“Really, Adrian?” Lissa exclaimed, outrage written all over her. “How could you guys do this to me? You begged me to protect you! I risked the wrath of my own people and the Alchemists to take you in, and this is how you repay me?”

She looked truly frustrated, and uneasily, I wondered just how much trouble we might have caused. I forgot sometimes what a precarious position Lissa was in, constantly being pulled in different directions as she worked hard to do the impossible and please everyone. Adrian and I had done what we needed to do for ourselves—but hadn’t considered the fallout for others.

“It was for Jill,” Adrian said resolutely. “We had to go after her.”

Lissa shook her head angrily. “And I told you, as much as it’s appreciated, we don’t need you out there looking for Jill. We’ve already got people on it.”

“No, no . . . it’s not like that,” Adrian protested. “It wasn’t just some impulsive trip. Sydney had a real lead.”

Lissa’s green eyes focused on me expectantly. I launched into a retelling of what I knew so far, about how Alicia was behind Jill’s disappearance and how my contacts in Palm Springs were currently looking for leads. As I spoke, I saw Lissa’s expression grow more and more incredulous.

“How am I just learning about this? You guys should have told me immediately!”

“We didn’t know all the facts then,” said Adrian. Despite his outward confidence, I could tell he too was second-guessing our actions. “Still don’t. But Jackie Terwilliger’s good. She’ll turn up something.” He hesitated. “Who knows we’re gone?”

“The Alchemists don’t, if that’s what you’re worried about,” said Lissa. “So far, only a handful of people here at Court know, and you’d better hope it stays that way. The Alchemists have made it very clear to me that Sydney won’t be returned to us if they catch her.” I flinched at the words.

“Enough, Liss.” Rose suddenly pushed her way into the picture, wriggling in beside her friend, like Lissa wasn’t the ruler of all Moroi. “They get it. They screwed up.”

“We didn’t screw up,” said Adrian obstinately. “Finding Jill is the most important thing we can do right now.”

Lissa’s anger diminished a bit. “It is. And I want to find her too. Why didn’t you come to me once you had that box?”

Adrian shrugged. “We only know about the connection to Jill and Alicia now, after going through all those hoops. At the time, it didn’t seem certain, and we honestly didn’t know if you’d let us go. We felt the most important thing was to get Sydney out of Court to go after the lead. Me joining her was an afterthought.”

Surprisingly, Lissa nodded and conceded the point. “You’re right. I probably would’ve wanted more proof if all you’d had was the box with Jill’s picture. And no one I sent would’ve learned what you uncovered, Sydney.”

It wasn’t exactly an apology, but Adrian still took it as such. “Thank you,” he said.

“You still should’ve told me afterward,” she warned.

“Or me,” piped in Rose.

“Now that you’re done scolding me,” Adrian said, “will someone please tell me more about Nina?”

“They can catch you up,” said Lissa, gesturing to those beside her. “I need to go make sure your secret escape from Court stays a secret. Unless you guys plan on coming back and letting Eddie and your human friend handle things? It’s not too late to return to the way things were.”

Adrian and I exchanged glances briefly before turning back to Lissa. We both shook our heads.

“I didn’t think so,” Lissa said, with a small, rueful laugh. “Let me go see what I can do to keep this quiet. In the meantime, please, don’t you guys do anything that’ll get yourselves caught.”

She left the screen, and a moment later, Sonya moved in beside Rose. “There’s not much more to tell than what I already did. Maybe you could help by telling me what happened.”

“It was from spirit use,” Adrian said, casting me an apologetic glance. “I joined her in a dream and helped her blast down the barriers Olive had put up.”

“I suspected as much,” said Sonya grimly.

“Do you know when Nina will wake up?” Adrian demanded. “Will she be okay?”

“It depends on how you define ‘okay,’” Sonya replied. “The doctor thinks her difficulties with waking up are due to exhaustion. She’ll hopefully come around with a little more rest. But as for what state she’ll be in . . .”

“If she’s so worn out, that would explain why she’s not making any sense,” Adrian said quickly. I could tell he very, very badly wanted to believe that. “Hell, you should see me after pulling an all-nighter. I make her sound totally articulate and lucid.”

Sonya didn’t laugh at the joke. “It’s possible . . . but I don’t think it’s that simple. I’ve seen her aura. That tells its own tale, and it’s not a good one. Plus, I’ve spent a lot of time with Avery Lazar, Adrian. I’ve seen what spirit did to her—and this has a very similar feel.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, surprised at the lump in my throat. I didn’t even know Nina that well, but there was something chilling in listening to this grim prognosis—maybe because I feared one day, we’d be talking about Adrian.

Sonya suddenly looked tired, as though she were the one who’d expended so much power and energy and needed to sleep. “I’m saying, when Nina comes around, she may not be the same Nina we knew. What happened? I thought you were going to keep her from using excessive spirit?”

“I tried. I really did.” Adrian leaned against me, and I rested my arm on his back. “I led the dream. I did most of the work when Olive took control—but Nina got impatient and took over. She blew through everything before I could stop her.”

Sonya nodded wearily. “Were you able to talk to Olive at least?”

“Not really,” he said carefully. I kept my own face schooled to neutrality, lest I give away that he wasn’t telling the whole truth. He held up the piece of paper he’d sketched on for me. “Does this mean anything to you?”