Everyone ready?" Alberta asked as she picked up the book, everyone had gotten up early to read again, most of the people were still busy eating their breakfast. Most just nodded
FOURTEEN
I CONTINUED SPYING ON LISSA over the next couple of days, feeling mildly guilty each time.
"well she should be, she has no business spying on a princess," Tatiana said after she swallowed her food
She'd always hated it when I did by accident, and now I did it on purpose. Steadily, I watched as she reintegrated herself into the royal power players one by one. She couldn't do group compulsion, but catching one person alone was just as effective, if slower. And really, a lot didn't need to be compelled to start hanging out with her again. Many weren't as shallow as they seemed; they remembered Lissa and liked her for who she was.
"They only care about her because she is a princess and he's from a respected family," Christian said rolling his eyes. Adrian just nodded agreeing with him
They flocked to her, and now, a month and a half after our return to the Academy, it was like she'd never left at all. And during this rise to fame, she advocated for me and rallied against Mia and Jesse. One morning, I tuned into her while she was getting ready for breakfast. She'd spent the last twenty minutes blow-drying and straightening her hair, something she hadn't done in a while. Natalie, sitting on the bed in their room, watched the process with curiosity. When Lissa moved on to makeup, Natalie finally spoke. "Hey, we're going to watch a movie in Erin's room after school. You going to come?" I'd always made jokes about Natalie being boring, but her friend Erin had the personality of dry wall. "Can't. I'm going to help Camille bleach Carly's hair."
Christian shook his head, he didn't like what Lissa was turning into. The dhampir woman in the room shook their heads they never understood why someone would want to bleach their own hair. It was much saver to let a professional doe it
"You sure spend a lot of time with them now." "Yeah, I guess." Lissa dabbed mascara across her lashes, instantly making her eyes look bigger. "I thought you didn't like them anymore." "I changed my mind." "They sure seem to like you a lot now. I mean, not that anyone wouldn't like you, but once you came back and didn't talk to them, they seemed okay ignoring you too. I heard them talking about you a lot. I guess that's not surprising, because they're Mia's friends too, but isn't it weird how much they like you now? Like, I hear them always waiting to see what you want to do before they make plans and stuff. And a bunch of them are defending Rose now, which is really crazy. Not that I believe any of that stuff about her, but I never would have thought it was possible—"
"Not good she's picking up on the compulsion," Ivan shook his head. Dimitri nodded he didn't like how it seemed like Natalie was milking Lissa for information
Underneath Natalie's rambling was the seed of suspicion, and Lissa picked up on it. Natalie probably never would have dreamed of compulsion, but Lissa couldn't risk innocent questions turning into something more. "You know what?" she interrupted. "Maybe I will swing by Erin's after all. I bet Carly's hair won't take that long." The offer derailed Natalie's train of thought. "Really? Oh wow, that would be great. She was telling me how sad she was that you're not around as much anymore, and I told her…"
"Well that was easily," Dimitri said shocked
On it went. Lissa continued her compulsion and return to popularity. I watched it all quietly, always worrying, even though her efforts were starting to reduce the stares and gossip about me. "This is going to backfire," I whispered to her in church one day. "Someone's going to start wondering and asking questions."
"well she isn't wrong," Adrian said looking at his aunt who just rolled her eyes
"Stop being so melodramatic. Power shifts all the time around here." "Not like this." "You don't think my winning personality could do this on its own?" "Of course I do, but if Christian spotted it right away, then someone else will—" My words were interrupted when two guys farther down the pew suddenly exploded into snickers. Glancing up, I saw them looking right at me, not even bothering to hide their smirks.
"Please go and kick their bits," Victoria said looking at the books
Looking away, I tried to ignore them, suddenly hoping the priest would start up soon. But Lissa returned their looks, and a sudden fierceness flashed across her face. She didn't say a word, but their smiles grew smaller under her heavy gaze. "Tell her you're sorry," she told them. "And make sure she believes it." A moment later, they practically fell all over themselves apologizing to me and begging for forgiveness.
"Well that's terrifying," Ivan said not liking how Lissa was acting
"Agreed," Abe said nodding
I couldn't believe it. She'd used compulsion in public—in church, of all places. And on two people at the same time. They finally exhausted their supply of apologies, but Lissa wasn't finished. "That's the best you can do?" she snapped. Their eyes widened in alarm, both terrified that they'd angered her. "Liss," I said quickly, touching her arm. "It's okay I, uh, accept their apologies." Her face still radiated disapproval, but she finally nodded.
