Blade Bound (Chicagoland Vampires 13)

He looked up at me. “It was,” he said. “House security is my responsibility.”

“Yours and mine,” I corrected. “I stand Sentinel. It’s my job, at least in part, to protect the House. We both had that responsibility, so if there’s any blame to pass, it’s mine, too.” I looked at Ethan, hated the uncomfortable clutch in my belly, the fact that I’d only just now taken responsibility for the breach. It shouldn’t have taken me that long to acknowledge my contribution, or apologize for it. “I’m sorry for that.”

Fire blazed in Ethan’s eyes, and I hoped it was pride, not anger.

“She’s right,” Ethan said, looking at both of us. “We’ve identified a gap in our security—one we hadn’t known existed. We know now, and we’ll adjust our processes. We’ll correct and move forward. That’s what we do. That’s what we always do. And speaking of moving forward,” he said, glancing at me, “now that we’ve all donned our particular hair shirts, we should probably prepare for the evening.”

“I think that’s our cue to go,” Malik said with a smile, rising and patting Luc’s shoulder as he passed, a sign of solidarity.

“Sentinel.”

I looked back at Luc.

“I just want you to know—your taking responsibility tonight shows . . . that I trained you really well.”

I mostly bit back a smile. “That’s what you’re going with?”

He smiled. “Yeah. I think, tonight, we probably need it.”

They disappeared, and I’d only managed to move a step closer to Ethan when another figure stepped into the doorway.

The man had tan skin, dark hair, and dreamily wide brown eyes. He wore jeans and a cotton tunic of deep saffron on his tall and lean frame, and a cheeky grin on his face. “Isn’t it bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other before the wedding?”

The smile traveled through the crisp accent that edged his warm voice.

He and Ethan walked toward each other, met in the middle, and shared a manly, back-slapping hug. “It’s good to see you, Amit.”

Amit put a hand on Ethan’s shoulder, squeezed it. “And you as well, my friend.”

The most powerful vampire in the world—and Ethan’s best man—glanced at me and held out his hands, a silver ring glinting on his right thumb. I walked to him, offered my hands. He raised them to his lips, pressed kisses as a frisson of magic passed between us.

“Amit. It’s so good to see you!”

He grinned. “Have you changed your mind about marrying this reprobate yet?”

“I have not,” I said, glancing at Ethan. “And I don’t think I will.”

Amit nodded gravely. “You’re a brave woman.”

“She is,” Ethan agreed, eyes gleaming with pleasure. “That’s why I named her Sentinel.” He glanced back at Amit. “Did you just get in? Can we get you settled?”

Amit held up his hands. “I’m fine. Helen has seen to my luggage and accommodations. And speaking of which, what’s happened?”

Ethan and I exchanged a glance.

“I’m Very Strong Psych,” Amit said, a reference to the vampire ranking system. “There is an unusual energy in the House, and not just because of the wedding.”

“Merit was attacked here last night.”

“I wasn’t attacked,” I said, putting a supportive hand on Ethan’s arm. “An unbalanced supplicant holed up in a closet, made his way in here. I was the unlucky vampire who found him, and he wasn’t happy about it.”

Amit’s eyes widened with alarm, and he glanced at Ethan.

“Isolated incident,” Ethan said, repeating the party line. “The Ombudsman’s office is investigating, and the individual was apprehended after Merit beaned him with my Greenwich Presidium service award.”

Amit nodded approvingly. “That’s the way to do it.”

“I’d have preferred not to bean him with an award or otherwise. But a Sentinel’s gotta Sentinel.”