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.By the Houses, the GP, humans, the press.Celina wants to be seen, to be heard.She wasn’t getting sufficient attention as a Master, so she sabotaged that relationship in order to exchange it for something different—the attention of humans.And when she learned that she wasn’t the beloved of humankind, she acted out again.Each time you seek her out, each time you fight back, you give her a reason to come back again.”“You’re saying we enable Celina?”He answered with nothing more than a challenging look.The question in his eyes was obvious—Don’t you?Shaking my head, my arms crossed, I leaned back against the closed door.“That theory assumes that if we ignored Celina, she wouldn’t act out.That’s simply not true.Each time things settle down in Chicago—like when we get a confession from her about the park murders and send her away—she pops up again.Believe me, Charlie, she forces us to act.”This time, he shook his head.“I’m sorry, Merit, but we have to disagree with you.I have to disagree with you.” He frowned, then looked up at me.“I don’t like saying this, making this accusation.Darius won’t say it—it’s not his position to do so—but I think it bears consideration.”“What’s that?”“None of this started until after you joined Cadogan House.”My heart beat like a timpani drum in my chest.“Excuse me?”He held up a hand.“Hear me out.For better or worse, Celina seems to have an obsession with you.You move into the House, you elicit a confession from her, and as a result she apparently decides you, and perhaps Ethan, are her new targets.”I forced myself to bite my tongue.Ethan clearly hadn’t told him that I’d been Celina’s intended victim, that he’d brought me into the House because a Rogue she’d hired hadn’t done his job completely.I wasn’t sure why he’d made that call, but I wasn’t going to be the one to break the news to the GP.I had no objection to the GP knowing as little about me as possible.“We’re aware of the Breckenridge situation,” Charlie continued, “of the fact that she attacked you outside the House.Would you deny that you appear to be one of her keenest targets?”“No,” I said.It would be impossible to deny that.On the other hand, “I’m not the only target.Cadogan House is a target.Chicago is a target.”He was saved a response by sudden, high-pitched beeping.He lifted his wrist, revealing a square calculator watch circa 1984.After tapping its buttons, he smiled guiltily.“I was amazed by the technology when it was revealed, and I haven’t found anything that compares since then.Simple, efficient.”“Kudos,” I said, trying to stuff the snark as far down as possible.Charlie stood up again and walked toward me, heading for the door now that he’d concluded his lecture.“I hope it doesn’t seem that I’m trying to irritate you or blame you for her actions.Clearly, she is a woman with free will and the ability to make decisions for herself.But consider the possibility that the actions you undertake—as Sentinel of your House, with all of its appurtenant responsibilities—bear upon her actions, as well.”I stepped aside, giving him access to the door.“We do truly wish you the best with your House.We want all the American Houses to succeed, to flourish.”“I will relay that sentiment to Ethan,” I said politely.Although my silent thoughts were much less polite, as I guessed would be the case for Ethan’s, as well.“Excellent.Good evening, Merit.”“Good evening, Charlie.”He walked out again, an efficient smile on his face and a hop in his step.And in his wake.insecurity.Was he right? Had we prompted Celina’s antics by responding to them? Were vampires drugged and humans dead because we’d encouraged her to act out, to rebel against Cadogan House like an angsty adolescent?It wasn’t fair to lay the responsibility for Celina’s actions at our door.We’d tried to do right by Cadogan and Chicago, and ultimately she was the one who’d solicited the murders of humans, who’d blackmailed us, and who was now probably behind selling drugs.Those decisions were her own.Still.Charlie’s accusation gnawed at me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.By the Houses, the GP, humans, the press.Celina wants to be seen, to be heard.She wasn’t getting sufficient attention as a Master, so she sabotaged that relationship in order to exchange it for something different—the attention of humans.And when she learned that she wasn’t the beloved of humankind, she acted out again.Each time you seek her out, each time you fight back, you give her a reason to come back again.”“You’re saying we enable Celina?”He answered with nothing more than a challenging look.The question in his eyes was obvious—Don’t you?Shaking my head, my arms crossed, I leaned back against the closed door.“That theory assumes that if we ignored Celina, she wouldn’t act out.That’s simply not true.Each time things settle down in Chicago—like when we get a confession from her about the park murders and send her away—she pops up again.Believe me, Charlie, she forces us to act.”This time, he shook his head.“I’m sorry, Merit, but we have to disagree with you.I have to disagree with you.” He frowned, then looked up at me.“I don’t like saying this, making this accusation.Darius won’t say it—it’s not his position to do so—but I think it bears consideration.”“What’s that?”“None of this started until after you joined Cadogan House.”My heart beat like a timpani drum in my chest.“Excuse me?”He held up a hand.“Hear me out.For better or worse, Celina seems to have an obsession with you.You move into the House, you elicit a confession from her, and as a result she apparently decides you, and perhaps Ethan, are her new targets.”I forced myself to bite my tongue.Ethan clearly hadn’t told him that I’d been Celina’s intended victim, that he’d brought me into the House because a Rogue she’d hired hadn’t done his job completely.I wasn’t sure why he’d made that call, but I wasn’t going to be the one to break the news to the GP.I had no objection to the GP knowing as little about me as possible.“We’re aware of the Breckenridge situation,” Charlie continued, “of the fact that she attacked you outside the House.Would you deny that you appear to be one of her keenest targets?”“No,” I said.It would be impossible to deny that.On the other hand, “I’m not the only target.Cadogan House is a target.Chicago is a target.”He was saved a response by sudden, high-pitched beeping.He lifted his wrist, revealing a square calculator watch circa 1984.After tapping its buttons, he smiled guiltily.“I was amazed by the technology when it was revealed, and I haven’t found anything that compares since then.Simple, efficient.”“Kudos,” I said, trying to stuff the snark as far down as possible.Charlie stood up again and walked toward me, heading for the door now that he’d concluded his lecture.“I hope it doesn’t seem that I’m trying to irritate you or blame you for her actions.Clearly, she is a woman with free will and the ability to make decisions for herself.But consider the possibility that the actions you undertake—as Sentinel of your House, with all of its appurtenant responsibilities—bear upon her actions, as well.”I stepped aside, giving him access to the door.“We do truly wish you the best with your House.We want all the American Houses to succeed, to flourish.”“I will relay that sentiment to Ethan,” I said politely.Although my silent thoughts were much less polite, as I guessed would be the case for Ethan’s, as well.“Excellent.Good evening, Merit.”“Good evening, Charlie.”He walked out again, an efficient smile on his face and a hop in his step.And in his wake.insecurity.Was he right? Had we prompted Celina’s antics by responding to them? Were vampires drugged and humans dead because we’d encouraged her to act out, to rebel against Cadogan House like an angsty adolescent?It wasn’t fair to lay the responsibility for Celina’s actions at our door.We’d tried to do right by Cadogan and Chicago, and ultimately she was the one who’d solicited the murders of humans, who’d blackmailed us, and who was now probably behind selling drugs.Those decisions were her own.Still.Charlie’s accusation gnawed at me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]