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a one-on-one visit with the ancient Moroi. He wasn t around when I arrived. I found Dimitri
and Sonya huddled over some cards with blots of dried blood, speculating on how to proceed.
It d be interesting to get Strigoi blood and see if anything happened when I applied spirit,
she was saying. Do you think you could manage that?
Gladly, said Dimitri.
They noticed me. As soon as she looked up, Sonya asked, What s wrong?
I didn t even bother asking how she knew. My face probably said more than my aura did.
Angeline got into a brawl with a motivational group at school.
Dimitri and Sonya exchanged looks. Maybe we should go get some dinner, he said. He
grabbed a set of keys from the table. Let s go downtown.
I never would ve imagined that I d look forward to going out with a Moroi and a dhampir. It
was yet another sign of how far I d advanced or regressed, by Alchemist standards. Compared
to most of the other people in my life, Dimitri and Sonya were grounded and stable. It
was refreshing.
I gave them a rundown of Angeline s behavior, as well as my thinly veiled legal threat.
That part seemed to amuse Sonya.
Smart, she said, twirling spaghetti on a fork. Maybe you should be in law school instead
of the Alchemists.
Dimitri found it less funny. Angeline came here to do a job. She wanted out of the Keepers
and swore she d devote every waking minute to protecting Jill.
There has been a bit of a culture shock, I admitted, unsure as to why I was defending
Angeline. And those guys today& I mean, if they d tried to get me to join their sing-along, I
probably would ve punched them too.
Unacceptable, said Dimitri. He used to be a combat instructor, and I could understand
why. She s here on a mission. What she did was reckless and irresponsible.
Sonya gave him a sly smile. And here I thought you had a soft spot for reckless young
girls.
Rose never would have done anything like that, he countered. He paused to reconsider,
and I could ve sworn there was the hint of a smile there. Well, at least not in such a public
setting.
Once the Angeline topic was put to rest, I brought up the reason I d come here. So& no
experiments today?
Even Sonya s good nature faltered. Ah. No, not exactly. We ve gone over some notes on
our own, but Adrian hasn t been& he hasn t been quite up to the research this week. Or up to
going to class.
Dimitri nodded. I was over there earlier. He could barely answer the door. No idea what
he d been drinking, but whatever it was, he d had a lot. Considering their rocky relationship, I
would ve expected disdain in discussing Adrian s vices. Instead, Dimitri sounded disappointed,
as though he d expected better.
That s what I wanted to talk to you about, I said. I d eaten little of my dinner and was
nervously tearing a roll into pieces. Adrian s current mood isn t entirely his fault. I mean, it is,
but I can kind of understand it. You know we saw his dad this weekend, right? Well& it didn t
go well.
There was a knowing glint in Dimitri s dark eyes. I m not surprised. Nathan Ivashkov isn t
the easiest man to get along with.
He sort of tore down everything Adrian s been trying to do. I tried to make a case for Adrian,
but Mr. Ivashkov wouldn t listen. That s why I was wondering if you guys could help.
Sonya couldn t hide her surprise. I d gladly help Adrian, but something tells me Nathan s
not going to really put much stock in what we have to say.
That s not what I was thinking. I gave up on the bread and dropped all the pieces to my
plate. You guys are both close to the queen. Maybe you could get her to tell Adrian s dad
how& I don t know. What an asset he s been. How much he s been helping. Obviously, she
couldn t explain exactly what he s doing, but anything might help. Mr. Ivashkov won t listen to
Adrian or anyone else, but he d have to take a commendation from the queen seriously. If
she d do it.
Dimitri looked thoughtful. Oh, she d do it. She s always had a soft spot for him. Everyone
seems to.
No, I said stubbornly. Not everyone. There s a split. Half condemn him and write him off
as useless like his dad. The other half just shrug and indulge him and say, Well, that s Adrian.
Sonya studied me carefully, a trace of that amusement returning. And you? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]