by S. A. Moss
Arcadius’s nostrils flared as he stared at the picture Adele held at arm’s length.
I glanced between the two of them. My father’s betrayal had rocked me to my core, but I honestly hadn’t expected this much of a reaction from the Council.
“What?” I asked, nerves unaccountably twisting my stomach.
“I don’t believe it. That’s Sirius.” Sada spoke slowly, her gaze locked on the picture of my dad.
“What?” I grabbed the picture back, feeling protective of it somehow. As if by hiding it from their penetrating stares, I could hide whatever truth was about to come to light.
“That man is your father?” Arcadius looked disbelieving. “Sirius?”
I clenched my jaw, fighting the sting of tears in my eyes. “Yes. You may know him as Sirius. But to me, he was John Prentice. My father.”
Sada had taken the picture and now she looked up at Arcadius. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” he murmured grimly.
My fingernails dug into my palms. “What are you talking about?”
Her dark brown eyes turned back to the photo. “Sirius was a Guardian for many, many years. He was a fierce protector of humanity. But one day, about twenty-five years ago, he disappeared.”
My eyes widened. Holy shit. He was a Guardian my whole life? How…?
Sada continued. “He never returned to the Haven. We sent other Guardians out to search for him, but he’d vanished.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me that?” I choked out.
“We had no idea he was your father, Camille,” she said gently. “And no reason to suspect it. I still don’t understand how this is possible.”
Adele drummed her thick fingers together. “And he’s aiding the Fallen?”
I swallowed. “Yes. I don’t know why. It’s possible he’s being coerced into helping them.”
The withering look she shot me told me she didn’t believe that any more than Pearl did. And finding out I had a traitor for a father didn’t seem to be improving her opinion of me one bit.
Sada squeezed my shoulder gently. “I’m sorry, Camille. But regardless of the reasons why he’s helping them, if they have a Guardian on their side they are vastly more dangerous than we thought. He has firsthand knowledge of our practices, our strengths and weaknesses. He could also be a powerful organizing force. Most low-level demons are very easily lead but don’t do well thinking for themselves. That makes them relatively harmless in small numbers, but if they have a leader organizing them, they will follow him blindly.”
I nodded. “So, what do we do now? Boss Man—er, the wraith who was behind the Guardian abductions—died. Then all his Fallen goons faded back to the Shroud. So did my father. They’re somewhere in the Wild by now, I assume. And we don’t know what their next move is.”
Arcadius sighed. “We’ve paired up all Guardians for their safety. We’re harder to attack in numbers. We’ve also recalled any non-essential Guardians to the Haven. It’s safer there, and more than that, we need to ramp up our own protections. I doubt the Fallen would be foolish enough to try an outright attack on the Haven, but a few days ago I wouldn’t have believed they’d kidnap Guardians. We must be cautious.”
“But we need to get the Guardians who were abducted back, right?”
“We still don’t know where they are,” Adele said, with a look that clearly said she blamed me for that. As if half of what we did know wasn’t information I’d gotten with Alex and Pearl’s help.
“I want to help,” I insisted. “I can track down my father and find out where the Guardians are being held.”
“I want to help too.” Alex spoke up, and everyone’s attention turned to him.
Adele’s eyes were wide, her face an almost comical mask of shock. “Really, this is too much! We are sworn to protect humans. We are not in the business of recruiting their assistance, putting them in danger for our own purposes.”
“I don’t think it counts as recruiting if I volunteer,” Alex said dryly. “Besides, based on everything I’ve heard so far, you’re gonna need all the help you can get against the Fallen. And if your ‘purpose’ is to protect humanity, then I’m willing to put myself in danger to assist with that. I’m not exactly helpless. Just ask Cam.”
I grinned at him. “He’s definitely not. Do you want to show her?”
The smile he shot back at me was positively wicked. “Why not?”
Placing a hand over Adele’s, he closed his eyes for a moment.
