Biting Cold (40 page)

However awkwardly we might have started, and however many stops and starts we might have had along the way, there was really no denying it now: Ethan Sullivan and I were in a relationship.

My, how things had changed.

He stood in the House foyer, back in his cassock again. But while the clothing was the same, there was something different about him. Something I hadn’t seen in a long time. He looked peaceful. And maybe even hopeful.

“You’re leaving?” Ethan asked.

“I think it’s best. They believe I committed the murders here, and now that Dominic is gone, there’s no evidence it wasn’t me. Besides that, there’s work I need to do. Apologies I need to make.”

“Good deeds?” Ethan thoughtfully asked, but Seth’s expression remained serious.

“Ensuring justice is done, that those who deserve blessings receive what they ought. We have both been fortunate, you and I. We’ve had multiple lifetimes to make decisions, face consequences, right our wrongs. I’ll go forward with that motive in mind, and I will try to rebalance the lives I disrupted. And speaking of which…,” he said, then pulled a glint of gold from his pocket.

He extended his hand. My gold Cadogan medal dangled from his fingers. “I believe this is yours.”

I took it from him and clenched it in my fist. “Thank you. How did you get it back?”

“He wore it in the battle last night, and I snatched it. I thought you’d prefer to have it. I’m sorry it was taken from you in the first place, and glad I can return it.”

Ethan stretched out a hand. “Good luck on your journey. If you need shelter, you’ll find a home in this House.”

Seth took Ethan’s hand with obvious gratitude. “Your friendship is appreciated.” He smiled at me. “And yours, Ballerina.”

I smiled at him. “Good luck. And Godspeed.”

“To you as well, Merit. Ethan, I hope our paths will cross again, but under more favorable circumstances.” With that, he disappeared down the sidewalk, through the gate, and into the night.

Ethan looked at me. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be. Are you?”

“As you said. These are exciting and terrifying times.”

We walked upstairs to the ballroom. It was full of vampires again, the atmosphere as tense as it had been when Darius had taken the stage. But this tension was different. There was less fear in the anticipation. The vampires shuffled nervously, a low buzz of excitement in the room. Would we defect from the GP, or would we wait for the GP to once and finally deem us unworthy?

Malik and Ethan made their way to the stage, the ballot box on the platform between them. I searched their expressions for any hint of what was to come but found nothing there.

Ethan raised his hands, and the crowd went silent. “Your ballots have been cast,” he said, “both by you and by your brethren outside the House. The final vote was close. Only eighteen votes separated the sides. It is clear you are divided on this issue, on the future of this House. I take that as an indication of your thoughtfulness, your attention to the weight of this decision.”

The crowd murmured nervously.

“By a majority vote of this House,” Ethan said, “its vampires have determined to defect from the Greenwich Presidium.”

The vampires erupted into noise. Some cheers, some jeers, some tears. I stood still in the midst of the chaos and kept my eyes on Ethan’s.

For a long moment I held his gaze. I thought about how far I’d come and where we might be going next. I thought about Ethan and the life he was intent on giving me, even if that life existed in the midst of a new kind of chaos. A new reality for Cadogan House and its vampires.

For now, with his emerald eyes locked on mine, where I was going didn’t seem so scary.

Chloe Neill
was born and raised in the South but now makes her home in the Midwest—just close enough to Cadogan House and St. Sophia’s to keep an eye on things. When not transcribing Merit’s and Lily’s adventures, she bakes, works, and scours the Internet for good recipes and great graphic design. Chloe also maintains her sanity by spending time with her boys—her favorite landscape photographer (her husband) and their dogs, Baxter and Scout. (Both she and the photographer understand the dogs are in charge.)