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When we got to the door of my room, I saw a bouquet of freesias sitting on the floor near it. Sighing, I picked up the fragrant flowers without even looking at the attached card. "What are those?" asked Lissa while I unlocked the door. "They're from Adrian," I told her. We walked inside, and I pointed to my desk, where a few other bouquets sat. I put the freesias down beside them. "I'll be glad when he leaves campus. I don't think I can take much more of this." She turned to me in surprise. "Oh. Um, you don't know." I got that warning twinge through the bond that told me I wouldn't like what was about to come. "Know what?" "Uh, he isn't leaving. He's going to stay here for a while." "He has to leave," I argued. To my knowledge, the only reason he'd come back at all was because of Mason's funeral, and I still wasn't sure why he'd done that, since he barely knew Mason. Maybe Adrian had just done it for show. Or maybe to keep stalking Lissa and me. "He's in college. Or maybe reform school. I don't know, but he does something." "He's taking the semester off." I stared. Smiling at my shock, she nodded. "He's going to stay and work with me… and Ms. Carmack. All this time, he never even knew what spirit was. He just knew he hadn't specialized but that he had these weird abilities. He just kept them to himself, except for when he occasionally found another spirit user. But they didn't know any more than he did." "I should have figured it out sooner," I mused. "There was something about being around him. … I always wanted to talk to him, you know? He just has this … charisma. Like you do. I guess it's all tied into spirit and compulsion or whatever. It makes me like him … even though I don't like him." "Don't you?" she teased.
"No," I replied adamantly. "And I don't like that dream thing, either." Her jade eyes went wide with wonder. "That is cool," she said. "You've always been able to tell what's going on with me, but I've never been able to communicate with you the other way. I'm glad you guys got away when you did…but I wish I could have figured out the dream thing and helped find you." "Not me," I said. "I'm glad Adrian didn't get you to go off your meds." I hadn't found that out until a few days after being in Spokane. Lissa had apparently rejected Adrian's initial suggestion that stopping the pills would let her learn more about spirit. She had admitted to me later, however, that if Christian and I had stayed missing much longer, she might have cracked. "How are you feeling lately?" I asked, recalling her concerns about the medication. "You still feel like the pills aren't working?" "Mmm…well, it's hard to explain. I still feel closer to the magic, like maybe they aren't blocking me so much anymore. But I'm not feeling any of the other mental side effects…not upset or anything." "Wow, that's great." A beautiful smile lit her face. "I know. It makes me think there might be hope for me to learn to work the magic after all someday." Seeing her so happy made me smile back. I hadn't liked seeing those dark feelings starting to return and was glad they'd vanished. I didn't understand the how or the why, but as long as she felt okay— Everyone has light around them, except for you. You have shadows. You take them from Lissa. Adrian's words slammed into my mind. Uneasily, I thought about my behavior these last couple of weeks. Some of the angry outbursts. My rebelliousness—unusual even for me. My own black coil of emotion, stirring in my chest…
- 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
- Page 240 and 241: It was only half a compliment, but
- Page 244 and 245: No, I decided. There were no simila
- Page 246 and 247: hand. "You will recover—I know th
- Page 248: "Yes. And, so … that's a problem.
When we got to the door of my room, I saw a bouquet of freesias sitting on the floor near it.<br />
Sighing, I picked up the fragrant flowers without even looking at the attached card.<br />
"What are those?" asked Lissa while I unlocked the door.<br />
"They're from Adrian," I told her. We walked inside, and I pointed to my desk, where a few<br />
other bouquets sat. I put the freesias down beside them. "I'll be glad when he leaves campus. I<br />
don't think I can take much more of this."<br />
She turned to me in surprise. "Oh. Um, you don't know."<br />
I got that warning twinge through the bond that told me I wouldn't like what was about to come.<br />
"Know what?"<br />
"Uh, he isn't leaving. He's going to stay here for a while."<br />
"He has to leave," I argued. To my knowledge, the only reason he'd come back at all was<br />
because of Mason's funeral, and I still wasn't sure why he'd done that, since he barely knew<br />
Mason. Maybe Adrian had just done it for show. Or maybe to keep stalking Lissa and me. "He's<br />
in college. Or maybe reform school. I don't know, but he does something."<br />
"He's taking the semester off."<br />
I stared.<br />
Smiling at my shock, she nodded. "He's going to stay and work with me… and Ms. Carmack.<br />
All this time, he never even knew what spirit was. He just knew he hadn't specialized but that<br />
he had these weird abilities. He just kept them to himself, except for when he occasionally<br />
found another spirit user. But they didn't know any more than he did."<br />
"I should have figured it out sooner," I mused. "There was something about being around him.<br />
… I always wanted to talk to him, you know? He just has this … charisma. Like you do. I guess<br />
it's all tied into spirit and compulsion or whatever. It makes me like him … even though I don't<br />
like him."<br />
"Don't you?" she teased.
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