Shadow Kiss Chapter 15

FifteenIWHAT?You happen upond me. I dont contend how far issues suck g superstar, and h anestly, I sincerely dont want to manage the lucubrate. Thats n bingle the point. The point is that its exhalation to go no farther.The queen was depending muckle on me, hands on her hips, readyly waiting for me to swear Id do whatever she trea sured. Except I kind of couldnt. I glanced around the room, real this was vertical ab issue sort of joke. I learned to the two guardians across the room, half-hoping theyd explain what was hand step to the fore on, but they were doing that jawing-with knocked scoop(p)- actually-seeing thing. No eye contact. I turned back to the queen.Um, Your highness t stimulatehers been virtually kind of mistake. Theres nothing passage on toyween Adrian and me.Do you destine Im an idiot? she asked.Wow. That was an opening.No, Your Majesty.Well, thats a start. Theres no point in fraud to me. People guard seen you to hold fasther, here and back at your school. I motto you myself in the courtroom. Damn it. Why had Adrian chosen that moment to be dashing and sneak an new(prenominal)(prenominal) hug? Ive heard all the illicit details nearly whats release on, and it is going to stop skillful here, right straight focal point. Adrian Ivashkov is not going to run off with some cheap dhampir girl, so you power as well rid yourself of that delusion right now.I neer pattern he was going to seeing as how were not involved, I said. I mean, were friends, thats all. He equals me. Hes a flirt. And if you want to talk illicit stuff, consequentlyyeah, Im pretty sure hes got a list of illicit things hed stallardised to do with me. Lots of illicit things. yet were not doing them. Your Majesty.As curtly as the words unexpended my mouth, I felt same(p) an idiot. From the whole tone on her represent, however, it didnt seem like things could really get any worse for me.I know erect about you, she said. All anyone talks abou t ar your new-fangled awards and accolades, but I havent forgotten that it was you who similarlyk Vasilisa extraneous. I also know about the trouble you used to get into I know about the drinking, about the men. If it was up to me, Id pack you up and send you off to some fall whore commune. Youd probably fit in well.Drinking and men? She do me sound like an alcoholic prostitute when, honestly, Id probably drunk no much than new(prenominal) teenagers at high school parties. Telling her this seemed useless, though. Pointing out that I was allay a virgin probably wouldnt have do some(prenominal) of a difference either.But, she get overd, your recent achievements set up sending you forward impossible. E veryone takes you have some glorious future ahead of you. Maybe you do. Regardless, if I gitt stop you from macrocosm a guardian, I can affect whose guardian you be.I stiffened. What are you express? Are you threatening me? I r the words tentatively, not as a cha llenge. She couldnt be spartan. Taking me away from Lissa during the field bewilder was one thing, but we were talk about an completely different matter now.Im ripe gradeing I have a great interest in Vasilisas future, thats all. And if I have to protect her from debase influences, I will. We can celebrate her another guardian. We can find you another Moroi.You cant do that I exclaimed. I could divide by the look on her expression that she was joyful to finally get a real reception out of me. I was both angry and afraid, and I fought hard against my common swan explosive instincts. Diplomacy and honesty were what I take ined now. Im not doing anything with Adrian. Really. You cant retaliate me for something Im not doing. I quickly remembered to add Your Majesty.I dont want to revenge you at all, Rose. I fairish want to play sure we gain each other. Moroi men dont marry dhampir girls. They play with them. Every girl thinks its going to be different with her even y our mother did with Ibrahim, but she was wrong in any case.With who? I asked, the name hitting me like a slap in the face. Ibrahim? Id never even heard of that name, let alone someone called that. I wanted to ask who he was and what his connection to my mother was, but Tatiana just unplowed talking.Theyre always wrong. And you can try your hardest to change that, but its a flagellate of time. She shook her head, like she felt sorry for these dhampir girls, but her smug shine contradicted any true sympathy. You can use your pretty face and effortless body as much as you want, but in the end, youre the one wholl get used. He may say he loves you now, but in the end, hell get tired of you. Save yourself the grief. Im doing you a favor.But he isnt saying he loves There was no point. The ironic thing here was that I was fairly certain Adrian did just want to use me for sex. I didnt have any delusions about that. But seeing as I wasnt actually sleeping with him, there was no problem except, well, that Tatiana seemed to see of all this as a problem. I sighed, suspecting no argument was going to put to work her believe that I wasnt interested in Adrian. Look, if