Satana felt it before he said anything.
They hadn't spent much time together, but something in that short span had settled between them with a solidity that needed no explanation. She could read him. She could feel the weight he carried on his shoulders as if it were her own.
And in that moment, what Morgan felt was guilt.
He had looked away. She, without saying a word, gently took his face and turned it toward her.
— Hey. It's okay. Miss Luzbel also feels really bad about what happened. I know that if you talk to her, everything can be resolved… just talk to her, alright?
(She said it softly. Like someone holding something fragile without squeezing it.)
Morgan exhaled slowly.
— Yeah… you're right.
(He forced a small smile, barely enough.)
— I guess I should go see the principal.
He got up from the bed and walked toward the door. Before opening it, he turned around and looked for Xol, who was still comfortably settled in Satana's lap as if he had no intention of moving.
— Come on, boy. Let's go.
Xol frowned with all the indignation his body could hold. Morgan held his gaze.
— Come on. It's time.
(Calm tone. But with an edge that allowed no argument.)
Xol got down from the bed with the wounded dignity of someone who yields but doesn't surrender. Morgan then looked at Satana. The smile he gave her this time was different—smaller, more honest.
— I'll be back soon. I won't be long.
(He said it like a promise. Or like an attempt to convince himself.)
— I'll be here.
(She replied with a still smile.)
Morgan returned the gesture, opened the door, and let Xol go out first. When he was about to cross the threshold, he paused for a second and looked at her one last time. He waved goodbye—a small, almost shy gesture that, in him, felt unexpectedly endearing.
Satana returned it.
And he left.
---
The hallway received them in silence.
It didn't last long.
— So, are you going to apologize to the white-haired bitch?
(Xol said it without looking at him, with that cruel lightness he used when he wanted to hurt without seeming like he was trying.)
Morgan glanced at him, annoyed. He didn't respond. He kept walking.
Xol wasn't satisfied. He stepped in front of him, pacing side to side, blocking his path without fully blocking it, like an animal circling without attacking.
— What's wrong? You mad? You shouldn't be, kid. To begin with, why are you the one apologizing? She's the one who opened her mouth without knowing anything about what you felt. She should apologize, not you.
(Mockingly. Enjoying it.)
Morgan didn't respond. He just looked at him.
Xol kept it up most of the way, throwing phrases like small stones, waiting for one to break something. He only got silence in return.
Until they reached the door.
The principal's office.
— Ooooh, I bet now she'll turn you into her lab rat.
(Xol laughed to himself.)
Morgan didn't hear him. Or maybe he did, but at that moment he was somewhere else. His eyes were fixed on the door. His hand had found the handle without him consciously deciding it, and it was trembling.
Zarathoz knew his truth now. All of it. And that was what weighed on his chest like a cold stone, because Zarathoz wasn't like the others. She was strong, she was different, she was in a league where he didn't even reach the lowest step. If she decided to use what she knew, if she decided to do something to him, there wouldn't be much he could do in return. He didn't want to admit it. But he knew it.
— Silence.
(He said it without raising his voice. But with a weight that cut the air between them.)
— I need you to not say anything right now. Please. Just… don't say anything.
Xol opened his mouth. Closed it. Something in Morgan's tone stopped him, and for once he didn't say anything else.
Then, from the other side of the door, a voice.
— Come in.
A chill ran down Morgan's spine. Xol went serious instantly, instinct replacing mockery in a matter of a second.
Morgan hesitated. Swallowed. Exchanged one last look with Xol—serious, alert, present—and opened the door.
Zarathoz was sitting behind her desk. Her hands clasped over the surface. A smile that wasn't quite kind, that had something in it not easily named.
— Welcome, my strange visitor.
(She said it in a tone that was almost a whisper and almost a warning at the same time. Then she slowly separated her hands and beckoned him with a gesture.)
— Rejoice, young one. Rejoice… for now you are the most important being in this entire world.
End of chapter.
Next chapter: Unique Resource.