Zeth tilted his head, studying Jade like she'd just asked him to explain gravity using interpretive dance.
"I don't think I can explain that too you yet." He finally tells her. Jade's shoulders slump.
"What's wrong?" Zeth nudges her slightly.
Jade didn't answer right away. Her eyes flicked over his wing, the red feathers draped around her shoulders giving her borrowed warmth, then back to his face. She looked… careful. Like the world had given her too many reasons to expect teeth.
"Are you… one of the princes?" she asked finally. "If I make you angry, will you try to kill me too? Like Levi?"
Zeth blinked.
Then he leaned forward and set a hand on the top of her head, an oddly gentle gesture coming from someone who usually communicated like a blunt instrument.
"Thanks for the compliment," he said dryly, "but no. I'm not a prince."
Jade held her breath.
"And even if I were," Zeth added, voice shifting into something more serious, "even after being trapped in that disaster you call a mind for a few hours, I still don't feel the urge to kill you."
He gave a soft laugh, like the idea was ridiculous.
Jade's shoulders sagged with relief. She exhaled, the tension draining from her body in a slow shiver.
Zeth leaned back against the wall again. "I'm nothing more than a banished angel," he said, and his tone made it sound like a title he wore out of spite. "But I'm Aamon's right hand. Since I'm not tied to mortal sins, my decisions aren't influenced the way the princes' are."
He lifted his chin, pride slipping into his voice. "That's the whole reason Aamon wanted me at his side. I'm… useful."
Jade frowned slightly, still processing.
"All the stories I've ever been told," she said slowly, "make gods and angels sound kind. Compassionate. Like they help because it's the right thing."
Zeth's mouth twitched. "And you believed that?"
Jade shot him a look. "I didn't say I believed it. I said I was told it."
Zeth nodded, conceding the point. Jade's brow furrowed deeper as she continued.
"But from what you're saying… it sounds like they're selfish. The only reason they perform miracles is to extend their own lives."
Zeth hesitated, and it wasn't because he was unsure. It was because he seemed to be deciding how much truth a human could handle without falling apart.
"Most beings in the Light Realm are convinced their selfishness is righteousness," Zeth said eventually. "So yes. You're not wrong." Zeth lets a heavy sigh escape before continuing. "Truthfully, none of us have much interest one way or the other regarding mortals. We are all just trying to survive too. Keep the balance."
Jade absorbed that, eyes narrowing, then asked the question that had been circling her mind like a vulture.
"What happens to the souls that are collected?" she pressed. "If souls are taken to extend the life force of demons or angels… does that mean there's no afterlife at all?"
Zeth stared at her for a long moment.
Then he gave a small, resigned sigh. "Yes," he said. "And no."
Jade made a face and rubbed her forehead. "You think my mind is confusing. This is giving me a headache."
Zeth chuckled and patted the top of her head like she was a stressed-out cat he didn't want to admit he liked.
"Think of the Dark Realm like a hotel," he said. "I know. It's silly."
Jade didn't interrupt, which for her was a heroic act.
"The seven princes each control one level," Zeth continued. "When a contract is made and a soul is collected, that soul goes to the prince's floor. The soul stays there, and its energy sustains the prince who controls it. Like paying rent with your existence."
Jade's eyes widened slightly. "So they don't just… disappear?"
"No," Zeth said. "They remain. They change. Their energy is used, but the soul doesn't vanish."
He tapped the red wing draped around her. "Like when I gave you my heart."
Jade's expression tightened at the reminder.
"You had access to my power," Zeth said, "but you didn't use it because you have a brain and you're not a tyrant. You could decide when something was needed. Souls function similarly. Their energy can be drawn from, but the consciousness doesn't dissolve completely."
Jade stared at the floor, thinking hard.
"What about humans who do really bad things?" she asked finally. "Like murder. Torture. Things like that."
"Mortals who commit acts like that break mortal law," Zeth explained. "And their own consciousness becomes the punishment. When their souls leave the body, they transform."
