He refused to stay with his parents. He just couldn't stand the thought of dealing with his father's condescending attitude or his mother's icy aloofness. Neither approved of his lifestyle, or of his recent decision to relocate to Saint Vlad's. He settled into a guest suite and was about to pour himself a drink when the summons came via a note wielding Guardian.
Looking over the message, he sighed. And so the payback begins.
She was waiting for him in her formal parlor, looking as regal and professional as ever. He bent, brushing her pale cheek with a kiss, stepping back to give her a boyish grin.
"I haven't been here an hour, and already you start with the demands?"
She smiled at him, fondly. "Of course. I did you a favor, now it's your turn. Have a seat, and do try to behave. We're expecting a guest."
He rolled his eyes, exasperated. What now? He slouched down on the loveseat, irritated at being put on show. He had things to do—like track down Rose.
A guardian opened the door, and he sat a little straighter. Well, this was getting interesting. He snagged a glass from a passing servant, wondering where this might be headed.
"Princess Vasilisa Dragomir."
Tatiana nodded in acknowledgment. "Welcome, Vasilisa. Please sit down."
Lissa sat down in a chair near him, fidgeting slightly. Her aura was all over the place. Huh, she was scared of his Aunt. A Moroi servant came by and offered her tea or coffee, but Lissa declined. Tatiana continued to sip from her teacup, scrutinizing Lissa from head to toe. Adrian was willing to bet she was pissed off that the princess had opted to wear pants. Priscilla Voda broke the awkward silence.
"Remember what I said about her?" Priscilla asked cheerfully. "She was very impressive at our state dinner in Idaho. Settled a huge spat over Moroi fighting with guardians. She even managed to calm Adrian's father down."
A frosty smile crossed Tatiana's cold features. "That is impressive. Half the time, I still feel like Nathan is twelve years old."
"Me too," Adrian piped in, drinking from a wine glass. He certainly acts like it, he thought, always picking fights—especially with his only son.
Tatiana ignored him and again focused on Lissa.
"Everyone seems impressed with you, really. I hear nothing but good things about you, in spite of your past transgressions … which I'm given to understand weren't entirely without their reasons." Lissa's look of surprise actually made the queen laugh.
There wasn't much warmth or humor in the laugh, though. "Yes, yes … I know all about your powers, and of course I know what happened with Victor. Adrian's been filling me in about spirit as well. It's so strange. Tell me … can you…" She glanced to a nearby table. A flowerpot sat on it, dark green shoots sticking through the soil. It was some kind of bulb-based plant that someone was growing indoors. Like its outside counterparts, it was waiting for spring.
Lissa hesitated. Adrian knew she wasn't used to displaying her powers so… openly. But, Tatiana was watching expectantly. After only a few moments more, Lissa leaned over and touched the shoots. The stems shot up through the dirt, growing taller—almost a foot high. Huge pods formed along the sides as it grew, bursting open to reveal fragrant white flowers. Easter lilies.
Lissa withdrew her hand. Wonder showed on Tatiana's face, and she muttered "amazing" under her breath in Romanian. A moment later, she composed herself, her face once again blasé.
"Hmm. Interesting," she said.
Adrian snorted, ignoring the icy look she threw his way. Interesting? Art was interesting, or literature. She'd just witnessed a minor miracle, and the best she could come up with was interesting?
"It could be very useful," said Priscilla, as if to divert the Queens attention from his minor slip up. "Vasilisa and Adrian can't be the only two out there with it. If we could find others, so much could be learned. The healing itself is a gift, let alone anything else they can conjure. Just think what we could do with it."
"Begging your pardon, Princess Voda…I'm not sure we should be so eager to use my—or others'—healing powers as much as you might want to."
"Why not?" asked Tatiana. "From what I understand, you can heal almost anything."
"I can…" said Lissa slowly. "And I want to. I wish I could help everybody, but I can't. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'll definitely help some people. But I know we'd run into other people like Victor, who want to abuse it. And after a while … I mean, how do you choose? Who gets to live? Part of life is that…well, some people have to die. My powers aren't a prescription you can get filled as needed, and honestly, I'm afraid they would only be used for, uh, certain kinds of people. Just like the guardians are."
