Chapter Text
Harry's POV
Even a year after the White Council had revoked my membership, some people still didn't get the memo that it didn't matter, their protection, or lack thereof, meant nothing. I could defend myself just fine. I was the Winter Knight. I was the most powerful wizard in Chicago. I was member of house Raith. Well, maybe that's exactly why they tried. All those titles came with its own list of enemies.
They haven't managed to get rid of me yet, though. But some were fool enough that they kept making attempts. It was tiresome to say the least.
I took the stairs slowly, my body hurt everywhere. Lara was there when I made it all the way up, looking her usual beautiful self, dressed in a translucent white nightgown and matching robe.
"Harry... empty night, what...?" She said, alarmed at my disheveled state. She took a step towards me. The view was appealing, and I felt the Mantle surge forward, a mix of desire and frustration pushing me, the need to unwind. I didn't know why the Mantle thought that more physical exertion would do the trick when I already ached everywhere. Maybe it was Lara's doing. Anyway, I pushed that down.
That too was tiresome, the constant struggle against the Mantle's wishes, Lara's wishes, Mab's wishes, my own.
"Not now, Lara. I'm tired," I grumbled.
"But Harry..." She insisted.
"I said not now," I growl at her.
Despite what the Mantle may have felt, I didn't want to deal with her tonight. I just wanted to get a shower and lay in bed.
I reached the bedroom and I did just that. I got in the shower, and let the cold water run over me, I cleaned myself as best as I could, even though the bruises and cuts stung. I didn't put any medication on them, and I didn't cover them with any bandages either. The wounds would heal anyway. But I did remember how nice it was when I had someone to patch me up. I missed that. I tried to leave those thoughts behind and got into bed.
It wasn't my bed though. This was just a bed, in Chateau Raith, in a room I didn't have to share with Lara. We had to pretend to be this happy newlywed couple for the outside world. But inside these walls, I slept alone, much to her annoyance. Our rooms were connected through a door though. And the first couple of weeks I hadn't slept, I stayed up, vigilant, in case she decided to pay me a visit. She hadn't. She was waiting for me to do it, I think. The Mantle had tried to convince, more than once, because after all, it insisted, she was my wife, I'd be just taking what was mine. But I pushed back against it, one mistake had been enough.
The bed was nice, huge and luxurious, with its wood carvings and silk sheets. But it wasn't cozy, and I didn't feel one hundred percent comfortable in it. No, the last bed I had felt comfortable in was collecting dust in a little house in Bucktown. I turned around and hugged a pillow to me, trying to think about something else.
I missed Maggie. But the weekend would be coming soon and I'd get to see her then.
I finally fell asleep after a while, and I dreamed.
I saw her, Murph, a memory. Her golden hair shining under the sun as we sailed in the Water Beetle, a summer day when we had decided to leave work behind for once and just have some fun. A blue bikini I'd never forget, and not just because it was the same color as her eyes, but because it had made me wish we had gone out alone. Thomas had teased me about it endlessly.
But it was a dream, so this time we were alone. And we joked and laughed. And I had the courage to kiss her, embrace her. I got rid of the bikini, and she let me. I felt her naked skin against mine, her perfume, her taste. It was so real. I pressed into her, a soft moan left her lips, and she looked up at me, there was no danger of a soulgaze here and I could look into her eyes, they were so beautiful... And then... in the next second, they emptied. And she was covered in blood.
I sat up in bed choking down a cry. I was covered in sweat, my heart about to come out of my chest. This dream came to me from time to time, always ending the same, in blood. Her blood. All over me.
It was morning already, so I showered again and went downstairs for breakfast. There was one perk of living in Chateau Raith, buffet style breakfast. I had insisted though, I wouldn't share spaces with the rest of the household, only with Lara. She had agreed. So she had made arrangements for us to occupy a wing of the mansion that would be just ours, off limits for the rest of the family. I suppose under the pretense of us needing privacy as newlyweds. And I guess she was trying to make me comfortable. It didn't matter to me why, to be honest, as long as I had some peace.
She interrupted the silence by asking "So, what happened to you last night? Another attack I take it?"
"Mhmmm" I confirmed.
"How many have been so far? A dozen?"
"Fifteen," I said around another mouthful of eggs. She made a disgusted face at me.