"This is really not good," Janine said worried for Lissa. No-one liked how dark she suddenly had became
The guys slumped in relief. Yikes. I'd never felt so relieved to have a service start. Through the bond, I felt a sort of dark satisfaction coming from Lissa. It was uncharacteristic for her, and I didn't like it. Needing to distract myself from her troubling behavior, I studied other people as I so often did. Nearby, Christian openly watched Lissa, a troubled look on his face.
"even noticed that," Adrian smiled at Christian who looked worried
When he saw me, he scowled and turned away. Dimitri sat in the back as usual, for once not scanning every corner for danger. His attention was turned inward, his expression almost pained. I still didn't know why he came to church. He always seemed to be wrestling with something.
"What's on your mind?" Ivan smiled at Dimitri who just shook his head. Olen was just happy that her son was still going to church
In the front, the priest was talking about St. Vladimir again. "His spirit was strong, and he was truly gifted by God. When he touched them, the crippled walked, and the blind could see. Where he walked, flowers bloomed." Man, the Moroi needed to get more saints—Healing cripples and blind people? I'd forgotten all about St. Vladimir. Mason had mentioned Vladimir bringing people back from the dead, and it had reminded me of Lissa at the time.
"Still don't like the way their comparing Lissa to Vlad," Christian said shaking his head
Then other things had distracted me. I hadn't thought about the saint or his "shadow-kissed" guardian—and their bond—in a while. How could I have overlooked this? Ms. Karp, I realized, wasn't the only other Moroi who could heal like Lissa. Vladimir could too. "And all the while, the masses gathered to him, loving him, eager to follow his teachings and hear him preach the word of God…"
"Is Rose implying that Vlad used compulsion?" Tatiana asked looking at Alberta. Everyone ells was just shocked, they never thought about it like that.
Turning, I stared at Lissa. She gave me a puzzled look. "What?" I didn't get a chance to elaborate—I don't even know if I could have formed the words—because I was whisked back to my prison almost as soon as I stood up at the end of the service. Back in my room, I went online to research St. Vladimir but turned up nothing useful. Damn it. Mason had skimmed the books in the library and said there was little there. What did that leave me with? I had no way of learning more about that dusty old saint. Or did I? What had Christian said that first day with Lissa? Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir.
"Well hopefully they will contain useful information, but the question is how is she going to get them?" Christian said looking around
The storage room above the chapel. It had the writings. Christian had pointed them out. I needed to look at them, but how? I couldn't ask the priest. How would he react if he found out students were going up there? It'd put an end to Christian's lair. But maybe…maybe Christian himself could help.
"Not likely," Christian shook his head
"Not even to help Lissa," Sonja asked with a smile. Christian just glared at her
It was Sunday, though, and I wouldn't see him until tomorrow afternoon. Even then, I didn't know if I'd get a chance to talk to him alone. While heading out to practice later, I stopped in the dorm's kitchen to grab a granola bar. As I did, I passed a couple of novice guys, Miles and Anthony. Miles whistled when he saw me. "How's it been going, Rose? You getting lonely? Want some company?" Anthony laughed. "I can't bite you, but I can give you something else you want." I had to pass through the doorway they stood in to get outside. Glaring, I pushed past, but Miles caught me around the waist, his hand sliding down to my butt.
"He's dead," Abe and Dimitri said at the same time
"Get your hands off my ass before I break your face," I told him, jerking away. In doing so, I only bumped into Anthony. "Come on," Anthony said, "I thought you didn't have a problem taking on two guys at the same time." A new voice spoke up. "If you guys don't walk away right now, I'll take both of you on." Mason. My hero. "You're so full of it, Ashford," said Miles. He was the bigger of the two and left me to go square off with Mason. Anthony backed off from me, more interested in whether or not there'd be a fight. There was so much testosterone in the air, I felt like I needed a gas mask.
The girls laughed at that, while the guys just rolled their eyes
"Are you doing her too?" Miles asked Mason. "You don't want to share?" "Say one more word about her, and I'll rip your head off." "Why? She's just a cheap blood—" Mason punched him. It didn't rip Miles‟ head off or even cause anything to break or bleed, but it looked like it hurt. His eyes widened, and he lunged toward Mason. The sound of doors opening in the hall caused everyone to freeze. Novices got in a lot of trouble for fighting.
"true," Alberta said remembering all the times she had to pull novices off each other
"Probably some guardians coming." Mason grinned. "You want them to know you were beating up on a girl?" Miles and Anthony exchanged glances. "Come on," Anthony said. "Let's go. We don't have time for this." Miles reluctantly followed. "I'll find you later, Ashford." When they were gone, I turned on Mason. "'Beat up on a girl‟?" "You're welcome," he said drily. "I didn't need your help." "Sure. You were doing just fine on your own."
