Did someone mention quarantine fic? (The title comes from Queen's I Want To Break Free, which also briefly comes up in the fic.)
Of all the things that the Alchemists could possibly have called her and Adrian in for, this wasn't one that Sydney Sage had seen coming.
"We have reports that some of the Moroi rebels are hiding out amongst the Keepers," explained Stanton, placing her file down on the desk.
"What are you waiting for, then?" asked Adrian, leaning forwards. "We send the guardians in, badda-bing, badda-boom, Jill's safe." The idea stirred up mixed feelings in Sydney: she wanted Jill safe – of course she did – but the moment that the rebels were dealt with or the family law was passed, her assignment in Palm Springs would be over, and she would no longer have a reason to be with Adrian and the others.
"It's not that simple, Mr Ivashkov," said Stanton. "We have reports, but no proof. We have no desire to push the Keepers to the rebels if they aren't already there, nor do we want to aggravate them and risk them taking their lifestyle into a more public setting."
"If you don't mind me asking, ma'am, what has this to do wish us?" asked Sydney.
Stanton pursed her lips. "We require someone to go undercover amongst the Keepers," she said tightly. "Someone who has a conceivable reason for abandoning the Moroi in the modern world and joining the Keepers." Her lips thinned even further. "The solution that has been suggested is that a Moroi and a human join the Keepers under the pretence that they have abandoned all morality and are now romantically involved."
Sydney went still. Next to her, Adrian stopped his fidgeting and stared at Stanton with wide eyes.
"You're saying…" Sydney stopped, collected her thoughts and found her words. "You want Adrian and I to go undercover as a romantic couple with the Keepers."
Stanton looked like she had sucked on a sour lemon, but she nodded. "Unfortunately."
"I -" started Sydney, but had no idea how to go on.
"We will all understand if it is too much for you both," Stanton hastened to add. "The Keepers are abomination enough, but pretending to be a part of them is something else. If you cannot do it, then we will find another way forward, and it will not be held against you in any way."
Sydney didn't look at Adrian. If she looked at him, she might give herself away. She didn't want to go to the Keepers. The idea of living amongst the caves for any amount of time was horrifying. The idea of living amongst a culture full of Angelines was even worse. But –
But if she did this, she and Adrian would be able to spend time together, without anyone questioning them. She could kiss him in public, and nobody would care. She could hold his hand and wear his shirts and tell him that she loved him.
And, most importantly, it would keep Jill safe.
Sydney swallowed hard. "If it stops the princess from being harmed, then I have to do it," she said. "That's my assignment. The idea of dating a Moroi is sickening, ma'am, but I've already lived with one. I can handle this if it'll fulfill my assignment."
Stanton looked pained. She had probably been hoping Sydney would come up with a reason to turn it down. "I'll have it all set up for you shortly," she said. "Miss Dawes will be an invaluable source of information for you both until we can get you to West Virginia."
"Of course, ma'am," said Sydney. "We'll speak with her as soon as we make it back to Palm Springs."
"We'll send you further information," said Stanton. "You'll have to create some kind of backstory for yourselves, so that you will give consistent answers if questioned."
"We'll create it in our way back," said Sydney. "We can spend the time between now and beginning the mission memorizing it."
Stanton dismissed them not long after. The moment that they were back in the car, Adrian started laughing. "Quiet," hissed Sydney. "We're not out of here yet." Adrian nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line to contain his laughter. She reversed the Ivashkinator out of the park and made their way out of the Alchemist complex. Adrian remained mercifully quiet until Sydney said, "We're okay now."
"Oh my god," said Adrian, the laughter still in his voice. "The Alchemists just handed a licence to be a couple, Sage. This was not one of the escape plans."
Sydney allowed herself to smile. "I thought we agreed that we had ruled out the Keepers as an escape plan."
"Do you think we get fake names?" asked Adrian. "I want to be Jet Steele. I insist on being Jet Steele." He reached out and tugged lightly at her ponytail, and she batted him away without taking her eyes off the road. "Are you going to be Misty Steele?"
"We won't be married yet," said Sydney.
Adrian huffed. "Who will you be, then?"
Sydney thought about it. "Violet," she decided. "Violet Melrose."
"Purple flower," whispered Adrian.
