A tap sounded at the door, and she sat up, trying to scrape her hair back out of her face. For a breathless, flustered moment, she wondered if it was James. Coming to check on her. Apologize. Something.
But then she realized that was ridiculous. The man couldn’t get far enough away from her.
“Who is it?”
“Kay.”
Of course it was. Kay would always check on the people in her Circle. And, if she was being honest, Riley was grateful for the distraction. “Come in.”
Kay stepped inside and flicked on the light, casting them both in a warm glow. Damn. She hadn’t realized how late it had gotten.
“Hi, Kay.” Riley stood up and started pulling the covers straight. It wasn’t like her to lie around when there were jobs to do.
Kay chuckled. “I was coming to see you, not judge your hospital corners.” She tilted her head, watching with clear eyes. “Are you okay?”
Riley ran her fingers through her hair, tugging at the curls to try and settle their wild tangle. “I’m…. I just needed a moment.”
Kay sat down on the side of the bed beside her. “Did it help?”
She hadn’t rested at all, and she still couldn’t get James’s look of horror out of her mind, but at least she’d decided that she was better off alone. That was good. Wasn’t it? “I don’t know… maybe?”
“Have you decided how to kill him yet?” Kay asked, deadpan.
Riley huffed out a breath half laughing, half miserable. “I just saved him. Seems pointless to kill him now.”
Another tap sounded at the half-open door a moment before Emma peered in. “Kill who? James?” she asked, amusement ringing through her voice. “Can I help?”
Kay leaned back on her palms. “He’s your cousin—aren’t you supposed to defend him?”
Emma came inside and shut the door, then dragged one of the wicker chairs over to where Riley and Kay sat. As soon as her hands were free, she twisted her fingers in the air, nose wrinkled in concentration. Working carefully, she formed a wicked-looking, if slightly pale and hazy, mulberry-hued Shadow knife. “Nah. If there’s one thing I know, it’s that we can’t choose our relatives. And look—” She held out the weapon. “—I’ve been practicing.”
“Is that a chef’s cleaver?” Kay grinned, holding out her fist to bump. “I like it. It has both personality and a lethal edge—everything a woman needs in a weapon.”
Emma shrugged, lips curling up in amusement as she threw her hand up and released her Shadows into the air.
“You could do some real damage with that if you decide to go for James,” Kay joked, and Emma grinned back in shared amusement. The two women were obviously relaxed and comfortable with each other. Friends already even though they’d only known each other for a short while.
Somehow their easy banter threw Riley’s sense of disconnect back into even sharper relief. Here she was again, two steps away, looking in from the outside. Damn, she was sick of that feeling. She settled back on her palms, searching for something to say but coming up with nothing.
Kay’s expression sobered, her direct gaze settling on Riley. “So… I did want to check on you, but I also wanted to thank you.”
“What on earth for?” Riley asked. She hadn’t done anything to merit any thanks. In fact, Kay had been the one to stand up to James when she first learned he was involved with Oracle. And the one to fight to save him. As far as she could tell, Kay was still fighting to save James, not to mention the rest of the Order. If anything, Riley owedher.
“I know this thing between you is complicated,” Kay said, “but you never hesitated. You flung yourself straight into that battle. James is like a brother to me, and you saved his life, Riley.” She sighed. “I know he’s being stubborn and difficult right now, but he’ll thank you, too, when he starts thinking more clearly.”
Stubborn? Difficult? Riley probably would have gone for heartbreaking and soul-destroying. And she wasn’t at all convinced that James would ever thank her if it meant being in the same room with her for more than thirty seconds.
Not that she wanted him to. She wanted him to stay away from her. She’d decided. And she was just going to keep telling herself that until she believed it.
“You do know that he only reacted like that because he was terrified you could have been hurt, don’t you?” Kay asked.
What?
The other two women must have seen the incredulity on her face because they both laughed.
Having seen what happened between Emma and Zach, she could understand why they might think it, even though she knew it wasn’t the same. It was blatantly obvious that Zach adored Emma.
But how could she explain? Should she simply tell them they were wrong? Should she just come out and tell them she and James were over forever? Would they still be in her room if they thought that?
