“You handled that far too naturally,” Kieran said, voice so quiet that she almost didn’t hear him over the sound of the carriage.
Sera exchanged a look with Seth. “Well, it’s not a habit I’ll have to continue.”
Her words seemed to lift the darkness of his expression, the cloud began to dissipate. “I still don’t understand the need to hide it.”
She sighed. This next stop was not going to be an easy one. “Because if Gideon sees it, he’ll freak out. And before you say anything, Gideon losing his mind is not the same asyoulosingyour mind. He’d do something drastic or impulsive and there’s nothing that can be done. Not anymore. It’ll make things easier if I keep this small detail from him.”
“Cole leaving physical marks of his abuse on your body is no small detail, Sera. It has been a very long time since I’ve had a sibling, but I would not have wanted Jerica to conceal such a burden from me.”
“He’s not wrong,” Seth chimed. “You want a fresh start with your brother, you’ve got to be willing to make the first move.”
Unbelievable. Neither of them understood Gideon at all. If she showed him actual proof of Cole’s violence he’d probably march straight out of Watchmen Headquarters and attempt to resurrect the body so he could kill him all over again.
“The first move, is going there at all. I’m taking the initiative. I’m not letting him hear about what happened in Demon Row second hand. That’s plenty for a first step.”
“Suit yourself,” Seth murmured.
The carriage stopped outside Watchmen HQ. Kieran followed her out of the carriage, but she held up a hand. This was something that needed to be done alone. A step forward. Well, hopefully a step forward. With Gideon there was no telling if they’d need ten steps backward first.
Gunpowder was caked in her nails. Her limbs still trembled with the loss of adrenaline. The ride from Demon Row had been hectic when they first left Demon Row. Seth was relieved, but wanted to hear every detail of what happened. He appreciated the over-zealous murder of their tormentor.
Joy, Kieran’s driver, had been happy to see him alive as well. Which seemed to catch him off guard. He had looked genuinely uncertain by her very minimal display. A quick ‘glad you’re okay, boss’ and a pat on his shoulder and he had reacted like she had come from space speaking an indiscernible language. It wasmore affection than anyone had ever shown him as far as she had seen, aside from herself.
Sera’s stomach was in knots as she approached the entrance. Her fingers twitched at her sides. She just wanted to get this over with before news reached Gideon and he had better fucking appreciate it.
This was the first time she’d entered this building of her own volition, but still, she had not expected an uproar.
A controlled sort of pandemonium had taken over headquarters, with officers rushing this way and that like ants. Sera swallowed down a lump in her throat. It wasn’t a huge leap to guess what had caused the chaos. As she stepped forward, the officer maintaining the front desk stopped her.
“Whoa, can’t let you in today. All appointments are being rescheduled.”
“I’m Gideon’s sister,” she tried.
The officer narrowed their eyes, tilting their head, and Sera crossed her arms and scowled in answer.
“I believe you, but there’s no—”
“Let her through,” Rachel said, opening the gate separating the front waiting area from the rest of headquarters. “I’ve got her, Mack. Carry on.”
Rachel took one look at Sera and set her hands on her hips. “Gods above.”
“What? I didn’t say anything…”
“You didn’t have to. He’s over there, barking out orders.” Rachel shook her head. “Good luck.”
Sera hugged her arms to her chest. A glance out the window showed Kieran hovering near the entrance, waiting for her. She briefly considered rushing back out to him, but thought better of it.
Sera scooted among the chaos, inching closer to her brother. He was in full form, a collected sort of power emanating fromhim as he delegated and commanded, each officer responding without question.
“We need a second team out there with the healers,” Gideon ordered.
“Wraith’s set his own healers on the scene—”
“I don’t give a shit what Wraith is doing, he doesn’t own this city. I want the medical team, but also knock on some doors to maybe scrounge up a fae healer. Never know when you might need a magical touch.”
“Got it, sir.”
Gideon opened his mouth to issue some other command when his eyes locked on her and he redirected. “I can’t right now, Sera. In case you missed it, there’s been an explosion in Demon Row that I’ve got to clean up.”
