Bloodlines Page 0,144

at Keith's that I really understood what I was seeing. I saw how you looked at her. I know how you feel about her. So, what I want to know is: how come we have to keep worrying about Micah at all? Why aren't you just asking her out and saving us all a lot of trouble?"

"Because she's my sister," he said wryly.

"Eddie! I'm serious."

He made a face, took a deep breath, and then turned back toward me. "Because she can do better than me. You want to talk about social rules? Well, where we come from, Moroi and dhampirs don't have serious relationships."

"Yeah, but that's like a class thing," I said. "It's not quite the same as humans and vampires."

"Maybe not, but with her, it might as well be. She's not just any Moroi. She's royal. A princess. And you've seen how she is! Smart and strong and beautiful. She's destined for great things, and one of them isn't being involved with a controversial guardian like me. Her bloodline's regal. Hell, I don't even know who my dad is. Dating her is not even possible. My job is to protect her. To keep her safe. That's where all my attention needs to be."

"And so you think she deserves being with a human instead?" I asked incredulously. "Dancing the line of a taboo upheld by both our races?"

"It's not ideal," he admitted. "But she can still have a fun social life and - "

"What if it was another guy?" I interrupted. "What if some other human asked her out, and they simply went on a casual date? Would you be okay with that?"

He didn't answer, and I knew my hunch was correct.

"This is about more than you not feeling worthy of Jill," I said. "This is about Micah too, isn't it? About how he reminds you of Mason."

Eddie blanched. "How do you know about that?"

"Adrian told me."

"Damn him," said Eddie. "Why can't he be as oblivious as he pretends?"

I smiled at that. "You don't owe Micah anything. You certainly don't owe him Jill. He's not Mason, no matter how much they look alike."

"It's more than looks," said Eddie, growing pensive. "It's the way they act too. Micah's the same - outgoing, optimistic, excited. That's how Mason was. There are too few people like that in the world: people who are genuinely good. Mason was taken away from the world too soon. I won't let that happen to Micah."

"Micah's not in danger," I said gently.

"But he deserves good things. And even if he's human, he's still one of the best matches I know of for Jill. They deserve each other. They both deserve good things."

"And so, you're going to let yourself suffer as a result? Because you're so in love with Jill and convinced that she deserves some prince that you aren't? And because you feel it's your duty to support all the Masons in the world?" I shook my head. "Eddie, that's crazy. Even you have to see that."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I feel like it's the right thing to do."

"Right? It's the masochistic thing to do! You're encouraging the girl you want to be with one of your best friends."

"I want her to be happy. It's worth sacrificing myself."

"It makes no sense."

Eddie gave me a small smile and a gentle pat on the arm before turning toward an approaching shuttle bus. "Remember when you said you were no expert in romance? Well, you were right."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I THINK ADRIAN would have agreed to anything to get his own place. He didn't waste any time in moving his few possessions over to Keith's old apartment, much to Clarence's dismay. I had to admit, I felt kind of bad for the old man. He'd grown fond of Adrian, and losing him right after Lee was especially tough. Clarence still opened his home and feeder to our group but refused to believe anything we told him about Lee and Strigoi. Even once he accepted Lee was dead, Clarence continued blaming vampire hunters.

Shortly after his move, I went to check on Adrian. Word had come to us that the "research party" from the Moroi was due to arrive in town that day, and we'd decided to meet with them first before bringing in Jill and Eddie. Like before, Abe was apparently escorting the newcomers, who included Sonya and Jill's new roommate. I had the impression there might be others with them but hadn't heard the details yet.

"Whoa," I said when Adrian let me