youre so certain we cant have a future together, then wherefore are you telling me this? According to you, hes going to make water me away anyway. Your Majesty.She hesitated for just a second, and I nearly laughed. contempt her trash-talking about me, my mom, and other dhampirs, some part of her really was worried that I dexterity indeed be charming and pretty enough to constitute Adrian into a disgraceful marriage. She quickly hid her uncertainty.I like to take share of things before they become messy, thats all. Be billets, its going to make things easier for him and Vasilisa if they arent dragging around baggage from you.Whoa, whoa. My moment of brief satisfaction shattered into confusion. I was as helpless now as Id been when she starting started accusing me of being involved with Adrian. Him and Vasilisa? Lissa? What are you talking about? I forgot the Your Majesty, but I dont think she cared at this point.The two of them are an excellent match, she said, sounding like she was about train to purchase some artwork. Despite your bad influence, Vasilisas grown into a very promising young woman. She has a very serious, very dedicated record that will cure some of his recklessness. And being together would allow them to continue examining theirunusual magical situation.Five minutes ago, me marrying Adrian had been the craziest thing Id ever heard. It had just been trumped, however, by the thought of Lissa marrying Adrian.Lissa and Adrian. Together. You cant be serious. Your Majesty.If theyre both here together, I think theyll come around to it. They already have a certain personal magnetism around each other. Plus, both of Adrians grandmothers came from branches of the Dragomir family. He has more than enough riptide to help her carry on the Dragomir line.So does Chr istian Ozera. In one of their more disgustingly cute moments, Lissa and Christian had looked up his family tree to see if he had enough Dragomir genes to be fitted to pass on the name. When they put up out he did, theyd then starting naming their future children. It had been horrible. Id left after Lissa told me theyd name their third daughter after me.Christian Ozera? That act smile of hers tightened. There is no way Vasilisa Dragomir is going to marry him.Well, yeah. not anytime soon. I mean, theyre going to go to college and Not now, not ever, interrupted Tatiana. The Dragomirs are an ancient and exalted line of royalty. Their last descendent is not going to attach herself to someone like him.Hes royal, I said in a low voice that was on the verge of becoming my scary voice. For whatever reason, her insulting Christian made me angrier than her insulting me. The Ozera line is every human action as important as the Dragomirs and Ivashkovs. Hes royal, just like Lissa, like Adria n, and like you.She snorted. He is not like us. Yes, the Ozeras are one of the royal houses, and yes, he has several respectable distant cousins. But we arent talking about them. Were talking about the son of someone who purposely became a Strigoi. Do you know how many times thats happened in my lifetime? Nine. Nine in cubic decimetre years. And his parents were two of them.Yes his parents, I said. Not him.It doesnt matter. The Dragomir princess cannot associate with someone like him. That adjust is simply too prestigious.But your nephew is the perfect choice, I said bitterly. Your Majesty.If youre such(prenominal) a smart girl, then you tell me back at St. Vladimirs, how are they treated? How do your classmates view Christian? How do they view Christian and Vasilisa together? Her eyes gleamed knowingly.Fine, I said. They have lots of friends.And Christian is fully accepted?Immediately, I thought of Jesse and Ralf grilling me about Christian. And yes, there were throne of peop le who still avoided Christian like he was already Strigoi. It was why hed had no partner in culinary science. I tried to cover up my thoughts, but my hesitation had given me away.You see? she exclaimed. And thats just a microcosm of society. judge it on a big(a)ger scale. Imagine how itll be when shes active in the government and trying to get others to support her. Hell be a liabi lighten upy. Shell make enemies just because of him. Do you really want that to happen to her?It was exactly what Christian had feared, and I denied it now as much as I had to him. It wont happen. Youre wrong.And youre very young, Miss Hathaway. Youre also delaying your flight. She moved toward the entre. The guardians across the room were by her side in the blink of an eye. I have nothing more to say and apply this will be the last time we ever have a discussion like this.Or any discussion, I thought.She left, and as soon as etiquette said I could go, I sprinted off to put one across my plain. M y head reeled as I went. How insane was that lady? Not merely was she convinced that I was on the verge of eloping with Adrian, she also believed that she could work some kind of arranged marriage with him and Lissa. It was almost impossible to figure out which part of that conversation had been the most ridiculous.I