“Really, Adrian?” Lissa exclaimed, outrage written all over her. “How could you guys do this to me? You begged me to protect you! I risked the wrath of my own people and the Alchemists to take you in, and this is how you repay me?”

She looked truly frustrated, and uneasily, I wondered just how much trouble we might have caused. I forgot sometimes what a precarious position Lissa was in, constantly being pulled in different directions as she worked hard to do the impossible and please everyone. Adrian and I had done what we needed to do for ourselves—but hadn’t considered the fallout for others.

“It was for Jill,” Adrian said resolutely. “We had to go after her.”

Lissa shook her head angrily. “And I told you, as much as it’s appreciated, we don’t need you out there looking for Jill. We’ve already got people on it.”

“No, no . . . it’s not like that,” Adrian protested. “It wasn’t just some impulsive trip. Sydney had a real lead.”

Lissa’s green eyes focused on me expectantly. I launched into a retelling of what I knew so far, about how Alicia was behind Jill’s disappearance and how my contacts in Palm Springs were currently looking for leads. As I spoke, I saw Lissa’s expression grow more and more incredulous.

“How am I just learning about this? You guys should have told me immediately!”

“We didn’t know all the facts then,” said Adrian. Despite his outward confidence, I could tell he too was second-guessing our actions. “Still don’t. But Jackie Terwilliger’s good. She’ll turn up something.” He hesitated. “Who knows we’re gone?”

“The Alchemists don’t, if that’s what you’re worried about,” said Lissa. “So far, only a handful of people here at Court know, and you’d better hope it stays that way. The Alchemists have made it very clear to me that Sydney won’t be returned to us if they catch her.” I flinched at the words.

“Enough, Liss.” Rose suddenly pushed her way into the picture, wriggling in beside her friend, like Lissa wasn’t the ruler of all Moroi. “They get it. They screwed up.”

“We didn’t screw up,” said Adrian obstinately. “Finding Jill is the most important thing we can do right now.”

Lissa’s anger diminished a bit. “It is. And I want to find her too. Why didn’t you come to me once you had that box?”

Adrian shrugged. “We only know about the connection to Jill and Alicia now, after going through all those hoops. At the time, it didn’t seem certain, and we honestly didn’t know if you’d let us go. We felt the most important thing was to get Sydney out of Court to go after the lead. Me joining her was an afterthought.”