AN: Working out a timeline for this was rough, okay, but this chapter begins a few days before the start of Shadowkiss. It ends a a few weeks before the start of Blood Promise in canon, because Sydney picks Rose up a lot earlier in the new timeline.
Adrian woke to a very young, very unimpressed Rose Hathaway standing over him.
He groaned, rubbing at his head. "What just happened?"
Rose crossed her arms. "You tell me. We were talking and you keeled over on me." There was some worry in her face, largely hidden behind her show of irritation.
Adrian didn't remember talking to Rose. The last he remembered, he'd been staring into Sydney's rather beautiful eyes, trying to find some not-so-beautiful memories. He had been resting his hand on her temple, and she had leaned into it, having complete faith in him.
Rose had been in the room, but she had been busy with Dimitri at the time. Adrian wasn't sure that the situation could be described as them having a conversation, but if Rose wanted to, he wouldn't protest.
"Where is everyone else?" he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position. Rose raised an eyebrow at him, so he sighed and elaborated: "Sydney. Dimitri. Sonya." Rose's eyebrows had been rising further with every name.
"Sydney? Sonya?" Rose's voice was blank, and her face showed no recognition. Adrian realised suddenly how very young she looked. He had noticed it since he woke up, but it only fully clicked into place then.
"Oh God. What year is it?"
Rose's expression returned to unimpressed. "2006. What the hell, Adrian?"
Adrian scrubbed at his face, blinking away the last of the bleariness. "Can you get Lissa and meet me at my rooms? I think I've done something really crazy with spirit."
There was a knock on the door only five minutes after Adrian found his old accommodations at Saint Vladimir's. He blinked at the door, surprised: he hadn't thought it had taken him that long to find his room.
It was not, however, Rose and Lissa at his door. It was Jill, looking younger than Adrian had ever known her, eyes wide and face pale. She flung her arms around him and clung on.
"What happened, Adrian?" she asked, not moving from her position. Adrian managed to manoeuvre the door shut with one arm and hugged her back with the other.
"Question of the year," he muttered. "How are you – the bond. The bond brought you back with me."
"I woke up in class," explained Jill. "The teacher sent me to the infirmary, but I ran instead. To you."
"We'll figure this out, Jailbait. We might have to let a few people know about the bond, though," he mused. "I already asked Rose to bring Lissa here. They can know the full story."
Jill nodded. "I already saw." She pulled back, finally, but still kept her hands on his shoulders. Adrian, too, found himself reluctant to let go of Jill. She was his only connection to his reality (time?) – the only proof that he hadn't just made up the next seven years, or that he hadn't accidentally dreamed himself back into his memories.
There was another knock on the door, and Adrian and Jill released each other at last so Adrian could open the door for Rose and Lissa. Lissa looked confused and a little worried as she entered the room.
Rose's gaze caught on Jill. "Hello," she said, shooting Adrian a sharp look.
Jill smiled at them, barely disguising the turmoil that Adrian knew was still going on within her. "I'm Jill Mastrano. I'm here for the same reason as Adrian." Lissa glanced between them surprise written all over her face.
"That wording wasn't ambiguous at all, Jailbait," grumbled Adrian. "Now they think you're a spirit user."
"I'm not," Jill clarified immediately. "I specialised in water." To prove her point, she drew some water from Adrian's sink and shaped it into a ball, before letting it spill back into the sink. "Adrian's the spirit user, so he can explain what's going on."
Rose and Lissa turned to him, faces expectant. "Throw me under a bus, fine," he muttered. Jill looked unrepentant, and even smirked at him. "Okay, so. This is going to sound insane. I may have accidentally travelled backwards in time. Jill got pulled back with me because she's bonded to me."
Lissa gaped at him, while Rose snorted. Disbelief was evident on both their faces. "Alright, Adrian," said Rose, crossing her arms and leaning back a little. "I'll bite. How far did you come back?"
"Seven-ish years?" said Jill. She pushed her hair back from her face and glanced over at Adrian uncertainly. "I ran straight here when I woke up. I didn't check any dates, but since Adrian's here on campus…"
"Based off the weather and -" Adrian broke off and glanced at Rose. Jill looked understanding and Lissa and Rose seemed more confused. "Well, I'd say it's probably some time in early spring."
"Oh-kay," said Rose. "Have you two got any evidence?"
Adrian glanced at Jill, who shrugged. He paused for a moment, tapping his fingers against his leg. "Have your field assignments been announced?" he asked. Rose and Lissa both shook their heads in response. "Okay, then. Rose is going to be assigned to Christian, because they wanted you to have experience guarding someone without the bond, I think. Eddie got assigned to Lissa."
Rose actually laughed. "You almost had me going then," she said. "Come on, Liss." Lissa was studying Adrian curiously, and he suspected that she hadn't dismissed him as Rose had. Nonetheless, she still followed Rose out.
Jill sunk down on to Adrian's couch, rubbing at her eyes. "They'll believe you once the assignments come through," she said. "I don't know how we'll convince any of the others, though." Adrian could tell she was thinking of Eddie: twenty minutes ago, he had been her fiancé, and now he was a teenaged stranger to her.
