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Seth and Nick parted ways an hour later, Nick promising Seth he’d text as soon as he got home. He waved at Seth as he shouldered his backpack and headed toward home, his Guardian costume a heavy weight, always reminding him it was there.

He entered his neighborhood, lost in thoughts of Seth and the noises he made when Nick bit down on the skin beneath his ears. It was the best noise, really. Light surprise with a darker undercurrent of something more, something they were building toward. Not there yet, but Nick thought he’d be ready sooner rather than later. It made him nervous and excited in equal measure.

As he reached the walkway that led to his darkened house,he stopped and frowned. The skin on the back of his neck prickled, as if…

As if someone stood behind him. He didn’t know how he knew, but he did. The neighborhood was quiet. No one else out on the streets. A perfect time to be attacked.

Gripping the straps on his backpack, he whirled around, teeth bared in a snarl, ready to kick whoever’s ass had followed him home.

A figure stood on the sidewalk in front of the house, watching him. Black, bulky costume made up of heavy armor. Steel-toed boots. A helmet that covered the head completely, an opaque sheet of plastic on the front.

An Extraordinary, one of the most powerful.

He relaxed as TK lifted their hands to the sides of their helmet, pulling it off in one smooth motion.

There, standing with a quiet smile, was his mother.

“Hey, kid,” Jennifer Bell said, running a hand through her short blond hair, glistening with sweat. “How’d training go? Your dad texted me and said you shot him in the head.” She snorted. “Wish I could’ve been there to see the look on his face.”

Nick groaned, heart slowing to a somewhat normal rhythm now that he knew he wasn’t about to be attacked. “He’s such a freaking drama queen. Did he tell you that he shot first? Because hedid.What did he think I was going to do?Notprotect my man?”

She grinned as she moved up the walkway, joining her son near the porch. She was approaching fifty but was in much better shape than Nick would ever be, lean and thinly muscled underneath all that armor. He took more after her than he did his father, his eyes exactly like hers. “And they say chivalry is dead.” She kissed his cheek, her lips warm. “Don’t worry, Nicky. I told him the same thing. If anyone came after you or your father like that, they’d be lucky if they were able to walk away on their own.”

Nick made a face. “Oh, so you can say stuff like that, but whenIdo, I’m told that violence should always be a last resort.”

“And it should,” Mom said, tugging him up the porch steps. “I’m feeling like ordering takeout for dinner. Good with you?”

“Hell yes,” Nick said.

She grinned as she unlocked the front door. “Thought as much. And if you promise not to try and shoot your father again, I’ll tell you about the idiots I stopped from trying to rob a farmer’s market tonight. Just rob a bank, cowards.”

Nick stopped, swaying slightly. The wordsrob a bankechoed in his head, insistent yet faint, as if they too came from a faraway dream. A dream that tried to force its way to the surface, but then Mom squeezed his hand and the strange feeling melted away as if it’d never been there at all. He came back to himself, feeling right as rain.

“All right?” she asked, sounding concerned.

He shook his head. “Yeah, I… just got lost in my head for a second. Must be tired.”

She watched him for a long moment before saying, “You’ve been working hard, so that’s to be expected. Come on, let’s get you fed and we can have an early night.”

“Deal,” Nick said promptly as he walked through the door, flipping the light switch just inside. “Did the robbers scream when you showed up? Please tell me they screamed.”

Mom laughed loudly as she closed the door behind them, and Nick thought it was one of the best sounds he’d ever heard. He didn’t know where he’d be without her, but thankfully, he’d never have to find out. Mom was here, just like she’d always been. Dad, too. They were good. They were healthy. Whole. They stood together so they didn’t have to struggle apart.

Everything was fine.