"Into… demons?" Jade asked carefully.
"Lower-level demons," Zeth confirmed. "Mindless beasts. Instinct-driven. Hunger and rage with no reason. Those are the demons, and the higher demons, Aamon keeps in check."
"And those beasts…" Jade's voice dropped. "They're tortured by their own minds?"
"Exactly," Zeth said. "They don't need a ruler tormenting them with a pitchfork. Their own memory and guilt does the job. Our job is containment. We keep them from interfering with balance."
Jade sat silently for a moment, and then her eyes sharpened again.
"So… if balance exists," she said slowly, "then the souls of people who don't do wrong go to the Light Realm as… mindless angels?"
Zeth laughed. "Basically."
Jade looked offended. "That's awful."
"It's efficient," Zeth corrected.
He leaned his head back against the wall. "When the Soul Shift happens, higher demons and angels switch souls between the three Realms. Some souls get reassigned. Some get a second chance."
Jade's brows lifted. "Second chance?"
"If a lower demon regains its ability to reason," Zeth explained, "it may be granted another run in the Mortal Realm. And if a soul from the Light Realm loses its ability to reason, it can fall. Nothing is permanent. Not the way mortals like to pretend it is."
Jade's gaze dropped to Zeth's wing again. She reached out, cautiously this time, and touched the feathers with two fingers. They were warm, alive, faintly humming with power.
After a moment, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Zeth.
Zeth stiffened like she'd slapped him.
"…Is this another one of those not-normal things you do?" he asked, voice muffled with confusion.
Jade shook her head against his chest. "No."
She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. "I didn't understand how much trouble you could've been in because of me."
Zeth's expression darkened slightly.
"And I wanted to thank you," Jade added quietly. "For saving me."
Zeth blinked. Then he gave a short laugh, half amused, half stunned.
"You're definitely not a normal human," he muttered.
Jade's smile faltered. The weight came back, creeping into her chest.
Zeth noticed immediately, because he wasn't an idiot even if he pretended he was.
"By the way," Zeth said, voice turning careful, "why are you afraid of losing us?"
Jade stared at the floor again.
Zeth moved his hands to her shoulders and gently forced her to look at him. "I felt it," he said. "That fear. It's not… small."
Jade swallowed. "You felt it because you were in my head."
"No," Zeth corrected quietly. "I felt it because it's loud."
Jade's mouth opened, then closed.
"You came here for the Soul Shift," she said finally, barely above a whisper. "Once it's over…"
She didn't finish the sentence because the end of it tasted like abandonment.
Once it's over, you will all leave. And I'm alone again.
The door to the office suddenly flew open. Jade flinched instinctively. Aamon stepped inside first, tall and composed. Levi followed a step behind, rubbing the back of his neck like a sulking teenager who'd been grounded. Aamon's eyes landed on Zeth's wing draped over Jade. His expression didn't change, but something sharpened behind his gaze.
"You sure do like to talk a lot," Aamon said to Zeth, tone flat.
Aamon's gaze slid briefly to her, then back to Zeth. "Did you two work everything out?"
Zeth nodded, then tipped his head toward Levi. "Did he?"
Levi huffed, rolling his eyes dramatically as he flicked his long white hair over his shoulder. "If you mean I know not to kill that," he said, pointing at Jade like she was an eyesore. "then yes."
Zeth's eyes flicked to Levi's face, to the new still healing blisters, faint marks of Aamon's fist.
Zeth grinned. "Looks like Aamon got you pretty good."
Levi rubbed his cheek and glared at Aamon with theatrical misery. "Apparently he wasn't satisfied with you're beating."
Aamon lifted a hand slightly as if to backhand Levi causing him to flinch hard enough to almost trip over his own feet. Jade's gaze darted to Levi, then away just as quickly. Her body still remembered Levi's grip. Still remembered the smell of his breath.
Aamon's attention settled on her like a quiet weight. He crouched in front of her, lowering himself until his eyes were level with hers. He scanned her body as if checking to see that she was still in one piece. It made Jade feel naked somehow.
