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Heout on cas up"

Lissa glanced between the two of us She’d been in class all day, and we hadn’t had much time to talk "What’s this?"

"Alberta wants raduate," I explained

Lissa nearly dropped her plate "Then do it!"

My mother looked equally startled "She’ll let you?"

"That’s what she told me," I said

"Then do it!" my mother exclaimed

"You know,"on the road together"

"Whatever," I shot back "You probably wouldn’t let me drive"

"Stop this" My hter’s departure or wistfulness for a lost lover "You need to take this seriously Your future’s at stake" She nodded toward Lissa "Her future’s at stake Finishing your education here and going on to be a guardian is the-"

"Yes," I said

"Yes?" she asked, puzzled

I sree withNeither could I, for that raduate, and become as respectable a member of society as I can Not that it sounds like ht, but inside, I knew I needed this I needed to be back with people who loved et over Di his voice

Beside ether Her joy flooded into me Adrian didn’t wear his emotions as openly, but I could see he too was pleased at having me around My mom still looked kind of stunned I think she was used tounreasonable-which, usually, I was

"You’ll really stay?" she asked

"Good God" I laughed "How o back to school"

"And stay?" she prompted "The full two and a half months?"

"Isn’t that implied?"

Her face was hard-and veryto up and run away again You’ll stay and finish school no raduate? Do you promise?"

I met her eyes, surprised at her intensity "Yes, yes I prolad you did this down the road" Her words were guardian-formal, but in her eyes, I saw love and joy

We finished dinner and helped stack dishes for the building’s cleaning service While scraping uneaten food into a trash can, I felt Adrian beside me

"This is very domy house"

"Oh, Adrian, how I’ve missed you," I said with an eye roll "I don’t suppose you’re helping?"

"Nah I helped when I ate everything on my plate No mess that way" He paused "And yes, you’re welco you didn’t say ht have decided otherwise"

"Not sure if you could have stood up to her Your ets her way a lot" He cast a covert look to where Lissa andacross the room He lowered his voice "It et her help on soarettes?"

"Asking her daughter out"

I nearly dropped the plate I held "You’ve asked me out tons of times"

"Not really I’ve estions and frequently pushed for nudity But I’ve never asked you out on a real date And, if ive me a fair chance once I let you clean out my trust fund"

"I didn’t clean it out," I scoffed

But standing there, looking at him, I remembered that I had said that if I survived ive Adrian a shot I would have said anything to get the h new eyes I wasn’t ready to ination, nor did I fully consider him reliable boyfriend material I didn’t even know if I wanted a boyfriend ever But he had been a good friend to hout all of this chaos He’d been kind and steady, and yeah, I couldn’t deny it even with a fading black eye, he was still extraordinarily handsome

And while it shouldn’t have otten it out from him that a lot of his infatuation with Avery had been compulsion-induced He’d liked her and hadn’t been ruling out a romantic attachment, but her powers had cranked up the intensity uy and all that had happened to me, I’d probably say I’d been under the influence of ic too

Yet from the way he looked at me now, I found it hard to believe anyone had taken my place for him in this last month or so

"Make ive ood would-be suitor"

He started to laugh, then saw my face "Seriously? That’s like hoe"

I snapped ood day’s work"

I expected a joke or a brush-off until later, but instead, he said, "Okay"

"Okay?" Now I felt like reed with her

"Yep I’ nment"

I stared incredulously as he reached for his coat I had never seen Adrian move that fast when any kind of labor was involved Oh no What had I gotten myself into?

He suddenly paused and reached into his coat pocket with an exasperated smile "Actually, I already practically wrote you an essay Nearly forgot"

He produced a piece of folded paper and waved it in the air "You have got to get your own phone I’ to be your secretary anyn guy called me earlier said ain, Adrian eyed Lissa and my mom They were still deep in conversation "He said he had a e for you and didn’t want me to tell anyone else He made me write it out and read it back to him You’re the only person I’d do that for, you know I think I’ proposal"

"Will you just hand it over?"

He gave oodbye to Lissa and o write up a dating proposal Mostly, my attention was on the note I had no doubt who had called him I’d used Abe’s phone to dial Adrian in Novosibirsk and had later told Abe about Adrian’s financial involveh, that was still an unreal thought-had decided that h I wondered why er

I unfolded the note, and it tookIf he did writeproposal, I really hoped he would type it The note read:

Sent aI could offer that would make him reveal Robert’s location-and believeas he had to spend the rest of his life in there, then the inforht you’d like to know