"Good to know she has both of you two's pride," Alberta smiled happy that Rose was still save and not in trouble
"They caught me off guard, that's all. I could have dealt with them eventually." "Look, don't take being pissed off at them out on me." "I just don't like being treated like…a girl." "You are a girl. And I was just trying to help." I looked at him and saw the earnestness on his face. He meant well. No point in being a bitch to him when I had so many other people to hate lately.
"Sweet," Olena smiled happy that the girl still had her manners
"Well…thanks. Sorry I snapped at you." We talked a little bit, and I managed to get him to spill some more school gossip. He had noticed Lissa's rise in status but didn't seem to find it strange. As I talked to him, I noticed the adoring look he always got around me spread across his face. It made me sad to have him feel that way about me. Guilty, even. How hard would it be, I wondered, to go out with him? He was nice, funny, and reasonably good-looking. We got along. Why did I get caught up in so many messes with other guys when I had a perfectly sweet one here who wanted me?
Dimitri just shook his head, all of a sudden he just felt pissed off, and he couldn't imagine why.
Why couldn't I just return his feelings? The answer came to me before I'd even finished asking myself the question. I couldn't be Mason's girlfriend because when I imagined someone holding me and whispering dirty things in my ear,
Everyone sat forward, Dimitri the most. Thankfully no-one saw
he had a Russian accent.
Abe and Adrian just glared at Dimitri while Janine looked at him funny. She had chosen not the blame Dimitri just because her daughter fancied him, after all Dimitri had done nothing wrong.
Mason continued watching me admiringly, oblivious to what was going on in my head. And seeing that adoration, I suddenly realized how I could use it to my advantage. Feeling a little guilty, I shifted my conversation to a more flirty style and watched Mason's glow increase.
"That is so you," Janine said looking at Abe who just smiled proud of his daughter. Dimitri was pissed again. Ivan saw this and just smiled
I leaned beside him on the wall so our arms just touched and gave him a lazy smile. "You know, I still don't approve of your whole hero thing, but you did scare them. That was almost worth it." "But you don't approve?" I trailed fingers up his arm. "No. I mean, it's hot in principle but not in practice." He laughed. "The hell it isn't." He caught hold of my hand and gave me a knowing look. "Sometimes you need to be saved. I think you like being saved sometimes and just can't admit it." "And I think you get off on saving people and just can't admit it." "I don't think you know what gets me off. Saving damsels like you is just the honorable thing to do," he declared loftily.
"Only if their Rose," Victoria smiled
I repressed the urge to smack him over the use of damsels. "Then prove it. Do me a favor just because it's 'the right thing to do.' " "Sure," he said immediately. "Name it."
"Oh she's good," Abe smiled proudly
"I need you to get a message to Christian Ozera." His eagerness faltered. "What the—? You aren't serious." "Yes. Completely." "Rose…I can't talk to him. You know that." "I thought you said you'd help. I thought you said helping „damsels‟ is the honorable thing to do." "I don't really see how honor's involved here." I gave him the most smoldering look I could manage. He caved.
Must be one hell of a look," Adrian smiled intrigued. Dimitri and Abe just glared at him
"What do you want me to tell him?" "Tell him I need St. Vladimir's books. The ones in storage. He needs to sneak them to me soon. Tell him it's for Lissa. And tell him…tell him I lied the night of the reception." I hesitated.
"Well that took her long enough," Christian said crossing his arms
"Tell him I'm sorry." "That doesn't make any sense." "It doesn't have to. Just do it. Please?" I turned on the beauty queen smile again. With hasty assurances that he'd see what he could do, he left for lunch, and I went off to practice.
Everyone but Abe shook their head, Abe was just happy that Rose was able to do that so easily.
~~~~
Janine took the book and opened it on the right page
FIFTEEN
MASON DELIVERED. He found me the next day before school. He was carrying a box of books. "I got them," he said. "Hurry and take them before you get in trouble for talking to me." He handed them over, and I grunted. They were heavy. "Christian gave you these?" "Yeah. Managed to talk to him without anyone noticing. He's got kind of an attitude, did you ever notice that?"
"you don't say," Adrian said smiling at Christian who just shook his head. He was surprised that Mason was able to get the books from him
"Yeah, I noticed." I rewarded Mason with a smile that he ate up. "Thanks. This means a lot." I hauled the loot up to my room, fully aware of how weird it was that someone who hated to study as much as I did was about to get buried in dusty crap from the fourteenth century. When I opened the first book, though, I saw that these must be reprints of reprints of reprints, probably because anything that old would have long since fallen apart.
