richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02

A funny look crossed his face. I think it astonished him that I'd still be worried about her at a
time like this. He beckoned me to follow and led me out to a back stairwell, one that usually
stayed locked to students. But it was open tonight, and he gestured me outside. "Five minutes,"
he warned.
More curious than ever, I stepped outside. Lissa stood there. I should have sensed she was
close, but my own out-of-control feelings had obscured hers. Without a word, she put her arms
around me and held me for several moments. I had to hold back more tears. When we broke
apart, she looked at me with calm, level eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"Not your fault. It'll pass.”
She clearly doubted that. So did I.
"It is my fault," she said. "She did it to get back at me.”
"She?”
"Mia. Jesse and Ralf aren't smart enough to think of something like that on their own. You said
it yourself: Jesse was too scared of Dimitri to talk much about what happened. And why wait
until now? It happened a while ago. If he'd wanted to spread stuff around, he would have done
it back then. Mia's doing this as retaliation for you talking about her parents. I don't know how
she managed it, but she's the one who got them to say those things.”
In my gut, I realized Lissa was right. Jesse and Ralf were the tools; Mia had been the
mastermind.
"Nothing to be done now," I sighed.
"Rose—”
"Forget it, Liss. It's done, okay?”
She studied me quietly for a few seconds. "I haven't seen you cry in a long time.”
"I wasn't crying.”