going to the lab."
"I heard you."
"And you're following me anyway?" Jade asked the question even though she knew she didn't have a choice. She glanced back toward the bar, toward the shadows that could hide anything with teeth.
"…Fine," she said through clenched teeth.
Back inside the bar, Levi watched the door like it had insulted him personally.
"This is a joke," he said finally, voice low. "Right?"
Zoe shook her head. "Nope. Just a strange circumstance."
Aamon's attention returned to Levi, expression hard again. "There's something I need to talk to you about."
Levi sighed like he'd rather be flayed. "Speak."
Aamon leaned forward slightly. "Jade is the mortal who helped you escape the lab the other day."
Levi's lip curled. "I didn't need help. That creature stuck her nose where it didn't belong." Levi looked away with disgust.
"She also helped Zeth," Aamon continued, unbothered by Levi's pride. "A Reaperling came to visit her this morning."
Levi's entire posture shifted. His eyes widened.
"A Reaperling?" he repeated, suddenly very awake. "For what?"
Zoe answered before Aamon could, smile sharp. "Because she did Zeth a favor without a contract, and universal law doesn't like that. Zeth owed her. You're in the same boat."
Levi stared at them like they'd spoken a language he didn't want to understand. He leaned back slowly. "So you're telling me I owe this pathetic mortal a favor." Levi exhaled in disgust. "Can't I just kill her? It'd be much simpler."
Aamon's eyes narrowed. The room seemed to drop ten degrees.
Levi opened his mouth to insult her again. Aamon's fist crossed the distance faster than thought. The punch cracked against Levi's face, the nearby patrons went quiet. Levi spun out of the booth and hit the floor with a curse, clutching his cheek as angry blisters rose along his perfect skin.
"Jesus," Levi wheezed. "What was that for!"
Aamon looked down at him, expression flat. "For the look you had when you touched her."
Levi glared up. "That demon skin of yours doesn't mix well with water, you know! My face is going to peel!"
Aamon didn't react and didn't look away. "I had to let Zeth step in this time so he could protect his own life and settle the scale. But make no mistake," Aamon said, voice dropping into something colder. "Jade is under my protection. I think I'm allowed one hit given the circumstance."
Levi rubbed his cheek, sulking. "I get it. Fine. I wouldn't touch her."
When Aamon straightened, the anger seemed to drain out of him as fast as it had come, leaving something tighter behind it. Something unfamiliar.
Zoe laughed once, harshly. She leaned toward Levi with a grin that wasn't friendly. "Jade's staying with us for a while, so you better get used to her."
Levi rolled his eyes. "If I must."
"Aww," Zoe said, clapping once. "That's the spirit."
"Now that we're clear," Aamon said, "we need to prepare to gather the others."
Zoe tilted her head. "Do you know who will show up next?"
Aamon shook his head. "The original plan stands. We were to meet here. One way or another, everyone will come."
Levi slumped back into the booth with a huff. "Why did Zeth get to miss out on business to go play hero for your… lady?"
Zoe snorted. Aamon ignored him.
"You've been here the longest, Zoe," Aamon said. "Any place in this city likely to draw one of the others?"
Zoe tapped her chin, eyes flicking upward as she thought. "Not off the top of my head. But something will come to me."
Aamon nodded once. "Keep your wits about you. Levi, you'll assist Zoe with finishing the house preparations."
Levi groaned. "Of course."
Aamon's gaze shifted to the doorway again, to where Jade had left. Something tightened in his chest.
"Now we wait," Aamon said.
And in the quiet that followed, Levi's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, Zoe's expression sharpened with protective intent, and Aamon's hand lingered for half a second too long on the edge of the table, as if remembering the warmth that shouldn't have been possible.
Outside, in the night air, Zeth followed Jade toward the lab.
And Jade, still shaken, still stubborn, didn't realize yet that the moment Levi's breath had vanished from her cheek, the entire world had quietly shifted around her.