"I'll still be me," explained Sydney. "Melrose is just as much my family as Sage, and my coven name is Iolanthe, but it's still ordinary enough that no one will think twice about it. I'll be taking Palm Springs with me."
Adrian groaned. "You can't say things like that when I'm not able to kiss you. It's not fair, Sage."
Sydney smiled to herself. "You'll just have to save it for your apartment."
"You're going to stay afterwards?" asked Adrian. "Zoe won't notice?"
"We had to stop for fuel," explained Sydney with a straight face. "And I checked the tire pressure while we were there, which was hopelessly how, so we had to fix that, too. Then you gave me bad directions and got us lost, and I had to stop for coffee, of course, because I couldn't stand being in the car with a vampire for two hours straight." She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Think that'll buy us enough time?"
"Why do I have to be the one that got us lost?" complained Adrian, but he was smiling. "Now, Violet Melrose, my forbidden love, the Juliet to my Romeo, the Guinevere to my Lancelot – actually, no, I'm pretty sure I'm the Guinevere and you're the Lancelot here – however did we fall in love?"
"We met when his guardian called me to get rid of a Strigoi body," explained Sydney to a crowd of Moroi, dhampir and human faces.
"It was the first time I'd met a human that knew about us," chimed in Adrian. "I wanted to know more about her and the Alchemists, and -"
"I wanted to know more about the Moroi," said Sydney. "I went into it thinking it was going to be like a science experiment, but instead…" She trailed off, reaching out to take Adrian's hand and smiling up at him softly. "I realised that everything the Alchemists had told us about the Moroi were wrong. That there wasn't really any difference between them and us, and that I could fall in love with a Moroi just as easily as I could with a human."
They had practiced the story a dozen times over the past week. They had had plenty of opportunity on the long drive to West Virginia. This particular group of Keepers lived nestled in the Appalachian mountain range. This wasn't Angeline's village – something that had disappointed the girl immensely – but was about two hours' drive away: close enough that the villages had contact, but far enough that they generally didn't get visitors too often. That was for the best – Angeline's family would remember Sydney from last summer.
"We knew we couldn't stay," said Adrian. "Neither of our kinds would have understood. The Alchemists would have kidnapped Sydney, if they knew. Sydney suggested the Keepers, and -" He shrugged, spreading his hands out. "Here we are."
"Here we are," echoed Sydney. It was still weird to look at Adrian. He had dyed his hair black for the mission, since he risked being too recognisable to any rebels they came across. Both he and Sydney were wearing charmed spirit rings, shifting their features just a little, though both were able to see through each other's.
The leader, Andrei, squinted at them suspiciously. "Kiss," he ordered.
"What?" sputtered Sydney.
"The Tainted and the lily-people would never kiss each other," said Andrei. "If you're truly leaving them, then this should not be a problem."
Adrian shrugged at her helplessly. "You up for some PDA, Violet?"
Not particularly. Even if she hadn't spent the past month and a half keeping her relationship with Adrian secret, Sydney Sage still wasn't one for kissing in public. Well, maybe a chaste kiss, but that probably wasn't what Andrei was looking for.
Still. It's for Jill, she reminded herself. Adrian's lips brushed against hers, only barely, seeking permission. She pressed herself upwards, against him, pulling him deeper into the kiss. She let go of his hand to rest it on the back of his neck, while his went to the small of her back, the pressure of his hands sending shockwaves through skin even through the layers of clothes.
When Adrian pulled away, he looked thoroughly kissed, which only made her want to kiss him again – when they had some privacy, naturally. Sydney turned back to the Keepers. Most of them had averted their eyes at some point through the show. "Enough?" she asked.
"Enough," agreed Andrei. He gestured for them to follow him up a narrow path in the trees. It reminded her of Angeline's village, using the forests of Appalachia to hide them from Moroi and humans alike.
"I swear I've seen this in a horror movie," Adrian breathed in her ear. Sydney hushed him, trying to keep herself from laughing. He took her hand again as they were led through the woods, warm and comforting.
They could do this.
They got given their own cave. There wasn't anything in the cave, of course, but at least they had privacy. Someone had rustled up blankets and pillows for them, which was something. Sydney and Adrian had already brought with them sleeping bags and as many layers as they could, so they weren't too worried about the cold, but the blankets would at least give them something to make the ground a little more bearable.