Adrian drained his glass, instantly alert. She was swimming into dangerous waters. A slight tension built in the room. What Lissa had insinuated was rarely ever mentioned in public.
"What are you talking about?" asked Tatiana with narrowed eyes.
Lissa's voice faltered. "Everyone knows that there's a certain, um, method to how guardians are distributed. Only the elite get them. Royals. Rich people. People in power."
A chill fell over the room, as Tatiana's mouth settled into a straight line. She didn't speak for several moments, and Adrian's mind began racing, trying to find a way to smooth over Lissa's little fuck up.
"You don't think our royals deserve special protection?" she asked finally. "You don't think you do—the last of the Dragomirs?"
"I think keeping our leaders safe is important, yeah. But I also think we need to stop sometimes and look at what we're doing. It could be time to reconsider the way we've always done things."
God, she sounded so… mature. So intelligent. Adrian's eyes flicked around the room, and he could tell Priscilla felt the same way. His Aunt, on the other hand…
Tatiana sipped her tea. "I understand," she said, "that you're also in favor of Moroi fighting with the guardians and attacking Strigoi?"
"I think if there are Moroi who want to, they shouldn't be denied the chance." Lissa offered.
"Moroi lives are precious," said the queen. "They shouldn't be risked."
"Dhampir lives are precious too," Lissa countered. "If they fight with Moroi, it could save everybody. And again, if Moroi are willing, why deny them? They deserve to know how to defend themselves. And people like Tasha Ozera have developed ways of fighting with magic."
The mention of Christian's aunt brought a frown to the queen's face. Everyone knew that Natasha had been attacked by Strigoi when younger and had spent the rest of her life learning to fight back. "Tasha Ozera … she's a troublemaker. She's starting to gather a lot of other troublemakers."
"She's trying to introduce new ideas. Throughout history, people with new ideas—who think differently and try to change things—have always been called troublemakers. But seriously? Do you want the truth?" Lissa sounded confident in her beliefs. Adrian bit his lip, hoping she knew what she was doing. If she pissed his Aunt off, the Queen might decide to order Adrian back home, away from the princess. Which meant away from Rose. His leg began to shake, betraying his nerves.
A wry look crossed Tatiana's face, almost a smile. "Always."
"We need change. I mean, our traditions are important. We shouldn't give up on those. But sometimes, I think we're misguided."
"Misguided?"
"As time's gone on, we've gone along with other changes. We've evolved. Computers. Electricity. Technology in general. We all agree those make our lives better. Why can't we be the same in the way we act? Why are we still clinging to the past when there are better ways to do things?" Lissa aura pulsed with excitement. She was like a religious zealot, preaching about salvation.
He watched the Queen, worried because her face was absolutely expressionless. That was never a good thing. It meant she was hiding her thoughts.
"You're very interesting to talk to," she finally said. "But I have things I must do now." She stood up, and everyone hastily followed suit, even Adrian. "I won't be joining you for dinner, but you and your companions will have everything you need. I'll see you tomorrow at the trial. No matter how radical and naively idealistic your ideas are, I'm glad you'll be there to complete his sentencing. His imprisonment, at least, is something we can all agree on."
Tatiana swept out, two guardians immediately following. Priscilla followed too, leaving Lissa and Adrian alone.
He relaxed. That could have gone better, but all in all, Lissa had held her own. "Well done, cousin. Aren't many people who can throw the old lady off-balance like that."
"She didn't seem very off-balance."
"Oh, she was. Believe me. Most of the people she deals with every day wouldn't talk to her like that, let alone someone your age." He offered Lissa his hand. "Come on. I'll show you around this place. Take your mind off things."
"I've been here before," she said. "When I was younger."
"Yeah, well, the things we get to see when we're young are different than the things we get to see when we're older. Did you know there's a twenty-four-hour bar in here? We'll get you a drink."
"I don't want a drink."