Adrian, meanwhile, thought of Sydney. If he was to somehow run into her tomorrow, she wouldn't even be able to stay in the same room as him. Everything he'd treasured with her for the past five years – their marriage, their son, the life that they had built together – would be an abomination in her eyes. He sat down next to Jill, and she leant against his shoulder.
"We'll get them back," she promised. "We will."
He leant his head on top of hers. "If you say so, Jill."
Rose sat on the bleachers even as the rest of the novices shuffled out, her assignment still ringing in her ears.
Christian Ozera. She was assigned to Christian. Adrian had been right on both counts.
How had Adrian been right?
She leapt to her feet and ran down the stairs, grabbing hold of Dimitri's arm. Alberta gave Dimitri a pitying look as she moved away. Rose ignored her and focused entirely on Dimitri.
"Is there a way Adrian could have known who I was assigned to?" she demanded.
Dimitri blinked. "Adrian Ivashkov?"
"Do you know of any other Adrian's around here?" she exclaimed. She ran a hand through the ends of her ponytail, tugging at it nervously.
"I had responses lined up to every argument you could have made, but I did not expect this," muttered Dimitri. "Not that I'm aware of. The teachers know, but I don't see why any of them would have mentioned it to him."
How was this possible? Spirit could do some insane stuff, but time travel was going a bit further than Rose was willing to accept.
Maybe there was something in the water at the moment. That would explain Adrian's claims and Mason's ghost.
Dimitri's eyes were worried. "What's going on, Rose?"
She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides. "A couple of days ago, Adrian just – passed out. And when he woke up, he was claiming that he'd accidentally travelled back in time. Me being assigned to Christian was the proof he gave."
Dimitri raised an eyebrow. "That seems like a rather – unbelievable – story."
Relief poured through Rose. She hadn't been unreasonable by not believing Adrian. "I know!" she exclaimed. "I know. I didn't believe him at all. He had this girl in on it, too: Jill. But if he got this right…" She wrung her hands together. So much of spirit was still a mystery to them. What if this was possible?
"I don't see how he could have found out, but I'll look into it," promised Dimitri. Rose slumped, feeling some of the anxious energy leave her.
"Thanks, Comrade," she said, trying for a smile. She must have succeeded, because Dimitri's expression eased a little.
"Any time, Rose," he said, softly. She tossed a grin over her shoulder at him as she set out to find Christian.
Rose turned up at Adrian's door, with Lissa, Christian and Eddie in tow four days later. Adrian let them in with a worried glance at Jill, who seemed to be busy attempting to melt into the couch rather than look at Eddie.
"Look, I didn't believe you, but I got Dimitri to check and we can't work out how you could have known about the assignments, so we're willing to hear you out," said Rose. As an after-thought, she added, "I hope you don't mind bringing Eddie and Christian in to this, but he can't leave Lissa and I can't leave Christian at the moment."
Adrian looked at Jill again. Are you ready for this? he thought as loudly as he could. She nodded at him. "Castile's fine," he said to the others. "We were going to bring him in eventually, and what Lissa knows, Christian knows, so."
"Bring us in on what?" asked Eddie, glancing around from him, to Rose and Lissa, to Jill, who couldn't meet his gaze.
"The mysteries of spirit," said Adrian, grandly, waving his hands in a mystical manner. Five years of domesticity had not done away with his love for theatrics; in fact, having to entertain a five-year-old had just made it considerably worse.
Adrian set his jaw, and did not think of Declan.
Christian snorted loudly, and Adrian pointed at him. "Hey, don't knock me before you hear the story." He began to fill Christian and Eddie in on the situation.
After he was finished, Eddie looked to Rose. "Do you believe this?" Rose nodded, albeit reluctantly.
"What do you want to do about it?" asked Lissa. Her gaze was gentle as she looked from Adrian to Jill. Adrian suspected that she was the first to recognise the red rims of Jill's eyes, Adrian's sudden drops into melancholy and depression when he thought of Sydney and Declan.
"We should save what lives we can," said Jill, quietly. "We can warn the guardians about the attack."
"We could work on getting the family law changed earlier, too," said Adrian, thoughtfully.
"No!" Jill's voice was strong, and the other four looked surprised at her ferocity. "If we get it changed any earlier, you won't ever meet Sydney. I survived the last time around. I can do it again."
"You mentioned Sydney when you woke up," noted Rose when he didn't reply immediately. "Who is she?"
"Sydney Sage. My wife," said Adrian, without hesitation. Honestly, it probably would have been smarter if he'd lied. If she and the other three found out that she was a human, without any further knowledge of their relationship, they would probably be disgusted, and he and Jill were going to need as many people on side as they could if they set out to change the future. But Adrian had spent years refusing to be anything but proud about his marriage. No matter what prejudices existed in their world, he knew that what he and Sydney had was special. That wasn't going to change just because he was in the past.
