The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)(51)

The girl frowned, looking as though she was using every ounce of mental effort. At last, she sagged in defeat and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

"Did she have black hair?" I suggested.

The girl brightened a little. "Maybe. Er, wait. It might have been brown. No. Red, maybe?"

Adrian and I stepped away, knowing we could do no more. "That girl seems awfully confused," I said as we walked back to my car.

"She certainly does," he agreed. "Sound familiar?"

"Very," I muttered, recognizing the signs of magic.

No one could deny it. Veronica had been here. And we'd been too late to stop her.
   





I FELT LIKE A FAILURE when I delivered Ms. Terwilliger the news before classes the next day.

She told me, her face pale and grim, that there was nothing I could've done. But I didn't know if I believed that. I still berated myself with the same questions as last night. What if I hadn't spent the previous day with Marcus? What if I hadn't spent so much time making sure the Mustang was taken care of? What if I hadn't been engaged in a massive public display of affection on the floor with Adrian? I'd let personal matters interfere, and now a girl had paid with her life. I wanted to skip school and warn the others immediately, but Ms. Terwilliger assured me that Veronica wouldn't be able to feed so quickly. She told me waiting until later in the day would be fine.

I gave a reluctant nod and returned to my desk, figuring I'd try to read until class started. I didn't expect to have much success. "Miss Melbourne?" she called. I glanced back and saw that her sad expression had lightened up a little. She almost looked amused, which seemed weird, given the situation.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You might want to do something about your neck."

I was totally lost. "My neck?"

She reached into her purse and handed me a compact mirror. I opened it and surveyed my neck, still trying to figure out what she could be talking about. Then I saw it. A small, brownish purple bruise on the side of my neck.

"What on earth is that?" I exclaimed.

Ms. Terwilliger snorted. "Although it's been a while for me, I believe the technical term is a hickey" She paused and arched an eyebrow. "You do know what that is, don't you?"

"Of course I know!" I lowered the mirror. "But there's no way - I mean, we barely - that is - "

She held up a hand to silence me. "You don't have to justify your private life to me. But you might want to consider how you can actually keep it private in the next fifteen minutes."

I was practically out of my seat before she finished speaking. When I emerged from the building, I had the amazing fortune to find the campus shuttle just pulling up. I hurried onto it, and although the ride to my dorm only took a few minutes, it felt like forever. All the while, my mind reeled with what had happened.

I have a hickey. I let Adrian Ivashkov give me a hickey.

How in the world had that happened? The devastating news about Lynne had allowed me to ignore the full impact of my indiscretion, but there was no avoiding that now. Against every principle I possessed, I'd allowed myself to get drawn into kissing Adrian. And not just kissing. Thinking about the way our bodies had been pressed together made me feel as flushed as I had last night.

No, no, no! I couldn't think about that. I had to forget it had happened. I needed to make sure it didn't happen again. What had come over me? I didn't feel the way he felt about me. He was Moroi. And even if he hadn't been, he was undoubtedly the most unsuitable guy for me in the world. I needed someone serious, someone with the potential to get a job that had medical benefits. Someone like Brayden.

Yeah, how'd that work out for you, Sydney?

What happened with Adrian had been wrong. It had obviously been some twisted act of lust, probably brought on because he was so forbidden. That was it. Women fell for that kind of thing. When I'd researched relationship books, I'd seen one called Bad Boys and the Women Who Love Them. I'd ignored it because Brayden was pretty much the opposite of a bad boy. Maybe it would be worth getting that book now.

A flame in the dark. I needed to forget that Adrian had ever called me that. I had to.

We had another minute before we would reach my dorm, so I sent a quick text to Adrian: I have a hickey! You can't ever kiss me again. I honestly hadn't expected him to be awake this early so I was surprised to get a response: Okay. I won't kiss you on your neck again.

So typical of him. No! You can't ever kiss me ANYWHERE. You said you were going to keep your distance.

I'm trying, he wrote back. But you won't keep your distance from me.

I didn't dignify that with a response.

When we reached my dorm, I asked the driver how long she'd wait before returning to main campus. "I'm leaving right now," she said.

"Please," I begged. "Wait sixty seconds. I'll pay you."

She looked offended. "I don't take bribes."

But when I sprinted back out of the dorm - in a scarf - she was still there. I made it back to Ms. Terwilliger's class just as the bell rang. She flashed me a knowing look but said nothing about my wardrobe change.

While I was in class, I received a text from Marcus. Can you meet today? San Bernardino, 4 p.m.

Well, he'd warned me about short notice. San Bernardino was an hour away. I'd given Eddie a heads-up about the meeting happening this week, and he'd agreed to go. I just hoped he didn't have anything planned this afternoon. I texted back that we'd be there, and Marcus sent me an address.