"Wait, wait, wait," Adrian said at the entrance.
"What?" asked Sydney. There was a worryingly mischievous glint in his eyes. Instead of answering, Adrian scooped her up into his arms, making her shriek in surprise. "What are you doing?"
"It's tradition," said Adrian, carrying her forward, into the cave. "We don't really have a threshold, but…" Once they were a suitable distance into the cave, he set her back down.
"Very gallant," said Sydney, patting his chest. She looked around the sparse cave. "We'll have to make our furniture ourselves."
Adrian looked down at his hands mournfully. "So much for these hands don't do manual labour."
She took his hands, leaning in closer and lowering her voice. "Hopefully, we won't be here for too long." She glanced around, then added, "Though maybe we should work on a bed."
"Do you think any earth users could help us out with that?" asked Adrian hopefully. "Maybe I could help there…"
Sydney narrowed her eyes at him. "No spirit, remember?"
It wasn't even because Sydney was nervous about what it would do to him. It was a part of their disguises: Han Steele (the best they had been able to talk him down to) was not a spirit user. Spirit users was rare, after all. Han Steele was a common Moroi who used air. Adrian had been inspired by Avery Lazar for that ("The only helpful thing she ever did," he had muttered).
"I remember," sighed Adrian. "When do you think we'll be able to head to Rubysville?"
Sydney hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. We don't want them to think that we're going to bail out for modern amenities, or anything. But we need to talk to Stanton." And to Jill. If they timed their trips right, they should be able to catch the group back at Palm Springs after classes ended. Outside the cave, the sun was just beginning to creep above the horizon, golden fingers stretching through an orange and purple sky.
Adrian nudged her. "We should get some sleep, Sage." They had pulled an all-nighter on the way to West Virginia in an attempt to get on the Keepers' schedule.
"Relieved to be nocturnal again?" asked Sydney, placing her bag up against the cave wall and fishing out her sleeping bag.
"Not if it means living with the banjo club," said Adrian. "Hey." He took her sleeping bag from her before she had a chance to slip into it. He unzipped it then spread it across the makeshift mattress of blankets like it was a comforter. "You ready to spend our first night together, Sage?"
Sydney stared at him for a moment before a smile stretched across her face. She was going to spend the night with Adrian. She was going to wake up beside him, and she would eat breakfast with him, and then she would go outside the cave and be surrounded by people who wouldn't think it strange or disgusting if she held his hand.
For these next few weeks, Sydney would be able to be with Adrian. He would be her boyfriend, not her dirty little secret. He would be hers.
She nodded, blinking rapidly to get rid of the sudden onslaught of tears. She took his hand and tugged him into the bed, settling on her side and feeling him wrap his arms around her. His breath was warm against her shoulder, reminding her this wasn't a dream.
Suddenly, she didn't want to leave.
"One day," said Adrian, "we're going to have an apartment in Rome, with a balcony that gives us a view of the Colosseum. You'll work at some world-class museum, and I'll sell art to rich tourists on the street. The Pope will walk past one day, and he'll look at my work, and he'll say that Michelangelo has nothing on me, and that I have to repaint the Sistene Chapel, and we'll be rich and comfortable and no one will ever bother us again."
"And Jill and Eddie and Angeline will be able to visit us all the time," added Sydney. "And my sisters and mother will all approve, they will, too. And all our furniture will be yellow."
"Yellow?" echoed Adrian.
Sydney laughed. "Come on. Your furniture, the Mustang?"
"The furniture was a coincidence," said Adrian. "But I, uh – I actually got a yellow Mustang because it reminded me of your aura."
Sydney twisted in his arms to look at him. He looked thoroughly sheepish. "Oh, Adrian," she said, brushing a quick kiss to his cheekbone – the only part of him she could actually reach.
"We can get yellow furniture if you want," said Adrian. "But honestly, I think we should be going for purple."
It took another three days for them to make it to Rubysville, and that was because Sydney had been ready to have a break down if she didn't get any coffee soon.
They settled in at Rubysville's only café. Sydney had brought her laptop with her, and though it had long since run out of power, there was wifi and a power point in the café to use. It was four in the afternoon, just after classes back at Amberwood.
