Then I noticed that Abe had gone very still.

"Do you know him?" I asked.

"No. Do you?"

"No." I scrutinized Abe's face. "You sure look like you know something, Zmey."

"I know of him," Abe clarified. "He's an illegitimate royal. His father had an affair, and Robert was the result. His father actually included him as part of the family. Robert and his half-brother grew quite close, though few knew about it." Of course Abe would know about it, though. "Doru is Robert's mother's last name."

No surprise. Doru wasn't a royal name. "What's his father's last name?"

"Dashkov. Trenton Dashkov." "That," I told him, "is a name I know."

I had met Trenton Dashkov years ago while accompanying Lissa and her family to a royal holiday party. Trenton had been an old, stooped man then, kind but on the brink of death. Moroi often lived to be over a hundred, but he'd been pushing a hundred and twenty-which was ancient even by their standards. There had been no sign or whisper of him having an illegitimate son, but Trenton's legitimate son had been there. That son had even danced with me, showing a great courtesy to a lowly dhampir girl.

"Trenton is Victor Dashkov's father," I said. "You're saying Robert Doru is Victor Dashkov's half-brother."

Abe nodded, still watching me closely. Abe, as I'd noted, knew everything. He likely knew my history with Victor.

Oksana frowned. "Victor Dashkov is someone important, isn't he?" Out in their Siberian cottage, she was removed from the turmoil of Moroi politics, unaware that the man who would have been king had been locked away in prison.

I started laughing-but not because I found any humor in the situation. This whole thing was unbelievable, and my hysteria was the only way to let out all the crazy feelings within me. Exasperation. Resignation. Irony.

"What's so funny?" asked Mark, startled.

"Nothing," I said, knowing if I didn't stop laughing, I'd probably start crying. "That's the thing. It's not funny at all."

What a wonderful twist to my life. The only person alive who might know something about saving Strigoi was the half -brother of my greatest living enemy, Victor Dashkov. And the only person who might know where Robert was was Victor himself. Victor had known a lot about spirit, and now I had a good idea where he'd first learned about it.

Not that it mattered. None of this mattered anymore. Victor himself could have been able to convert Strigoi for all the good it would have done me.

Dimitri was dead by my hand. He was gone, saved in the only way I knew how. I 'd had to choose between him and Lissa once before, and I'd chosen him. Now there could be no question. I'd chosen her. She was real. She was alive. Dimitri was the past.

I'd been staring absentmindedly at the wall, and now I looked up and met Abe squarely in the eyes. "All right, old man," I said. "Pack me up and send me home."

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The flight was more like thirty hours.

Getting from the middle of Siberia to the middle of Montana wasn't easy. I flew from Novosibirsk to Moscow to Amsterdam to Seattle to Missoula.

Four different flights. Five different airports. A lot of running around. It was exhausting, yet when I handed over my pa.s.sport to get back into the U.S. in Seattle, I felt a strange surge of emotion in me... joy and relief.

Before leaving Russia, I had thought Abe might come back with me and finish his task himself, hand-delivering me to whomever had hired him.

"You really are going back now, aren't you?" he asked at the airport. "To the school? You aren't going to get off at one of your stops and disappear?"

I smiled. "No. I'm going back to St. Vladimir's."

"And you'll stay there?" he pressed. He didn't quite look as dangerous as he had in Baia, but I could see a glint of hardness in his eyes.

My smile slipped. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't have a place there anymore."

"Rose-"

I held up a hand to stop him, surprised at my own determination. "Enough. No after-school specials. You said you were hired to get me back there.

It isn't your job to say what I do after that." At least, I hoped not. Whoever wanted me back had to be someone at the Academy. I'd be there soon.

They had won. Abe's services were no longer required.

Despite his victory, he didn't look happy about relinquishing me. Glancing up at one of the departure boards, he sighed. "You need to go through security, or you'll miss your flight."

I nodded. "Thanks for..." What exactly? His help? "... For everything."

I started to turn away, but he touched my shoulder. "Is that all you're wearing?"

Most of my clothing had been scattered around Russia. One of the other Alchemists had located shoes, jeans, and a sweater, but otherwise, I was winging it until I got back to the U.S. "I don't really need anything else," I told him.

Abe arched an eyebrow. Turning to one of his guardians, he made a small gesture toward me. Immediately, the guardian took off his coat and handed it over. The guy was lanky, but the coat was still too big for me.

"No, I don't need-"

"Take it," ordered Abe.

I took it, and then to my further shock, Abe began unwinding the scarf from around his neck. It was one of his nicer ones, too: cashmere, woven with an array of brilliant colors, more suited to the Caribbean than here or Montana. I started to protest this as well, but the look on his face silenced me. I put the scarf around my neck and thanked him, wondering if I'd ever see him again. I didn't bother asking because I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me anyway.

