The other way a Strigoi could be made was if a Moroi willingly chose to kill another person during feeding, destroying all the magic and life within themselves. Christian’s parents had done that because they’d wanted to be immortal, no matter the cost. Victor’s daughter Natalie had done it because he had talked her into it. The extra strength and speed she’d gotten from being a Strigoi had helped her free him, and he’d felt his goals were worth the sacrifice.
Again, Victor showed no remorse. His answer was simple. “Natalie made that decision.”
“Can you say that about everyone you used to meet your ends? Guardian Belikov and Miss Hathaway had no say in what you made them do.”
Victor chuckled. “Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I honestly don’t think they minded. But if you have time after this case, Your Honor, you might want to consider trying a statutory rape case.”
I froze. He’d done it. He’d really done it. I expected everyone in the room to turn and point at Dimitri and me. No one even looked in our direction, though. Most people were giving Victor appalled looks. I realized that was exactly what Victor had known would happen. He just wanted to tease us; he didn’t actually expect anyone to take him seriously. Lissa’s feelings through the bond confirmed as much. She felt like Victor was trying to shift attention off of himself by making up stories about Dimitri and me. She was horrified that Victor would stoop so low.
The judge was too, and she chastised Victor for getting off topic. By that point, most of the questioning was done. The lawyers wrapped up, and it was time for the queen to deliver her verdict. I held my breath again, wondering what she would do. He hadn’t denied any of the charges. The evidence was overwhelming, thanks to my friends’ testimonies, but as even Victor had pointed out, there was a lot of corruption among royals. The queen could very well decide that she didn’t want the scandal involved with imprisoning someone so well known. Even if no one knew the details, his imprisonment would start a buzz. Maybe she didn’t want to deal with that. Maybe Victor had bought her off too.
But in the end, she found Victor guilty and sentenced him to life in prison—a different prison, not the one at Court. I’d heard stories about Moroi prisons, and they were terrible places. I suspected his new home would be very different from the cell we’d found him in. Victor remained calm and amused throughout it all, just as he had yesterday. I didn’t like that. The conversation I’d had with him made me think he wasn’t going to accept this as serenely as he pretended. I hoped they’d watch him closely.
A gesture from the queen ended formalities. The rest of us stood up and began talking while she surveyed the room with a sharp eye, probably taking notes. Victor’s escort started to lead him out. He passed by us again. This time, he stopped and spoke.
“Vasilisa, I trust you’ve been well.”
She didn’t answer. She still hated and feared him, but with this verdict, she finally believed he could no longer hurt her. It was like the end of a chapter she’d been stuck in for months. She could finally move on and hopefully let those horrible memories fade.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk, but I’m sure we will next time,” he added.
“Come on,” said one of the guardians with him. They led him away.
“He’s crazy,” muttered Lissa once he was gone. “I can’t believe he said that stuff about you and Dimitri.”
Dimitri was standing behind her. I looked up and met his eyes as he moved past us. His relief mirrored my own. We’d danced with danger today—and we’d won.
Christian came up to her and hugged her, holding her for a long time. I watched them fondly, surprised at my own kind feelings for them. When a hand touched my arm, I jumped. It was Adrian.
“You okay, little dhampir?” he asked softly. “Dashkov said a few . . . uh . . . suggestive things.”
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low as well. “No one believed him. I think it’s okay. Thanks for asking, though.”
He smiled and tapped my nose. “Two thank-yous in as many days. I don’t suppose I’ll get to see any, uh, special gratitude?”
I scoffed. “Nope. You’ll just have to imagine it.”
He gave me a half-hug and released me. “Fair enough. But I have a good imagination.”
We started to leave, and then Priscilla Voda hurried over to Lissa. “The queen would like to meet with you before you leave. In private.”
I glanced over to the raised chair where the queen sat. Her gaze was fixed on us, and I wondered what this could be about.
“Sure,” said Lissa, as confused as I was. To me, she sent through the bond: Will you listen again?
I gave her a quick nod before Priscilla spirited her off. I returned to my room, tuning in to Lissa while I packed my things up. It took a little while because Tatiana had to finish a few courtroom formalities, but she finally arrived in the same room as yesterday. Lissa and Priscilla bowed as she entered and waited for the queen to sit.
Tatiana made herself comfortable. “Vasilisa, you need to be in the air soon, so I’ll make this brief. I would like to make an offer to you.”
“What kind of an offer, Your Majesty?”
“You’ll need to go to college soon.” She spoke like it was a done deal. And yeah, Lissa did plan on going to college, but I didn’t like the presumption. “I understand you’re dissatisfied with your choices.”
“Well . . . it’s not that I’m dissatisfied, exactly. It’s just, all the places Moroi are supposed to go are small. I mean, I understand it’s for safety, but I don’t know. I’d like to go somewhere bigger. Somewhere prestigious.” Guardians monitored a handful of select colleges in the country so that Moroi could safely attend them. As Lissa had noted, though, they tended to be smaller schools.
