Bloodlines

She almost smiled, but then it faded. "You mean that. You'd really reject this amazing potential - this discovery - that you have?"

I didn't answer.

"So be it." She sighed. "It's a loss. And a waste. But you have my word that I won't bring it up again unless you do."

"That," I said vehemently, "is not going to happen."

Ms. Terwilliger merely shrugged by way of answer. "Well, then. Since you're here, you might as well go get me some coffee."

I moved toward the door and then thought of something. "Were you the one calling Nevermore and asking about vampires?"

"Why in the world would I do that?" she asked. "I already know where to find them." Great, I thought. Another mystery.

I made it to the cafeteria later that day just as Eddie, Jill, and Micah were finishing dinner. Jill was understandably having a difficult time adjusting to Lee's death and all the revelations we'd uncovered - including his desire to make her his undead queen. Both Eddie and I had talked to her as much as we could, but Micah seemed to have the greatest soothing effect on her. I think it was because he never openly addressed the topic. He knew Lee had died but thought it was an accident and naturally knew none of the vampiric connections. While Eddie and I constantly tried our hand at being amateur psychologists, Micah simply tried to distract her and make her happy.

"We have to go," he said apologetically when I sat down. "Rachel Walker is going to give us a lesson on one of the sewing machines."

Eddie shook his head at him. "I still don't know why you signed up for sewing club." That wasn't true, of course. We both knew exactly why Micah had joined.

Jill's face wore the grave look it had had since Lee's death - a look she would carry for a while, I suspected - but the ghost of a smile flickered over her lips. "I think Micah has the makings of a real fashion designer. Maybe I'll walk in his show one day."

I shook my head, hiding my own smile. "No modeling of any kind, not for a while." After the show, Lia and other designers had gotten in touch, all wanting to work with Jill again. We'd had to refuse in order to protect her identity here, but it had made Jill sad to have to do it.

Jill nodded. "I know, I know." She stood up with Micah. "I'll see you back in our room later, Sydney. I'd like to talk some more."

I nodded. "Absolutely."

Eddie and I watched them hurry off. I sighed.

"That's going to be a problem," I told him.

"Maybe," he agreed. "But she knows what she can and can't do with him. She's smart. She'll be responsible."

"But he doesn't know," I said. "I feel like Micah's fallen for her too much already." I eyed Eddie carefully. "Among other people."

Eddie was still watching Micah and Jill, so it took him a moment to pick up on my meaning. He jerked his gaze back to me. "Huh?"

"Eddie, I'm not going to claim to be any expert in romance, but even I can tell that you're crazy about Jill."

He promptly looked away, though his flush betrayed him. "That's not true."

"I've seen it all along, but it wasn't until that night at Keith's that I really understood what I was seeing. I saw how you looked at her. I know how you feel about her. So, what I want to know is: how come we have to keep worrying about Micah at all? Why aren't you just asking her out and saving us all a lot of trouble?"

"Because she's my sister," he said wryly.

"Eddie! I'm serious."

He made a face, took a deep breath, and then turned back toward me. "Because she can do better than me. You want to talk about social rules? Well, where we come from, Moroi and dhampirs don't have serious relationships."

"Yeah, but that's like a class thing," I said. "It's not quite the same as humans and vampires."

"Maybe not, but with her, it might as well be. She's not just any Moroi. She's royal. A princess. And you've seen how she is! Smart and strong and beautiful. She's destined for great things, and one of them isn't being involved with a controversial guardian like me. Her bloodline's regal. Hell, I don't even know who my dad is. Dating her is not even possible. My job is to protect her. To keep her safe. That's where all my attention needs to be."

"And so you think she deserves being with a human instead?" I asked incredulously. "Dancing the line of a taboo upheld by both our races?"

"It's not ideal," he admitted. "But she can still have a fun social life and - "

"What if it was another guy?" I interrupted. "What if some other human asked her out, and they simply went on a casual date? Would you be okay with that?"

He didn't answer, and I knew my hunch was correct.

"This is about more than you not feeling worthy of Jill," I said. "This is about Micah too, isn't it? About how he reminds you of Mason."

Eddie blanched. "How do you know about that?"

"Adrian told me."

"Damn him," said Eddie. "Why can't he be as oblivious as he pretends?"

I smiled at that. "You don't owe Micah anything. You certainly don't owe him Jill. He's not Mason, no matter how much they look alike."

"It's more than looks," said Eddie, growing pensive. "It's the way they act too. Micah's the same - outgoing, optimistic, excited. That's how Mason was. There are too few people like that in the world: people who are genuinely good. Mason was taken away from the world too soon. I won't let that happen to Micah."

"Micah's not in danger," I said gently.

"But he deserves good things. And even if he's human, he's still one of the best matches I know of for Jill. They deserve each other. They both deserve good things."

"And so, you're going to let yourself suffer as a result? Because you're so in love with Jill and convinced that she deserves some prince that you aren't? And because you feel it's your duty to support all the Masons in the world?" I shook my head. "Eddie, that's crazy. Even you have to see that."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I feel like it's the right thing to do."

"Right? It's the masochistic thing to do! You're encouraging the girl you want to be with one of your best friends."

"I want her to be happy. It's worth sacrificing myself."

"It makes no sense."

Eddie gave me a small smile and a gentle pat on the arm before turning toward an approaching shuttle bus. "Remember when you said you were no expert in romance? Well, you were right."