He grunted and took another bite from his apple.
“Didyou sleep?” Ethan asked rather more pointedly.
James blinked, but he didn’t answer, and the silence stretched. Somehow, she knewthiswas his answer. He wasn’t prepared to lie, so he was not going to say anything. She thought she’d had a bad night, but James hadn’t sleptat all. And clearly, Ethan knew it was a problem. Possibly had been a problem for some time.
“When last did you sleep?” The words fell out of her mouth before she could hold them back, and she regretted them immediately. She wasn’t his Healer or his mother or his… anything.
James glanced up, not quite meeting her eyes, and shrugged. “I sleep when I can.”
She opened her mouth to ask what he meant when the doorbell rang, and she swallowed her question as the shared breakfast dissolved into a flurry of activity. The others had arrived.
Elizabeth, David, and Bryn dragged in suitcases, called their greetings, and generally bustled around, the relief that everyone was safe and back together permeating the air.
By the time they had settled in, spreading out around the sitting room with their own hot drinks and breakfasts, James had retreated to lean against the wall beside the window. He’d positioned himself where he would hear everything his friends said but was far enough away to discourage any direct conversation. And she couldn’t help noticing he’d chosen the wall furthest away from her.
“Thanks, Emma,” Elizabeth murmured as Emma passed her a plate of hot toast, their hands just brushing.
“You’re wel—” Emma started and then froze, her body stiffening. Color drained from her face, and she stumbled. But she caught herself, and a second later, Zach was there.
Emma groaned, turning into Zach as she fisted her hand in his shirt, instinctively looking to him for support.
Riley rushed forward, ready to help however she was needed, but within a few seconds Emma seemed to gather herself, and Riley stepped back again, giving them space.
“Emma?” Zach asked, holding her protectively. “What happened?”
“I’m alright.” Emma rasped. She glanced at Riley to give her a wobbly smile. “Really, I’m fine.”
“What do you need, Emma, love?” Zach sank onto the sofa as he spoke, pulling Emma down beside him. His Shadows swarmed, forming an ocean-colored mist around them, but he never let her go.
Emma straightened her spine. “I wasn’t expecting it and I wasn’t ready. But now… I have to See.”
Riley eased forward again, holding the delicate balance. Giving Emma room to breathe but remaining close enough to help if they called on her. Something was wrong. They could all feel it.
The air was heavy with Shadows as the Guardians reacted to the sense of danger. Both Kay and James moved fluidly into defensive postures, Kay at Zach’s front, James behind him, and for a moment, Riley glimpsed what their triad had been.
“I can do it,” Emma muttered. She drew in a shuddering breath. Her hands moved slowly and then faster, soft mulberry-hued Shadows swirling around her as she called them to her and held them.
Zach’s Shadows immediately moved to support Emma’s. Combining into one far stronger entity. Powerful and commanding. Emma’s Shadows stabilized, settling into a smooth, sinuous wave. Her eyes snapped open, wide and frightened, as she twisted toward Elizabeth. “Seers. They called you. He’s tracking you—”
She hadn’t finished speaking when Zach flung up his hand. Shadows twisted and writhed as he wove them into runes and spread them over the ceiling. The uruz and the thurisaz. Protection. Survival. Endurance. Strength.
Kay and James joined him, working seamlessly to pour a thick net of Shadows over the room. Together, they wove runes into the mesh of Shadows, spreading the warded barrier across the ceiling, the walls, even the windows with all the strength of a formidable Guardian triad.
They’d thought they didn’t need wards, hidden here, far from anyone in the Circles. But they’d been wrong. Riley rocked back, suddenly aware of just how fragile they were against the might of the Order. And then she shook it off, there was no time for self-doubt. She lifted her hand, joining her Shadows to the defensive barrier.
David, Bryn, and Ethan formed a loose triangle, adding their Shadows in blues and greens to help solidify the wards that Zach had started. They all worked together until a dense protective cloud lapped gently across the ceiling, spreading out to cover the house. In under a minute, they were completely enclosed within a bubble of rune-woven Shadows.
“Is it done? Are we hidden?” David asked.
Elizabeth knelt to take Emma’s hand in hers, renewing the connection that had sparked the vision. The two Seers leaned together. Elizabeth’s deep ruby Shadows twined around Emma’s ash-gray and mulberry ones, spinning and flashing as the older woman whispered guidance. Helping Emma follow her vision, deepening and expanding their understanding.
Everyone held their breaths as the seconds ticked past. Had they been found? Did Gordon know where they were? Was the Council already on its way?
Eventually, Emma sighed softly, and Elizabeth’s shoulders sagged. Their eyes opened, revealing clear gazes, no longer misted by their Sight.
“We’re safe,” Elizabeth murmured. “For now.” She pushed herself up slowly, her expression grim. “They know that we’re in West London, but thanks to Emma, they don’t know exactly where.” Her gaze flicked to the mass of Shadows floating over the ceiling. “While the wards hold, we’ll be fine.”
“And how long will that be?” Zach demanded. “We have to sleep eventually. And, unlike Gordon’s blood Shadow imbued wards, ours will fade.”
