All this talk of spirits lingering in the world certainly didn’t go along with the usual Christian afterlife beliefs that dominated Moroi religion. It made me wonder just how old this ceremony really was. Once more, I had an urge to drop my barriers and see if any of this had really drawn ghosts to us, but I feared what I’d find. Besides, I promptly got distracted when everyone else in the circle began dumping their wine into the fire as well. One by one, going clockwise, each person approached. All was silent as this happened, save for the crackling in the fire pit and shifting of logs. Everyone watched respectfully.
When my turn came, I fought hard not to tremble. I hadn’t forgotten that Adrian had sneaked me in here. Lowly Moroi weren’t allowed, let alone dhampirs. What would they do? Declare the space violated? Mob me? Cast me into the fire?
My fears proved unfounded. No one said or did anything unusual as I poured out my wine, and a moment later, Adrian stepped forward for his turn. I melted back beside Lissa. When the entire circle had gone up, we were led into a moment of silence for the departed. Having witnessed Lissa’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue, I had a lot of dead to ponder. No amount of silence would ever do them justice.
Another unspoken signal seemed to pass through the room. The circle dispersed, and the tension lifted. People again fell into small chatty groups, just like at any other party, though I did see tears on the faces of some.
“A lot of people must have liked Priscilla,” I observed.
Adrian turned toward a table that had mysteriously been arranged during the ceremony. It sat against the back wall and was filled with fruit, cheese, and more wine. Naturally, he poured a glass.
“They aren’t all crying for her,” he said.
“I find it hard to believe they’re crying for the dhampirs,” I pointed out. “No one here even knew them.”
“Not true,” he said.
Lissa quickly caught his meaning. “Most of the people who went on the rescue would have been guardians assigned to Moroi. They couldn’t all be Court guardians.”
She was right, I realized. We’d had too many people with us at the warehouse. Many of these Moroi had undoubtedly lost guardians that they’d become close to. Despite the disdain I often had for these types of royals, I knew some had probably formed legitimate friendships with and attachments to their bodyguards.
“This is a lame party,” a voice suddenly said. We turned and saw that Christian had finally made his way over to us. “I couldn’t tell if we were supposed to be having a funeral or summoning the devil. It was kind of a half-assed attempt at both.”
“Stop it,” I said, surprising myself. “Those people died for you last night. Whatever this is, it’s still out of respect for them.”
Christian’s face grew sober. “You’re right.”
Beside me, I’d felt Lissa light up inside when she saw him. The horrors of their ordeal had brought them closer together, and I recalled the tenderness they’d shared on the ride back. She offered him a warm look and got a tentative smile in return. Maybe some good would come of all that had happened. Maybe they’d be able to fix their problems.
Or maybe not.
Adrian broke into a grin. “Hey. Glad you could make it.”
For a moment, I thought he was speaking to Christian. Then I looked and saw a girl in a peacock mask had joined us. With the mingling people and masks, I hadn’t noticed that she was purposely standing near us. I peered at her, seeing only blue eyes and golden curls before I finally recognized her. Mia.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She grinned. “Adrian got me a password.”
“Adrian apparently got passwords for half the party.”
He seemed very pleased with himself. “See?” he said, smiling at me. “I told you I’d make this worth your while. The whole gang’s here. Nearly.”
“This is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen,” said Mia, glancing around. “I don’t see why it has to be a secret that the people who got killed were heroes. Why can’t they wait for the group funeral?”
Adrian shrugged. “I told you, this is an ancient ceremony. It’s a holdover from the Old Country, and these people think it’s important. From what I know, it used to be a lot more elaborate. This is the modernized version.”
It occurred to me then that Lissa hadn’t said a single word since we’d noticed Christian had come with Mia. I opened myself to the bond, feeling a flood of jealousy and resentment. I still maintained Mia was one of the last people Christian would be involved with. (Okay, it was hard for me to imagine him involved with anyone. His getting together with Lissa had been monumental.) Lissa couldn’t see that, though. All she saw was him continually hanging out with other girls. As our conversation continued, Lissa’s attitude grew frostier, and the friendly looks he’d been giving her began to fade.
