Shadow Kiss Chapter 3

ThreeWHY SO GLUM, LITTLE DHAMPIR? I was presence across the quad, toward the commons, when I detected the scent of clove cig bettes. I sighed. Adrian, you be the stick up person I indispensability to see ad much(prenominal)over now. Adrian Ivashkov hurry up be military position me, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air that of course drifted serious toward me. I waved it off and make a great show of overstated coughing. Adrian was a royal Moroi wed acquired on our recent ski trip. He was a few years older than me and had come back to St. Vladimirs to do on learning lifetime with Lissa. So far, he was the al 1 other spirit user we knew of. He was arrogant and spoiled and spent a population of his time indulging in cigarettes, alcoholic drink, and women. He also had a chew up on me or at least precious to beat out me into bed.Apparently, he utter. Ive hardly seen you at all in all(a) since we got back. If I didnt receive better, Id say you were avoiding me.I am av oiding you.He exhaled loudly and raked a overtake through the swarthy brown hair he always kept stylishly messy. Look, Rose. You dont bring on to keep up with the hard-to-get thing. Youve already got me.Adrian knew perfectly fountainhead I wasnt playing hard-to-get, n incessantlytheless he always took a particular de kindling in teasing me. Im really non in the mood for your so-called enchantment to solar day.What happened, accordingly? Youre stomping through every puddle you thunder mug find and whole step kindred youre outlet to punch the first person you see.Why are you feeding around, then? Arent you worried ab bulge getting hit?Aw, youd never hurt me. My fount is too pretty.Not pretty enough to subscribe up for the gross, carcinogenic smoke blowing in my face. How can you do that? Smokings not allowed on campus. Abby Badica got devil weeks detention when she got caught.Im above the rules, Rose. Im neither student nor staff, simply a free spirit wandering your f air school as I will.Maybe you should go do both(prenominal) wandering now.You want to get rid of me, you rate me whats going on.thither was no avoiding it. Besides, hed grapple soon enough. Everyone would know. I got assign to Christian for my field experience.There was a pause, and then Adrian burst out laughing. Wow. Now I understand. In ignitor of that, you actually seem remarkably calm.I was figured to have Lissa, I growled. I cant cerebrate they did this to me.Why did they do it? Is there some calamity you might not be with her when you graduate?No. They exclusively all seem to think this is going to help me train better now. Dimitri and I will still be her real guardians later.Adrian gave me a sidelong glance. Oh, Im authoritative thatll be instead the hardship for you.It had to be one of the weirdest things in the universe that Lissa had never come close to suspecting my feelings for Dimitri merely that Adrian had reckon it out.Like I said, your commentary isnt appreciated today.He on the face of it didnt agree. I had a laughable feeling hed been drinking already, and it was barely even luncheontime. Whats the problem? Christianll be with Lissa all the time allway.Adrian had a point. Not that Id have admitted it. Then, in that short-attention-span way of his, he switched subjects scantily as we neared the building.Have I mentioned your aura to you? he asked suddenly. There was a strange note to his voice. Hesitant. Curious. It was very uncharacteristic. Everything he usually said was mocking.I dont know. Yeah, once. You said it was dark or something. Why? Auras were fields of light that surrounded every person. Their colorations and bright wingness were allegedly linked to a persons personality and energy. Only spirit users could see them. Adrian had been doing it for as long as he could remember, but Lissa was still learning.Hard to explain. Maybe its nothing. He came to a stop near the door and inhaled deeply on his cigarette. He w ent out of his way to blow a cloud of smoke away from me, but the wind carried it back. Auras are strange. They ebb and flow and change colors and brightness. nigh are vivid, some are pale. Every once in a while, someones will settle and burn with such a pure color that you can He tipped his head back, staring into the sky. I recognised the signs of that weird unhinged state he sometimes fell into. You can instantly grasp what it means. Its like seeing into their soul.I smiled. But you havent figured mine out, huh? Or what any of these colors mean?He shrugged. Im computation it out. You talk to enough people, get a feel for what theyre like and then start to see the same kinds of people with the same kinds of colors. by and by a while, the colors start to mean something.Whats mine look like right now?He glanced over at me. Eh, I cant quite get a fix on it today.I knew it. Youve been drinking. Substances, like alcohol or certain medications, desensitizeed spirits effects.Just eno ugh to chase the chill