It was hardly the essay Adrian had made it out to be It was also a bit cryptic, but then, Abe wouldn’t want its contents easily understandable to Adrian Towas clear Robert’s brother was Victor Dashkov Abe had soe to Victor in whatever horrible, remote prison he was locked away in (Somehow, it didn’t surprise me that Abe could pull that off) Abe had no doubt attempted one of his trades with Victor in order to find out where Robert was, but Victor had refused No surprise there either Victor wasn’t the most helpful of people, and I couldn’t entirely blauy was locked up for life "in there"-in prison What could anyone offer a condemned man that would really hed and put the note away, somehow touched that Abe had done this for uiven up Robert’s location, what did it ot from the events in Russia, the oi back to his original form Only true death could free them, only death

Mythe bridge scene once more in my head She told me she had to leave but proone, Lissa and Ioff toto do too We went upstairs, and I wondered when they’dand back to the dorm Probably whenever Alberta finished with the red tape It still see to be able to return to my old life and move on from all that had happened in the last ive you a love note?" Lissa asked h the bond, I knew she still worried aboutfor Dimitri

"Not yet," I said "I’ll explain later"

Outsideattendants was just about to knock on the door When she sawthis to you It arrived in today’s mail"

"Thanks," I said

I took it from her and looked at it My na, which I found odd, since my arrival here had been sudden There was no return address, but it bore Russian postht mail

"Do you knoho it’s froone

"I don’t know I met a lot of people in Russia" It could have been fro I couldn’t quite explain set h alert

I tore open one side and reached in My hand closed around so cold and metallic I knew before I even pulled it out what it was It was a silver stake

"Oh God," I said I rolled the stake around, running eometric pattern at its base There was no question One-of-a-kind This was the stake I’d taken from the vault in Galina’s house The one I’d "Why would someone send you a stake?" asked Lissa

I didn’t answer and instead pulled out the envelope’s next ite I knew all too well, was:

You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your eneain the next time I see you-which will be soon

Love, D

"Oh," I said, nearly dropping the card "This is not good"

The world spun for aa deep breath For the hundredth tiht I’d escaped from Dimitri Every other time, my emotions and attention were always on the look on his face when I stabbed hi into that black water Now le I recalled how his last-e had interfered with my shot at his heart For a otten the stake in hard enough-until I’d seen his face go slack and watched hiotten the stake in hard enough My first instinct had been right, but things had happened too fast He’d fallen and then what? Had the stake been loose enough to fall out on its own? Had he been able to pull it out? Had the river’s impact knocked it out? "All those practice du how Die a stake into the chest so it would get past the ribs and into the heart

"Rose," exclai this wasn’t the first ti on?"

Theof my life and I had messed it up What would happen now? Looks like we’ll have to go over the lesson again the next time I see you-which will be soon

I didn’t knohat to feel Despair that I hadn’t released Dimitri’s soul and fulfilled the promise I’d secretly made to him? Relief that I hadn’t killed the man I loved? And always, always that question: Would he have said he loved me if we’d had a few moments more?

I still had no answers My e crazy, and I needed to put them on hold and analyze what I knew here

First: two and a half months I’d promised my mom two and a half months No action until then

Meanwhile, Di as he was loose in the world, there would be no peace for ain, I realized I would have no peace even if I tried to ignore hie

Di told oi He was co to kill me What had he said when I escaped the manor? That there was no e could both be alive in the world?

And yet, maybe we could

When I didn’t answer her right away, Lissa’s worry grew "Your face is freaking ?"

"Do you believe in fairy tales?" I asked, looking up into her eyes Even as I said the words, I could iine Mark’s disapproval

"What what kind of fairy tales?"

"The kind you aren’t supposed to waste your life on"

"I don’t understand," she said "I’ on What can I do?"

Two and a half months I had to stay here for two and a half months-it seemed like forever But I’d proain-particularly with the stakes so high now Pro in pro

"Did you o with me on my next crazy quest? No matter what?"

"Yes" There was no uncertainty or hesitation in the word, no wavering in her steady green eyes Of course, I wondered if she’d feel the sa to do

What could anyone offer a condemned man that would really make a difference in his life?

I’d pondered that earlier, trying to figure out what could get Victor Dashkov to talk Victor had told Abe there was nothing anyone could offer that would ed ability to restore Strigoi Victor was serving a life sentence; no bribe couldcould, I realized Freedom And there was only one way to achieve that

We were going to have to break Victor Dashkov out of prison

But I decided not to mention that to Lissa quite yet

All I knew for noas that I had a fleeting shot at saving Dimitri Mark had said it was a fairy tale, but I had to take the chance The question was: how long did I have until Diure out if the impossible was actually possible? That was the real issue Because if Dion in this story-Victor-things were going to get ugly Maybe this whole Robert thing was one big lie, but even if it wasn’t well, the clock was ticking If Diet to Victor and Robert, I’d have to fight hiical cure I’d have to kill Diht have to bring backI ell under pressure