In those hours that passed, I would have risked my life to be bitten again. That was actually kind of funny because if I did allow another bite, I would be risking my life. I had no doubt more of that cloudy thinking would lead to an acceptance of Dimitri’s offer. But with each miserable, bite deprived second that passed, my thoughts grew incrementally sharper. Oh, I was still a long way away from being free of the dreamy haze of vampire endorphins. When we’d been captured in Spokane, Eddie had been used as a Strigoi blood source, and it had taken him days to recover.

Each bit of clarity now made me realize how important it was for me to stay bite free. Not that that knowledge made it any easier on my body.

I had some serious problems here. It seemed like either way, I was destined to become a Strigoi. Dimitri wanted to turn me so that we could reign together as the vampiric equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde. Nathan wanted to turn me in the hopes of hunting down Lissa-and then kill me. Clearly, Dimitri’s option was more appealing, but not by much. Not anymore.

Yesterday, I would have said becoming a Strigoi was something I wasn’t going to worry about too much. Now, the harsh reality of what it truly meant hit me, and my old feelings returned. Suicide versus existence as a creature of evil. Of course, being a creature of evil meant I could be with Dimitri…

Except it wasn’t Dimitri. Was it? It was all so confusing. I again tried to remind myself of what he’d said long ago-that no matter how much a Strigoi seemed like the person I used to know, they weren’t. Yet this Dimitri said he’d been wrong about that.

“It’s the endorphins, Rose. They’re like drugs…” I groaned and buried my face in my hands as I sat on the couch, the TV droning in the background. Lovely. I was talking to myself now.

Supposing I could break this hold Dimitri had over me and this addled state that kept making me think I’d misunderstood Strigoi… well, then what? I was back to the original dilemma. No weapons to fight Strigoi with. No weapons with which to kill myself. I was back at their mercy, but at least now I was closer to putting up a good fight. Sure, it would be a losing fight, but I felt that if I stayed off the endorphins a little longer, I’d at least be able to take down Inna. That had to count for something.

And there it was. Off the endorphins. Each time my mind ran through my options and hit a wall, I would spiral back to the physical reality in front of me. I wanted that high back. I wanted that haze of joy back. I needed it back, or surely, I would die. That would be what killed me and freed me from being a Strigoi…

“Damn it!”

I stood up and began pacing around, hoping to distract myself. TV wasn’t doing it; that was for sure. If I could just hold out a little longer, I could shake the drug from my system, I could figure out how to save myself and Lissa, and Lissa!

Without any debate, I dove into her. If I was in her body and mind, then maybe I wouldn’t have to deal with mine for a while. My withdrawal would pass more quickly.

Lissa and her group had returned from the

Royal Court

a bit more grimly than they arrived. The cold light of morning had made Lissa feel incredibly idiotic about the party’s events. Dancing on a table wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but looking back over other parties she’d been to that weekend and her social life with Avery made her wonder what had gotten into her. Sometimes, she didn’t even feel like herself. And the kiss with Aaron… well, that was an entirely different guilt-inducing matter altogether.

“Don’t worry about it,” Avery told her on the plane. “We all do stupid stuff when we’re drunk.”

“Not me,” groaned Lissa. “This isn’t like me.” Despite this claim, Lissa had nonetheless agreed to drink mimosas-champagne mixed with orange juice-on the ride back.

Avery smiled. “I don’t have anything to compare it to. You seem okay to me. But then, you aren’t trying to run off with a human or some non-royal guy.”

Lissa smiled back, and her eyes went to Jill, sitting a little ahead of them on the plane. Adrian had spoken to the younger girl earlier, but she was busy with a book now, her biggest concern seeming to be to stay away from Reed. He sat with Simon again, and Lissa was a little surprised to see the guardian eyeing Jill suspiciously. Maybe Reed had told Simon that the younger girl was some kind of threat.

“You’re worried about her?” asked Avery, following Lissa’s gaze.

“It’s not that… I just can’t shake the way she looked at me last night.”

“She’s young. I think she’s easily shocked.”

Lissa supposed that was true. Yet young or not, there had been something refreshingly clear and honest in the way Jill had called Lissa out. It reminded Lissa of something I might do. And Lissa couldn’t rest easy knowing someone like that thought badly of her. Lissa stood up.

“I’ll be right back,” she told Avery. “I’m going to talk to her.”

Jill was obviously astonished when Lissa sat beside her. The younger girl put a bookmark in what she was reading, and whatever she might be feeling, her smile for Lissa was genuine. “Hey.”

“Hey,” said Lissa. She hadn’t had much of the mimosa yet and still controlled enough spirit to see Jill’s aura. It was a rich teal blue, interspersed with purple and darker blue. Good, strong colors. “Look, I wanted to apologize for what happened last night… what I said…”

“Oh,” said Jill flushing. “It’s okay, really. I mean, things were kind of crazy, and I know you weren’t thinking straight. At least, I don’t think you were. I don’t really know. I’ve never actually had a drink, so I can’t say.” Jill’s nervousness always seemed to make her oscillate between rambling and silence.

“Yeah, well, I should have been thinking straight before I got in that situation. And I’m really sorry for what happened with Reed.” Lissa lowered her voice. “No clue what happened there… but that wasn’t right, what he did and said to you.”

Both girls found themselves studying him. He was deep in a book, but suddenly, as though he could sense them watching, his gaze turned toward Jill and Lissa. He glared, and they immediately looked away.

“That definitely wasn’t your fault,” said Jill. “And, you know, Adrian was there and everything. So it turned out okay.”

Lissa worked to keep a straight face. Adrian was sitting out of their view, but if he hadn’t been, Lissa had a feeling Jill would have been gazing at him dreamily. Adrian was doing a good deal of gazing of his own at Avery lately, and Lissa could see Jill was never going to leave that little-sister role for him. Yet it seemed clear that Jill was developing a little bit of a crush. It was cute, and even though Lissa knew it was stupid on her part, she couldn’t help feeling a bit of relief that Adrian was the object of Jill’s affections and not Christian.

“Well, here’s hoping for better choices,” said Lissa. “And hoping no one thinks too badly of me.”

“I don’t,” said Jill. “And I’m sure Christian won’t either.”

Lissa frowned, confused for a moment. “Well… there’s no point in stressing him out over it. It was my stupid mistake; I’ll deal with it.”

Now Jill frowned. She hesitated before speaking, that old nervousness returning. “But you have to. You have to tell him the truth, right?”

“It’s no big deal,” said Lissa, surprised at how defensive she suddenly felt. That unpredictable anger started to raise its head.

“But… you guys are in a serious relationship… You have to always be honest, don’t you? I mean, you can’t lie to him.”

Lissa rolled her eyes. “Jill, you haven’t been in a serious relationship either, have you? Have you even gone on one date? I’m not lying to him. I’m just not telling him stuff that’s going to freak him out for no reason. It’s not the same.”

“It is,” argued Jill. I could tell how much it killed her to talk back to Lissa, but I admired her boldness. “He has a right to know.”