Tatiana nodded impatiently, like she already knew this. “I’m going to give you an opportunity that no one else has ever been given, to my knowledge. After graduation, I would like you to come live here, at the Royal Court. You have no family, and I think you’d benefit from learning politics right in the heart of our government. Along with this, we would make arrangements for you to attend Lehigh University. It’s less than an hour from here. Have you heard of it?”
Lissa nodded. I’d never heard of it, but she was enough of a nerd to have researched every college in the U.S. “It’s a good school, Your Majesty. But . . . still small.”
“It’s bigger than the ones Moroi usually attend,” she pointed out.
“True.” In her mind, Lissa was trying to puzzle out what was going on here. Why was Tatiana making this offer? Especially considering how she’d seemed to disagree with Lissa earlier. There was something weird going on here, and she decided to see how far she could push it. “The University of Pennsylvania isn’t that far either, Your Majesty.”
“That school is enormous, Vasilisa. We couldn’t ensure your safety there.”
Lissa shrugged. “Well, then it probably doesn’t matter if I go to Lehigh or one of the others.”
The queen looked shocked. So did Priscilla. They couldn’t believe Lissa seemed indifferent to the offer. Truthfully, Lissa wasn’t indifferent. Lehigh was a step up from what she’d expected, and she wanted to go. But she also wanted to see how badly the queen wanted her to go.
Tatiana frowned and appeared to be weighing matters. “Depending on your grades and experiences at Lehigh, we could possibly arrange for you to transfer in a couple years. Again, the safety logistics would be very difficult.”
Wow. The queen did want her around. But why? Lissa decided to simply ask.
“I’m very flattered, Your Majesty. And grateful. But why are you offering me this?”
“As the last Dragomir, you’re a precious commodity. I’d like to make sure your future is secure. And I do so hate to see bright minds wasted. Besides . . .” She paused, hesitant to speak her next words. “You were right to a certain extent. The Moroi do have trouble changing. It could be useful to have a dissenting voice around here.”
Liss
a didn’t answer right away. She was still analyzing this offer from every possible angle. She wished I was there to advise her, but I wasn’t sure I’d have much of an opinion. Splitting my guardian duty between the Court and a cool university could be pretty neat. On the other hand, we’d have more freedom elsewhere. In the end, Lissa decided in favor of higher education.
“All right,” she said at last. “I accept. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Excellent,” said Tatiana. “We’ll see that the arrangements are made. You may go now.”
The queen made no signs of moving, so Lissa bowed again and scurried to the door, still reeling with this news. Tatiana suddenly called out to her.
“Vasilisa? Will you send your friend here to talk to me? The Hathaway girl?”
“Rose?” she asked in astonishment. “Why do you—? Yes, of course. I’ll get her.”
Lissa hurried toward guest housing, but I met her halfway. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” said Lissa. “Did you hear what she said?”
“Yup. Maybe she wants to tell me how I have to be extra careful with you going to that school.”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Lissa gave me a quick hug. “Good luck. I’ll see you soon.”
I went to the same room and found Tatiana standing with her hands clasped, posture stiff and impatient. She was dressed like a corporate businesswoman again, with a sleek brown blazer and skirt set. That color wouldn’t have been my first choice to go with her dark gray hair, but that was her style adviser’s problem, not mine.
I bowed just as Lissa had and glanced around the room. Priscilla was gone; only a couple guardians remained. I expected Tatiana to tell me to sit, but instead, she stood up and walked right over to me. Her face did not look happy.
“Miss Hathaway,” she said sharply, “I’m going to keep this brief. You are going to stop this atrocious affair you’re having with my great-nephew. Immediately.”
FIFTEEN
“I . . . WHAT?”
“You heard me. I don’t know how far things have gone, and honestly, I really don’t want to know the details. That’s not the point. The point is that it’s going to go no farther.”
The queen was looking down on me, hands on her hips, clearly waiting for me to swear I’d do whatever she wanted. Except I kind of couldn’t. I glanced around the room, certain this was some sort of joke. I looked to the two guardians across the room, half-hoping they’d explain what was going on, but they were doing that seeing-without-actually-seeing thing. No eye contact. I turned back to the queen.
“Um, Your Majesty . . . there’s been some kind of mistake. There’s nothing going on between Adrian and me.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” she asked.
Wow. That was an opening.
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Well, that’s a start. There’s no point in lying to me. People have seen you together, here and back at your school. I saw you myself in the courtroom.” Damn it. Why had Adrian chosen that moment to be chivalrous and sneak another hug? “I’ve heard all the illicit details about what’s going on, and it is going to stop right here, right now. Adrian Ivashkov is not going to run off with some cheap dhampir girl, so you might as well rid yourself of that delusion right now.”
“I never thought he was going to—seeing as how we’re not involved,” I said. “I mean, we’re friends, that’s all. He likes me. He’s a flirt. And if you want to talk illicit stuff, then . . . yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s got a list of illicit things he’d like to do with me. Lots of illicit things. But we’re not doing them. Your Majesty.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt like an idiot. From the look on her face, however, it didn’t seem like things could really get any worse for me.
