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ELEVEN LISSA WAS UP AND GONE before I even stirred the next morning, which meant I had the bathroom to myself while I got ready for the day. I loved that bathroom. It was enormous. My king-size bed would have fit comfortably inside it. A scalding shower with three different nozzles woke me up, though my muscles ached from yesterday. As I stood in front of the fulllength mirror and combed my hair, I saw with some disappointment that the bruise was still there. It was significantly lighter, however, and had turned yellowish. Some concealer and powder almost entirely covered it up. I headed downstairs in search of food. The dining room was just shutting down breakfast, but one of the waitresses gave me a couple of peach marzipan scones to go. Munching on one as I walked, I expanded my senses to get a feel for where Lissa was. After a couple of moments, I sensed her on the other side of the lodge, away from the student rooms. I followed the trail until I arrived at a room on the third floor. I knocked. Christian opened the door. "Sleeping Beauty arrives. Welcome." He ushered me inside. Lissa sat cross-legged on the room's bed and smiled when she saw me. The room was as sumptuous as mine, but most of the furniture had been shoved aside to make space, and in that open area, Tasha stood. "Good morning," she said. "Hey," I said. So much for avoiding her. Lissa patted a spot beside her. "You've got to see this." "What's going on?" I sat down on the bed and finished the last of the scone. "Bad things," she said mischievously. "You'll approve."
Christian walked over to the empty space and faced Tasha. They regarded each other, forgetting about Lissa and me. I'd apparently interrupted something. "So why can't I just stick with the consuming spell?" asked Christian. "Because it uses a lot of energy," she told him. Even with jeans and a ponytail—and the scar— she managed to look ridiculously cute. "Plus, it'll most likely kill your opponent." He scoffed. "Why wouldn't I want to kill a Strigoi?" "You might not always be fighting one. Or maybe you need information from them. Regardless, you should be prepared either way." They were practicing offensive magic, I realized. Excitement and interest replaced the sullenness I'd acquired upon seeing Tasha. Lissa hadn't been kidding about them doing "bad things." I'd always suspected they were practicing offensive magic, but… wow. Thinking about it and actually seeing it were two very different things. Using magic as a weapon was forbidden. A punishable offense. A student experimenting with it might be forgiven and simply disciplined, but for an adult to actively be teaching a minor…yeah. That could get Tasha in major trouble. For half a second, I toyed with the idea of turning her in. Immediately, I dismissed the notion. I might hate her for making moves on Dimitri, but part of me sort of believed in what she and Christian were doing. Plus, it was just cool. "A distracting spell is almost as useful," she continued. Her blue eyes took on the intense focus I often saw Moroi get while using magic. Her wrist flicked forward, and a streak of fire snaked past Christian's face. It didn't touch him, but from the way he flinched, I suspected it had been close enough for him to feel the heat. "Try it," she told him. Christian hesitated for only a moment and then made the same hand motion she had. Fire streaked out, but it had none of the finely tuned control hers had had. He also didn't have her aim. It went straight for her face, but before it could touch her, it parted and split around her, almost like it had hit an invisible shield. She'd deflected it with her own magic. "Not bad—aside from the fact you would have burned my face off."
- Page 60 and 61: "Russian's weird," In Russian, the
- Page 62 and 63: He'd technically been up all of the
- Page 64 and 65: women often had short-term affairs
- Page 66 and 67: make sure she doesn't have a concus
- Page 68 and 69: SEVEN I ANGRILY PUSHED THROUGH THE
- Page 70 and 71: Mia saw my hesitation, and it was l
- Page 72 and 73: "Whatever. I can tell when you're l
- Page 74 and 75: Before I could open my mouth, I fel
- Page 76 and 77: had been a long time since I'd kiss
- Page 78 and 79: EIGHT CHRISTIAN WAS KISSING HER, AN
- Page 80 and 81: "The truth, huh? No one wants to he
- Page 82 and 83: He rolled his eyes, still smiling.
