Thinking-Me was separate from Drowning-Me, and the first watched the second with dissociative curiosity. Am I drowning? How strange.
I hadn’t managed to be married for very long, I thought. It would have been nice to be married, to be the First Lady of Cadogan House, for a little while longer. To be with Ethan for a little while longer.
Ethan, I thought. Ethan. Ethan.
The word, his name, the knowledge of him, was a match strike in a dark room. It snapped me from fading consciousness, from the lethargy and acceptance that aching bones and muscles longed for. Anything to take that pain away.
Ethan.
I kicked up, pushing with every joule of energy my body could spare, hands pointed above me to stab through ice, when a hand appeared in the water, grabbed me by the back of my jacket, like a puppy being pulled from danger by the scruff of her neck.
I broke the surface and gasped for air, the ache of cold slicing through me again like a white-hot dagger.
I let him pull me onto the boat and fell to my side, coughed up what felt like liters of river water.
“Sentinel, I may never let you out of the House again.”
I nodded, let him help me sit up. Everything ached, and I couldn’t stop the shakes that racked my body. “Not . . . bad . . . idea. Also fix the weather, probably.”
He pulled off my wet jacket, wrapped a thermal blanket of shimmering silver around me, then pushed damp hair from my face.
“I heard you say my name,” he said.
I’d thought it. I hadn’t realized I’d said it or that he’d heard. But thank God for it.
I leaned forward, wrapped my arms around him, and let fly the sob that was trapped in my throat.
Thank God for him.
• • •
The crowd was appreciative and grateful when we trudged up the stairs back to Michigan Avenue again. But our clothes were wet and were crunchy in the freezing air, and icicles had frozen in my hair. I felt as if I’d been frozen from the inside, like crystals had actually begun to form in my blood.
“Good work as always,” my grandfather said. “Although absolutely terrifying.”
“Most of the things she does these days are,” Ethan said.
My grandfather stepped closer. “Does she need to go to the hospital? Her lips seem . . . bluish.”
“No,” Ethan said. “We’ll keep her awake and moving, and anything that might have been damaged will heal itself.” His gaze went hot. “And when she’s feeling one hundred percent again, we’ll have a very long talk about diving into a freezing river.”
Since that sounded much braver than having climbed into the river and fallen at the last moment, I let him believe it. And yeah, not my best move. But the Patton family was super glad of my recklessness right now, and that was the only outcome that mattered.
Pierce walked toward us. She’d abandoned the headset but added a CPD jacket that was too big for her athletic frame. “The Department of Water Management is sending an icebreaker to keep traffic moving. We’re going to keep automotive traffic rerouted on this portion of Michigan until we figure out what’s happening.” She aimed her direct gaze at my grandfather.
“I hope that’s something you can do.”
“So do I,” he said.
“I think we’ll want to talk to Winston,” Ethan said. “But we need to go to the House first, get a change of clothes.” He glanced at me. “I called Brody. He’s on the way, will meet us across the river.” He looked over at the police boundaries, the detour signs, the general congestion. “It’s best to stay out of this.”
My grandfather nodded. “Best to stay out of the Loop if possible. As for Winston, let me know when you’re ready, and we’ll meet you at the gate.”
“We’ll do that. Come on, Sentinel,” Ethan said, putting a hand at my waist. “Let’s go home.”
I need to be with my people for a little while, he silently said.
And in his House, I thought, behind the fence, where the Novitiates didn’t need quite the same kind of saving.
• • •
We walked in silence through the crowd, accepted with nods and polite smiles the thank-yous and pats on the back. We were tired enough that the nods and smiles were the only responses we could muster.
“Sire,” Brody said, opening the door of the large black SUV he’d driven to pick us up. It would undoubtedly handle better in the snow than Ethan’s current wheels—a sleek sports car that was better equipped for straightaways than freezing roads.
To his credit, Brody had turned up the heat and the seat warmers. I was asleep before we left the Loop, my head propped on Ethan’s shoulder.
I woke again as Brody pulled the vehicle to a stop in front of the gate, then climbed out of the car to open the door for us. The gate was closed, but the human guards opened it quickly enough at the sight of us. For the first time, we walked into the grounds of Cadogan House as husband and wife.
Before I could argue, Ethan picked me up.
I put an arm around his neck. “I think it’s a little late for this, isn’t it?”
“Carrying your wife over the threshold is a tradition. And maybe it will be good luck. We could use a little of that.”
No argument there.
“Congratulations!”
The door opened to another cacophony of sound, but this cacophony was a lot better than the last one. Lindsey, Luc, Malik, and two dozen more vampires stood in the foyer beneath a gold CONGRATULATIONS banner hung from the coffered ceiling. They blew gold paper horns and bubbles from tiny gold bottles while Margot passed out steaming cups of hot chocolate and warmed blood.
“You didn’t get a honeymoon,” Lindsey said, “so we decided you at least needed a welcome-home hello. And a warming-up opportunity.”
“You must be frozen through!” Margot said.
“I’ve been warmer,” I agreed. “And the temperature is still dropping.”
“You did an amazing job,” Malik said.
“It’s been quite a night so far,” Ethan said, shaking his head at the offer of hot chocolate. “The mayor was concerned, but seems to be directing the pressure at the Ombudsman’s office, rather than us.”
“He can handle it,” Malik said as I took the cup of hot chocolate and sipped deeply. Brody had offered to stop for coffee, but I’d mostly wanted to get home as quickly as possible.
“He can,” Ethan agreed. “And we’ll help as we can. Seeing the river freeze—that was something altogether different.”
“Not a soul lost,” Luc said, patting his arm in congratulations. “So that’s something else to celebrate.”
“It is,” Ethan agreed. “But Sorcha’s involvement is not. The snow and temperature seem to be her first steps. You’ve seen Towerline?”
“Most stations are showing live footage,” Luc said. “It’s hard to avoid. What is it?”
“The source of the weather,” I said, and shivered involuntarily.
“Beyond that, we don’t know,” Ethan said. “She needs to change clothes. Give us a few minutes; then we’ll meet in the Ops Room. We’ll discuss the details then.”
Luc saluted. “Sire.” He glanced at me, grinned. “Mrs. Sire.”
“Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m going to nope that one right there.”
We made it to the staircase but stopped when we saw the obstacle that awaited us. Helen stood there, hands clasped in front of her. Waiting.
Steady, now, Sentinel. She isn’t so bad as delusional humans.
Easy for him to say. Helen adored Ethan. Although when she looked up, she gave us both hard stares.
“Your suitcases have been taken back upstairs, and the wedding guests have left.”
Ethan nodded. “Thank you, Helen.” He took a step forward to continue up the stairs, but she held up a hand.
“Your wedding ensembles were severely damaged.” She looked at Ethan. “A Turnbull & Asser suit.” She looked at me. “A Chanel dress. Both garments would have been important parts of the House archives.”
“We were attacked.”
“I was entirely prepared to remind you of the importance of maintaining the image of this House, of looking the part. But you did right by those poor, deluded humans. So I will have the garments repaired—to the extent they can be repaired—and placed into the archive.”