Page 76 of Better in Black
She could tell. And she could also tell that whatever Diana wanted to say probably fell into the category of Things You Wished You Could Unhear the Moment You Heard Them.
“Diana, I’m not sure—”
Diana interrupted. “While we were at the club, I saw Julian.”
“Dancing? Thatwouldbe alarming.” Emma grinned, picturing Julian at a nightclub. Julian was much more the kind of guy whowould sit at a table sketching the crowd than the kind who’d bop around on the dance floor. “But it couldn’t have been him, anyway,” she said. “He went out to Pasadena to get art supplies from some warlock who used to sell paint to Picasso. He’ll be out there till dawn listening to this guy’s stories, trust me.”
“Emma, it was him. I’m sure of it.”
“Well, okay—weird, but what did he say he was doing there?”
“I didn’t actually talk to him,” Diana said. A long pause. Then she spat it out. “He wasn’t alone, Emma. He was with a girl.”
Emma’s brain took a beat to process the syllables.A girl.Which had to mean something other than what it sounded like.
“What girl?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t see her face. Because they were dancing, and…he was kissing her.”
Diana met her gaze, unflinching. Their tutor had kept some secrets from them over the years. But she wasn’t a liar.
Unlike Julian,a tiny, treasonous voice in the back of Emma’s head pointed out.Julian has always been the best liar you ever knew.
No. Julian lied only when necessary. And only to protect the people he loved. And Emma was one of those people. She knew it.
“I’m sorry, Emma.” Diana exhaled. “Look, I wasn’t even sure if I should tell you. But it’s so wildly out of character for Julian, I figured either there was a rational explanation or something was really, really wrong with him. When you get home—”
“Home?” Emma shook her head. “No way. I’m not going home. We’re going to find Jules.Now.”
—
LA traffic was a hell dimension in its own right. Especially on a Saturday night and especially between the beach and West Hollywood. The freeways snaked over and under each other, each one an unmoving river of red brake lights.
Fortunately, Emma had friends in high places. Or at least, friends who had a magic flying horse that could carry them to high places. She’d left a dubious-looking Helen back in Venice and begged a ride to the nightclub with Diana. It wasn’t the first time she’d been on a flying horse, and the sensation usually made her feel like a little kid, giddy with the joy of soaring.
Tonight, she was too anxious to enjoy it.
She didn’t want to allow herself to have a feeling about Julian kissing another girl, because Julian kissing another girl was unfathomable. It could not be fathomed because it could not be true.
Julian wouldn’t cheat on her. He wouldn’t lie to her, either, not even about a small thing like where he was going. She trusted him. When they had beenparabatai,she had trusted him with her life. Afterward, she had trusted him with her heart and her soul. He had never let her down. If anything, she was sometimes frightened by his willingness to put himself in danger to protect her.
But Julian does lie.That small, annoying voice was back. And yes, she wanted to tell it, Jules was clever, a plotter, someone who could be ruthless. But not with her, not with his family. He had his own code of honor, and he would never break it. That belief was the bedrock of Emma’s faith in the world, in herself, in other people.
And besides, cheating was so petty. Petty and small. Julian didn’t lie about petty, small, despicable things. When he created deceptions, they were big, meant to win wars or protect his family.
But Diana was perceptive. If she said she’d seen Julian kissing a girl, then that was what she’d seen. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some explanation, but all the explanations made Emma nervous: a faerie potion, a spell, a demon’s influence.
She went over and over the last few days in her mind, trying to remember if Julian had been distant, if he’d been hiding things, been scared or troubled. But Julian could act like he had nothingto hide even when he was hiding an earth-shattering secret. Those beautiful blue-green eyes she loved could turn to opaque sea glass in a moment, hiding everything he felt. Even from Emma.
She hung tight to Diana’s waist as the horse took a precipitous dive toward Sunset Boulevard—a long, winding strip that crossed most of Los Angeles, cutting from the beach to the inner city. This area, not far from most of the movie studios that formed the heart of the entertainment industry, was mostly bars and famous nightclubs where big musical acts played: the Whisky a Go Go, the Roxy, the Viper Room. Not that Emma could have identified any of the bands: It was impossible not to knowsomethings about mundane culture when you were surrounded by it, but the granular aspects escaped her.
They pulled up short just in time, and landed with an unexpectedly gentlethumpin a parking lot next to a huge square building from which loud dance music pumped. A long line of mundanes snaked out the front door and down the street.
Gwyn landed beside them. “Will you require our assistance, young Emma?” he said, as Emma hopped down from Diana’s horse and stretched.
“I don’t think you should go in by yourself,” said Diana, but Emma shook her head.
“Sorry, Diana. I think it’s better if I do.”
