Drink Deep - Chloe Neill [98]
There was a mad rush to Juliet’s pole. Luc reached up and grabbed her and carried her into the House, followed by a stream of vampires seeking the cover of shade. The sun was rising, and my faculties were deserting me. I was shaking with exhaustion, but I managed to hop down without falling into the nearing ray of light—only to face Frank, who stood before me with a gleeful expression on his face.
“There are simpler ways to get me to resign,” I told him, and enjoyed seeing the smile wiped from his face. He’d been the one who’d ensured I was on the safest pole, that I’d have to forfeit in order to protect someone else from being burned. I guess it was a compliment that he thought I’d sacrifice myself . . . and that he thought me dangerous enough that he’d rather leave the House without a Sentinel than leave me in that position.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I doubt that,” I said, “but that’s between you and your conscience.” I hurried toward Malik, who now stood in the doorway of the House, ensuring everyone made it inside safely.
Frank was the last one inside, and he made it in just as the sun filled the backyard with light. Thankfully, the House’s shutters were already down.
I stood inside the cool, quiet of the kitchen for a moment with my eyes closed, savoring the darkness.
When I opened my eyes, Malik was the only vampire in sight.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “It may not have been the right thing to do for the House—to forfeit my position—but I couldn’t just stand there and let her take it.”
“It was the only right thing to do,” he assured. “That said, with Cabot here . . .”
He didn’t need to finish the point. I couldn’t stand Sentinel as long as Frank—and the GP—had control of the House.
Oh, how things had changed. In a few short months, Ethan had lost his life and a new Master had been installed. And summarily replaced. The Ombud’s office had been dismantled. I’d been stripped of my identity as a Sentinel.
But just as there’d been no choice those months ago when Ethan had named me to the position in the first place, there was no choice now but to accept the change and deal with it with as much grace as possible.
Even if I acted alone, I would act with bravery. A Sentinel in heart and mind, even if not officially.
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Ethan would have been proud of you today, Merit. I am proud of you today, as are the other vampires of this House. You played Cabot’s game the only respectable way it could have been played, even if the outcome was predetermined.”
“The result’s the same, though. The House is left without a Sentinel.”
Malik smiled slyly. “The forfeit extended only to your current position. You cannot stand Sentinel, at least not for the time being. But he placed no restrictions on your service as a guard.”
Although exhaustion was beginning to wear me down, I managed a smile. “Very creative, Liege.”
“I have my moments.”
I hobbled back to my room, nearly wiped unconscious by the sun, and into the cool, crisp sheets and comforting dark that awaited me there. I wasn’t too exhausted to cry when my head hit the pillow, pent up rage and frustration and grief escaping now that I’d managed to finish the testing.
Grief, because in the matter of an evening I’d lost my connections to Ethan and the House: the bond that we’d shared when he named me Sentinel and the medal I’d worn as a symbol of my oaths.
I’d still stand guard for the House, and there was no denying the importance of that role. But it felt like another little bit of Ethan had been torn away.
And that hurt as much as anything else.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A HOUSE DIVIDED
I woke up from a thankfully dreamless sleep in the same dark mood I’d been in when I’d fallen unconscious some hours ago. I considered playing sick and hiding in bed under the covers all day, but that wasn’t going to solve my problems or the city’s.
When I was up and showered, I also considered calling Mallory. I had no doubt she was stressed about exams, but I wasn