Rose gaped openly. Lissa and Christian were a little more restrained, but still were unable to fully hide their shock. Even if all three had managed to maintain perfect poker faces, he still would have been able to read it in their auras. Eddie reacted the least, which was no surprise: at this point, he and Eddie barely knew each other.
Jill smiled at their reactions, and slid off the couch to stand next to him. She looked brighter, now, and was standing straighter than he'd seen since they arrived back in the past. She still didn't quite look Eddie in the eyes, but her brief outburst seemed to have returned her strength to her. "We should stop the attack," she repeated.
Adrian hummed. "I can talk to my aunt when we go to the trial about getting more guardians posted here," he said, thoughtfully. "Hell if I know how I'll convince her, though."
"What attack?" asked Eddie. He'd shifted into guardian mode at its mention. It was a familiar stance on him.
Adrian and Jill shared a look. "How about we all sit down and we can go through the important points?" he asked. "It's going to be a long afternoon."
"Lissa? I need to talk to you before you go."
Lissa stopped and turned around, casting quick, questioning glances at Christian and Rose as if they might know why Jill wanted to speak to her. Jill brushed a strand of her back out of her face, trying to keep her nerves under control.
She and Lissa had made a lot of progress over the years. They weren't exactly sisterly, even after all this time, but they were friends. Lissa no longer looked at Jill as evidence of her father's infidelity, and Jill no longer looked at Lissa like she was the reason for all the danger Jill had ever been in. Now Jill was back to square one.
"You want me to go, Jailbait?" asked Adrian, who actually did know Jill's reasons.
Jill forced a smile. "I'll be fine." Adrian raised his eyebrows and she nodded, so he followed the others out of the room without further protest.
"What's wrong?" asked Lissa, leaning against the counter. She looked confused and perhaps a little worried. Jill thought worry was probably inevitable when you were asked to have a private conversation with a time traveller.
"You heard Adrian mention changing the family law," started Jill. She paused and took a deep breath. Lissa cocked her head a little, not understanding where Jill was going. "It's an old, archaic law that states there needs to be at least two members to a royal family for a prince or princess to sit on the council or be crowned the monarch."
Lissa's eyes narrowed. Her mouth had opened slightly. "And you said that you survived last time," she said, almost to herself. She took a step back. "No."
"I'm sorry, Lissa. I know this can't be easy to hear."
"My father would never," said Lissa, her pitch rising rapidly. "He loved my mother!"
Jill remained silent. That wasn't something she could explain. She couldn't imagine carrying on affairs behind the back of the one you loved. Jill had never so much as considered cheating on Eddie. However, Eric Dragomir evidently had, as by all accounts, he had been very much in love with Lissa's mother.
"Daniella Ivashkov helped with the cover up," said Jill at last. "You could ask for Adrian's help in getting it out of her." Lissa slumped at Jill's words, the anger going out of her.
"I don't understand how he could have done that," she whispered. Jill didn't think that the words were meant for Jill.
The door was shoved open roughly, and Rose came hurrying through it. She went straight to Lissa's side, wrapping an arm around Lissa's shoulders. "I asked Adrian," said Rose. "He confirmed it."
Lissa looked at Rose, focusing on her face. "You saw?"
Rose nodded. "Sorry. Your emotions were too strong." Lissa nodded and leant her head against Rose's shoulder. "Let's get you out of here," said Rose, casting an apologetic glance at Jill. Jill shrugged in response; it could have gone worse.
Four days later, Adrian first stirred from his bed to the sound of his door being kicked open.
He made no effort to make himself look presentable as he pushed himself up and headed for the door. He had little interest in what was happening, but if a door was being kicked open, it was probably important, right?
He didn't even have time to register what was occurring before a small blur of brown hair had thrown her arms around him. Adrian leaned into Jill's embrace instinctively. She wasn't as tall as she one day would be, so he couldn't rest his head against her shoulder, but he tried to take strength from her.
"Jill said – she said you needed help," said Rose, faintly, and Adrian looked up from Jill and noticed Rose and Christian at last. They both looked alarmed at the state of his appearance.
"You shouldn't be alone today," said Jill in a firm voice. She started to push him towards the couch. "I tried to get in earlier, but you didn't hear me."
"Don't you have classes?" he asked. It was the first thing he had to focus on that wasn't Declan.
Today was Declan's birthday. It wasn't, really, not least because Declan hadn't been born yet – but it was the day they had celebrated it on in an attempt to keep people from suspecting his true heritage.
Declan's birthday was usually spent with Jill, Eddie, Trey, Angeline, Rose, Dimitri, and even Christian and Lissa if it could be pulled off. Declan would wake him and Sydney up at the crack of dawn with demands of presents and cake, bright and bossy in a way that he only was on birthdays and Christmas. Sydney and Adrian always arranged to have the day at home with Declan and the rest of their extended family.
But not today. Today, Adrian was alone. Declan didn't even exist yet. Sydney was still an Alchemist, working a thankless job in Russia, and loathed any and all vampires. Of all their family and friends, some didn't even know Adrian existed, and the others were just – young. Too young.