"True everyone," said at the same time
Sifting through the books, I discovered they fell into three categories: books written by people after St. Vladimir had died, books written by other people when he was still alive, and one diary of sorts written by him.
"Use the book he wrote himself. it would be easier to find out everything," Abe said looking at the book in Janine's hands
"But would she be able to understand them if she tried," Olena said looking at Abe who just nodded understanding
What had Mason said about primary and secondary sources? Those last two groups were the ones I wanted. Whoever had reprinted these had reworded the books enough so that I didn't have to read Ye Olde English or anything. Or rather, Russian, I supposed. St. Vladimir had lived in the old country.
"Old country, that sounds too strange," Victoria said smiling
"Well she isn't wrong," Adrian said looking at all the grownups in the room
Today I healed the mother of Sava who has long since suffered from sharp pains within her stomach. Her malady is now gone, but God has not allowed me to do such a thing lightly. I am weak and dizzy, and the madness is trying to leak into my head.
"That sounds a lot like what Lissa was feeling," Christian said worriedly
"I'm more worried about the madness Vlad was talking about. Could that be the darkness that Rose keeps feeling in Lissa?" Ivan said worriedly. Ivan has a sneaky suspension that his friends were going to fall for Rose and seeing that Lissa was important to Rose, that would make her important to Dimitri and Ivan. Because Ivan had no plan in dying
I thank God every day for shadow-kissed Anna, for without her, I would surely not be able to endure. Anna again. And "shadow-kissed." He talked about her a lot,
"were they?" Adrian asked lifting his eyebrows up and down suggestively
"Adrian," Tatiana scolded him, but Adrian just ignored her
"Who knows?" Abe smiled
among other things. Most of the time he wrote long sermons, just like what I'd hear in church. Super boring. But other times, the book read just like a diary, recapping what he did each day. And if it really wasn't just a load of crap, he healed all the time. Sick people. Injured people. Even plants. He brought dead crops back to life when people were starving. Sometimes he would make flowers bloom just for the hell of it. Reading on, I found out that it was a good thing old Vlad had Anna around, because he was pretty messed up.
that got everyone's attention. They all were listing more closely because they were afraid for Lissa
The more he used his powers, the more they started to get to him. He'd get irrationally angry and sad. He blamed it on demons and stupid stuff like that, but it was obvious he suffered from depression. Once, he admitted in his diary, he tried to kill himself. Anna stopped him.
"Okay we need to make sure when Vasilisa gets back to the academy she has all the help she needs," Tatiana said worried, she didn't want the Dragomir bloodline disappearing, sure she knew about Jill bit if she could keep Vasilisa alive it would be a lot better
Later, browsing through the book written by the guy who knew Vladimir, I read: And many think it miraculous too, the power the blessed Vladimir shows over others. Moroi and dhampirs flock to him and listen to his words, happy just to be near him. Some say it is madness that touches him and not spirit, but most adore him and would do anything he asked.
"Oh he so used commission," Sonja shook her head. Most of the dhampirs in the room took great pleasure in the fact that he was not as great as everyone made him out to be
Such is the way God marks his favorites, and if such moments are followed by hallucinations and despair, it is a small sacrifice for the amount of good and leadership he can show among the people. It sounded a lot like what the priest had said, but I sensed more than just a "winning personality" People adored him, would do anything he asked. Yes, Vladimir had used compulsion on his followers, I was certain.
Tatiana glared at the book in Janine's hand, she did not like it that Rose was exposing Vlad
A lot of Moroi had in those days, before it was banned, but they didn't use it on Moroi or dhampirs. They couldn't. Only Lissa could. I shut the book and leaned back against my bed. Vladimir healed plants and animals. He could use compulsion on a massive scale. And by all accounts, using those sorts of powers had made him crazy and depressed. Added into it all, making it that much weirder was that everyone kept describing his guardian as "shadow-kissed."
"Why is she only concerned with the guardian, she should be telling Kirova and you about Lissa's problems," Tatiana glared at Alberta who just looked at
"She is worried about Lissa, but the shadow-kiss part is worrying her because she doesn't know what that is," Yeva said calmly. She was really getting irritated at the queen
That expression had bugged me ever since I first heard it… "You're shadow-kissed! You have to take care of her!" Ms. Karp had shouted those words at me, her hands clenching my shirt and jerking me toward her. It had happened on a night two years ago when I'd been inside the main part of the upper school to return a book. It was nearly past curfew, and the halls were empty. I'd heard a loud commotion, and then Ms. Karp had come tearing around the corner, looking frantic and wild-eyed. She shoved me into a wall, still gripping me. "Do you understand?" I knew enough self-defense that I could have probably pushed her away, but my shock kept me frozen.
