Sydney's study sessions with Mrs Terwilliger were much easier now that Sydney had accepted magic.
Not only was it the magic, actually. The study sessions were a relief to get to because she didn't have to hide anything there, like she did everywhere else now, even in her own bedroom. Mrs Terwilliger knew all her secrets: being a rogue Alchemist, close friends with vampires and dhampirs, being a witch, and being in love with a vampire.
Well, actually, Sydney wasn't totally sure if Mrs Terwilliger had guessed that last one yet, but it wouldn't be a surprise anymore.
Despite being glad to see Zoe, the more time Sydney spent with her sister made the entire situation seem worse and worse. Zoe was incapable of looking Jill, Eddie, Angeline, Neil or Adrian in the eye, and she stuck as close to Sydney as possible. When Sydney wasn't around, Zoe threw herself into the crowds of other students, looking for the safety of her own kind. Sometimes, Sydney wondered if she had ever been quite as bad as that.
Sydney opened the door to the workspace she shared with Mrs Terwilliger in their private sessions, saying a last goodbye to Zoe over her shoulder. A smile came to her lips as the door swung shut behind her, relief flowing through her. There was no need to lie in this room.
Mrs Terwilliger looked up. "Ah, there you are, Miss Melbourne. I was thinking perhaps that tomorrow, you could run an errand for me in the space of our session." The way she said the word 'errand' made it obvious that it wasn't one the ordinary teacher would send you on. In fact, it implied that this wouldn't be an errand at all.
"What will I be doing?" asked Sydney quickly.
"I thought you might be able to find someone who might be an expert on this sort of architecture," said Mrs Terwilliger, turning her laptop slightly so Sydney could see the picture on the screen. IT was of a building Sydney recognized: it was well documented by the Alchemists.
It had once been the home of the Moroi Royal Court.
Sydney grinned broadly, knowing what Mrs Terwilliger was doing. "Are you sure, Miss?" she asked quickly.
"Oh yes. It's a small thing to give after what happened at my house a few weeks ago," replied the history teacher. "I'm sure you'll find someone by tomorrow afternoon, but today, I thought we might work on that book I gave you." The book in question being one full of spells.
"Don't worry about me finding someone. I know just the man."
"Hi, Dad!" said Zoe Sage into her phone excitedly.
"Hello, Zoe," replied Jared Sage. "How is it going in Palm Springs?"
"Oh, it's fine!" exclaimed Zoe, eager to impress her father. "I mean, it's difficult to be around vampires so much, but Sydney's been helping me cope." Her cheeriness dimmed a little. "Tomorrow, I'm going to have to do it by myself, though."
"Oh? Why is that?" asked Jared.
"Sydney has an errand to run for her private study sessions," said Zoe. "She said she might only get back after curfew."
There was a long silence on the other side of the phone. "Zoe," began her father. Zoe flinched at the tone of his voice. "I want you to follow Sydney tomorrow. See where she goes, who she meets."
"I - " Words failed the girl. "Why?" she managed to get out, refusing to believe that Jared might have reason to suspect Sydney.
"Oh, no real reason." The answer was evasive and Zoe frowned, not liking that he seemed not to trust her.
"How?" It was the only other question weighing on her mind about this. How could she follow Sydney? She had no car, no license, no way of getting around without the aid of Sydney.
"Hide in her car, perhaps. You're a clever girl, you'll figure it out."
The line went dead without another word. Zoe clutched the phone to her chest, wondering what to do.
Sydney stood in front of the familiar door, heart beating wildly with excitement. She hadn't been here for weeks now, but she had missed it more than anything. She knocked on the door without a second's delay.
The door opened after a few moments, revealing just the man she was waiting for. Adrian. He looked the same as ever, with the messy brown hair and greenest eyes she'd ever seen. His mouth opened in a small 'O' at the sight of her.
"Sage? What are you doing here?" He glanced around, as if to find her new shadow: Zoe.
"And here I was, thinking you'd be glad to see me," quipped Sydney.
"No, I am – but – how?" He stepped closer, closer than what was professional or even casual, apparently realizing Zoe wasn't here.
"Mrs Terwilliger," was the only response Sydney could give. Adrian didn't waste another second, arms encircling her and pulling her closer. She wrapped hers around his neck, and their lips met in a soul searing kiss.
Oh, she'd missed his lips. She hadn't tasted them since their day at Malibu, and since Zoe arrived. But they were sure making up for it now, she thought as she kissed him back as if her life depended on it.
Or at least, they were until they heard the sound of a gasp. They broke apart, looking for the sound's source, and just caught sight of a familiar teenaged figure disappearing around the corner.
"Zoe!" shouted Sydney. If any time was the time to start swearing, now would have been the time, but she refrained. "Oh, God. No. No. She's probably going to tell our father and then I'll be carted off the Reeducation…" She focused on Adrian. "I have to go talk to her. Maybe I can keep her from telling the Alchemists."
"Go, then," he urged her. "And if you don't manage it, we'll head to Mexico. You can join up with Marcus and get your tattoo done over."
"You'll come with me?" She sounded surprised, but really, she knew she shouldn't have been.
"Of course."
She kissed him once more, as if it was the last time she ever would – which was, to be honest, quite possible. He responded and she tried to memorize the feel of his lips on hers, the way they tasted, how Adrian ran his hands through her hair –
Then she moved back, gave him one, last, loving look and went after Zoe.
