He arranges his clothes, dusting himself off before turning to leave. I get up, too, still puzzled by his reaction—and, if I'm honest, his entire persona.

"Why did you eat the meat?" I inquire softly.

He half turns, and for a moment, I don't think he's going to answer me—not with the animosity I spot in his gaze. Spine straightened, eyes narrowed, he's back to the rude Ze from before.

"You liked it." He gives me a clipped reply, the tone almost... accusatory?

"But I can eat it," I point out with a raised brow. "You know you can't."

"I was curious." He shrugs, looking me straight in the eyes. Another shrug?

"And? Did you satisfy your curiosity?" I tilt my head to the side.

"Not yet."

My lashes flutter in surprise at his answer, but before I can recover and ask him what he means, he's already out the door.

I trail behind him, going back to the table.

Cer and Thea are wrapped in an argument about the dessert. Ze is back in his seat, leaning back and watching their exchange with disinterest.

As I resume my seat, Thea looks up at me, giving me a brilliant smile.

"Luce! You have to try this chocolate cake. It's absolutely delicious. And the server assured me it doesn't have any animal products in it," she says as she pushes a plate in front of me. It's then that I realize they ordered dessert for all of us.

Ze is staring at the untouched plate with reticence but also a smidgeon of longing.

I ignore him as I grab a spoon and take a bite of the cake, my eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh, wow. This is amazing."

"Isn't it? Cer is the only one who doesn't like it." She rolls her eyes at him. "But you know what that means? More cake for me," she declares enthusiastically before she swaps her empty plate for Cer's full one.

He shakes his head at her, but I can spot the slight curl of his lips as he watches her from the corner of his eye.

"You heard her. This is vegan. You won't get sick from it." I nod to Ze, avoiding looking at him.

He doesn't reply, but he pulls his plate closer, taking a bite of cake. Then another. And just like the steak, the cake is gone within minutes. Yet even then, he doesn't say a word.

Of course, it would go against his ego to admit that lowly human food would be so delicious that he would eat an entire portion.

"Right, Thea, I have a question," I say as I remember my initial concerns. The whole Ze debacle made me lose track of my little ghost problem for a moment.

"Yes?"

"If there were any other souls around when the Collectors came, would they take them as well?"

She purses her lips as she thinks about it.

"Possibly. They'd see it as a bonus assignment."