Two girls sat together on a loveseat, keeping their distance and watching the reunion quietly. One was a dhampir with black hair and coppery skin. The other, a Moroi, had a multitude of dark curls and beautiful gray eyes. Judging from the way Neil couldn’t take his eyes off the dhampir, I could guess who the girls were. Adrian gave them one of his most charismatic grins.
“Well, well. Looks like you guys survived the trip, huh? I hope they’ve been showing you a good time. The royal treatment, if you will. Golden faucets. Velvet robes. Champagne for breakfast. And for lunch. And dinner. In fact, why isn’t there a bottle in here now?”
Olive and Nina Sinclair responded with smiles, especially Nina. “You didn’t bring it?” she asked, with a bit more warmth than I liked.
“I can send for some,” said Lissa. She started to turn toward one of the guards at the door, but Adrian waved her off.
“Nah, we’ve got to be all responsible and stuff to deal with the spirit problem, right? We can celebrate later. Besides, Belikov can’t hold his liquor.”
Dimitri looked startled at that, and I had to repress a laugh at Adrian’s deflection. When he was here, “Lord Ivashkov” could probably get anything he wanted, and I was proud of Adrian for holding true to his promise to steer clear of his vices. It was just as well he was facing away from me at the time because my face probably would’ve betrayed my affection.
Formal introductions were made between the Sinclair sisters and me. They murmured polite greetings and regarded me with curiosity before they dismissed me, turning their attention back to the others. An Alchemist was a novelty but nothing particularly exciting.
I assumed we’d all be reconvening in the morning, but as Sonya began discussing what she’d learned about Olive’s blood sample, I realized we were doing business here and now. I nearly groaned as the obvious hit me. It’s the middle of their day. They’re all bright-eyed and ready to get going. That was probably why Adrian had power napped. Neil, as a dhampir, would have extra stamina and be able to go longer without sleep. But me? I was merely human, and it was past my bedtime in Palm Springs. But, if they were ready to do this, then so was I. A yawn started to well up in me, and I staunchly put it down.
“There’s no question about it,” Sonya was saying. “That blood sample is brimming with a kind of spirit we’ve never seen. And that charm you put on the silver is ingenious, but—”
The door burst open, and a Moroi man came striding forward with a guardian on his heels. “The gang’s all here, I see. You must have forgotten to send for me.”
Rose rolled her eyes. “You weren’t invited, old man.”
Abe Mazur, her flamboyantly dressed father, clucked his tongue in disapproval. “Yes, because it makes perfect sense that one of the biggest breakthroughs in our world should be left in the hands of kids.”
“I’m almost thirty,” protested Sonya.
“Exactly my point.” Abe took in his surroundings and brightened when he saw me. “My favorite Alchemist. So nice of you to lend your expertise.”
I gave him a tight smile. “Happy to help.”
Through some unspoken command, a servant appeared with drinks and snacks—though no champagne. Once everyone had reconciled themselves to Abe’s uninvited presence, Sonya returned to her presentation and handed Adrian a small box. Curious, I walked over to study it, very conscious of the scant inches between us. The box held a small vial of blood with silver rings around it. After a few moments of scrutiny, I glanced up and saw Sonya watching Adrian and me with a frown. Her features smoothed when she noticed me looking at her.
“What do you think?” she asked. “Is there any way to reinforce the seals around it?”
Adrian looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Um, I don’t think so. I used up all my tricks doing this the first time.”
“But you can feel the way the spirit’s intertwined with the blood’s substance,” she pointed out. Again, he seemed troubled.
“Yeah, I noticed. That’s nothing I can replicate.”
“Me either,” Sonya said.
“Me either,” added Lissa.
Sonya sighed. “And that’s the key, I think. Even if we can’t sense it in Olive’s blood anymore, I’m certain it altered her in a way that now prevents Strigoi conversion. If we could do that for others . . .”
He nodded in agreement. “Yup. But I don’t know how. Unless . . .”
