Last Sacrifice

'Rose!' she cried. 'Running for queen was supposed to be a diversion. I'm only eighteen.'

'So was Alexandra.'

Lissa shook her head in exasperation. 'I'm so sick of hearing about her! She lived centuries ago, you know. I think people died when they were thirty back then. So she was practically middle-aged.'

I caught hold of her hand. 'You're going to be great. It doesn't matter how old you are. And it's not like you have to call meetings and analyze law books all on your own, you know. I mean, I'm sure not going to do any of that, but there are other smart people. Ariana Szelsky didn't make the last test, but you know she'll help if you ask her to. She's still on the Council, and there are others you can rely on. We just have to find them. I believe in you.'

Lissa sighed and looked down, her hair hanging forward in a curtain. 'I know. And part of me is excited, like this will restore my family's honor. I think that's what's saved me from a total breakdown. I didn't want to be queen, but if I have to . . . then I'm going to do it right. I feel like . . . like I have the world at my fingertips, like I can do so much good. But I'm so afraid of messing up too.' She looked up sharply. 'And I'm not giving up on the rest of my life either. I guess I'm going to be the first queen in college.'

'Cool,' I said. 'You can IM with the Council from campus. Maybe you can command people to do your homework.'

She apparently didn't think the joke was as funny as I did. 'Going back to my family. Rose . . . how long did you know about Jill?'

Damn. I'd known this part of the conversation would eventually be coming. I averted my eyes. 'Not really that long. We didn't want to stress you until we knew it was real,' I added hastily.

'I can't believe . . .' She shook her head. 'I just can't believe it.'

I had to go on her tone, not the bond. It was so strange, like losing one of my key senses. Sight. Hearing. 'Are you upset?'

'Of course I am! How can you be surprised?'

'I figured you'd be happy . . .'

'Happy to find out my dad cheated on my mom? Happy to have a sister I hardly know? I've tried to talk to her, but . . .' Lissa sighed again. 'It's so weird. Almost weirder than suddenly being queen. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to think of my father. And I sure as hell don't know what to do with her.'

'Love them both,' I said softly. 'They're your family. Jill's great, you know. Get to know her. Be excited.'

'I don't know if I can. I think you're more of a sister to me than she'll ever be.' Lissa stared off at nothing. 'And of all people . . . I was convinced for so long that there was something going on between her and Christian.'

'Well, out of all the worries in your world, that's one you can let go because it's not true.' But within her comment was something dark and sad. 'How is Christian?'

She turned back to me, her eyes full of pain. 'He's having a hard time. I am too. He visits her. Tasha. He hates what she did, but . . . well, she's still his family. It hurts him, but he tries to hide it. You know how he is.'

'Yeah.' Christian had spent a good portion of his life masking dark feelings with snark and sarcasm. He was a pro at fooling others about how he truly felt.

'I know he'll be better in time . . . I just hope I can be there for him enough. So much is happening. College, being queen . . . and always, always, there's spirit there, pressing down on me. Smothering me.'

Alarm shot through me. And panic. Panic over something far worse than not knowing what Lissa was feeling or where she was. Spirit. I was afraid of spirit—and the fact that I couldn't fight it for her. 'The darkness . . . I can't absorb it anymore. What will we do?'

A twisted smile crossed her lips. 'You mean, what will I do. It's my problem now, Rose. Like it always should have been.'

'But, no . . . you can't. St. Vladimir—'

'Isn't me. And you can protect me from some things but not all.'

I shook my head. 'No, no. I can't let you face spirit alone.'

'I'm not exactly alone. I talked to Sonya. She's really good at healing charms and thinks there's a way to keep myself in balance.'

'Oksana said the same thing,' I recalled, feeling hardly reassured.

'And . . . there's always the antidepressants. I don't like them, but I'm queen now. I have responsibilities. I'll do what I have to. A queen gives up everything, right?'

'I guess.' I couldn't help feeling frightened. Useless. 'I'm just so worried about you, and I don't know how to help you anymore.'

'I told you: you don't have to. I'll protect my mind. Your job's to protect my body, right? And Dimitri will be around too. It'll all be okay.'

The conversation with Dimitri came back to me. Who were you going for? Me or her?

I gave her the best smile I could. 'Yeah. It'll all be okay.'

Her hand squeezed mine. 'I'm so glad you're back, Rose. You'll always be part of me, no matter what. And honestly . . . I'm kind of glad you can't see my sex life anymore.'

'That makes two of us.' I laughed. No bond. No magical attachment. It was going to be so strange, but really . . . did I need it? In real life, people formed bonds of another nature. Bonds of love and loyalty. We would get through this. 'I'll always be there for you, you know. Anything you need.'

'I know,' she said. 'And actually . . . I need you for something now . . .'

'Name it,' I said.

She did.

THIRTY-FIVE

I WISHED LISSA HAD 'needed' me to go take out an army of Strigoi. I would have felt more comfortable with that than what she needed to do now: meet with Jill to discuss the coronation. Lissa wanted me there for support, as a kind of go-between. I wasn't able to walk that well yet, so we waited another day. Lissa seemed glad for the delay.

Jill was waiting for us in a small room I'd never expected to see again: the parlor where Tatiana had berated me for moving in on Adrian. It had been a pretty bizarre experience at the time, seeing as Adrian and I hadn't actually been involved back then. Now, after everything that had occurred between him and me, it just felt . . . strange. Confusing. I still didn't know what had happened to him since Tasha's arrest.

Walking in there, I also felt terribly . . . alone. No, not alone. Uninformed. Vulnerable. Jill sat in a chair, her hands folded in her lap. She stared straight ahead with an unreadable face. Beside me, Lissa's own features were equally blank. She felt . . . well, that was the thing. I didn't know. I didn't know. I mean, I could tell she was uncomfortable, but there were no thoughts in my head to tip me off. I had no specifics. Again, I reminded myself that the rest of the world worked like this. You functioned alone. You did your best to manage strange situations without the magical insight of another person. I'd never realized how much I'd taken the thoughts of even just one other person for granted.

The one thing I felt sure of was that both Lissa and Jill were freaked out by each other—but not by me. That was why I was here.

'Hey, Jill,' I said, smiling. 'How are you?'

She snapped out of whatever thoughts had been occupying her and jumped up from the chair. I thought that was strange, but then it made sense. Lissa. You rose when a queen entered the room.

'It's okay,' said Lissa, stumbling over her words a little. 'Sit.' She took a seat opposite Jill. It was the biggest chair in the room—the one Tatiana had always sat in.

Jill hesitated a moment, then shifted her gaze back to me. I must have provided some encouragement