Julian The Arcana Novels & Stories

Marcus has slipped in and out twice, her face carved from granite, her voice too low for me to catch. At midnight, I can't endure it anymore. I shove the study door open. Julian sits at his desk, buried in screens and papers and the wreckage of a past he believed was dead. His jacket is missing. His sleeves are shoved to his elbows. His hair is chaos from his hands tearing through it. He lifts his head when I enter, and his eyes are raw and exhausted and burning. "You should be sleeping," he says. "So should you." "I don't sleep when someone's hunting us."

The white marble, the neon lights, the rain—all of it was swallowed by a violent flash of red. ​I saw it. Life Nine. ​We were in a burning library. The air was thick with the smell of old parchment and roasting flesh. Julian was there, but he was wearing heavy, silver armor stained with soot. He was crying. He held a dagger—not a scalpel—and his hand was shaking as he pressed it against my throat. ​“I won’t let them take you to the altar, Elowen,” he had whispered in that life. “I’d rather send you to the dark myself than let them harvest your light.”

weapon in Julian’s hands. "If you touch him, Julian," Aria whispered, her voice a "Loyal" threat, "Ethan won't just 'Liquidate' your assets. He will 'De-materialize' everything you’ve ever loved." "Oh, I’m not here for the boy," Julian lied, his "Calculating" gaze shifting to the curtain of the back room. "I’m here for the 'Vengeance.' You see, Ethan thinks he’s found his 'Hard-Reset.' He thinks he can have the family and the 'Gilded' power. I’m just here to show him that in the 'Common Ledger' of life, you can't erase a debt."

He looked up at their container, his eyes glowing with a faint, artificial blue light—the exact same light that lived in Elena’s veins. "The Empress forgot one rule of the trial," Julian’s voice echoed through their comms, sounding like a digital ghost. "A footnote is never truly deleted. It’s just archived." He isn't here to save them. He’s the first 'Revenant' of the new world—and he’s carrying a Master Key that belongs to Madeline.

Julian laughed. It wasn't the polished, boardroom chuckle Elara had heard for six years. It was the jagged, desperate sound of a man who had realized his throne was made of paper and the matches were lit. "You think you’ve won, Elara?" Julian gasped, the edge of her knife still biting into the skin beneath his jaw. "You think these... charity cases... are going to march out of here with my money and my secrets?" He reached into his jacket pocket. Mira lunged, but she wasn't fast enough. Julian didn't pull a gun; he pulled a small, obsidian-glass tablet. With a bloody thumb, he swiped a crimson icon.

"If they get you to the Door, Evelyn — if they use your blood to break the seal — they’ll unleash hell." Another roar echoed through the woods, closer now. Evelyn tore herself free again. Her heart was hammering so hard she thought it might burst. "And Julian?" she shouted. "Where does he fit into this?" Lucian’s face twisted with something close to sorrow. "Julian was the first attempt," he said quietly. "The first hybrid. A soldier bred for war, too unstable to control." He met her gaze, unflinching. "They locked him away, just like the Door. But he woke up — and now he thinks the only way to stop the Circle... is to burn everything down."

J U L I A N “Julian. This is your sweetie, your mate. Well, good news. My mother just confirmed I was born and bred for one thing. Becoming your mate. I guess my father is one of you. He was given a special honor in creating a hybrid. My scientific mind has to wonder why. Oh, yes. I guess my identity could be a secret? Maybe your great council was told or had premonitions of the fact werewolves would try and destroy the world.”

My name glowed faintly—inked in shadow. “Why me?” Julian’s eyes softened. “Because you’re the Spring Queen. Your blood is new. Unclaimed. If Elias drinks you, he can rewrite the compact. Bind the valley to him instead of the king.” Seras cracked her knuckles. “Over my flaming corpse.” Julian almost smiled. “That’s the plan.” I stepped closer. “You said you tried to stop him. Why should I trust you?” He held out the ledger. “Because I’m burning it.”

"It's better than being locked in the dark with you." Julian paused. For a fraction of a second, a strange, dark amusement flickered across his sharp features. The corners of his mouth twitched into a ghostly, humorless smile. "A fascinating hypothesis," he murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips before rising back to meet her defiant stare. "But structurally unsound. You see, Clara, you are a chaotic variable. And I do not tolerate chaos in my designs." He released her arm so abruptly she stumbled back against the door. Julian stepped down the stairs, retrieving her satchel from the floor. He opened it, pulled out the leather ledger and the flash drive, and tossed the bag back up to her fee

For the first time, something other than power flashed in his crimson gaze. Intrigue. Conquest. And a deeply greedy possessiveness. She has a soul strong enough for Original blood. My heartbeat steadied. Julian knelt on the floor, watching us with absolute despair. "Elena, I'm sorry..." He propped himself up, trying to reach me. "Please, just give me one chance to explain..." I pulled the bedsheets away in disgust, refusing to let him touch me. Lucius sneered down at him. "Save your tears. Bring the little snake in."