"Not good," All the guardians in the room shook their heads, they knew that you could never freeze it's what gets you killed
"No." "They're coming for me. They'll come for her." "Who?" "Lissa. You have to protect her. The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here." "I…what do you mean? Get her out of…you mean the Academy?" "Yes! You have to leave. You're bound. It's up to you. Take her away from this place." Her words were crazy. No one left the Academy. Yet as she held me there and stared into my eyes, I began to feel strange.
The room was silent no-one wanted to accept that Rose was compelled because that would mean Sonja Karp was like Lissa. And no0one wanted Lissa to end up like Sonja Karp
A fuzzy feeling clouded my mind. What she said suddenly sounded very reasonable, like the most reasonable thing in the world. Yes. I needed to take Lissa away, take her— Feet pounded in the hallway, and a group of guardians rounded the corner. I didn't recognize them; they weren't from the school. They pried her off of me, restraining her wild thrashing. Someone asked me if I was okay, but I could only keep staring at Ms. Karp. "Don't let her use the power!" she screamed. "Save her. Save her from herself!" The guardians had later explained to me that she wasn't well and had been taken to a place where she could recover. She would be safe and cared for, they assured me. She would recover.
"Yes she turned," Christian said terrified he did not what that happening to Lissa
Only she hadn't. Back in the present, I stared at the books and tried to put it all together. Lissa. Ms. Karp. St. Vladimir. What was I supposed to do? Someone rapped at my door, and I jerked out of my memories. No one had visited me, not even staff, since my suspension. When I opened the door, I saw Mason in the hall. "Twice in one day?" I asked. "And how'd you even get up here?" He flashed his easy smile. "Someone put a lit match in one of the bathroom's garbage cans. Damn shame. The staff's kind of busy. Come on, I'm springing you."
"That's sweet of him," Olena said happily that Rose had a friend like that.
I shook my head. Setting fires was apparently a new sign of affection. Christian had done it and now Mason. "Sorry, no saving me tonight. If I get caught—" "Lissa's orders."
"and he said the magic words," Ivan laughed
I shut up and let him smuggle me out of the building. He took me over to the Moroi dorm and miraculously got me in and up to her room unseen. I wondered if there was a distracting bathroom fire in this building too. Inside her room, I found a party in full swing. Lissa, Camille, Carly, Aaron, and a few other royals sat around laughing, listening to loud music, and passing around bottles of whiskey.
"That is not normal," Alberta and Christian said at the same time. No-one ells like what they were hearing, not even Adrian who was seriously craving a drink
No Mia, no Jesse. Natalie, I noticed a few moments later, sat apart from the group, clearly unsure how to act around all of them. Her awkwardness was totally obvious. Lissa stumbled to her feet, the fuzzy feelings in our bond indicating she'd been drinking for a while. "Rose!" She turned to Mason with a dazzling smile. "You delivered." He swept her an over-the-top bow. "I'm at your command." I hoped he'd done it for the thrill of it and not because of any compulsion.
"That is a terrifying thought," everyone said at the same time,
Lissa slung an arm around my waist and pulled me down with the others. "Join the festivities." "What are we celebrating?" "I don't know. Your escape tonight?" A few of the others held up plastic cups, cheering and toasting me. Xander Badica poured two more cups, handing them to Mason and me. I took mine with a smile, all the while feeling uneasy about the night's turn of events. Not so long ago, I would have welcomed a party like this and would have downed my drink in thirty seconds. Too much bothered me this time, though. Like the fact that the royals were treating Lissa like a goddess. Like how none of them seemed to remember that I had been accused of being a blood whore. Like how Lissa was completely unhappy despite her smiles and laughter.
Everyone was quiet, they didn't know that to say or how to feel. Most were happy that everyone had forgotten about the whole blood lie, but at the price of Lissa acing completely different
"Where'd you get the whiskey?" I asked. "Mr. Nagy," Aaron said. He sat very close to Lissa. Everyone knew Mr. Nagy drank all the time after school and kept a stash on campus. He continually used new hiding places—and students continually found them.