When I finally landed in Missoula thirty hours later, I was pretty sure I didn't want to fly in a plane anytime soon-as in, like, the next five years. Maybe ten. Without any luggage, getting out of the airport was easy. Abe had sent word ahead of my arrival, but I had no idea who they'd send to get me. Alberta, who ran the guardians at St. Vladimir's, seemed a likely choice. Or maybe it would be my mother. I never knew where she was at any given moment, and suddenly, I really, really wanted to see her. She would be a logical choice too.

So it was with some surprise that I saw that the person waiting for me at the airport's exit was Adrian.

A grin spread over my face, and I picked up the pace. I threw my arms around him, astonishing both of us. "I have never been happier to see you in my life," I said.

He squeezed me tightly and then let me go, regarding me admiringly. "The dreams never do justice to real life, little dhampir. You look amazing." I'd cleaned up after the ordeal with the Strigoi, and Oksana had continued healing me in spite of my protests-even the bruises on my neck, which she had never asked about. I didn't want anyone else to know about those.

"And you look..." I studied him. He was dressed as nicely as always, with a three-quarter-length wool coat and green scarf that matched his eyes.

His dark brown hair had that crafted messiness he liked, but his face-ah, well. As I'd noted before, Simon had gotten a few good punches on him.

One of Adrian's eyes was swollen and ringed with bruises. Nonetheless, thinking about him and everything he'd done... well, none of the flaws mattered. "... Gorgeous."

"Liar," he said.

"Couldn't Lissa have healed that black eye away?"

"It's a badge of honor. Makes me seem manly. Come on, your carriage awaits."

"Why'd they send you?" I asked as we walked toward the parking lot. "You are sober, aren't you?"

Adrian didn't dignify that with an answer. "Well, the school has no official responsibility to you, seeing as you're a dropout and everything.

So they weren't really obligated to come get you. None of your other friends can leave campus... but me? I'm just a free spirit, hanging out. So I borrowed a car, and here I am."

His words sparked mixed reactions in me. I was touched that he'd taken the trouble to come out here but was bothered by the part about the school having no responsibility to me. Throughout all my travels, I'd gone back and forth in thinking of St. Vladimir's as home... yet, in the most technical terms, it truly wasn't anymore. I would just be a visitor.

As we settled into the drive, Adrian caught me up on the aftermath at the school. After the big psychic showdown, I hadn 't delved much into Lissa's mind. Oksana had healed my body, but mentally, I was still exhausted and grieving. Even though I 'd accomplished what I set out to do, that image of Dimitri falling and falling still haunted me.

"It turns out you were right about Avery bonding Simon and Reed," Adrian said. "From what information we could gather, it sounds like Simon was killed in a fight that Avery witnessed years ago. Everyone thought it was a miracle he survived, not actually realizing the truth."

"She kept her powers hidden like the rest of you," I mused. "And then Reed died later?"

"Well, that's the weird thing," said Adrian, frowning. "No one can really tell when he died. I mean, he's royal. He's been pampered his whole life, right? But based on what we could get out of him-which wasn't much, since they're all pretty messed up now-it sounds like Avery may have intentionally killed him and then brought him back."

"Just like with Lissa," I said, recalling Simon's words during the fight. "Avery wanted to kill her, bring her back, and bond her. But why Lissa of all people?"

"My guess? Because she's a spirit user. Now that spirit's not a secret anymore, it was only a matter of time before Avery heard about Lissa and me.

I think Avery thought bonding Lissa would increase her own power. As it was, she was sucking up a lot of energy from those other two."

Adrian shook his head. "I wasn't kidding about sensing that spirit all the way across campus. The amounts Avery had to wield to compel so many people, mask her aura, and who knows what else... well, it was staggering."

I stared off at the freeway ahead of us, considering the consequences of Avery's actions. "And that's why Reed was so messed up-why he was so angry and ready for a fight. He and Simon were absorbing all that darkness she was producing by using spirit. Just like I do with Lissa."

"Yeah, except you were nothing like these guys. It wasn't so obvious with Simon-he was better at keeping a straight face-but both of them were totally on the edge. And now? They're over the edge. All three of them are."

I recalled Simon staring at nothing and Avery screaming. I shivered. "When you say over the edge...?"

"I mean totally and completely insane. Those three are going to be inst.i.tutionalized for the rest of their lives."

"From what you... we all did?" I asked, aghast.

"Partly," he agreed. "Avery was throwing all that power at us, and when we threw it back and then some... well, I think it was like an overload to their minds. And to be honest, considering how Reed and Simon already were, the stage was probably set for this. With Avery too."

"Mark was right," I murmured.

"Who?"

"The other shadow-kissed guy I met. He was talking about how Lissa and I might be able to heal the darkness away from each other someday. It takes a careful balance of power between the spirit user and the shadow-kissed. I still don't fully get it, but I 'm guessing Avery's little circle of three wouldn't have been able to handle that kind of balancing act. I don't think bonding to more than one person is healthy."

