She pulled herself out of bed and then, as the room tilted, sat on the edge for a few minutes until the dizziness passed. Then she hauled herself into the bathroom for more painkillers and an awkward shower, trying to get clean without wetting her dressings.
By the time she made her way into the kitchen where the rest of the household was already eating breakfast, she felt almost human again.
She shuffled over to the polished granite countertop, pressed the buttons on the huge coffee machine that David had finally agreed they needed, and did her best to smile at her Circle.
Riley looked up with a sympathetic grimace while Zach stood immediately to walk over to her. He frowned at the bruises on her face and put his hand out, as if to touch her swollen cheek, before dropping it back again. “Are you okay?” he asked instead.
She gave him a grateful smile. “I’m fine. Really. Thank you for taking me to the hospital last night.”
James pushed himself off his stool and stalked over to her, his forehead furrowed by a heavy scowl. “Kay. God. I can’t even believe….” He shook his head. “We saw you on the news! Do you know how dangerous that was?”
She narrowed her eyes. “What did you want me to do? Just let those two men—both carrying knives—get on a bus in the middle of the Friday night rush on Oxford Street? With a mother and her baby?” She ran a hand through her hair and winced when it scraped the swollen lump on the back of her head. “You think I should have seen that happening right in front of me and, what? Stood aside? I’m a Guardian. I swore an oath to protect, and it means something to me. And anyway—”
James put his hands on the counter between them and leaned his weight forward as he interrupted. “It’s not your job to rush in to fight all on your own like that. We’re a triad for a reason. You put yourself at risk, never mind that you could have exposed yourself. Why were you even anywhere near there?”
Well. That was damn annoying. Bloody secrets—this was exactly why she didn’t keep them. She ignored how defensive she felt and attacked back. “I wanted to get out of this house for five minutes. As I recall, I specifically asked you, James Williams, to come with me, but you couldn’t be bothered.”
Kay turned and went into the pantry, helping herself to a pile of breakfast bars and an apple. Anything that she could take back to her room and eat by herself. This was exactly why she needed to get her own place.
She stalked toward the door, but James stepped into her way. She looked up at him, filled with indignant fury. “Move.”
“No, I’m not done. You could have been hurt! For fuck’s sake, Kay, how can I keep you safe if you throw yourself into danger like that?”
“You… keep me….” She spluttered, unable to even find the words she needed to express how infuriated that made her.
“God, Kayleigh—” James scrubbed his hands roughly through his hair, not meeting her gaze, and, for the first time, Kay noticed the dark rings under his eyes and how stressed and worried he looked, exhausted even. Her rage ebbed slowly away.
“I’m sorry,” James muttered. “I just… I don’t think I’ve ever been that terrified in my life.”
“Hey.” She reached out to hold his arm, softening. “I’m sorry you were worried. I’m fine. Really.”
James grunted and pulled her into a rough cuddle. She sighed, letting go of the last of her irritation, and hugged him back. They always looked out for each other, and she would have been horrified to see him out on the street fighting on his own.
They moved apart just as David walked into the room. The head of their Circle looked as well-groomed as always—silver-gray hair military short, trousers neatly pressed, sleeves rolled up over powerful forearms—but his dark blue eyes were narrowed ominously.
“Riley, please Heal Kay’s injuries while she eats her breakfast. Kay, see me in my office in twenty minutes.” David turned away before she could even answer.
Kay wished it could have taken longer, but somehow it seemed like only a few seconds before her breakfast was over, her wounds healed, and she was walking into David’s office.
The room was filled with books, covering two of the walls from floor to ceiling, and she breathed deeply, taking a moment to enjoy the old library smell. Some of the books looked like important tomes, ancient and crumbling, while others were more like ledgers or university textbooks, but all of them were dark and serious. She always secretly hoped that one day she would find a Lee Child novel hidden at the back, but she never had.
Behind David was a series of framed photographs from his time in India. A large window let in the morning light to form long bars across his desk, highlighting the piles of paper that never seemed to grow any smaller. He shoved several to the side so that he could lean forward and glare at her.
He was the same age as her grandad would have been—a Council member as well as the Custodian of the London Circle—but, like Elizabeth, he looked much younger than he was, and he’d always felt almost fatherly to her. For the hundredth time, Kay wondered what on earth could have happened between him and Elizabeth.
David waved a hand. “Have a seat, Kay.”
She settled into the chair opposite him and met his eyes. “David, I had to—”
He cut her off with a grunt and swiveled his chair to look out the window. She sat quietly, watching his profile. Firm jaw, slightly hooked nose. Ever-present scowl.
“Have you called your grandmother?” he asked eventually, still looking out the window.
“I sent her a text.”
“A text! Your grandmother wakes up to the news that you fought two men in the middle of Oxford Street and got sliced open in the process, all recorded for prosperity and the national news by everyone with a phone, spent half the night in hospital, could easily have given away the secret of our existence, a secret that we have managed to keep for many hundreds of years before you… and you sent her a text?”
Kay kept quiet. Elizabeth knew exactly what she’d been doing, but now wasn’t the right time to explain.