"Don't look at me, that's Kirova's job, not mine," Alberta said looking away from the queen
Lissa leaned against Aaron's shoulder. "Aaron helped me break into his room and take them. He had them hidden in the bottom of the paint closet." The others laughed, and Aaron gazed at her with complete and utter worship. Amusingly, I realized she hadn't had to use any compulsion on him. He was just that crazy for her. He always had been.
Christian just huffed and crossed his arms, he was so jealous anyone could see it
"Why aren't you drinking?" Mason asked me a little while later, speaking quietly into my ear.
That made Dimitri glare at the book
I glanced down at my cup, half surprised to see it full. "I don't know. I guess I don't think guardians should drink around their charges."
"She's right," Dimitri and Janine said at the same time
"She's not your charge yet! You aren't on duty. You won't be for a long time. Since when did you get so responsible?" I didn't really think I was all that responsible. But I was thinking about what Dimitri had said about balancing fun and obligation. It just seemed wrong to let myself go wild when Lissa was in such a vulnerable state lately.
"Okay where have you been for most if Rose's live wee could have used you a lot earlier," Alberta laughed at Dimitri who just shook his head
Wiggling out of my tight spot between her and Mason, I walked over and sat beside Natalie. "Hey Nat, you're quiet tonight." She held a cup as full as mine. "So are you." I laughed softly. "I guess so." She tilted her head, watching Mason and the royals like they were some sort of science experiment. They'd consumed a lot more whiskey since I'd arrived, and the silliness had shot up considerably. "Weird, huh? You used to be the center of attention. Now she is." I blinked in surprise. I hadn't considered it like that.
Tatiana huffed not liking that Rose used to get all the attention
"I guess so." "Hey, Rose," said Xander, nearly spilling his drink as he walked over to me. "What was it like?" "What was what like?" "Letting someone feed off you?" The others fell quiet, a sort of anticipation settling over them. "She didn't do that," said Lissa in a warning voice. "I told you." "Yeah, yeah, I know nothing happened with Jesse and Ralf. But you guys did it, right? While you were gone?" "Let it go," said Lissa. Compulsion worked best with direct eye contact, and his attention was focused on me, not her.
"Not to mention the alcohol in her system must be making it harder for her," Ivan said worriedly
"I mean, it's cool and everything. You guys did what you had to do, right? It's not like you're a feeder. I just want to know what it was like. Danielle Szelsky let me bite her once. She said it didn't feel like anything." There was a collective "ew" from among the girls. Sex and blood with dhampirs was dirty; between Moroi, it was cannibalistic.
"Love the standers," Karolina rolled her eyes, she wonders sometimes if the Moroi's forgot that dhampirs are half vampires
"You are such a liar," said Camille. "No, I'm serious. It was just a small bite. She didn't get high like the feeders. Did you?" He put his free arm around my shoulder. "Did you like it?" Lissa's face went still and pale. Alcohol muted the full force of her feelings, but I could read enough to know how she felt. Dark, scared thoughts trickled into me—underscored with anger.
"Not good," Everyone said remembering what Rose had read about Vlad
She usually had a good grip on her temper—unlike me—but I'd seen it flare up before. Once it had happened at a party very similar to this one, just a few weeks after Ms. Karp had been taken away. Greg Dashkov—a distant cousin of Natalie's—had held the party in his room. His parents apparently knew someone who knew someone, because he had one of the biggest rooms in the dorm.
"Of course he did," Victoria rolled her eyes
He'd been friends with Lissa's brother before the accident and had been more than happy to take Andre's little sister into his social fold. Greg had also been happy to take me in, and the two of us had been all over each other that night.
Abe Dimitri and Adrian glared at the book at that point, while Janine and Alberta just shook their heads.
For a sophomore like me, being with a royal Moroi senior was a huge rush. I drank a lot that night but still managed to keep an eye on Lissa. She always wore an edge of anxiety around this many people, but no one really noticed, because she could interact with them so well. My heavy buzz kept a lot of her feelings from me, but as long as she looked okay, I didn't worry. Mid-kiss, Greg suddenly broke away and looked at something over my shoulder. We both sat in the same chair, with me on his lap, and I craned my neck to see. "What is it?" He shook his head with a sort of amused exasperation. "Wade brought a feeder."
"Oh that night, finally we can see why Rose did what she did," Alberta said glad that they would find out why Rose had done what she had done.
I followed his gaze to where Wade Voda stood with his arm around a frail girl about my age. She was human and pretty, with wavy blond hair and porcelain skin pale from so much blood loss. A few other guys had homed on her and stood with Wade, laughing and touching her face and hair. "She's already fed too much today," I said, observing her coloring and complete look of confusion. Greg slid his hand behind my neck and turned me back to him. "They won't hurt her." We kissed a while longer and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Rose." I looked up into Lissa's face. Her anxious expression startled me because I couldn't feel the emotions behind it. Too much beer for me.
