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I emerged from her office an hour later. An hour later, and in between had had to field several messages from Luc and Ethan wondering where I was. The answer, at least, was honest enough. PARTY PREP WITH HELEN. I AM SOCIAL CHAIR, AFTER ALL.
I didn’t mention that she’d strapped me into heels, had me walk back and forth across her office until she was satisfied my posture was acceptable, my speed was appropriate, and my expression held just the right amount of “confident demureness.” Her phrase, not mine.
“The grass will be soft,” she’d said. “You’ll want to stick to the sidewalks or the hard floor under the tent.”
Or I could just take the damn things off and throw them at Balthasar, I thought, but wisely kept the thought to myself.
When the practice session was over, I gave the shoes back to her and walked down to Ethan’s office. The door was open, representatives from the other Houses already there: Scott and Jonah, Morgan, Ethan, Luc, and Malik.
“This room is decidedly lacking in chicks,” I said, practicing the walk as I moved to the conference table and joined the rest of them. I did not trip over the edge of the expensive antique rug, so I considered that a victory.
“I don’t disagree in principle,” Ethan said, “but the chicks are working while we run our mouths, so there’s a current dearth.”
I nodded at Scott and Morgan, then at Jonah, who I still wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with. I carried my RG coin in my pocket just as I wore my Cadogan medal around my neck. Maybe that’s what it would come down to: the choice between them. That certainly seemed to be the point of Jonah’s hands-off approach: making me choose.
“We were discussing Balthasar,” Ethan said, and I nodded, coming back to the present again.
“You don’t think the plan should change because he’s actually an imposter?” Scott asked.
“I do not,” Ethan said. “He doesn’t know that we know. And, more important, he seems quite committed to playing this role, to seeing it through. I say we give him that opportunity.”
“I agree,” I said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’d convinced himself he is Balthasar.”
“Really?” Scott asked.
“Really. He was in my head. The only person he wants to be more than Balthasar is, possibly, Ethan.” And that sparked an idea. “That raises an interesting possibility, a way we can increase the odds he shows up for a confrontation.”
All eyes turned to me, but I looked at Ethan.
“We could break up.”
Ethan’s eyes turned to glassy green fire. “Excuse me?”
“We let it leak that we’ve broken up. We act like we’ve broken up. This Balthasar is committed to besting you, and he sees me as the chit. He’s tried to use me to get to you before. I don’t think he’d be able to resist the opportunity to try to get to me. I may not know Balthasar—not really—but I know the actor.”
That reminder left the room in silence.
“It’s not a bad plan,” Jonah said. “Fireworks between you two will increase media coverage, and give him even more reason to show up.”
“He did arrange for reporters and cameras when he first showed up for the reunion,” I pointed out. “He loves a good show. You could give the scoop to Nick. He’d probably be willing to boost the signal. It’s a little gossipy for him, but he likes the supernatural beat.”
Ethan stared at me, drummed his fingers on the table. He was as alpha as they came, and he was serious enough about us that he’d planned to propose. It couldn’t have been comfortable to consider announcing to the public and press that our relationship had ended.
“It’s not a bad plan. I’ll talk to Nick.”
There was a knock on the door, and Kelley walked in with a tablet. “I’ve got security plans for the Investiture, if you’d like to review them.”
The Masters did, so they gathered around the tablet and got to the nuts and bolts of it.
* * *
Two hours of security detailing and ceremonial adjustments later, the sun was nearly on the rise again and the Masters were ready to depart.
To make our artificial breakup seem more realistic, I opted to sleep in my old room. Since we hadn’t had an Initiate class this year, it hadn’t yet been filled by another vampire. The room was small and clean, with a simple bed and bureau, a small bathroom. Nothing like Ethan’s apartments, but cozy in its own way.
I lay down on the small bed, one arm behind my head, staring at the ceiling. It was weird to be here alone, to sleep without Ethan’s body and heartbeat beside me, and I felt oddly self-conscious attempting to fall asleep. The sounds were different, the smells, the feel of sheets and blankets beneath me. And I was pretty sure Ethan had better-quality linens.
I stared into darkness, waiting for the sun to rise, for sleep to overpower me.