Jill was the one to answer the phone. "It's Adrian and Sydney," she called to the others. Her face filled up the screen, grinning brilliantly at them. "How are the Keepers? Have you found anything yet?" By the time she had finished her question, Eddie and Angeline had both appeared at her shoulders, with Zoe hovering just behind.
"The Keepers are fine," said Sydney. "They're welcoming and seem to believe us."
"Actually," said Adrian, "I think they might have decided we're married." The expressions of the Amberwood group were amusing to watch: Eddie smirked, Jill snorted with laughter, Angeline nodded like it was to be expected, and Zoe's face twisted in horror.
"Fleeing the Alchemists and the Tainted would be enough to say you've fought each other's families," explained Angeline sagely.
"There's no sign of the rebels yet, Jill," said Sydney. "But we haven't been here long enough for that to mean that there's no connection. The Keepers don't really know us, and our intel has always said that the rebels drop in and out of the Keepers."
Jill sighed. "I miss you guys."
"I miss you, too," said Adrian, because Sydney couldn't say anything while Zoe was listening.
"How are the feedings going?" asked Sydney. "Is everything running smoothly still? No problems at the school?"
"Everything's going fine," said Eddie with a smile.
"And no one's touched the Mustang?" asked Sydney.
Jill and Eddie both smirked, while Zoe and Angeline both looked thoroughly put out. "Despite complaints, the keys have remained safely in my possession," said Eddie. "Despite some people wanting otherwise." He looked at Zoe and Angeline pointedly.
"It's a classic Mustang!" burst out Zoe. "I just wanted to sit in in, I swear," she added to Sydney.
Adrian's lips were pressed together, a tell-tale sign that he was suppressing laughter. "Unless you've got a manual licence, no one is allowed near the Mustang," said Sydney sternly. Zoe dropped her head, but Angeline just looked mutinous.
They spent another hour talking to the people they had left behind and updating Stanton, until they were kicked out of the café at closing time. The night was beginning to encroach on them, and Sydney knew they should be heading back for the safety of the Keepers' compound, but she couldn't bring herself to leave civilisation just yet.
Adrian nudged her. "Want some ice cream?" he asked, nodding at the ice cream parlour in question.
"It's February," said Sydney. "There is literally snow on the ground, Adrian."
Adrian waggled his eyebrows. "Best time to get ice cream."
"In the snow," said Sydney flatly.
"Can't melt," said Adrian, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Fine," said Sydney, drawing the word out. Adrian's face lit up and he dragged her over to the ice cream parlour. She couldn't suppress her laughter or the bubbly feeling welling up inside her. There was no praline pecan at the parlour, but Adrian got himself a double scoop of chocolate, and Sydney got a scoop of pomegranate.
"Do you know when the last time I actually ate ice cream was, before I met you?" asked Sydney, after savouring the first lick of her ice cream.
Adrian cocked his head. "When?"
"Never." Adrian's head reared up from where he had been licking his ice cream, staring at her in horror. Sydney laughed. "Okay, not never. I had it when I was a kid. There was a restaurant near where we lived in Utah that had praline pecan ice cream – but as I got older, my father kept expecting me to look as good as a Moroi, and I just stopped." She smiled sadly, looking down. "I remember visiting Carly at college, just me and Mum and Zoe, and Carly took us all to get ice cream and I didn't have any. Carly told me I had to stop putting so much weight on what our father said, but it took…" She shook her head. "It took till meeting you and Jill and the others that I actually started to believe that my father was wrong."
Adrian took her hand. "Jared Sage," he declared, "is a dick." Sydney snorted at his blunt words. "Seriously, Sage," he added. "I can't believe that anyone could look at you – or Zoe, as much of a pain in the ass she can be – and think that you are not enough." He lowered his ice cream to look at her closely. "You're perfect, Sage. You're strong and smart and beautiful and incredibly badass, and anyone who can't see that is an idiot."
Sydney leant up and kissed him sweetly. He tasted of chocolate. "You're not so bad yourself," said Sydney.
"Course I am," said Adrian. "I was born amazing, just like you."
Alchemist drop-offs were still an issue.
