Christian didn't look like he was in a snarky mood, though. His expression was curious and concerned as he regarded her. "How are you feeling?" he asked. They hadn't talked to each other since the ride back, and she'd been largely incoherent during a lot of it.
"Fine." She touched her face absentmindedly. "Adrian healed me."
"I guess he is good for something." Okay, maybe Christian was feeling a little snarky today. But only a little.
"Adrian's good for lots of things," she said, though she couldn't help a small smile. "He ran himself into the ground here all night."
"What about you? I know how you are. As soon as you were up and around, you were probably right there beside him."
She shook her head. "No. After he healed me, I went to see Dimitri."
All mirth disappeared from Christian's face. "You've talked to him?"
"Twice now. But yeah. I have."
"And?"
"And what?"
"What's he like?"
"He's like Dimitri." She suddenly frowned, reconsidering her words. "Well... not quite like Dimitri."
"What, does he still have some Strigoi in him?" Christian straightened up, blue eyes flashing. "If he's still dangerous, you have no business going near--"
"No!" she exclaimed. "He's not dangerous. And..." She took a few steps forward, returning his glare. "Even if he was, you have no business telling me what I can or can't do!"
Christian sighed dramatically. "And here I thought Rose was the only one who threw herself into stupid situations, regardless of whether they might kill her."
Lissa's anger flared up rapidly, likely because of all the spirit she'd been using. "Hey, you didn't have any issues helping me stake Dimitri! You trained me for it."
"That was different. We were in a bad situation already, and if things went wrong... well, I could have incinerated him." Christian regarded her from head to toe, and there was something in his gaze... something that seemed like more than just objective assessment. "But I didn't have to. You were amazing. You made the hit. I didn't know if you could, but you did... and the fire... You didn't flinch at all, but it must have been awful...."
There was a catch in his voice as he spoke, like he was only now truly assessing the consequences of what might have happened to Lissa. His concern and admiration made her flush, and she tilted her head--an old trick--so that the pieces of hair that had escaped from her ponytail would fall forward and hide her face. There was no need for it. Christian was now staring pointedly at the ground.
"I had to do it," she said at last. "I had to see if it was possible."
He looked up. "And it was... right? There really isn't any trace of Strigoi?"
"None. I'm positive. But no one believes it."
"Can you blame them? I mean, I helped out with it and I wanted it to be true... but I'm not sure I ever really, truly thought someone could come back from that." He glanced away again, his gaze resting on a lilac bush. Lissa could smell its scent, but the distant and troubled look on his face told her that his thoughts weren't on nature. Neither were they on Dimitri, I realized. He was thinking about his parents. What if there'd been spirit users around when the Ozeras had turned Strigoi? What if there had been a way to save them?
Lissa, not guessing what I had, remarked, "I don't even know that I believed either. But as soon as it happened, well... I knew. I know. There's no Strigoi in him. I have to help him. I have to make others realize it. I can't let them lock him up forever--or worse." Getting Dimitri out of the warehouse without the other guardians staking him had been no easy feat for her, and she shivered recalling those first few seconds after his change when everyone had been shouting to kill him.
Christian turned back and met her eyes curiously. "What did you mean when you said he was like Dimitri but not like Dimitri?"
Her voice trembled a little when she spoke. "He's... sad."
"Sad? Seems like he should be happy he was saved."
"No... you don't understand. He feels awful about everything he did as a Strigoi. Guilty, depressed. He's punishing himself for it because he doesn't think he can be forgiven."
"Holy shit," said Christian, clearly caught off guard. A few Moroi girls had walked by just then and looked scandalized at his swearing. They hurried off, whispering among themselves. Christian ignored them. "But he couldn't help it--"
"I know, I know. I already went over it with him."
"Can Rose help?"