"Don't take it personal, Jade," Zeth said, rising from the edge of the bed with a stretch. "Oz is a flirt. He's annoying, but he's harmless."
Jade didn't look convinced.
Zeth sighed. "I think we should give you room to organize yourself."
"Agreed," Levi said flatly. "This room is beginning to give me a headache. I don't know how much longer I can tolerate looking at it."
Jade blinked, confused. Levi's disgust wasn't aimed at her, exactly. It was aimed at the pink. The canopy. The soft curtains. The unapologetic feminine comfort that Zoe had built like a fortress.
Levi gave Jade a brief nod, then hooked two fingers in the back of Oz's shirt and dragged him toward the door like a misbehaving cat.
Oz protested immediately. "Levi, this is barbaric. I'm simply trying to—"
Levi leaned close enough for only Oz to hear. Whatever he said wasn't loud, but it had Oz going suddenly quiet and very cooperative. Levi didn't even have to look at Aamon to make the point. Oz remembered exactly how the Sovereign's temper felt.
Zeth offered Jade a small wave and followed the others out, closing the door behind him. And just like that, the room quieted. Jade was alone with Aamon.
He sat in a chair near the bed, posture controlled, expression neutral. His eyes were their usual deep brown now, no ember-glow, no heat rolling off him. If anyone had walked in without context, they might have mistaken him for an exhausted man keeping watch at a hospital bedside.
Jade swallowed and forced herself to breathe. It felt like years had passed since she'd last seen him, even though she knew it hadn't. She wasn't sure how to act around him anymore, not after waking to that.
A thought cut through the fog in her head, sharp as a needle. The kiss. Had it been real? Or was it something her mind had invented in the dark?
Jade lifted her eyes to his. "Was I still dreaming," she asked softly, "or did you really…"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Her courage failed halfway up her throat. Instead, she lifted two fingers to her lips, eyes fixed on his in a wordless question. Aamon's expression shifted, almost imperceptibly. Not guilt. Not smugness. Something quieter, more complicated.
He exhaled. "There's something I'd like to give you."
Jade blinked, thrown off. That was not the answer she expected. Her heart skipped anyway, because of course it did. Her body apparently had no interest in being reasonable today.
Aamon stood and extended his hand. "But first, you need to eat." Her stomach growled loudly enough to embarrass her into silence. Jade flushed and took his hand.
The moment she tried to swing her legs over the bed, her whole body reminded her what she'd been through. Her muscles ached like she'd been dragged across stone. Her joints felt unfamiliar, as if she'd forgotten how to exist in them. Aamon steadied her immediately. He slid his right arm over her shoulders and kept her left hand in his, guiding her like she might shatter if she leaned the wrong way. Jade took two careful steps, then three. Her head swam. A question rose again, stubbornly, like a splinter she couldn't ignore.
"Aamon," she said, voice thin. "How is it possible for you to touch me?"
Aamon didn't answer at first. A quiet sigh slipped out of him, the kind of sound that meant too much behind the ribs.
Jade's mind reached for scraps of memory. Zeth had said there were circumstances. Grimm had asked her about falling. Did you fall? Will you fall? The questions returned with a strange weight, as if they were hooked into her bones. She stopped walking, swayed, and pressed her fingers to her temple.
Aamon glanced toward the stairs, then down at her face. He looked like he was weighing something. Waiting. Choosing. Then, without warning, he scooped her up bridal-style and carried her the rest of the way.
Under any other circumstance, Jade would have combusted from humiliation. Today, she was too sore, too dizzy, too hungry to even protest. She just let her head fall against his shoulder and tried not to think about how easy it was for him to hold her, or how safe it felt in a way she didn't want to admit.
Zoe was already in the kitchen, humming while she cooked. The scent of meat and spices filled the air, warm and grounding, like the house itself was trying to convince Jade that she was real.
Conversation died the moment Aamon stepped in with Jade in his arms. For a split second, every demon in the room looked like a mortal trying very hard to act normal.
Then Zoe noticed Jade's face. "JADE!" Zoe yelled and flew across the room.
Aamon barely had time to set Jade down before Zoe wrapped her up and lifted her off the floor like Jade weighed nothing. Zoe spun her once, twice, laughing like she'd been holding her breath for days.
"I was so worried about you! I can't believe you woke up! I mean, I knew you would, but still!" Zoe hugged her again, rocking her side to side. "How do you feel? Are you dizzy? Hungry? Can you stand? Do you remember anything? Are you mad? Wait, don't answer that yet because you probably are—"
Jade clung to Zoe mostly out of balance, not affection. Normally she could handle Zoe's energy. Right now it felt like being hugged by a tornado. She patted Zoe's arm twice, hoping she'd take the hint. Zoe did not take the hint.
