Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15)(110)

That brought Sydney around and eliminated whatever romantic morning encounter I might have pulled off. We got dressed and eventually made our way out to the suite’s living room. There, my mother sat with both Rose and Dimitri. I nearly chided Rose for not having been able to wait to hear the stories of all our exciting adventures … but then I noticed her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She and Dimitri exchanged looks. “Jill’s missing.”

“What do you mean Jill’s missing?” I demanded. “She’s still at school. I had a text from her yesterday. She set up our trip.”

“And she’s got all her guardians,” added Sydney. “Eddie’s back, right?”

Rose nodded. “All three dhampirs were there on campus. Angeline was even in her room when she was taken.”

“Wait … did Angeline see it happen?” I asked.

“No,” said Dimitri. “That’s what’s so strange. Angeline went to bed with Jill in the room … and woke up with her gone.”

“She didn’t hear or see anything. Jill just disappeared like magic.” Rose snapped her fingers for effect. “Angeline feels terrible.”

I felt a tightness in my chest, and the room reeled. Jill … missing? It wasn’t possible. Not after everything I’d done for her. I’d brought her back to life! This couldn’t be happening. There was some mistake. Eddie wouldn’t have let this happen.

You see? asked Aunt Tatiana. I told you there’d never be peace for you. One way or another, there’ll always be something to torment you. Good thing you have me to help you.

Sydney sank into a chair, hands clasped in her lap. “Angeline feels terrible? I feel terrible! Jill was my first responsibility, the whole reason for me going out there! If I hadn’t left—”

“Don’t start that,” I warned, putting my arm around her. It was as much to comfort me as her. “Because you didn’t leave. You were taken. This is in no way your fault.” I turned back to the others, trying desperately to make sense of this. If I could think logically, I wouldn’t panic. “We have to find her. Do you have any leads?”

“Not yet, but we have people scouring every inch of that place like crazy, looking for some clue.” Rose sighed in dismay. “She was only a month away from coming back here.”

“Well, we’ll go help,” I said. “Get us on a flight out there.” Sydney nodded eagerly.

“Are you guys crazy?” asked Rose. “Don’t answer that. Look, you aren’t going anywhere. There’s nothing out there you can do right now.”

“Plus, that protection you fought for so hard last night doesn’t extend past Court,” Dimitri reminded us. “You need to stay here—for your own safety—until more precautions are in place. That, and we don’t want any unnecessary attention going toward Jill.” He looked over at my mom. “That means, Lady Ivashkov, that what you’ve just heard cannot leave this room. No one can know Jill’s gone, because as long as she’s missing, we can’t prove she’s alive or dead. And if we can’t prove that—”

“Then you can’t prove the queen has one living relative,” Sydney finished.

I hadn’t been quick enough to think that far ahead. I was still stuck on Jill—Jill, my sweet, compassionate Jill—missing without a trace. Now, I suddenly grasped the other consequences.

“The vote hasn’t happened yet,” I murmured. “The vote to change the law.”

“Exactly,” said Rose, her face grim. “And if word of Jill’s disappearance gets out, Lissa could lose her throne.”





ONE


I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard her screams.

Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me. Images—hers, not mine—tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me, until some rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn’t my dream.

I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead.

Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us.

“Liss,” I said, shaking her. “Liss, wake up.”

Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. “Andre,” she moaned. “Oh God.”

I helped her sit up. “Liss, you aren’t there anymore. Wake up.”

After a few moments, her eyes fl uttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair.

“It’s okay,” I told her gently. “Everything’s okay.”

“I had that dream.”

“Yeah. I know.”

We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate’s cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window.