"Classes can wait," said Jill. She seemed to be making him some kind of warm drink at the counter. "I've already learnt all of this before. It's awful. Now I know how Eddie felt at Amberwood. Not Sydney, though. She was always a nerd." There was fondness in Jill's voice, and Adrian knew that she was trying to make him laugh by rambling and affectionate teasing of Sydney. It might have worked better if Sydney was actually there.
Rose looked sharply over at Jill. Adrian almost winced. He and Jill had decided to remain vague on the details of the others' life stories, but in her quest to cheer Adrian up, Jill had either forgotten or decided to ignore it.
"She reads these kids' history books to Declan for bed time stories," Adrian managed to say. He darkened a little. "Read, I mean."
"Yeah, I remember when she was playing Lego with him and built a Lego Pantheon," said Jill. She handed him a mug of cocoa and sat next to him. Her eyes were wide and worried as she looked at him.
Rose and Christian exchanged a glance and sat down across from them. "Who's Declan?" asked Rose, her voice soft.
"My son," said Adrian, almost too softly to hear. He cleared his throat. "He'd be five today." Well. Five-and-a-half. But no one needed to hear that detail.
"I'm sorry, Adrian," said Christian, quietly. Both he and Rose were looking at Adrian like they were re-evaluating him entirely. Adrian could certainly understand why; it was one thing to be told that Adrian was from the future, but another thing entirely to see the impact that it could have on a person. Not to mention, the Adrian Ivashkov they had known only a week ago had been nowhere near ready for children.
Jill rubbed at his arm, and he slid it around her shoulders. She leant against him with a sigh. "I miss them, too."
Adrian had, to be perfectly honest, forgotten about Rose's ghost-seeing escapades entirely until her migraine on the way to Court. Jill never saw them, seeing as she had never killed anyone (Strigoi or otherwise), so it was an easy thing to slip his mind.
"Rose," he called as the others began to split up for their respective rooms. She looked mildly bemused at the summons but approached anyway. Adrian noticed Dimitri's disapproving stare as he and Rose walked away, and barely resisted laughter.
"What's up?" she asked. She looked better than she had done on the flight: her face was clear and she looked calm, if worried. The Court's wards were working wonders for her.
"The ghosts are real." No point beating around the bush here, Adrian thought.
Rose gaped at him. "How do you know about - " She broke off when he raised his eyes. "Alright, fine. Why can I see him?"
Adrian shrugged. "You're shadow-kissed. You're closer to death than anyone else, even Jill – you only got closer to it after Spokane."
Rose's lips parted slightly as things started to slot into place in her head. "You mentioned that the wards at the academy were weak," she recalled. "That's how he's getting through? So I won't see him while we're here?"
"Nope. There's going to be a storm on the way back and we'll have to land at a human airport, though, and it got really bad there." Adrian rubbed at the back of his neck, remembering it. It had been terrifying: as soon as the plane had touched down, Rose had exploded into screams, and hadn't stopped until she passed out. Nobody had any idea what was happening to her, only adding to the fear. "You might want to prepare yourself for that."
Rose nodded, wiping her hands on her hips. "Can you tell me how the trial will go?" she asked. "Please. It's tomorrow. It's not like you're telling me a big secret from years in the future."
Adrian hesitated, but Rose looked desperate. He hadn't known Rose and Lissa when Victor Dashkov had been stalking Lissa for her powers, but he remembered – and had seen again, over the past week – the effects that it had had on Lissa. On them both, even. "He's found guilty," he said, and Rose heaved a sigh of relief. He decided that it was probably best that he didn't mention that Rose would be breaking him out of prison within the year.
He paused at the thought. Rose might not even have to break him out of prison this time around. All the information that Dashkov had ever given them was safely contained in Adrian's own head, and between himself and Lissa – and eventually, hopefully, Sonya and Nina – they hardly needed Robert Doru.
Rose straightened up. "Thank you, Adrian," she said. She paused for a moment. "You're really different now. You're kind of more – settled, I guess. And you haven't called me little dhampir since you woke up."
Adrian shrugged. "Seven years will do that to a man," he said. "I only called you little dhampir because I liked you, and – well. I'm happily married."
Rose pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Do you think that everything you talked about is still going to happen? Your marriage, and - " she faltered a little. Adrian and Jill had admitted that she, Eddie, Lissa and Christian were all happy in the future, even if they had refused to provide any other details, and it was clear she was thinking of that. "And the other stuff."
Adrian pressed his lips together. "I have to," he said simply.
Adrian had once spent months with an apparition of Aunt Tatiana taunting him, so seeing the real thing for the first time he'd found himself in the past was – difficult.
"Adrian," she greeted, a fond smile curling at her lips. Something ached deep inside Adrian. This was the Tatiana Ivashkov that no one else remembered in his future: the kind, supportive aunt who had loved Adrian more than most in his family.
