Nicolas’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but that was the only sign of his recognition. “Keep him safe, okay?”
“I intend to,” Valac swore solemnly.
To Julian, Nicolas said, “So, it’s true, huh? The demons aren’t as bad as the guild wants us to believe?”
“Some aren’t,” Julian said. “We still hunt the monsters who hurt people. But Valac and the others, yeah, they’re not so different from us, where it counts.”
That seemed to bolster him. “Good, I’m glad. I hope you’re happy out here, Jules. And I hope the Sentinels and the paladins aren’t enemies for long.”
“Me, too. Give Daniel my best.”
“I’ll do that.” His face twisted with unhappiness. “I better go. Give ‘em hell when they come.”
Julian nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. With one last, painful smile, like he was committing the momentto memory, Nicolas turned and jogged away, leaving as quickly as he’d come.
Julian ached, and the only thing that assuaged the hurt was when he leaned against Valac, who wrapped his arms around him immediately.
“We should go talk to the others.” The words were muffled against Valac’s chest. His eyes burned, and he scrubbed his face on Valac’s black sweater. “They need to know about this.”
“In a moment,” Valac said, stroking a hand up and down Julian’s back. “Once you’re calm.”
Valac was right, he wasn’t calm. How could he be calm when he’d just been told the paladins were coming for him again? They’d torn his life apart once already. Couldn’t that be enough? Did they have to keep coming for him until he was dead—or they were? He’d never wanted to go to war with them, but they were leaving him no choice.
Was he ready to take up arms against the guild who raised him? He was going to find out.
It wasa testament to how well the Sentinels knew him when he and Valac walked through the front door of the Rink and Nathan immediately blurted, “Oh no, what happened?”
That got everyone else’s attention, and Julian wondered what exactly his face was doing, because they all looked various shades of alarmed.
“I’m fine,” he said, and beside him, Valac harrumphed. He amended, “I’mphysicallyfine. But we need to talk.”
“Is this a conversation that we’ll need alcohol to get through?” Talon asked wearily from the snack bar.
Julian paused in consideration. “No.” They probably didn’t want to be impaired while they decided what to do about the paladins. The demons were going to be bloodthirsty enough. The Sentinels, at least, needed to be level-headed.
They sat in the circle of secondhand furniture in the corner. Julian flopped down beside Angela, who patted his knee in commiseration while the rest of them settled around them.
“Okay, lay it on us,” Luke said from an armchair. Malachi sat on the floor between his legs, and Luke gently twirled a lock of his glossy black hair around one finger.
Valac also sat on the floor, beside Julian, and curled a big hand around his ankle. Shadows wrapped up his calf beneath the hem of his jeans, like he needed to both physically and metaphysically make sure Julian didn’t go anywhere.
Julian explained Nicolas’s arrival and his warning. He shared what Nic told him about Sloan checking people’s apartments and belongings for signs of dissent and that he’d gone back to the guild in the hope of salvaging what good remained there.
“I always liked him,” Nathan said. “I hope his optimism doesn’t come back to bite him. You did the right thing by telling them they can come here if they need help. We wouldn’t turn them away.”
Julian smiled. The confirmation was nice to hear but unnecessary. He knew these guys well enough to know as much already. They’d never turn away someone who needed help.
“What do we do about the paladins?” Alex asked, with his elbows on his knees and a hard stare aimed at the floor.
“Kill them all, I think,” Talon said glibly.
“Protest, I protest,” Nathan said automatically.
“I know, I know,” Talon said, waving a dismissive hand, “they’re not all bad, they’ve been indoctrinated, they’re no different than us, blah blah blah.”
Nathan straightened in indignation, opening his mouth.
“Some of them deserve a chance to step away,” Julian interrupted, suspecting this was an argument they’d had before. “Like Nic and Danny.”
