Chapter 51: Chapter Fifty-One: What She Notices

Jess was not a morning person. So the fact that she was awake, staring at her ceiling before her alarm had even gone off, was already a problem. She didn’t move at first. She just laid there, blinking slowly, trying to decide if she could go back to sleep and pretend none of yesterday had happened.

That lasted about three seconds.

“…Great,” she muttered, dragging a hand over her face. “We’re doing this.”

Her brain was already moving. Not fast or sharp, just enough to be annoying.

Malric.

Jess let out a quiet groan and rolled onto her side, burying her face halfway into her pillow.

“Nope. Absolutely not starting my day with that.”

It didn’t help. It just made it worse. Because now she was thinking about the way he looked at her when she called him out. You’re not in control. She had expected pushback. Something sharp. Something calculated.

Jess frowned into the pillow, then pushed herself up with a sigh.

“Yeah, no. I don’t like that.”

Because he hadn’t argued. He hadn’t even tried. He just… accepted it.

Jess swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat there for a second, staring at nothing.

“That’s not normal.”

Nothing about any of this was normal. Still. She stood, moving toward the kitchen on autopilot, grabbing a mug and starting the coffee without really thinking about it. Her thoughts didn’t slow, they shifted.

Rowan.

Jess huffed softly.

“…Okay, that part I like less.”

Rowan didn’t hesitate last night. Not once. Not when Malric showed up. Not when things shifted. Not when it got real. She stayed. Jess leaned against the counter, crossing her arms as that thought settled deeper. That wasn’t just confidence. That was something else. Something solid. And Corvin, Jess let out a slow breath and shook her head.

“…You’re not subtle.”

She said it out loud this time. Because they weren’t. Not to anyone actually paying attention. The way he stayed beside her. The way he didn’t step in, didn’t take over, didn’t try to control the conversation. He just held it, held her place in it, and Rowan let him. That was the part that stuck.

Jess grabbed her coffee and took a sip, immediately wincing.

“…Too hot.”

She set it down again, shaking her hand slightly before picking it back up more carefully.

Her brain kept going.

“That’s new,” she murmured.

Rowan didn’t let people stand that close. Not like that. Not without pulling back at some point.

Jess frowned slightly, staring into her mug.

“They’re not forcing it.”

That was why it worked. That was why it was different. That was why she couldn’t ignore it.

Jess took another sip, slower this time.

“Great,” she muttered. “So that’s a thing now.”

Her thoughts shifted again. Back to Malric.

Jess leaned back against the counter, staring at the ceiling now.

“…You’re not what I expected either.”

That one came quieter. Less sarcastic. More honest than she wanted. He was still dangerous. That hadn’t changed. Still the reason Rowan had been pulled into all of this in the first place. Still someone she should not trust.

But..

Jess exhaled slowly.

“He didn’t look like he was lying.”

That bothered her more than anything else. Because if he wasn’t in control.

Then who was? And why did it feel like she should already understand the answer?

Angel? They had already said it out loud. Briefly. Carefully. Like it was something that didn’t need explaining. But it did, at least for her. She hadn’t asked questions then. There hadn’t been time. There had been too much happening, too much shifting, too much to process all at once.

Jess pushed off the counter, pacing once across the kitchen before stopping again.

“…Yeah, we’re not leaving it there.”

Because knowing what she was and understanding it were not the same thing. And she didn’t have anything to connect it to. No history.ust a word and a feeling that it fit a little too well.

Jess crossed her arms, staring at the floor for a second.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

That part sat heavier than she expected. Because it wasn’t just curiosity. It was… missing pieces. She had been adopted. That had never bothered her. Now it felt like there was a whole part of her life that had been sitting just out of reach, and she hadn’t even known to look for it.

Jess exhaled slowly, shaking her head once.

“Okay. Yeah. I need answers.”

And she knew exactly where to get them. Taryn. Not because Taryn would be gentle about it, but because she wouldn’t lie. Jess grabbed her phone, checking the time. Too early.

Of course it was.

“…Eight,” she muttered. “Who picks eight.”

She was already awake. Already thinking. Already in it. So there wasn’t much point in pretending she wasn’t.

By the time she got to the meeting spot, she had coffee in hand and a slightly better grip on her mood. Slightly. Taryn was already there.

Jess didn’t even question it.

“Do you sleep,” Jess asked as she walked up.

“Yes.”

Jess narrowed her eyes. “I don’t believe you.”

Taryn didn’t respond. Rowan arrived a few minutes later. Jess noticed the difference immediately.

Jess’s eyes flicked briefly to Corvin as he stepped in behind her.

“…Yeah,” she murmured. “Still not subtle.”

Rowan glanced at her. “What.”

“Nothing,” Jess said quickly. “You look… awake.”

Rowan gave her a look.

Jess grinned. “It’s a compliment.”

Malric arrived last. Jess felt it before she saw him. Her posture straightened slightly without her meaning to. Not fear. Awareness. He stepped into the space like he had the night before. Controlled and measured but now…..

Jess watched him more carefully. He wasn’t leading it. That hadn’t changed.

“Morning,” Jess said.

Malric’s gaze shifted to her.

“Is it.”

Jess smirked slightly. “For some of us.”

Corvin didn’t waste time.

“We continue.”

Straight to it. Jess appreciated that.

Rowan nodded.

“Movement,” she said, looking at Malric. “You said we start there.”

Malric held her gaze.

“Yes.”

“How.”

That hung there for a second.

“We create pressure,” Malric said. “Small. Controlled. Enough to be noticed.”

Taryn nodded once. “And watch who responds.”

Jess leaned forward slightly. “And how they respond.”

Malric looked at her.

Jess didn’t back down.

“Yeah,” she said. “I’m paying attention now.”

Something in his expression shifted. Small, but real.

“Good,” he said.

Corvin glanced between them.

“Then we choose the point of pressure.”

Rowan didn’t hesitate.

“Me.”

Jess immediately shook her head. “Still hate that.”

Rowan looked at her. “I know.”

Jess exhaled.

“…Yeah, okay. Doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

Taryn crossed her arms.

“Then we control the conditions.”

Corvin nodded.

“We move carefully.”

Malric watched all of them. Jess noticed that too. He wasn’t directing this. He was part of it. Still dangerous. Still unpredictable. But no longer alone on the other side of the table.

Jess took a slow sip of her coffee.

“…Well,” she said. “This is going to go terribly.”

Rowan almost smiled. Corvin didn’t. Taryn didn’t.

Malric, almost did, and that was enough to tell Jess one thing for sure. Nothing about this was going to be simple.