Stephen Bentley, the Alchemist assigned to the area, knew who Sydney and Adrian were, and knew what they were up to. That didn't mean that they could be too forward with their affection while he was there. After all, Sydney and Adrian still needed to convince the Alchemists that this was a terrible, abominable task that they had been given, something that disgusted them down to the core. They also needed to convince the Keepers nothing weird was going on. There wasn't much of a middle ground for them to exist in.
It didn't help that the Keepers were far too eager to help protect Sydney, making it difficult for either Sydney or Adrian to get a report to Bentley. Sofia, Andrei's daughter, had bought Sydney foundation and concealer from Rubysville, and had gleefully caked it on in an attempt to cover up the golden lily on her cheek. There was constantly someone needing Sydney or Bentley's attention, too, keeping them from ever coming into too-close contact.
Bentley was still there when the fire was started that night, and was shepherded to the other side of the fire by Andrei and Sofia. Sydney could still see him through the flames, though he rarely looked too closely at her.
Adrian sat beside her, close but not quite touching. He hadn't touched her since Bentley had arrived in the camp, and she missed him. Ramona and Paul, a human and Moroi couple, were singing, and most of the Keepers were keeping the beat for them absent-mindedly, tapping their toes or humming along. Sydney tried to concentrate on the lyrics.
"Do you know Romanian?" asked Adrian.
Sydney shook her head. "I know Latin, though, and Romanian is Latin-based, so I can pick up bits of it." She cocked her head. "Do you?"
Adrian nodded. "My family is Russian, but the royal court was in Romania until A – Tatiana moved it," he explained. "It was my parents' first language."
"I didn't know you were bilingual," said Sydney.
He waved his fingers at her. "I'm full of surprises."
She shifted slightly closer. "What about the others? Are any of them bilingual?"
Adrian frowned for half a moment, thinking. "Castile's not. I think Jill's learning Russian now, but she's only fluent in English. And I have no idea about Angeline or English."
"I know English, Russian, Latin, Japanese and Mandarin," said Sydney, ticking the languages off on her fingers. "I learnt Latin to make it easier to pick up any of the Romance languages if I'm sent to France, or Spain, or somewhere. I learnt Russian because I was going there for my internship and to make it easier to learn any Slavic language. Between those two, I had most of Europe covered, except the Germanic languages. And Japanese and Mandarin were just because Japan and China are the Asian countries I'm most likely to get sent to."
"Nerd," said Adrian, but he was smiling.
Ramona and Paul were wrapping up their song to much applause. Ramona turned to Adrian and Sydney and said, "I think the newcomers should give us a song."
Sydney's eyes widened. Across the circle, Andrei was shaking his head to put a stop to it, but the call had gone up around the fire. "Han and Violet, Han and Violet!"
"I've got this," Adrian told her, hauling himself to his feet.
Sydney recognised the song the moment that Adrian started singing and almost started laughing. Something had come out of his record haul, apparently. To her surprise, some of the Keepers recognised it, too, and were drumming the beat against their knees or on to the wooden benches.
"I want to break free," sung Adrian. He was clearly taking inspiration from Freddie Mercury, with large, flamboyant gestures. Then came the second verse: "I've fallen in love," sung Adrian, pointing at Sydney. "I've fallen in love for the first time. This time I know it's for real." He approached her as he sung, and when he stopped in front of her, she smiled, shaking her head, as she took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and spun her around. Her hair spun out around her as she did. It had gotten longer during their time in Palm Springs, but Adrian still managed to dodge getting whipped by her hair.
Adrian came to the end of the next chorus and paused. "Okay, now there's an instrumental bit, and I don't know what to do now."
"You didn't think this one through," said Sydney.
"Not really, no," said Adrian. "You know what would have made this epic, though? If I did it in drag, like in the music video. I could have been Freddie Mercury, S – Violet. It would have been incredible."
The Keepers had started applauding, and Adrian turned and lifted her hand into the air, then bowed. She risked a quick glance at Bentley, who was watching them – hard not to, with the show Adrian had put on – and she quickly retrieved her hand from Adrian.
Andrei said something to Bentley, making him look away from Sydney. Sydney quickly stumbled back out of the firelight, passing the benches and staring out into the trees. Adrian followed her out of the circle.
"That wasn't too much, was it?" said Adrian.
"I don't think so," said Sydney. "We didn't do anything, after all. Just danced."
