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Dimitri sighed and leaned back on his heels. From the look on his face, he obviously believed her. It was also obvious that he was worried—worried in more than a professional way. And seeing that concern—that concern for me—ate up my heart. "Rose?" Christian's voice brought me back to myself. "We're here, I think." The plaza consisted of a wide, open area in front of a shopping center. A café was carved into a corner of the main building, its tables spilling out into the open area. A crowd moved in and out of the complex, busy even at this time of the day. "So, how do we find them?" asked Christian. I shrugged. "Maybe if we act like Strigoi, they'll try to stake us." A small, reluctant smile played over his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd thought my joke was funny. He and I went inside. Like any mall, it was filled with familiar chains, and a selfish part of me thought that maybe if we found the group soon enough, we could still get in shopping time. Christian and I walked the length of it twice and saw no signs of our friends or anything resembling tunnels. "Maybe we're in the wrong place," I finally said. "Or maybe they axe," suggested Christian. "They could have gone to some other—wait." He pointed, and I followed the gesture. The three renegades sat at a table in the middle of the food court, looking dejected. They looked so miserable, I almost felt sorry for them. "I'd kill for a camera right now," said Christian, smirking. "This isn't funny," I told him, striding toward the group. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. The group clearly hadn't found any Strigoi, were all still alive, and could maybe be taken back before we got in even more trouble. They didn't notice me until I was almost right next to them. Eddie's head jerked up. "Rose? What are you doing here?"
"Are you out of your mind?" I yelled. A few people nearby gave us surprised looks. "Do you know how much trouble you're in? How much trouble you've gotten us in?" "How the hell did you find us?" asked Mason in a low voice, glancing anxiously around. "You guys aren't exactly criminal masterminds," I told them. "Your informant at the bus station gave you away. That, and I figured out that you'd want to go off on your pointless Strigoihunting quest." The look Mason gave me revealed he still wasn't entirely happy with me. It was Mia who replied, however. "It isn't pointless." "Oh?" I demanded. "Did you kill any Strigoi? Did you even find any?" "No," admitted Eddie. "Good," I said. "You got lucky." "Why are you so against killing Strigoi?" asked Mia hotly. "Isn't that what you train for?" "I train for sane missions, not childish stunts like this." "It isn't childish," she cried. "They killed my mother. And the guardians weren't doing anything. Even their information is bad. There weren't any Strigoi in the tunnels. Probably none in the whole city." Christian looked impressed. "You found the tunnels?" "Yeah," said Eddie. "But like she said, they were useless." "We should see them before we go," Christian told me. "It'd be kind of cool, and if the data was bad, there's no danger." "No," I snapped. "We're going home. Now." Mason looked tired. "We're going to search the city again. Even you can't make us go back, Rose."
- 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
- Page 186 and 187: the guardians hadn't done anything
- Page 188 and 189: to get to town fast, and I prayed C
- Page 192 and 193: "No, but the school's guardians can
- Page 194 and 195: T D V L D Z S I Some had lines and
- Page 196 and 197: We turned and walked down a narrow
- Page 198 and 199: NINETEEN I HATE BEING POWERLESS. AN
- Page 200 and 201: each other's gaze for several momen
- Page 202 and 203: framed his face and stood out again
- Page 204 and 205: Isaiah smoothed his shirt—not tha
- Page 206 and 207: "Rose!" exclaimed Mason. I ignored
- Page 208 and 209: TWENTY WE NEEDED AN ESCAPE PLAN, an
- Page 210 and 211: "Honestly, I don't know. Everyone h
- Page 212 and 213: "No!" exclaimed Mason. "Use me." Is
- Page 214 and 215: "They're like … bands of light ar
- Page 216 and 217: "You just said you could." "I can
- Page 218 and 219: I held his gaze, willing him to und
- Page 220 and 221: One of the guards shoved Christian.
- Page 222 and 223: in my combat class. He grunted at t
- Page 224 and 225: He sighed. "I hope … I hope when
- Page 226 and 227: "Children, children," crooned Isaia
- Page 228 and 229: We all turned at the new voice, a v
- Page 230 and 231: Suddenly, I heard an explosion. The
- Page 232 and 233: "Rose! Rose!" Through my hate-fille
- Page 234 and 235: The sword fell out of my hands, lan
- Page 236 and 237: "Rose," said my mother. For once in
- Page 238 and 239: I sat on a stool in the corner of t
Dimitri sighed and leaned back on his heels. From the look on his face, he obviously believed<br />
her. It was also obvious that he was worried—worried in more than a professional way. And<br />
seeing that concern—that concern for me—ate up my heart.<br />
"Rose?" Christian's voice brought me back to myself. "We're here, I think."<br />
The plaza consisted of a wide, open area in front of a shopping center. A café was carved into a<br />
corner of the main building, its tables spilling out into the open area. A crowd moved in and out<br />
of the complex, busy even at this time of the day.<br />
"So, how do we find them?" asked Christian.<br />
I shrugged. "Maybe if we act like Strigoi, they'll try to stake us."<br />
A small, reluctant smile played over his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd thought my<br />
joke was funny.<br />
He and I went inside. Like any mall, it was filled with familiar chains, and a selfish part of me<br />
thought that maybe if we found the group soon enough, we could still get in shopping time.<br />
Christian and I walked the length of it twice and saw no signs of our friends or anything<br />
resembling tunnels.<br />
"Maybe we're in the wrong place," I finally said.<br />
"Or maybe they axe," suggested Christian. "They could have gone to some other—wait."<br />
He pointed, and I followed the gesture. The three renegades sat at a table in the middle of the<br />
food court, looking dejected. They looked so miserable, I almost felt sorry for them.<br />
"I'd kill for a camera right now," said Christian, smirking.<br />
"This isn't funny," I told him, striding toward the group. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. The<br />
group clearly hadn't found any Strigoi, were all still alive, and could maybe be taken back<br />
before we got in even more trouble.<br />
They didn't notice me until I was almost right next to them. Eddie's head jerked up. "Rose?<br />
What are you doing here?"
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