Ethan frowned, clearly confused. "And why do we purportedly want to hurt Jamie?"
"The message didn't say," Nick answered, but the words were a little too quickly spoken to ring true. Maybe he knew about Jamie's story; maybe there was another reason he thought Jamie might be a target. And that wasn't the only problem with his evidence.
"How do you know the e-mail was from a Cadogan vamp?" I asked. "How do you know it wasn't just a hoax?"
"Give me a little credit, Merit. They gave me information to verify."
Ethan and I exchanged a glance. "What information?" he asked, caution in his tone.
Nick looked away, wet his lips, then looked up at me again. There was coldness in his eyes.
"There were details about you," he said, then turned that frigid gaze on Ethan. "And you.Together."
My cheeks flushed crimson. Ethan, apparently much less worried, made a soft, sardonic sound. "Rest assured, Nicholas, we have no plans to harm your brother. And I can most definitely assure you that you were not speaking with a Cadogan vampire. There is no
'together' where Merit and I are concerned."
Not that he hadn't considered it, I thought, remembering our dance.
"Oh?" Nick asked, as if feigning surprise. "Then you didn't share a moment in the library Friday night?" He turned his gaze to me. "I was told that you passed along the story of our meeting in the garden. That you informed your Master that I was 'com ing for you.' "
This time, my cheeks paled. While his implication was wrong - our "moment" in the library had been completely platonic - the gossip part was true enough. Someone had been in the library. Had overheard our conversation. Someone was playing us.
And more importantly, someone was betraying Ethan. Again.
I didn't want to, but I made myself turn and check Ethan's expression. He stood frozen there beside me, jaw clenched, unmitigated fury on his face.
"We did not," he bit out, "nor have we ever issued a threat against Jamie or any other member of your family. That's not the way my House operates. If such a message was sent to you, it was not sent from a Cadogan vampire, and certainly not with my approval. If someone in my House has informed you otherwise, they are... sorely...mistaken."
Despite the gravity in Ethan's tone, Nick's responding shrug was careless. "I'm sorry, Sullivan. But that's not good enough."
Ethan's brows lifted. "Not good enough?"
"We're only asking you not to jump to conclusions," I told Nicholas. "That's all."
"Not jump to conclusions?" Nick took steps, closing the distance between us. I had to steel myself not to step back.
"How na?ve are you, Merit? Or is that some kind of vampire denial talking?"
"Nicholas," Papa Breck said, but Nick shook his head.
"No," he spat out. "I told you that if you tried to harm him, I would come after you with everything I had. I will not stand by while vampires destroy my family, Merit."
"Nick, son," Papa Breck repeated, but Nicholas stayed where he was, inches away from me, staring down at me with eyes of furious electric blue.
"We did not issue a threat against Jamie, Nick."
"Do not lie to me, Merit." Nick leaned closer and whispered in a voice that I assumed was only for me, "They may give you a dress, and they may give you a sword, but I know who you are."
Oh, but I'd enjoy wiping that smirk from his face. I dropped my head, closed my eyes, and let the anger rise enough - just enough - to silver my eyes. I had to clench my fists to hold back the rest of it - to keep my fangs from descending, to keep the vampire asleep - and the fight of it kept me quiet for a moment. I was silent long enough to hear shuffling, the rest of the room growing increasingly nervous the longer I kept my head down.
I opened my eyes again and slowly lifted my head, gazing at Nick beneath half-hooded lashes. Predictably, his smile faded, his own eyes widening at the silver in mine. He swallowed, likely at the reminder that I wasn't just a girl he'd known in high school, and I wasn't to be bullied to satiate the anger that flowed from whatever prejudices darkened his soul.
"Nicholas," I began, my voice soft and low and lush, "I stand Sentinel for a House of three hundred and twenty vampires. I will not strike first, but he allows me to carry