me put me in more danger than keeping me locked up. Her emotions were keyed up, prickly and a bit wilder than I would have liked. So much spirit, I realized. She's using too much. Back at school, she'd managed it with prescription medication and later through self-control. But somewhere, as our situations grew increasingly complicated, she'd allowed herself to wield more and more. Recently, she'd used astonishing amounts, and we'd come to take it for granted. Sooner or later, Lissa's reliance on spirit would catch up with her. With us.
"Princess?' A door across from Lissa opened, and a guardian peered out. "We're ready for you.'
The guardian stepped aside, and inside the room, Lissa heard a familiar voice say, "Always a pleasure speaking with you, Hans. We should do it again sometime.' Abe then appeared, strutting out with his usual swagger. He stepped past the guardian in the doorway and gave Lissa and the Ozeras a winning, all-is-right-in-the-world grin. Without a word, he strode past them toward the hall's exit.
Lissa almost smiled but reined it in, putting on a sober look as she and her companions entered. The door shut behind them, and she found herself facing three guardians seated at a table. One of them I'd seen around but had never met. I think his last name was Steele. The other two I knew well. One was Hans Croft, who ran the guardians' operations at Court. Beside him--to my astonishment--was Alberta, who was in charge of St. Vladimir's guardians and novices.
"Lovely,' growled Hans. "A whole entourage.' Christian had insisted on being present when Lissa was questioned, and Tasha had insisted on being present with Christian. If Abe had known the interrogation time, he probably would have joined the group too, undoubtedly followed by my mother ... Hans didn't realize he'd dodged a house party.
Lissa, Christian, and Tasha sat down opposite the guardians. "Guardian Petrov,' said Lissa, ignoring Hans's disapproval. "What are you doing here?' Alberta gave Lissa a small smile but otherwise kept in professional guardian mode. "I was here for the funeral, and Guardian Croft decided he'd like an outside opinion for the investigation.'
"As well as someone familiar with Hathaway and her, uh, associates,' added Hans. Hans was the kind of guy who got straight to the point. Usually, his attitude bothered me--that was my normal reaction to most authority figures--but I did respect the way he ran operations here. "This meeting was intended just for you, princess.'
"We won't say a word,' said Christian.
Lissa nodded and kept her face smooth and polite, even though there was a trembling in her voice. "I want to help ... I've been so, I don't know. I'm so stunned about everything that's happened.'
"I'm sure,' said Hans, voice dry. "Where were you when the statues exploded?'
"With the funeral procession,' she said. "I was part of the escort.'
Steele had a pile of papers in front of him. "That's true. There are plenty of witnesses.'
"Very convenient. What about afterward?' asked Hans. "Where did you go when the crowd panicked?'
"Back to the Council's building. That's where all the others were meeting up, and I thought it'd be safest.' I couldn't see her face but could feel her trying to look cowed. "I was afraid when things started going crazy.'
"We also have witnesses to support that,' said Steele.
Hans drummed his fingers on the table. "Did you have any prior knowledge about any of this? The explosions? Hathaway's breakout?'
Lissa shook her head. "No! I had no clue. I didn't even know it was possible to get out of the cells. I thought there was too much security.'
Hans ignored the dig on his operations. "You've got that bond thing, right? You didn't pick up anything through that?'
"I don't read her,' explained Lissa. "She sees my thoughts but not the other way around.'
"That,' said Alberta, speaking up at last, "is true.'
Hans didn't contradict her but still wasn't buying my friends' innocence. "You realize, if you're caught concealing information--or aiding her--you'll face consequences almost as serious as hers. All of you. Royalty doesn't exempt you from treason.'
Lissa lowered her gaze, as though his threat had frightened her. "I just can't believe ... I just can't believe she'd do this. She was my friend. I thought I knew her. I didn't think she could do any of these things ... I never thought she'd murder anyone.' If not for the feelings in the bond, I might have taken offense. I knew the truth, though. She was acting, trying to distance herself from