In the back corner of the underground club, Zeth stood with his arms crossed, pretending he wasn't impatient enough to crawl out of his own skin.
Across from him, sat Monty with his suit jacket still perfectly structured, looking like he owned the building. A stack of chips and cash lay like a throne in front of him, and an expensive cigar dangled from the corner of his mouth, smoke escaped in slow lazy circles. He didn't need to smile to make people nervous. He just watched them, calm and patient.
Monty's opponent, a mortal with the haunted look of a man who'd already lost his car, his rent, and his dignity. He was sweated through his shirt, eyes darting between his cards and Monty's chip stack like he was staring at a loaded gun.
Zeth tapped his foot. Once. Twice. Three times. He lingered behind the mortal for a few seconds, then exhaled slowly through his nose. Monty didn't look up. He didn't have to. His voice came out smooth, old-fashioned, and edged with that Chicago bite that made every sentence sound like a warning wrapped in charm.
"Huff and puff all you like, Zeth," Monty said lazily, smoke curling from his lips. "But you keep tappin' that foot kid, and I'm gonna start charginn' you rent."
Zeth's jaw tightened. "We don't have time for this." That finally earned him a glance. Monty's eyes slid up, steady and unimpressed.
"Time's what I make money outta," Monty drawled. "So why don't you tell me what's got you so itchy you came down here interruptin' my evening?"
Zeth leaned in, lowering his voice because the mortal didn't need to hear demon politics. "Aamon wants you."
Monty's cigar shifted in his lips. Then he took the drag anyway, slow and deliberate, smoke curling out of his mouth like he was deciding whether to laugh or bite.
"Aamon wants me," Monty echoed. "That so."
Zeth didn't flinch. "Now."
Monty turned his attention back to the mortal, who looked like he was about to vomit. Monty's expression softened into something almost kind. Almost.
"What's the matter, pal?" Monty said, voice syrupy. "You look like you're about to lose somethin' you can't afford."
The mortal swallowed hard. "I… I can't—"
Monty's smile widened. "Sure you can. C'mon. Take a breath. We ain't savages. It's just cards."
Zeth's patience snapped right in half.
"Fold," Zeth told the mortal bluntly, then pulled out a few crisp hundred-dollar bills and held them up. "Fold right now and take this."
The mortal's eyes went round. He looked at the money, then at Monty, then at the money again like it might disappear if he blinked too long. Monty's gaze sharpened. The temperature at the table seemed to drop.
The mortal threw his cards down so fast they slapped the felt. "Fold." He snatched the cash and bolted from the table like he'd stolen it. Monty's cigar tip glowed brighter as he inhaled. He exhaled slowly and looked at Zeth with polite menace.
"You wanna do that again," Monty said, calm as a preacher, "and I'm gonna take that money back outta your teeth."
Zeth stared him down. "We're not here to play."
Monty rose, adjusting his cuffs, every movement deliberate. "Nah. You're here to yank me around like I'm one of your errands."
Zeth's voice stayed flat, but his eyes sharpened. "You'll follow Aamon's orders."
A flicker of irritation crossed Monty's face. He didn't like being told what to do by anyone. Not even deities. Especially not deities who weren't the Sovereign.
Then Monty's gaze flicked past Zeth, toward the chaos of the dance floor. Toward the mortal girl. Toward Jade.
He studied her for a heartbeat. Watched the way she looked too small in the sea of bodies. She didn't belong here, he couldn't explain how he knew but he felt it in his core. Something in Monty's expression shifted. Calculation. A new toy, maybe?
Zeth cleared his throat impatiently, catching Monty's attention again. Monty clicked his tongue. A sound of reluctant acceptance.
"Fine," Monty said at last, voice rougher. "Lead the way."
Zeth marched forward, pushing Monty with the kind of aggravation one shoves someone who does not know the importance of hurrying. Monty didn't like it, but he allowed it, only because Zeth was Aamon's right hand.
"Just so we're clear," Monty murmured as they moved, "you don't grab me like that unless you wanna leave your arm behind."
Zeth didn't even look back. "Noted."
Near the DJ table, Levi was doing what Levi did best: ending mortal nonsense without wasting words. A fight had erupted between two men built like refrigerators. They were snarling and swinging like rabid dogs, drawing attention, drawing security, drawing problems.
