The non-royal glared and took a step toward me. I was counting on the fact that he'd be old-fashioned and not hit a girl. "What are you doing?" he exclaimed. Several people had gathered and were watching excitedly.
I returned his glare. "I'm trying to stop you guys from being any more idiotic than you already are! You want to help? Stop fighting each other! Ripping each other's heads off isn't going to save the Moroi unless you're trying to thin stupidity out of the gene pool." I pointed at Andrew. "Tasha Ozera is not trying to kill everyone off. She's trying to get you to stop being a victim." I turned to the other guy. "And as for you, you've got a long ways to go if you think this is the way to get your point across. Magic-especially offensive magic-takes a lot of self-control, and so far, you aren't impressing me with yours. I have more than you do, and if you knew me at all, you'd know how crazy that is."
The two guys stared at me, stunned. I was apparently more effective than a taser. Well, at least for several seconds I was. Because once the shock of my words wore off, they went at each other again. I got caught in the crossfire and shoved away, nearly falling in the process. Suddenly, from behind me, Mason came to my defense. He punched the first guy he could-the non-royal.
The guy flew backward, falling into one of the pools with a splash. I yelped, remembering my earlier fear about skull-cracking, but a moment later, he found his feet and rubbed water out of his eyes.
I grabbed Mason's arm, trying to hold him back, but he shrugged me off and went after Andrew. He shoved Andrew hard, pushing him into several Moroi-andrew's friends, I suspected-who seemed to be trying to break up the fight. The guy in the pool climbed out, fury written all over his face, and made moves toward Andrew. This time, both Mason and I blocked his way. He glared at all of us.
"Don't," I warned him.
The guy clenched his fists and looked as though he might try to take us on. But we were intimidating, and he didn't appear to have an entourage of friends here like Andrew- who was shouting obscenities and being led away-did. With a few muttered threats, the non-royal backed off.
As soon as he was gone, I turned on Mason. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Huh?" he asked.
"Jumping into the middle of that!"
"You jumped in too," he said.
I started to argue, then realized he was right. "It's different," I grumbled.
He leaned forward. "Are you drunk?"
"No. Of course not. I'm just trying to keep you from doing something stupid. Just because you have delusions of being able to kill a Strigoi doesn't mean you have to take it out on everyone else."
"Delusions?" he asked stiffly.
I started to feel kind of nauseous just then. My head spinning, I continued toward the side room, hoping I didn't stumble.
But when I reached it, I saw that it wasn't some kind of dessert or drink room after all. Well, at least not in the way I'd been thinking. It was a feeder room. Several humans reclined on satin-covered chaise lounges with Moroi by their sides. Jasmine incense burned in the air. Stunned, I watched with an eerie fascination as a blond Moroi guy leaned forward and bit into the neck of a very pretty redhead. All of these feeders were exceptionally good-looking, I realized just then. Like actresses or models. Only the best for royalty.
The guy drank long and deep, and the girl closed her eyes and parted her lips, an expression of pure bliss on her face as Moroi endorphins flooded into her bloodstream. I shivered, taken back to when I too had experienced that same kind of euphoria. In my alcohol-hazed mind, the whole thing suddenly seemed startlingly erotic. In fact, I almost felt intrusive-like I was watching people have sex. When the Moroi finished and licked the last of the blood away, he brushed his lips against her cheek in a soft kiss.
"Want to volunteer?"
Light fingertips brushed my neck, and I jumped. I turned around and saw Adrian's green eyes and knowing smirk.
"Don't do that," I told him, knocking his hand away.
"Then what are you doing in here?" he asked.
I gestured around me. "I'm lost."
He peered at me. "Are you drunk?"
"No. Of course not … but … " The nausea had settled a little, but I still didn't feel right. "I think I should sit down."
He took my arm. "Well, don't do it in here. Someone might get the wrong idea. Let's go somewhere quiet."
He steered me off into a different room, and I looked around with interest. It was a massage area. Several Moroi lay back on tables and were getting back and foot massages from hotel staff. The oil they used smelled like rosemary and lavender. Under any other circumstances, a massage would have sounded great, but lying on my stomach seemed like the worst idea just now.
