Protection felt strange.
Not like safety.
Not like comfort.
More like standing beneath a roof and realizing the walls still had windows.
Aiden felt it the next morning.
People didn't look at him the same way anymore. The undercity had ways of knowing things, and word had clearly spread that he now stood under the shadow of someone powerful.
The stares weren't hostile now.
They were cautious.
Measured.
Respecting distance.
Liora noticed first.
"You're being treated like a noble people don't want to annoy," she muttered.
"Please don't describe it like that," he sighed.
Seris observed more quietly. She watched the way guards pretended not to notice him. The way shopkeepers didn't argue prices. The way tension moved around him instead of toward him.
"This isn't kindness," she said softly.
"I know," Aiden replied.
Inkaris seemed satisfied.
Which was somehow worse.
"Good," he said calmly. "Recognition is important."
They followed him through the steadier parts of the undercity until they reached a secured residence—one of Aureline's "arrangements."
A real room.
A door that locked properly.
Walls that kept weather out.
Furniture that wasn't falling apart.
Aiden stepped inside slowly.
It didn't feel luxurious.
It felt heavy.
"I didn't earn this," he murmured.
"That is incorrect," Inkaris replied. "You earned the attention of someone powerful enough to provide it."
"That… isn't helping," Aiden said.
"Correct," Inkaris nodded.
Seris ran her hand over the table surface.
"Above ground, this kind of place usually comes with obedience attached," she said. "Approval. Agreement. Cooperation." She glanced at him. "This feels… similar."
Aiden swallowed.
"Do you think I'm agreeing?"
"No," she said honestly. "And that is exactly why I'm nervous."
Liora sat on the bed, bounced on it once, then frowned thoughtfully.
"So… what does 'protected' really mean?"
Inkaris folded his arms.
"It means those who wanted to chase you must now consider someone else first," he said. "They cannot act freely anymore. That does not mean they will stop. It means they will change strategy."
Aiden groaned quietly.
"Wonderful."
"It is," Inkaris replied. "Adaptation keeps you alive."
There was a knock.
Not dramatic.
Not frantic.
Polite.
Seris tensed.
Liora straightened.
Aiden opened the door.
A courier bowed slightly.
"Message for the apprentice."
Not sir.
Not threat.
Not criminal.
Just… acknowledged.
Aiden opened the envelope.
Aureline's handwriting was elegant, controlled, precise.
Welcome to the board.
A position has been granted.
Please choose your next moves thoughtfully.
—A.V.
Aiden shut his eyes.
"…I really dislike clever people," he muttered.
Liora tried not to laugh.
Seris didn't bother trying.
Inkaris smirked faintly.
"Consider it motivation," the demon said. "This is a contest of will and understanding, not strength. Wishes attract individuals who prefer to think five steps ahead."
Aiden looked around the room again. Clean. Secure. Stable.
But not truly free.
It wasn't a cage.
It wasn't salvation.
It was a position.
A place in someone else's calculation.
Shelter, yes.
But with windows overlooking a landscape that was very much awake.
Something moved out there.
Something watched.
Something planned.
And now Aiden was no longer someone simply surviving within the city.
He was someone the city had started adjusting around.
He took a slow breath.
"Alright," he murmured.
"If I'm part of the game…"
"…then I need to learn how to play."