Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6)(35)
Author: Chloe Neill

My eyes flashed open. The back stairway bordered Ethan’s office, and the wal separating the two was evidently fairly thin.

I heard Ethan, his tone clipped, and Darius, his careful words and British accent easily recognizable.

At first, I could hear only vague bits of noise, but the more I opened my mind to the sounds, the clearer the words became.

And from the sound of it, they’d moved past the pleasantries and things weren’t going wel.

"I feel like I’ve been caled to the principal’s office like a child," Ethan said.

"I’ve flown to Chicago, if you recal, but I don’t object to the analogy. My visit here was necessitated by acts of late in this House. There is the matter of the chain of succession, and the uproar that’s been generated in the city more generaly."

"My House did not generate that uproar."

"It’s not your House," Darius reminded him. "You are not Master of it."

"That is a matter of circumstance, as you are aware, Sire."

That was Malik. I guessed Darius wouldn’t settle for berating only one Master of Cadogan House.

"Malik stil holds this House. Ethan has not been reinvested by the GP."

"He acted in my stead while – "

"While you were dead," Darius finished. "You were dead and gone and a new Master was heralded in your place. That is the manner of such things." There was shifting in the room, and I imagined Darius crossing his legs. "While I appreciate your steadfast loyalty," Darius said, "the GP does not exist to satisfy the whims of Cadogan House. The GP exists to protect the interests of al vampires in the United States and Western Europe. Our territory is vast, and our concerns are numerous.

They are not limited to a smal square of ground in Hyde Park.

This House isn’t even our only concern in Chicago, much less the Western Hemisphere."

Darius paused. "Ethan, Malik, I wil be frank. The GP is seriously concerned. We sent the receiver here to investigate this House, to assure ourselves that the House was stable and things were wel in hand." He meant Cabot – the GP’s receiver. "I understand his efforts were respected for a time. But ultimately those efforts were rejected and, in essence, so was our oversight."

"He limited the blood supply," Malik said. "He made our guards stand in the sun just to prove a point – and to see our Sentinel removed. He was patronizing on his best night, and abusive on his worst."

"So you assume," Darius said. "He was testing, as he is authorized to test, whether your vampires can withstand the sun and if they wil obey the chain of command. One, Juliet, did both. Another did not."

He didn’t say my name; he didn’t need to. I forfeited the contest while I was stil in the shade because Juliet was stuck in the sun, and she’d been too stubborn to give up her position. I wasn’t wiling to watch her burn to a crisp just to satisfy a GP rule.

"The GP should be their protector," Malik said, "not their torturer."

"And as for Merit," Ethan added, "he clearly wanted her out of the House. He set up the contest so she’d have to forfeit or risk Juliet’s life."

"Perhaps. But that does not negate the validity of the test. If someone else, anyone else, had been in Merit’s position, would you feel the same?"

"Yes," Ethan and Malik said simultaneously.

"Wel, at any rate, the blood rations tested whether your vampires could sustain a shortage. It’s not impossible to imagine that they may face something similar in the future, particularly if your politicians’ opinions of vampires remain the same. They need to be prepared, and we needed to know how much assistance we’l be asked to provide."

I was probably the last person who wanted to agree with Darius. The problem was, I couldn’t fault his logic. Things were bad in Chicago, and it wasn’t impossible to believe they’d get worse before al was said and done. Were we spoiled vampires not afraid enough of what might happen? Had we become too soft?

I may have wondered, but Ethan definitely wasn’t convinced.

"It can be dressed in pretty language," Ethan said, "but neither Chicago nor the Houses are to blame for Cabot’s actions. He rationed blood in a time of crisis. He put an already stressed guard crew through brutal testing. I understand the need for testing – and make use of it when necessary. But I do not sanction exacerbating the crises already faced by this House’s vampires. You test when the waters are smooth; you support when the waters are rough. The GP is adding to our problems, not helping fix them."

"The GP is aware of your position."

"And what do they propose to do about it?" Malik asked.

There was silence for a moment, and even when Darius answered, he didn’t realy answer. "The shofet had voted to remove Cadogan House’s accreditation."

There was silence except for the sudden rush of blood in my ears.

"The GP cannot disband this House," Ethan quietly said.

"The GP can and wil do what it deems appropriate. Tonight I need to speak with Morgan and Scott. I’l interview you two and Keley tomorrow."

"For what purpose?" Malik asked.

Adding insult to injury was my best guess.

"Because I am head of the GP, and I’d like to see the data for myself." The sound of his voice changed, and I guessed he’d stood up. "Ultimately, the GP wil make the decision that is best for al its vampires. The cal is not yours to make. Is that understood, gentlemen?"

"Sire," they both said.

And that was apparently the end of that.

I heard the office door open and shut. I snapped my guards back into place and jumped to my feet, then peeked into the halway. Darius – tal, rangy, and impeccably dressed in dress pants and a pin-striped shirt – walked down the halway with Malik toward Malik’s office.

When they were out of sight, I walked to Ethan’s office. This was going to require serious damage control. Although I wasn’t entirely sure I was up to the task, someone had to do something.

It might as wel be me.

I wished myself good luck and opened the door.

Ethan was behind his desk. The room vibrated with furious energy.

"Wil they actualy kick us out?" I asked, earning me a flash of green eyes.

"You spied on us?"

"I strategicaly gathered evidence."

"They’ve effectively done so," Ethan said. "We’ve been impeached. Now we see if they can make it stick." He rose from his desk, then walked across the room to the bar tucked into the built-in bookshelf. He opened a cabinet, puled out a bottle, and twisted off the top, then poured two fingers into a short glass.