The Darkest Knight (Guardians of Camelot #3) - Victoria Sue Page 0,25
I knew, Ali was bending over me and telling me I was going to be okay.”
“We haven’t had much time to talk,” Ali interrupted. “It wasn’t safe to leave her out there or to risk her being found and being taken to the ER. The Ursus had her, and I killed it.”
“If it wasn’t for Ali promising to bring me here to see you, I think I would have checked myself into the nearest psychiatric ward.”
Kay squeezed her tight again. “I am so sorry. I think this is my fault.”
“Uh-huh,” Mel butted in and nudged Kay so he could see Roxy and put out his hand. “My name’s Mel, and I can’t tell you how happy I am to meet you. I know it’s been a long-ass day, but how about we all go into the kitchen and grab a coffee and you can ask whatever you like?”
Roxy smiled, and Kay let go reluctantly, allowing Ali to take her hand again, despite how possessive he felt about her. Kay’s heart settled a little. His personal life might be in the gutter, but Roxy was alive, and the way she took Ali’s hand showed she naturally had the feelings a Tresor and a knight developed, even if she didn’t understand it yet.
Tom made the coffee and opened some cookies, which was really all they had except toast, but Roxy said she wasn’t hungry.
Mel took the lead. Maybe because he was the only person in the room to have gone through this sudden meeting of their knight, even if his circumstances were different. Everyone was mostly silent while Mel talked, introductions and then explanations of who they were and why they were there, and Roxy—even though she shared a death grip with Ali—listened intently and didn’t interrupt.
Finally, when Kay was practically vibrating with worry because of her silence, Roxy looked over at Kay. “You’re over fifteen hundred years old?”
“Technically one thousand four hundred and ninety-nine,” Kay replied gently. “It isn’t my birthday until March.”
Roxy was silent for another moment. “That’s the first time you’ve told me when your birthday was in sixteen years.” She blinked back sudden tears. “I knew you were secretive, and I’ve entertained every possibility from a secret spy to a vampire.”
Lucan chuckled, and they all smiled.
“Except you go out in the daylight, but I never see you at night.”
“It was too much of a risk,” Kay explained. “Which is why I didn’t dare risk seeing you more frequently either. There would be too much of a chance the Ursus would find you.”
“And that was why they were in the tunnel? They were following you?”
“Actually, no,” Ali said. “They were following you. Kay was a draw, but it’s my fault they targeted you tonight.”
“But why would they follow me?”
“You went to Balaka today.”
“What’s Balaka?” Lucan asked.
“It’s an exclusive women’s clothes store. Made-to-measure outfits.”
“And you know this, how?” The bewilderment in Lucan’s voice was funny.
Kay chuckled. “Because the purse I got Roxy for her birthday came from there. It’s her favorite store.”
Lucan glanced at Ali in surprise. “You don’t wear dresses.”
“Don’t be such a caveman,” Roxy scolded, but Ali grinned and waggled her boots.
“They sell boots, and I can get a special heel that’s a fraction wider to make them easier to run in.”
“I don’t remember seeing you,” Roxy admitted.
“Do you remember the disturbance with the security guard?”
“And the shoplifter?”
“Okay,” Mel interrupted. “What security guard and what shoplifter?”
“I saw Roxy paying for something just as I came out of the fitting room. I didn’t immediately recognize what I was feeling, like I knew her even though we’d never met. She started to leave, and I followed, not realizing I was carrying some pants.”
“You didn’t,” Mel breathed out, his eyes twinkling.
“Yep, I got stopped by the security guard as I took a step out of the door.”
“I’m surprised he managed to stop you at all,” Lance said dryly.
“He wouldn’t if there wasn’t a cop car just driving past. I’d have had him on his ass, but I couldn’t afford to be delayed, and I wanted to follow Roxy, so I just turned, apologized profusely, and explained I’d seen my friend. I had no choice but to come back in and buy them,” Ali grumbled and glowered at Mel’s laughter.
“And I had a car waiting outside, so I left right away.” Roxy shook her head. “It’s unbelievable.”
“There are plenty of times I wished it was all some fantasy,” Lance admitted.