NOVEL NEXT Chapter 58: Bar
"Eva," Jace muttered as he followed her in, "you're not using me for some revenge plot, right?"
She didn't even slow her step. "Why do you care? We both get what we want. You get your power, and that little bitch gets to lose hers. We're all happy… well, except for her."
Jace narrowed his eyes, about to push back, but the words caught in his throat when he finally looked around the bar.
The place wasn't loud like he expected. No pounding music, no rowdy laughter. Instead, it felt like walking into a circus tent stripped of the glamour.
To his left, a man leaned back in his chair, calmly levitating a beer bottle between his fingers.
Across from him, another meta flicked his thumb, the tip glowing like a lighter as he lit someone else's cigar.
Everywhere he looked, there was something off. Subtle things that would look crazy on the street but here, blended into the background.
A woman with skin that shimmered faintly, scales showing whenever the light caught her.
A guy at the pool table who chalked his cue and casually bent the stick back into shape after it snapped.
For Jace, it was surreal. Part of him wanted to stare at everything, but another part knew better.
Eyes were already on him.
People clocked him the second he walked in, measured him, judged him, decided he wasn't worth a second look. One by one, they turned back to their drinks, their games, their conversations.
Eva grabbed his wrist firmly. "Come on. With me."
Jace let her pull him deeper into the bar, but his mind was buzzing. If this was just the entrance, he could only imagine what waited further inside.
Jace sat down, his eyes still drifting back toward the woman with scaled skin glimmering under the bar lights. Her drink shimmered too, something thick and green that clung to the glass.
He leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Are you sure that's not an alien?"
[No.] Zin's voice was clipped. [I did a partial scan. She's human.]
Jace frowned. "She doesn't look human."
Eva followed his gaze. Her expression tightened. "Stop staring."
"I thought metas were supposed to look human," Jace muttered.
Eva sighed, crossing her arms. "What are you talking abou—" She caught where he was looking again and cut herself off. "Oh. Her."
She leaned closer, her tone sharper. "Listen, metas are mutated humans. Most of us look normal, sure, but not everyone comes out clean. The rare ones… they don't exactly blend in. She's one of them."
Jace raised a brow. "Rare, huh?"
"Extremely," Eva said flatly. "She's the only one I've ever met in person. Most people don't even believe they exist."
Jace sat back, thoughts flickering. If Serai showed her real form, maybe people would just think she was a meta. It wasn't the worst cover.
But Zin's voice cut the idea down instantly.
[No. Don't even consider it. I've just combed through every source I could access. Mutated-looking metas are not popular. In fact, there's chatter, conspiracy-level, but too consistent to ignore, that they're being hunted down by the Agency. The reason they're so rare isn't luck. It's elimination.]
Jace's jaw tightened. He didn't respond, but his gaze flicked back to the scaled woman.
She laughed at something someone said, the sound deep and unsettling, before tipping her glass back like it was nothing.
Zin added, [If Serai exposed herself like that, she wouldn't just put herself in danger. She'd put you in it too.]
Jace turned his eyes away finally, forcing himself to look toward Eva. "Alright," he muttered. "Message received."
Jace pushed the thoughts about the scaled woman aside, focusing back on why they were here. "So… where's our pretty target?"
Eva gave him a look.
"What?" Jace shrugged. "You said she's pretty."
She didn't answer right away, just tilted her chin toward the far side of the bar.
Over near a pool table, a group of men leaned around two women who looked almost identical.
The resemblance was strong enough they had to be sisters.
Jace leaned forward, eyes narrowing. So one of them has the healing powers.
"Okay, yeah," he muttered low. "They look good."
He stayed quiet for a moment, then added, "Now, before I try and do all that…"
Eva arched a brow. "Do all what?"
Jace met her eyes, serious this time. "I want to know why her. I mean, yeah, I know she's got healing powers, and I need that. But I'm not dumb enough to think you picked her just because she's the only option. You don't like her. Maybe even hate her. If you're willing to let me take her powers, then this isn't just about helping me."
Eva's smirk faded, her expression tightening. "It's complicated."
"Eva, our whole situation is complicated." His voice dropped lower, rougher. "Ever since our night, things have been complicated. We've got a freaking alie—"
Eva's hand shot out, clamping over his mouth. Her eyes flashed, sharp.
"Shut it," she hissed. "Some of these people have super hearing. You don't know who's listening."
Jace blinked, staring at her until she pulled her hand back. He wiped his mouth, his voice quieter but steady. "Oops. Either way, you get my point. How much more complicated could this be?"
Eva didn't answer right away. Her gaze slid back toward the sisters at the pool table, jaw tight, something dark flickering behind her eyes.
Jace let out a small chuckle, shaking his head. "Okay… that's really scary."
[She's hiding something,] Zin muttered in his head. [But she's not wrong. You need that power. Whether she's doing this for revenge or out of spite, in the end it doesn't matter. It still has to happen.]
Eva's gaze snapped back to him. "Can you do it or not?" Her tone wasn't teasing anymore. It was flat, sharp, the kind that didn't leave much room for hesitation.
Jace met her stare, searching for some crack in her expression, but she didn't flinch. He sighed. "Sure. I can do it. But I don't think I can just walk up to her with half the bar watching."
His eyes drifted back toward the pool table.
The sisters laughed at something one of the men said, their attention glued to the game.
Around them, the others in the bar barely cared about Jace, but he knew the wrong move could make everyone notice fast.
Eva leaned closer, her voice dropping so only he could hear. "Then we wait. She'll peel off sooner or later. When she does, you'll have your shot."
Jace frowned. "And what if she doesn't?"
Eva's lips curved into a thin smile, but there was no humor in it. "Trust me. She will."