A/N: First of all I just want to say thank you so so so so so SO much to everyone who has reviewed this story your feedback means so much to me I just can't even
Second of all: To spaztronaut, that's bananay! I'd love for you to post it somewhere so I could read it and feel the roseception! (and thank you for the lovely review btw it means so much as I adore your writings as well!)
To greeneyes, dskjfhlsdfkjgshfkjdhkjghkjfh what is with all this psychic connection right now? It's so weird that you say that because I swear I already had something sort of similar planned, as you will *kind of* see in upcoming chapters
Third of all: I want to apologize in advance for this chapter because this story is meant to be fluffy and light-hearted (or at least it wAS i don't know what happened but there is quite an angsty piece here and I hope no one is too upset by it, I PROMISE this isn't the end, obvs, and the ending will be so fluffy it will *hopefully* make up for this one. I swear on everything this story is almost over, I feel bad like I'm dragging it out too much but I just had a really distinct idea in my head and it's gonna kill me if I don't get it all out. Literally there's only going to be two more chapters tops, if that. Okay that's all.
"No no, let me tell this part!" Lissa yelled over Adrian as she, Christian, Rose, Dimitri, and Sydney were all scattered around the floor of Lissa's enormous suite. They'd been like this for hours, trading stories and drinking. Ties had been flung carelessly about the room, and Sydney sat sprawled in Adrian's lap, hugging his suit jacket around her like a baby blanket. One of his hands was wrapped around her waist, one was clutched lazily around the neck of a half empty wine bottle that he was drinking by himself. Sydney was still tentatively sipping on her second glass of champagne.
It was all so surreal to Sydney. This time last year she didn't even have any friends around her age, or any friends at all, really. She had always prided herself on her independence but there were so many nights she spent sitting alone in her room, wondering what it would be like to be a like a normal girl her age. A girl with friends, a girl who went out with said friends and had fun. A girl who people didn't automatically write off at the boring, stuck up, know it all. She knew that was how she came across to most people, but there wasn't much she could do about it. It wasn't as if there were many opportunities to make friends during her time she was home-schooled, and even if there had been, it wasn't as if she could have made lasting relationships with them. In the end she'd always known she'd have to commit herself completely to the Alchemists, and that was her lot in life. Besides, she liked herself the way she was...well, for the most part, anyway. She didn't want to have to dumb herself down or pretend to not like the things she did just to get people to like her. She'd take loneliness over compromising herself any day.
But here she was now, in a room full of people who seemed to like her the way she was, with a handsome boy's warm arm wrapped around her waist, holding her like she was something special. It was unnervingly ironic that the first people in her life to treat her like she was a real person, not just an expendable cog in a machine, were a gang of "evil creatures of the night". If past Sydney could see herself now, she'd probably go into cardiac arrest on the spot. Fraternizing with vampires? Drinking alcohol? Laughing? The horror! But right now all Sydney could think of was the overwhelming sense of feeling like she belonged.
"Sydney...Sydney, are you listening?!" Lissa's voice broke through her thoughts. Sydney snapped to attention, nodding her head. "I'm listening."
"Okay so anyway," Lissa continued animatedly, "it turns out she was like...totally crazy-"
"And not like, hey I just met you here's my number crazy.." Adrian cut her off, looking down at Sydney seriously, "like actual homicidal I'm going to skin you and make coat out of it crazy."
"I'm telling the story!" Lissa yelled, banging her hand on the ground. "Anyway, she used to get me drunk on purpose and then act like she was the one telling me not to! And she was all over Adrian like all the time, don't worry-" she broke off mid sentence, touching Sydney on the arm, gazing at her in earnest. "You're like, way prettier than her. And you're not crazy and trying to kill me. So I like you better."
"I'm glad," Sydney laughed, though she was having trouble keeping up with the story she and Adrian has been shouting back and forth at her for the past 10 minutes.
"This is a dumb story," Adrian drawled, tipping the wine bottle to his lips and taking a long swig.
"I know but the end is the best part, when we beat her up, remember?"
Sydney's eyes widened. "You beat her up?"
"She was like, trying to kill me! Like literally!" Lissa yelled, "Ask Rose! Rose, you tell the rest."
Rose downed the rest of her drink, smiling wickedly. "I have a better story."
"By all means, let's hear it." Adrian tipped the wine bottle toward her.
Lissa pouted. "But I didn't get to finish my story."