could hardly wait to tell the others what had happened and have a severe laugh over it. But, as I returned to my room to get my bag, I reconsidered. There was already so much gossip about me and Adrian going around I didnt think I should be fueling the fire. I also didnt think Christian should hear about this. He was already insecure about his position with Lissa. How would he olfaction if he found out the queen was already reservation plans to get rid of him?So I decided to sit on the information for a eyepatch, which was hard because Lissa was practically waiting outside my door when I got back.Hey, I said. I thought youd be on the plane?Nope. They delayed it by a few hours.Oh. Going home all of a sudden sounded like the best idea ever.Whatd the queen want? asked Lissa.To congratulate me, I said glibly. Over my Strigoi kills. I didnt expect that from her it was kind of weird.Not that weird, she said. What you did was amazing. Im sure she just wanted to recognize you for what you did.Yeah, I guess. So whats going on? What are we going to do with the extra time? There was ecstasy in both her eyes and her ghosts, and I welcomed a change in subject.Well I was thinking. Since were at the Royal Court dont you want to larn it out? Theres gotta be more to it than a bar and a chocolate shop. Seems like we should know this stuff if were going to be living here. Besides, weve got a lot to celebrate.The full force of our situation hit me. Id been so distracted by Victor that I hadnt even really let things locate in We were at the Royal Court, the center of Moroi leadership. It was nearly as big as the Academy, and there had to be more to it than the all-business side wed seen so far. Plus, she was right. We had a lot to be happy about. Victor had been put away. Shed gotten a wise college deal. Only my alleged issue with Adrian had been a overthrowside, but I was instinctive to put that aside as Lissas contagious excitement seized me.Wheres Christian? I asked.Doing his own thing, she said. You think we need him on?Well, he usually is on lately.Yeah, she admitted, but Id kind of like just us to hang out. I sensed the thoughts behind her decision. Our brief conversation just before shed bygone to see the queen had made her nostalgic for the old days, back when it had just been the two of us on our own.No complaints here, I said. How much can we cover in three hours?A mischievous grin lit her face. The essentials. I could tell she had something special in mind, but she was trying to carry on it in mysterious. She couldnt block me out of the bond, but she had learned that if she didnt think too hard about certain things , then I wouldnt pick up on them easily. She liked being able to think that she could surprise me sometimes. try to hide big issues or problems from me never worked, though.We set back out into the cold defy, with Lissa leading the way. She steered us away from the administrative buildings, off toward some others set at the farther end of the Courts grounds.The queen lives in that first building, Lissa explained. Its not exactly a palace but the occludest we have. O.K. when the Court was in Europe, Moroi royalty used to live in castles.I made a face. You make that sound like a good thing.Stone walls? Turrets? Even you have to admit that sounds pretty neat.Yeah, but I bet they had crap Internet access.Lissa shook her head at me, smiling, and didnt honour my comment with a response. We passed some other buildings that had the same ornate stonework as the others but were tall and built in a style that reminded me of apartments. She substantiate as much.Those are town houses, wher e people who live here year-round stay.I eyed them, wondering what they were like on the inside, and a happy thought came to me. You think thats where well live?The thought caught her off guard, but she soon grew just as excited as me. She, too, liked the idea of us having our own place, free to decorate it and come and go as we wanted. I rather liked the idea of Dimitri living with us too, but here at Court, he wouldnt be with her 24/7. For that matter, I actually wouldnt need to be with her 24/7 either. Would they let me live with her? Or would this be another chance to show I wasnt needed?I hope so, she said, oblivious to my worries. Top floor with a view.I mustered another smile. And a pool.How can you think about a pool in this weather?Hey, if were fantasizing here, we might as well go the whole way. I bet Tatianas got one. I bet she wears a bikini and has hot guys rubbing her down with suntan lotion.I expected another eye register, but Lissa just grinned as she led me into a building that was near the town houses. anomalous you mention that.What? I exclaimed. She was about ready to burst with her secret. I was this close to pulling it out of her mind. I would have, too, if I hadnt been so stunned by our surroundings. It was sensory overload delicate music, fountains, plants, people in ovalbumin robes, everything twinkling and silverIt was a spa, a full-fledged luxury spa hidden away in an old stone building here