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"What the hell kind of game are you playing?"
I opened my mouth, but was too flustered to form words. Desperate to make him understand that I hadn't, this time, purposefully failed him, I shook my head wildly.
"I didn't," I managed to push out, willing him to understand.
Ethan blinked, his fingers loosening slightly, and his eyes tracked across my face, searched my gaze. "You didn't come forward when I called you."
"You didn't call me."
"You heard me say your name?"
I nodded.
"I pulled you forward, just as I pulled everyone else. You didn't come." Then his lips parted, his eyes suddenly widening, his expression suddenly appreciative. "You weren't fighting me?"
I shook my head. "Of course not. Not now. Not like this. I may not always be . . . pliant, but I have a pretty strong instinct for survival. I'm not going to insult you in front of your people." I offered him a little smile. "Well, not again, anyway."
"Ethan?" Malik stepped forward. "Should we release the others?"
Ethan shook his head. He uncrimped his fingers and released my arms, then turned on his heel. "Follow me."
I didn't hesitate, but fell into step behind him, let him take the couple of steps to the platform, and stopped in front of him. I didn't kneel, unsure of what he wanted me to do.
Malik took the spot next to Ethan, and when his people were assembled again, he looked to the crowd.
"Friends."
The single word silenced the vampires, silenced the speculation that I knew had begun to work its way through the House: Why didn't she move forward? Was it some kind of rebellion? (Again?) Was he going to punish her this time? (Rightfully?)
"In these times, peace is tremulous. Allies are key. Power is key." His gaze slipped down to me. "I called her. It had no effect."
The murmuring began in earnest.
"She has resisted the call," Ethan continued, raising his voice over the vampires. "She has resisted the glamour. She has strength, my friends, and will be an asset to our House. For she is ours. She is a Cadogan vampire."
For the third time, the goose bumps rose.
He looked back at me and nodded slightly, and I sank to my knees before him. Then he took a step forward and gazed down at me. His eyes fairly glowed, bright green glass beneath the fringe of long, blond lashes.
This was it. The time to pledge myself, or not, in service to these vampires.
To Cadogan.
To Ethan.
"Merit, Initiate of Cadogan House, in the presence of your brothers and sisters, do you pledge fealty and allegiance to Cadogan House, to its honor, to its Lord? Do you pledge to be true and faithful to Cadogan House and to its members to the exclusion of all others, without deception? Do you pledge to uphold the liberty of your brothers and sisters?"
I kept my eyes on his and with a single word, accepted an eternity of obligation. "Yes."
"Merit, Initiate of Cadogan House, do you pledge to serve the House and its Lord without hesitation, and to never, by word or deed, seek to harm the House, its members, or its Lord? Will you help to hold and defend her against any creature, living or dead, and make this promise, gladly and without dread, and keep it for as long as you shall live?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but he stopped me with an arched brow. "Immortality makes for long life, Merit, and for an eternal promise. Think carefully before you answer."
"I will," I answered without hesitation, having already made the decision that I was, for better or worse, a Cadogan vampire.
Ethan nodded. "So be it. Daughter of Joshua, beloved of Charles" - I smiled at the mention of my grandfather's name - "you offer your faith and fidelity, and we accept you into our grace and favor."
He took the last medal from Malik, leaned closer, and clasped it around my neck. His hand, I thought, lingered for a moment before he stepped back, but before I had a chance to wonder at what that meant, his voice boomed through the ballroom.
"Merit, Cadogan Initiate, I anoint you . . . Sentinel of this House."
The crowd gasped. Ethan looked down at me, waited for my reaction.
My fingers instinctively touching the flat of the pendant, I gave him a reaction immediately - lifting wide eyes to his and staring, mouth open, at the revelation. I was shocked, partly that I actually knew what a "Sentinel" was, and partly that he'd made me one.
Like I'd explained to Mallory, the position of Sentinel, like much of the House, was feudal in origin, and wasn't used much in modern Houses. Where the House's Guard Captain, in this case Luc, stood as head of the House's small army of guards, the Sentinel was responsible for guarding the House as an entity. As Sentinel, I'd be responsible for the structure itself, and most important, for the House as a symbol.
As Mallory put it, I'd be defending the brand. And I'd be honor-bound to serve the House, any lingering distrust for Ethan completely beside the point.
In effect, he was ensuring my loyalty to Cadogan in the shrewdest way possible - by giving me the duty of defending it.
It was brilliant. A strategy worthy of applause. An Ethan-worthy strategy, for all that he prided himself on political maneuvering.
Still on my knees, I stared up at him. "Well played."
He smiled beneath hooded eyes, offered me a hand. I took it and pulled myself up.
"Yet again," he said, his eyes alight, "we see your potential to wreak havoc."
"It wasn't my intent to wreak havoc. I can't help it if I'm . . . abnormal."
Ethan smiled. "Not abnormal," he said. "Unique. And I believe we'll adjust to this development."
He was being unusually ungrumpy, and I wondered if by taking the oaths I'd crossed some important threshold for holding Ethan's trust. Maybe now that I was officially a Cadogan vamp - subject to the Master's rules and the Canon's detailed scheme of discipline and sanctions - he could afford to trust me.
But Ethan kept his eyes on me, his gaze darting back and forth across my face. He still seemed to be searching for something, waiting for something, so I knew, even if we'd made progress, that we weren't quite done.
"What?"
"I want your allegiance."
I frowned, not understanding. "You have it. I just swore an oath. Two of them. Two oaths to protect you and yours against all things living and dead. I don't even know how that second part works, and I signed up for it anyway."
He shook his head. "The Houses will hear about your strength - they'll learn about your speed and agility. They'll learn you can withstand glamour." He lifted brows, and I realized he was asking for confirmation. I nodded.