“So is it true?” Mia asked, oblivious to the drama unfolding around her. “Is Dimitri really . . . back?”
Lissa and I exchanged glances. “Yes,” I said firmly. “He’s a dhampir, but no one believes it yet. Because they’re idiots.”
“It just happened, little dhampir.” Adrian’s tone was gentle, though the topic clearly made him uncomfortable too. “You can’t expect everyone to get on board with it right away.”
“But they are idiots,” said Lissa fiercely. “Anyone who talks to him can tell he’s not a Strigoi. I’m pushing for them to let him out of his cell so that people can actually see for themselves.”
I wished she would push a little harder for me to get to see him, but now wasn’t the time to talk about that. Eyeing the room, I wondered if some people would have trouble accepting Dimitri because of his role in the deaths of their loved ones. He hadn’t been in control of himself, but that wasn’t enough to bring back the dead.
Still uncomfortable around Christian, Lissa was growing restless. She also wanted to leave and check on Dimitri. “How long do we have to stay here? Is there more to—”
“Who the hell are you?”
Our little cluster turned as one and found Anthony standing by us. Considering most of us were here illicitly, he could have been speaking to anyone. But, based on where his gaze was fixed, there was no question who he meant.
He was talking to me.
TWENTY
“YOU’RE NOT MOROI!” HE CONTINUED. He wasn’t shouting, but we’d definitely gotten the attention of the people standing near us. “You’re Rose Hathaway, aren’t you? How dare you and your impure blood invade the sanctity of our—”
“That’s enough,” a lofty voice suddenly said. “I’ll take it from here.”
Even with her face covered, there was no mistaking that voice. Tatiana swept in beside the guy, wearing a silver flowered mask and a long-sleeved gray dress. I’d probably seen her earlier in the crowd and not even realized it. Until she spoke, she blended in with everyone else.
The whole room was quiet now. Daniella Ivashkov scurried up behind Tatiana, her eyes widening behind her mask when she recognized me. “Adrian—” she began.
But Tatiana was seizing the situation. “Come with me.”
There was no question that the order was for me or that I would obey. She turned and walked swiftly toward the room’s entrance. I hurried behind her, as did Adrian and Daniella.
As soon as we were out in the torch-lit hall, Daniella turned on Adrian. “What were you thinking? You know I don’t mind you bringing Rose to certain events, but this was—”
“Inappropriate,” said Tatiana crisply. “Although, perhaps it is fitting that a dhampir see how much the sacrifices of her people are respected.”
That shocked us all into a moment of silence. Daniella recovered herself first. “Yes, but tradition states that—”
Tatiana interrupted her again. “I’m well aware of the tradition. It’s a bad breach of etiquette, but Rosemarie being here certainly doesn’t ruin our intentions. Losing Priscilla . . .” Tatiana didn’t choke up, exactly, but she lost some of her normal composure.
I didn’t think of someone like her as having a best friend, but Priscilla pretty much had been. How would I act if I’d lost Lissa? Not nearly so controlled.
“Losing Priscilla is something I’ll feel for a very, very long time,” Tatiana managed at last. Her sharp eyes were on me. “And I hope you really do understand how much we need and value you and all the other guardians. I know sometimes your race feels underappreciated. You aren’t. Those who died have left a gaping hole in our ranks, one that leaves us even more undefended, as I’m sure you must know.”
I nodded, still surprised Tatiana wasn’t shrieking for me to get out. “It’s a big loss,” I said. “And it makes the situation worse because numbers are what harm us half the time—especially when the Strigoi form large groups. We can’t always match that.”
Tatiana nodded, seeming pleasantly surprised we’d agreed on something. That made two of us. “I knew you’d understand. Nonetheless . . .” She turned toward Adrian. “You shouldn’t have done this. Some lines of propriety need to be maintained.”