She sighed, "That's it... I'm getting you a detail."
"A what?"
"A security detail. You need bodyguards."
"Hell no," I protested.
"If it's not your enemies, it's mine," She insisted.
"I'm a grown man, I can take care of myself, thank you very much." I sniffed petulantly and continued wolfing down my food, avoiding the daggers she was throwing at me with her eyes.
"I'm not asking, Harry." She sipped her coffee and continued, "Freydis, please make arrangements with your bosses at Monoc Securities."
Freydis, who had been standing there the whole time, looking at nothing, just nodded and said, "Of course, ma'am."
"Oh, you're giving me my own Valkyrie? How thoughtful," I said faking a sweet saccharine tone.
"Whatever Monoc Securities recommends for your habits and lifestyle."
"No, Lara" I said firmly.
She stood up and walked to my side of the table, the scent of dark florals and cinnamon invaded the air around me. She put a naked finger under my chin to make me look at her. It felt nice. And also wrong. She didn't burn anymore.
"Again, I'm not asking. You are a member of this household now. I won't have my husband vulnerable". She managed to sound seductive and stern at the same time. An image flashed through my mind, of throwing her on the table, rip that stupid robe she was wearing, and eat something even more delicious than any of the food available. I shook my head and pushed away from the table and her.
"I have stuff to do," I said and left, quickly. Fuming. Who did she think she was, trying to make those kinds of decisions for me. Your wife, a little voice reminded me. I felt a pang in my chest.
I took my car and drove to the castle. I kept all my stuff there, the books, the magic items. It was safer that way.
The castle was cold and empty. In the end, the renovations I had planned initially, I didn't get to finish. Michael had helped me a lot but, with the hole city needing rebuilds, materials had been a bit scarce, and things took longer than expected. And in the end, with the engagement, the stupid parties I had to attend, the errands Mab had me doing, trying to help Thomas, tracking Justine, and... just everything, we only partially finished. And there was no point in continuing now.
I had wanted to make the castle a place of refuge, for people who needed help, without them having to pay the price that people like Marcone would demand for safety. But it wasn't like people wanted to get close to me, after the battle of Chicago, only some Paranetters had maintained contact, and after the wedding, even less of them.
And it was hard for me too, to focus, there had been too much going on. I couldn't catch a break, it seemed.
I concentrated on Maggie, making sure she wouldn't get close to the world of the White Court, or Winter. I had to maintain appearances, so I had to live with Lara, but there was no way I would do that to my daughter. So, as much as I didn't want to part from her, I sent her to St. Marks School, she would stay there from Monday to Friday, and I'd pick her up on the weekends and we'd spend it in the castle, going to museums or parks and having fun together. Those moments were precious, and they were what kept me going. It was hard for her too, but she was safer that way, and she understood. She was a smart girl. Mouse had gone with her, of course.
Mister now lived with the Carpenters. I didn't see him much. I didn't see the Carpenters much either nowadays. They hadn't liked the idea of my marriage to Lara, they tried to be supportive when I explained the situation, but it was awkward since, they didn't quite get it. They were two people that had been lucky enough to find true love and managed to hold onto it.
I had a love like that once, but I lost it.
They thought I would find a way out of the deal; Michael had had faith that there would be a way. I thought so too for a while. But there hadn't been. And in the end, it didn't matter. I had a job to do.
I thought it would at least help me find Justine and help Thomas, with Lara's resources on hand. But it had been more than a year, the kid should have been born already, if it even... but we hadn't found her. We had gotten some leads, and we followed them, but it was all dead ends. It was as if she vanished.
Thomas was still on Demonreach, in a sort of coma he wouldn't wake up from. Maybe it was better that way, since I still didn't have any good news for him.
I unpacked the books I had gotten. I had gone back to reading everything I could find about magic theory and history, trying to find any clues about how to help him, about Demonreach, Nemesis. I was learning new stuff, but nothing that would give me a definitive answer, and sometimes, it just got me more questions.
I sat in my study and spent all day there, checking out the new material I'd gotten.
That's what I did for the rest of the week too. On the weekend, I took Maggie to the Botanic Garden. She had loved the parts with the roses.
On the next week, someone showed up at the Castle with a bean, asking for help. Of course, I helped.
And that's how I ended up in a burning building. And that one was totally my fault.
To be continued...