Free Blood Promise by Richelle Mead Page B

day. She’s fine. And I’ll go again soon.”
    Lissa nodded. “Do you think she’ll do it? Do you think she can kill Dimitri?”
    Adrian took a long time in answering. “I think she can. The question will be if it kills her in the process.”
    Lissa flinched, and I was a bit surprised. The answer was as blunt as one Christian might give. “God, I wish she hadn’t decided to go after him.”
    “Wishing’s useless now. Rose has got to do this. It’s the only way we can get her back.” He paused. “It’s the only way she’ll be able to move on.”
    Adrian surprised me sometimes, but this took the prize. Lissa thought it was foolish and suicidal to go after Dimitri. I knew Sydney would agree if I told her the truth about this trip. But Adrian . . . silly, shallow, party-boy Adrian understood? Studying him through Lissa’s eyes, I realized he actually did. He didn’t like it, and I could hear the hurt in his words. He cared about me. My having such strong feelings for someone else caused him pain. And yet . . . he truly believed that I was doing the right thing—the only thing I could do.
    Lissa looked at the clock. “I’ve got to go before curfew. I should probably study for my history test, too.”
    Adrian grinned. “Studying’s overrated. Just find someone smart to copy off.”
    She stood up. “Are you saying I’m not smart?”
    “Hell no.” He rose also and went to pour himself a drink from the fully stocked bar he kept on hand. Self-medicating was his irresponsible way of keeping spirit’s effects at bay, and if he’d been using spirit all night, he would want the numbness of his vices. “You’re the smartest person I know. But that doesn’t mean you have to do unnecessary work.”
    “You can’t succeed in life if you don’t work. Copying from others won’t get you anywhere.”
    “Whatever,” he said with a grin. “I copied all through school, and look how well I’m doing today.”
    With an eye roll, Lissa gave him a quick hug goodbye and left. Once out of his sight, her smile faded a bit. In fact, her thoughts took a decidedly dark turn. Mentioning me had stirred up all sorts of feelings within. She was worried about me—desperately worried. She’d told Christian that she felt bad about what had happened between us, but the full force of that didn’t hit me until now. She was racked by guilt and confusion, continually berating herself for what she should have done. And above all, she missed me. She had that same feeling I did—like a part of her had been cut out.
    Adrian lived on the fourth floor, and Lissa opted for the stairs rather than the elevator. All the while, her mind spun with worry. Worries about whether she’d ever master spirit. Worry for me. Worry that she wasn’t currently feeling spirit’s dark side effects, which made her wonder if I was absorbing them, just as a guardian named Anna had. She’d lived centuries ago and was bonded to St. Vladimir, the school’s namesake. She’d absorbed spirit’s nasty effects from him—and had been driven insane.
    On the second floor, Lissa could make out the sounds of shouting, even through the door that separated the stairwell from the hallway. Despite knowing it had nothing to do with her, she hesitated, curiosity getting the best of her. A moment later, she quietly pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. The voices were coming from around the corner. She carefully peered around it—not that she needed to. She recognized the voices.
    Avery Lazar stood in the hallway, hands on her hips as she stared at her father. He stood in the doorway to what must have been his suite. Their stances were rigid and hostile, and anger crackled between them.
    “I’ll do what I want,” she yelled. “I’m not your slave.”
    “You’re my daughter,” he said in a voice both calm and condescending. “Though at times I wish you weren’t.”
    Ouch . Both Lissa and I were shocked.
    “Then why are you making me stay in this