Frostbite Page 0,87

homecoming.

She was in one of the lodge's banquet rooms, only it was empty. She sat on the floor of the far side of it, trying to stay inconspicuous. Nervousness filled her. She was waiting for something- or rather, someone. A few minutes later, Adrian slipped in.

"Cousin," he said by way of greeting. He sat down beside her and drew his knees up, unconcerned about his expensive dress pants. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," she said.

"You didn't know I was here until you saw me, did you?"

She shook her head, disappointed. I felt more confused than ever.

"And sitting with me ... you can't really notice anything?"

"No."

He shrugged. "Well. Hopefully it'll come soon."

"How does it look for you?" she asked, burning with curiosity.

"Do you know what auras are?"

"They're like ... bands of light around people, right? Some New Age thing?"

"Something like that. Everyone has a sort of spiritual energy that radiates out from them. Well, almost everyone." His hesitation made me wonder if he was thinking of me and the darkness I allegedly walked in. "Based on the color and appearance, you can tell a lot about a person...well, if anyone could actually see auras, that is."

"And you can," she said. "And you can tell I use spirit from my aura?"

"Yours is mostly gold. Like mine. It'll shift with other colors depending on the situation, but the gold always stays."

"How many other people out there like us do you know?"

"Not many. I just see them every once in a while. They kind of keep to themselves. You're the first I've actually ever talked to. I didn't even know it was called 'spirit.' Wish I'd known about this when I didn't specialize. I just figured I was some kind of freak."

Lissa held up her arm and stared, willing herself to see the light shining around it. Nothing. She sighed and let the arm drop.

And that's when I got it.

Adrian was a spirit user too. That was why he'd been so curious about Lissa, why he'd wanted to talk to her and ask about the bond and her specialization. It also explained a lot of other things- like that charisma I couldn't seem to escape when I was near him. He'd used compulsion that day Lissa and I had been in his room- that was how he'd forced Dimitri to release him.

"So, they finally let you go?" Adrian asked her.

"Yeah. They finally decided I really didn't know anything."

"Good," he said. He frowned, and I realized he was sober for a change. "And you're sure you don't?"

"I already told you that. I can't make the bond work that way."

"Hmm. Well. You've got to."

She glared. "What, you think I'm holding back? If I could find her, I would!"

"I know, but to have it at all, you must have a strong connection. Use that to talk to her in her dreams. I tried, but I can't hang on long enough to- "

"What did you say?" exclaimed Lissa. "Talk to her in her dreams?"

Now he looked puzzled. "Sure. Don't you know how to do that?"

"No! Are you kidding? How is that even possible?"

My dreams ...

I remembered Lissa talking about unexplained Moroi phenomena, how there might be spirit powers out there beyond healing, things no one even knew about yet. It would appear that Adrian being in my dreams was no coincidence. He'd managed to get inside my head, maybe in a way similar to how I saw Lissa's mind. The thought made me uneasy. Lissa could barely even grasp it.

He ran a hand through his hair and tipped his head back, staring at the crystal chandelier above as he pondered. "Okay. So. You don't see auras, and you don't talk to people in dreams. What do you do?"

"I ... I can heal people. Animals. Plants, too. I can bring dead things back to life."

"Really?" He looked impressed. "Okay. You get credit for that. What else?"

"Um, I can use compulsion."

"We can all do that."

"No, I can really do it. It's not hard. I can make people do anything I want- even bad things."

"So can I." His eyes lit up. "I wonder what would happen if you tried to use it on me...."

She hesitated and absentmindedly ran her fingers over the textured red carpet. "Well... I can't."

"You just said you could."

"I can- just not right now. I take this prescription ... for depression and other stuff...and it cuts me off from the magic."

He threw his arms up in the air. "How can I teach you to walk through dreams then? How