Theo nodded. “And Dearborn?”

“He might see your communicating with the fairies—because it’s inconsistent with Riley’s guilt—as a rejection of his authority. So you can say no to the task, and I won’t hold it against you.”

“No, I’ll go,” Theo said enthusiastically. “Dearborn can shove his authority up his pompous ass.”

“Oh, I like him,” my mother murmured.

“I’ll go with you,” I said. “You don’t want to go in there alone.” I looked at my parents, tried to reassure them with a glance that I could handle myself. My mother nodded back. I might have been her child, but I was an immortal and I was strong. And they’d have to let me take my chances.

I looked at my father, and his expression was still carefully blank. He was very good at that. I chalked it up to four hundred years of experience.

“We’ll focus on the peace talks,” he said. “Try to keep the remaining delegates in the country. Perhaps they would be amenable to discussions here.”

“The ballroom,” my mother said with a nod. “It’s a good thought, presuming we can keep the fairies out.”

My father’s voice was dry. “We will keep the fairies out.” He glanced at Yuen. “And we’ll advise you of the results of the video search.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” Yuen said, glancing between me and Theo. “Be careful out there. And report in frequently.”

“Will do, boss.” He looked at me. “You ready?”

I glanced at my parents, then back at Theo. “Can you give me a few minutes?”

“Sure, I’ll be outside. Head out when you’re done.” And he looked back at the door. “Okay if I grab something from the kitchen?”

“Go for it,” I said.

In the time we made those arrangements, my father was gone, leaving my mother and me alone in his office.

“He went to talk to Kelley,” my mother said. “I think he needed a few minutes.”

I nodded.

“You could have handled it better,” she said. “You could have talked to him first.”

“I meant to—I was going to. Yuen got here earlier than I thought he would.” Or the Auto had gotten me here later. But, really, neither of those mattered. It was my doing, my fault for not taking him aside first.

“You’re right,” I said. “I should have.” And the thought that I’d hurt him curled my stomach again. “Should I talk to him about it?”

“Why don’t you give him a little time?” she suggested. “This isn’t just about Cadogan House, but about his being your father. He’ll be hurt that you didn’t talk to him, and guilty that he failed you by not making you a full member.”

“He didn’t fail me.”

“But he’ll think he did,” she said, not unkindly. “He loves you, and he loves this House. And your being part of the House—that’s important to him, too.”

I nodded, feeling miserable and hating that there was no quick fix for it.

She put an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve had a hard homecoming. I’m glad Lulu’s there for you. And that Connor was there.”

“Not for long. He’s taking the Pack to Alaska.”

“I know. How do you feel about that?”

I gave her a narrow-eyed stare. “What do you mean, how do I feel about it?”

She just looked at me for a moment. “How do you feel about his leaving?” she finally asked. “You’ve been spending more time together since you’ve gotten back. And he helped you out last night.”

“Leaving is what he has to do,” I said, not comfortable digging into my feelings about Connor any more than that. They were complicated, and he was leaving, anyway, so they hardly mattered. “The Pack has been planning this for a while.”

She nodded. “I’ll talk to your father. And when things have calmed, you should talk to him, too. Apologize.”

I would. As soon as possible. Because walking around with a bellyful of guilt was going to get very old, very fast.

“Be careful tonight,” she said, wrapping her arms tightly around me before I could respond. “We both want to handcuff you to Cadogan House, keep you safe. But that wouldn’t do anyone any good.”

She pulled back, brushed fingers against my cheek. “We are very proud of who you’ve become. But never forget where you came from.”

* * *

• • •

With those words in my head, I walked back through the House, found Connor waiting outside, one leg slung over Thelma. His arms were crossed, and there was a very serious expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing.” He uncrossed his arms. “I’ve got work to do for Alaska, but I wanted to talk to you first.”

I didn’t like the second mention of Alaska, and still didn’t want to think about it.

“I wanted to talk to you, too. About last night—I’m sorry about the attitude. You were trying to help, and I wasn’t ready to hear it.”

He looked back at me, brows lifted. “Is Elisa Sullivan, the bossiest of the bossy, apologizing to me?”

“I’m not bossy. I’m decisive.”

At that, Connor rolled his eyes.

“But yes, I’m apologizing. I know you were trying to help, and I appreciate that you’re on my side. It’s just hard to take advice after dealing with this for a long time on my own.”

“I’m sure it is. The bigger point still stands: You don’t have to deal with it alone.”

I didn’t believe that for a second—especially since he was the only person who knew the truth and he was leaving—but I could appreciate that he cared. “Thanks.”

“Listen, Lis . . . Theo seems like a good guy, but the fairies are dangerous.”

“He’ll be there on behalf of the Ombudsman,” I said. “They may not respect me or Lulu, but I imagine they’ll think twice before going up against the entire city.”

“And Theo?”

My brows lifted. “What about him?”

He looked at me quietly for a moment. “Can he handle himself?”

Given the pause, I wasn’t sure that was the question Connor really wanted to ask. And it occurred to me—maybe a little late—that I didn’t actually know the answer. Surely Yuen wouldn’t send Theo to the castle if he couldn’t handle it.

I settled on, “We’ll find out.”

“That’s not a very good answer.”

“It’s the only one I can give you. We have to go to the castle because we don’t have any better options. Riley’s still behind bars, and my parents’ House is being used to further someone’s violent agenda.” I gave him a halfhearted smile. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to rescue me again.”

“I didn’t mind rescuing you the first time,” he said. And there was something different in his eyes. Emotion I hadn’t seen before and wasn’t entirely sure what to do with. “But you don’t really need rescuing, Lis. You just need a good partner.”

I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of his gaze, and my instinct was to turn away, to put space between us that would give me time to think.

“You don’t need rules for this,” Connor said, and grabbed my hand before I could turn.

I looked back at him, watched his eyes darken like storm clouds over a cold, deep sea, his gaze so intense he might have seen through to my soul—and felt the sudden, wild hunger that rose up in response to it.

Connor watched my face, thumb stroking the sensitive skin on the inside of my wrist.

Magic pulsed in the air, and it had nothing to do with my monster or the fairies. It was shifter magic, wild and rough and barely tamed. And it was vampire magic, dark and careful and dangerous.

When he finally released my hand, which prickled from the residual magic, the intensity in his eyes had changed, evolved into satisfaction at whatever he’d seen in my eyes—or the pounding pulse he’d have felt in my wrist.

It took a full minute to find my voice again. “I have to go.”

Connor looked at me quietly for a moment, and this time his face was unreadable. “Be careful.”

I nodded and stepped back, then watched him pull on his helmet and start the bike with a roar of engine and exhaust. And then he drove off into darkness.