About an hour later, Belz finally joined the others in the kitchen. He nodded once at the room, then kept that cold gaze fixed on Jade. "You must be the mortal," he said. "Jade, is it?"
Jade swallowed. Her fingers tightened around her mug. "Yeah," She took in the sight of him while flashes of first encounters with the others came back to her. She was bracing herself for this new prince to try something similar.
Luke's hand landed lightly on her shoulder, a wordless reassurance. It helped about as much as a paper shield against a cannon.
Belz shifted his weight, and Zoe, sensing the tension like a shark sensing blood, slipped between them with a too-cheerful grin. "Belz, be nice. She's a friend."
Belz didn't take his eyes off Jade. "Zoe told me what she knows," he said, voice flat. "And she left out the parts that actually matter."
Zoe's smile faltered for half a second. "Excuse you."
Belz looked around the table. "Obviously there are details missing. And inside those details is the explanation for all of this." His gaze snapped back to Jade. "Grimm spoke to you in Interstice. He mentioned a choice. What was it?"
Jade's skin prickled. She hated the way he asked so bluntly. Her mouth opened, and her tongue stuck. Not because she didn't have an answer. Because saying it out loud made it real. Before she could force the words out, Levi's chair scraped back.
Belz's attention flicked to him immediately.
"Belz," Levi said, voice ice-cold, "we've already found the reason."
Jade exhaled, relieved the attention was off her.
Belz's jaw tightened. "And?" he asked. "What is it? Don't make me wait, Levi. I hate when my mind wanders."
Levi crossed his arms, defiance written into his posture. For a moment, it looked like he'd refuse just to prove he could. Then his gaze slid to Jade. She was shivering again, trying to hide it and failing. And something in Levi's expression shifted. Annoyance, yes, but also something like reluctant restraint.
He sighed like the universe was personally inconveniencing him. "The prophecy."
That single phrase changed the air.
Belz's shoulders loosened. The cold edge in his stare faded, replaced by something almost comical: relief. He reached into his bag, pulled out a chip, and started eating like the tension had been a warm-up exercise.
"Oh." Belz crunched loudly. "Well that makes sense." Another crunch. "Phew." He swallowed. "I hate thinking. Glad I didn't have to solve that one."
Jade blinked, caught between offended and confused.
Belz stepped closer, chips still in hand, and held out a crumb-dusted palm. "I'm Belz," he said. "Lord of the Flyers."
Jade stared at his hand like it was a trap. Her eyes flicked to the cleanest-looking part of his palm, then to his face, then back to his palm. Belz followed her gaze, then looked down at his hand like he'd forgotten it existed.
"Oh." He wiped the crumbs on his shirt without shame. "Sorry."
Then he took her hand anyway and shook it with a grip that made Jade's bones question their life choices.
"Oh," Jade said, forcing politeness. "Nice to meet you."
Belz released her and immediately returned to eating, as if introductions were just another thing to do between bites. Jade sat back, pulse racing. He'd walked in like an executioner and then turned into a snack-loving couch creature in the span of ten seconds. It was unsettling.
Jade looked around the table. Zoe had threatened her the first night they met. Levi had tried to kill her. Oz looked at her like a hobby. Luke's "kindness" came with the constant risk of manipulation. Now Belz had entered like he was about to interrogate her into pieces.
And still none of them were pretending.
They weren't human, so they didn't bother dressing cruelty up as courtesy. When they wanted something, it showed. When they were curious, it showed. When they were protective, it showed, even when it came out wrong.
Jade let out a small breath and realized, with a startled sort of clarity, that she trusted that honesty. A soft, reluctant smile tugged at her mouth.
"So," Jade said, voice steadier, "now that you're here, does that mean the Shift is starting?"
Belz paused mid-chew and raised a brow. "Does she know everything?" he asked the room.
A series of nods answered him.
Belz sighed like he'd been asked to do math. His eyes slid back to Jade, studying her with a new kind of weight, something careful. Not fear. Not respect. Something like calculating what it would take to keep her alive without losing his snacks.
Aamon's hand drifted down to Jade's head, a casual touch that still made her heart kick. He ruffled her hair lightly. "She's a curious little Magpie," Aamon said, amused.
Jade's face warmed instantly. She swatted his hand away with the reflex of someone who could pretend she didn't like it. "Stop that."
Aamon's mouth curved. "Stop what?"
"You know what," she snapped, then regretted it because her voice had that flustered edge again.
Zoe clapped her hands like this was entertainment. "Oh, she's blushing. That's adorable."
Jade's embarrassment hit harder than fear ever did. She tried to speak, tried to ask the question lodged in her chest, but the words tripped over each other.
"I mean…if you're all here, and there's the Shift, and the prophecy, and Grimm said—no, I mean, he didn't say, but—"
Zoe slid an arm around Jade's shoulders like they'd been friends for years. "You're so cute when you get tangled up."
