Page 39 of Fallen

Alex tracked his hand to his coffee cup, which he lifted to his lips.

“Tell me more. You can teleport. Halflings can’t do that.”

“Leviathans can,” he said with a cheeky smirk.

“Yes, and what else? Teleporting, dreamwalking…”

“The teleporting can be tiring to do. The wards on your apartment, for example, weren’t strong enough to keep me out, but they would keep out a halfling and most of the nasty things you like to hunt. We can also move things, telekinetically, but it takes a lot of effort.”

“Seriously?” Alex asked curiously. “Show me. Move something.”

Talon smiled indulgently, focusing on Alex’s plate. A moment later it jumped as though someone had hit the underside of the table, drawing a surprised bark of laughter from Alex.

“Wow, that’s awesome. Are there others like you? Other leviathans?”

“Of course. Not many here in LA. If you stick around, you may meet them.”

“Do you have to eat? Sleep?”

“Yes. Wearetechnically living creatures, though we don’t have to eat or sleep as often or as much as humans. We can go a long time without them. We usually keep pretty normal sleep hours, though, if only to pass the time. Otherwise we have far too much time on our hands, which gets boring.”

Alex glanced at him, his mouth full and his pretty eyes bright with mirth.

“I would’ve thought you learned all about this kind of stuff in your demon studies. Doesn’t the guild have classes on us?”

“Yes, but it’s more basic than that. We aren’t studying your physiology. We study the names of demons, what their powers are, how to kill them. There’s an extensive history lesson where we study old battle logs so we can understand how to fight certain demons if we cross them.” He frowned. “But there’s very little about leviathans in our archives. Makes me wonder how much more they’ve gotten wrong.”

“Hopefully a lot,” Talon said bluntly. “We’re not exactly forthcoming about what all we can do, and that’s for a reason. It’s good for us if the paladins have some of their information wrong. Safer.”

Alex chewed thoughtfully for a little while, then leveled Talon with a contemplative look. “Has anything like this ever happened before, that you know of?”

“Anything like…”

“This.” He gestured between them. “Us. As far as I know, no paladin has ever befriended a demon before, much less…” he blushed prettily, “more than that.”

A part of him longed to tease, but it was an intriguing question. Talon angled his head, considering. “Not that I know of. But I do wonder…”

Alex polished off the last of his sandwich. “What?”

Talon leaned in. “Do you feel it, too? This tie between us? Like I’ve got a hook planted in your chest and you can’t get away? Did you feel my absence this past week as keenly as I felt yours?”

As he spoke, Alex’s expression went soft and vulnerable, his eyes distant. For a moment, he didn’t respond, as though debating internally, and finally, he breathed, “Yes.”

Triumph roared through Talon.

Alex licked his lips, continuing softly. “I told myself I was just tired. But that didn’t explain why the nightmares had gotten so much worse in the first place. I could stillfunctionbefore I met you. But after… It felt like a punishment, because I was forcing myself to stay away from you.” He frowned. “I don’t want to rely on anyone the way I’ve come to rely on you—and for something as crucial assleep.”

Talon wanted the opposite, wanted Alex to rely on him for all things, but he understood the drive for independence. “We’ll experiment tonight, hm? I’ll stay by your side but not enter your dreams. Maybe my presence will be enough. Maybe the fact that we’ve reconciled will allow you to rest.”

Alex looked discomfited. “I’d like that, thank you. And I hope so.”

“Or maybe after you kill the mozgoran, you’ll finally be at peace and the nightmares will end on their own.”

Alex looked away, leaning closer as though taking comfort in Talon’s closeness. Unable to resist, Talon pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

“Ready to go?”

Alex nodded.

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