'Shadow Kiss Chapter 7\r'

'SEVEN\r\nWHEN THE graduation WARNING for curfew came or so, the Moroi packed their things up. Adrian took gain right away, b atomic number 18ly Lissa and Christian took their time walking tooshie to the dorm. They held turn perpetuallyywhere and kept their heads close to furbish upher, whispering ab turn up activething that I could thrust â€Å"spied” on if Id g unity inside Lissas head. They were free outraged all over the Victor news.\r\nI gave them their silence and kept my distance, scouting while Eddie walked saturnine to their side. Since thither were more(prenominal) Moroi than dhampirs on campus, the Moroi in truth had two side-by-side dorms. Lissa and Christian lived in different onenesss. The two of them tapped when they came to the get it on outside the buildings where the path through the quad split. They touched goodbye, and I did my best to do the guardian seeing-without-actually-seeing thing. Lissa called goodbye to me and indeed headed off to her dorm with Eddie. I followed Christian to his.\r\nIf Id been guarding Adrian or psyche homogeneous him, I would probably have had to arrange up with sexual jokes about us intermissioning near each other for the near six weeks. But Christian treated me in the casual, brusque way one might a sister. He cleared a spot on the floor for me, and by the time he re sour from coppice his teeth, Id made myself a cozy bed out of blankets. He flipped off the lights and climbed into his own bed.\r\nAfter or so(prenominal) quiet moments, I asked, â€Å"Christian?”\r\nâ€Å"This is the time when we sleep, go.”\r\nI yawned. â€Å"Believe me, I want that too. But I have a question.”\r\nâ€Å"Is it about Victor? Because I need to sleep, and thats just passing game to piss me off over again.”\r\nâ€Å"No, its about something else.”\r\nâ€Å"Okay, shoot.”\r\nâ€Å"Why didnt you brace fun of me over what happened with Stan? Everyone else is t rying to figure out if I messed up or did it on purpose. Lissa gave me a hard time. Adrian did a midget. And the guardians … well, never judgment about them. But you didnt label anything. I figured youd be the first one with a snappy comment.”\r\nMore silence fell, and I hoped he was ciphering about his answer and not falling asleep.\r\nâ€Å"There was no point in magnanimous you a hard time,” he impart tongue to at last. â€Å"I cognize you didnt do it on purpose.”\r\nâ€Å"Why not? I squiffy, not that Im contradicting you †because I didnt do it on purpose †plainly wherefore are you so sure?”\r\nâ€Å"Because of our conversation in culinary science. And because of the way you are. I saw you in Spokane. Anyone who did what you did to save us … well, you wouldnt do something childish handle this.”\r\nâ€Å"Wow. Thanks. I … well, that means a lot.” Christian bankd me when no one else did. â€Å"Youre worry the first person who actually believes I just messed up without any subterraneous motives.”\r\nâ€Å"Well,” he said, â€Å"I dont believe that either.”\r\nâ€Å"Believe what? That I messed up? Why not?”\r\nâ€Å"Werent you just earshot? I saw you in Spokane. Someone like you doesnt mess up or freeze.” I started to give him the selfsame(prenominal) line Id granted the guardians, that killing Strigoi didnt make me invincible, however he cut me off: â€Å"Plus, I saw your face out there.”\r\nâ€Å"Out… on the quad?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah.” Several more quiet moments passed. â€Å"I dont know what happened, but the way you looked … that wasnt the look of someone trying to get back at a person. It wasnt the look of someone blanking out at Altos ardor either. It was something different…. I dont know. But you were completely consumed by something else †and honestly? Your expression? Kind of scary.”\r\n â€Å"Yet…you arent giving me a hard time over that either.”\r\nâ€Å"not my business. If it was big enough to take you over like that, then it must be serious. But if disturb comes to shove, I feel safe with you, Rose. I know youd protect me if there was really a Strigoi there.” He yawned. â€Å"Okay. Now that Ive bared my soul, commode we please go to bed? perhaps you dont need beauty sleep, but some of us arent that lucky.”\r\nI let him sleep and soon gave into exhaustion myself. Id had a long twenty-four hours and was still short on rest from the forward night. Once heavily asleep, I began to dream. As I did, I felt the telltale signs of one of Adrians stilted dreams.\r\nâ€Å"Oh no,” I groaned.\r\nI stood in a tend in the middle of summer. The air was straining and humid, and cheerfulness beat down on me in thriving waves. Flowers of every color bloomed around me, and the air was heavy with the scent of lilacs and roses. Bees and butt erflies danced from blossom to blossom. I wore jeans and a linen paper tank top. My nazar, a small blue centerfield made of glass that allegedly warded off evil-minded, hung around my neck. I also wore a beaded gaud with a cross, called a chotki, on my wrist. It was a Dragomir heirloom Lissa had given me. I rarely wore jewelry in my everyday duties, but it always showed up in these dreams.\r\nâ€Å"Where are you?” I called. â€Å"I know youre here.”\r\nAdrian stepped around from throne an apple tree that was thick with pink and ovalbumin flowers. He wore jeans †something Id never seen him in before. They looked good and were doubtlessly a designer brand. A gamy discolour cotton T-shirt †also very sincere †covered his upper body, and the sunlight brought out highlights of money and chestnut in his brown hair.\r\nâ€Å"I told you to collar out of my dreams,” I said, putting my hands on my hips.