Page 42 of Unholy

Malachi’s hand tightened dangerously around the glass. “Are you fucking with me right now? Doyou?”

“No. But I’m not a halfling.”

Malachi scoffed. “To them you are.”

“That’s true,” Alex piped up. “Remember? I didn’t know you weren’t like the red-eyed halflings until you told me, Tal. We—the paladins, I mean—assumed that you were all the same, just that black eyes meant you were stronger somehow. Older, maybe.”

“To be fair, heisolder,” Malachi said cheekily.

Talon cast him an unamused look. “What I did is unrelated,” he said. “I don’t have any kind of plan, but that doesn’t mean you don’t. Why else would you start circlingthis one?” He gestured with his glass toward Luke and took a sip.

Malachi’s jaw worked for a moment. Luke gently took his hand, turning it over on his leg and stroking his palm, from the heel to the tips of his fingers and back again.

“Because he’s mine,” Malachi said as Luke slowly drained the tension from his body.

Alex looked intrigued, but Talon scoffed.

“Fuck you,” Malachi said, but it was halfhearted. “Wasn’t it the same for you? Didn’t you lay eyes on this one and immediately want him all to yourself? Realize you’d do anything to keep him?”

Talon studied him dubiously for a moment and then looked at Alex. His midnight eyes softened, and Alex slowly smiled. It felt like Malachi and Luke were intruding on an intimate moment, the way they looked at each other. And then Talon leaned in, tipping his face up and pressing his lips to Alex’s temple, an action so at odds with everything Malachi knew about the sadistic, black-eyed leviathans.

“Fine,” Talon relented. “Yes, it was the same for me. I don’t know why. I saw the human; I wanted the human. Hell, I couldn’t stop until Ihadthe human. You’re saying you felt the same way the first time you saw this one?”

“Yes. It doesn’t bode well for their paranoid theories about us having some plan, though. And if they move on the halflings here, it could be bad.”

Luke added, “It’s been decades since anyone was banished from the guild—for any reason. It’s certainly never happened because someone harbored feelings for a demon.”

Talon scowled, and Luke raised his free hand in surrender.

“I’m the last person in the world who would castjudgment over that. I’m just telling you what I’ve overheard. Hawk’s banishment upset a lot of people. They’re floundering, trying to rationalize a paladin choosing a demon over the guild, and it’s easier to cast the demons in the role of deceivers and tempters. But thereisno plot. I know that. And I couldn’t sit by knowing that Hawk and the rest of you might be in danger because the paladins couldn’t deal with losing one member. I want you to be aware of what’s happening so you aren’t blindsided by an attack.”

Talon leaned back, stretching one arm out behind Alex and looking at Luke with something like begrudging respect. “We appreciate the warning.”

Alex reached into Talon’s leather jacket and came out with an ink pen, ignoring Talon’s look of amusement. He wrote something down on a napkin and slid it over to Luke.

“If you hear anything else, this is my number. Text or call, any time.”

Luke folded it with care and tucked it into his pocket. “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

Malachi gestured for Luke to stand, and Alex said, “Oh, hey, Morgan?”

Luke turned.

“Watch yourself. If you think they’re getting paranoid about losing me, imagine what they’d do if they found out about you and Malachi.”

Luke nodded grimly. “I know. It’s crossed my mind. Unfortunately, it’s a risk I have to take.” He leveled Malachi with a warm look. “I’m not giving him up.”

“And…” Alex hesitated, then forged on. “You’ve got some hard choices ahead. Having both… It’s not sustainable. One day you’ll have to choose. Or they’ll choose for you.”

Malachi frowned, his hand circling Luke’s wrist. Hewouldn’t ask Luke to choose. He could have both for as long as he wanted. Malachi didn’t mind being Luke’s dirty little secret. It meant he was still Luke’ssomething, and they could be together whenever Luke wasn’t at the guild.

“I know,” Luke said solemnly. “It’s just not a decision I’m ready to make yet.”

Alex’s handsome face softened with sympathy. “Believe me, I understand.”

They said their goodbyes, and Malachi pushed Luke toward the VIP hall through which they’d entered. In the blood red light, Luke slowed, looking from closed door to closed door.

“What are all these rooms? Other secret tunnels?” he teased.

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