"Agreed," everyone said at the same time. No-one wanted Lissa worried and with Rose not being to feel her emotions that just made everyone more worried
I climbed off of Greg's lap. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Be right back." I pulled Lissa aside, suddenly wishing I was sober. "What's wrong?" "Them." She nodded toward the guys with the feeder girl. She still had a group around her, and when she shifted to look at one of them, I saw small red wounds scattered on her neck. They were doing a sort of group feeding, taking turns biting her and making gross suggestions. High and oblivious, she let them. "They can't do that," Lissa told me. "She's a feeder. Nobody's going to stop them." Lissa looked up at me with pleading eyes. Hurt, outrage, and anger filled them. "Will you?" I'd always been the aggressive one, looking after her ever since we were little.
"Well Lissa isn't scary so it's understandable that Rose would be the aggressive one," Alberta smiled
Seeing her there now, so upset and looking at me to fix things, was more than I could stand. Giving her a shaky nod, I stumbled over to the group. "You so desperate to get some that you've got to drug girls now, Wade?" I asked. He glanced up from where he'd been running his lips over the human girl's neck. "Why? Are you done with Greg and looking for more?" I put my hands on my hips and hoped I looked fierce. The truth was, I was actually starting to feel a little nauseous from all I'd drunk. "Aren't enough drugs in the world to get me near you," I told him. A few of his friends laughed. "But maybe you can go make out with that lamp over there. It seems to be out of it enough to make even you happy.
"Well said," Abe and Christian said at the same time
You don't need her anymore." A few other people laughed. "This isn't any of your business," he hissed. "She's just lunch."
Everyone glared at the book. They didn't approve of what the boy had just called the poor girl
Referring to feeders as meals was about the only thing worse than calling dhampirs blood whores. "This isn't a feeding room. Nobody wants to see this." "Yeah," agreed a senior girl. "It's gross." A few of her friends agreed. Wade glared at all of us, me the hardest. "Fine. None of you have to see it. Come on." He grabbed the feeder girl's arm and jerked her away. Clumsily, she stumbled along with him out of the room, making soft whimpering noises.
"Not good," everyone said worried, it would be easy for the boy to drain her blood and turn, even if he did it by accident
"Best I could do," I told Lissa. She stared at me, shocked. "He's just going to take her to his room. He'll do even worse things to her." "Liss, I don't like it either, but it's not like I can go chase him down or anything." I rubbed my forehead. "I could go punch him or something, but I feel like I'm going to throw up as it is."
"Defiantly to much," Adrian said thinking of the feeling he knows too well
Her face grew dark, and she bit her lip. "He can't do that." "I'm sorry." I returned to the chair with Greg, feeling a little bad about what had happened. I didn't want to see the feeder get taken advantage of any more than Lissa did—it reminded me too much of what a lot of Moroi guys thought they could do to dhampir girls. But I also couldn't win this battle, not tonight. Greg had shifted me around to get a better angle on my neck when I noticed Lissa was gone a few minutes later. Practically falling, I clambered off his lap and looked around. "Where's Lissa?"
"Good question, where did she go?" Tatiana said worried she did not want anything happening to Lissa.
He reached for me. "Probably the bathroom." I couldn't feel a thing through the bond. The alcohol had numbed it. Stepping out into the hallway, I breathed a sigh of relief at escaping the loud music and voices. It was quiet out here—except for a crashing sound a couple rooms down. The door was ajar, and I pushed my way inside. The feeder girl cowered in a corner, terrified. Lissa stood with arms crossed, her face angry and terrible. She was staring at Wade intently, and he stared back, enchanted. He also held a baseball bat, and it looked like he'd used it already, because the room was trashed: bookshelves, the stereo, the mirror… "Break the window too," Lissa told him smoothly.
"It wasn't Rose," Alberta said shocked, everyone had assumed that it had been Rose. But the truth was more terrible then they could have imagined
"Come on. It doesn't matter." Hypnotized, he walked over to the large, tinted window. I stared, my mouth nearly hitting the floor, as he pulled back and slammed the bat into the glass. It shattered, sending shards everywhere and letting in the early morning light it normally kept blocked out. He winced as it shone in his eyes, but he didn't move away. "Lissa," I exclaimed. "Stop it. Make him stop." "He should have stopped earlier." I barely recognized the look on her face. I'd never seen her so upset, and I'd certainly never seen her do anything like this. I knew what it was, of course. I knew right away. Compulsion. For all I knew, she was seconds away from having him turn the bat on himself.
