I winced. “Hi, Mom.”
Nina stepped discreetly away, and I tried to move to a quieter spot. My mother was one of the main reasons I made sure to check my display these days, since she’d been calling me almost nonstop since our post-dinner altercation. Now there was no easy escape.
“Where are you, darling? I can hardly hear you.”
“I’m at a party,” I told her. “I can’t talk long.” That wasn’t exactly true, since few in the crowd were paying attention to me just then, and Nina had found a group to talk with near the pool.
“This won’t take long.” Unless I was mistaken, there was an edge of nervousness in her voice. “I don’t know if you received my messages. …” She trailed off meaningfully, perhaps hoping I’d provide a reassuring reason for ignoring her all week. I didn’t.
“I got them,” I said.
“Ah,” she said. “Well, then, as you know, I’m not happy with the way we left things. I miss you, Adrian. I spent a lot of time thinking about you while I was away, and one of the things I most looked forward to was being with you when I was back.”
I felt a spark of anger at that, recalling how she hadn’t wanted to talk to me in prison when I’d visited her in dreams. I kept that sentiment to myself and let her continue.
“I’d like for us to try again, just you and me. Perhaps a quiet lunch, so I can explain things better. I’d like for you to understand—”
“Are you still living with him?” I interrupted. “Are you still taking his money?”
“Adrian …”
“Are you?” I pushed.
“Yes, but as I said—”
“Then I understand perfectly. You don’t need to explain anything.”
I expected apologies or cajoling, which I’d been getting a fair amount of in her many voice mail messages and could nearly recite myself. So it was a bit of a surprise when she shot back with more bite than usual. “Are you, Adrian? I see the accounts. I see he’s still sending you money.”
She’s calling you a hypocrite, Aunt Tatiana whispered to me, venom in her voice. Are you going to let her get away with that?
“It’s not the same,” I said, feeling both angry and embarrassed. “I’m giving mine away.”
“Are you really?” My mother’s tone implied she didn’t believe that for a second.
“Yes, I—”
My angry retort was interrupted by a scream and a splash. I looked over to where I’d last seen Nina. Some horseplay had broken out in the group she’d been standing with, and she and a couple others were now surfacing in the pool, coughing and wiping water out of their eyes.
“I’ve got to go, Mom,” I said. “Thanks for calling, but until you get some self-respect, I’m just not interested.” I knew it was mean, and I didn’t give her a chance to respond before I disconnected and hurried over to the pool. I held out a hand to Nina as she dodged a tray of floating shot glasses and attempted to climb out. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, fine.” The curls that had been so cute and springy earlier now hung around her face in dark, dripping clumps. “Wish I could say the same for this dress.”
Waiters hurried forward with towels, and I took one for Nina. “It’ll dry.”
She gave me a wry smile as she wrapped the towel around herself. “You don’t do much laundry, do you? This is silk. It’s not going to mix well with the chlorine and God knows what else was in that pool.”
My mom’s words were still fresh in my mind. “Then I’ll make good on what I said earlier: We’ll get you some new clothes.”
“Adrian, I can’t keep accepting your money. It’s sweet, and I’m grateful, really. But I have to earn my own way.”
A mix of feelings flooded through me. The first was pride. Here she was, embodying exactly what I’d just been chastising my mom about. On the other hand, there was no denying that while Nina was admirably trying to do things on her own, I was very much the hypocrite my mother had insinuated. That humiliation burned through me, compounded by the frustration I already felt over being unable to help Sydney.
“You will earn your own way,” I said decisively. “We both will. Come on.”
I took Nina’s hand and led her out of the crowded yard, sparing little thought to the consequences of my impulse decision. We walked to nearly the opposite side of Court, far from the royal residences we spent so much time at. Here, among much more modest townhomes, I marched up the steps to an address I was proud to have remembered and knocked loudly on the door. Nina, still wrapped in her towel, shifted uncomfortably beside me.
“Adrian, where are we?” she asked. “Don’t you realize—”
Her words were cut off as the door opened, revealing a very surprised Sonya Karp. She’d once been a high school biology teacher and a Strigoi (though not at the same time). Now, she was Moroi once more and a spirit user like Nina and me. Her red hair was tousled from sleep, and it wasn’t until I noticed her pajamas that I had a moment of hesitation. The sun wasn’t up quite yet, but the eastern sky was definitely more purple than black. Still prime Moroi time.
“Adrian, Nina,” said Sonya, by way of greeting. She was remarkably calm, considering the unusual circumstances. “Are you two okay?”
“I … yeah.” I suddenly felt kind of stupid but then pushed such feelings aside. We were already here. I might as well make my stand. “We need to talk to you about something. But if it’s too late …” I frowned, trying to parse the time through my drink-addled brain. There was no reason she should be in bed. “Are you on a human schedule?”
“I’m on Mikhail’s schedule,” she replied, referring to her dhampir husband. “He’s been working some odd shifts, so I’ve adjusted my sleep accordingly.” She took in Nina’s towel and stepped aside from the doorway. “No point stressing about it now. Come in, both of you.”
Although the apartment had a kitchen and my suite didn’t, the overall living space was much smaller than what I currently enjoyed over in guest housing. Sonya and Mikhail had decorated things nicely and certainly given the place a warm feel, but it still struck me as wrong that a visiting royal like me received more luxurious accommodations than a hard-working guardian who was constantly risking his life. Even worse, I knew this was one of the larger guardian homes since Mikhail was married. Single guardians lived in little more than dorms.
“Do you want anything to drink?” asked Sonya, gesturing to us to sit at her kitchen table.
“Water,” said Nina quickly.
Sonya brought over two glasses and then sat down opposite us. “Now,” she said. “What’s so important?”
I pointed at Nina. “Her. She’s been helping you with some of your vaccine work, right? She puts in time but doesn’t get paid. That’s not right.”
Nina flushed, now that she realized what this was about. “Adrian, it’s fine—”
“It’s not,” I insisted. “Nina and I have both done a lot for you with your spirit research but haven’t seen any compensation.”
Sonya arched an eyebrow. “I hadn’t realized that was part of your requirements. I thought you were glad to be working against Strigoi for the sake of doing good.”
“We are,” said Nina, still looking mortified.