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I seriously doubted that, but I’d already told them what I’d seen and what Iain had said. The rest of it was up to them.
“The circumstances are suspect,” Lakshmi said. “But without direct evidence that Iain was directed by Nicole to engage in his questionable behavior—”
“Felonious behavior,” I clarified. “Assault, battery, breaking and entering, destruction of property, etcetera.” And we hadn’t even told her about the attack on the Cadogan Dash or the threats of blackmail.
“Felonious behavior,” Lakshmi allowed, “we are at an impasse.” She looked at Ethan, long hair falling over one shoulder as she moved. “This is your House, and a violation of your privacy.” She checked a delicate gold watch. “And it is nearly time to begin the physical testing. You have the right to demand an inquiry—and that she be disqualified.”
Nicole stiffened.
She’d sent Iain to our apartments precisely to support her claim to the throne, and now she was faced with losing it altogether. She hadn’t thought he’d be caught—and if I hadn’t forgotten my medal, he wouldn’t have been.
He invaded our privacy, Ethan said. He’s threatened you twice now. But if she is disqualified now, for this—
You’ll never be rid of her, I finished. Even if you win, she’ll still be out there, waiting for an opportunity, because she’ll believe you robbed her of her chance.
He looked relieved that I’d realized it, that I could recognize an unwinnable play. If he let the testing move forward, the results—whatever they were—would be her own doing, not because he’d taken something away from her. And, if she was smart, she’d remember what he’d done and learn something from it: Winning at any cost wasn’t really a win.
“No,” he said. “I will not press for her disqualification. We move forward.”
Nicole blinked but recovered, nodded officiously. “That’s the most appropriate course of action.”
“Don’t push it,” Ethan murmured.
Lakshmi leveled Nicole with a look. “I presume we will not see any further mischief on the part of your House?”
“We will not.”
“In that case, the physical testing will proceed as indicated. Nicole, how do you propose to secure your Novitiate?”
Nicole glanced at Iain, her irritation obvious. “There’s a car outside, waiting to take him to the airport. He will go back to the House and remain until my return.”
Iain bowed his head obediently. Just as, I bet, he’d obediently bowed his head when Nicole told him to ransack our rooms.
Iain rose, and vampires shifted, preparing to get back to the task of preparing for the night’s testing.
But I had a bit of business first. It was time for me to have those five minutes I’d requested with Nicole, so I met Luc’s gaze, reminding him of our agreement.
He nodded slightly. “Ethan, why don’t we ensure Iain makes his way off the property?”
Lakshmi, who must have caught the look that passed between me and Luc and looked very satisfied by it, nodded.
“I’ll help ensure he’s settled and won’t cause any additional trouble,” she said. “Nicole, perhaps you’ll speak briefly with Merit, discuss any necessary repairs or reparations that your House will need to arrange?”
Yes, Lakshmi was definitely an ally.
Nicole watched them go before turning back to me, her expression unfailingly polite. “You appear to have bested my Novitiate.”
“Your Novitiate broke into my home, violated our privacy, and destroyed possessions.”
She circled me, her glamour rising, flowing. I nearly smiled. She wasn’t the first female Master to test me with glamour, and wouldn’t be the last.
“You don’t need to bother with the glamour. It doesn’t work on me.”
She didn’t comment, kept her expression mild except for the flash of irritation in her eyes. “I am a Master of my House.”
“And he is the Master of mine. You’ve threatened him, and used your vampires to threaten him, but you don’t have the honor to own up to it. You don’t even have the gall to do the dirty work yourself. If this is how you propose to rule, I’m not impressed.”
Her eyes lit with fire that made me smile wider than I probably should have, considering her obvious animus.
She leaned forward. “I am a Master.”
I held up a hand. “Let me go ahead and stop you right there. I’ve known several Masters in my short tenure as a vampire, and very few of them have impressed me. I’m not going to genuflect just because someone gave you a title.”
She glowered. “You may believe you have him wrapped around your precious little finger, but you are wrong. I doubt he’s told you of his lovers. You think you’ve tamed him? You’re a naive child. And I suspect he sees you the same way. He uses women, drinks their pleasure, and, when he’s done, discards them. His past is littered with his seductions, their tears. You’re only one of many. And if his history is any indication, you definitely won’t be the last.” Her eyes glimmered with excitement, with victory.
This was precisely what Ethan had been afraid of—that Nicole would confess this to me, tell me what he’d been and whom he’d been with, and I’d run screaming into the night. Perhaps she thought that if I ran, he’d be too distracted to carry on with the testing and he’d withdraw, giving her the victory. Or perhaps she was merely angry I’d ruined her plans tonight, and thought she’d get her revenge by ruining something of mine.
Her reasons didn’t really matter.
I thought of Ethan and our talk the night before, our interlude this evening, his wild eyes and chest-heaving recovery. I thought of his promises, of the eternity he’d already promised me, and the ring he’d hinted would someday make it official.
She was right: I didn’t want to know any more about his former lovers.
But Amit was also right: Ultimately, they didn’t matter. None of it mattered but me and Ethan. Ethan had told me what he’d needed to, and that was enough for me.
Still . . . “That’s really cruel of you to say.”
Nicole shrugged. “I suppose all’s fair in love and war.”
I moved toward her, putting mere inches between us, and let a predatory smile curve my lips. “Then any acts of mine are equally justified. And let me tell you this right now, Nicole: If you come for him, you come for me.”