Levi stared at them for exactly three seconds, then lifted a bucket of ice water that he'd spotted behind the bar and dumped it straight over both their heads. The men froze, drenched and blinking.
Levi's voice was quiet, precise. "Sit."
One of them, silver-haired and furious, took a step forward as if he might be stupid enough to swing at Levi. Levi's eyes met his as he smiled as if daring the man to make an attempt. The mortal's anger drained out of him like a punctured bottle. He backed away without a word and vanished into the crowd. The other one laughed loudly and boisterous.
"Told ya!" Tanner boomed, slapping Levi on the shoulder like they were old friends. "They always fold when I'm around. Even when I ain't doin' nothin'!"
Levi's mouth tightened. "What was it over this time Tanner? He spill water on your shoes?"
Tanner grinned, bright and boyish, like a kid who'd just found a rock to throw at a window.
"We locked eyes from across the dance floor," Tanner said proudly. "He stared at me and I stared right back. It was primal, Levi. You wouldn't understand what kind of challenge that is."
Levi shakes his head, "You're deplorable," a look of discussed plastered across his features. "But you're right. I don't understand animals."
Tanner's grin faltered. Then his eyes lit with the kind of quick-trigger anger that made him dangerous. "Is that a challenge, Levi?" Tanner puffs his chest out a bit, ready for another fight.
"I have no interest wrestling you like some wild dog. We have more important things to handle." Levi waves him off.
"Say that again fish, I dare you!" Tanner balls a fist, preparing to strike Levi.
Levi, already walking away, calls over his shoulder. "Come boy, let's go."
Tanner stomped after him, muttering threats like they were jokes. "All right fish boy. Keep talkin'. I'll hook you myself."
Levi huffed, exhausted, but didn't bother replying.
Up on the catwalk, Oz leaned against the railing, his eyes scanned the room, sharper than his usual playful haze. He'd lost interest with the women in red quicker than he'd wanted. He couldn't get Jade out of his mind. He kept thinking about how he'd gotten dangerously close to forgetting every rule in existence.
He was lust but he was not stupid, still, his thoughts flickered back to her mouth. Her laugh. The way she'd looked at him when the music had swallowed her worries. Oz exhaled and shook it off.
He spotted Zeth dragging Monty. He spotted Levi dragging Tanner. Now he just needed Bell and Jade. After scanning the crowd below him, he spotted them both, together.
"Good. That makes this easy." Oz mumbled to himself as he dropped from the catwalk into the crowd.
At the neon bar, Jade's heart was still racing. Her hands still shook. The club had swallowed her and spit her back out into this corner, and she hadn't decided yet which part was worse.
Bell sat beside her, slouched, bored, and somehow terrifying without lifting a finger. His beanie shadowed his eyes. His shaggy hair with green tips looked like it had never met a brush. Bandages on his cheek. Piercings. Torn clothes like he'd dressed in clothes someone threw out.
He didn't look drunk. He didn't look high. Just simply, indifferent and that might've been the worst part. Jade tried to stand again. Bell's hand closed around her wrist. Not tight enough to bruise but tight enough that she knew she was not free to leave.
"Sit," he said, voice flat and laced with boredom.
Jade's eyes widened slightly. "I can't, sorry. I need to find my friends."
Bell's head tilted slightly, like she'd said something vaguely amusing. "You're making this harder."
She swallowed, panic crawling back up her spine. Then Bell stood, still holding her wrist.
"Time to go."
Jade stumbled. "Go where?"
Bell didn't answer. He just started dragging her through the crowd like she was a loose thread he intended to pull. Jade dug her heels in, tried to twist free again, failed again. Tears built in her eyes, hot and humiliating.
She couldn't scream loud enough in here. No one would care if she did because everyone was screaming. The crowd parted for them like she was being led away by her boyfriend.
This is it, her mind screamed. This is how it ends.
Then a hand grabbed her other arm.
"Bell." Oz smiled gently at Jade then his eyes landed on Bell.
Bell paused and turned. His mouth curled slightly. "Oh. You."
Oz's grin was all playboy menace. "Deal?"