"Well, my story is really good," Rose said, raising her eyebrows like she had a juicy secret, "and it's about Sydney."
"Oooooh," Christian said, smirking. "Now I'm interested."
"Well," Rose sighed dramatically, "Actually never mind. I shouldn't...I don't want to embarrass her."
"Tell it, tell it!" Lissa chanted, her face lighting up.
"You're bluffing," Sydney scoffed, not sure what Rose could be referring to. "What could you possibly have on me?"
"Oh I am so not bluffing," Rose laughed. "I'm sure you remember a little conversation we had awhile back...via webcam?"
Sydney's eyebrows knitted together in concentration. She remembered contacting Rose through video chat, yes. And she remembered it had been about the missing Alchemist files that she thought Rose might have stolen...what about that was embarrassing? All they'd talked about was the files, and Lissa, briefly, and Rose's trip to Vegas...
Realization hit Sydney like a freight train. Her eyes widened and she couldn't stop herself from leaning forward, lifting off Adrian's lap to grab Rose's arm. "No!" she squeaked. "Don't!"
"Yes!" Rose laughed, "I knew you'd know what I was talking about."
"Hey, come back." Adrian said, taking Sydney by the shoulders and gently pulling her back onto his lap, wrapping both arms around her. "I'll protect you from the scary story."
Sydney felt her face flush. "Rose, seriously!"
"You're among friends!" Christian exclaimed, "We won't judge you."
Even Dimitri seemed keen on hearing what Rose had to say, smiling quietly next to her.
"If I can deal with everyone hearing about the time I peed on myself in third grade then you can deal with this," Rose sighed. "Okay, so, awhile back, like forever ago, it wasn't too long after we got back from Vegas, I think... Sydney contacted me about these missing Alchemist records or whatever. Some records get stolen and who does she contact first throwing around accusations? Me." Rose paused for dramatic effect, earning laughs from everyone except Sydney, who knew exactly where this story was headed.
"So anyway, I'm like, I didn't steal your stupid records. And she's all, I won't tell on you if you did, and then I was like OMG I seriously didn't steal them!" More laughs from the group. Sydney bit her lip anxiously.
"So anyway, blah blah blah we're talking back and forth about the records and she mentioned something about Las Vegas," Sydney wondered if Rose was skimming that part of the story because it involved Lissa's father, or because she was just that eager to humiliate her, "And I'm like hey, I was just in Vegas. And then Sydney was like, I know I saw some footage of you from a surveillance camera-" Rose broke mid sentence to laugh.
"This is not happening," Sydney grumbled, covering her face with her hands.
Rose doubled over, taking in large gasps of air, "I can't breathe, this is the best part."
"I'm on the edge of my seat over here!" Adrian yelled, squeezing his arms around Sydney.
"Okay!" Rose took a deep breath, composing herself. "Okay. So she's like, that tall dark-haired Moroi that was with you, is that your boyfriend? Meaning you," Rose said, looking toward Adrian.
"Thanks, I got it." Adrian rolled his eyes.
"Please stop talking." Sydney begged, head still in her hands.
"And I'm like yeah whatever why do you ask? And then Sydney said..." Rose paused, then mimicked a fake high-pitched wistful voice, "He's cute."
Lissa squealed like a pre-teen at a sleep over, then clamped her hand over mouth. Christian and Dimitri gave dramatic "awww" sounds. Sydney thought she was going to pass out from embarrassment.
"I did not say it like that!" she squeaked.
"You're right," Rose nodded. "It was much more breathy and aroused sounding than that."
"Oh my God," Sydney moaned, "Shut. Up."
She felt Adrian's arms tighten around her. His face buried in the crook of her neck. He planted a small kiss there, so tiny she could barely feel it, but it still sent shockwaves throughout her entire body.
"That's so sweet," Lissa sighed, falling against Christian's shoulder.
"All that time we were on the run, I thought Sydney was helping me out of the goodness of her little Alchemist heart," Rose feigned a sad voice, jutting her bottom lip out in an exaggerated fashion. "When really she was just using me to get to Adrian the whole time!"
"I told you she's brilliant," Adrian said, laughing.
"You guys are the worst!" Sydney moaned, her face still hot.
"You love us," Rose cooed, "And we love you!" She moved forward to wrap Sydney in a hug, but since Sydney was in Adrian's lap it was all elbows and awkward, and then Sydney felt herself falling backward, sandwiched with Adrian underneath her and Rose on top of her.
