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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.”