In contrast, her eyes opened so wide it was amazing they didn’t pop right out of her head. Her whole body trembled, her cheeks quivering. A small sound escaped her mouth, like a little girl who’d just discovered all the monsters under her bed were real.
“Enough,” she breathed quietly, and Alex removed his hand.
The car was quiet for a moment, except for the short gasping breaths Adele continued to suck in. It was odd—I knew from experience how strange the feeling of sudden mortality was, and I’d only been undead for a few months. But as shocked as I’d been, I’d found the feeling very nice, and it seemed like Pearl had too.
Adele, on the other hand, seemed truly terrified by the experience. It suddenly dawned on me—she was probably happier as a Guardian than she had ever been as a human. While Pearl and I still remembered our time being alive fondly, maybe Adele didn’t. It explained a lot about her.
Adele clutched the hand Alex had gripped to her chest, cradling it like it was injured. “I see. You are certainly not helpless.” Her eyes swept the other Council members. “The Seer must have known of this. Therefore, I will agree to let this human help us. But I insist that Cam stay on as his Guardian. Both for his protection”—her gaze flickered to Alex briefly, and I swore she shuddered—“and ours.”
I swallowed. Well, so much for asking for a transfer.
“Only if it’s okay with Alex. He didn’t know I was there before and had no choice. But he does now, and if he doesn’t want me there, I won’t be.”
I could barely bring myself to look at Alex after making that declaration. He’d been so mad when he found out I’d been following him around for weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he took this opportunity to tell me to piss right off. And even though I’d insisted on giving him a choice, I wasn’t sure I could actually just walk away from him at this point. I was too invested. And my mind was already humming with all that needed to be done. All the things we could accomplish together.
Arcadius cleared his throat, and I realized that while I’d been wrapped up in my thoughts, silence had settled over the car. My gaze finally rose from Alex’s feet to his face. He was looking at me, and as soon as our eyes met, electricity zinged down my body, almost like he’d jumpstarted my heart from across the space of the car.
“Deal,” he said firmly. “On one condition. No more going invisible and following me around in secret. We’re partners in this. And if you’re guarding me, I’m going to be guarding you right back.”
I couldn’t help the smile that bloomed. “Deal,” I echoed.
Adele huffed, like this was the most disgusting conversation she’d ever heard. But Sada and Arcadius were nodding.
Arcadius turned to Pearl, who was surreptitiously trying to adjust her top again. She’d neglected it in the heat of the fight, and it’d settled comfortably into its low-cut shape. “Would you like to stay and assist Cam and Alex? They were lucky to have your help last night, and I know you’ve always regretted your assignment as a keeper of the Haven.”
Pearl gave up the fight with her top and settled for resting her hand over her cleavage, which had the unintended effect of drawing even more attention to the area. “I—I think I’d rather return to the Haven.”
“What? Pearl!” My jaw dropped. “What about getting caught up on all the latest game apps? Facial recognition? A.I.? You could find out about everything you missed out on!”
She ducked her head. “I know. But the Seer assigned me to watch over the Haven, and that’s whe
re I feel I should be.” As she spoke, her eyes settled on Arcadius, who smiled warmly at her.
Despite the seriousness of our discussion, my lips quirked. I had a feeling I knew exactly why she wanted to return to the Haven. Maybe she’d finally work up the nerve to tell Arcadius how she felt about him.
“Can you at least come visit?” I pleaded. “I need you and Owen to come spar with me. And maybe you can be the liaison between Alex and me and the Council? Since I’m guessing he can’t visit the Shroud.”
“I would love that.” She beamed at me.
“And I owe you a chance to redeem yourself after the beating I gave you in our first training,” Owen called teasingly from the front seat.
The driver pulled to a stop, and I looked out the window. I’d been so distracted by the deliberations inside the car I hadn’t even noticed Lake Michigan whizzing by. We’d made it back to Alex’s apartment.
