When Rose brings the bottles back to Adrian, she’s surprised to see that he already has a guest in his room: Lissa. What’s
she
doing there?
Before she can bring herself to ask that very question, though, Dimitri suddenly appears in the hallway. And he’s not happy. His
alleged
reason? Male and female students aren’t supposed to be in each other’s rooms.
“I ’m sure you know the rules at St. Vladimir’s.”
Adrian shrugged. “Yeah, but I don’t have to follow any school’s stupid rules.”
“Perhaps not,” said Dimitri coldly. “But I would have thought you’d still respect those rules.”
Adrian rolled his eyes. “I ’m kind of surprised to find you lecturing about underage girls.”
—page 202
However,just as soon as Adrian’s gotten a nice zinger in, he launches into a rambling and disjointed speech. Everyone is confused—he sounds crazy. And then, the next moment, he’s back to normal. They all leave his room puzzled by his strange turn. Once they reach the lobby, Lissa takes off when Dimitri asks to speak with Rose alone.
Rose jealously assumed Dimitri was on this side of the lodge to find Tasha, but she’s wrong. He actually had been visiting Janine to go over more details about the Moroi attacks and fills Rose in on the details. While Dimitri is stiff in talking to Rose after their previous quarrel, he feels she has a right to know what he’s learned. The guardians believe the Strigoi are in Spokane, Washington. There’s a shopping plaza with underground tunnels and Strigoi sightings. However, despite having this valuable information, no offensive attack is being sent until they’re given permission from higher up.
Dimitri admits that he’s said some insulting things to Rose lately about her age, so he’s telling her this info because he’s confident she has the maturity to handle it. It’s a sign of respect that warms her heart and brightens her mood. However, he cautions that what he’s told her needs to stay confidential.
It feels like a special moment between them . . . until Tasha ruins it by showing up, wondering when Dimitri’s shift ends. Rose feels sick and jealous at the reminder he might be Tasha’s guardian—and
more
—very soon.
Dimitri just told Rose something in confidence, but he
really
shouldn’t have. Rose is so angry at Dimitri that she shares this info about the Strigoi sightings with Mason almost immediately afterward. Serves Dimitri right!
But Mason’s reaction is a bit more intense than Rose anticipated. He doesn’t understand why the guardians aren’t acting on this info right away. They should go to Spokane and take care of the threat themselves! Rose disagrees. They’d need more people, planning, and info before it would even be a possibility.
Mason thinks she acts like Dimitri now, after being tutored by him. She’s gotten all serious and isn’t as much of a risk taker anymore—not like him.
Talking about the man she really desires but can’t be with is the last thing Rose wants right now, and it’s
totally
spoiling the mood. Before it’s spoiled
too
much, Mason shifts from discussing battle strategy to kissing her—definitely better, in Rose’s opinion. She channels her bad mood into passion and kisses him back—hard.
This
is the distraction she needs. Attention from a guy who makes her feel amazing and desirable. Someone who isn’t wandering off to be with someone else just so he doesn’t break any stupid rules.
But despite herself, Rose finds herself thinking longingly about the time she and Dimitri almost went all the way. Sure, it was only thanks to Victor Dashkov’s charmed necklace, but still, she knows deep down there was something more there. Mason doesn’t understand when she pulls away, but she knows she can’t go further with him while desperately wishing she was with someone else.
ROYAL BANQUET
Later that day, Lissa invites Rose along to the royal banquet being held at the lodge that night. Rose doesn’t understand why she wouldn’t take Christian. You know, her
boyfriend
? The truth is, Christian’s currently not speaking to Lissa. He’s jealous she hung out in the gorgeous Adrian’s room that morning, falsely believing it to be more than a “just friends” situation—so Lissa needs someone else to accompany her while he cools off. And there’s clearly only one choice: Rose. Even though Rose hates formal Moroi events, she reluctantly agrees to go. When she’s Lissa’s official guardian, she’ll be going to a lot of these!
After the meal, they mingle with the other royals. Lissa’s in her element here: perfect, polished, and polite. A group of Moroi are discussing going on the offensive against the Strigoi:
Is it the right thing to do? Or is it a suicide mission?
Lissa raises the point that this isn’t an all-or-nothing decision. Those who wish to learn and fight can. Those who don’t want to don’t have to. But there
should
be a choice. In her opinion, defense should be part of the Moroi school curriculum
right now
. Surprisingly, everyone seems pleased with the Dragomir princess’s solution.
When Rose leaves Lissa to discuss Moroi politics with her fellow royals, she runs into Adrian. Even though the sexy and flirtatious guy annoys her on many levels, she feels an overwhelming urge to be near him. What’s up with that?
Well, he
does
look better in a tuxedo than any other guy there. There’s no question that Adrian would be extremely desirable to any girl—Moroi, dhampir, or human.
Unlike others at the party, Adrian’s not too interested in discussing whether or not Moroi should use their magic to fight.
“I’ve got better things to do.”
“Like stalk me,” I suggested. “And Lissa.” I still wanted to know why she’d been in his room.
He smiled again. “I told you, you’re the one following me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Five times—” I stopped. “Five times?”
He nodded.
“No, it’s only been four.” With my free hand, I ticked them off. “There was the first time, the night at the spa, then when I came to your room, and now tonight.”
The smile turned secretive. “If you say so.”
