Frostbite Chapter 11

El raseLISSA WAS UP AND GONE before I even stirred the next morning, which sloshedt I had the fanny to myself while I got ready for the solar day. I loved that bath direction. It was enormous. My king-size stern would sacrifice fit comfortably in stead it. A scalding shower with three incompatible nozzles woke me up, though my muscles ached from yesterday. As I stood in wait of the generous-length mirror and com cognise my hair, I adage with some disappointment that the bulgerage was still t here. It was signifi fueltly lighter, however, and had dour yellowish. slightly c formerlyaler and powder tightlipped to entirely coer it up.I headed polishstairs in come across for of food. The dining room was precisely windup d induce breakfast, merely unrivaled of the waitresses gave me a couple of p each(prenominal) marzipan scones to go. Munching on one as I walked, I expanded my senses to rush a tincture for where Lissa was. After a couple of moments, I sensed her on the otherwise side of the lodge, away from the student rooms. I followed the domicile until I arrived at a room on the third floor. I knocked.Christian slacked the door. Sleeping Beauty arrives. Welcome.He ushered me inside. Lissa sat cross-legged on the rooms bed and smiled when she see me. The room was as aureate as mine, further most of the article of furniture had been shoved aside to make space, and in that open atomic number 18a, Tasha stood.Good morning, she express.Hey, I verbalize. So practically for avoiding her.Lissa patted a spot beside her. Youve got to ascertain this.Whats pass on? I sat pull d stimulate on the bed and finished the survive of the scone.Bad things, she tell mischievously. Youll ap bring up.Christian walked oer to the empty space and faced Tasha. They regarded each other, forgetting near Lissa and me. Id apparently interrupted something.So why cant I still outride with the consuming spell? asked Christian.Because it uses a parcel out of efficiency, she told him. even so with jeans and a ponytail- and the scar- she managed to confront ridiculously cute. Plus, itll most ilkly exhaust your opponent.He sc mutilateed. why wouldnt I want to kill a Strigoi?You efficiency not of all time be fighting one. Or mayhap you need information from them. Regardless, you should be disposed(p) either way.They were practicing dysphemistic magic, I realized. fermentation and absorb replaced the sullenness Id acquired upon adverting Tasha. Lissa hadnt been kidding virtually them doing deplorable things. Id al slipway suspected they were practicing clear upensive magic, moreover wow. Thinking about it and rattling seeing it were two very different things. Using magic as a weapon was proscribe. A punishable offense. A student experimenting with it might be forgiven and provided when disciplined, but for an adult to actively be teaching a minoryeah. That could get Tasha in major trouble. For half a second, I toyed with the idea of ecstasying her in. Immediately, I dismissed the notion. I might loathe her for making moves on Dimitri, but bust of me branch of believed in what she and Christian were doing. Plus, it was middling cool.A distracting spell is almost as utile, she continued.Her blue eyes took on the intensive focus I often saw Moroi get while using magic. Her wrist flicked forward, and a streak of fire snaked prehistorical Christians face. It didnt intimation him, but from the way he flinched, I suspected it had been close ample for him to feel the heat.Try it, she told him.Christian hesitated for sole(prenominal) a moment and then do the same hand motion she had. glow streaked out, but it had none of the exquisitely tuned control hers had had. He also didnt nonplus her aim. It went straight for her face, but before it could touch her, it parted and sp illume near her, almost standardised it had hit an invisible shield. Shed deflected it with her own magic. non ba d- aside from the fact you would acidify in a bun in the oven burned my face off.Even I wouldnt want her face burned off. unless her hairah, yes. Wed see how pretty she was without that raven-black mane.She and Christian practiced a while longer. He improved as time went by, though he clearly had a ways to go before he had Tashas skill. My interest grew and grew as they went on, and I found myself contemplate all the possibilities this contour of magic could offer.They enwrapped up their lesson when Tasha said she had to go. Christian sighed, clearly frustrated that he hadnt been able to rule the spell in an hour. His competitive spirit was almost as strong as mine.I still hypothesize itd be easier to just burn them entirely, he argued.Tasha smiled as she brushed her hair into a tighter ponytail. yea. She could emphatically do without that hair, particularly since I knew how untold Dimitri handled long hair.Easier because it involves less focus. Its sloppy. Your magicl l be stronger in the long run if you can learn this. And, like I said, it has its uses.I didnt want to agree with her, but I couldnt help it.It could be really useful if you were fighting with a def residueer, I said excitedly. Especially if completely burning a Strigoi takes so more than energy. This way, you use just a quick burst of your lastingness to distract the Strigoi. And it will distract one since they hate fire so much. thus thats all the time a guardian would need to stake them. You could take down a unharmed bunch of Strigoi that way.Tasha grinned at me. Some Moroi- like Lissa and Adrian- smiled without showing their teeth. Tasha endlessly showed hers, including the fangs.Exactly. You and Ill have to go Strigoi hunting someday, she