at Court. Who would have guessed? A recollective granite receptionists desk guarded the entrance, so we only had a partial view, but what I could see was pretty sweet. Women sat a capacious a wall getting pedicures and manicures. Moroi men and women were getting haircuts and color. What looked like a maze of halls could just be seen in the back of the salon, with a directory of arrows pointing to other sections massage, sauna, facials, etc.Lissa grinned at me. What do you think?I think Adrian was right about the Court having all sorts of sec rets. I gave a mock sigh. And I hate having to admit that hes right.Youve been so down about the field experience andother stuff. She didnt have to mention Masons death and the Strigoi fight. I read it from her mind. I figured you could use a treat. I checked their openings here while you were with the queen, and they were able to squeeze us in.Lissa walked up to the receptionist and told her who we were. The woman immediately recognised our names but seemed surprised to be letting a dhampir in. I didnt care, though. I was too bedazzled by the sights and sounds around me. Compared to the harsh, practical lifestyle I usually led, this sort of luxury almost defied belief.After checking in, Lissa turned to me, face eager and radiant. I got us set up to get massages with these Nails, I interrupted.What?I want my nails done. Can I get a manicure?It was the most exotic, completely useless thing I could imagine. Well, it wasnt useless for medium women. But for me? With the way I used my hands and subjected them to blisters, bruises, dirt, and wind? Yes. Useless. I hadnt unhingeted my nails in ages. There was no reason. Half the nail pour down would probably chip off after one practice session. A novice like me couldnt afford that kind of luxury. And that was why I so, so desperately wanted one. Seeing Lissa wear war paint had awakened that hungriness in me for some beautification of my own. I accepted that it could never be a regular part of my life, but if I was in a place like this today, then by God, I wanted my nails done.Lissa faltered a little. Shed evidently had big plans for this massage thing. But, she had a hard time refusing me and spoke to the receptionist again. It sounded like the receptionist had to do a bit of juggling with her schedule, but she said she could make it work.Of course, Princess. She smiled happily, entranced by Lissas natural charisma. Half the time, Lissa didnt even need animation to get people to help her.I dont want to be an inconvenience, Lissa said.No, no. Definitely notWe soon found ourselves sitting at contiguous tables while Moroi women soaked our hands in hot water and started bush them with weird combinations of sugar and seaweed.Why the manicure? Lissa wanted to know. I explained my cerebrate to her, about how I hardly had time for makeup anymore and how the misdirect my hands went through made any sort of pampering impractical. Her face turned thoughtful. I never thought about that before. I just figured you werent into it lately. Or, well, that you didnt need it. Not with your looks.Whatever, I said. Youre the one guys worship.Because of my name. Youre the one that guys like a certain one we know actually want for other reasons.Gee, I wondered who she could be referring to. Yeah, but those other reasons arent very noble.She shrugged. The points the same. You dont need makeup for them to drool all over you.Then I felt the weirdest thing through the bond. I saw myself through her eyes. It was like looking in a mirror, except she only had a profile view of me. But when she looked at me, she really did think I was beautiful. With my tan and dark brown hair, I seemed exotic to her. She felt pale and washed out compared to me, tight fitting next to my curves. It was surreal, considering how often I felt scruffy next to her bright beauty. Her envy wasnt malicious that wasnt in her nature. It was more wistful, an admiration of a look she could never have.I wanted to reassure her but had a feeling she didnt want me knowing about her insecurities. Besides, my thoughts were interrupted when the woman doing my nails asked what color I wanted. I picked a color that looked like opulent glitter. Gaudy, perhaps, but I actually thought it looked kind of cool, and it wasnt like it was going to last long anyway. Lissa picked pale pink, a color as refined and elegant as she was. Hers got painted a lot faster than mine, though, because my manicurist had to spend so long softening my hands and filing the nails. Lissa finished long before I did.When we both had glamorous hands, we proudly held them up side by side. You look gorgeous, darling, she declared, affecting a sophisticated air.Laughing, we went off to the massage area. Lissa had originally plan us for extensive massages, but the manicure had cut into a musket ball of that time. So we modified the full-body massage into a foot massage, which was just as well since we couldnt have put on robes or any other changes of clothes with our nails still wet. All we had to do was remove our shoes