Chapter 15

Bree enters the Rat with Elijah and Zoe for a forbidden business meeting. Tyson, the gatekeeper, refuses to let Bree in without collateral, and Bree rejects giving up her mother’s bracelet before reluctantly surrendering the Pendragon coin necklace, even though Bree does not remember who gave it to her. Inside, Bree compares the bar to the Crossroads Lounge, but the memory of the people connected to that place remains lost in gray mist.

The twins keep Bree close and scan the room for threats, especially anyone who might be cambion or demon. At their reserved VIP booth, Zoe teases Bree about surrendering the necklace, and Elijah presses Bree about how Bree got the Scion of Arthur’s coin. Bree lies that Bree took it in a fight, hiding that the Scion of Arthur lives in Erebus’s house and is central to the Spell of Eternity. Elijah also mentions monitoring rogue networks for rumors about the Order and Shadowborn, but refuses to share details.

Syd, the Rat’s owner, brings water and completes a subtle business exchange with Elijah. Bree asks why the twins have VIP status, which leads Zoe and Elijah to explain that their father is a Nightshade, one of the King’s original demon leaders, and an incubus. They explain that demons generally cannot reproduce on the living plane except through concubi bloodlines, which is why cambions like the twins exist.

The conversation shifts into grief, belonging, and how humans and demons treat identity. Zoe describes how demons judge by strength, presence, or entertainment, while humans police gender and deny humanity to others; Bree recognizes the harm in this and sympathizes. Bree admits that missing forgotten living people feels like grieving something that was never there, and the shared honesty creates an unexpected bond among Bree, Zoe, and Elijah.

Zoe then asks about Bree’s romantic life, including the unknown Merlin boy who sacrificed himself for Bree, but Bree has no recovered details. Bree realizes that Bree is attracted not only to boys but to people people, while Zoe and Elijah describe their own attractions as flexible but mostly toward girls. The twins affirm that knowing oneself is what matters, and Bree feels a new, freeing sense of friendship and possibility with them.

Bree leaves the booth alone for the bathroom, claiming menstrual needs despite Elijah’s warning that it is unsafe. In the mirror, Bree studies the changes from Erebus’s training, her silver Arthur-marked curl, and her stronger body, wishing the forgotten people from Bree’s past could see who Bree is becoming. Then someone bursts into the bathroom, threatening a younger girl; after a blow, the girl slides partly under Bree’s stall, revealing a terrified Black face, golden light-filled eyes, and the scent of root magic.