Lissa nodded.
"And Rose got cut from the trip?"
"Of course."
"Did the queen offer to let you bring another friend?"
"She did," admitted Lissa. "In particular, she suggested Adrian. But he's sulking... and I'm not really sure if I'm in the mood for him."
Christian seemed pleased by this. "Then bring me."
My poor friends. I wasn't sure how much more shock any of them could handle today.
"Why the hell would I bring you?" she exclaimed. All her anger returned at his presumption. It was a sign of her agitation that she'd sworn.
"Because," he said, face calm, "I can teach you how to stake a Strigoi."
Chapter Thirteen
"THE HELL YOU CAN," I said aloud to no one.
"No, you can't," said Lissa, with an expression that matched my own incredulity. "I know you've been learning to fight with fire, but you haven't done any staking."
Christian's face was adamant. "I have--a little. And I can learn more. Mia's got some guardian friends here that have been teaching her physical combat, and I've learned some of it."
The mention of him and Mia working together didn't do much to improve Lissa's opinion. "You've barely been here a week! You make it sound like you've been training for years with some master."
"It's better than nothing," he said. "And where else are you going to learn? Rose?"
Lissa's outrage and disbelief dimmed a little. "No," she admitted. "Never. In fact, Rose would drag me away if she caught me doing it."
Damn straight I would. In fact, despite the obstacles and staff that kept blocking me, I was tempted to march over there right now.
"Then this is your chance," he said. His voice turned wry. "Look, I know things aren't... great with us, but that's irrelevant if you're going to learn this. Tell Tatiana you want to bring me to Lehigh. She won't like it, but she'll let you. I'll show you what I know in our free time. Then, when we get back, I'll take you to Mia and her friends."
Lissa frowned. "If Rose knew..."
"That's why we'll start when you're away from Court. She'll be too far away from you to do anything."
Oh, for the love of God. I would give them some lessons about fighting--starting with a punch to Christian's face.
"And when we get back?" asked Lissa. "She'll find out. It's inevitable with the bond."
He shrugged. "If she's still on landscape duty, we'll be able to get away with it. I mean, she'll know, but she won't be able to interfere. Much."
"It may not be enough," Lissa said with a sigh. "Rose was right about that--I can't expect to learn in a few weeks what it took her years to do."
Weeks? That was her timeline on this?
"You have to try," he said, almost gentle. Almost.
"Why are you so interested in this?" Lissa asked suspiciously. "Why do you care so much about bringing Dimitri back? I mean, I know you liked him, but you don't quite have the same motivation here that Rose does."
"He was a good guy," said Christian. "And if there was a way to turn him back to a dhampir? Yeah, that'd be amazing. But it's more than that... more than just him. If there was a way to save all Strigoi, that would change our world. I mean, not that setting them on fire isn't cool after they've gone on killing sprees, but if we could stop those killing sprees in the first place? That's the key to saving us. All of us."
Lissa was speechless for a moment. Christian had spoken passionately, and there was a hope radiating off of him that she just hadn't expected. It was... moving.
He took advantage of her silence. "Besides, there's no telling what you'd do without any guidance. And I'd like to reduce the odds of you getting yourself killed, because even if Rose wants to deny it, I know you're going to keep pushing this."