“Of course…”
“And then you, as Captain, can easily decide when she is questioned.”
“I mean, yes, I—”
“Then we can set up a meeting for a later date. I’ll have one of my staff reach out with a list of appropriate times. I’ll leave you to your preliminary investigation, Captain Blair.”
Gideon opened his mouth, but Rachel set a hand on his shoulder. “You lost this round. Let her go. He has a point.”
Gideon’s jaw clenched and he threw off Rachel’s hand. Rachel sighed.
“Go. Get some rest,” Rachel said, directing her words to Sera. “I’ll deal with him.”
“You’re too good to him. I don’t know why you even bother anymore.”
Rachel’s soft blue eyes lowered. She was like a sister, a friend since they were children. But she had been inexplicably in love with Gideon for as long as Sera had known her. “Get some rest, Sera. I’ll see you later.”
Kieran abruptly turned and guided Sera along like a toddler that had run away.
He did not release her sleeve until they were in his carriage and on their way back to the Winter Court.Hishome. Not hers.
He sat back and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t know how you managed to survive thus far in life, but I can only imagine it is through some sort of Divine intervention. You barely leave my sight for a moment and you’re nearly killed by—I assume those were Cole’s minions?”
“Yes, but they barely got the chance—”
“No, Seraphina, they very much had the chance. As soon as you stepped into that cab, the shadow behind you solidified. Leaving me with no other choice but to chase after you. Searching for gods knows how long before I happened to overhear that woman alerting the Watchmen. Losing me yet another night of sleep in the process.”
“Look, any more beauty rest and it would just be unfair,” she murmured.
He did not respond, jaw clamped firmly shut. She couldn’t quite tell if he was clenching his teeth or not through his otherwise stoic expression.
“You know Gideon wasn’t trying to question me about the incident? He was on his way to saying something reassuring.”
“Yes, I am aware. But I was also aware of your distress—” He looked away. “It served my purposes to extricate you quickly.”
Was he trying to hide his rescue with selfish gain? Once again, it was easier to believe he had acted selfishly, rather than coming to her rescue because of some genuine concern for her. But then, the Lady Archer had never claimed payment from her either. Sera closed her mouth. Whatever warm butterflies had been attempting to invade her stomach squashed as reality warred with her understanding of the world.
The knot in her chest grew tighter. He went looking for her? Kieran hadsearchedfor her when he thought she was in danger? Sera’s fingers started to fidget.
“I thought there was time to deal with this issue,” Kieran continued, his posture a bit less rigid than before. He was practically slouching, though it would have been hard to tell if she hadn’t spent the last few weeks with him. His hand rested on his forehead as he narrowed his eyes at the window. “This problem with Cole needs to be handled sooner, rather than later.”
“What do you propose? Want to rush into Demon Row and throttle him while he sleeps? I have the address and nothing would make me happier.”
His eyes were frosty. “This is not a time for jests, Sera. We need an actionable plan to rid you of this threat. Though,” he glanced over her shoulder, “it seems that Cole has not been informed of their failure.”
She touched her shoulder. “There’s no shadow?”
He nodded.
Sera bristled, a whole lot of negative emotions swirling inside her for too long. “And don’t think I missed your real meaning in ending this threat. You mean, ridyourselfofme.”
“Yes, obviously,” he said, voice almost rising to exasperation. His shoulders had moved with the words and his eyebrows shot up conveying emotion she guessed he hadn’t intended to show. He paused until his face returned to neutral and continued, “I am only helping you because Hawthorne is my problem. I can’t imagine you enjoy being tethered to me, whatever your insipid games or banter. I assume you, too, have a life awaiting your return.”
She cast her eyes out the window. “Not really. Cole was my life. Or, rather, he controlled it. Not sure what I’ll do once I’m freeof him. I guess what I always do, drift along until the next bad decision.”
Sera glanced back toward him, searching for another slip of emotion, but he wasn’t going to slip again so easily. Frustration mounted, bubbling in her chest where words simmered that she might not have said if she had any actual read on what he was thinking.
“Look, I know how it sounds. What does Sera have going for her? Nothing. No respectable skills. No hope of earning any sort of living outside of, I don’t know, whoring. Which, I’ve done and I’m not eager to go back. I’m no prude, but… I just don’t want that as my fall back.”