- Page 84 and 85: "Look at me," he ordered. "Dimitri
- Page 86 and 87: shouting. "I swear, sometimes it's
- Page 88 and 89: NINE I DIDN'T SEE DIMITRI FOR a whi
- Page 90 and 91: Christian were chatting on in their
- Page 92 and 93: I honestly couldn't believe we were
- Page 94 and 95: "Good." She opened her mouth, and I
- Page 96 and 97: "I'm really tired," I repeated. I c
- Page 98 and 99: TEN THE SKI TRIP COULDN'T HAVE come
- Page 100 and 101: Inside, all sorts of arrangements h
- Page 102 and 103: "Ah," he said triumphantly. "She fi
- Page 104 and 105: leather dress shoes he wore indicat
- Page 106 and 107: "And you think I'm trouble," I mutt
- Page 108 and 109: get a couple of guys to tell everyo
- Page 112 and 113: Even I wouldn't want her face burne
- Page 114 and 115: I looked between both their faces.
- Page 116 and 117: could look up and see the stars spi
- Page 118 and 119: Adrian leaned against the porch's r
- Page 120 and 121: TWELVE I WAS OUT OF BED in a flash.
- Page 122 and 123: My mother flipped through some pape
- Page 124 and 125: I moved in front of her and placed
- Page 126 and 127: was one of the ruling Moroi, and as
- Page 128 and 129: was pulled back into a ponytail, co
- Page 130 and 131: Tasha shrugged. "If that's what it
- Page 132 and 133: "I have my sources." Somehow, sayin
- Page 134 and 135: I remembered Adrian's arm was still
- Page 136 and 137: I looked at Mason questioningly. It
- Page 138 and 139: attle strategies. The fact that she
- Page 140 and 141: FOURTEEN TWO GUYS I'D NEVER MET bef
- Page 142 and 143: The guy clenched his fists and look
- Page 144 and 145: "My boyfriend," I said. "Sort of."
- Page 146 and 147: "Hey yourself, cousin," he returned
- Page 148 and 149: "It's okay," he said. "I have a goo
- Page 150 and 151: "I'm just telling you the truth." "
- Page 152 and 153: FIFTEEN I WAS TRYING TO PAINT my to
- Page 154 and 155: "I'm returning these." I hoisted th
- Page 156 and 157: The rest of us just sort of stared.
- Page 158 and 159: My anger and snarkiness dried up. T
ELEVEN<br />
LISSA WAS UP AND GONE before I even stirred the next morning, which meant I had the<br />
bathroom to myself while I got ready for the day. I loved that bathroom. It was enormous. My<br />
king-size bed would have fit comfortably inside it. A scalding shower with three different<br />
nozzles woke me up, though my muscles ached from yesterday. As I stood in front of the fulllength<br />
mirror and combed my hair, I saw with some disappointment that the bruise was still<br />
there. It was significantly lighter, however, and had turned yellowish. Some concealer and<br />
powder almost entirely covered it up.<br />
I headed downstairs in search of food. The dining room was just shutting down breakfast, but<br />
one of the waitresses gave me a couple of peach marzipan scones to go. Munching on one as I<br />
walked, I expanded my senses to get a feel for where Lissa was. After a couple of moments, I<br />
sensed her on the other side of the lodge, away from the student rooms. I followed the trail until<br />
I arrived at a room on the third floor. I knocked.<br />
Christian opened the door. "Sleeping Beauty arrives. Welcome."<br />
He ushered me inside. Lissa sat cross-legged on the room's bed and smiled when she saw me.<br />
The room was as sumptuous as mine, but most of the furniture had been shoved aside to make<br />
space, and in that open area, Tasha stood.<br />
"Good morning," she said.<br />
"Hey," I said. So much for avoiding her.<br />
Lissa patted a spot beside her. "You've got to see this."<br />
"What's going on?" I sat down on the bed and finished the last of the scone.<br />
"Bad things," she said mischievously. "You'll approve."
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