He wished Sydney was here, even though he doubted that Aunt Tatiana would have ever approved of their relationship. Sydney would have taken his hand and squeezed it, so that he knew he wasn't alone in facing his ghosts.
Instead, it was only Lissa beside him. Well, was going to be beside him; she hadn't arrived yet. Adrian loved Lissa – she was one of his closest friends, both now and in the future. But Lissa had her own problems to be dealing with. He might also have the other Dragomir sister, but that was the kind of support he couldn't appreciate in the moment.
You there, Jailbait? he thought in the general direction of the bond. She was probably in classes back at the Academy, but that didn't mean she was paying attention. There was a good chance Jill had decided Adrian's escapades at Court would be more interesting.
"It's good to see you again," said Adrian, trying at a smile. Based off the worry and surprise that flitted through his aunt's expression, he hadn't succeeded. She probably thought that it was the spirit darkness bothering him. Adrian had actually put himself back on medication as soon as he and Jill realised they had no way back to the future. The emotions roiling inside him were all his own.
Adrian was spared further interaction by a guardian entering with Lissa. The conversation proceeded much as he remembered from the first time round. Adrian let himself drift out, focusing on his aunt.
The phantom of Aunt Tatiana still followed him, occasionally, when he was off his medication. But between the unwavering support of Sydney and Jill, and his regular visits to a therapist whenever he was using spirit, the worst of spirit's effects had been kept at bay.
Seeing the real Tatiana again was something else entirely. The hallucination can't begin to compare. The phantom was a representation of all of sprit's negative effects, focused entirely on Adrian and his insecurities. Aunt Tatiana? She was the queen of the Moroi, and watching her negotiate with Lissa reminded him that the real Tatiana had a good deal more on her plate than just Adrian.
And even when she was dealing with just Adrian, she reacted as she had earlier: with concern and love, not the encouragement of all his worst traits.
Tatiana's conversation with Lissa came to an end, and Aunt Tatiana turned to Adrian as Lissa was ushered towards the door. Lissa shot Adrian a worried, sympathetic glance and he waved her away. He could do this. Priscilla Voda also made her exit, with some of the guardians following her out.
"Now," said Tatiana, "what exactly has gotten into you?" Her posture had relaxed a little, the queen giving way to the concerned aunt.
Adrian smirked bitterly. "It is a very long story, and you wouldn't believe half of it."
Tatiana raised her eyebrows. "Try me."
So Adrian did. The version of the future he told her was heavily edited, making no mention of Sydney or Declan. Adrian had always liked to think that Aunt Tatiana might have approved of his marriage, if only because it made him happy, but it was too big a risk to take. And, unlike with his friends at Saint Vladimir's, Tatiana was more than capable of looking up Sydney's name and discovering the truth.
Instead, he told her of Jill, and how the age law would need to be changed some day, and that Lissa had made a worthy successor. He told her of Dimitri and Sonya and Olive, and the progress they had been making towards a vaccine against Strigoi. He told her of the threats against her, both from the conservative Moroi who had blackmailed her, and from the Tasha and the other radical progressives, who had killed her. Last of all, he told her of the attack on Saint Vladimir's.
When he and Jill had explored the story to Rose, Lissa, Christian and Eddie, they had been constantly interrupted with questions, interjections and snark. There was none of that with Aunt Tatiana. She listened patiently throughout Adrian's explanation, her expression giving little away. Sometimes her eyebrows would rise at some particularly outlandish part, and Adrian had to admit that he'd find some of his stories insane if he hadn't lived them.
Nonetheless, when Adrian came to a stop, Tatiana nodded. "I have already started having some Moroi instructed in self-defence," she admitted. "I struggle to believe that any of them would have revealed their involvement to you, even Daniella."
"So you believe me?" asked Adrian. It kind of felt too easy. At least with everyone else who knew, they'd had first-hand experience with the craziness that was spirit through Lissa. Aunt Tatiana had only ever heard reports of spirit, and he knew that second-hand stories didn't always prepare one for the reality.
"You're many things, Adrian, but you're not delusional and you're not a liar," said Tatiana, briskly. Adrian glanced down. If only she knew. "Now. How do you think we should proceed?"
Adrian allowed himself another five seconds of bewilderment before he pulled himself together. "We need more guardians at the academy, and we need them to be on alert. Lockdown happened pretty quickly, but every second counts."
Tatiana nodded thoughtfully. "That can be arranged. And the wards? Were stakes used, like in the Badica and Drozdov massacres?"
Adrian paused. "No, we never actually found any stakes on the wards. But there was another explanation." He filled her in quickly on Rose's theory about the Mana's initiation ritual. "I've already turned them in, but I don't think we can rely on that to keep the academy safe. With the amount of Strigoi in the attack… They must have been planning it for a while, and they have human servants to piece the wards if needed."
Tatiana nodded again, expression disturbed. "There's little that can be done about that, unfortunately. If anything, it's the Alchemists' responsibility." Adrian kept his face carefully blank at the mention of the Alchemists. "I'll have to speak to the Guardians Council about this. You should see to Vasilisa. I imagine this is a trying time for her."