I noticed then how everyone in the room was watching him, faces expectant. They were deferring to his expertise. Adrian had been right about one thing when defending his use of spirit: He’d done what no one else could. I wondered if anyone—including him—had ever expected they’d reach a point where he would be a respected authority, not just a joke. That kind of responsibility and prestige suited him. Lord Ivashkov.
He looked at Lissa. “You’d mentioned making this into some kind of tattoo maybe, right? I wonder if it’s as easy as injecting it into someone else? I mean, isn’t that how a vaccine works? When someone fights off a disease, you get . . .” He groped for the word and looked to me for confirmation. “Antibodies?” I nodded. “Would this be the same? The magic spreads to someone else?”
“I can’t even begin to guess if there’s an equivalency between those two,” I admitted. “But when vampire blood is suspended in an Alchemist tattoo, some of that Moroi quick healing and resistance to sickness spreads to us.” If magic use really had negated my tattoo, I wondered if I’d lost my immunity too. I hated colds.
Adrian lit up. “Could you make a similar tattoo with this blood?”
I hesitated. “Theoretically. We don’t know that it’d work. And I’ve never made that kind of ink before.”
“That’d be remedial work for you,” he said confidently. “And there are always guardian tattooists around here. What else do you need?”
“I can get you whatever it is,” Abe assured me.
“I’d need—”
I stopped, and the world reeled. I can get you whatever it is. Yes, he probably could. Abe Mazur was a man who could get all sorts of things, even the ingredients to a potential Strigoi-protection tattoo.
Ingredients that would be nearly identical to the ones used in a regular Alchemist tattoo.
They were out of my reach but not Abe’s. He probably wouldn’t even need to use any illicit channels. He’d once smuggled C4 into Court, after all. I knew he had Alchemist contacts and could make a good case for why the Moroi needed to do this experiment. The Alchemists would certainly support it. Really, though, it didn’t matter if Abe got the ingredients through legitimate or shady means. What mattered was that he could get what I needed without it actually being linked to me and a personal project to crack Alchemist compulsion.
“I can get you a list of things,” I said as casually as I could. “We should double it, though. In case I make a mistake.” Adrian met my eyes, and I could tell he’d picked up on what I was thinking.
Rose scoffed. “Have you ever made a mistake in your life?”
“Remains to be seen,” I murmured. I stifled a yawn. “Get me some paper, and I’ll write you a list.” I couldn’t hide my next yawn.
Sonya looked at me in sympathy. “Let poor Sydney go to bed. She’s not on our schedule. We can’t expect her to do this on no sleep, and we don’t even have what we need yet.”
Lissa looked mortified. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Sydney. I wasn’t thinking.”
I logged into an Alchemist database on my phone in order to find the ingredient list. Lissa called for another servant while I wrote out what I’d need. As we waited, Christian asked, “Who are you going to give the tattoo to?”
Silence fell. “Me,” said Rose at last. “It should be a dhampir. We’ve got the strongest bodies to handle something like that, and besides, if it works, we’re more likely to run into Strigoi.”
“You’re too valuable to the queen,” said Neil. “I’ll do it, in case something goes wrong.”
“Nothing’s going to go wrong,” said Adrian hot
ly.
Rose ignored him and glared at Neil. “I’ll do it. No one else is going to risk themselves for this.”
“What’s your blood type?” I asked, looking between them. I turned to Olive. “And yours?”
“Don’t get her involved,” warned Neil.
“O positive,” said Olive defiantly.
“B negative,” said Rose.
Neil shot frustrated glances to both of them. “A positive.”
“You win,” I told Neil. I honestly thought a Moroi receiver would be best, but I had a feeling none of them would budge on that. Standard blood-typing rules seemed like a safe bet, though.
Rose’s hurt expression implied I’d purposely betrayed her. Olive, excited for Neil, hurried over to his side. He puffed up with pride at her attention, and the scientist in Sonya decided she had no more patience for drama. “Fine. Neil gets it. Now for God’s sake, get Sydney over to guest housing.”