"Are you still upset?" he asked softly.
"It's just…" she started, and then lost the words. Rather than trying again, she simply shook her head, but it was because that was easier than putting what she felt into words.
Aamon's eyes softened in a way she didn't think he could express.
"You don't understand why I didn't help you," Aamon said rather pointedly. Announcing it so plainly for the entire room to see her raw feelings. Jade stared at him, startled that he'd guessed it so easily, and finally nodded. Aamon's mouth curved faintly, but the expression didn't reach his eyes. There was pain there. Real pain. The kind he didn't know how to hide yet.
"Zeth needed to," Aamon said quietly. "To save himself."
He lifted a hand and brushed a stray strand of hair from Jade's face. Jade went still, waiting for the burn. It didn't come. Aamon stared at his own fingers for half a second, like the ability to touch her was its own kind of wound.
"And," he added, voice lower, "I couldn't stand to let you hold his heart a moment longer."
Jade's breath caught. Her face heated.
Zeth made a gagging noise and retracted his wing with dramatic offense. "Alright, enough of this mushy crap. You're making me sick."
Levi sighed, his face looking more pale than normal. "Indeed. I hate to agree, but… this is truly disgusting."
He gave Jade a cold glance before turning his back on her and Aamon. "I'm leaving before I start vomiting."
Zeth followed, muttering something about "romantic nonsense".
The office fell into a soft quiet once they left. Aamon stood, then extended his hand down toward Jade. Jade stared at it like it might explode. Her hand hovered uncertainly, remembering burns, remembering the sting of fear.
"Still uncertain, huh?" Aamon said, but his voice wasn't mocking.
Jade studied his face. Something in his expression seemed sad, not a normal sadness. It was the kind of sadness that someone who experienced loneliness over centuries. The kind of sadness that one only has when they were trying their very best, and realizing they are still falling short of the goal. Something pulled at Jades heart.
Jade swallowed. "I… don't want to be hurt again." Jade finally said, her words coming out like a plead rather than a statement.
Aamon's expression faded into something more serious. He knelt again.
"Sorry," he said softly.
Jade looked held his gaze, startled at the sudden apology.
"I made you doubt me again," Aamon continued. "Let you fear for your life." Aamon's eyes searched her face. Looking for acceptance, for understanding. Maybe even forgiveness.
Jade looked down and pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could physically hold her heart in place. She thought of everything she'd learned tonight. Soul shifts. Balance. Rules that trapped even kings. The way Aamon stood alone at the top of a tower no one else could reach.
"I understand why you couldn't help now, so it's not so hard to accept." Jade finally said, accepting the reality despite the twisting pain she felt deep within. The brutal truth was no matter how she felt, he would return to the Dark Realm when the shift ended.
He'd be alone again for a long time, and the thought hurt so much she almost couldn't breathe. She had tried so hard to keep herself from developing feelings for him but there was no denying that her heart longed for him.
You don't always get to choose how long you will be able to hang onto the one you love.
Jade's eyes widened suddenly, realization slamming into her like a door. She pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could physically hold her heart in place.
The one… I love?
Her stomach dropped. The words echoed in her head like a curse. No. That couldn't be right.
How could she love a demon? How could she love anyone this fast? She barely knew him. She was just grateful. She was just clinging to the first kindness she'd ever been offered. That's all it was. It had to be.
Aamon rose again and extended his hand once more. "All you need to do is trust me, Magpie," he said, voice quiet and steady.
Jade stared at his hand. Then at her own. Then, slowly, she reached out, placing her hand gingerly in Aamon's palm. His fingers closed around hers, warm, controlled.
He pulled her up with ease. For a moment they just stood there, too close, too quiet, the air between them thick with things neither of them knew how to name. Aamon smiled, and after a hesitant beat, Jade smiled back. Then, suddenly, Aamon pulled her close. And for the first time since they met, he embraced her.