Adrian tried not to laugh. He'd almost forgotten about his aunt's unsubtle attempts at matchmaking. "I imagine her boyfriend's got that under control." Tatiana tutted as he made his way for the door.
"And Adrian?" said Tatiana, and he glanced back. "I am glad you're okay."
It took two days after the recovery of the bodies for Rose to turn up at his door. It was sooner than last time, he reflected. But when he opened the door, it wasn't to the melancholy, crumbling Rose he remembered last time, but a raging wildfire.
"You," she snarled, pushing her way into the room. Lissa followed, more quietly, looking alarmed. Adrian wondered if this was Rose's first outing since finding out about Dimitri. "You said that we'd be happy! All of us! You said -" Her voice cracked, fury slipping into a desperate sob.
"Rose, you're going to save him," promised Adrian. He spoke quietly, holding his hand out towards her like she was a wild animal.
Another sob racked Rose's body. "I know! I have to. He said that he'd rather be dead than -" She stopped, putting the back of her hand against her mouth as she took three deep, shuddering breaths. "You promised, Adrian, you both did, but now Dimitri's one of them!" The rage was pouring back into her.
Adrian decided to take more drastic action. He grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him straight on. "Rose, you're going to save him. I don't mean kill him. I mean save him."
Rose went very, very still. Lissa was staring at him, eyes wide. "That's impossible," whispered Rose.
"It's not," he promised. "It had happened to at least four people in my timeline. Dimitri was the first. We're getting close to mass producing a vaccine against becoming a Strigoi – were. We were." Rose's mouth had opened into a small 'o'.
"I save him?" she whispered.
"He came looking for you," said Adrian. "You found him in Russia. You never told me what happened there, but whatever it was, you really pissed him off, and he was hunting you down. He took Lissa to get to you, and…" He spread his hands wide. "And a miracle happened."
"We save him," breathed Rose. "How? How is it even possible? How did I even find all of this out?"
"You met a couple in Russia who'd heard stories about it, so you went looking for answers after you graduated," explained Adrian. "Trust me when I say you should be glad you've got me for all the answers here. Victor Dashkov is going to live a long, unhappy life in prison this time round." Rose and Lissa glanced at each other uncertainly, as if they were weighing up Dimitri's soul against Dashkov's freedom. Adrian knew the conclusion they would come to. Neither of them would damn an innocent man – damn Dimitri, who they both cared for in different ways – if it could be helped. It was the same conclusion that they had come to last time. "A spirit user stakes them with a spirit-charmed stake."
Rose flinched. "What? No. Lissa isn't going anywhere near him!"
"Rose," said Lissa, putting a gentle hand on Rose's shoulder. "I did it before, and I lived." She looked over to Adrian. "Can you do it, too? Did you ever turn a Strigoi back?"
Adrian shook his head. "No. Robert Doru and Nina Sinclair are the other two spirit users who have definitely done it. There's at least one other out there, though. We never IDed the spirit user who brought Lee back."
"So I go to Russia, I piss Dimitri off, and he comes after me, and we change him back," muttered Rose, mostly to herself. "Assuming that I'd ever let you put Lissa in danger."
"What if I start training?" Lissa asked Rose. "I'll talk to Eddie. He can train me whenever we have spare time. With you and him and any other guardians we take – Christian, too, even – it wouldn't be so dangerous."
"Dimitri was lethal even as a dhampir," shot back Rose. "Imagine how much worse he's going to be as a Strigoi! A few months – weeks – isn't going to save you."
"Last time, Christian kept him trapped in a ring of flames and Lissa staked him through it," said Adrian. Lissa looked to him, expression and aura lighting up as she considered the possibility. Rose's expression darkened further.
"Stop encouraging her!" snapped Rose.
"I can do this," said Lissa, firmly. "You heard Adrian. They'd almost developed a vaccine! And it all starts with me saving Dimitri. This is bigger than us, Rose. You can't stop me. I'd rather save Dimitri for you first, but I'll lure a Strigoi out myself it I have to."
"The hell you will!" exclaimed Rose. The two were staring at each other, Rose fiercely and Lissa looking calm and resolute. Adrian wondered if Lissa was talking to Rose through the bond, because Rose was visibly weakening. At last, she took a deep breath. "Okay. I go to Russia. I draw Dimitri back to the USA, and we save him."
"We save him," agreed Lissa, and pulled Rose into a hug. Rose accepted it, burying her face in Lissa's shoulder. First there were a few sniffles, and then the dam broke, and Rose was sobbing into Lissa's shoulder. Lissa held her through it all, brushing at Rose's hair. Adrian let them have their privacy, slipping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.
Adrian's phone was flashing when he woke, and a quick glance showed him that he had a message from an unknown number. He checked the text, expecting a wrong number. When he read it, he felt his heart skip a beat.
The center will hold.
There were only two other people who knew what those words meant to him, and Jill wouldn't have sent him this.