"He'll be gone soon," promised Adrian. "And, you know, we didn't have to update Bentley. It would just be a little more convenient if we did. We can go back to our cave right now."
Sydney smiled. "I can't believe you just said 'our cave'."
"I know," said Adrian mournfully. "How the mighty have fallen." Sydney took his hand, leading him back to their mountain home.
The moment that they were alone, back in their cave, Sydney pulled him down to her. He responded immediately, his hand tangling into her hair and his lips opening under hers. She kissed him fiercely. When she finally pulled away, they were both out of breath.
"What was that for?" asked Adrian. "Not that I'm complaining. I could never complain about making out with you."
"I couldn't touch you today," said Sydney. "I had to pretend for that Alchemist, and I don't want have to do that again, Adrian. I've been spoiled, being here, being with you. I don't know how I'm going to go back to Amberwood and listen to Zoe spouting Alchemist propaganda all day."
"Hey," said Adrian, resting his forehead against hers. "There are good parts to Amberwood. Jill. Castile. Jackie. Running water." Sydney huffed out a laugh. "But as soon as Jill's safe, we'll go. Escape plan fifty-two: we follow Robin Hood across the border, get your tattoo sealed, and live on the beach drinking margaritas and eating tacos."
"I love you," said Sydney. "I love you so much, Adrian. I want to be able to wake up next to you every day for the rest of my life. I want to be able to hold your hand and to kiss you in public, not just in the backwoods of West Virginia."
"We'll get there," promised Adrian. "We'll make it. We're unbreakable, you and me."
Sydney joined Sofia and Ramona at the Rubysville farmer's market the next weekend. It was a relief to get back into Rubysville, and Adrian was using the quiet back in the village to take a poke around. If everything went well, she and Adrian could leave soon.
She ducked into the café first thing to get herself a coffee. The coffee wasn't great, but she supposed it didn't have a lot of competition. She really missed Spencer's.
She came back out of the café to find Ramona chatting to a tall man at their stall. Sydney hesitated, recognising the figure. Ramona shifted, putting her weight on her back foot, and spotted Sydney. "Hey, Violet!" she called. "Come meet Raymond!"
Raymond Dawes, Angeline's father. Somewhere around here, the farmer's market had to have a stall from Angeline's village. Sydney had stayed with Raymond briefly the summer before, with Rose and Dimitri. He recognised her, squinting at her in confusion.
"Mr Dawes," said Sydney politely, knowing there was no way to deny the connection entirely. "Violet Melrose. We met last July."
Raymond's forehead smoothed. "Lily-girl," he said. "You were with the Queen-killer."
God, Rose would not be pleased to hear she was still getting called a Queen killer, even if it was just among the Keepers. Sydney kept smiling.
Ramona glanced between them curiously. "You two know each other?"
Sydney flushed. "I haven't told Han yet," she said to Ramona. "Last summer, when the Tainted Queen was killed, I helped the killer get away from the authorities and brought her to the Keepers to be kept safe."
Raymond nodded. "We were very honoured," he said solemnly. "Rose even returned and took my daughter to be trained."
"I didn't know how to tell Han when all of this started," continued Sydney. "And I… still haven't told him. Please, keep quiet until I can work out a way to tell him."
"You shouldn't have married him without telling him," said Ramona disapprovingly.
"We're not – I'll tell him," she promised, deciding that protesting their marriage wouldn't be the best tactic. "But it should come from me."
Sofia finished with her customer and joined them, slinging an arm around Sydney's shoulders. "Hey, Raymond," she said. "How's the family?"
"Violet knows Raymond," said Ramona, before Raymond could even start responding. "She helped to shelter the one who killed the Tainted Queen!"
Sofia cocked her head. "I thought you were stationed in Portland in the summer."
"I was," said Sydney, desperately searching for an excuse. She decided to mix a bit of truth in. "I had my internship in Russia, where I met Rose Hathaway. When she was accused of killing the Queen, she contacted me for help, and I left to join her."
"She hasn't told Han yet," Ramona added.
"That's awesome," said Sofia. "You should have brought her to us!"
