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The only sound in the room was the click of Spike’s toenails against the tile flooring. For a long moment, no one spoke.

Finally, Aedan glared at me. His nose wrinkled, pulling back as he made a face. “You’re so suspicious, Jonny. Lighten up.”

I settled back in my chair, matching his glare and returning it with one of my own. “Aedan.”

“You’re reading too much into this,” he said, holding his hands up in a helpless shrug.

I raised one eyebrow. “Oh? If I’m wrong, I do so apologize. You can just tell it to me straight - ‘No, Jon, I’m not here for anything. I just appreciate your company and your free food.’ It’s that simple.”

Aedan winced. It was a slight motion, just a crinkling at the corners of his eyes, but he might as well have bellowed “I’m keeping secrets” for the world to hear. “I’m not going to play games and satisfy your paranoia,” he muttered, eyes dropping. “If you’ll get over yourself for a few minutes, I’m going to go to-”

“Come on, Aedan,” Keira said, sliding her arm through his and pulling herself closer to his side. “You’re not fooling anyone.”

Well, at least she could see it, too. I wasn’t entirely fooled, though. She was smiling, joining in on my game, but her eyes were dark. The notion that Aedan wasn’t just here for the pleasure of our friendship didn’t sit well with her, then.

Aedan tipped his head back, rolling his eyes, but only sighed. “Good god, woman, not you too,” he mumbled. I waited - the fight was gone from his voice, and Aedan wasn’t all that stubborn once you ganged up on him. We’d win. I could keep him here until we won, in fact.

Half a minute later, he shook his head. “I mean, I wouldn’t say that it’s the only reason I’m here.”

My fingers tapped against my leg, rapid-fire. “But.”

“But, well...It’s not really a surprise, either.” With one last grimace, he straightened, fixing his green-eyed gaze on me. “Yeah, Jonny. I need your help.”

A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips. “How long were you planning on sitting on that little request, exactly?”

“Don’t sass me. You’d have found out when I was good and ready.” Aedan shifted, easing himself free of Keira, and slid a hand under his shirt. He pulled his knife out from underneath, cradling it in his lap. “Don’t act so surprised. You knew all about this.”

Keira was silent, wordless. She hadn’t moved as Aedan let go of her - and now she was caught, transfixed by the sight of the ancient blade.

I cleared my throat, drawing Aedan’s eyes back to me. “Your relic.”

“Was there a question there?” he said, scowling.

“So what do you need help with? Is this supposed to mean something?”

Keira leaned back. Her hands were balled up between her knees, tightly enough her knuckles gleamed white through the skin.

Aedan slid the knife free of its sheath, sending reflections dancing across the floor. “Same deal as always, Jon.”

“I don’t know how to kill you, Aedan,” I said slowly. “I know that’s what you want, but I don’t have the answer you’re looking for.”

Aedan chuckled, his eyes going wistful for a split second. In a moment it was gone, fast enough I couldn’t quite be sure I’d seen it at all. “I’m not an idiot, Jon,” he said, laying the knife flat and turning back to me. “I know you’re not holding out on me.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Nox and Amber sitting against the wall right where they’d been. Nox was bone-white, pointedly looking in the other direction. I couldn’t quite blame him. There was no telling what was going through Aedan’s head in that moment. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant topic of conversation, and I knew the immortal demi had been through his fair share of horrible happenings. Amber, on the other hand, looked like she was ignoring us entirely. Her fingers danced across the screen of her phone. I didn’t believe it for a second.

“So what, then?” I said quietly. “I have to be honest, I’m still not comfortable with this.”

“I wasn’t asking if you were.”

A chuckle rippled through my chest before I could stop myself. “No, you definitely weren’t.”

He made a face. “Shut the hell up, Jonny. Look.” He reached over, scratching at Spike’s ears. The dog crept closer, laying its head in his lap. “I’ve made a lot of connections over the years. I know a lot of people. Only, how do I phrase this….” His teeth gleamed as he grinned. “Sometimes, I worry how honest they’re being with me.”

Nox shuddered. I tore my eyes off him, forcing my attentions back to Aedan. “That’s never worried you before.”

“Of course it has,” he snapped. “Don’t be an idiot. I’m good, sure. I can normally spot people telling lies. Normally. But information is valuable, Jon, and not everyone’s willing to part with it. Not for someone like me.”

“A rogue.”