away. I can guess what your auras like, though. Its usually like the others, sort of those swirling colors its just kind of edged in darkness. Like youve always got a tint following you.Something in his voice made me shiver. Although Id comprehend him and Lissa talk just about auras a lot, Id never really thought of them as anything I essential to worry about. They were more like some kind of stage dodge a cool thing with little substance.Thats so cheerful, I said. You ever think about motivational speaking?His scattered look faded, and his principle mirth re becomeed. Dont worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but youll always be like sunshine to me. I rolled my eyes. He dropped his cigarette onto the sidewalk and put it out with his foot. Gotta go. See you later. He sweep me a gallant bow and started walking away toward guest housing.You just littered I yelled.Above the rules, Rose, he called back. Above the rules.Shaking my head , I picked up the now-cold cigarette butt and took it to a garbage can that was outdoors the building. When I entered, the warmth inside was a welcome change as I shook off the slush on my boots. Down in the cafeteria, I found lunch wrapping up for the afternoon. Here, dhampirs sat side by side with Moroi, providing a study in contrasts. Dhampirs, with our half-human blood, were bigger though not taller and more solidly built. The girl novices were curvier than the ultra-slim Moroi girls, the boy novices far more muscular than their vampire counterparts. The Moroi complexions were pale and delicate, like porcelain, while ours were tanned from organism outside in the sun so much.Lissa sat at a get across by herself, looking serene and angelic in a white sweater. Her pale blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. She glanced up at my approach, and welcoming feelings flowed to me through our bond. She grinned. Oh, look at your face. Its true, isnt it? You really are appoint to Chri stian. I glared. Would it kill you to be a little less ugly? She gave me a censuring yet amused look as she licked the last of her strawberry yogurt off her spoon. I mean, hes my boy title-holder, after all. I hang out with him all the time. Its not that bad.You have the patience of a saint, I grumbled, slouching into a chair. And besides, you dont hang out with him 24/7.Neither will you. Its only 24/6.Same difference. It might as well be 24/10.She frowned. That doesnt make any sense. I waved off my idiotic remark and stared blankly around the lunchroom. The room was buzzing with news of the impending field exercise, which would backlash off as soon as lunch ended. Camilles beaver friend had gotten assigned to Ryans best friend, and the four of them huddled gleefully together, looking as though they were about to embark on a six-week doubling date. At least someone would enjoy all this. I sighed. Christian, my soon-to-be charge, was off with the feeders earthly concern who wil lingly donated blood to Moroi.Through our bond, I sensed Lissa wanting to tell me something. She was holding off because she was worried about my bad mood and wanted to make sure I got enough support. I smiled. Stop distressing about me. Whats up?She smiled back, her pink-glossed lips hiding her fangs. I got permission.Permission for ? The answer flitted from her take heed faster than she could have voiced it. What? I exclaimed. Youre going to stop your meds? sprightliness was an amazing power, one whose cool abilities we were just starting to figure out. It had a very nasty side effect, however It could lead to depression and insanity. transgress of the reason Adrian indulged in drinking so much (aside from his party nature) was to numb himself against these side effects. Lissa had a much healthier way of doing it. She took antidepressants, which comp permitely put down her off from the invocation altogether. She hated not being able to work with spirit anymore, but that was an acceptable trade-off for not going crazy. Well, I thought it was. She apparently disagreed if she was considering this insane experiment. I knew shed been wanting to try the magic again, but I hadnt really thought shed go through with it or that anyone would let her.I have to check in with Ms. Carmack every day and regularly talk to a counselor. Lissa made a face at this last part, but her overall feelings were still quite upbeat. I cant stop to see what I can do with Adrian.Adrians a bad influence.He didnt make me do this, Rose. I chose it. When I didnt answer, she lightly touched my arm. Hey, listen. Dont worry. Ive been so much better, and lots of people are going to have my back.Everyone unpack me, I told her wistfully. Across the room, Christian entered through a set of double doors and approached us. The clock read five minutes until the end of lunch. Oh man. The zero second is almost here.Christian pulled up a chair at our table and flipped it backwards, letting his ch in rest on its slatted back. He brushed his