and roll up our pants. I sat down in a tone down while my feet soaked in warm, bubbling water. Someone put something into the vat that smelled like violets, but I didnt pay much attention. I was too entranced by my hands. They were perfect. The manicurist had buffed and hydrated them to silky softness, and my nails had been transformed into gleaming gold ovals.Rose, I heard Lissa say.Hmm? The lady had also put a clear coat of nail polish over the gold. I wondered if that would give the nails a longer lease on life.Rose.Sensing that Lissa wanted my undivided attention, I finally looked up from my awesome hands. She was grinning from ear to ear. I could feel that excited news burning in her again, the secret shed had while wed been walk over here.Whats up? I asked.She nodded downward. Rose, this is Ambrose.I glanced absentmindedly toward the masseuse at my feet. Hey, Ambrose, hows it I cut myself off before the words holy crap or whoa left my lips.The guy massaging my feet couldnt have been much older than me. He had ringleted black hair and muscles everywhere. I knew this for a fact because he was shirtless and offered us both a good view of his sculpted pecs and biceps. His fatheaded golden skin was a color achievable only by excessive time in the sun, indicating he was human. The bite marks on his neck confirmed it. A pretty boy feeder. Very pretty.His magnet was almost unreal, though. Dim itri was gorgeous, but he had little flaws that made him that much more gorgeous. Ambrose was too perfect, like a piece of art. I didnt want to throw myself into his arms or anything, but he was certainly nice to look at.Lissa, still worried about my love life, had apparently thought this was exactly what I needed. Her masseuse was female.Its very nice to meet you, Rose, said Ambrose. He had a musical voice.Its nice to meet you too, I said, utterly self-conscious as he lifted my feet out of the water and toweled them off. I was especially self-conscious of the appearance of my feet. They werent gross or anything, since they werent usually exposed to the elements like my hands. I just kind of wished theyd been polished up too if this male type was going to handle them so much.Lissa, astute enough to sense me being flustered, could barely stop from laughing. I heard her thoughts in my head Cute, huh? I cut her a look, refusing to voice my thoughts out loud. Hes Tatianas personal mas seuse. That practically makes you royalty. I sighed loudly to let her know she wasnt as funny as she thought she was. And when I say personal, I mean personal.I jerked in surprise, out of the blue kicking one of my feet out. Ambroses deft hands caught it before I hit him in his pretty face, thankfully. I might not have been able to communicate telepathically but I was pretty sure there could be no question to Lissa that the look on my face said, You cant be serious because if you are, youre in big trouble.Her grin widened. I thought youd like that. Pampered by the queens secret lover.Pampered wasnt exactly the word that came to mind. Looking at Ambroses young, beautiful features, I just couldnt picture him getting it on with that old hag. Of course, that denial might have just been my brains way of refusing to acknowledge that someone who had touched her was now touching me. Ew.Ambroses hands were checking out my calves along with my feet, and he struck up a conversation about what elegant legs I had. His dazzling white smile never left his face, but most of my answers were curt. I still couldnt get over the thought of him and Tatiana together.Silently, Lissa groaned. Hes flirting with you, Rose she thought to me. What are you doing? You can do better than that. I went to all this trouble to get you the hottest guy here, and this is what I getThis one-sided-conversation thing was becoming a pain in the ass. I wanted to tell her that Id never asked for her to rent out this guy for me. In fact, I suddenly had images of the queen calling me in for another meeting to yell at me for having a nonexistent affair with Ambrose too. Wouldnt that be perfect?Ambrose continued smiling as he rubbed the soles of one foot with his thumbs. It hurt but in a good way. I hadnt realized how sore that spot was. They go to such trouble to make sure you wear the right black and white clothes, but no one ever thinks about your feet, he mused. How are you supposed to stand around all day and still manage roundhouse kicks and cat stances in bad shoes?I was about to tell them that he really didnt need to keep worrying about my feet, but something odd suddenly struck me. Roundhouse kicks and cat stances werent top-secret guardian terms. Anyone could Google martial arts and find out about those kinds of things. Still, it wasnt the kind of topic Id expect a Moroi to casually throw around, let alone a feeder. I studied Ambrose closer, noting the way his dark eyes so carefully darted around and observed everything. I recalled his fast reflexes in stopping my kick.I felt my jaw start to drop, and I shut it before I looked like an idiot.Youre a dhampir, I breathed.