I sat down on the carpeted floor, leaning back against the wall. Adrian walked away and returned with a glass of water. Sitting down as well, he handed it to me.
"Drink this. It'll help."
"I told you, I'm not drunk," I mumbled. But I downed the water anyway.
"Uh-huh." He smiled at me. "You did nice work with that fight. Who was the other guy that helped you?"
"My boyfriend," I said. "Sort of."
"Mia was right. You do have a lot of guys in your life."
"It's not like that."
"Okay." He was still smiling. "Where's Vasilisa? I figured she'd be attached to you."
"She's with her boyfriend." I studied him.
"What's with the tone? Jealous? You want him for yourself?"
"God, no. I just don't like him."
"Does he treat her badly?" he asked.
"No," I admitted. "He adores her. He's just kind of a jerk."
Adrian was clearly enjoying this. "Ah, you are jealous. Does she spend more time with him than you?"
I ignored that. "Why do you keep asking about her? Are you interested in her?"
He laughed. "Rest easy, I'm not interested in her in the same way I am you."
"But you are interested."
"I just want to talk to her."
He left to fetch me more water. "Feeling better?" he asked, handing the glass to me. It was crystal and intricately carved. It seemed too fancy for plain water.
"Yeah … I didn't think those drinks were that strong."
"That's the beauty of them," he chuckled. "And speaking of beauty … that's a great color on you."
I shifted. I might not have been showing as much skin as those other girls, but I was showing more than I really wanted to with Adrian. Or was I? There was something weird about him. His arrogant manner annoyed me … but I still liked being around him. Maybe the smartass in me recognized a kindred spirit.
Somewhere in the back of my drunken mind, a light clicked on. But I couldn't quite get to it. I drank more water.
"You haven't had a cigarette in, like, ten minutes," I pointed out, wanting to change the subject.
He made a face. "No smoking in here."
"I'm sure you've made up for it in punch."
His smile returned. "Well, some of us can hold our liquor. You aren't going to be sick, are you?"
I still felt tipsy but no longer nauseous. "No."
"Good."
I thought back to when I'd dreamed about him. It had been just a dream, but it had stuck with me, particularly the talk about me being surrounded in darkness. I wanted to ask him about it … even though I knew it was stupid. It had been my dream, not his.
"Adrian … "
He turned his green eyes on me. "Yes, darling?"
I couldn't bring myself to ask. "Never mind."
He started to retort, then tilted his head toward the door. "Ah, here she comes."
"Who-"
Lissa stepped into the room, eyes scanning around. When she spotted us, I saw relief break over her. I couldn't feel it, though. Intoxicants like alcohol numbed the bond. It was another reason I shouldn't have taken such a stupid chance tonight.
"There you are," she said, kneeling beside me. Glancing at Adrian, she gave him a nod. "Hey."
"Hey yourself, cousin," he returned, using the family terms royals sometimes used around each other.
"You okay?" Lissa asked me. "When I saw how drunk you were, I thought you might have fallen in somewhere and drowned."
"I'm not-" I gave up trying to deny it. "I'm fine."
Adrian's usual expression had turned serious as he studied Lissa. It again reminded me of the dream. "How'd you find her?"
Lissa gave him a puzzled look. "I, um, checked all the rooms."
"Oh." He looked disappointed. "I thought you might have used your bond."
Both she and I stared.
"How do you know about that?" I demanded. Only a few people at school knew about it. Adrian had spoken about it as casually as he might have my hair color.
"Hey, I can't reveal all my secrets, can I?" he asked mysteriously. "And besides, there's a certain way you two act around each other … it's hard to explain. It's pretty cool … all the old myths are true."
Lissa regarded him warily. "The bond only works one way. Rose can sense what I'm feeling and thinking, but I can't do it back to her."
"Ah." We sat in silence a few moments, and I drank more water. Adrian spoke again. "What'd you specialize in anyway, cousin?"
She looked embarrassed. We both knew it was important to keep her spirit powers secret from others who might abuse her healing, but her cover story of not having specialized always bothered her.