Midnight Marked (Chicagoland Vampires 12)

“I’ll make a note of it,” I said. “Oh, and Annabelle saw the sorcerer.” I passed along the minimal details she’d been able to see, my curiosity about the man at La Douleur.

“Lots of vampires wear suits.”

“I know. Ethan said the same thing.” Suddenly exhausted, I rose. “I’m going upstairs.”

“Get Ethan on the right track,” Luc said. “You’ll both feel a lot better.”

“Bang his brains out,” Lindsey offered helpfully from the other side of the room.

Luc shook his head. “Apologies, Sentinel. My girlfriend is crude.”

“And you love it,” she said.

From his wide smile, I guessed she was right.

“Good luck, Sentinel,” Luc said. “Our wands are up for you.”

I didn’t think that quite sounded the way he’d meant it to.

• • •

When I walked into our apartments, Ethan stood at his bureau. If circumstances had been different, I’d have teased him about Mallory, the fact that she now knew about the maybe-baby. That would raise the specter of baby showers, cribs, and godparents, which would have flustered him to my amusement.

But that’s not where we were. Not right then.

I took off my clothes, washed my face, and slid into pajamas. He did the same, sat down on his side of the bed just as I’d sat down on mine. The wall was invisible, but it was there. “They know of the meeting at dusk?”

“They do,” I said, turning off the bedside light and slipping my feet under cool sheets.

“Good. Perhaps we can make progress. Perhaps we’ll all feel better if we make progress.”

I wasn’t sure if he meant himself or me or both of us. Either way, the sun rose before I could ask the question.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DRY ERASE MAGIC

Our dusk meeting would actually begin an hour after dusk to give everyone time to get to Cadogan House. Preparations were well under way when I headed downstairs. Luc was updating the whiteboard while Margot set out bottles of water and a tray of snacks. Ethan talked with Malik near the bookshelves on the left-hand side of the room, away from the flurry of activity.

I joined them, dressed in leathers and black boots.

“Sentinel,” Ethan said, a question in his eyes—Are we still fighting? Since we hadn’t reached an accord, and he hadn’t even lingered in the apartments long enough to say good evening, I couldn’t see how the answer was anything but yes. But I wasn’t going to drag everyone into it.

“Did Luc talk to you about inviting Morgan and Scott?” I asked Ethan.

“He did, and they’ll be here. He also suggested we invite Gabriel.”

Talk about fighting fire with fire. “And did you?”

“I put in a call,” Malik said. “It hasn’t yet been returned.”