"We did a perfectly good job of hosting her," said Raymond, stiffly. Oh, God, thought Sydney. I hope I haven't started a tiff. That would be quite the headache for the Alchemists. Though maybe she and Adrian could instigate one of their escape plans while the Alchemists were distracted…
"Raymond's village was one of the only ones I knew the location of," intervened Sydney. "I couldn't go back there, though, because the Alchemists knew I had been there once, and I thought they might look there for me."
Sofia squeezed her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you."
The rest of the farmers' market passed without incident, but Sydney couldn't stop fretting about the mix up in their story. All it would take was for Raymond or one of his family members to remember her name, and it would be over. They wouldn't find the rebels.
She found Adrian the moment that they arrived back at the compound. She grabbed his hand and led him out of hearing distance of the others. "I need to tell you something," she hissed.
"Sage…" Adrian looked at her seriously. "The rebels are here." Sydney forgot all about Raymond, whirling around to inspect the people in the village. There wasn't anyone she didn't recognise. "They're in Andrei's house," said Adrian. "They should be at the fire tonight."
They waited it out in their cave, going over plan after plan. There wasn't any way to arrest them right now, but they needed confirmation to notify the Alchemists and guardians. There was no way that the rebels would recognise Adrian, not with the rings. They were just another human and another Moroi, trying to find a way to be together, not a close friend of the Queen and bond mate of the princess, and not an Alchemist who had taken the princess as a surrogate sister.
There were two rebels. A Moroi man, minor royal, and his Moroi bodyguard. Adrian hadn't heard of either of them, but that didn't necessarily mean anything: there were many royals, and from what Adrian had overheard, it had sounded like both were born and raised in Russia.
"I just still can't believe it," said Adrian, leaning against the cave wall, his fists clenched. "If they had been able to see her, still on the ground, her blood staining the carpet -"
"She's okay," said Sydney softly. "You saved her, Adrian. She's in the dorms, with Eddie, and Angeline, and Neil and Trey. She's probably daydreaming in geography at the moment, missing the two of us."
Adrian closed his eyes, his head dropping backwards against the wall. "There were those days when Rose was in a coma, and the bond broke for her and Lissa. There were elections, and Tasha Ozera was arrested, but Lissa could barely do anything, because this part of her had snapped in half. And Rose lived."
"So will Jill," said Sydney firmly. "These people out there are bad people, who don't want to give up their privileges and want to force other people to die for them. But if they were masterminds, then they wouldn't be on the wrong side of the country, about to get arrested by the guardians."
Adrian reached out and grabbed her hand, dragging her close. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her forehead. Sydney kissed his collarbone. "I love you," he whispered. "You are the sun and stars, lighting up the night sky."
"Your flame in the dark," said Sydney. She drew back just enough that she could look him in the eyes, deep green and tender. "I love you, Adrian. You changed my entire life and filled it with colour. Escape plan three hundred and twenty-two: we take Jill and we go far, far away until we're all safe."
When the dusk gave way to a dark sky, they made their way back out to the firepit, hand in hand. It was going to be their last night together, and even if there were rebels in the camp, Sydney wasn't going to waste their last night together. Sydney slipped under Adrian's arm just as the fire started to light their faces, the warmth of the bonfire reaching them. She settled into his side, reaching up with her hand to take the one that was resting on her shoulder.
Sofia spotted them as they approached and waved them over. She was standing with the Moroi bodyguard and Paul. "Hey, Violet! Han!"
Sydney shared a quick look with Adrian, squeezing his hand. "What's up, Sofia?" asked Adrian.
"This is Sasha," said Sofia, gesturing to the Moroi bodyguard. "He's like you, on the run from the rest of the Moroi world."
Sydney tilted her head, inspecting the Moroi. He wasn't as well-built as any dhampir she knew, but he was still more muscled than any Moroi she had met. "Have you got an Alchemist girlfriend hiding around here, too?"
Sasha gaped at them. "No. That's – you came out here for this?"
Adrian narrowed his eyes at Sasha. "Yeah. What are you here for?"
"I'm - " He gaped at them for another moment before recovering. "I guard Lord Lazar because there aren't enough guardians for him to be protected."
"And I'm guessing he doesn't have a human girlfriend, either," prompted Sydney.
"Nobody has a human girlfriend," said Sasha.