"Huh." Adrian didn't say anything for a while and simply pondered all this. Finally, he laughed. "Man, I can't believe you found another spirit user and shadow-kissed person. It's like finding a needle in a haystack, but that kind of thing always happens to you. I can't wait to hear the rest of what you've been doing."

I looked away and rested my cheek against the gla.s.s. "It's actually not very interesting."

None of the Academy officials knew about my role in the showdown with Avery. So it wasn 't like anyone questioned me when we got back. They were still doing cleanup and asking Adrian and Lissa a lot of questions. Spirit was still such a new phenomenon that no one knew what to think of what had happened. Avery and her bondmates had been taken away for help, and her father had already gone on a temporary leave of absence.

Adrian signed me in as his guest, which got me a campus pa.s.s. Like all visitors, I was also given a list of where I 'd stay and what I could and couldn't do. I promptly ignored it.

"I have to go," I told Adrian immediately.

He gave me a knowing smile. "I figured."

"Thank you... for coming to get me. I'm sorry I've got to leave you-"

He waved off my worries. "You aren't leaving me. You're back; that's what counts. I've been patient this long-I can hold out a little longer."

I held his eyes for a moment, startled at the warm feelings that suddenly bubbled up within me. I kept them to myself, though, only giving Adrian a quick smile before I set off across campus.

I got a lot of strange looks when I went to Lissa's dorm. It was right after cla.s.ses had ended, so student traffic was pretty busy with people rushing in or out to get somewhere. Yet, when I pa.s.sed by, silence fell and people stopped moving and talking. It reminded me of when Lissa and I had been returned to school after running away. We'd been marched through the cafeteria and had received similar treatment from our peers.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed worse this time. The looks more shocked. The silence heavier. Last time, I think people had believed we'd run off as some sort of prank. This time, no one really knew why I 'd left. I'd come out of the school's attack a hero, only to drop out and disappear. I think some of Lissa's dorm mates thought they were seeing a ghost.

Ignoring the gossip and opinions of others was something I had a lot of practice with, and I sprinted past the onlookers without a backward glance, taking the stairs two at a time. I shut myself off to Lissa 's feelings as I walked down her hall. It seemed silly, but I wanted to be surprised. I just wanted to open my eyes and see her in person, with no warnings as to how she was feeling or what she was thinking. I knocked on the door.

Adrian had said seeing me in dreams couldn't compare to seeing me in person. The same was true with Lissa. Being in her head was nothing like being near her in reality. The door opened, and it was like an apparition materializing before me, some sort of heavenly messenger descended from above. I'd never been away from her for this long, and after all this time, part of me wondered if I was imagining this.

Her hand went to her mouth, and she stared at me wide-eyed. I think she felt the same way-and she hadn't even had warning of my visit.

She'd just been told I was coming "soon." No doubt I seemed like a phantom to her, too.

And with that reunion... it was like I was emerging from a cave-one I'd been in for almost five weeks-into the bright light of day. When Dimitri had turned, I'd felt like I'd lost part of my soul. When I'd left Lissa, another piece had gone. Now, seeing her... I began to think maybe my soul might be able to heal. Maybe I could go on after all. I didn 't feel 100 percent whole yet, but her presence filled up that missing part of me. I felt more like myself than I had in ages.

A world of questions and confusion hung in the silence between us. In spite of everything we'd been through with Avery, there was still a lot of unresolved business from when I had first left the school. For the first time since I 'd set foot on the Academy's grounds, I felt afraid.

Afraid that Lissa would reject me or scream at me for what I'd done.

Instead, she drew me into a giant hug. "I knew it," she said. She was already choking on her sobs. "I knew you'd come back."

"Of course," I murmured into her shoulder. "I said I would."

My best friend. I had my best friend back. If I had her, I could recover from what had happened in Siberia. I could go on with my life.

"I'm sorry," she said. "So sorry for what I did."

I pulled away in surprise. Stepping into the room, I shut the door behind us. "Sorry? What do you have to be sorry for?" Despite my joy at seeing her, I'd come here expecting her to still be angry at me for leaving. None of that mess with Avery would have happened if I'd stayed around. I blamed myself.

She sat down on her bed, eyes wet. "For what I said... when you left. I had no right to say the things I did. I have no right to control you.

And I feel horrible because..." She ran a hand over her eyes, trying to dry the worst of the tears. "I feel horrible because I told you I wouldn't bring back Dimitri. I mean, I know it didn't matter, but I should have still offered to-"

"No, no!" I sank down in front of her and grabbed her hands, still awed to be with her again. "Look at me. You have nothing to be sorry for. I said things I shouldn't have, too. It happens when people are upset. Neither of us should beat ourselves up over it. And as for bringing him back..." I sighed. "You did the right thing in refusing. Even if we had found him before he 'd been turned, it wouldn't have mattered. You can't safely bond more than one person. That's what went wrong with Avery."