Concluded, I presumed, because we could no longer trust them to guard the gate.
The fairies communed together for a moment, and then the fairy who'd stepped forward nodded at Ethan. "Accepted," he said, and took the dragon's egg from Ethan's hands.
Like a defeated army of the supernatural, they marched out the gate again.
Slowly, Ethan glanced at Darius, eyebrow imperially raised.
I had to bite back a smile, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one in the crowd.
"It appears your plan has been . . . thwarted," Ethan said.
"They are only our tool," Darius said. "You have wronged us, and we have a right to your House, irrespective of the arms we bring to bear in the conversation."
"Well, that position is as unfortunate as it is wrong. What you failed to anticipate, Darius, is that your little power play - your raising arms against our House and its vampires - is a fairly significant breach of your contract with Peter Cadogan."
Darius's smile faded.
Ethan put his hands in his pockets. "And do you know what happens when you breach the contract? By its terms, Cadogan's obligations to the GP are dissolved." Ethan snapped his fingers. "Gone. Not only don't you get the House, you also don't get the check. We called the bank, and they are more than happy to keep our rather substantial assets safe and sound within their vault."
Ethan crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at Darius. "As you've lost your army and your battle, I suggest you get the hell off my lawn."
"This isn't over, Ethan," Darius gritted out.
"I'm sure it isn't," Ethan said. "All's fair in love and war, after all."
Their current state of defeat obvious, Darius and the GP members began to slink toward the front of the House, and Ethan was swamped by Cadogan vampires celebrating our very close call.
But he met my gaze over the crowd, a promise in his eyes - and his words. All the chocolate in the world, he silently said.
I presumed that was my reward, but this hadn't been my doing. I was only the vessel for the clue someone else had given me. I glanced across the sea of vampires, and locked eyes with Lakshmi Rao. She stood her ground, shoulders straight, expression just haughty enough to qualify for GP membership.
She looked back at me, and there was a very clear reminder in her eyes: You owe me.
As she disappeared from the Cadogan grounds with the rest of them, I shuddered.
* * *
The cold drove us inside, and we gathered in the foyer while Helen, Margot, and her staff unboxed crystal flutes and poured champagne.
"Novitiates," Ethan called out, "it would be naive of me to say that we are now in a world free of challenges. We are Rogue vampires, and if they weren't already, we have undoubtedly made an enemy of the GP tonight. Our guards still search for a killer who haunts our city. But most of all, we are Cadogan vampires. Drink up," he said, lifting his glass, "and then back to work."
Like a boss, I thought with a smile.
For a few minutes of bliss, I let Luc ply me with beef jerky and I pretended I was as competent as he made me out to the vampires sitting around us. But the fact that we'd found the egg was a lesson in human (and vampire) nature: Be nice to people (and shifters), because you never knew when you were going to need to pick their brains.
After a few minutes, I stood up to find Ethan. I needed to get back to work, but we needed to clear the air. I'd shown him, I hoped, that the RG was a benefit to the House, not a burden. A bond that worked both ways - and worked for the overall good of vampires.
I walked down to his office and found his door slightly ajar. I peeked inside. He and Lacey stood in the middle of the room.
Ethan's expression was polite. "I appreciate that you came. You're a good Master; you're an even better ex-Novitiate."
He teased Lacey, but her expression was serious, and there seemed little doubt of what was on her mind.
"Ethan, I have to say this: I think it's time you gave serious thought to your relationship with Merit."
"Lacey - " he began, but she interrupted.
"You need someone strong. Someone honorable. Someone who isn't going to run into the arms of another vampire in the middle of a crisis. You need someone worthy of this House. Someone worthy of you."
However much she wanted him, she had no right to diminish the gravity of what he'd done - the stake he'd taken for me - by suggesting he hadn't done it on purpose.
It was time to clear the air with her, too, so I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Lacey caught a glimpse of me, and before I could speak, she reached out, grabbed Ethan by the lapels . . . and kissed him fiercely.
"Jesus!" Ethan said, pushing her back and wiping his mouth with a hand. "Lacey, get ahold of yourself."
"She let you die," Lacey insisted. "She failed to protect you. Do you know what that did to us? To all of us?"
Thinking it best to keep the witnesses to this drama to a minimum, I closed the door behind me with a resonant thud.
Ethan looked back, his eyes widening, probably wondering what I'd seen.
"If you're going to insult me, at least respect me enough to insult me to my face." I kept my tone calm, but my voice was loud enough to carry across the room.
For a split second, I saw fear in Lacey's eyes. But then in an instant it was gone, replaced by haughty arrogance.
"This is how you train your Sentinel? To be disruptive? To be dishonorable? She's cuckolding you, Ethan. And lying to you about it." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the Saint George coin Jonah had given me. "I found this on the floor of your apartment, and it stinks of Grey House."
My eyes widened, and I only just managed not to reach into my pocket and confirm the coin was gone. It was clearly gone; it must have fallen from my jacket.
Ethan's expression was a sad mix of fury, disappointment, and bewilderment. "You were in the apartment?"
"Yes, because I'm right, Ethan. I've always been right about her. I don't care who her father is. She's dishonest, and she's hurting you."
I wondered if Ethan appreciated the irony that two of his vampiric students had acted without his permission because they were sure they were right. I'd acted for the House. Lacey had acted . . . for Ethan? Or for herself? Did she truly believe I was as dangerous as she said, or was that the best excuse she could imagine to insinuate herself between us?
And then there was the shot about my father, which certainly didn't endear her to me. It was a sensitive spot, which she must have known.
Ethan sensed my rising anger; he held up a hand to stop me from speaking. "It is unacceptable for you to go into our home without permission."