\r\nHe gave me his lazy grimace. â€Å"But how else are we alleged(a) to blabber? You didnt seem very friendly earlier.”\r\nâ€Å"Maybe if you didnt use compulsion on people, youd have more friends.”\r\nâ€Å"I had to save you from yourself. Your aura was like a storm cloud.”\r\nâ€Å"Okay, for once, base we please not talk about auras and my impending doom?”\r\nThe look in his eyes told me he was actually really interest in that, but he let it go. â€Å"Okay. We can talk about other things.”\r\nâ€Å"But I dont want to talk at all! I want to sleep.”\r\nâ€Å"You are sleeping.” Adrian smiled and walked over to study a flowering vine that was winding up a post. It had orangish and yellow flowers shaped like trumpets. He softly ran his fingers over one of the flowers edges. â€Å"This was my grandmothers garden.”\r\nâ€Å"Great,” I said, making myself soft against the apple tree. It looked like we could be here for a while. â€Å"Now I get to hear your fami ly history.”\r\nâ€Å"Hey she was a cool lady.”\r\nâ€Å"Im sure she was. Can I go yet?”\r\nHis eyes were still on the vines blossoms. â€Å"You shouldnt fringe Moroi family trees. You dont know anything about your father. For all you know, we could be related.”\r\nâ€Å"Would that mean youd leave me alone?”\r\nStrolling back over to me, he switched subjects as though thered been no interruption. â€Å"Nah, dont worry. I conceptualise we come from different trees. Isnt your dad some Turkish guy anyway?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, according to my †Hey, are you gaze at my chest?”\r\nHe was studying me closely, but his eyes were no longer on my face. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared.\r\nâ€Å"Im agaze at your shirt,” he said. â€Å"The color is all wrong.”\r\n hit out, he touched the strap. Like ink airing across paper, the ivory fabric turned the same shade of rich indigo as the vines blossoms. He change his eyes like an expert creative person studying his work.\r\nâ€Å"Howd you do that?” I exclaimed.\r\nâ€Å"Its my dream. Hmm. Youre not a blue person. Well, at least not in the color sense. Lets try this.” The blue lit up into a brilliant crimson. â€Å"Yes, thats it. Reds your color. Red like a rose, like a sweet, sweet Rose.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh man,” I said. â€Å"I didnt know you could kick into crazy mode tied(p) in dreams.” He never got as dark and depressed as Lissa had last year, but philia definitely made him weird sometimes.\r\nHe stepped back and threw his arms out. â€Å"Im always crazy around you, Rose. Here, Im going to write an impromptu poem for you.” He canted his head back and shouted to the sky:\r\nâ€Å"Rose is in red\r\nBut never in blue\r\nSharp as a dagger\r\nFights like one too.”\r\nAdrian dropped his arms and looked at me expectantly.\r\nâ€Å"How can a thorn fight?” I asked.\r\nHe shook his head. â€Å"Art does nt have to make sense, little dhampir. Besides, Im supposed to be crazy, right?”\r\nâ€Å"Not the craziest Ive ever seen.”\r\nâ€Å"Well,” he said, pacing over to study some hydrangeas, â€Å"Ill work on that.”\r\nI started to ask again about when I could go â€Å"back” to sleep, but our exchange brought something to my mind.\r\nâ€Å"Adrian … how do you know if youre crazy or not?”\r\nHe turned from the flowers, a smile on his face. I could tell he was about to make a joke, but then he looked at me more closely. The smile faded, and he turned unusually serious.\r\nâ€Å"Do you think youre crazy?” he asked.\r\nâ€Å"I dont know,” I said, looking down at the ground. I was barefoot, and sharp blades of grass tickled my feet. â€Å"Ive been … seeing things.”\r\nâ€Å" community who are crazy rarely question whether theyre crazy,” he said wisely.\r\nI sighed and looked back up at him. â€Å"That doesnt rea lly help me.”\r\nHe walked back over to me and rested a hand on my shoulder. â€Å"I dont think youre crazy, Rose. I think youve been through a lot, though.”\r\nI frowned. â€Å"Whats that mean?”\r\nâ€Å"It means I dont think youre crazy.”\r\nâ€Å"Thanks. That clears things up. You know, these dreams are really starting to bug me.”\r\nâ€Å"Lissa doesnt mind them,” he said.\r\nâ€Å"You visit hers too? Do you ill have no boundaries?”\r\nâ€Å"Nah, hers are instructional. She wants to learn how to do this.”\r\nâ€Å"Great. So Im just the lucky one who gets to put up with your sexual harassment.”\r\nHe actually looked hurt. â€Å"I really wish you wouldnt act like Im evil incarnate.”\r\nâ€Å"Sorry. I just havent had much reason to believe you can do anything useful.”\r\nâ€Å"Right. As opposed to your cradle-robbing mentor. I dont really see you making much proceed with him.”\r\nI took a step back and narrowed my eyes. â€Å"Leave Dimitri out of this.”\r\nâ€Å"I will when you stop acting like hes perfect. Correct me if Im wrong, but hes one of the people who hid the trial from you, right?”\r\nI looked away. â€Å"Thats not important right now. Besides, he had his reasons.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, which apparently didnt contract being open with you or fighting to get you there. Whereas me…” He shrugged. â€Å"I could get you into the trial.”\r\nâ€Å"You?” I asked with a harsh laugh. â€Å"How are you going to pull that off? Have a smoke break with the umpire? Use compulsion on the queen and half the royals at court?”\r\nâ€Å"You shouldnt be so straightaway to slam people who can help you. just now wait.” He placed a light kiss on my forehead that I tried to jiggle away from. â€Å"But for now, go get some rest.”\r\nThe garden faded, and I fell back into the common blackness of sleep.\r\n'