House Rules - Chloe Neill Page 0,93
railing of wrought iron.
I dropped to my knees and searched the shingles, one by one, in the dark, waiting to feel the lump of gold and enamel I knew I’d find . . . but still I found nothing. I stood up again, glancing down at the vampires and fairies assembling on the lawn just as Ethan walked outside.
The vertigo made me momentarily dizzy, and I put a hand out to balance myself—and felt the lump beneath the sandpaper shingle. I lifted it up and squeezed my hand into the opening I’d created . . . and pulled out a silk-wrapped package.
“I believe you have something that belongs to me.”
I glanced back. Harold Monmonth stood in the window, scowling at me with dark eyes and a darker expression. The fairies were here, and it was time to produce his trophy.
But I had different plans.
“I believe you’re wrong,” I said, not waiting for his argument.
As he reached out to grab me, I hopped up to the railing of the widow’s walk, then took a step into nothingness.
Vampires had a special relationship with gravity, and it was one I’d learned to exploit.
A second later, the dragon’s egg safely in hand, I dropped down to the grass below, landing in a crouch with a thud that drew all attention to me.
With all the bravado I could manage, I rose and walked toward Ethan, trophy in hand. I smiled slyly. “Liege, I believe you were looking for this.”
The crowds erupted into sound and noise—cheers from the Cadogan vampires, jeers from the GP members and the fairies. Not that they cared who carried the token. They just wanted it in hand.
Swollen with pride, and as Harold, Darius, Lakshmi, and the rest of the GP members watched, Ethan gazed across the lines of fairies in the yard.
“I presume you’re here to retrieve the dragon’s egg?”
“It is ours,” said one fairy, stepping forward. “Made by our hands.”
“Perhaps,” Ethan said, “but it was created for one of our own, given to us by royalty among you. It is rightfully ours. Although by your deeds, you have proven how little you care for what is right.”
There were scowls aplenty among the fairies.
“But tonight I offer this: Take our dragon’s egg. And in return, swear to us that fae will do no more business with the Greenwich Presidium or threaten harm to Cadogan House, and we will consider our business here concluded.”
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