Surprisingly, Lissa nodded and conceded the point. “You’re right. I probably would’ve wanted more proof if all you’d had was the box with Jill’s picture. And no one I sent would’ve learned what you uncovered, Sydney.”

It wasn’t exactly an apology, but Adrian still took it as such. “Thank you,” he said.

“You still should’ve told me afterward,” she warned.

“Or me,” piped in Rose.

“Now that you’re done scolding me,” Adrian said, “will someone please tell me more about Nina?”

“They can catch you up,” said Lissa, gesturing to those beside her. “I need to go make sure your secret escape from Court stays a secret. Unless you guys plan on coming back and letting Eddie and your human friend handle things? It’s not too late to return to the way things were.”

Adrian and I exchanged glances briefly before turning back to Lissa. We both shook our heads.

“I didn’t think so,” Lissa said, with a small, rueful laugh. “Let me go see what I can do to keep this quiet. In the meantime, please, don’t you guys do anything that’ll get yourselves caught.”

She left the screen, and a moment later, Sonya moved in beside Rose. “There’s not much more to tell than what I already did. Maybe you could help by telling me what happened.”

“It was from spirit use,” Adrian said, casting me an apologetic glance. “I joined her in a dream and helped her blast down the barriers Olive had put up.”

“I suspected as much,” said Sonya grimly.

“Do you know when Nina will wake up?” Adrian demanded. “Will she be okay?”

“It depends on how you define ‘okay,’” Sonya replied. “The doctor thinks her difficulties with waking up are due to exhaustion. She’ll hopefully come around with a little more rest. But as for what state she’ll be in . . .”

“If she’s so worn out, that would explain why she’s not making any sense,” Adrian said quickly. I could tell he very, very badly wanted to believe that. “Hell, you should see me after pulling an all-nighter. I make her sound totally articulate and lucid.”

Sonya didn’t laugh at the joke. “It’s possible . . . but I don’t think it’s that simple. I’ve seen her aura. That tells its own tale, and it’s not a good one. Plus, I’ve spent a lot of time with Avery Lazar, Adrian. I’ve seen what spirit did to her—and this has a very similar feel.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, surprised at the lump in my throat. I didn’t even know Nina that well, but there was something chilling in listening to this grim prognosis—maybe because I feared one day, we’d be talking about Adrian.