"Well this night just took a sexy turn." Adrian purred, earning sounds of disgust from everyone in the room.
Rose rolled off of her and lifted her arms up, laughing. "Dimitri...help."
Dimitri was over Rose in seconds, scooping her up off the floor and holding her upright. "Thank you," she mumbled against him. Sydney scooted away from Adrian with as much grace as she could manage, replacing herself in a seated position on the floor next to him. He remained laying down, propping himself up on one elbow and smiling crookedly at her. Her stomach flipped unexpectedly. She wanted to kiss him, right then. If they hadn't been in a room full of other people, she probably would have. She smiled back briefly and looked away. She was scaring herself.
"You tell us a story, Sydney." Lissa prompted, smiling.
"I don't really have any good stories," Sydney shrugged, "I'm pretty boring."
"No, you're not," she heard Adrian say, behind her. "Tell them about the time you rescued me from that Strigoi bitch at the apartment." his voice was low and casual, like he was describing a droll afternoon picnic.
"You mentioned that in the bathroom before the wedding," Rose said, cocking her head to the side. She'd been nestled against Dimitri but now she was upright and alert. "I need to hear about this."
"It was hardly a rescue," Sydney blushed, not wanting to go into detail.
"If you hadn't done it, she would have sucked me dry." Adrian scoffed, "I'd say that's a rescue if I ever had one."
"What did you do?" Rose leaned forward intently.
"I just distracted the Strigoi who was drinking from Adrian by throwing this...thing...at other one..." Sydney shrugged, she didn't really want to relive this event. Especially the part about what she'd actually done to cause a distraction. The whole thing still unsettled her, and reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing for Ms. Terwilliger.
"Caught her head on fire," Adrian beamed with pride.
The response from the group was a resounding "what?" Christian, not surprisingly, looked especially awed.
"What did you throw at her, a firecracker?" Rose snorted.
Sydney gritted her teeth. "No. It was this...er...concoction...of sorts..."
"Oh," Rose nodded, "Like that stuff you poured on the bodies that made them dissolve?"
Oh, thank God. Sydney hoped she sounded convincing as she nodded along with Rose, "Yeah. Like that. It was something I made myself, though. I had no idea if it would actually work. I just knew that neither of us had a chance anyway so I might as well exhaust any possible resources I had."
"So you acted on blind impulse in a life or death situation?" Rose pursed her lips. "That's my thing."
Everyone laughed, including Sydney. She was worried Adrian was going to bring up Ms. Terwilliger and Sydney's recent dabbles in spell casting but thankfully, he didn't.
"I suppose the three of us certainly have a type," Dimitri said, smiling at Adrian and Christian. "Strong women."
Sydney's face reddened, completely thrown off by his words. She didn't really consider herself strong. Well, not in the way people like he and Rose were, at least. Compared to them she was nothing.
"Damn straight," Christian nodded, throwing his arm around Lissa and squeezing her. She scrunched up her face in an exaggerated tough looking manner, then laughed and kissed him. Sydney couldn't help but smile, they were really adorable.
The night passed on easily, and quickly, a little too quickly for Sydney. She was enjoying herself. She liked this unfamiliar feeling of belonging, and she wasn't really ready for it to end. But all good things did. Sydney hadn't had anything more after her second glass of champagne, even Adrian slowed down on the wine, but Rose and Lissa drank themselves silly and sleepy. Dimitri actually had to put Rose's shoes back on for her, which was a hilarious thing to witness.
"It's been a wonderful evening," he said as he began collecting their things, all the while holding onto Rose with one arm. "thank you for inviting us over, Vasilisa."
Lissa was half asleep herself, snuggled against Christian, who nodded at Dimitri. "Thanks guys, have a good night."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Rose exclaimed, untangling herself from Dimitri and crawling back over to where Adrian and Sydney were sitting. She looked Adrian dead in the eyes. "Listen here, Ivashkov. I'm really glad we're friends again, but If you ever do anything to hurt Sydney, I will hunt you down and re-arrange that pretty little face of yours. Got it?"
Sydney snorted. Drunk people were really something else. Still, she felt a stinging ripple of emotion for Rose being protective. Sydney was usually the one sticking up for her sisters, and -more recently- for Jill. It was nice to know someone had her back as well.
"I love you too, Rose." Adrian smiled as Dimitri was pulling her back into his arms again.
