Lissa swayed slightly, not sure what to say now, let alone in a formal speech. Ekaterina seemed to sense how in shock Lissa was, and the smile that always seemed so mischievous turned gentle.
"You'll be fine. You made it this far. The speech is the easy part. Your father would be proud. All the Dragomirs before you would be.'
That nearly brought tears to Lissa's eyes, and she shook her head. "I don't know about that. We all know I'm not a real candidate. This was just ... well, kind of an act.' Somehow, she didn't feel bad admitting that in front of Ekaterina. "Ariana's the one who deserves the crown.'
Ekaterina's ancient eyes bored into Lissa, and that smiled faded. "You haven't heard then. No, of course you wouldn't have with how quickly this is all happening.'
"Heard what?'
Sympathy washed over Ekaterina's face, and later, I'd wonder if that compassion was because of the message she delivered or because of Lissa's reaction.
"Ariana Szelsky didn't pass this test ... she couldn't solve the riddle ...'
"Rose, Rose.'
Dimitri was shaking me, and it took several seconds for me to shift from being a shocked Lissa to a startled Rose.
"We have to--' he began.
"Oh my God,' I interrupted. "You will not believe what I just saw.'
He went rigid. "Is Lissa okay?'
"Yeah, fine, but--'
"Then we'll worry about that later. Right now, we have to leave.'
I noticed then that he was fully dressed while I was still naked. "What's going on?'
"Sonya came by--don't worry.' The shock that my face must have shown made him smile. "I got dressed and didn't let her come in. But she said the front desk called. They're starting to realize we had an unusual check-in. We need to get out of here.'
Midnight. We had to meet Mikhail at midnight and get the last piece of the mystery that consumed us. "No problem,' I said, tossing the covers off me. As I did, I saw Dimitri's eyes on me, and I was kind of surprised at the admiration and hunger I saw there. Somehow, even after sex, I'd kind of expected him to be detached and wear his guardian face--particularly considering our sudden urgency to leave.
"You see something you like?' I asked, echoing something I'd said to him long ago, when he'd caught me in a compromising position at school.
"Lots,' he said.
The emotion burning in those eyes was too much for me. I looked away, my heart pounding in my chest as I pulled my clothes on. "Don't forget,' I said softly. "Don't forget ...' I couldn't finish, but there was no need.
"I know, Roza. I haven't forgotten.'
I slipped on my shoes, wishing I was weaker and would let my ultimatum slide. I couldn't, though. No matter what had passed between us verbally and physically, no matter how close we were to our fairy-tale ending ... there was no future until he could forgive himself.
Sonya and Jill were ready and waiting when we emerged from our room, and something told me Sonya knew what had happened between Dimitri and me. Damned auras. Or maybe you didn't need magical powers to see that kind of thing. Maybe the afterglow just naturally showed on someone's face.
"I need you to make a charm,' I told Sonya, once we were on the road. "And we have to stop in Greenston.'
"Greenston?' asked Dimitri. "What for?'
"It's where the Alchemists are being held.' I had already started slinging the pieces together. Who hated Tatiana--both because of her personality and for having Ambrose? Who resented her wanting Moroi to fight Strigoi? Who feared her endorsing spirit and its dangerous effects on people, say, like Adrian? Who wanted to see a different family on the throne to support new beliefs? And who would be happy to have me locked away and out of the picture? I took a deep breath, scarcely believing what I was about to say.
"And it's where we're going to find proof that Daniella Ivashkov murdered Tatiana.'
Chapter Thirty-one
I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE who had come to that startling conclusion. When the Moroi Court woke up several hours into our road trip, Lissa was also putting all the pieces together in her room as she prepared herself to give her pre-election speech. She'd thought of all the arguments I had, plus a few more--like how frantic Daniella had been that Adrian might be implicated with me, which would undoubtedly unravel a carefully laid out plan. There was also Daniella's offer of having her lawyer cousin, Damon Tarus, defend me. Would that have actually helped? Or would Damon have subtly worked to weaken my defense? Abe's uncouth involvement might have been a blessing.
Lissa's heart pounded rapidly as she twisted her hair into a chignon. She preferred it down but thought for the coming event, she should put on a more dignified look. Her dress was matte ivory silk, long-sleeved and ruched, about knee length. Some might have thought wearing that color would make her look bridal, but when I saw her in the mirror, I knew no one would make that mistake. She looked luminous. Radiant. Queenly.
"It can't be true,' she said, completing the look with pearl earrings that had belonged to her mother. She had shared her theory with Christian and Janine, who were with her now, and had half hoped they'd tell her she was crazy. They hadn't.
"It makes sense,' said Christian, with none of his usual snark.
"There's just no proof quite yet,' my mother said, ever practical. "Lots of circumstantial stuff.'
"Aunt Tasha's checking with Ethan to see if Daniella was there the night of the murder,' said Christian. He made a slight face, still not happy about his aunt having a boyfriend. "Daniella wasn't on the official lists, but Aunt Tasha's worried some things might have been altered.'
"That wouldn't surprise me. Even so, putting Daniella there at the right time builds the case but still isn't hard proof.' My mother should have been an attorney. She and Abe could have opened a law firm together.