Astraea's POV
I watched Draven pace back and forth across the floor of my bedroom like a caged animal. His jaw was clenched, his arms folded tightly, and every few seconds, he'd shoot me a look that felt sharp enough to pierce through stone. He hadn't said a word since I finished explaining everything, until now.
He stopped suddenly, spun around, and glared at me.
"Let me get this straight," he said, voice tight. "A human girl with no blood tie, no ritual, no access to forbidden texts, and no knowledge of our world somehow summoned you on your very first night in the human realm, and you decided to just... never mention it?"
I leaned back against the edge of the bed, arms crossed and expression flat. "Yes, that's what I said."
Draven looked like he was about to combust. "And you didn't think that was important?"
"I thought it was a mistake," I said, letting out a slow breath. "Believe it or not, I was just as surprised as you are. Probably more."
He scoffed, running a hand down his face. "Astraea, that shouldn't be possible. You know that. Summoning a demon, much less a royal demon, isn't something that just happens."
"I know that, Draven," I snapped, feeling the first prickle of irritation in my chest. "I've had years longer than you know to understand how summoning works. That's why I erased her memory. I assumed it was some kind of anomaly, a fluke. She had no markings, no chant, and when I looked around, there were no preparations. She just internally screamed for help, and somehow—somehow—I showed up."
Draven turned again, pacing three more steps before spinning back to face me. "And now she remembers even after you erased her memories."
"That's the part that's bothering me," I admitted. "Not the summoning, at least not anymore. I can live with the possibility that fate played a weird joke, but she shouldn't remember anything. I wiped her mind completely."
"And yet," Draven muttered, eyes narrowing, "like you just said, she was asking you what you really are and staring you in the face like she knew the answer. That doesn't sound like someone with a wiped memory."
"Exactly," I murmured.
He was quiet for a moment, just staring at me with the same tight expression. Then he finally said, "So what are you going to do?"
"I don't know," I admitted, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. "I was thinking maybe she had dreams, and maybe bits of her subconscious held on to fragments of that night, but the way she asked me, and from reading her thoughts…" I shook my head. "It wasn't uncertainty; it was confirmation."
Draven stepped closer, dropping his voice. "Do you perhaps think she's part demon?"
I frowned. "She doesn't smell like one. She has absolutely no aura and no residue of demonic energy. Her soul, if anything, feels too human. If she has a dormant side, it's buried deep, but I highly doubt it."
Draven let out another sigh, louder this time, and far more dramatic than necessary. He slumped onto the nearest chair like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"If King Therion finds out about this," he muttered, rubbing his temples, "he's going to kill me."
I rolled my eyes. "Please. My brother has better things to do than worry about what I'm doing in the human world."
"You think so?" Draven shot me a look. "He told me specifically—specifically, Astraea—to make sure nothing went wrong with your transition. There should be no chaos, no exposure, and no... whatever this is."
"It's not your fault," I said with a dismissive shrug. "It's not like you summoned me into Zephyra's house. She did that all on her own, and how the hell was anyone supposed to predict that she'd remember me even after I wiped her?"
Draven slumped further in his seat, hands dangling between his knees. "Yeah, well, that technicality isn't going to save me when your brother finds out some human girl not only summoned you but still knows who you are despite memory manipulation."
"Well, thankfully, she doesn't know everything about me," I said calmly. "Which means I can still fix it."
He looked up at me warily. "How?"
"I'll dig around her mind a little to figure out what's so special about her and why the memory wipe didn't hold. And then, when I'm sure, I'll do it again. Properly this time."
Draven straightened slightly, but his frown deepened. "If it didn't work the first time, don't you think maybe there's a reason? I'm serious, Astraea, maybe there's something different about her."
I raised a brow. "I already said she's not a demon, Draven. What kind of demon is that weak?"
"There are other beings besides humans and demons, Astraea. All I'm saying is maybe she's not entirely human," he said. "Or maybe something's protecting her."
"I can assure you that nothing's protecting her," I said quickly. "She's not even strong enough to win a damn street fight without bleeding from her nose."
He gave me a flat look. "That doesn't mean she's normal, Astraea, and you know that."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Fine, I'll be careful with her. I'll simply study her and test the waters a bit. When I'm sure the path is clear, I'll wipe her memories again. Clean slate."
Draven stood and crossed his arms, the look in his eyes a mix of concern and warning. "If you try again and it doesn't work, don't force it."
I tilted my head. "Oh, are we worried about her now?"
"I'm worried about you," he snapped. "You've been in the human world for barely a week, and already you're emotionally tangled in some mortal girl's life, you're using powers you're not supposed to, and now you want to mess with her mind a second time even though something clearly went wrong the first time."
"I'm not emotionally tangled," I said, even though I knew damn well that wasn't entirely true. "And you don't have to make it sound like I'm about to fry her brain."
Draven's frown deepened. "I'm serious, Astraea. If her mind rejected your wipe the first time, and you push again too hard... her memories might not just reset. She could lose everything, or worse."
I stared at him, irritation flaring. "You think I don't know that? You think I don't know how my own powers work?"
"I think you're used to using them on demons and not humans," he said. "And humans... break."
I didn't respond right away because part of me hated that he had a point.
"I won't overdo it," I muttered, finally looking away. "But I will fix this. I can't afford to have some stubborn, scrappy girl walking around knowing what I am."
"Just promise me something," Draven said, his voice softer now. "If it comes down to it, and you see the signs that it's not going to work, you'll walk away."
"Walk away? You really want me to give up on wiping her memories?"
"Yes," he said. "Leave her alone. Let her remember if she has to, and let her go if it means saving her life."