Page 64 of Indecent

Julian turned wide eyes toward them. “Hey, I heard Draego say there’s a human in the guild right now that he wants to protect. Wonder which one it is.”

“We shall find out soon enough, I suspect,” Valac said. He towered over the rest of them, eyes scanning the empty street ahead of them.

Julian hummed. “Ira probably knows.”

“Ira definitely knows,” Daniel said. “He told Talon he’s staying out of this one, though. We overheard them talking.”

Chaol scowled at the mention of the leviathan, and Daniel didn’t miss it, reeling him in and smacking a kiss to his cheek.

“You still good with being here?” he asked softly. The others turned away and pretended to give them privacy, though they were all well within earshot, even the humans. Chaol appreciated the attempt at discretion.

Chaol mustered a smile. “I’m with you.”

Talon and Shadrach weren’t the real problem, anyway. Amon could have chosen not to do Lilith’s bidding. He could have chosen to stay in Hell with Chaol instead of whipping the possessors into a frenzy and teaching them how to burst from their hosts. Amon was the real reason Chaol had been left alone. He couldn’t blame the leviathans for protecting their humans. Knowing what he knew now, he would’ve done the same.

He thought Amon would try to avenge him if the roles were reversed, but would he have? He hadn’t chosen Chaol when it mattered. Maybe Chaol was really angry at Amon for not putting their clan first—even though he and Chaol were the only ones left of it.

Chaol pushed those thoughts away and slung an arm around Daniel’s shoulders. The past was the past. He could spend years ruminating on Amon’s motivations, but he would never have real answers. He was here now, and that was what mattered. The night around them was dark, and sirens wailed in the distance. A warm, gentle breeze ruffled their hair and clothing. Only the brightest stars were visible tonight. The sky was like a blank canvas of potential. Maybe he would take Daniel flying after they finished patrolling. He could take him out over the ocean, show him how vast the world really was.

“Movement,” Valac warned. “Up ahead.”

Chaol stiffened, listening intently.

“Footsteps,” Daniel breathed.

“Humans,” Ashmedai growled, and a sinister laugh rattled out of his hood. “Dark souls.”

A group of men rounded the corner up ahead. Sword pommels were visible over their shoulders, and they stopped at the sight of the Sentinels a short distance in front of them.

“Go, baby,” Nicolas said, nudging Ashmedai.

Valac flung a hand out, and darkness slammed into the paladin squad, toppling them over each other like bowling pins. Ashmedai appeared in front of them, holding a hand out toward the nearest one. His body began to twist and break, bones snapping loudly, and his ragged scream cut through the distant noise of the city.

Chaol stared, mesmerized. That was what happened when Ashmedai ate a soul from a living body?

“Get back, demon!” one of them shouted, clambering to his knees. He flung something liquid at Ashmedai, who shrieked in pain and cringed back.

Holy water.

“Ash!” Nicolas shouted, starting toward them.

Chaol moved first, the transformation sweeping over his body. His wings tore through the back of his shirt, and with a powerful flap, he closed the distance to the paladins. He grabbed the one with the holy water, claws sinking deep into his skin, and used his wings to flip himself backward, using his own momentum to throw the man high into the air. He screamed, and the bottle of holy water clattered to the pavement.

Chaol turned—and flinched as a sword arced through the air toward him.

But it never landed. Daniel appeared between them, a furious snarl on his face. He grabbed the paladin’s wrist with one hand and his throat with the other, lifting him off the ground. Fire engulfed them both, and the paladin screamed, thrashing in Daniel’s unrelenting grip.

He was beautiful, light and heat blazing around him as he turned his enemy to ash. Valac appeared on Chaol’s other side, subduing the others so Ashmedai could take his time with them.

Out in the middle of the street, the paladin Chaol had thrown into the air landed with a crunch.

When Daniel dropped the blackened body, Chaol wrapped around him from behind, pressing his lips to his neck.

“Thank you,” he murmured. “Let the fire go now, darkling. It’s going to draw attention to us.”

Daniel leaned back against him, his eyes fluttering shut. The fire shrank little by little, and when Daniel turned his head to nuzzle Chaol’s jaw, it finally went out completely, leaving them in darkness.

The rest of the world ceased to matter when he had Daniel, trusting and pliant, in his arms like this. Ashmedai picked off the last of the paladins while Chaol luxuriated in the sensation of Daniel’s body pressed against his.