Molnija sat on the couch, completely at ease, as if she'd sat in front of hundreds of young monarchs who wanted to know what she could do. Anastacia, in full guardian mode, stood behind her, eyes flickering around the room, focusing mainly on the doors but sometimes on the other guardians, as if they posed a threat. Molnija pulled out a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out. She didn't light it, though, nor did she put it to her lips. She watched the cigarette flicker across her fingers, engrossed in the action, waiting for Lissa to make the first move.

"So, Lady Badica, I hear you can use Spirit? And you guardian is shadow-kissed?" Lissa asked finally.

"Mmhmm. But you already knew that, Your Majesty. You've been there, You've done that. You understand the madness that comes with the magic. And now," Molnija looked up from her cigarette, falling eerily still, her sapphire eyes meeting Lissa's pale jade ones, "you know the dangers of that magic without another to diffuse the darkness."

Lissa and Rose both tensed. "What do you know about the bond?" Lissa asked softly.

"Oh, my dearest Queenling, I know a lot about the bond. For one, the bond is not one way. You two simply didn't have it long enough to explore it. And for two, I know that I had become way too unstable to handle the magic I was unconsciously wielding that I killed someone."

Lissa's jaw dropped. "You... what?"

"Oh, she's perfectly fine now, as you can see," Molnija said, gesturing to Anastacia, "but that doesn't mean I wasn't dangerous." Her gaze returned to the cigarette, and she continued to send the cigarette on an obstacle course through her fingers. "You see, Your Majesty, my dear Queenling, we spirit users need a bond, to keep us sane."

"And at the cost of the person you're bonded to?"

"What cost? She doesn't take more than she can handle, and I make sure I heal the darkness out of her fairly regularly. It's easy to do, once you've practiced a few times. And when we're fighting or hunting, and there's no chance of a proper healing along the way, we have plenty of silver." Molnija held up one arm; there were two silver rings on her fingers, an intricate silver bracelet, and several thin silver bangles and clinked together softly as they skittered down her arm.

"How... How dangerous is it?"

"You feel the madness tugging at you now, don't you?" Molnija's voice lost the airiness it had and became all business. "Even if you're on anti-depressants, you feel the madness pulling, tugging, whispering to you. And the magic, just barely out of reach... it's calling to you too. You want to use it, and the urge to use the magic, even at the cost of your own sanity, is tearing you apart."

Lissa couldn't tear her attention away from Molnija's words. She was feeling all those things. "So what do I do?" she whispered.

"I'm not an advisor, my Queen," Molnija said. "I'm not saying you should go out and kill someone, just to bond yourself to them, but..." Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of a bird in the window. "Is that a raven?" she asked softly. Her airy demeanor back, she stood and wandered to the window, sliding it open and letting the bird jump onto her shoulder. She glanced at the bird, then at Lissa, then back to the bird. "But... It seems you have a willing creature to take the darkness," she said in a slightly awed voice. "How... compassionate of you." It didn't sound insulting, not exactly, but it wasn't complementary either. It seemed to be simply a statement of fact.

"I'm not going to kill a bird!" Lissa said sharply, appalled by the idea.

"Who said anything about killing a bird?" Molnija asked, her voice still spacey.

"Lissa," Rose said softly, "that's the raven you healed."

Comprehension dawned in Lissa's eyes.

Anastacia had tensed when Molnija had gone to the window, but relaxed – as much as she could – when Molnija returned to her seat with the raven. "Quite the clever bird... It's been keeping track of you, making sure you didn't do anything drastic."

"What, are you saying you can talk to animals?" Christian said sarcastically.

Molnija shook her head, his sarcasm not registering. "I can... read the birds emotions. Which, by the way, are much more complex than a normal bird's. Probably because of the Spirit."

"So..." Lissa couldn't form the words.

"So, this raven, which I say we should name Nevermore-" the bird let out a cackle-like caw at that- "Still has a bond with you, and is actually very protective of you. He's willing to take the darkness, if you're willing to keep it from driving him insane. He likes being a smart bird, see."

Lissa glanced at Rose. Their thoughts were obvious; they both thought this girl was a little bit crazy. It took Rose by surprise, then, when Dimitri seemed to believe her. "She can't really understand a bird, can she?" Rose asked softly.

"I've seen her do crazier things, Roza," he murmured back.

"So. If the raven-"

"Nevermore."

"If Nevermore is bound to me, then why hasn't he shown himself before?"

"He has," Rose said slowly. "I saw him, after..." she trailed off. "After what happened with Victor."

The room was silent for a while.

"Nevermore was waiting for the right moment," Molnija said slowly. "Having more than one being bound to you at a time can be very dangerous, Avery's proof of that. So he didn't want to interfere with the way things were. They were working, and that's what mattered. But now... with the bond between you and Roza gone... He knew he needed to step up."

The bird nodded sagely, as if agreeing with her.

"And look at him. He's adorable," Molnija added with a smile.

The bird stopped nodding.

Molnija laughed, stretching out her arm. The bird hopped down her arm carefully until he was at her wrist. "Will you accept him?" Molnija said.

Lissa hesitated a moment, then nodded, stretching out her own arm. Nevermore flew from Molnija's wrist to Lissa's arm, alighting as gently as he could. Lissa beamed happily, pulling the bird close to her. "Hello, Nevermore," she murmured. The raven stuck its black tongue out and gave her an awkward bird-kiss.

Lissa let out a tinkling laugh, light and happy.

Molnija smiled warmly. "Now, if you don't mind, my Queen, I need nourishment."

"You still haven't eaten?" Anastacia said sharply.

"We had to come see Vasya!" Molnija responded.

"Was she this impossible as a kid?" Anastacia asked Dimitri.

"Worse, Natsya. Much worse," Dimitri said.

"Way to stick up for me, Dimka," Molnija said in a fake-wounded voice.

Dimitri laughed.

"Hey, Vasya, why don't you join us?" Molnija said. "As a person. Not the queen. It'll be fun. Bring Nevermore." She smiled brightly to Lissa. "We can have a private party! Invite all your friends!"

"Are you mad?" Christian said. "Lissa's the queen. She can just go traipsing about like everyone else."

"Why not?" Lissa's voice was soft. "Why can't I act like everyone else? I'm just eighteen."

"Yeah, Christian. You're all still teens. Have a little fun. I'll go score us some booze." Molnija skipped off.

"Does she do that a lot?" Christian asked.

Both Anastacia and Dimitri nodded.

Party time! These chapters are flowing, like they do when I'm early in the story. When I go back to school, these will slow waaaaaaaaaaaay down. Thanks for reading! Please review!