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Its looming, ivy-covered form was just coming into view when Lissa met up with us, her face<br />
streaked with tears. I came to a jarring stop, my lungs ready to burst.<br />
"What's wrong? What happened?" I demanded, clutching her arms, forcing her to look into my<br />
eyes.<br />
But she couldn't answer. She just flung her arms around me, sobbing into my chest. I held her<br />
there, stroking her sleek, silky hair while I told her it was going to be all right—whatever 'it'<br />
was. And honestly, I didn't care what it was just then. She was here, and she was safe, which<br />
was all that mattered. Dimitri hovered over us, alert and ready for any threat, his body coiled to<br />
attack. I felt safe with him beside us.<br />
A half hour later, we were crammed inside Lissa's dorm room with three other guardians, Ms.<br />
Kirova, and the hall matron. This was the first time I'd seen Lissa's room. Natalie had indeed<br />
managed to get her as a roommate, and the two sides of the room were a study in contrasts.<br />
Natalie's looked lived in, with pictures on the wall and a frilly bedspread that wasn't dormissue.<br />
Lissa had as few possessions as I did, making her half noticeably bare. She did have one<br />
picture taped to the wall, a picture taken from last Halloween, when we'd dressed up like<br />
fairies, complete with wings and glittery makeup. Seeing that picture and remembering how<br />
things used to be made a dull pain form in my chest.<br />
With all the excitement, no one seemed to remember that I wasn't supposed to be in there.<br />
Outside in the hall, other Moroi girls crowded together, trying to figure out what was going on.<br />
Natalie pushed her way through them, wondering what the commotion in her room was. When<br />
she discovered it, she came to a screeching halt.<br />
Shock and disgust showed on almost everyone's faces as we stared at Lissa's bed. There was a<br />
fox on the pillow. Its coat was reddish-orange, tinged in white. It looked so soft and cuddly that<br />
it could have been a pet, perhaps a cat, something you'd hold in your arms and snuggle with.<br />
Aside from the fact that its throat had been slit.<br />
The inside of the throat looked pink and jellylike. Blood stained that soft coat and had run down<br />
onto the yellow bedspread, forming a dark pool that spread across the fabric. The fox's eyes
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