Adrian was surprisingly meek. “Sorry, Aunt Tatiana. I just thought it was something Rose should see.”
“You’ll keep this to yourself, won’t you?” asked Daniella, turning back to me. “A lot of the guests are very, very conservative. They wouldn’t want this getting out.”
That they met by firelight and played dress-up? Yeah, I could see them wanting that kept a secret.
“I won’t tell anyone,” I assured them.
“Good,” said Tatiana. “Now, you should still probably leave before—is that Christian Ozera?” Her eyes had drifted back toward the crowded room.
“Yes,” both Adrian and I said.
“He didn’t get an invitation,” exclaimed Daniella. “Is that your fault too?”
“It’s not my fault so much as my genius,” said Adrian.
“I doubt anyone will know, so long as he behaves himself,” said Tatiana with a sigh. “And I’m sure he’d take any opportunity he can to talk to Vasilisa.”
“Oh,” I said, without thinking. “That’s not Lissa.” Lissa had actually turned her back toward Christian and was speaking to someone else while casting anxious looks out the door at me.
“Who is it?” asked Tatiana.
Crap. “That’s, um, Mia Rinaldi. She’s a friend of ours from St. Vladimir’s.” I’d almost considered lying and giving her a royal name. Some families were so big that it was impossible to keep track of everyone.
“Rinaldi.” Tatiana frowned. “I think I know a servant with that name.” I was actually pretty impressed that she knew the people who worked for her. Yet again, my opinion of her shifted.
“A servant?” asked Daniella, giving her son a warning look. “Is there anyone else I should know about?”
“No. If I’d had more time, I probably could have got Eddie here. Hell, maybe even Jailbait.”
Daniella looked scandalized. “Did you just say Jailbait?”
“It’s just a joke,” I said hastily, not wanting to make this situation worse. I was afraid of how Adrian might answer. “It’s what we sometimes call our friend Jill Mastrano.”
Neither Tatiana nor Daniella seemed to think that was a joke at all.
“Well, no one seems to realize they don’t belong,” said Daniella, nodding toward Christian and Mia. “Though the gossips here will no doubt be running wild with how Rose interrupted this event.”
“Sorry,” I said, feeling bad that I might have gotten her in trouble.
“Nothing to be done for it now,” said Tatiana wearily. “You should leave now so that everyone thinks you were severely chastised. Adrian, you come back with us and make sure your other ‘guests’ don’t raise any attention. And do not do something like this again.”
“I won’t,” he said, almost convincingly.
The three began to turn away, leaving me to skulk off, but Tatiana paused and glanced back. “Wrong or not, don’t forget what you saw here. We really do need guardians.”
I nodded, a flush of pride running through me at her acknowledgment. Then she and the others returned to the room. I watched them wistfully, hating that everyone in there thought I’d been kicked out in disgrace. Considering it could have gone a lot worse for me, I decided to count my blessings. I removed the mask, having nothing more to hide, and made the trek back upstairs and outdoors.
I hadn’t gotten very far when someone stepped out in front of me. It was a sign of my preoccupation that I nearly leapt ten feet in the air.
“Mikhail,” I exclaimed. “You scared me half to death. What are you doing out here?”
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you.” There was an anxious, nervous look about him. “I went by your building earlier, but you weren’t around.”
“Yeah, I was at the Masquerade of the Damned.”
He stared at me blankly.
“Never mind. What’s up?”
“I think we might have a chance.”
“Chance for what?”
“I heard you tried to see Dimitri today.”
Ah, yes. The topic I definitely wanted to think more about. “Yeah. ‘Try’ is pretty optimistic. He doesn’t want to see me, never mind the army of guardians blocking me out.”
Mikhail shifted uncomfortably, peering around like a frightened animal. “That’s why I came to find you.”
“Okay, I’m really not following any of this.” I was also starting to get a headache from the wine.
Mikhail took a deep breath and exhaled. “I think I can sneak you in to see him.”