"Stop her," Everyone yelled at the book, no-one like what they were hearing. They didn't want Lissa to go dark
"Please, Lissa. Don't do it anymore. Please." Through the fuzzy, alcoholic buzz, I felt a trickle of her emotions. They were strong enough to practically knock me over. Black. Angry. Merciless. Startling feelings to be coming from sweet and steady Lissa. I'd known her since kindergarten, but in that moment, I barely knew her. And I was afraid.
The room was silent no-one could imagine what they were hearing.
"Please, Lissa," I repeated. "He's not worth it. Let him go." She didn't look at me. Her stormy eyes were focused entirely on Wade. Slowly carefully, he lifted up the bat, tilting it so that it lined up with his own skull. "Liss," I begged. Oh God. I was going to have to tackle her or something to make her stop. "Don't do it." "He should have stopped," Lissa said evenly. The bat quit moving. It was now at exactly the right distance to gain momentum and strike. "He shouldn't have done that to her. People can't treat other people like that—even feeders." "But you're scaring her," I said softly. "Look at her." Nothing happened at first, then Lissa let her gaze flick toward the feeder. The human girl still sat huddled in a corner, arms wrapped around herself protectively. Her blue eyes were enormous, and light reflected off her wet, tear-streaked face. She gave a choked, terrified sob. Lissa's face stayed impassive. Inside her, I could feel the battle she was waging for control. Some part of her didn't want to hurt Wade, despite the blinding anger that otherwise filled her. Her face crumpled, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her right hand reached out to her left wrist and clenched it, nails digging deep into the flesh. She flinched at the pain, but through the bond, I felt the shock of the pain distract her from Wade. She let go of the compulsion,
The room was silent everyone was happy that Lissa had dropped the compulsion but they were still shocked that Lissa had done that. And it made them more worried for Rose and Lissa in the book. Who knew what Lissa would do to Mia and what if he went dark like Karp
and he dropped the bat, suddenly looking confused. I let go of the breath I'd been holding. In the hallway, footsteps sounded. I'd left the door open, and the crash had attracted attention. A couple of dorm staff members burst into the room, freezing when they saw the destruction in front of them. "What happened?" The rest of us looked at each other. Wade looked completely lost. He stared at the room, at the bat, and then at Lissa and me. "I don't know…I can't…" He turned his full attention to me and suddenly grew angry. "What the—it was you! You wouldn't let the feeder thing go." The dorm workers looked at me questioningly, and in a few seconds, I made up my mind. You have to protect her.
Abe, Janine, Alberta and Dimitri didn't know if they should have been proud or not. Sure Rose was choosing to protect Lissa but they didn't want her to endanger or harm herself
The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here. I could see Ms. Karp's face in my mind, pleading frantically. I gave Wade a haughty look, knowing full well no one would question a confession I made or even suspect Lissa. "Yeah, well, if you'd let her go," I told him, "I wouldn't have had to do this." Save her. Save her from herself. After that night, I never drank again. I refused to let my guard down around Lissa. And two days later, while I was supposed to be suspended for "destruction of property," I took Lissa and broke out of the Academy.
"We seriously need to figure out how they had gotten out. If something like that happened again…" Alberta didn't have to finish.
Back in Lissa's room, with Xander's arm around me and her angry and upset eyes on us, I didn't know if she'd do anything drastic again. But the situation reminded me too much of that one from two years ago, and I knew I had to defuse it. "Just a little blood," Xander was saying. "I won't take much. I just want to see what dhampir tastes like. Nobody here cares." "Xander," growled Lissa, "leave her alone."
I slipped out from under his arm and smiled, looking for a funny retort rather than one that might start a fight.
"Smart," All the grownup said happily that Rose was thinking better and not just acting.
"Come on," I teased. "I had to hit the last guy who asked me that, and you're a hell of a lot prettier than Jesse. It'd be a waste." "Pretty?" he asked. "I'm stunningly sexy but not pretty." Carly laughed. "No, you're pretty. Todd told me you buy some kind of French hair gel." Xander, distracted as so many drunk people easily are, turned around to defend his honor, forgetting me. The tension disappeared, and he took the teasing about his hair with a good attitude. Across the room, Lissa met my eyes with relief. She smiled and gave me a small nod of thanks before she returned her attention to Aaron.
"Okay so she's not completely gone, that's good," Christian said relived, he was still not happy about the Aaron thing but that could wait for now.
"Who's next?" Janine asked