He gave me an inviting smile as he pushed open the door.
“Home sweet home.”
40
“Thanks, Evelyn.”
“Oh, it was no problem at all, sweet boy. Otis is such a well-behaved cat. He can stay with me anytime,” Evelyn gushed, hugging Otis to her chest.
I had to admit, in her arms he did look like a pretty nice cat, snuggling into her pale pink sweater and purring. Of course, that all changed the second she handed him over to Alex and his gaze fell on me. Otis’s ears pressed back, and he hissed at me. Apparently, he hated me with equal fervor whether he could see me or not.
Alex had insisted that I not fade out when he stopped by to pick up Otis from his friendly downstairs neighbor. I personally hated this idea, but he had made a good point—if I wasn’t going to be guarding him in secret anymore, people would be seeing me around the building a lot. They might as well get used to it.
As Evelyn’s shrewd eyes fell on me, my dislike for this idea grew by leaps and bounds. I’d washed the blood off, at least, and had thrown a spare t-shirt of Alex’s over my ripped and stained top. But considering it hung well past the end of the miniskirt I was still wearing, I wasn’t sure the look was honestly that much less scandalous.
Annnnd, based on the height of her raised eyebrows, it definitely wasn’t.
“Who’s your friend, Alex?” she cooed, smiling from ear to ear.
“Oh, this is Cam. Cam, this is Evelyn.” He shot me a look, and I gave a slight nod, letting him know I already knew who she was. He rolled his eyes.
“Well, hello, Cam!” Her thin hand shot out to grab mine, pumping it furiously in a boney grip. “It’s so lovely to meet you. So how do you two know each other?” She was salivating like a vampire that fed off gossip.
“Oh, uh, Cam is my… girlfriend?” Alex turned to me, the last word pitching up more like a question than a statement.
I spoke around a tongue that was suddenly too thick for my mouth. “Yep, girlfriend. I’m his girlfriend. We’re—I’m his girlfriend.”
Wow. So super smooth, Cam.
I leaned in to put an arm around him, but quickly decided it was only making this more awkward and yanked it back.
Evelyn beamed. “I thought that might be the case. Oh, you two are just the sweetest. You are one lucky girl, Cam. I’ve never understood why Alex doesn’t have more ladies beating down his door. I’d have made a move myself if I were a few decades younger.”
Alex blushed. “Aw, come on, Eve. You know you’re way out of my league.”
I bit my lip to hide my grin. He was pretty cute when he was flirting with a seventy-year-old.
We said our goodbyes and headed upstairs. I walked behind Alex, with Otis glaring at me over his shoulder the entire way up.
As soon as the apartment door closed behind us, Alex set Otis down, and he darted under the coffee table. The only part of him still visible was an angrily thrashing tail. I’d never been great at forming friendships with humans, let alone cats—but I’d have to find some sort of peace offering to see if I could turn this relationship around.
Alex sat on the couch, and I followed suit, settling into what had become “my spot” over the last couple months. It felt much different sitting here today though.
“Sorry about the whole girlfriend thing,” he said, turning to me. “I just figured that made the most sense as an explanation. Didn’t mean to spring it on you though.”
“No, it’s fine. It makes perfect sense. And I think you made Evelyn’s day.”
He chuckled lightly. “Yeah, she’s been trying to set me up with girls for a while now. Not that I don’t appreciate it, but none of them ever took.”
“Well, you can’t blame her for trying.”
“No, I can’t. She watches out for me. But, speaking of that—” His green eyes grew serious. “I think it’s important that you and I don’t—that we maintain a strictly professional relationship. I mean, I was sort of… I don’t know, drawn to you when I first saw you, but that was before I knew what you were and what was going on. If we’re going to be working together, then we should just be colleagues. Right?”
His look was so intense, I could almost imagine he was hoping I’d argue with him. Or maybe that was just in my head because I wanted to argue with him.