"I'm serious!" she called over his shoulder as he lead her to the doorway.
"I believe you!" Adrian called back, laughing.
"Goodnight, everyone." Dimitri gave them all a swift nod before they made their exit.
"I think it might be bed time for us as well," Christian yawned after a moment. "I think Lissa's already in dreamland."
"Hmm what?" she fluttered her eyelids open, her gaze falling on Sydney and Adrian. "Oh, you guys are still here...you can crash if you want. The couch folds out into a bed." she fell back against Christian.
"I should get her into bed," he said, cradling her like an infant as he stood. "But you guys can definitely stay and chill or..." he smirked, "whatever."
Adrian tipped his head graciously in Christian's direction.
When they were alone, he turned to Sydney, looking at her in a way that made her heart stutter.
He shifted closer to her, tilting his head down to hers. "Hi," he whispered.
"Hi," she whispered back, all at once feeling incredibly anxious.
"This whole time," he brought a hand up to her face, gently stroking the lily on her cheek. "all I've been thinking about is when I'd get to kiss you again."
She leaned demurely away from him, his words unraveling her, because of course, she'd been doing the exact same thing. Not that she'd admit that to him. She had a hard enough time admitting it to herself.
"You know," he said softly, sliding his arm around her and pulling her close against him, "When I first met you, I thought you were cute too."
Sydney scoffed loudly at that, shaking her head. "You did not."
"I did so," he argued, smiling.
"You weren't even paying attention to me," Sydney said, "You were a little preoccupied, rightfully so. Your girlfriend was the number one suspect in a murder case."
Adrian raised an eyebrow, "Even in times of extreme turmoil, Adrian Ivashkov never fails to notice a pretty girl."
She rolled her eyes. "You're too much." She leaned into him, letting her head nuzzle against his shoulder. The night was winding down now. She felt like a princess who'd gotten her magical evening, and when the clock struck midnight the spell would truly be broken.
"I'm not saying I wanted to ravish you back then, or anything." Adrian chuckled, "I was still hung up on Rose, obviously. Plus, I knew you were an Alchemist. The thought never even entered my mind."
"I bet you say that to all the girls," Sydney murmured, sarcastically.
He laughed, but every time he spoke his tone went quieter, gentler, it almost has a hypnotizing quality to it. "You want to know when I first knew?" he asked.
"Knew what?"
"That I wanted you."
Sydney shivered involuntarily against him. "I think I can guess," she whispered.
"Probably," he murmured back, his fingers drawing abstract patterns on her bare arm. "I think it's pretty obvious."
"The night of the dance, right?" she looked up at him, smiling.
He looked down at her, a smile on his lips. "No!" he said, scoffing. "Are you kidding me? It was way before then."
Sydney blinked up at him. "Really?"
He laughed. "Sage, I knew you were oblivious but I didn't know you were that bad."
"Well, when was it, then?" she asked, wondering what other moment could have possibly been The One.
"When you came to my apartment, not long after the whole ordeal with Lee and the Strigoi," his expression turned sour as he mentioned them, but then softened as he continued to speak, "You remember, don't you? When I saw your eyes in the light."
Sydney raised her eyebrows in shock. "Then? That was the moment you realized you were in love with me?"
"Not in love," he corrected, rolling his eyes. "That happened gradually. I'm just saying it was in that moment that I realized how special you were. I know it sounds cliche but it was really as if lightning came down and struck my brain. Everything about you fell into place, and I was just like, this girl is one of the most incredible people I've ever met. I was attracted you. Hell, I was so caught up in the moment if Abe and Angeline hadn't shown up right then, I probably would have tried to kiss you."
Sydney sputtered, "I wouldn't have handled it well."
"Yeah," Adrian sighed. "which is why I'm glad I waited until the perfect moment, because you handled that stunningly."
Sydney bristled, "You just surprised me. I had no idea you had feelings for me at all. I wasn't ready."
"I know," he said gently, reaching up to cup her face. "Are you ready now?"