Zoe did smell the food burning, though.
"Oops!" Zoe yelped, releasing Jade abruptly and darting back to the stove. Jade exhaled, steadying herself with the counter. She looked behind her for Aamon. He was already seated at the table. Watching, but pretending he wasn't.
Jade's chest tightened. She didn't know why the emptiness between them felt so sharp when he was in the same room. She reached for a chair and realized it had already been pulled out for her. Jade glanced toward Aamon. His expression was carefully unreadable, like he'd locked it down again. It made her irritated. His hot-and-cold behavior was starting to feel like a trap she didn't understand.
Had she imagined the kiss? Had she imagined the softness?
Jade slid into the chair, jaw tight, and promised herself she'd get answers once her body stopped feeling like it belonged to someone else. Across the table, Aamon watched emotions flicker over her face like weather. He tried to name them, but humans were still a language he hadn't learned.
Anger. Sadness. Hunger. A combination that made no sense and yet looked familiar on her.
He stared too long. Jade caught him. For a heartbeat, they held each other's gaze. Then Aamon looked away as if he'd been caught doing something shameful. Jade clenched her fist.
Aamon's mouth curved into a faint smile. There she was. The stubbornness. The fight. The part of her that refused to fold. It steadied something in him.
Zoe began placing plates down with brisk efficiency. Within minutes, everyone was eating and talking like a bizarre, dysfunctional family. Jade watched them, dazed at how normal they could look around a table.
Luke and Levi talked over each other, arguing about details of what had happened while she'd been gone. Luke mourned his car like it was a fallen comrade. Levi complained about having to do anything at all.
They all kept circling back to Jade, not prying exactly, but hovering close to the edge of the questions they wanted to ask. Jade tried to answer when she could, but her memories were foggy. Interstice felt like a dream that vanished the second you woke up, slipping away no matter how hard you tried to hold it.
Levi paused mid-complaint and narrowed his eyes at Jade. "Let me ask you something," he said, voice different. "Do you remember waking outside the museum?"
Jade tilted her head, searching. "There was… fire." She closed her eyes, forcing herself deeper into the memory. "And you were holding me."
Levi nodded once.
Jade's gaze shifted to Aamon. "He was setting fire to things, I think? Or trying to put it out. I can't be sure."
Levi and Zeth exchanged a quick, loaded glance.
Zeth cleared his throat. "Uh, Jade. How did you know it was Aamon?"
Jade stared at him. "What do you mean? Who else would it have been? Unless you all look like that."
Aamon finally spoke, quiet but steady. "She has seen my form before. I showed her the night we met." His eyes flicked to Jade, a hint of amusement threading through the seriousness. "Isn't that right, Magpie?"
She huffed and crossed her arms. "Still with the bird thing."
Aamon's smile deepened. "Of course, my curious little bird."
Levi made a noise of disgust. Zeth rolled his eyes. Luke looked bewildered, as if trying to translate their dynamic into something dignified.
Aamon rose from the table when he noticed Jade had finished her breakfast. "Jade, if you don't mind, there is something I'd like to discuss with you. In private."
The words drained the color from Jade's face so fast it was almost comical. Her mind immediately sprinted to worst-case scenarios. Aamon could mind-wipe mortals. He could manipulate memory. He could put her back where she'd been before all of this. Alone. Safe. And empty.
Was the Soul Shift over? Were they leaving? Was this the part where he erased her thoughts and they'd all disappear back into the Dark Realm like nothing had ever happened?
Her throat tightened. She didn't hear Luke ask if she was okay. Didn't hear Zoe call her name. She stared at the table as if staring hard enough might keep reality from moving. Aamon noticed. He frowned, stepping close, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay if you're not ready," he said quietly. "Take your time. Get your strength back."
Jade's eyes snapped up, confused. That wasn't what she expected. Aamon didn't wait for her reply.
"I'll do some scouting," he added, tone shifting back toward business. "The others shouldn't be difficult to find. Zoe, could I have a word? You may know a good place to start."
Zoe glanced at Jade once, something unreadable in her expression, then followed Aamon out. The door closed. Jade sat there, breathing shallowly, realizing she had understood almost none of what had just happened.
When her thoughts finally caught up, frustration hit like a punch. She'd let fear win again. Her chance for answers had walked out the door.
Luke slid closer and took Jade's hand, his expression unusually gentle. "My dearest Jade," he said, frowning. "What in the Mortal Realm took you away from us?"
