"Aethon took over for me," Ze shrugs. "He can handle it until I come back."

"Excuse me? What's going on? Who's he?" I point at Ze.

It's at that moment that Thea notices my torn and bloodied gown, quickly rushing to my side.

"What happened, Luce? Are you all right?"

"She is, but not thanks to you," Ze adds pointedly, probably fishing for some more praise.

"I'm fine. He saved me from the demon," I admit reluctantly. He smirks, and God, I could swear he's preening. Arrogant ass!

"What? Oh, I'm so sorry, Luce. This was all my fault for eating that bacon. But it was so good..."

"Yes, it was your fault," Ze comments. "You left a defenseless human alone, Erithea, when you knew you should not," he adds with a strange glint in his eyes.

"Can you guys just explain what's happening and who this"—I wave my hand at him, unable to find a good or even neutral word to describe him—"thing is?" My eyes widen at my slip, as do everyone else's.

"Thing?" Ze sputters. "Thing? You puny little human." He takes a step closer, his eyes flashing at me.

"Well, I don't know who you are, do I?" I quickly make the excuse.

"Don't mind Ze too much, Luce. He's Cer's friend," Thea hurries to say.

"I am his superior," Ze adds smugly.

Cer rolls his eyes at that, but a smile pulls at his lips—one of the very few times he's smiled since I've known him.

"Superior in what?"

"Oh that," Thea stammers. "Remember I told you my brother fights demons. Ze fights them too."

My brows shoot up in surprise.

"Why is he here then? Is he taking part in the game too?"

"That's right. Are you part of the game, too, Z?" Cer asks, narrowing his eyes at him.

"You could say I am a late arrival. But now I will be on your team. You may rejoice," he says, entirely serious.

My God, but I don't think I've ever met someone as arrogant.

"Who invited you?" I grumble under my breath. His head whips to me, his eyes boring a hole in me.

"Your opinion is of no consequence, human."

"Human this, human that. I have a name, damn it," I burst out, shocking myself.

"I have not heard it," he replies, staring intently at me.

SEVENTEEN

"It's Luce. You can call me Luce."

"Luce," he repeats my name, his voice rough. "Very well, human. From now on, I shall call you Luce."

I sigh deeply. On one hand, he might be a good addition to our demon hunt. On the other, he'll be a pain in the ass to deal with, so I guess I'll just have to limit my interactions with him.

"Is he always like this?" I whisper to Thea.

She fights a smile as she nods.

"This is Ze being nice. Most days he's much worse."