She exhaled shakily. She'd been waiting for this moment ever since they left the reception. Truthfully, ever since the moment his lips had left hers the first time. The need to have him close, to have his lips on hers, was overpowering. She didn't answer his question with words, but with her mouth pressing firmly up against his. He leaned into the kiss, his hand sliding to the back of her head, pulling her closer still. Her hands found their way into his hair, tugging on it softly as their kiss intensified. His mouth was so warm and strong against hers. The sensation was dizzying. She opened her mouth wide enough for Adrian's tongue to find its way inside. She never understood why people kissed that way, it seemed unnecessary and gross, but the way Adrian was sliding his his tongue expertly in and out of her mouth was, thrilling, to say the least. His hands slid down her arms, making her shiver. Her hands moved from his hair to cradle his neck, one hand even lowering further to wrap tightly around his shoulder. His hands were at her hips, pulling her against him. She sighed into his mouth, losing herself in the sensation of his lips and his hands and his body pressed close.
They kissed for a long time. A long time. When they finally pulled apart from each other, Sydney could already tell her lips would be swollen and bruised by morning. She didn't care, in fact, she liked the way it felt. She didn't want the kiss to be over, because she knew it would be their last. In the morning, everything had to go back to the way it was before. There'd be no more kissing, no more cuddling close like this, no more fun nights out with his group of friends. She closed her eyes, trying to hold on to the moment for just a little longer.
"You know," Adrian's voice was hoarse as it broke her out of reverie, "It really wouldn't be that hard...to keep this a secret."
Sydney's eyes flew open. "What?"
"We used to hang out all the time, people are used to seeing us around each other. It wouldn't really be that suspicious. Jill knows, obviously that can't be helped, but we don't have to tell Eddie or anyone else," he shrugged. "I have my car. We can drive a few towns away to go on dates, do romantic stuff. People wouldn't recognize us. And there's always spirit dreams-"
"Adrian." Sydney said, pushing away from him. "Listen to yourself."
He just stared at her, "What?"
"We can't...do that." she said, slowly. "What happened to you being understanding of that? Did you forget everything I told you about re-education?"
"No, of course not." he said.
"Then why are you even entertaining the idea of us being in a relationship?"
He looked hurt. "Because I love you," he said, and Sydney really wished he'd stop saying that. Every time he said it she was closer to believing him. "I want to be with you, I know it's a risk, but I'm willing to take it. And as far as re-education goes, you have me and Rose and Christian and Dimitri and Lissa and Eddie, and Jill," he counted out every name on his fingers, as if that drove his point home, "on your side. Willing to fight for you. Willing to hide you if need be. If the Alchemists finds out that is, but like I said, we'll be careful."
Sydney was dumbfounded. "You can't keep doing this to me," she finally said, shaking her head. "First you tell me you're not going to bother me about your feelings, then you flirt with me all night. Then, you ask me to give you tonight, and I do. I give you an inch, you want a mile."
He scowled. "I wish you'd stop acting like it's just me who wants this. I wasn't kissing myself just a minute ago. You were kissing me back and you liked it. You want me just as bad as I want you. I know you do. Because I know you."
Sydney was angry. Mainly because he was right. But that wasn't the point and if he knew her so well he should know that. "What I want has nothing to do with it, Adrian." she sighed.
"It has everything to do with it!" he raised his voice, startling Sydney. "You remembered you told me I needed to stop playing the victim? Well, you need to stop playing the martyr all the time. You think you're being noble or something? You're just being stubborn. Denying yourself happiness isn't going to do you any good in the long run."
"It's not just about me!" Sydney tried to keep her voice down, but her blood was boiling now. "I have other people to think about, something you're not familiar with, I know." The words were harsh and Sydney wanted to take them back as soon as they left her mouth, but her mouth just kept on moving and spilling out more toxic words, "If I screw up with the Alchemists, even just a little bit, you know who's going to have to step up and pay the price? Zoe. My little sister. My dad's threatened to do it once, already. I don't want this life for her. I won't let this happen to her. She deserves to make her own choices, be what ever she wants to be-"
"And you don't?" Adrian asked, shaking his head in disbelief. "There you go again, just throwing yourself on the blade for everyone else, I understand where you're coming from, Sydney. But you can't live the rest of your life this way, it's just stupid. And you're not stupid."
"No, I don't think you do understand," Sydney said coldly. "And if you're seriously asking me to choose you over my sister then you definitely don't know me at all, because there is no contest."
That stopped Adrian short. He stared at her for a moment, narrowing his eyes like he was looking at someone he didn't recognize. "I guess you're right," he said, standing up swiftly. "I don't know you at all." and with that, he turned his back on her and made for the door. Sydney stood up as well, almost as if she was being pulled by an unnatural force. "Adrian!" she hissed after him, but he didn't stop. She flinched at the sound of the door slamming.