A groan slipped between his lips. “That. Yes. And not really a very popular one, if we’re all playing at the truth here. False information can get me killed, Jon.”

“You’ll get better.” I should stop. I knew I should stop - but I could see where this was going, and it wasn’t at all a fair request for Aedan to make of me.

He glared, his eyes furious. “Killing me is the best outcome. Do you know how long I’ve-” He caught himself, shaking his head, and settled for scowling at me. “It hasn’t been easy, keeping track of demi society,” he said at last. His voice wobbled, like he was fighting to keep it level.

I chewed my lip, sitting perfectly still. “But now you have me.”

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His grin flashed back into place, every bit as dry and full of life as before. I was going to get whiplash if this kept up. “Exactly. And, conveniently enough, you owe me.”

“You want me to vet your sources.”

“I want you to come help me look,” Aedan said, holding a finger up to cut me off. “I’ve been out of this part of the country a while. Things change fast. There are new finders, new crews. Relics have changed hands. The situation has changed with them.” His head tilted to one side as he eyed me. “It’s time I did a fresh search.”

Fucking perfect. I dropped my head forward, rubbing my aching, tired eyes with one hand. “Aedan, it’s really, really not a good time for me to be leaving.”

“That’s a hell of an understatement,” Amber muttered under her breath. Keira jumped, twisting to give the pair a look. I wasn’t startled. It was obvious that she would be listening - she was too aware of the consequences for inattention.

“You’ll be fine,” Aedan said, waving one hand dismissively. “Everything’s fine. This is good, yeah. You’ve got a nice little nest here.”

“It’s not fine, Aedan,” I snapped, folding my arms. “We just had a major attack. The marketeers are still pissed off at us, and your bitch friend Anke keeps sending demis after us. What part of this is fine?”

“Calm down. Don’t be overdramatic,” he said, fixing a derisive look on me. “I mean, yes, Noah’s a concern. You’re not wrong to keep him on your mind. Someone like that doesn’t forget so readily.”

“Then you should know why I can’t-”

“But you just kicked the shit out of him and his underlings,” Aedan said, leaning back and grinning at me. “Didn’t quite think you had it in you, but hey. Every dog-”

“Aedan,” I snapped.

He made a face, his exuberance dying away. “He’s just been beaten, Jonny. He’s still alive, and he’s still in control, but he’s shown weakness. He’ll need to spend a bit of time rebuilding his base of power. Which leaves us just enough time to go out there and get some shit done.”

My heart pounded in my ears. I stayed where I was, my eyes locked on his face. It was Aedan, after all. He’d become something like a friend, and I didn’t think he was malicious, but I didn’t trust him, either.

But when I looked at him, my eyes tracing every line and muscle of his frame, I couldn’t find even a hint of deceit. He was telling us the truth - or at least, he believed he was telling us the truth.

“That still leaves Anke,” I said slowly. “Whatever she’s after, I don’t think she’s going to give up so easily.”

Aedan laughed - actually laughed at me, a short, barking sound that brought me up short. “Doubtful,” he said, sliding his arm around Keira’s shoulders again. She shifted, letting him pull her a little closer, but didn’t return the gesture. Her eyes were dark, contemplative. If Aedan noticed, he didn’t let it show. “Noah’s an impulsive, aggressive idiot. Anke’s not. Her attempt with Glenn’s crew was pushed back. I’m betting she was watching, keeping tabs on Noah’s attempt too.”

“You’re not helping your case any.”

“Let me finish, for fuck’s sake,” Aedan said. He looked decidedly uncomfortable - and to be honest, the whole conversation we’d had thus far was more words than I’d ever heard the flighty immortal say in one sitting. “She’s not like Noah, and she’ll have seen what you lot did. If I were to guess, I’d say she’ll keep her distance until she knows how things are going to play out.”

I hesitated, my words crumpling, and eyed Aedan. Keira sat where she was, staring at the coffee table in front of them, and neither Amber nor Nox were going to jump into the middle of things. The quiet grew, dragging on and on.

“So…” I began, shifting in my seat. “Are you going to explain how you know all of this?”

I wasn’t fooled. Whoever Anke was, she’d been a constant figure in things from the moment this whole shitshow began. She had her fingers jammed deep into the world of demibloods - and clearly, she also had more than a passing interest in the patch of dismal, deserted forest we’d decided to call home.

I glared at Aedan with renewed irritation. I wonder why.