Zoe sat, curled up in a ball, back to the wall. She was hidden in an alcove near the end of the hall, hoping no one would see her. Tears streamed down her face, and her breath came in short, desperate gasps.
Sydney had been kissing it. Sydney had been kissing a Moroi. Had been kissing a vampire.
It was unnatural, and wrong. How could Sydney do that? How could she do something like that without throwing up from how utterly disgusting it was? A human and a vampire. More than that: and Alchemist and a vampire. Sydney, perhaps, could have been forgiven if she hadn't known he was a Moroi, but she knew it all too well.
"Zoe?" The sound of her name being called came from further down the hall, from back towards that thing's room, and she drew her legs tighter to herself, wishing she could become invisible. "Zoe! Zoe, come on, please come out." There was a desperate note in Sydney's voice, but Zoe didn't reply. Couldn't reply. Her throat was too choked up to get any sound out even if she wanted to.
Footsteps approached her, and then Sydney was there. Zoe didn't know how she'd been found, but it didn't change the fact she had been. Sydney's desperate expression melted off her face at the sight of her. The older girl pulled Zoe into a hug that lasted for several long moments. Zoe almost tried to hug her back at times, but then she would remember what she had seen and go limp once more.
"How could you do that?" she cried once she had control of her vocal chords again. "How could you kiss him? A vampire!"
Sydney didn't reply for a time, looking for a suitable answer. "I love him," was her eventual response.
"Love him?" Zoe's voice shook in disbelief. "Love him! But he's a – he's a thing! What if he's compelling you into thinking that?"
"If he has been, he's been doing a very good job," said Sydney, voice dry. "It took me a good two months before I realized what I was feeling, and acted on it. And when I finally stopped lying to myself, I was the one who started it, not him."
"But how? How could you possibly fall in love with one of them?" demanded Zoe.
"Because of a wannabe Strigoi, insane vampire hunters, soul sucking witch and accidentally getting joint custody of a baby dragon." A slight smile tugged at her lips as she recalled the experiences. "Oh, and the old and prestigious club of Alpha Yam Ergo."
"I…" Zoe was lost for words. "What?" she finally settled on as a response.
Sydney shifted so she could wrap her arm around Zoe's shoulder. "I'll tell you our story," she promised Zoe, "but you have to promise not to interrupt, because some things you'll have questions about will be answered a little later in the story, and any other questions you have I can just answer at the end."
"You're not making me promise not to tell anyone?" Zoe had thought for sure that was what Sydney would say. If Zoe had been caught making out with a vampire, that was definitely what she would make any witnesses promise.
"No," said Sydney. "That's your choice. But if you do decide to tell the Alchemists, I'll probably be in a different country before the Alchemists are capable of hunting me down."
"Okay," said Zoe eventually. "Tell me. And I promise I won't interrupt."
Her sister smiled broadly at her, a little bit of hope emerging in her eyes. "Well, it started like this…"
"I can't believe you've been through all that stuff," said Zoe, walking beside Sydney. "I mean, I don't think I ever could have done half the stuff you've done."
"Hey," said Sydney, "you're brave. Braver than me, probably."
Zoe shook her head. "I doubt it. All I've ever wanted to do is impress Dad. But you? You've always had ideas of your own."
"You'll have ideas of your own, too," said Sydney, giving her sister's shoulder a quick, comforting squeeze. "But right now, how about we both just settle for having our ideas?"
Zoe looked at her and smiled. "I think I'd like that."
The girls reached the partially open door of Adrian's apartment. Sydney pushed it open fully and led Zoe inside, allowing her a full look of the room. Adrian hadn't noticed them enter, and was pacing around the lounge room. Sydney cleared her throat loudly.
Adrian swung around at an almost comical speed. The relief on his face almost took Sydney's breath away. He was standing in front of her in an instant, running his hands along her arms as if to check that she was real. Sydney gifted him with a quick, light kiss before turning to Zoe.
"Zoe, meet Adrian, my boyfriend," she said. "And Adrian, meet Zoe, my sister who has very recently been disillusioned with the Alchemists."
"Nothing to do with you, I'm sure," he said. She put on a shocked expression.
"Me? Of course not. I'm a very loyal Alchemist, you see." Zoe giggled at their banter, before her expression grew serious and she fixed Adrian with a stare.
"Do you love her?" asked Zoe. It was something Zoe desperately had to check, to make sure that everything her sister was true.
"With all my heart," replied Adrian simply.
"Do you really have a baby dragon here?" Zoe blurted out the question and then smacked her hands across her mouth like she couldn't believe she'd asked such a thing.
"Oh, yes," said Adrian. "Hopper's in the bedroom, being nice and quiet, for once."
"You've obviously fed him," said Sydney as Adrian went to open the door for the little demon. "What about letting him move around much? Has he been in the cage this whole time?"
"Who do you think I am?" asked the Moroi in mock outrage. "I don't abuse animals! Especially not dragons! Especially not baby dragons!"
"I knew there was a reason I left him here," said Sydney with an approving nod. "He would have been stuck in a rock back at my dorm."
And then the dragon burst out into the room. Zoe stared at it in shock, and he stared at her suspiciously. After a few seconds, Hopper shuffled forwards, snuffling curiously. Zoe bent down to pat its head, cooing over how adorable it was.
Adrian stepped up behind Sydney, wrapping his arms around her waist and settling his chin on her shoulder and kissing her cheek. "You know," he said, "I think I'm going to like your sister."
"Good," said Sydney, turning around in his arms to kiss him fully. "Because she's going to be around a lot."