The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 24 - Kara

The coffee wasn't enough to wake me up. A fog had settled over my thoughts sometime before sunrise, and it was sitting there now, heavy and blinding. I kept sipping anyway, hoping that the caffeine would do something.

Jace sat down opposite me. His own mug smelt a lot stronger than mine — but he didn't like it with milk or sugar or anything else that would have made it remotely pleasant to drink.

"It would be a lot more productive to have this discussion when we're not exhausted and furious with each other," I told him.

I'd spent hours tossing and turning in Ashley's old bedroom, creeping out every half-hour to find a sink and wash off more imaginary blood. I hadn't got a wink of sleep in all that time. Even the bitter-tasting liquid morphine hadn't helped. Yes, it took the pain away, but it had made my head feel strangely ... heavy.

Jace raised an eyebrow. "Are you furious with me, Emma? Why is that?"

He wasn't fooling me with this calm act. He was as tired as I was. And just because he could talk in an even, steady voice didn't mean his emotions weren't in the driver's seat right now. As long as he didn't let it show on his face, he could say anything he wanted in anger and call it rational. I hated that.

"You're treating Kara like a criminal. I do feel that's a slight overreaction. She's obviously scared and confused and working off bad information," I told him. My own voice was a little shakier, but I made sure to talk nice and slowly. If he could play this game, so could I. "I also thought it was unfair to blame me when Bradley didn't take me seriously. I trusted him to communicate with you, and he didn't."

He shook his head. "You should have been talking to me directly, not trusting him to do it for you. When we start playing pass-it-on with important information, that is when communication breaks down and people get hurt."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked him. "You talk to me through other people all the time, Jace. It's constant. You would rather link my guards than me nine times out of ten."

I was slipping up already. It was only when the words were out and Jace was narrowing his eyes that I realised how fast they had tumbled out. I took a deep, steadying breath and tried to shove most of the frustration down.

"Because the commands are meant for them to act on, not you," Jace said. He paused for a moment, and then ran a hand over his face wearily. "But I do take your point. If the conversation is about you, I will include you from now on."

I stared down at my mug. "Thank you. But if you don't want me to trust Bradley in the future, tell me now. It's just ... I know you decided to give him such an important position, I know that he's older than me, and I know he has a lot more experience than I do." I paused to tip my head to the side, as if deep in thought. "On balance, it feels like he should be competent. Or isn't he?"

A muscle writhed in Jace's jaw. Maybe he was just starting to realise that he wasn't the only one who could be devastatingly passive-aggressive.

"He's good at his job, but he's still your subordinate," he told me. "Take his advice, respect his experience, but don't ever think the buck stops with him."

"If he's my subordinate, can you tell him that?" I asked dryly.

He gave me a dry smile. "Show him."

I went back to staring at my mug. It was empty now, and the dregs unfocussed before my eyes. Yes, I was tired. I was so tired that I was just sitting here, not thinking about ... anything. Not a single thought was coming to my mind, and the silence felt sullen, almost.

"I still need to address what you did," Jace told me, rubbing at his jaw.

"Okay," I said. He was going to do it whether I agreed or not, so I might as well try and be an adult about it. "Say it, then. I know you're desperate to."