He touched her forehead, checking for a fever that did not exist like she was one of his fragile museum pieces. "You're feeling better, aren't you? Would you like to lie down again?"
Jade jerked back slightly. "No."
She'd been asleep for days. Lying down was the last thing she wanted. Levi watched her, expression sharp. Zeth looked uneasy. Luke opened his mouth again, but Jade's frustration finally overflowed.
"I'm tired of not having answers." she blurted. Her voice rose with each word, anger giving her strength the way fear never had. "I'm tired of rules I didn't know existed. I'm tired of my life getting hijacked by deities who refuse to explain anything without riddles."
Everyone froze. Jade kept going.
"Ever since that night, my world flipped upside down. I saved demons. I almost got raped. I saw a shadow demon who turns out is the King of Hell." She pointed vaguely in the direction Aamon had left. "Except, apparently Hell doesn't exist the way humans think it does, and neither does Heaven, but Reapers are real and they can erase you out of existence for breaking rules you didn't even know were there!"
Her hands shook, but the anger kept her upright.
"And don't even get me started on Interstice. Grimm talks in riddles like he thinks it makes him profound. He asked me meaningless questions about falling and wouldn't tell me what it meant or why it mattered. How am I supposed to answer a question when the person asking doesn't even want an answer?"
She yanked a breath and raked her fingers through her hair. Luke started to smile sympathetically.
Jade snapped her head toward him. "And I don't need a speech about how proud I should be of myself."
"Don't take it personal, Jade," Zeth said, rising from the edge of the bed with a stretch. "Oz is a flirt. He's annoying, but he's harmless."
Jade didn't look convinced.
Zeth sighed. "I think we should give you room to organize yourself."
"Agreed," Levi said flatly. "This room is beginning to give me a headache. I don't know how much longer I can tolerate looking at it."
Jade blinked, confused. Levi's disgust wasn't aimed at her, exactly. It was aimed at the pink. The canopy. The soft curtains. The unapologetic feminine comfort that Zoe had built like a fortress.
Levi gave Jade a brief nod, then hooked two fingers in the back of Oz's shirt and dragged him toward the door like a misbehaving cat.
Oz protested immediately. "Levi, this is barbaric. I'm simply trying to—"
Levi leaned close enough for only Oz to hear. Whatever he said wasn't loud, but it had Oz going suddenly quiet and very cooperative. Levi didn't even have to look at Aamon to make the point. Oz remembered exactly how the Sovereign's temper felt.
Zeth offered Jade a small wave and followed the others out, closing the door behind him. And just like that, the room quieted. Jade was alone with Aamon.
He sat in a chair near the bed, posture controlled, expression neutral. His eyes were their usual deep brown now, no ember-glow, no heat rolling off him. If anyone had walked in without context, they might have mistaken him for an exhausted man keeping watch at a hospital bedside.
Jade swallowed and forced herself to breathe. It felt like years had passed since she'd last seen him, even though she knew it hadn't. She wasn't sure how to act around him anymore, not after waking to that.
A thought cut through the fog in her head, sharp as a needle. The kiss. Had it been real? Or was it something her mind had invented in the dark?
Jade lifted her eyes to his. "Was I still dreaming," she asked softly, "or did you really…"
She couldn't finish the sentence. Her courage failed halfway up her throat. Instead, she lifted two fingers to her lips, eyes fixed on his in a wordless question. Aamon's expression shifted, almost imperceptibly. Not guilt. Not smugness. Something quieter, more complicated.
He exhaled. "There's something I'd like to give you."
Jade blinked, thrown off. That was not the answer she expected. Her heart skipped anyway, because of course it did. Her body apparently had no interest in being reasonable today.
Aamon stood and extended his hand. "But first, you need to eat." Her stomach growled loudly enough to embarrass her into silence. Jade flushed and took his hand.
The moment she tried to swing her legs over the bed, her whole body reminded her what she'd been through. Her muscles ached like she'd been dragged across stone. Her joints felt unfamiliar, as if she'd forgotten how to exist in them. Aamon steadied her immediately. He slid his right arm over her shoulders and kept her left hand in his, guiding her like she might shatter if she leaned the wrong way. Jade took two careful steps, then three. Her head swam. A question rose again, stubbornly, like a splinter she couldn't ignore.
"Aamon," she said, voice thin. "How is it possible for you to touch me?"
Aamon didn't answer at first. A quiet sigh slipped out of him, the kind of sound that meant too much behind the ribs.
Jade's mind reached for scraps of memory. Zeth had said there were circumstances. Grimm had asked her about falling. Did you fall? Will you fall? The questions returned with a strange weight, as if they were hooked into her bones. She stopped walking, swayed, and pressed her fingers to her temple.
