She didn’t bother to get up after Arturo left. Instead, she lay down on the bed and buried her face in the mattress. Her head pounded and she had no interest in working any more, not for a dry run. No one would come looking for her until well into the early morning. None of the thieves were going to risk walking in on one of Gretta’s girls as she worked. With a groan, Vision rolled onto her back, letting her hands rest on her stomach. She watched them rise and fall with her breath, until her eyes closed and she managed to sleep.
She awoke some time later to the sound of someone pounding on the door. Blearily, she forced herself up in time to see the door swing open. Fox, Bones and Glass peered in at her. Fox’s expression was hard, but the other two looked relieved.
“Thank the Ether,” Glass said, rushing to her side, “You’re okay.”
“What happened?” Fox demanded, “Did you get hurt?”
“No, I –” she started.
“Then what in Ether’s name do you think you’re doing?” he said, voice rising.
Bones touched his shoulder.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“It’s the Vixen’s Kiss. She couldn’t have kept going. That’s valuable to know for when we go for Banagher. It’s enough to go to Red with.”
Fox grunted.
“Fine. If you haven’t been murdered or brutalised, I’m done for today. See you tomorrow, Vis.”
Glass glared over at Bones.
“Time for you to go, too,” he said.
Bones rolled his eyes and followed Fox outside. Glass ran his hands over Vision, as though he were checking for damage. Then, he placed a hand on either side of her face and looked into her eyes.
“Are you really okay?”
She scrunched her face, “Yeah, I’m getting there. What time is it?”
“About five. Gretta’s just closed. I thought tonight might be tough for you, so I came back to see how you were and the others said they didn’t know where you’d got to.”
“Yeah, well… I’m here.”
She let him hug her, and together, they fell back into the bed. She felt a flicker of irritation as he kissed her. She didn’t really want him just then and not only because she needed time to parse out her encounter with the rebel prince. She wasn’t interested in being touched because Glass was thinking about besting Bones, rather than just thinking he wanted to be with her. She broke his embrace and stood.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing. I’m tired. I think I’ll go rest in Celia’s room.”
She didn’t give him time to respond, and tried to ignore his wounded pout as she left. Celia was preparing to sleep as Vision entered. She looked up with concern at the younger woman.
“What happened to you?”
“I need help,” Vision said, “They found us. The rebels know we’re the missing Amaya children.”