But he was right. It was a bad idea on so many fronts. Not just because we were about to become roommates and demon-hunting partners, but because I still didn’t think he trusted me completely. On some level, I was still the girl who’d followed him around as an invisible stalker. Even though I’d spent nearly every moment with him for several weeks, he’d only just met me a couple days ago.
And then there was the fact that I was immortal, which was a whole other can of worms I didn’t even want to think about. I was so far beyond Owen’s advice about leaving my old life behind that I had no idea where the line was anymore.
“Right.” I nodded decisively. “Of course.”
He exhaled and looked away, focusing his gaze on Otis’s twitching tail. “Okay, good. And living arrangements-wise, I only have the one bedroom, so—”
“No problem,” I blurted. “I’ll take the couch. I mean, it’s where I’ve been spending most nights anyway. And I don’t sleep or eat or anything, so I promise, I’ll be the least intrusive roommate you’ve ever had. You’ll barely even know I’m here.”
His voice was slightly rougher when he said, “Oh, I’ll definitely know you’re here.”
My body warmed. Ugh. Ignoring the sexual tension between us was going to be an uphill battle. Alex’s gaze caught mine again, and for a split second I wondered what would happen if I leaned forward and kissed him. Just to make sure the amazingness of that first kiss hadn’t been a fluke.
Gah!
Uphill. Battle.
Alex let out a small chuckle, and I was sure it was because he was reading me like a freaking open book again. Damn him.
I thought he might give me more shit about my transparency, but instead his expression grew serious.
“You’re nothing like your dad, you know,” he said quietly.
I drew in a slow breath. I’d sort of hoped he wouldn’t get to the “family issues” chapter in the open book that was Camille Prentice. But at the same time, the fact that he’d picked up on my fear and was trying to reassure me made me feel all warm and gooey inside.
That feeling wasn’t something I’d ever really thought I wanted—I’d spent a lot of years convincing myself I was just fine on my own. But having someone look at me and see so much of me was kind of amazing. And the fact that he seemed to like what he saw? Well, that was just the cherry on top.
Wrestling my burbling emotions back under control, I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “You don’t even know my dad. Or me, really. We could be exactly alike.”
“I’m getting to know you. And what I do know is that last night, one of you was trying to kill me, and one of you was trying to save me. So I already have a pretty good idea which one of you I like better.”
I cracked a smile, but a rogue tear tracked down my
cheek. “I wish I knew why. Why he’s doing this. Why he and my mom left me. Just… why.”
“Do you know why you decided to sneak into a dance club and pick a fight with a bunch of demons?”
“Well, yeah. If we don’t stop the Fallen from taking out Guardians, they’ll be able to do whatever they want on Earth. And humanity doesn’t deserve that.”
Alex nodded. “There you go. You know what you believe in, and you didn’t need your dad’s help to figure that out. We’ll find him, Cam. But you don’t need to know his reasons to be sure of your own.”
I bit my lip, fighting down the lump in my throat. The trust and warmth in bright green eyes buoyed my spirits. How did he know the exact right thing to say?
“Thanks, Alex.” There was so much more I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.
He shrugged, his dimple popping out on one side as he gave a lopsided smile. “Wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. You saved my life tonight. You’re a-okay in my book.”
Trying to move us along from this topic before that single tear turned into a torrent, I picked up the hem of the t-shirt he’d given me and fiddled with it. “First item on my demon-hunting agenda is to get some new clothes.”
Alex grinned at me. “Probably a good idea.”
“Then we need to start tracking down where my dad and Boss Man’s goons went.”
“Good plan. And then what?”
I caught his gaze and smiled. “Then we save the world.”
THANK YOU FOR READING!
Thank you so much for reading Guardian Born! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And don’t worry, the adventure doesn’t stop here.
Cam and Alex’s fight to stop the Fallen will continue in Guardian Revealed, coming soon.
You can preorder it on Amazon HERE.
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