Aamon glanced toward the stairs, then down at her face. He looked like he was weighing something. Waiting. Choosing. Then, without warning, he scooped her up bridal-style and carried her the rest of the way.
Under any other circumstance, Jade would have combusted from humiliation. Today, she was too sore, too dizzy, too hungry to even protest. She just let her head fall against his shoulder and tried not to think about how easy it was for him to hold her, or how safe it felt in a way she didn't want to admit.
Zoe was already in the kitchen, humming while she cooked. The scent of meat and spices filled the air, warm and grounding, like the house itself was trying to convince Jade that she was real.
Conversation died the moment Aamon stepped in with Jade in his arms. For a split second, every demon in the room looked like a mortal trying very hard to act normal.
Then Zoe noticed Jade's face. "JADE!" Zoe yelled and flew across the room.
Aamon barely had time to set Jade down before Zoe wrapped her up and lifted her off the floor. Zoe spun her once, twice, laughing like she'd been holding her breath for days.
"I was so worried about you! I can't believe you woke up! I mean, I knew you would, but still!" Zoe hugged her again, rocking her side to side. "How do you feel? Are you dizzy? Hungry? Can you stand? Do you remember anything? Are you mad? Wait, don't answer that yet because you probably are—"
Jade clung to Zoe mostly out of balance, not affection. Normally she could handle Zoe's energy. Right now it felt like being hugged by a tornado. She patted Zoe's arm twice, hoping she'd take the hint. Zoe did not take the hint.
Zoe did smell the food burning, though.
"Oops!" Zoe yelped, releasing Jade abruptly and darting back to the stove. Jade exhaled, steadying herself with the counter. She looked behind her for Aamon. He was already seated at the table. Watching, but pretending he wasn't.
Jade's chest tightened. She didn't know why the emptiness between them felt so sharp when he was in the same room. She reached for a chair and realized it had already been pulled out for her. Jade glanced toward Aamon. His expression was carefully unreadable, like he'd locked it down again. It made her irritated. His hot-and-cold behavior was starting to feel like a trap she didn't understand.
Had she imagined the kiss? Had she imagined the softness?
Jade slid into the chair, jaw tight, and promised herself she'd get answers once her body stopped feeling like it belonged to someone else. Across the table, Aamon watched emotions flicker over her face like weather. He tried to name them, but humans were still a language he hadn't learned.
Anger. Sadness. Hunger. A combination that made no sense and yet looked familiar on her.
He stared too long. Jade caught him. For a heartbeat, they held each other's gaze. Then Aamon looked away as if he'd been caught doing something shameful. Jade clenched her fist.
Aamon's mouth curved into a faint smile. There she was. The stubbornness. The fight. The part of her that refused to fold. It steadied something in him.
Zoe began placing plates down with brisk efficiency. Within minutes, everyone was eating and talking like a bizarre, dysfunctional family. Jade watched them, dazed at how normal they could look around a table.
Luke and Levi talked over each other, arguing about details of what had happened while she'd been gone. Luke mourned his car like it was a fallen comrade. Levi complained about having to do anything at all.
They all kept circling back to Jade, not prying exactly, but hovering close to the edge of the questions they wanted to ask. Jade tried to answer when she could, but her memories were foggy. Interstice felt like a dream that vanished the second you woke up, slipping away no matter how hard you tried to hold it.
Levi paused mid-complaint and narrowed his eyes at Jade. "Let me ask you something," he said, voice different. "Do you remember waking outside the museum?"
Jade tilted her head, searching. "There was… fire." She closed her eyes, forcing herself deeper into the memory. "And you were holding me."
Levi nodded once.
Jade's gaze shifted to Aamon. "He was setting fire to things, I think? Or trying to put it out. I can't be sure."
Levi and Zeth exchanged a quick, loaded glance.
Zeth cleared his throat. "Uh, Jade. How did you know it was Aamon?"
Jade stared at him. "What do you mean? Who else would it have been? Unless you all look like that."
Aamon finally spoke, quiet but steady. "She has seen my form before. I showed her the night we met." His eyes flicked to Jade, a hint of amusement threading through the seriousness. "Isn't that right, Magpie?"
She huffed and crossed her arms. "Still with the bird thing."
Aamon's smile deepened. "Of course, my curious little bird."
Levi made a noise of disgust. Zeth rolled his eyes. Luke looked bewildered, as if trying to translate their dynamic into something dignified.
Aamon rose from the table when he noticed Jade had finished her breakfast. "Jade, if you don't mind, there is something I'd like to discuss with you. In private."
