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“So be it then.” His gaze moved past me. “Lord Renison, please ensure the transfer documents are processed as a matter of urgency.”
I blinked against the sudden sting of tears.
I had a home. We had a home. A place where I could live with my ghosts and raise Raela in complete and utter safety.
For ever and ever? My two ghosts said together. It can never be taken away from us?
Never, ever.
They danced in excitement, their joy so fierce that, for just a second, the air around us sparkled.
“And Nuri?” Jonas asked softly.
“Will be posthumously returned to full citizen status, and her name restored to the halls of her ancestors.”
“And she will be given a full state burial,” Karlinda added, “as befitting someone of her station and her courage.”
Jonas nodded. “Again, thank you.”
“Lords, ladies,” Julius said. “Please offer your thanks to these two courageous people.”
And with a more robust round of polite applause, the ceremony ended. Each lord and lady then stepped up to personally thank us; inevitably, Charles’s turn came around.
“I will forever regret that my lack of trust almost caused this great city to fall,” he said. “Can you ever forgive me?”
“You did what you thought was right, Charles,” I replied evenly. “I can forgive that, now that the dan
ger has passed and we are all safe.”
“Ah.” His quick smile was edged with a sadness that told me he’d caught what I hadn’t said. “I will miss you.”
I placed a hand on his arm. “I enjoyed our time together. Please believe that.”
“I do.” He leaned forward, kissed my cheek lightly, and moved away.
I would not, I knew, ever see him again.
Once the remainder of the lords had thanked us, we were escorted out of the House and into Government House, where we were again officially thanked.
It was close to five by the time we were free. Dusk was still an hour away, but there was already a steady flow of people coming in through the gates—the attack was still too raw a memory for anyone to risk being caught on the platform near dusk.
“So, what happens next?” I asked, as we made our way toward the gate.
“That depends,” Jonas replied evenly.
I raised an eyebrow. “Meaning what, Ranger?”
“Meaning,” he said, “I would very much like permission to move into that run-down bunker of yours and help you restore it to some sort of order.”
“Would you now?” I kept my tone light. “And why would you want to do something like that?”
“Because I have grown somewhat fond of your ghosts, and have found myself missing them these last couple of days.”
“So it’s just the ghosts you’ve missed? Because I’m sure I can arrange for Cat and Bear to visit you on a daily basis—”
He laughed, caught my hand, and tugged me into his arms. “Damn it, Tiger, you know it’s not just the ghosts. I’ve missed you. I missed being with you. I want to explore what lies between us, and I want to help you raise little Raela.”
I didn’t immediately reply. I just stared into his eyes, seeing in those green depths an echo of all the emotions that were tumbling through me.
