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"Good." She opened her mouth, and I had a feeling she was on the verge of apologizing. But
she didn't.
When she started pacing again, I decided I couldn't stand the inactivity. I began putting my
presents away. I'd gotten a pretty nice haul of stuff this morning. One of them was a silk dress
from Tasha, red and embroidered with flowers. My mother watched me hang it in the room's
tiny closet.
"That was very nice of Tasha."
"Yeah," I agreed. "I didn't know she was going to get me anything. I really like her."
"Me too."
I turned from the closet in surprise and stared at my mom. Her astonishment mirrored mine. If I
hadn't known any better, I'd have said we'd just agreed on something. Maybe Christmas
miracles did happen.
"Guardian Belikov will be a good match for her."
"I—" I blinked, not entirely sure what she was talking about. "Dimitri?"
"Guardian Belikov," she corrected sternly, still not approving of my casual way of addressing
him.
"What… what kind of match?" I asked.
She raised an eyebrow. "You haven't heard? She's asked him to be her guardian—since she
doesn't have one."
I felt like I'd been punched again. "But he's…assigned here. And to Lissa."
"Arrangements can be made. And regardless of the Ozera reputation…she's still royal. If she
pushes, she can get her way."
I stared bleakly into space. "Well, I guess they are friends and everything."
"More than that—or possibly could be."