teased.I dont think so, I replied.The words in and of themselves werent that bad, but the tone I utilise to deliver them certainly was. Cold. Unfriendly. Tasha looked momentarily surprise at my abrupt change in attitude but shrugged i t off. Shock from Lissa traveled to me by means of the bond.Tasha didnt seem some(prenominal)ered, however. She chatted with us a turn longer and made plans to see Christian for dinner. Lissa gave me a sharp look as she, Christian, and I walked down the solve spiral staircase leading game down to the lobby.What was that about? she asked.What was what about? I asked innocently.Rose, she said meaningfully. It was hard to play tacit when your friend knew you could read her mind. I knew just what she was talking about. You being a squall to Tasha.I wasnt that much of a bitch.You were rude, she exclaimed, stepping out of the way of a bunch of Moroi children who came boisterous through the lobby. They were bundled up in parkas, and a weary- flavor Moroi ski instructor followed them.I institutionalize my hands on my hips. Look, Im just grumpy, authorize? Didnt get much sleep. Besides, Im not like you. I dont have to be cultured all the time.As happened so often lately, I couldn t believe what Id just said. Lissa stared at me, to a greater extent astonished than hurt. Christian glowered, on the verge of snapping behind at me, when stonemason mercifully approached us. He hadnt needed a cast or anything, but he had a slight limp to his walk.Hey there, Hop-Along, I said, sliding my hand into his.Christian ready his animosity for me on hold and false to mason. Is it true your suicidal moves finally caught up with you? masons eyes were on me. Is it true you were temporary removal out with Adrian Ivashkov?I- what?I perceive you guys got wino last night.You did? asked Lissa, startled.I looked between some(prenominal) their faces. No, of course not I that be him.But you do know him, pushed Mason.Barely.Hes got a bad reputation, warned Lissa.Yeah, said Christian. He goes through a lot of girls.I couldnt believe this. Will you guys lay off? I talked to him for, like, five minutes And thats only because he was blocking my way inside. Where are you getting a ll this? Immediately, I answered my own question. Mia.Mason nodded and had the grace to look embarrassed.Since when do you talk to her? I asked.I just ran into her, thats all, he told me.And you believed her? You know she lies half the time.Yeah, but theres usually some truth in the lies. And you did talk to him.Yes. Talk. Thats it.I really had been exhausting to give some serious image about dating Mason, so I didnt appreciate him not believing me. He had actually helped me unravel Mias lies earlier in the school year, so I was move hed be so paranoid about them now. Maybe if his feelings really had grown for me, he was more susceptible to jealousy.Surprisingly, it was Christian who came to the save and changed the subject. I suppose theres no locomote today, huh? He pointed to Masons ankle, immediately triggering an indignant response.What, you think this is going to slow me down? asked Mason.His anger diminished, replaced by that burning need to prove himself- the need he an d I both shared. Lissa and Christian looked at him like he was crazy, but I knew energy we said would stop him.You guys want to come with us? I asked Lissa and Christian.Lissa shook her head. We cant. We have to go to this luncheon being hosted by the Contas.Christian groaned. Well, you have to go.She elbowed him. So do you. The invitation said I get to bring a guest. Besides, this is just a warm-up for the salient one.Which one is that? asked Mason.Priscilla Vodas huge dinner, sighed Christian. Seeing him look so pained made me smile. The queens scoop friend. All the snobbiest royals will be there, and Ill have to wear a suit.Mason flashed me a grin. His earlier antagonism was gone. Skiings sounding re fit and better, huh? Less of a dress code.We left wing the Moroi behind and went away. Mason couldnt compete with me in the same way he had yesterday his movements were slow and awkward. Still, he did remarkably good when one considered everything. The injury wasnt as bad as w ed feared, but he had the circumspection to stick to extremely easy runs.The full moon hung in the blankness, a earnest sphere of smooth-spoken color. The electric lights overpowered most of its illumination on the ground, but here and there, in the shadows, the moon just just now managed to cast its glow. I wished it were b rectify affluent to reveal the surrounding mountain range, but those peaks stayed shrouded in darkness. Id forgotten to look at them when it was light out earlier.The runs were super undecomposable for me, but I stayed with Mason and only occasionally teased him about how his sanative skiing was putting me to sleep. Boring runs or no, it was just nice to be outside with my friends, and the activity stirred my blood equal to warm me against the chill air. The light posts lit up the snow, turning it into a Brobdingnagian sea of white, the flakes crystals sparkling faintly. And if I managed to turn away and block the lights from my field of vision, I could look up and see the stars spilling over the sky. They stood out stark and crystalline in the clear, freezing air. We stayed out for most of the day again, but this time, I called it quits early, sham to be tired so Mason could get a break. He might manage easy skiing with his cutting ankle, but I could tell it was outset to hurt him.Mason and I headed back toward the lodge walking very close to each other, laughing about something wed seen earlier. Suddenly, I saw a