She didn’t need to go far. Vin was coming in.
From the non-expression on his face, anyone would have thought Vin was walking into the DMV, not a burning mansion full of desperate unicorns. The smoke didn’t seem to have any effect on him at all: he didn’t even cough.
He just said, “Let me help you with her,” to Iris, and gently took Seraphina in arms and turned to carry her out.
Iris followed, and then Keith. In the strangest procession imaginable, they moved away from the fire, giving it space to burn.
He could hear sirens. Someone had called in their tiny, volunteer fire department—but Keith thought it was too late. There wasn’t going to be anything left of the Abbott-Lightfoot house to save, and maybe that was for the best. It’d been a cold, oppressively perfect place, and Blake had tried to make it their tomb.
Now it was his instead.
Keith was powdered with ash and plaster and brick dust, and he was streaked with blood and sweat. The fire had attracted a huge crowd, most of them still in their mournful finery from Lady Marianne’s funeral. By now, that felt like half-a-lifetime ago. Maybe even an apocalypse ago.
The best of their old world had died with Marianne, and the worst of it had died with Blake. It was time to make a new one, if people here would take up the task.
He was relieved to discover that it wasn’t his problem. Not right now, anyway. Iris was safe, and he was dead tired, and his team was all around them. Iz had even poured some water into her cupped hands to give Iris a drink.
It was over.
He walked to Iris and slumped against her, shifting back to his wobbly, still-drugged human form. He was woozy anddefinitelydue to pass out now, but leaning on her gave him the strength to say what he needed to.
“Blake drugged all three of us,” he said, after a coughing fit. “A temporary paralytic and—” More coughing. “And a sedative. I don’t know exactly what it was, but he said it wasn’t fatal on its own.”
Cooper nodded. “Simon could hear it.”
Even overthatdistance? Keith never would have guessed that was possible, even for Simon.
“We’ll get you all to a hospital right away,” Cooper added.
He braced Keith’s other arm, on his non-Iris-supported side, helping him stay upright for now.
“A hospital would beamazing,” Keith said fervently.
Cooper laughed. Iris nosed fondly at Keith’s hair, blowing into it and sending it into disarray.
“I’m going to collapse now,” Keith said, “and Iris probably will too, as soon as she turns back. I think we can clear everything up afterwards.”
“We’ve got this, Keith,” Cooper said, as Keith finally lost the battle to keep his eyes open. The last thing he heard before the darkness swept in was, “I know how you are, but don’t eventryto count this as vacation time.”