“I’ll go too,” said Adrian. He yawned, and I was pretty sure it was faked. “I’ve been around humans too long.”
“You aren’t staying at your parents’ place?” asked Lissa.
Adrian scoffed. “Not if my dad’s there. I actually want peace and quiet.”
Lissa’s servant arrived, and Rose decided to accompany us, thinking she was the only one I was truly comfortable with. As we were walking out, Nina hurried up and caught Adrian’s sleeve. I was close enough that I could hear her, despite her lowered voice.
“I was hoping we could talk some more,” she told him. “Do you think you’ll have time tomorrow?”
Adrian put on the gallant smile most women received. “Sounds great, but I don’t know if I’ll have a chance. I think they expect me to work. It’s such a pain being responsible.”
Rose overheard. “Oh, yeah. So inconvenient, helping with a major breakthrough in Moroi life. Poor, poor Adrian.”
Adrian winked at Nina. “I’ll let you know.”
We left, but not before I saw the longing in Nina’s eyes. Even I could guess her intentions.
Guest housing was in one of the other venerable buildings, and we cut through a courtyard to get there. Light snow was falling, and I tugged my coat around me tightly. Adrian didn’t complain, but he looked a little blue when we reached the building’s lobby. It was run like a hotel, and Rose took it upon herself to arrange our rooms. I lingered on the far side of the lobby, and Adrian strolled over.
“You have no idea how cute you look with all those snowflakes in your hair,” he murmured.
“And you look cute with hypothermia. I hope to God you can get a real coat while you’re here.”
He grinned. “You’ll have to warm me up later. You know I was just playing it up for Nina, right? There’s only one girl for me, but around here, I have to act like there’s a dozen.”
“Only one dozen?” I asked.
“Hey,” Rose called to us. “You’ve got a room with a view on the second floor, Adrian. Sydney—what’s going to make you feel better about creatures of the night? Easy escape on the first floor or distance on the second?”
“Second,” I said, face neutral. “I’ll climb out the window if I need to.”
She led us upstairs and wished Adrian a good night. I received a personal escort to my room, and she looked around it with approval. “Same thing they’d give a royal. Is it okay?”
I wandered around, taking in the enormous suite with its sleek furniture and state-of-the-art entertainment center. “Uh, yeah. I’d say so.”
“I know how weird this must be,” she said kindly. “But we’re doing big things here. At least that’s what everyone says.”
“They’re right,” I said. “And after rooming with Jill and fleeing authorities with you, this is kind of a non-event.”
That got me one of her brilliant smiles. I was struck by how beautiful she was and couldn’t help a pang of insecurity as I recalled that Adrian had once been so close to her—romantically and physically. Quickly, I pushed those worries aside. The past was done. I had no doubts about Adrian. Rose left with more assurances and urged me to let her know if I needed anything. When she finally took off, I settled into unpacking. Five minutes later, Adrian showed up at my door.
“Damn,” he said, kicking it shut. He grabbed hold of me and pushed me against the wall. “You have no idea what I’ve gone through today.”
I put my arms around his neck and pulled him even closer. “Actually, I have a pretty good idea,” I said, just before I met his lips in a crushing kiss.
There was an urgency in him that answered my own, and all the tightly wound tension I’d carried today exploded between us. He ran his hands over my body and then caught hold of one of my legs and hiked it up beside his hip. My blood burned within me, and I no longer felt even the least bit tired.
As sexy as an against-the-wall make-out session was, we eventually retired to my bed, which gave us both easier access to clothes, skin . . .
I sat beside him on the bed and helped him take off my sweater. “Who knew that escape plan number seventy-one would end up being ‘Vacation at Moroi Court.’”
He laughed and then brought his lips to the nape of my neck, making me shiver. “Well, why not? No Zoe . . . no Alchemists . . . no time constraints.” He trailed his lips to my shoulder and gently pushed the bra strap down. “We have a lot of freedom, Sage, and a lot of privacy.”