He burned to call her, to hear her voice for the first time in over a month. But he didn't know if the text was from a burner phone, or whether she was alone and away from any other Alchemists, so he settled for a return text: Because we are the center.
Sydney was here – well, in Russia. Somehow, she knew that he was also in the past. She must have met Rose, and Rose must have given it away. The details didn't matter. All that mattered was that Sydney Sage-Ivashkov was here in the past.
He heard banging on the door and a shout of "Adrian!" only a few minutes later, and he laughed exuberantly. Jill must have seen it in the bond and ran the entire way here in order to get here that quickly. He opened the door for her. She was beaming from ear to ear. "We have Sydney," she said.
"We have Sydney," he agreed. He scooped her up into a bear hug, spinning her round.
Sydney didn't send a response, so he guessed that she was working on Alchemist phone, and wanted to keep possible condemning evidence to a minimum. Still, he waited by the phone, even as Christian and Lissa arrived for the scheduled Rose call. His phone began ringing halfway into a heated debate between Christian and Jill on the benefits of fire versus water magic. Lissa turned from where she was sitting, expression eager. "Is that Rose?"
Adrian glanced down, feeling a pang of disappointment when he realised it was, in fact, Rose. "Yup," he said, answering the call, placing it on speaker and throwing it on to the table. "Hey, Rose."
"Why didn't you say your wife was a human?" demanded Rose. Adrian winced as he took in Lissa and Christian's expressions.
"You're on speaker, so thanks for that particular reveal," said Adrian.
"She remembers!" said Jill, brightly, leaning on the table so she hovered over the phone. "How's Sydney? Is she there? Is she okay? Have the Alchemists been treating her alright?"
"One question at a time, Jill," said Rose, a smile in her voice, and Jill dimmed a little. "She seems okay, she just left – don't know why – she seems alright, and I have no idea. Did you just say she remembers?"
"I got a text that could only have been from her last night. She has to have had come back with us. We just didn't realise it because she's stationed in Russia," explained Adrian. "Look, I know everyone thinks that vampires and humans mixing is wrong, but Sydney is…" He trailed off. There were so many ways for him to describe Sydney and what she meant to him, but none of them seemed to fully encapsulate the wonder that was Sydney Sage. An old memory came back to him, and he gave a soft smile. "She's my flame in the dark."
Lissa and Christian exchanged a look at Adrian's description. From their expressions, Adrian thought that they were probably having sickly sweet thoughts about how they were each other's flame in the dark. Rose, too, was silent over the phone. He was willing to bet that her line of thoughts was considerably sadder than her bondmate's.
"Are you okay?" asked Lissa, finally. "Have you found him yet?"
"No." Rose's voice was tight, and Lissa looked down, deflated. "I'm moving on from here soon. Sydney gave me a good tip."
"Are you going to tell us where you're going this time?" asked Christian, rubbing at Lissa's shoulders.
"Nope," said Rose, with an audible 'pop'. "I agreed to the phone calls. You're not going to weasel anything else out of me." Rose's trip may have changed dramatically in end goal, but her refusal to give out firm locations had remained the same. Adrian thought that she was probably concerned Lissa would decide to join her in an attempt to restore Dimitri sooner. Lissa looked up, her eyes welling with tears. Like every phone call, Adrian suspected that she was on the verge of begging Rose to come home, but like every phone call, she managed to restrain herself. She understood Rose's mission better this time.
"You're probably going to meet Abe Mazur soon," noted Adrian. He didn't know for certain, but he did know that Sydney was still indebted to him at this point in time, and it made sense that Abe had originally found Rose through Sydney. "He's mostly harmless. Well, when I say harmless, I mean to you."
"Wait. Who's Abe Mazur?" said Rose. Adrian shared a quick glance with Jill.
"A mobster," answered Jill. "He's – he likes you." She shrugged helplessly at the rest of the room. Lissa and Christian looked mildly bewildered at the turn the conversation had taken, while Adrian raised his eyebrows at her for the near-slip. This fell under their relationship spoilers rule, so they'd let Rose found out about her parentage naturally.
"He likes me," repeated Rose, voice sceptical. She clearly didn't believe Jill's explanation, but at this point, she knew not to push it.
Adrian's phone beeped, and he leaned over to check it. It was an unknown number. "Rose, I've got another call coming through. Call Lissa and keep filling everyone in."
"Sure," said Rose, and hung up. Adrian swiped up his phone and hurried out of the room, feeling hope well up in his chest. He answered the phone.
"Adrian," breathed Sydney. "Adrian." The entire world seemed to shrink down to the sound of her voice.
"Sydney," whispered Adrian. "Oh, God. Sage. I've missed you so much."
"I love you," said Sydney, her voice cracking. Adrian longed to be with her, to wrap his arms around her and stop the tears from falling. "I've been trying to hold on to you and Declan, but it's so hard, surrounded by Alchemists."
Adrian formed a fist with his spare hand, and leaned against the wall. "When do you come back to the States? I'll spring you. We can live out all of our escape plans."
