Chloe Neill - Blood Games

Early March

Chicago, Illinois

He stood beside me as cameras flashed, a man with a long and lean body, deeply green eyes, and golden hair. He wore shorts, sneakers, and a long-sleeved shirt that snugged against the tight muscles of his torso. His hair, which normally brushed his shoulders, was pulled back in a queue, and around his neck glinted the silver pendant that marked him as a Cadogan vampire.

But he wasnt just a vampire. Ethan Sullivan was Master of Cadogan House.

Even in running shoes, hands on his hips as he stood beneath the yellow arch that marked the starting line, a clock counting down to zero a few feet away, his Masterdom was undeniable. He looked nothing less than a leader of his people.

He glanced at me, an eyebrow arched in his usual imperious expression. Sentinel. You appear to be enjoying this a little too much.

I pulled my long dark hair into a ponytail using the elastic on my wrist, my long bangs across my forehead. I was also dressed in running attirea Cadogan House Track shirt, midcalf running tights, and shoes in eye-searing neon orange that made me smile when I looked at them. But the apparel wasnt just fun; it was functional. It had to be if I was going to achieve my goal: beating Ethan Sullivan to the finish line.

Its not every day I get the chance to best you in front of an audience.

Ethan snorted, a glint of amusement in his eyes. I dont plan to let you best me, Sentinel. But Im prepared to make it interesting.

There was heat in his eyes that nearly made me blush. But since we had an audience, I held it in. How interesting?

Dinner. Of the winners choosing.

As a lover of food, I didnt hesitate. Done.

I wasnt finished, he said with a sly smile. Dinner of the winners choosingin the apparel of the winners choosing.

I do enjoy seeing you in jeans, I countered. He generally preferred fancy to casual, but even he couldnt run in a refined French suit and Italian loafers. But if the look in his eyes was any indication, he hadnt intended denim, leather, or wool.

He only snorted in response.

It was March in Chicago, and the air still carried the chill of winter. But spring had nearly broken winters hold, and a thousand people stood on the sidelines to watch the Cadogan Dash, a race wed organized to raise money for Chicagos food bank.

I was the Houses social chair, and Id been reminded recently about the importance of giving back. So I decided a charity event was just the thing, which was why we were standing in Grant Park on a brisk spring night, preparing to run three miles with a few hundred friends. While Malik, the second-in-command of the House, stayed behind (and separate from Ethan for succession purposes), others gathered in their running gear for a little friendly competition. Luc, the Cadogan guard captain, with his dark blond locks. Connor, a young vampire of my class with the easygoing personality of casual wealth. Brody, a new Cadogan guard with mile-long legs that were probably going to come in handy tonight.

But that didnt mean the race was just fun and games.

Times had been tough for Chicagos supernaturals, but humans attitudes had seemed to improve over the last few weeks. Ethan had been cleared of charges hed killed a vampire in cold blood; it had been obvious self-defense, since wed been attacked at Cadogan House. My grandfather, Chuck Merit, was once again the citys official Supernatural Ombudsman, helping vampires, shifters, River nymphs, and the like with their various problems. And once again, the fickle pendulum of human emotion had swung to love. Sure, there were vampire detractors. Vampire haters. Vampire conspiracy theorists. But there were also members of the Ethan Sullivan fan club.

Most of the human spectators whod crowded behind the barrier wore T-shirts bearing Ethans image and I HEART ETHAN buttons. But much to my surprise, Ethan wasnt the only Cadogan vamp with fans in the audience. There were a few fans carrying hand-painted I HEART MERIT signs and wearing #1 SENTINEL T-shirts, which was cool, if a little unnerving.

A woman on the other side of the barricade held out a glossy eight-by-ten photograph and a permanent marker. Ethan! Ethan! Can I have your autograph? Her face was flushed with excitement, her eyes wide with promise.

Your fans await, I said with a smile.

Youre my favorite fan, he said, and in full view of the cameras, spectators, and news vans, he kissed me.

By the time he straightened again, my cheeks were pink and Ethans admirers were screaming with gusto. Apparently it didnt matter whom the golden god kissedthe sight of him kissing was enough to send them into a frenzy.

Given the look of intensity in their eyes, I doubted theyd have felt any compunction about kicking me out of the way to get a little closer to him.

Go ahead, I told him. Go see your admirers. Sign some autographs. Its good PR for the House.

He slid me a glance, smiled. Not concerned one of the fans will try to sweep me away with words of love?

Oh, theyll try to sweep, I said. But I have no worries youll come back to me.

His smile was meltingly handsome. Because I love you without measure?

Of course, I said.

Also, I had the car keys.

We needed the good PR while we could get it. I had a sinking suspicion the tide would turn again; humans always looked for scapegoats. Supernaturals made easy targets.

Humans werent our only problem. Cadogan House had recently left the Greenwich Presidium, the European council of vampires that ruled European and North American vampiresbut we hadnt left behind the drama. The GP was a hot mess. Some council members hated our House; others hated humans. It was an organization generally out of touch with the modern world.

And Ethan, whod moved forward to commune with the crowd, was petitioning to take charge of it. Hed filed the paperwork a week ago. Which was awkward, since the GP already had a leaderDarius West, a powerful vampire whose unfortunate involvement with an American serial killer had stunted him emotionally, an impressive feat for an immortal. After ensuring the House and its finances were in order, Ethan announced his candidacy, and wed heard nothing in the interim.

Darius had options. Vampires loved rules, and the Canon, the volumes of vampire law, laid out three official responses to Ethans Honorable Challenge. (Vampires also liked capitalizing things.) According to the Canon, Darius could give back snarky words, a response by Wit, which I imagined would have been something like Bring it or You just got served. Darius could challenge Ethan to a duel, presumably by katana, since that was the favored vampire weapon, or by account of All Houses, which basically meant that Darius could call out all the other vampire Houses to gang up on ours.

He hadnt done any of those things yet, and the silence was more unnerving than an outright attack would have been. In the interim, Ethan called the Masters of the Houses that allied with Cadoganwhose insignia were mounted above the Cadogan House doorshoring up his support.

Wed decided to move forward with the race, but we were certainly, obviously keeping a close eye on Ethan. Because I was Sentinel of the House, his safety was one of my priorities. And I had allies in the crowd: my grandfathers employeesCatcher Bell, a sorcerer, and Jeff Christopher, a shifteras well as the undercover members of the Red Guard, an organization of vampires created to keep watch on the GP and the twelve American vampire Masters.