I couldn’t help a small gasp as his skilled lips continued their exploration. I closed my eyes and sank down into the bed, drawing him to me. This could be it, I realized. What I’d been preparing for. We finally had a very real chance to have sex without detection or interruption. It was heady. When were we going to get a chance to do this again?
And yet, as his touch continued to drive me wild, some old, frightened instinct held me back. What was I waiting for? Why was I still afraid? I wanted him, and I loved him, yet some part of me still kept hesitating. It was maddening, especially since my body was screaming for Adrian to rip my clothes off. I opened my eyes and found him looking at me.
“It’s okay,” he said, guessing my thoughts.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
He placed a kiss on the tip of my nose. “Nothing’s wrong with you.”
“I want this. I really do. I just feel like I’m waiting for something.”
“Then wait.” The kindness and patience in his green eyes—mingled with unquestionable desire—made my heart ache.
“I just hate to waste this room and this night,” I admitted.
He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor. “Who said we’re wasting anything?” He stretched his body out alongside mine and leaned in for another kiss. “Maybe we’re not doing it, but believe me, Sage, there are plenty of other ways to pass the time.”
CHAPTER 15
ADRIAN
I SLEPT WITH SYDNEY THAT NIGHT—in the literal sense, not the sexual one.
And it was glorious. I hadn’t thought I could feel such joy over something so simple. For so long, I’d wished we could have more time together, that I could just drink her in and not be pressured by everything conspiring against us. Here it was.
It was also a little torturous at times. It made yesterday’s travel tension seem downright easy. Even in a T-shirt and flannel pajama pants, she was agonizingly sexy. As she lay wrapped in my arms, sleeping with her head against my chest, I found myself thinking a lot about the thin fabric of her shirt and how there was nothing on underneath it. I thought a lot about what it’d be like to remove those clothes. I thought a lot about what I’d do after that. I loved her for her beautiful soul and desired her for her beautiful body. There was nothing sordid about it. It was nature.
As a result, sleep didn’t come easy for me. My earlier nap probably didn’t help matters. When I wasn’t fantasizing about Sydney, my mind wandered to our mission here and the potentially crackpot idea of using Olive’s blood to make an Alchemist-like tattoo for Neil. Everyone was looking to Sydney and me t
o pull it off. I was pretty sure the spirit-infused blood wouldn’t hurt Neil, so, much like Sydney’s own experimental tattoo, there’d probably be no harm done in trying. After all, we were out of options for the blood. It was as good an idea as any and really didn’t bother me.
What did bother me was my rapidly decreasing grasp of spirit. When Sonya had asked me about sensing what was in the vial, I’d had to lie. She was one of the best spirit users at reading truth but had thankfully been too distracted to notice. Because the thing was, I hadn’t been able to read anything off of it. I knew there had to be spirit in the blood, based on her and Lissa’s observations, but I could no longer sense it. I could no longer see auras either, and although I’d made no healing attempts, I could guess those results too.
Jill’s revelation about the bond had been a slap in the face. Spirit’s disappearance had always hovered as a real possibility, but I’d never thought too much about the consequences with her. She’d explained that although she still sensed we were connected, it felt as though there was a curtain between us that blocked my mind coming through to her. That wasn’t exactly a bad thing. It meant my life was private again and that she would be protected from any of spirit’s darkness seeping into her.
And I couldn’t deny the most obvious truth: I now appeared to be protected from spirit too. I felt . . . good. My world was calm. I didn’t have that frantic need to paint a whole gallery in one night, but I was still full of ideas, ideas that I could actually develop because my focus was stronger. Brooding about Pink Floyd didn’t lead to outright depression. My love for Sydney burned just as strongly.
Life was good.
Waking up with her drove that home. I’d finally fallen asleep but came to when I felt her stirring. We’d both changed positions throughout the night but had never lost our hold on each other. With her sleepy eyes and tousled hair, I was pretty sure she’d never been more adorable. I leaned in to kiss her, and she turned her face away.
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