Tears threatened to spill but she forced them back down, swallowing hard. This was not how she wanted to leave things between them. Now they were back to square one. Maybe even worse off than they'd been before. One step forward, two steps back. She felt sick to her stomach. Her chest was inexplicably tight. She wanted more than anything to just rewind the past few minutes and unsay what she'd said. She hadn't meant to be so cold toward him, but the fact still remained that she couldn't take that risk to be with him for herself, because she'd be taking the risk for her sister as well, and she wasn't willing to do that. She wasn't even sure if she was willing to do it for herself. Adrian's accusatory words burned in her mind and she hugged her arms around herself, his absence weighing on her painfully. She realized, then, that she was still wearing his jacket. Great. She sighed. She was weighing the pros and cons of going after him when a soft voice from behind her made her jump.
"Sydney?"
She spun around and came face to face with Christian, looking sleepy and puzzled.
Embarrassment staggered through her. "Oh, no." she slapped herself on the forehead. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, cringing. "Did we wake you?"
He shook his head, yawning. "NahIwasn'tasleep," he mumbled, "Almost was, but I heard a loud noise and got worried. What's going on?" he blinked slowly, looking around. "Where's Adrian?"
She looked down, exhaling loudly. "That loud noise was Adrian. Slamming the door. He left."
Christian raised an eyebrow.
"We got in a fight," Sydney added, blushing furiously. "I'm so sorry for waking you up. I was just about to leave-"
"Wait, what?" Christian asked, seeming to become more alert. "You got in a fight? What happened?"
Sydney bit her lip. "It was my fault. I think. Well, it doesn't really matter but he's really mad at me now. Like, really mad. He's never looked at me like that before..." Sydney recalled the blank, unfeeling stare he'd given her before he left and her voice broke.
"Aww, Syd, don't cry." Christian took a step toward her, but she back away from him, putting her hands up.
"No, no. It's fine. I'm fine." she tried to laugh, "Tender moments between Adrian and me just aren't complete without someone storming away afterwards."
Christian smirked, then an awkward silence fell between them. He cleared his throat. "Do you uh, want to...talk about it?"
"No," Sydney shook her head. "No."
"Thank you, though." she added, softly. "But I'm just...going to go now."
"You don't have to," he said, before she could even take a step. "Just hang for a couple minutes. Let him cool down. He'll probably come back. I mean, you're still wearing his jacket." he grinned teasingly.
"I don't think so," Sydney sighed. "He's really mad. I kind of am too. It was a...bad fight. I guess, I don't know..."
"You don't have to tell me about it," Christian said, "But I'm here to listen, if you want."
Sydney just gazed at him, this strange boy she was still trying to figure out. "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Christian just shrugged. "I don't know. Because we're friends, I guess. I mean...I don't really have a lot of friends. I figure I should hold on to the ones I've got." he flashed her a sheepish smile. "Plus, like I said, I want you and Adrian to work. You guys are good together."
"How can you tell?"
"I just can," he said. "Kind of reminds me of me and Lissa, I mean, you guys obviously have way bigger judgments to face than us, but I've never seen Adrian so happy as when he's around you. And you look pretty happy when you're around him too."
Sydney didn't really know how to respond to that, so instead she said, "I don't really have a lot of friends either. I never have. I met a few people at the school I go to in Palm Springs that are nice, but, I mean I'm kind of lying to most of them about my entire life, they don't even know my real last name."
"Maybe that's why I feel like being nice to you," Christian said, then his voice turned comically sarcastic. "I mean, you're kind of pathetic."
Sydney laughed out loud at that. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"Probably not," Christian chuckled, "Maybe I will if you can hook me up with some of those nifty Alchemist fire bomb things you were talking about. Those sound pretty awesome."
Sydney's laugh died in her throat. "Um, well, you might be out of luck there."
"Not even for your black sheep buddy?" he pouted.
Sydney rolled her eyes. "I would gladly hook you up with some, if they existed."
Christian tilted his head to the side. "Huh?"
She frowned. "I sort of...lied about that. Well, just didn't tell the entire truth. I did make something that set the Strigoi on fire when I threw it, but it wasn't a chemical compound. It was...something else."
Christian narrowed his eyes. "Now I'm confused. How do you make something that catches fire when you throw it?"
She sighed heavily. "It's a long story."
Christian smiled impishly. "I've got all night."