"You… you're different," Jinkan said at last. Her eyes searched him intently. "How?"
She pressed the question, while Eeshoo remained silent beside her, watching with an unreadable gaze.
Emery gave a brief explanation—only that what they had seen was an alternate body. He deliberately withheld the deeper truth. As he spoke, his eyes flicked between the two Nephilim nobles, his expression growing more complex.
He wanted to call them friends. Their shared past, the dangers they had faced together, and the lengths they had gone to in this ancient domain all weighed heavily on him. Yet trust was another matter entirely. They were Nephilim nobility. No matter their personal intentions, their loyalties were bound to their faction. Even if they wished to help him, there would always be limits imposed by blood, duty, and authority.
No—he had to proceed carefully.
"She isn't here," Emery said at last. "Let's go back."
