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"It's okay," he said. "I have a good imagination."
I joined the others, and we headed back toward the main part of the lodge. Mason gave me as
strange a look as Christian had given Lissa and stayed away from me, walking toward the front
with Eddie. To my surprise and discomfort, I found myself walking beside Mia. She looked
miserable.
"I… I'm really sorry about what happened," I said finally.
"You don't have to act like you care, Rose."
"No, no. I mean it. It's horrible…I'm so sorry." She wouldn't look at me. "Is…that is, are you
going to see your dad soon?"
"Whenever they have the memorial," she said stiffly.
"Oh."
I didn't know what else to say and gave up, instead turning my attention to the stairs as we
climbed back up to the lodge's main level. Unexpectedly, Mia was the one who continued the
conversation.
"I watched you break up that fight …" she said slowly. "You mentioned offensive magic. Like
you knew about it."
Oh. Great. She was going to make a play at blackmail…or was she? At the moment, she
seemed almost civil.
"I was just guessing," I said. No way was I going to bust Tasha and Christian. "I don't really
know that much. Just stories I've heard."
"Oh." Her face fell. "What kind of stories?"
"Um, well…"I tried to think of something neither too vague nor too specific. "Like I told those
guys…the concentration thing is big. Because if you're in a battle with Strigoi, all sorts of
things can distract you. So you've got to keep control."