He rolled his eyes. He wanted a drink, and she was damn well coming with him. Where Lissa went, Rose was sure to follow. "You will before this trip's over."
He led her to his favorite watering hole, and the bartender called out a jovial greeting, immediately sliding two glasses of his favorite brand of vodka in front of them.
"A toast to the last remaining Dragomir." He clinked his glass against hers, and watched with amusement as she downed the drink, her face wrinkling with distaste as she set the glass down. "Easy there, cousin. If you keep throwing them back like that, people might say I'm a bad influence on you."
A tiny smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "Aren't you?"
"Well, yes," he smirked, "but that doesn't mean we want them talking about it." He polished off his drink, nodding at the bartender. "Make this one a triple."
Lissa's eyes widened as the man promptly refilled the glasses. "Adrian, I don't think I should—"
"Hush, this will be your last one. You can just sit there and keep me company. Now it's your turn to make a toast."
She thought for a moment, then her smile turned decidedly mischievous. "To you.. and Rose. May things work out in the future."
"I'll drink to that," he said.
And he did. Five more times.
After that, it was time to find his Rosebud.
He could see Lissa tense when they located the others in the coffee shop, probably because she hadn't expected to see the Rinaldi girl. She covered her surprise well, greeting the small blonde in a friendly manner. When they started to chatter about catching up, he tuned out. The only thing he cared to focus on was the gorgeous brunette sitting across the table, sipping on a cup of something that looked like tea.
When Lissa finally stopped talking, Christian grabbed her hand. "How'd your thing with the queen go?" he asked.
"Not so bad," she said. "I mean, not great either. But she didn't yell at me or humiliate me, so that's a start."
"Stop being modest." Adrian smiled, putting his arm around her, pleased to see Rose tense at his actions. "Princess Dragomir totally stood her ground. You should have seen it."
Lissa laughed.
"I don't suppose she mentioned why she decided to let us come to the trial?" Christian asked, shooting his arm a dirty look.
Lissa's laughter faded, but she was still smiling. "Adrian did it."
"What?" Christian and Rose asked in unison.
He smiled, pleased with himself. Rose hadn't seen that one coming. No doubt she still thought Belikov had somehow managed to save the day.
"He convinced her that we needed to be here. He apparently harassed her until she gave in." Lissa said, smiling at him.
"It's called 'persuasion,' not 'harassment.'" He offered, smirking.
Lissa laughed again, while Rose stared at him, her face scrunched up, looking puzzled. He waited, knowing she'd realize it soon enough, he'd mentioned it once or twice, in passing.
"How closely are you guys related?" Her eyes glazed over for a second, as if she were daydreaming, then she narrowed her eyes at him. "She's your aunt."
"Great-aunt. And I'm her favorite great nephew. Well, I'm her only great nephew, but that's not important. I'd still be her favorite," he answered.
"Unbelievable," said Christian.
"I'll second that," Rose said, sounding irritated.
"None of you appreciate me. Why is it so hard to believe that I could make a real contribution in these dark times?" He stood up, pretending to be pissed off. "My cigarettes and I are going outside. At least they show me respect."
He leaned against the brick wall, eyes closed, savoring the first rush of nicotine as it hit his system. He could have smoked inside, the only reason he'd left to do it was out of respect for Rose—she hated the smell. He wondered what she'd thought about Lissa's little announcement. Would she thank him? Did she even care that he'd fought like hell to grant her request? Probably not. For whatever reason, Rose detested him. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He wished he could go back and change his past. Erase all the partying, and the women. Relive his life being… respectable. Maybe then she'd—
The sound of a muffled cough opened his eyes. Rose stood outside the door, eying him.
"Don't start in about the smoking," He said. "You didn't have to come outside. You knew I was here."
"That's actually why I'm here. Well, that, and I felt like I was going to go crazy if I stayed inside another minute."
He tilted his head, examining her face, waiting for the punch line. Surely she was joking. He flicked his eyes to her aura, and froze, his eyebrows shooting skyward. "You aren't kidding, are you? What happened? You were fine a few minutes ago."