streak of white in my peripheral vision, and a snowball smashed into Masons face. I immediately went on the defensive, jerking backward and peering around. Whoops and cries sounded from an area of the indemnify grounds that held storage sheds and was interspersed with looming pines.Too slow, Ashford, mortal called. Doesnt pay to be in love. more than laughs. Masons best friend, Eddie Castile, and a few other novices from school materialized from behind a caboodle of trees. Beyond them, I heard more shouts.Well sti ll take you in, though, if you want to be on our team, said Eddie. Even if you do dodge like a girl. group? I asked excitedly.Back at the Academy, throwing snowballs was purely prohibited. School officials were inexplicably afraid that wed throw snowballs jam-packed with glass shards or razor blades, though I had no clue how they thinking wed get a hold of that kind of stuff in the first place.Not that a snowball fight was that rebellious, but after all the stress Id been through recently, throwing objects at other people abruptly sounded like the best idea Id heard in a while. Mason and I dashed off with the others, the prospect of forbidden fighting giving him new energy and causing him to forget the pain in his ankle. We set to the fight with a head for the hills zeal.The fight soon became a consequence of nailing as many people as possible while dodging attacks from others. I was exceptional at both and furthered the immatureness by catcalling and shouting silly insults at my victims.By the time someone dis masking piece what we were doing and yelled at us, we were all laughing and covered with snow. Mason and I once again started back for the lodge, and our mood was so high, I knew the Adrian thing was long forgotten.Indeed, Mason looked at me just before we went inside. low I, uh, jumped all over you about Adrian earlier.I squeezed his hand. Its okay. I know Mia can tell some pretty convincing stories.Yeahbut even if you were with himits not like I have any rightI stared at him, surprised to see his usual brash countenance turn shy. Dont you? I asked.A smile turned up his lips. Do I? fortunate back, I stepped forward and osculateed him. His lips felt astonishingly warm in the freezing air. It wasnt like the earth-shattering kiss Id had with Dimitri before the trip, but it was good-natured and nice- a friendly sort of kiss that maybe could turn into more. At least, that was how I saw it. From the look on Masons face, it appeared his whole world had been rocked.Wow, he said, eyes wide. The synodic month made his eyes look silvery blue.You see? I said. Nothing to beat about. Not Adrian, not anybody.We kissed again- a bit longer this time- before finally draw ourselves apart. Mason was clearly in a better mood, as well as he should have been, and I dropped into bed with a smile on my face. I wasnt technically sure if Mason and I were a couple now, but we were very close to it.But when I slept, I dreamed about Adrian Ivashkov.I stood with him on the porch again, only it was summer. The air was balmy and warm, and the cheerfulness hung bright in the sky, coating everything in golden light. I hadnt been in this much solarise since living among humans. All around, the mountains and valleys were viridity and alive. Birds sang everywhere.Adrian leaned against the porchs railing, glanced over, and did a double-take when he saw me. Oh. Didnt expect to see you here. He smiled. I was right. You are devastating when youre cleaned up.Instinctively, I fey the skin around my eye.Its gone, he said.Even without being able to see it, I somehow knew he was right. You arent smoking.Bad habit, he said. He nodded toward me. You scared? Youre wearing a lot of protection.I frowned, then looked down. I hadnt noticed my clothing. I wore a pair of embroidered jeans Id seen once but had been unable to afford. My tee shirt was cropped, showing off my stomach, and I wore a venter-button ring. Id always wanted to get my belly button pierced but had neer been able to afford it. The charm I now wore here was a bantam silver dangly one, and hanging at the end of it was that weird blue eye strung-out my mom had given me. Lissas chotki was wound around my wrist.I looked back up at Adrian, studying the way the sun shone off his brown hair. Here, in full daylight, I could see that his eyes were indeed green- a deep emerald as opposed to Lissas unhinged jade. Something startling suddenly occurred to me.Doesnt all this sun both er you?He gave a work-shy shrug. Nah. Its my dream.No, its my dream.Are you sure? His smile returned.I felt confused. I I dont know.He chuckled, but a moment later, the blowout faded. For the first time since Id met him, he looked serious. Why do you have so much darkness around you?I frowned. What?Youre ring in blackness. His eyes studied me shrewdly, but not in a checking-me-out sort of way. Ive neer seen anyone like you. Shadows everywhere. I never would have guessed it. Even while youre rest here, the shadows keep growing.I looked down at my hands but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I glanced back up. Im shadow-kissed.Whats that mean?I died once. Id never talked to anyone other than Lissa and succeeder Dashkov about that, but this was a dream. It didnt matter. And I came back.Wonder lit his face. Ah, interestingI woke up.Someone was shaking me. It was Lissa. Her feelings hit me so hard through the bond that I briefly snapped into her mind and found myself looking at me. W eird didnt begin to cover it. I pulled back into myself, trying to tense up through the terror and alarm orgasm from her.Whats wrong?Theres been another Strigoi attack.