Jade stiffened, then sagged a little. She was too tired to fight Zoe's energy.
Zoe leaned in, voice bright and teasing. "If you don't want to do the prophecy thing, you can always stay in the Mortal Realm with me. We can do girl stuff. Shopping. Brunch. Mock snobby old people in coffee shops."
Zoe laughed, louder, then squeezed Jade once more. "But hey. I won't hold it against you if you turn down my offer. Becoming Queen is basically a fairytale."
Jade's stomach dropped. Queen. Zoe said it so casually. Like it was a job offer. Like Jade hadn't been raised by terror and hunger and survival instincts that screamed you don't get fairytales.
Zoe checked the clock and sighed. "Time for me to jet. Shelter needs me." She waved at the room and headed out, still smiling, still humming like she hadn't just dropped a boulder into Jade's chest.
Jade kept her eyes on the table. Heat crawled up her neck. Her heart felt too loud.
Did Aamon already know? Had he known from the start? Was that why he'd been…everything?
Aamon's voice cut through the spiral, calm again, practical. "There's a bar down the road. Not open until dusk. Zoe believes the remaining princes will be drawn to the underground club beneath it."
Zeth leaned back in his chair. "You think they'd really be there together? Tanner prefers places he can stir up trouble."
Levi clicked his tongue. "And Bell is a walking landfill. You'd have better luck finding him behind a dumpster."
Belz spoke through a mouthful of cookies. "No. It makes sense." He swallowed. "Monty likes gambling. A club is a good place for it. Tanner likes fights. A losing gambler makes easy prey. Bell is a slob. Clubs are full of slobs. Efficient."
Luke wrinkled his nose. "You are vile, Belz. Keep your crumb-hands away from me."
Belz stared at him blankly, then ate another cookie.
Aamon set a cup of coffee down in front of Jade, then sat beside her. His presence anchored the room without him trying.
"I want you three to investigate the club tonight," Aamon said, looking at Zeth, Oz, and Levi.
Oz's smile sharpened. "You don't have to ask me to visit a club. I'm dying to see what kind of women this city has."
Jade's face contorted before she could stop it. Gross.
Oz noticed and grinned like he'd been rewarded. "Don't worry, Jade. I'll behave." He leaned closer, voice dropping. "Mostly."
Levi groaned. "Why us three? Make Belz do it. He's going to be useless in preparation anyway."
Zeth snorted. "Do you really want to work with him? Besides, if we need a plan, the last thing we need is Belz summoning flyers because he had to make a decision."
Belz lifted his bag like a shield. "I don't summon flyers unless I'm provoked."
Levi stared at him. "You're provoked by thinking."
Belz didn't deny it.
Aamon's hand settled on Jade's shoulder, gentle but grounding. "Jade and I have matters to discuss. You understand?"
The others nodded. Even Oz, reluctantly. Jade's pulse spiked. Alone. With Aamon. Talking. About prophecy. About becoming Queen. About everything she didn't know how to say without choking on it. Her thoughts ran wild, piling on each other until they became absurd and terrifying in equal measure.
What if Queen means marriage? What if it means children? Can demons have children? Would they be smoke babies? Would I have to die to become queen?
Her face went hot. Her vision narrowed. Her heart sprinted. And then Jade's brain simply quit. Her eyes rolled back. Her body sagged. Aamon caught her before her forehead met the table. He cradled her head in his palm, brows drawing together. Silence snapped through the room.
Levi leaned in, frowning. "Is it dead?"
Luke shoved him away violently, putting his hand on Jade's forehead. "It's a mortal thing you idiotic brute. They faint when they're faced with stressful things."
Luke straightened, looking at Aamon. "Warm," he murmured. "But not fevered." Aamon brushed Jade's hair away and pressed his fingers to her forehead, nodding in agreement a moment later.
Zeth's face twisted with worry. "She just woke up, and now she's—"
Belz, already halfway toward the stairs, shrugged without looking back. "Mortals are fragile," he said around a mouthful of chips. "I'm going to sleep."
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm returning to my museum. It's still burned." His eyes darted accusingly toward Aamon. "And I still don't have my car."
Aamon didn't bother looking up. "Unimportant."
Luke made a sound of pure offended pride and stormed out. Zeth and Levi exchanged a look. They were both thinking the same thing, and neither liked it. Aamon lifted Jade carefully, carried her to the living room, and laid her on the sofa as if she might shatter.
He smoothed her hair back, thumb lingering just a fraction too long. "Rest, Magpie," he murmured.
Zeth cleared his throat behind him. "Sovereign, we'd like a word."
Levi nodded once. "Privately."
Aamon's gaze flicked to Jade one last time, then he straightened and followed them toward the balcony.