"Andrei does," said Sydney, a picture of beneficence. "Or wife, I suppose. And there's Paul and Ramona." She nodded at Paul, who was clutching his cup more tightly than he had a moment ago and was glaring at Sasha. Adrian squeezed her fingers lightly: easy, girl.
"We're not here to start a fight," said Adrian, raising his free arm to show he meant no harm. "It's just weird. We'd never heard of anyone joining the Keepers before this. Hell, I didn't know the Keepers existed, till Violet clued me in."
Sasha pursed his lips. "We just don't agree with the current government, that's all." Sydney did not react to that. Violet Melrose didn't have any particular interest in Moroi politics, after all.
Sofia snorted. "Who doesn't?" The conversation moved on, and Sydney and Adrian moved on with it. They didn't pay any special attention to Sasha or to his Lazar charge.
It was when the fire was burning lower, and more and more Keepers moved off to tend to their animals or maintain their homes, that they got to talk to Lazar. He sat down next to them on the wooden benches, leaning in close. "I hear that you're on the run from the Council and the Alchemists."
Sydney tightened her grip on Adrian's hand, safely out of sight between their legs. "What's it to you?"
"We're looking to change the government," said Lazar. "Alchemist resources would be appreciated. If you can get us what we need, then we can make sure you go unbothered afterwards."
There. That was all they needed. The wire Sydney had hidden under her jumper just before they left the cave would have picked up his voice, and the guardians had the evidence they needed to take him into custody. Jill was safe, and if Sydney had to guess, they didn't know where she was in the first place.
"What do you want to know?" asked Sydney, keeping her voice cautious.
"We're looking for someone," said Lazar. "Someone we think that the Alchemists have hidden."
Adrian's fingers were growing tighter and tighter around Sydney's, almost painful. She stroked the palm of his hand with her thumb. "Talk to us more tomorrow," said Sydney. "I might be able to get something for you." Andrei called Lazar's name. When he was gone, Sydney leant closer to Adrian and whispered, "Do you want to wait till dawn, or go now?"
"Now," said Adrian, decisively. "Let's get these assholes."
Sydney nodded. "Give me one second." She stood up, walking over to refill her glass of water. She passed Andrei and Lazar on the way, and whispered an incantation under her breath, jabbing her finger at Lazar. She refilled her cup and drank it all down, before leaving her cup behind and walking back to Adrian. "Let's go before I pass out."
"What did you do?" asked Adrian.
"He's going to be sick for the next few days," said Sydney. "Violently so."
Adrian stared in amazement. "God, I love you."
Sydney smiled, and tweaked his nose. "I know."
As nice as the past two weeks had been, Sydney's heart sung as the familiar buildings of Palm Springs came into view. It was Wednesday afternoon, so their first stop wasn't Adrian's apartment or Amberwood, but Clarence's house. She pulled neatly into the driveway, parking just behind the Mustang. Just as Sydney turned the engine off, the door to Clarence's flew open and Jill poured out, running across the grass and throwing herself into Adrian's arms, who only just got himself out of the car in time.
"You're back!" exclaimed Jill. "God, that was weird, being away from you for two weeks. Let's not do that again for a while."
"I promise I won't leave you behind again," said Adrian, dropping a kiss to her forehead.
Jill's greeting had been so exuberant that Sydney hadn't even noticed the others leaving the house until Zoe ploughed into her, hugging her around the waist. "Hey!" exclaimed Sydney, stumbling at the force of her sister's hug. "I missed you, too, Zo."
"Here's the car keys," said Eddie, tossing them to Adrian. "Zoe stole them once, but she didn't get far." Sydney raised her eyebrows and looked at Zoe pointedly.
Zoe huffed. "It's a Mustang," she said. "Like you wouldn't have."
"There's not a scratch on it," said Eddie, a mite triumphantly. "Oh, ye of little faith."
When Jill let go of Adrian, Angeline slung an arm around Jill's shoulders, questioning Adrian eagerly about the Keepers. Neil was waiting by the door to the house, watching the reunion with amused fondness.
God, she had missed them. She had missed all of her Melrose family so much. The Palm Springs job wasn't going to last forever, but she was going to keep them. No matter what came next, no matter what escape plan she and Adrian came up with, they were going to stay in her life forever.
Adrian looked at her over the top of the car, past Jill and Angeline. He winked at her.
And him. She was absolutely going to keep him.