The words drained the color from Jade's face so fast it was almost comical. Her mind immediately sprinted to worst-case scenarios. Aamon could mind-wipe mortals. He could manipulate memory. He could put her back where she'd been before all of this. Alone. Safe. And empty.
Was the Soul Shift over? Were they leaving? Was this the part where he erased her thoughts and they'd all disappear back into the Dark Realm like nothing had ever happened?
Her throat tightened. She didn't hear Luke ask if she was okay. Didn't hear Zoe call her name. She stared at the table as if staring hard enough might keep reality from moving. Aamon noticed. He frowned, stepping close, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay if you're not ready," he said quietly. "Take your time. Get your strength back."
Jade's eyes snapped up, confused. That wasn't what she expected. Aamon didn't wait for her reply.
"I'll do some scouting," he added, tone shifting back toward business. "The others shouldn't be difficult to find. Zoe, could I have a word? You may know a good place to start."
Zoe glanced at Jade once, something unreadable in her expression, then followed Aamon out. The door closed. Jade sat there, breathing shallowly, realizing she had understood almost none of what had just happened.
When her thoughts finally caught up, frustration hit like a punch. She'd let fear win again. Her chance for answers had walked out the door.
Luke slid closer and took Jade's hand, his expression unusually gentle. "My dearest Jade," he said, frowning. "What in the Mortal Realm took you away from us?"
He touched her forehead, checking for a fever that did not exist like she was one of his fragile museum pieces. "You're feeling better, aren't you? Would you like to lie down again?"
Jade jerked back slightly. "No."
She'd been asleep for days. Lying down was the last thing she wanted. Levi watched her, expression sharp. Zeth looked uneasy. Luke opened his mouth again, but Jade's frustration finally overflowed.
"I'm tired of not having answers." she blurted. Her voice rose with each word, anger giving her strength the way fear never had. "I'm tired of rules I didn't know existed. I'm tired of my life getting hijacked by deities who refuse to explain anything without riddles."
Everyone froze. Jade kept going.
"Ever since that night, my world flipped upside down. I saved demons. I almost got raped. I saw a shadow demon who turns out is the King of Hell." She pointed vaguely in the direction Aamon had left. "Except, apparently Hell doesn't exist the way humans think it does, and neither does Heaven, but Reapers are real and they can erase you out of existence for breaking rules you didn't even know were there!"
Her hands shook, but the anger kept her upright.
"And don't even get me started on Interstice. Grimm talks in riddles like he thinks it makes him profound. He asked me meaningless questions about falling and wouldn't tell me what it meant or why it mattered. How am I supposed to answer a question when the person asking doesn't even want an answer?"
She yanked a breath and raked her fingers through her hair. Luke started to smile sympathetically.
Jade snapped her head toward him. "And I don't need a speech about how proud I should be of myself."
Luke blinked, offended and impressed at the same time.
Levi leaned forward, voice slow, careful. "Jade. Do you remember Interstice? Do you remember what Grimm asked you?"
Jade's mouth opened. Then closed. A fragment wobbled loose in her memory, like something buried under ice. She remembered voices. Questions. A feeling of being watched from everywhere. She remembered the word fall again.
"I…" Jade swallowed. "Not clearly."
Zeth's voice softened. "For a mortal to travel to Interstice and remain conscious is remarkable. But you held a conversation with Grimm." His brows tightened. "You even yelled at him."
Levi nodded once. "You didn't pass out until we returned to the Mortal Realm."
Jade stared at the table, trying to connect threads that refused to hold.
"I just want one clear answer," she said quietly. The anger fell away, leaving exhaustion in its place. "Just one."
She looked up at them. "Why am I not burned by Aamon anymore?"
A heavy silence settled. Luke looked thoughtful. Levi looked like he was weighing what he was allowed to say. Zeth rubbed the back of his neck like he wanted to disappear.
"I'd like an answer to that as well," Luke admitted, almost reluctantly.
Jade let out a sharp breath, frustration flaring again. Her eyes snapped to Zeth. "You said there were circumstances."
Luke's attention sharpened instantly. Levi's too.
"Circumstances?" Luke pressed, hungry curiosity lighting his face. "Do tell."
Zeth hesitated. He looked at Levi, searching. Levi only shrugged, a silent warning and permission in one. Zeth exhaled.
"Fine," he said, exhaling low. "It's time to stop circling it."
Jade leaned forward, every muscle in her body tense with anticipation. Zeth's expression hardened into something serious.
"It's time to let the cat out of the bag," Zeth swallowed once, and began.