him on the side. “Ouch!”
Delta looks back at Flint with a sweet smile. “Continue.”
He lifts a shoulder. “Well, that’s how things went for several years. I stayed in the human realm, did whatever the fuck I wanted, only giving the bare minimum of my power and my presence to help Alder sustain the gate.”
I look back at Alder, feelin’ so bad that he had to carry the responsibility entirely on his shoulders. That must’ve been horrible and stressful, to say the least. “How did you manage things all on your own?” I ask him.
“It was a struggle, I won’t lie,” Alder replies. “But I’m a legacy—I was trained for this my whole life, and I’m powerful. I managed okay for the most part. Until…” His words trail off, his eyes meetin’ Flint’s.
My attention shifts to my marble demon. “Until what?”
Guilt washes over Flint’s face clear as day, and his gaze drops to the carpet once more. “I was always leaving the bar to go fuck off in the human realm. I’d leave in stints, only coming back when I couldn’t resist the gate’s pull. But that last time, I was being a complete dick. I stayed away for nearly two whole months. I knew Alder was being drained. I knew the gate needed power. But I was just so fucking bitter, I resisted.” Slate-gray eyes rise up slowly to look at me, anguish buried in their depths. “And then a horde broke through.”
“Oh, shit,” I hear Delta murmur.
“Alder was overrun. Even with the help of some of the demon patrons at the bar, there were way too many Outer Ringers. There are a lot of demons that believe we should have free rein in this realm and do whatever the fuck we want to humans. They attacked and broke through the gate, nearly killing Alder in the process.”
A gasp flies from my mouth, and my hand squeezes Alder’s arm that’s wrapped around my middle. Even though I know this story happened a long time ago, I can’t help the panic that fills me as I imagine all of this goin’ down and what could’ve happened.
“I shifted back immediately when I felt the attack, and I barely managed to get Alder a safe distance away. The stubborn bastard wouldn’t run. Too damn proud and honorable,” he says with a rueful turn of his lips.
Alder chuffs behind me. “Someone had to stay and guard it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Flint replies, but I can tell this playfulness is gained after years of regret and contrition.
“So what happened?” I press.
Flint tilts his head toward Delta’s guys. “The other Guardians felt the attack, and they came to help. Together, we managed to close down the portal and stabilize the Hellgate. But the horde killed a lot of good demons that day. And good humans too,” he says with a resentful bite to his words. “It was my fault those demons broke through and went on a killing spree. If I’d stopped being such a fucking selfish prick, it never would’ve happened.”
His gaze meets mine once more, and I hurt for him at the devastating pain and penitence I see on his face. “I learned right then and there, it’s not worth it to fight your calling. If the gate needs you, it needs you. Pouting or running or trying to ignore the responsibility ain’t worth it. I know that better than any Guardian out there.”
Silence reigns for a bit as everyone digests his words, mostly Delta and me. I feel so bad for Flint—at the guilt he carries around. And for Alder, who had to stand with such a heavy load on his shoulders for so long all by himself. It says a lot about the kind of person Alder is that he clearly doesn’t hold a grudge but, instead, is sympathetic and supportive to what Flint went through. They’re clearly friends now, and I’m startin’ to understand the kind of foundation their bond was built off of.
“Well...fuck,” Delta says, breakin’ the silence. I can’t help but let out an anxious laugh.
“Thanks for tellin’ us, Flint,” I say quietly as I squeeze his hand supportively. My heart hurts for him knowin’ that the people he considered family basically abandoned him, all because he ended up havin’ a different daddy. Flint shoots me a warm smile, squeezin’ my hand right back.
“Took me a wicked wake up call, but I’m thankful that the Gate chose me, and that I got a second chance to be the Guardian I was