—pages 227–228
The only other time Rose had spoken to Adrian was . . . in her dream—the one in which he’d mentioned the shadows all around her. She’s tempted to mention it. Was it really only a simple dream . . . or something else?
Before Rose can decide whether to speak up, her mother storms up to them. Shame on Rose for making a spectacle of herself by wearing a tight dress and flirting with Adrian, a Moroi lord. Who does she think she is? Janine’s accusation makes Rose mad, but she turns it around on her mother. Isn’t that what she’s
supposed
to do? Hook up with a Moroi in order to further her race? After all, that’s what Janine did. But Janine isn’t buying Rose’s logic—Rose is too young to get pregnant.
Oh boy.
Not
a subject Rose wants to deal with right now. She feels the sudden urge to escape and swiftly flees to the rooftop patio. The door to the patio opens a few minutes later and Dimitri joins her. He followed her from the party—he’d been watching her when she’d had the argument with her mother.
It’s clear to him that Janine’s just worried about Rose and trying to be protective of her daughter. But perhaps she was being a bit
over
protective. And what she’d said about being too young to get pregnant . . . maybe that was aimed more at
herself
than at Rose.
Ah, Dimitri. So very insightful.
And suddenly, Rose realizes something important.
“We aren’t fighting right now,” I blurted out.
He gave me a sidelong look. “Do you want to fight?”
“No. I hate fighting with you. Verbally, I mean. I don’t mind in the gym.”
I thought I detected the hint of a smile. Always a half-smile for me. Rarely a full one. “I don’t like fighting with you either.”
Sitting next to him there, I marveled at the warm and happy emotions springing up inside of me. There was something about being around him that felt so good, that moved me in a way Mason couldn’t. You can’t force love, I realized. It’s either there or it isn’t. If it’s not there, you’ve got to be able to admit it. If it’s there, you’ve got to do whatever it takes to protect the ones you love.
—pages 235–236
Rose decides that she wants Dimitri to be happy. He should take the position as Tasha’s guardian—it’s a great opportunity for him and a chance to have children. No matter what happens, she knows she’ll always love him.
She also knows she has to talk to Mason—to apologize for how she’s treated him and to end things with him once and for all.
But she can’t find him anywhere.
MASON’S PLAN
It’s not long before Rose comes to a sickening realization: the reason she can’t find Mason is because he’s no longer at the ski lodge. Mason, his friend Eddie, and Mia must have all gone to Spokane so that he could fulfill his crazy dream of killing Strigoi. And it’s all Rose’s fault! The only reason Mason knows they’re in Spokane is because Rose told him.
She needs to stop them! She realizes that Mason, Eddie, and Mia must have used compulsion to get past the guards at the gates—but Rose, as a dhampir, doesn’t have that ability. She needs to find a Moroi to assist her. Lissa’s the obvious choice, but Rose does something surprising. She finds Christian instead and tells him everything. But even he knows Lissa’s much better at compulsion than he is.
“I know. But I don’t want to get her in trouble.”
He snorted. “But you don’t mind if I do?”
I shrugged. “Not really.”
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
“ Yeah, I do, actually.”
—page 242
Christian agrees to join Rose. They hitch a ride into town and head to the bus station, but there’s no sign of Mason and the others—they’ve already headed to Spokane.
Crap.
When Rose and Christian reach Spokane, Rose feels a tug on the bond. She slips into Lissa’s head and sees that her friend is being questioned by Dimitri about Rose and the other students’ whereabouts. Lissa is frustrated and afraid—and upset that she wasn’t told about any plans to leave the lodge—but she has no idea where Rose is. She sadly reminds Dimitri that the bond only works one way. When Dimitri continues to press, Lissa snaps at him that she’d help if she could. But she can’t. Dimitri’s not the only one worried about Rose and the others.
The concern Rose sees in Dimitri’s eyes through the bond eats her up inside.
When Rose and Christian reach the shopping center, they find the missing trio looking dejected in the food court. The trip’s been a big fat failure, and Rose couldn’t be more relieved that her friends are safe.
“Did you kill any Strigoi? Did you even find any?”
“No, ” adm itted Eddie.
“Good, ” I said. “ You got lucky.”
“Why are you so against killing Strigoi?” asked Mia hotly. “Isn’t that what you train for?”
“I train for sane missions, not childish stunts like this.”
“It isn’t childish,” she cried. “They killed my mother. And the guardians weren’t doing anything. Even their information is bad. There weren’t any Strigoi in the tunnels. Probably none in the whole city.”
—page 250
While Mason, Eddie, and Mia didn’t find any Strigoi in their search, they did find the underground tunnels that are connected to the mall. The thought of checking them out again while they wait for the next bus appeals to Christian. Since he usually spends a lot of time in a cramped attic, Rose isn’t all that surprised that he’d think this would be fun.
Reluctantly, she agrees that they can take a peek. A quick one!
Rose and Christian follow the others to the far end of the mall and down a dirty, smelly set of stairs, leading into the tunnels below. Grime-caked cement, ugly fluorescent lights, boxes of cleaning and electrical supplies . . .
But no Strigoi.
It’s kind of boring, really.
But then Rose spots some writing on the wall. It’s a list of twelve letters with an
X
next to a couple of them. Mia dismisses it as nothing, but Rose keeps studying the list until it clicks. The letters are the initials of the twelve royal Moroi families . . .