For his part, Aedan looked almost chagrined. He wouldn’t quite meet my eyes, anyway, and cleared his throat before I could lead into another question. “It’s not anything for you to worry about.”

“You said the same thing after Glenn’s crew attacked. It was bullshit then, and it’s bullshit now.”

“Jonny,” Aedan said, shaking his head. “Unbunch your panties and just take this down a few notches. We go back, like I said. That’s all you need to know.”

“You can’t expect me to-”

“Let me rephrase,” he snapped, his good humor fleeing in an instant. “It’s better if you stop asking questions.”

A shiver ran down my spine. The look he was giving me was hard as steel, and every bit as cold. And just like before, I couldn’t find even a hint of a half-truth in his words.

“Can we all just calm down a little?” Keira said at last. Her voice was low - or rather, she really wasn’t all that quiet. It was just that somewhere along the line, we’d both started yelling. She folded her hands in her lap, her face bone-white. “I mean, this is a lot, Aedan.”

“I know,” he muttered, deflating. “He does owe me, though.”

“Heaven forbid,” I said, inches shy of spitting the words. “Paying that off would be good.”

Aedan flashed a quick, smug smirk my way, painted across his face for a second and then vanishing entirely. “Oh, you’re just getting started. I gave up my relics for you, damn it.”

Again, the conversation petered out into the quiet, chilled air of the night. “Let me sleep on it,” I said at last, letting the exhaustion hiding under my words start to bleed through.

“It’s an easy answer. All you have to do is say yes, and-”

“You sat on all of that for long enough. One more night won’t hurt.”

Aedan made a face, opening his mouth, but I glared his way. “You were going to go to sleep. It wasn’t crazy urgent then, so don’t give me that.”

“But now you know,” he said, scowling at me. “So what’s the point in sitting on it?”

“The point is I’m not convinced. This isn’t something I can just pull an answer out of my ass for.”

He straightened, his eyebrows pulling together, but to my surprise, it was Amber who spoke next.

“Maybe deciding important stuff like this in the middle of the night isn’t a good idea,” she said. Her voice was every bit as disinterested as ever, and her attentions were still firmly fixed on her phone, but she didn’t hesitate.

Aedan and I stopped, watching her, but she didn’t say anything else. Apparently, she’d said her piece, and she was done.

He wanted to say something. It was written in the way he kept opening and closing his mouth, his lips fluttering like a fish. Each time, though, he bit down on whatever words he was considering, and slumped back into his seat.

Finally, with one last sigh for good measure, he grabbed the arm of the couch and heaved himself upright. “Fine. Whatever.”

Keira was up alongside him in a second. Her eyes darted between him and I - and fixed on his back as he turned for the hall. “Don’t stew on it too long,” Aedan said, ruffling his hair with one hand. “Like I said. I think we’ve got a window, but I wouldn’t count on it to last forever. Don’t drag your damn feet.”

“Got it,” I said. My tone was heavy, expressionless. My mind was too busy working through everything he’d said to act cheerful.

He glanced back over his shoulder, his steps slowing - and then he turned the corner towards their room and was gone.

“I’ll- I’ll talk to him,” Keira said, her tone artificially bright. “There’s got to be more to it.” She’d pulled her glasses out of her pocket at some point, cradling them in her hands. She’d been working with them, I knew, trying to urge her powers to show a bit more creativity. I wasn’t sure how they’d help here, but that was on her.

Her door slid shut behind her, closing with a click.

The room was quiet after that. Empty. The sky outside was dark, and I knew that I should be as exhausted as the others, but I wasn’t. My fingers twitched, quivering relentlessly like I’d just finished my fifth cup of coffee. Murmuring incoherent excuses, I stood abruptly, grabbing my coat from where I’d discarded it.

Moments later, I was out in the cold.

I stepped away from the door, leaning against the railing and staring up into the sky. Winter might be coming to an end, but it was still frigid. The cold kept the clouds away, leaving a star-studded blanket overhead for me to watch. There wasn’t even snow coating the rail, I thought with a chuckle. I was going to get spoiled.

With the black emptiness overhead, the uncertainties about our future were all the more poignant.

The door creaked open behind me, then shut.

My good humor died instantly, dashed by the realization I wasn’t alone anymore. I held my place, though, ignoring the newcomer. The railing creaked gently as a new weight settled against it.

“Well,” Amber said. She faced the house, peering in the front window and completely disregarding the view. “That was something.”