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Liam freezes with his hand hovering above my arm, glancing from me to Mum and back again. Eventually, Chrissie takes his hand and lowers it, then passes me a glass of water.
I down the drink in one gulp, then give everyone a little smile.
“What the hell happened?” Dad asks, finding his voice at last.
“Exactly what I said would happen if I came back here. Gabriel-fucking-Thornber tried to call in his debt.”
It’s not strictly true, but I’ve earned a bit of melodrama.
My father punches the aqua-striped wall. “That bastard. We should have killed him years ago. And where was Colson while all this was going on? I don’t know what I pay him for.”
I sit up straighter still, trying against all the odds to give the impression of health and wellbeing. “It’s not his fault. He was ambushed. Ten against one. And he did a pretty good job of holding his own.”
My father just frowns.
“Is he okay?” I force the words out when the silence drags on too long.
I should have asked the second I woke up. All the worry and horror comes flooding back, until I think I’m going to pass out again. Ten against one, indeed. Ten vicious practitioners who were out for blood. And one utter bastard who was controlling them.
“He’s in better shape than you,” my mum replies. “He needed a fair bit of healing, but it was only physical. None of the burnout that’s hit you.”
“Can I see him?”
Mum shrugs. “Why not? I guess if Gabriel-fucking-Thornber knows who you are, along with half the Thornber casino, there’s not much point trying to keep up that London lawyer performance. You might as well start acting as one of the family.”
* * *
“So, should I bow?” Connor’s expression is blank. He’s attempting to frame the words as a light-hearted joke, but there’s anger behind them.
He ought to be a wreck, but there are no obvious signs of broken bones and black eyes—his condition is testament to the power of magical healing. But there’s a potent mixture of exhaustion and fury in his body language, which the restorative spells used on him haven’t quite managed to tackle. He’s all slumped shoulders, tensed muscles and bloodshot eyes. And his aura is churning through the colour spectrum.
“Sit down. It’s still me. There’s no need to treat me any differently.”
He sits on the electric-blue inflatable chair by the bed (ah, teen décor), but his entire body is visibly stiff. “How could I possibly not treat you differently? You’re a Sadler. You’re my boss’s daughter. You’re a powerful practitioner.”
“None of that makes any difference.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t tell anyone. Only the immediate family knew. It seemed safer that way. And then when things got that bit more serious, I wanted to tell you, but I could never find the right moment.”
“Then how didheknow?”
“Spies? Scrying? Those demonic powers he’s supposed to possess? It’s not like I cosied up to him and told him who I was while keeping it from you.”
Connor drops his head into his hands. “Look, Kate… Sadie, I mean. It’s pretty depressing that neither you nor Mr Sadler trusted me enough to tell me the truth, but I can live with that. It was a family decision for your own safety.”
“Then what’s left you looking angry enough to punch another hole in the wall beside the one Dad made?”
“Firstly, how the hell was I meant to know how to protect you properly if I didn’t know? Gabriel Thornber’s focus on you makes sense now. But at the time, it was a load of random events I couldn’t predict.”
I think of Connor frozen in place while I was blasted with Greenfire, then attacked and surrounded in the casino so Gabriel could prove some sort of point to me. None of it was fair on him. But would knowing who I was have made any difference? Perhaps he’d simply never have allowed me outside the house.
“I should have guessed something was up. Intimidating your rival’s lawyer makes some sense, but there was something so all-consuming about it. The way he toyed with me when I was with you.She belongs to me.I thought it was part of his usual crazy posturing. But I understand now.”
I shake my head. “There’s nothing to understand. Itisjust his crazy posturing.”
“There were rumours when you left. I was too young to be entrusted with any details, but I still heard the stories. The Sadlers’ youngest daughter and Gabriel Thornber.”