blue hair away from his blue eyes and gave us a self-complacent smile. I felt Lissas heart lighten at his presence.I cant reside until this show gets on the road, he said. You and me are going to have so much fun, Rose. Picking out curtains, doing each others hair, telling ghost stories The fictional character to ghost stories hit a little closer to home than I was comfortable with. Not that choosing curtains or brushing Christians hair was much more appealing.I shook my head in exasperation and stood up. Ill leave you deuce alone for your last few private moments. They laughed.I walked over to the lunch line, hoping to find some leftover net pro twinnuts from breakfast. So far, I could see croissants, quiche, and stewed pears. It must have been highbrow day at the cafeteria. Was deep-fried dough really too much to ask for? Eddie stood in front of me. His face turned apologetic as soon as he saying me.Rose, Im really sorry I put up a commit to stop him. Dont worry. Its not your fault. Just promise me youll do a easily job protecting her.It was a silly sentiment since she was in no real danger, but I could never really stop worry about her particularly in light of this new development with her medication.Eddie stayed serious, apparently not thinking my request was silly at all. He was one of the few who knew about Lissas abilities and their downsides, which was probably why hed been selected to guard her. I wont let anything happen to her. I mean it.I couldnt help a smile, in spite of my glum mood. His experiences with the Strigoi made him take all of this more poorly than almost any other novice. Aside from me, he was probably the best choice to guard her.Rose, is it true you punched Guardian Petrov?I turned and looked into the faces of two Moroi, Jesse Zeklos and Ralf Sarcozy. Theyd just stepped in line behind Eddie and me and looked more self-satisfied and quizzical than usual. Jesse was all bronzed good looks and quick thinking. Ralf was his slightly less bewitching and slightly less intelligent sidekick. They were quite possibly the two people I hated most at this school, mainly due to some nasty rumors theyd spread about me doing some very explicit things with them. It was Masons strong-arming that had coerce them to tell the truth to the school, and I dont think theyd ever forgiven me for that.Punch Alberta? Hardly. I started to turn around, but Ralf kept talking.We heard you threw a big hissy fit in the gym when you found out who you were with.Hissy fit? What are you, sixty? all(prenominal) I did was I paused and carefully chose my words. register my opinion.Well, said Jesse. I suppose if anyones going to keep an eye on that Strigoi wannabe, it might as well be you. Youre the biggest badass around here.The grudging tone in his voice made it sound like he was complimenting me. I didnt see it that way at all. Before he could utter another word, I was standing right in front of him, with barely any space between us. In what I considered a true sign of discipline, I didnt put my sacrifice around his throat. His eyes widened in surprise.Christian has nothing to do with any Strigoi, I said in a low voice.His parents Are his parents. And hes Christian. Dont discomfit them. Jesse had been on the wrong side of my anger beforehand. He was clearly store that, and his fear warred with his desire to trash-talk Christian in front of me. Surprisingly, the latter won out.Earlier you acted like being with him was the end of the world, and now youre defending him? You know how he is he breaks rules all the time. Are you saying you seriously dont believe theres any chance at all he might turn Strigoi like his parents?None, I said. Absolutely none. Christians more willing to take a stand against Strigoi than probably any other Moroi here. Jesses eyes flicked curiously toward Ralf before returning to me. He even helped me fight against those ones in Spokane. There is no chance of him ever, ever turning Strigoi. I racked my brain, trying to recall who had been assigned to Jesse for the field experience. And if I hear you spreading that crap around, Dean isnt going to be able to save you from me.Or me, added Eddie, who had come to stand right beside me.Jesse swallowed and took a step back. Youre such a liar. You cant lay a hand on me. If you get suspended now, youll never graduate.He was right, of course, but I smiled anyway. Might be worth it. Well have to see, huh?It was at that point that Jesse and Ralf trenchant they didnt want anything from the lunch line after all. They stalked off, and I heard something that sounded suspiciously like crazy bitch.Jerks, I muttered. Then I brightened. Oh, hey. Doughnuts.I got a chocolate-glazed, and then Eddie and I hurried off to find our Moroi and get to class. He grinned at me. If I didnt know any better, Id say you just defended Christians honor. Isnt he a bruise in the ass?Yes, I said, slaug hter icing off my fingers. He is. But for the next six weeks, hes my pain in the ass.