She paced a few feet away from him. "I don't know. I was fine. Then Christian and Lissa started having this stupid argument over you. It was weird. They were the ones who were mad—and then I ended up madder than both of them."
"Wait. They were arguing over me?" What the hell? What did he do now, besides be friendly?
"Yes. I just said that. Weren't you paying attention?" Her tone was pure sarcasm.
That was too much. It pushed his tolerance level over the threshold. He was tired of her being a bitch to him. "Hey, don't snap at me. I haven't done anything to you."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "Christian's jealous because you hang around Lissa so much."
"We're studying spirit," he said. "He's welcome to join in."
"Yeah, well, no one ever said love was reasonable. Seeing you come back together kind of set him off. And then he got upset because you pulled rank with the queen for Lissa."
This was absolutely ridiculous. Seriously? Was she that dense? "I didn't do it for her. I did it for all of you—but, well, you especially."
Rose came to a halt in front of him. "I didn't believe you. That you could do it."
He grinned. "Guess you should have listened to my family history in that dream after all."
"I guess. I just thought…" She stopped, a sad look crossing her face. He'd be willing to bet his inheritance that she was thinking of the damned Russian—probably how she'd thought he would be the one to play her knight in shining armor.
"Thought what?" He prompted.
"Nothing." She paused, and he almost laughed at the expression on her face. "Thank you for helping us."
"Oh my God," he said. "A kind word from Rose Hathaway. I can die a happy man."
"What are you saying? That I'm normally an ungrateful bitch?"
He just looked at her, his expression clearly stating that yes, indeed, she was. She treated his like some kind of pariah.
"Hey! Not cool."
"Maybe you could redeem yourself with a hug." He offered, half joking, knowing she'd never agree.
Her answering glare confirmed it. God, did she really hate him that much?
"A small one?" he asked.
Heaving an enormous sigh, she walked over and put one arm around him, leaning her head lightly against his arm. "Thanks, Adrian."
He was so shocked he dropped his cigarette. Time stopped for him. He reveled in the feeling of her being so close to him. His heart was pounding so hard he was afraid she'd feel it—that would be too embarrassing for word, if she knew how much this affected him.
The doors opened, the rest of their group stepping outside. They all looked shocked—well, except Lissa, who was trying to hide a small smile. He didn't care. Nothing could diminish the happiness he felt—Rose had hugged him.
Nothing that is, until she pulled away.
"Heading out?" She asked.
"Yeah, Mia's got more important things to do than hang out with us," joked Christian.
"Hey, I just told my dad I'd meet him. I'll see you guys before I leave." She started to walk away, then abruptly turned around. "God, I'm so out of it." She reached into her coat pocket and handed Rose a folded piece of paper. "This is half the reason I found you guys. One of the court clerks wanted me to give this to you."
"Thanks," Rose said. She looked puzzled again.
Mia took off, and they all began making their way towards their rooms, with Adrian bringing up the rear. He'd lit another cigarette, and didn't want the smoke bothering his little dhampire.
Rose had slowed down—perhaps forgetting he was behind her—opening the note. She paled, her hand slightly shaking, causing him to peer at the note over her shoulder.
Rose,
I was so happy to hear about your arrival. I'm sure it'll make tomorrow's proceedings that much more entertaining. I've been curious for quite some time about how Vasilisa is doing, and your romantic escapades are always an amusing diversion.
I can't wait to share them in the courtroom tomorrow.
Best,
V.D.
He stepped back, his mind racing. Dashkov. How had the man arranged to smuggle out a note? He replayed what he'd read in his mind, trying to figure out what had frightened Rose.
"Who's it from?" asked Eddie, coming up beside her.
She folded the note, cramming it in her pocket. She was so nervous her hands were visibly trembling. "No one."
No one indeed. It hit him, in that instant, what it was that bothered her. The line 'Your romantic escapades are always an amusing diversion. I can't wait to share them in the courtroom tomorrow.' was what had stunned her.
She was terrified, not for herself, but for her precious mentor. Dashkov was threatening to go public with the lust charm.