The Golden Lily Page 0,48

grew more withdrawn and thoughtful. His banter dropped off, and he spent a lot of time gazing out the window.

I could only assume the reality of his seeing his dad was setting in. It was certainly something I could relate to. I'd be just as anxious if I was about to see mine. I didn't really think Adrian would appreciate a shared psychotherapy session, though, so I groped for a safer topic to draw him out of his blue mood.

"Have you guys learned anything from Eddie and Dimitri's blood?" I asked.

Adrian glanced at me in surprise. "Didn't expect you to bring that up."

"Hey, I'm curious about the science of it. I just didn't want to participate." He accepted this. "Not much to tell so soon. They sent the samples off to a lab - one of your labs, I think - to see if there's anything physically different between the two. Sonya and I did pick up a... oh, I don't know how to describe it. Like, a 'hum' of spirit in Belikov's blood.

Not that him having magic blood should surprise anyone. Most people seem to think everything he does is magic."

"Oh, come on," I said. "That's unfair."

"Is it? You've seen the way Castile worships him. He wants to be just like Belikov when he grows up. And even though Sonya's usually the spokesperson for our research, she won't breathe without checking with him beforehand. 'What do you think, Dimitri?' 'Is this a good idea, Dimitri?' 'Please give us your blessing so that we can fall down and worship you, Dimitri.'" I shook my head in exasperation. "Again - unfair. They're research partners. Of course she's going to consult him."

"She consults him more than me."

Probably because Adrian always looked bored during their research, but I figured it wouldn't help to bring that up. "They've both been Strigoi. They've kind of got a unique insight to this."

He didn't respond for several moments. "Okay. I'll give you points for that. But you can't argue that there was any competition between me and him when it came to Rose. You saw them together. I never had a chance. I can't compare."

"Well, why do you have to?" Part of me also wanted to ask what Rose had to do with this, but Jill had told me numerous times that for Adrian, everything came back to Rose.

"Because I wanted her," Adrian said.

"Do you still want her?"

No answer. Rose was a dangerous topic; one I wished we hadn't weirdly stumbled into.

"Look," I said. "You and Dimitri are two different people. You shouldn't compare yourself to him. You shouldn't try to be like him. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and rip him apart or anything.

I like Dimitri. He's smart and dedicated, insanely brave and ferocious. Good in a fight.

And he's just a nice guy."

Adrian scoffed. "You left out dreamy and ruggedly handsome."

"Hey, you're pretty easy on the eyes too," I teased, quoting something he'd told me a while ago. He didn't smile. "And don't underestimate yourself. You're smart too, and you can talk yourself out of - and into - anything. You don't even need magical charisma."

"So far I'm not seeing a lot of difference between me and a carnival con-man."

"Oh, stop," I said. He could make me laugh even with the most serious of topics. "You know what I mean. And you're also one of the most fiercely loyal people I know - and caring, no matter how much you pretend otherwise. I see the way you look after Jill. Not many people would've traveled across the country to help her. And almost no one would have done what you did to save her life."

Again, Adrian took a while to respond. "But what are loyal and caring really worth?"

"To me? Everything."

There was no hesitation in my answer. I'd seen too much backstabbing and calculation in my life. My own father judged people not by who they were but by what they could do for him.

Adrian did care passionately about others underneath all of his bravado and flippancy. I'd seen him risk his life to prove it. Considering I'd had someone's eye cut out to avenge my sister...

well. Devotion was definitely something I could appreciate.

Adrian didn't say anything else for the rest of the drive, but at least I didn't get the impression he was brooding anymore. Mostly he seemed thoughtful, and that wasn't so concerning.

What did make me a little uneasy was that I often caught sight of him studying me in my