What she was saying was impossible. Two dhampirs couldn’t make a dhampir. It went against the fundamental rules of the world. And yet, if she believed that . . . I suddenly remembered her panic upon meeting me and then later, when she found out another Alchemist was coming. “That’s why you ran,” I said. “You were afraid of the Alchemist.”

She gave a weak nod and opened her eyes again. “You know how they are. I don’t know how this is possible, but they’d want to know. They’d take him. Please, Adrian. Sydney. Don’t let them. Or the Moroi authorities. Keep him secret until he gets to Neil. Then Neil will hide him. Neil will keep him safe. But promise me . . .” Her eyes closed, and her head tilted. “Promise me . . . you’ll . . . keep Declan safe . . .”

“Stay with us,” Adrian said urgently. My own vision was blurred with tears. “A little longer. Spirit’s coming back to me. I know it.”

Declan stirred in Adrian’s arms and began to cry again. Olive’s eyes open a slit, and she smiled. “So sweet,” she said softly. Her eyelids fell closed again, and all the tension went out of her body as she slumped forward.

“There,” Adrian gasped out. “I’ve got it . . . a spark of spirit . . . enough to see auras . . .”

I clutched his arm and felt tears running down my cheeks. “Adrian . . .”

“The baby’s is so bright,” Adrian said. There were tears on his face now too. “Like a star. But in her . . . there’s nothing. No aura left to see . . .”

CHAPTER 11: ADRIAN

CHAPTER 11

ADRIAN

WE WERE STILL STANDING OUT IN THE WOODS, and I was still holding Declan. Amazingly, he’d gone to sleep, blissfully unaware of what a confusing and heartbreaking world he’d just been born into. Sydney leaned against me, and I put an arm around her as best I could while still keeping a firm grip on Declan. Rose and Dimitri stood nearby, watching with stricken faces as Olive was gravely taken away.

“We need to act fast,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “If we’re going to honor her wishes.”

Sydney looked up at me and blinked back tears. “You don’t really think—that is, do you believe her? About Neil?”

I didn’t answer right away. “I saw them at Court. You did too. When this whole thing started, it was impossible for me to believe she’d been with another guy. Now I understand. And when I look at him—at Declan—well, it’s hard to explain, but there’s something special about him. His aura. It’s like he’s got this light dusting of spirit, kind of like what Sonya and I kept trying to create. He’s got it naturally.”

Sydney’s breath caught. “If that’s the case, a lot of people are going to be interested in him.”