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else are we going to find Rose?"

"Look," she said angrily, "I don't want to take the meds. But when I was off them ... I did really crazy stuff. Dangerous stuff. That's what spirit does to you."

"I don't take anything. I'm okay," he said.

No, he wasn't, I realized. Lissa realized it too.

"You got really weird that day when Dimitri was in your room," she pointed out. "You started rambling, and you didn't make any sense."

"Oh, that? Yeah ... it happens now and then. But seriously, not often. Once a month, if that." He sounded sincere.

Lissa stared at him, suddenly reevaluating everything. What if Adrian could do it? What if he could use spirit without pills and without any harmful side effects? It would be everything she had been hoping for. Besides, she wasn't even sure if the pills would keep working anymore....

He smiled, guessing what she was thinking.

"What do you say, cousin?" he asked. He didn't need to use compulsion. His offer was plenty tempting in its own right. "I can teach you everything I know if you're able to touch the magic. It'll take a while for the pills to get out of your system, but once they do ..."

Chapter 21

Twenty-one

THIS WAS SO NOT WHAT I needed right now. I could have handled anything else Adrian did: hitting on her, getting her to smoke his ridiculous cigarettes, whatever. But not this. Lissa quitting those pills was exactly what I'd wanted to avoid.

Reluctantly I pulled out of her head and returned to my own grim situation. I would have liked to see what further developed with Adrian and Lissa, but watching them would do no good. Okay. I really needed a plan now. I needed action. I needed to get us out of here. But, glancing around me, I found myself no closer to escape than I had been earlier, and I spent the next few hours brooding and speculating.

We had three guards today. They looked a little bored but not enough to slack off. Nearby, Eddie appeared unconscious, and Mason stared blankly at the floor. Across the room, Christian glared at nothing in particular, and I think Mia was sleeping. Painfully aware of how dry my throat was, I almost laughed in recalling how I'd told her water magic was useless. It might not do much in a fight, but I would have given anything for her to summon up some-

Magic.

Why hadn't I thought of this before? We weren't helpless. Not entirely.

A plan slowly coalesced in my mind- a plan that was probably insane but was also the best we had. My heart thudded with anticipation, and I immediately schooled my features to calmness before the guards noticed my sudden insight. On the opposite side of the room, Christian was watching me. He'd seen the brief flare of excitement and realized I'd thought of something. He watched me curiously, as ready for action as I was.

God. How could we pull this off? I needed his help, but I had no real way of letting him know what I had in mind. In fact, I wasn't even sure if he could help me at all- he was pretty weak.

I held his gaze, willing him to understand that something was going to happen. There was confusion on his face, but it was paired with determination. After making sure none of the guards were looking directly at me, I shifted slightly, giving a small tug at my wrists. I glanced behind me as much as I could, then met Christian's eyes again. He frowned, and I repeated the gesture.

"Hey," I said loudly. Mia and Mason both jerked in surprise. "Are you guys really going to keep starving us? Can't we at least have some water or something?"

"Shut up," said one of the guards. It was a pretty standard answer whenever any of us spoke.

"Come on." I used my best bitchy voice. "Not even like a sip of something? My throat's burning. Practically on fire." My gaze flicked to Christian as I said those last few words, then returned to the guard who'd spoken.

As expected, he rose from his seat and lurched toward me. "Do not make me repeat myself," he growled. I didn't know if he'd really do anything violent, but I had no interest in pushing it just yet. Besides, I'd accomplished my goal. If Christian couldn't take the hint, there was nothing else to be done for it. Hoping I looked afraid, I shut up.

The guard returned to