“I know about you,” she said. “All anyone talks about are your recent awards and accolades, but I haven’t forgotten that it was you who took Vasilisa away. I also know about the trouble you used to get into—I know about the drinking, about the men. If it was up to me, I’d pack you up and send you off to some blood whore commune. You’d probably fit in well.”
Drinking and men? She made me sound like an alcoholic prostitute when, honestly, I’d probably drunk no more than other teenagers at high school parties. Telling her this seemed useless, though. Pointing out that I was still a virgin probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference either.
“But,” she continued, “your recent . . . achievements make sending you away impossible. Everyone believes you have some glorious future ahead of you. Maybe you do. Regardless, if I can’t stop you from being a guardian, I can affect whose guardian you are.”
I stiffened. “What are you saying? Are you threatening me?” I spoke the words tentatively, not as a challenge. She couldn’t be serious. Taking me away from Lissa during the field experience was one thing, but we were talking about an entirely different matter now.
“I’m just saying I have a great interest in Vasilisa’s future, that’s all. And if I have to protect her from corrupting influences, I will. We can find her another guardian. We can find you another Moroi.”
“You can’t do that!” I exclaimed. I could tell by the look on her face that she was happy to finally get a real reaction out of me. I was both angry and afraid, and I fought hard against my normal explosive instincts. Diplomacy and honesty were what I needed now. “I’m not doing anything with Adrian. Really. You can’t punish me for something I’m not doing.” I quickly remembered to add: “Your Majesty.”
“I don’t want to punish you at all, Rose. I just want to make sure we understand each other. Moroi men don’t marry dhampir girls. They play with them. Every girl thinks it’s going to be different with her—even your mother did with Ibrahim, but she was wrong too.”
“With who?” I asked, the name hitting me like a slap in the face. Ibrahim? I’d never even heard of that name, let alone someone called that. I wanted to ask who he was and what his connection to my mother was, but Tatiana just kept talking.
“They’re always wrong. And you can try your hardest to change that, but it’s a waste of time.” She shook her head, like she felt sorry for these dhampir girls, but her smug air contradicted any true sympathy. “You can use your pretty face and easy body as much as you want, but in the end, you’re the one who’ll get used. He may say he loves you now, but in the end, he’ll get tired of you. Save yourself the grief. I’m doing you a favor.”
“But he isn’t saying he loves—” There was no point. The ironic thing here was that I was fairly certain Adrian did just want to use me for sex. I didn’t have any delusions about that. But seeing as I wasn’t actually sleeping with him, there was no problem—except, well, that Tatiana seemed to see of all this as a problem. I sighed, suspecting no argument was going to make her believe that I wasn’t interested in Adrian. “Look, if you’re so certain we can’t have a future together, then why are you telling me this? According to you, he’s going to throw me away anyway. Your Majesty.”
She hesitated for just a second, and I nearly laughed. Despite her trash-talking about me, my mom, and other dhampirs, some part of her really was worried that I might indeed be charming and pretty enough to seduce Adrian into a disgraceful marriage. She quickly hid her uncertainty.
“I like to take care of things before they become messy, that’s all. Besides, it’s going to make things easier for him and Vasilisa if they aren’t dragging around baggage from you.”
Whoa, whoa. My moment of brief satisfaction shattered—into confusion. I was as lost now as I’d been when she first started accusing me of being involved with Adrian.
“Him and . . . Vasilisa? Lissa? What are you talking about?” I forgot the Your Majesty, but I don’t think she cared at this point.
“The two of them are an excellent match,” she said, sounding like she was about ready to purchase some artwork. “Despite your bad influence, Vasilisa’s grown into a very promising young woman. She has a very serious, very dedicat
ed nature that will cure some of his recklessness. And being together would allow them to continue examining their . . . unusual magical situation.”
Five minutes ago, me marrying Adrian had been the craziest thing I’d ever heard. It had just been trumped, however, by the thought of Lissa marrying Adrian.
“Lissa and Adrian. Together. You can’t be serious. Your Majesty.”
“If they’re both here together, I think they’ll come around to it. They already have a certain charisma around each other. Plus, both of Adrian’s grandmothers came from branches of the Dragomir family. He has more than enough blood to help her carry on the Dragomir line.”
“So does Christian Ozera.” In one of their more disgustingly cute moments, Lissa and Christian had looked up his family tree to see if he had enough Dragomir genes to be able to pass on the name. When they found out he did, they’d then starting naming their future children. It had been horrible. I’d left after Lissa told me they’d name their third daughter after me.
“Christian Ozera?” That condescending smile of hers tightened. “There is no way Vasilisa Dragomir is going to marry him.”
“Well, yeah. Not anytime soon. I mean, they’re going to go to college and—”
“Not now, not ever,” interrupted Tatiana. “The Dragomirs are an ancient and exalted line of royalty. Their last descendent is not going to attach herself to someone like him.”
“He’s royal,” I said in a low voice that was on the verge of becoming my scary voice. For whatever reason, her insulting Christian made me angrier than her insulting me. “The Ozera line is every bit as important as the Dragomirs and Ivashkovs. He’s royal, just like Lissa, like Adrian, and like you.”
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