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Kildare laughed low. “You sound like it’s chewing on you.”

“Every time I use these human…tools, they root deeper. Like a bad line of code. Not just in the flesh, in the wiring, in the pulse. They weren’t made for me—but they’re starting to grow. And I can’t tell if I’m feeding them or they’re feeding on me.”

“Sounds perfectly normal.”

Normal. Kaos’s jaw flexed. “She doesn’t flinch or obey or yield. She dances with fire and doesn’t burn, she doesn’t ask to be seen—she just is.” He steadied his breaths, that nagging thought festering in the marrow of his bones. “Why are you letting me touch her? In any form? You made it clear my true body would trigger a bond. Draw attention. So why are you letting me do this? Why not post me at the door like a sentinel?”

“Becauseyouneed to,” he said, voice low. “And nobody said you couldn’t. Yet.”

Kaos found himself at the closet in his room.“You downloaded ten years of human tech, behavior, and useless social diseases,” Kaos continued. “But nothing about women.”

“That was intentional,” Kildare said smoothly. “Those things have to be learned through experience and exploration.”

“And you know this because you have experience with it?”

A sharp breath escorted out his, “Hell no. But I know enough.”

Kaos turned to the dresser drawers, opening the top one. “Of course you do. Mr. Ancient. I’m short a few millennials.”

“You were created for a purpose.”

Kaos growled, snatching up clothes. “Which was ripped from my soul,” he reminded.

“Well. Not entirely.”

Kaos paused at the hint of change. “What does that mean?”

He drew in a deep breath. “I don't know, but I know.”

Kaos shook his head. “You are fucking absurd.”

“Yes,” he said in flippant understanding. “And you can trust the plan. Whatever it is.”

Kaos pulled a clothing bag from the closet door. “I can't wait to learn what the dark fuck it is and how it’ll get ripped from me again.”

“Ahh, come on,” Kildare scolded with a chuckle. “No need to be a pussy. It's just pain.”

Kaos realized suddenly. He didn't care about his pain. “If something or someone dares hurt her, I would not forgive or forget it.”

“Relax, Dark One,” Kildare cautioned. “She’s in good hands. No matter how fucked up anything might seem. Trust the one behind the plan.”

Raviel. “I don’t share yourfaith,Ruby.”

A slow breath left him. “Neither does Krave. Who by the way says hello. As does your son, Kross.”

That name moved through him like a slow fire, stirring a demanding curiosity. “What else do you know?”

The silence stretched just long enough to throb.“I know Kross is gathering power. I know Raviel’s silence is intentional. And I know the pattern forming around your girl is older than either of us were allowed to study.”

Kaos stilled, heart thudding once—low and hard. “What pattern?”

“The kind that doesn’t loop,” Kildare said. “The kind that breaks and yet remains unbreakable.”

Kaos gripped the frame of the doorway, rage twisting in his spine.“Then tell me now—am I meant to protect her, or lose her?”

“You're meant to find out,” Kildare said. “That’s the part you can’t download. That’s the part the fire won’t burn away.”

Kaos’s hand tightened on the clothes in his fist. “Then make peace with what I'll become.”