Alberta spoke briefly and then turned to the rest of us. "Decompress for a bit and be ready for dinner in four hours. Lissa, the queen wants to see you in an hour."
A jolt of surprise ran through Lissa, and she and I exchanged brief, puzzled looks. The last time Lissa had seen the queen, Tatiana had snubbed her and embarrassed her in front of the school for having running away with me. Both of us wondered what she'd want to see Lissa about now.
"Sure," said Lissa. "Rose and I'll be ready."
Alberta shook her head. "Rose isn't going. The queen specifically asked for you alone."
Of course she had. What interest would the queen have in Vasilisa Dragomir's shadow? A nasty voice whispered in my head, Expendable, expendable....
The dark sentiment startled me, and I shoved it aside. I went to my room, relieved to see it had a TV. The thought of vegging for the next four hours sounded fantastic. The rest of the room was pretty fancy, very modern looking, with sleek black tables and white leather furniture. I was kind of afraid to sit on it. Ironically, despite how nice it all was, the place wasn't as decked out as the ski resort that we'd stay in over the holidays. I guessed when you came to the Royal Court, you came for business, not a vacation.
I had just sprawled on the leather couch and turned on the TV when I felt Lissa in my mind. Come talk, she said. I sat up, surprised by the message itself and the content. Usually our bond was all about feelings and impressions. Specific requests like this were rare.
I got up and left the room, going to the one next door. Lissa opened the door.
"What, you couldn't have come to me?" I asked.
"Sorry," she said, looking like she genuinely meant it. It was hard to be grouchy around someone so nice. "I just didn't have the time. I'm trying to decide what to wear."
Her suitcase was already open on the bed, with things hung up in the closet. Unlike me, she'd come prepared for every occasion, formal and casual alike. I lay down on the couch. Hers was plush velvet, not leather.
"Wear the print blouse with the black slacks," I told her. "Not a dress."
"Why not a dress?"
"Because you don't want to look like you're groveling."
"This is the queen, Rose. Dressing up is showing respect, not groveling."
"If you say so."
But Lissa wore the outfit I suggested anyway. She talked to me as she finished getting ready, and I watched with envy as she applied makeup. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed cosmetics myself. When she and I had lived with humans, I'd been pretty diligent about primping every day. Now, there never seemed to be enough time - or any reason. I was always in some kind of scuffle that made makeup pointless and ruined it anyway. The most I could do was to slather my face with moisturizer. It seemed excessive in the mornings - like I was putting on a mask - yet by the time I faced the cold weather and other harsh conditions, I was always surprised to see my skin had sucked all the moisture up.
The smallest pang of regret shot through me that I'd rarely have any opportunities to do this for the rest of my life. Lissa would spend most of her days dressed up, out at royal functions. No one would notice me. It was weird, considering that until this last year, I'd always been the one who was always noticed.
"Why do you think she wants to see me?" Lissa asked.
"Maybe to explain why we're here."
"Maybe."
Unease filled Lissa, despite her calm exterior. She still hadn't entirely recovered from the queen's brutal humiliation last fall. My own petty jealousy and moping suddenly seemed stupid when compared with what she had to go through. I mentally slapped myself, reminding myself that I wasn't just her unseen guardian. I was also her best friend, and we hadn't talked very much lately.
"You have nothing to be afraid of, Liss. You haven't done anything wrong. And really, you've been doing everything right. Your grades are perfect. Your behavior's perfect. Remember all those people you impressed on the ski trip? That bitch has nothing to get on you about."
"You shouldn't say that," said Lissa automatically. She applied mascara to her eyelashes, studied them, and then added another coat.
"Just call 'em like I see 'em. If she gives you any grief, then it's just going to be because she's afraid of you."
Lissa laughed. "Why would she be afraid of me?"
"Because people are drawn to you, and people like her don't like it when others steal all the attention." I was a bit astonished at how wise I sounded. "Plus, you're the last Dragomir. You're always going to be in the spotlight. Who's she? Just another Ivashkov. There are a ton of them. Probably because all the guys are like Adrian and have all sorts of illegitimate children."
"Adrian doesn't have any children."
"That we know of," I said mysteriously.
She snickered and stepped back from the mirror, pleased with her face. "Why are you always so mean to Adrian?"
I gave her a look of mock astonishment. "You're standing up for Adrian now? Whatever happened to you warning me to stay away from him? You practically bit my head off the first time I hung out with him - and that wasn't even by my choice."
She took a thin golden chain out of her suitcase and tried to fasten it around her neck. "Well, yeah ... I didn't really know him then. He's not so bad. And it's true I mean, he's not a great role model or anything, but I also think some of those stories about him and other girls are exaggerated."
"I don't," I said, jumping up. She still hadn't managed to fasten the chain, so I took it and put the clasp together for her.
"Thanks," she said, running her hands over the necklace. "I think Adrian really likes you. Like, in a wanting-to-be-serious way."
I shook my head and stepped back. "Nope. He likes me in a wanting-to-get-the-clothes-off-the-cute-dhampir way."
"I don't believe that."
"That's because you believe the best about everyone."
She looked skeptical as she began brushing her hair smooth over her shoulders. "I don't know about that either. But I do think he's not as bad as you think. I know it hasn't been that long since Mason, but you should think about going out with someone else...."
"Wear your hair up." I handed her a barrette from her suitcase. "Mason and I were never really going out. You know that."
"Yeah. Well, I guess that's more reason to start thinking about dating someone. High school's not over yet. Seems like you should be doing something fun."
Fun. It was ironic. Months ago, I'd argued with Dimitri about how it wasn't fair that, as a guardian-in-training, I had to watch my reputation and not act too crazy. He'd agreed it wasn't fair that I couldn't do the kinds of things other girls my age could, but that that was the price I paid for my future. I'd been upset, but after Victor's meddling, I started to see Dimitri's point - to such an extent that he'd actually hinted I shouldn't try to limit myself that much. Now, after Spokane, I felt like a completely different girl from the one who'd talked to Dimitri last fall about having fun. I was only a couple months from graduation. High school things...dances...boyfriends...what did they matter in the grand scheme of things? Everything at the Academy seemed so trivial - unless it was making me a better guardian.