Bell's eyes flicked over Oz, then past him toward the exit where the other princes gathered. Bell shrugged once, like the entire world was too much effort. Then he released Jade. Jade stumbled backward and crashed into Oz, clinging to him like he was the only solid thing in the room.
She pointed at Bell, shaking. "He's trying to kidnap me!" Oz stared at her for a beat, he felt his heart thud in a way he disliked. Bell stared too. Then both of them laughed. Jade blinked, betrayed.
Bell leaned down just enough to meet her eyes. "Is that what you think I was doing?"
He reached to pat her head but Jade flinched and ducked, clinging to Oz like he was her only form of safety. Bell paused, confused in the way a bored person got when someone did something unexpected. "You think he would protect you?"
Oz's grin widened. "Depends on the mood."
Jade's voice cracked. "Oz, please. I want to go home." She looked up at him, her eyes threatening to expel more tears.
Oz's expression softened just a fraction. "Okay, Jade. We're leaving. We found what we came for."
Found what we came for. Those words didn't feel safe. They felt planned. But Jade didn't have the strength to argue. She let Oz guide her toward the exit, eyes darting constantly toward Bell.
Bell walked ahead, slow, uncaring, with his hands in his front pocket of his dirty grease stained jeans like nothing mattered.
At the stairs, Levi waited with Zeth, Monty, and Tanner. Monty stood slightly apart, smoking his cigar, eyes sharp and calculating. Tanner looked annoyed to be standing still.
Bell arrived first, posture lazy. "We walking?" Bell asked casually, as if talking was a bother.
Oz followed Bell a few paces behind with Jade clung to his arm. Tanner's gaze snapped to Jade and softened instantly in a way that didn't match the rest of him.
"Who messed with her?" Tanner asked, voice bright and dangerous at the same time. "Point 'em out, little sis. I'll handle it." Tanner cracked his neck, his eyes darting around the room they'd left behind for someone he could hit.
Jade blinked at the sudden protectiveness, too overwhelmed to respond.
Monty's eyes narrowed as he studied her, like he was measuring her weight in consequences.
"So, are we babysitting mortals now?" Monty said, voice thick with Chicago twang.
Levi's eyes sharpened. "Watch your mouth."
Monty looked Levi up and down with the kind of calm contempt only Greed could perfect.
"I ain't talkin' to you," Monty said coolly.
Zeth huffed and briefly explained to the last three princes who Jade was. After, Monty shifted his attention back to Jade, his tone shifted. Not warm. Not friendly. Respectful. Begrudging.
"Evenin', miss."
Jade stared, startled by the sudden politeness. Zeth noticed it too. He didn't comment, but his eyes said everything: He's already doing the math.
Levi held his arms out. "Hands." One by one, they placed a hand on Levi.
Oz nudged Jade forward gently. "C'mon."
Jade hesitated, then reached out and touched Levi's sleeve. Wind exploded around them, loud as a storm. Jade gasped and grabbed Levi instinctively. Her stomach lurched like the floor had dropped away. Then the world folded.
They landed outside the house in cold night air. Jade was last to release to Levi. She slowly let go, breath shaky, then immediately searched for Bell, still not convinced he wasn't going to harm her.
Bell glanced at her once with a straight face, then shoved a finger up his nose like she didn't exist and flicked something away. Jade's stomach turned.
Tanner cracked his knuckles, eyes sweeping the yard like he was already looking for someone to punch. "Listen here little miss," Monty directed his attention on Jade. "You got somebody you need handlin'. you call for your big bro Tanner, got that?" He smiled when Jade nodded.
Monty looked up at the house with a frown. "We're all stayin' here? Together?" He clicked his tounge in annoyance.
Bell yawned. "If someone makes me work, I'm leaving."
Levi sighed like his soul had aged.
Zeth opened the door. "Coffee's on. Anyone want a beer?"
Oz, of course, perked up. "Yes."
Jade hurried inside with the others, still confused. She hadn't come here to be bait. But the way the night had unfolded, the way the princes had appeared like pieces clicking into place made her feel like she'd been placed as bait for demons she didn't yet understand.
Something was happening around her again and she had a sinking feeling she wasn't the one in control of her own life anymore.