"This is one we never thought of. Escape plan four hundred and thirty two: hide out in the past," said Sydney, a bit of humour entering her voice.
"It's flawless," said Adrian, smiling. He felt lighter than he had in over a month.
"I'll be back in the US in about two month," said Sydney. "I take care of Rose on her way to Baia, and Abe will get me posted to New Orleans." Two months, thought Adrian. Two months until he saw Sydney again. He could handle this.
"Do you want to run then, or wait until you can cut a deal with the Alchemists?" asked Adrian. He wanted to see her as soon as possible, but it would be a dangerous life, running from an organisation as powerful as the Alchemists. He couldn't guarantee that his aunt would grant Sydney asylum, and he knew she wouldn't want as the sole human amongst a vampire city, anyway. It was a question that had to be asked.
"Run," said Sydney, decisively. "I can't stand this! I'm walking on eggshells all the time, afraid I've given too much away. I have to bite back every other word. I'm carrying spells in my purse all the time in case I have to run." She took a deep, shaky breath. Adrian's heart constricted at the fear in her voice. "I can't go back to re-education. I can't."
"You won't," promised Adrian. "I'll find you if they get you. I've done it before and I'll do it again if I have to."
"I know," said Sydney, her voice a little stronger. "I love you."
"I love you, too," he said. "That you're here – that you came back with us – it's the greatest thing that's happened to me in a long, long time."
"Yeah? Since when?" asked Sydney. He could hear a smile in her voice and he grinned.
"Since you decided to marry me in the first place, and since Declan," said Adrian, immediately. The silence on the other end of the phone darkened and he half wished he hadn't brought Declan up.
"You said 'us'," said Sydney at last. "Who else came back?"
"Jill," said Adrian. "We think it was the bond."
"Jill," repeated Sydney, voice lightening. "Can I talk to her?"
"Of course," he said, sliding the door open. The phone call in the other room was already winding up, and he waved Jill over easily enough. "I love you, Sage. Two months."
"Two months," agreed Sydney, and he handed the phone over to Jill.
"Sydney!" greeted Jill, her voice bright and excited. Sydney couldn't help but smile, feeling a laugh bubbling up inside her, even as a few tears continued to roll down her face. "I've missed you so much."
"It's good to hear your voice, Jill," said Sydney, wrapping an arm around herself. It was cold out on the street, even in the middle of spring. That was Russia for you. But she had wanted to make this phone call away from Rose's curious eyes, and more than anything, she had wanted to hear Adrian's voice in a place untainted by Alchemists.
"Are you okay? With the Alchemists?" asked Jill, then paused. "This isn't an Alchemist phone, right?"
"No, it's a burner phone," replied Sydney. "I'm fine as I can be. A lot better now that I know you and Adrian are here, too."
"It's good to have you back, too. It's been just me and Adrian, and there are the others, too, but they're so much younger than they were and it's just – I don't know. They're the same, but they're not." Jill sighed. "But you're still you. Adrian's still Adrian. It makes me feel a little less trapped in a world that's not mine, you know?"
Sydney did know, probably better than Jill. Until a few hours ago, she had thought she was the only one trapped in the past. There was that opening line from The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley: "The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there." And while Sydney was literally in a foreign country, the quote still applied. The Alchemists of her future had modernised and progressed considerably from Ivanov and his ilk, and the very fact that she was amongst them – well. That was certainly different.
But Adrian and Jill were hers – her husband and pseudo-sister. She loved them with every fibre of her being. Hearing their voices was like a balm on every battering, every assault on her beliefs that she had endured over the past month and a bit.
"I know," said Sydney. "I'm coming home soon."
"Two months," said Jill, certainly. "Adrian keeps repeating it in his head loud enough for me to hear."
Sydney frowned. "I thought the bond was blocked when he was taking his medication."
"It is, but he had to go off the pills so he could heal people in the attack, and the medication hasn't kicked back in yet," said Jill. Almost as if she was sensing Sydney's worry and disapproval, she hastened to add, "I stayed with him the whole time and pulled him back whenever he was using too much! He got Christian to do the same for Lissa and everything. He's taking precautions. Don't worry."
"So he'll be back on the pills for good now?" asked Sydney. Jill hesitated, and Sydney felt a knot form in her chest. "What?"
"Avery Lazar will be coming soon," admitted Jill. "Adrian's just going to use spirit to block the compulsion. He knows that she's using compulsion, this time, so he thinks he'll be able to block it. I'm to avoid hanging out with them while Avery's around so she doesn't compel me, but if I notice they're acting weird, I tell them immediately."
Sydney bit back a sigh. It was a good plan, as much as she hated to admit it. She didn't know a lot about Avery Lazar, but from what bits she did know, Adrian and Lissa were going to need all the defences they could get. "Just tell him to be careful," she said, voice quiet. "I'm not there to pull him back from the spirit now."
"I know. I'll take good care of him, Sydney," promised Jill.
Sydney gave a small smile. If there was anyone Sydney trusted with her family, it was Jill and Eddie. "I know you will, Jill. I trust you."