I waited for a moment, wondering if there was a punch line coming or if maybe this was all some delusion born out of my wound-up emotions. Nope. Mikhail’s face was deadly serious, and while I still didn’t know him that well, I’d picked up enough to realize he didn’t really joke around.
“How?” I asked. “I tried and—”
Mikhail beckoned for me to follow. “Come on, and I’ll explain. We don’t have much time.”
I wasn’t about to waste this chance and hurried after him. “Has something happened?” I asked, once I’d caught up to his longer stride. “Did . . . did he ask for me?” It was more than I dared to hope for. Mikhail’s use of the word sneak didn’t really support that idea anyway.
“They’ve lightened his guard,” Mikhail explained.
“Really? How many?” There had been about a dozen down there when Lissa visited, including her escort. If they’d come to their senses and realized they only needed a guy or two on Dimitri, then that boded well for everyone accepting that he was no longer Strigoi.
“He’s down to about five.”
“Oh.” Not great. Not horrible. “But I guess even that means they’re a little closer to believing he’s safe now?”
Mikhail shrugged, keeping his eyes on the path ahead of us. It had rained during the Death Watch, and the air, while still humid, had cooled a little. “Some of the guardians do. But it’ll take a royal decree from the Council to officially declare what he is.”
I almost came to a halt. “Declare what he is?” I exclaimed. “He’s not a what! He’s a person. A dhampir like us.”
“I know, but it’s out of our hands.”
“You’re right. Sorry,” I grumbled. No point in shooting the messenger. “Well, I hope they get off their asses and come to a decision soon.”
The silence that followed spoke legions. I gave Mikhail a sharp glare.
“What? What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded.
He shrugged. “The rumor is that there’s some other big thing being debated in the Council right now, something that takes priority.”
That enraged me too. What in the world could take priority over Dimitri? Calm, Rose. Stay calm. Focus. Don’t let the darkness make this worse. I always fought to keep it buried, but it often exploded in times of stress. And this? Yeah, this was a pretty stressful time. I shifted back to the original topic.
We reached the holding building, and I took the steps up two at a time. “Even
if they’ve lightened the guardians on Dimitri, they still won’t let me in. The ones that are there would know I was ordered to keep away.”
“A friend of mine’s covering the front shift right now. We won’t have long, but he’ll tell the guardians in the holding area that you were authorized to come down.”
Mikhail was about to open the door, and I stopped him, putting my hand on his arm. “Why are you doing this for me? The Moroi Council might not think Dimitri’s a big deal, but the guardians do. You could get in big trouble.”
He looked down at me, again with that small, bitter smile. “Do you have to ask?”
I thought about it. “No,” I said softly.
“When I lost Sonya . . .” Mikhail closed his eyes for a heartbeat, and when he opened them, they seemed to be staring off into the past. “When I lost her, I didn’t want to go on living. She was a good person—really. She turned Strigoi out of desperation. She saw no other way to save herself from spirit. I would give anything—anything—for a chance to help her, to fix things between us. I don’t know if that’ll ever be possible for us, but it is possible for you right now. I can’t let you lose this.”
With that, he let us in, and sure enough, there was a different guardian on duty. Just as Mikhail had said, the guy called down to tell the jail guardians Dimitri had a visitor. Mikhail’s friend seemed incredibly nervous about it all, which was understandable. Still, he was willing to help. It was amazing, I thought, what friends would do for each other. These last couple of weeks were undeniable proof of that.
Just like at Lissa’s visit, two guardians showed up to escort me downstairs. I recognized them from when I’d been in her head, and they seemed surprised to see me. If they’d overheard Dimitri adamantly saying he didn’t want me to visit, then my presence would indeed be shocking. But as far as they knew, someone in power had condoned me being here, so they asked no questions.
Mikhail trailed us as we wound our way down, and I felt my heartbeat and breathing grow rapid. Dimitri. I was about to see Dimitri. What would I say? What would I do? It was almost too much to comprehend. I had to keep mentally slapping myself to focus, or else I was going to slide into dumbstruck shock.
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