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I looked at Mason questioningly. It wasn't worth the effort to challenge the "boyfriend" comment. "Hey, it was your aunt who suggested it," Mason reminded Christian. "She only said we should find the Strigoi before they find us again," countered Christian. "She wasn't pushing for novices fighting. That was Monica Szelsky." A waitress came by then with a tray of pink drinks. These were in elegant, long-stemmed crystal glasses with sugared rims. I had a strong suspicion the drinks were alcoholic, but I doubted anyone who made it into this party was going to get carded. I had no idea what they were. Most of my experiences with alcohol had involved cheap beer. I took a glass and turned back to Mason. "You think that's a good idea?" I asked him. I sipped the drink, cautiously. As a guardian in training, I felt like I should always be on alert, but tonight I once again felt like being rebellious. The drink tasted like punch. Grapefruit juice. Something sweet, like strawberries. I was still pretty sure there was alcohol in it, but it didn't appear strong enough for me to lose sleep over. Another waitress soon appeared with a tray of food. I eyed it and recognized almost nothing. There was something that looked vaguely like mushrooms stuffed with cheese, as well as something else that looked little round patties of meat or sausage. As a good carnivore, I reached for one, thinking it couldn't be that bad. "It's foie gras," said Christian. There was a smile on his face I didn't like. I eyed him warily. "What's that?" "You don't know?" His tone was cocky, and for once in his life, he sounded like a true royal touting his elite knowledge over us underlings. He shrugged. "Take a chance. Find out." Lissa sighed in exasperation. "It's goose liver." I jerked my hand back. The waitress moved on, and Christian laughed. I glared at him.
Meanwhile, Mason was still hung up on my question about whether novices going to battle before graduation was a good idea. "What else are we doing?" he asked indignantly. "What are you doing? You run laps with Belikov every morning. What's that doing for you? For the Moroi?" What was that doing for me? Making my heart race and my mind have indecent thoughts. "We aren't ready," I said instead. "We've only got six more months," piped in Eddie. Mason nodded his agreement. "Yeah. How much more can we learn?" "Plenty," I said, thinking of how much I'd picked up from my tutoring sessions with Dimitri. I finished my drink. "Besides, where does it stop? Let's say they end school six months early, then send us off. What next? They decide to push back further and cut our senior year? Our junior year?" He shrugged. "I'm not afraid to fight. I could have taken on Strigoi when I was a sophomore." "Yeah," I said dryly. "Just like you did skiing on that slope." Mason's face, already flushed from the heat, turned redder still. I immediately regretted my words, particularly when Christian started laughing. "Never thought I'd live to see the day when I agreed with you, Rose. But sadly, I do." The cocktail waitress came by again, and both Christian and I took new drinks. "The Moroi have got to start helping us defend themselves." "With magic?" asked Mia suddenly. It was the first time she'd spoken since we'd got here. Silence met her. I think Mason and Eddie didn't respond because they knew nothing about fighting with magic. Lissa, Christian, and I did—and were trying very hard to act like we didn't. There was a funny sort of hope in Mia's eyes, though, and I could only imagine what she'd gone through today. She'd woken up to learn her mother was dead and then been subjected to hours and hours of political bantering and
- 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 110 and 111: ELEVEN LISSA WAS UP AND GONE before
- 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 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
- Page 160 and 161: "You can't keep doing this," she gr
- Page 162 and 163: He stopped walking. "We could go."
- Page 164 and 165: I was kissing Mason, but in my head
- Page 166 and 167: SIXTEEN LISSA FOUND ME LATER IN the
- Page 168 and 169: She eyed me. "How much do you know?
- Page 170 and 171: along with their blood, but they di
- Page 172 and 173: Intrigued gazes turned her way agai
- Page 174 and 175: He laughed. "Of course you are. I c
- Page 176 and 177: SEVENTEEN WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE
- Page 178 and 179: there, and several people had witne
- Page 180 and 181: spreading rumors about her? I'd had
- Page 182 and 183: EIGHTEEN THE HIGH HEELS WERE STARTI
- Page 184 and 185: Someone, say, like Mia. I wasn't th
I looked at Mason questioningly. It wasn't worth the effort to challenge the "boyfriend"<br />
comment.<br />
"Hey, it was your aunt who suggested it," Mason reminded Christian.<br />
"She only said we should find the Strigoi before they find us again," countered Christian. "She<br />
wasn't pushing for novices fighting. That was Monica Szelsky."<br />
A waitress came by then with a tray of pink drinks. These were in elegant, long-stemmed<br />
crystal glasses with sugared rims. I had a strong suspicion the drinks were alcoholic, but I<br />
doubted anyone who made it into this party was going to get carded. I had no idea what they<br />
were. Most of my experiences with alcohol had involved cheap beer. I took a glass and turned<br />
back to Mason.<br />
"You think that's a good idea?" I asked him. I sipped the drink, cautiously. As a guardian in<br />
training, I felt like I should always be on alert, but tonight I once again felt like being<br />
rebellious. The drink tasted like punch. Grapefruit juice. Something sweet, like strawberries. I<br />
was still pretty sure there was alcohol in it, but it didn't appear strong enough for me to lose<br />
sleep over.<br />
Another waitress soon appeared with a tray of food. I eyed it and recognized almost nothing.<br />
There was something that looked vaguely like mushrooms stuffed with cheese, as well as<br />
something else that looked little round patties of meat or sausage. As a good carnivore, I<br />
reached for one, thinking it couldn't be that bad.<br />
"It's foie gras," said Christian. There was a smile on his face I didn't like.<br />
I eyed him warily. "What's that?"<br />
"You don't know?" His tone was cocky, and for once in his life, he sounded like a true royal<br />
touting his elite knowledge over us underlings. He shrugged. "Take a chance. Find out."<br />
Lissa sighed in exasperation. "It's goose liver."<br />
I jerked my hand back. The waitress moved on, and Christian laughed. I glared at him.
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