"You okay, little dhampir?" he asked softly. "Dashkov said a few ... uh ... suggestive things."
I stepped closer, keeping my voice low as well. "No one believed him. I think it's okay. Thanks for asking, though."
He smiled and tapped my nose. "Two thank-yous in as many days. I don't suppose I'll get to see any, uh, special gratitude?"
I scoffed. "Nope. You'll just have to imagine it."
He gave me a half-hug and released me. "Fair enough. But I have a good imagination."
We started to leave, and then Priscilla Voda hurried over to Lissa. "The queen would like to meet with you before you leave. In private."
I glanced over to the raised chair where the queen sat. Her gaze was fixed on us, and I wondered what this could be about.
"Sure," said Lissa, as confused as I was. To me, she sent through the bond: Will you listen again?
I gave her a quick nod before Priscilla spirited her off. I returned to my room, tuning in to Lissa while I packed my things up. It took a little while because Tatiana had to finish a few courtroom formalities, but she finally arrived in the same room as yesterday. Lissa and Priscilla bowed as she entered and waited for the queen to sit.
Tatiana made herself comfortable. "Vasilisa, you need to be in the air soon, so I'll make this brief. I would like to make an offer to you."
"What kind of an offer, Your Majesty?"
"You'll need to go to college soon." She spoke like it was a done deal. And yeah, Lissa did plan on going to college, but I didn't like the presumption. "I understand you're dissatisfied with your choices."
"Well...it's not that I'm dissatisfied, exactly. It's just, all the places Moroi are supposed to go are small. I mean, I understand it's for safety, but I don't know. I'd like to go somewhere bigger. Somewhere prestigious." Guardians monitored a handful of select colleges in the country so that Moroi could safely attend them. As Lissa had noted, though, they tended to be smaller schools.
Tatiana nodded impatiently, like she already knew this. "I'm going to give you an opportunity that no one else has ever been given, to my knowledge. After graduation, I would like you to come live here, at the Royal Court. You have no family, and I think you'd benefit from learning politics right in the heart of our government. Along with this, we would make arrangements for you to attend Lehigh University. It's less than an hour from here. Have you heard of it?"
Lissa nodded. I'd never heard of it, but she was enough of a nerd to have researched every college in the U.S. "It's a good school, Your Majesty. But... still small."
"It's bigger than the ones Moroi usually attend," she pointed out.
"True." In her mind, Lissa was trying to puzzle out what was going on here. Why was Tatiana making this offer? Especially considering how she'd seemed to disagree with Lissa earlier. There was something weird going on here, and she decided to see how far she could push it. "The University of Pennsylvania isn't that far either, Your Majesty."
"That school is enormous, Vasilisa. We couldn't ensure your safety there."
Lissa shrugged. "Well, then it probably doesn't matter if I go to Lehigh or one of the others."
The queen looked shocked. So did Priscilla. They couldn't believe Lissa seemed indifferent to the offer. Truthfully, Lissa wasn't indifferent. Lehigh was a step up from what she'd expected, and she wanted to go. But she also wanted to see how badly the queen wanted her to go.
Tatiana frowned and appeared to be weighing matters. "Depending on your grades and experiences at Lehigh, we could possibly arrange for you to transfer in a couple years. Again, the safety logistics would be very difficult."
Wow. The queen did want her around. But why? Lissa decided to simply ask.
"I'm very flattered, Your Majesty. And grateful. But why are you offering me this?"
"As the last Dragomir, you're a precious commodity. I'd like to make sure your future is secure. And I do so hate to see bright minds wasted. Besides..." She paused, hesitant to speak her next words. "You were right to a certain extent. The Moroi do have trouble changing. It could be useful to have a dissenting voice around here."
Lissa didn't answer right away. She was still analyzing this offer from every possible angle. She wished I was there to advise her, but I wasn't sure I'd have much of an opinion. Splitting my guardian duty between the Court and a cool university could be pretty neat. On the other hand, we'd have more freedom elsewhere. In the end, Lissa decided in favor of higher education.
"All right," she said at last. "I accept. Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Excellent," said Tatiana. "We'll see that the arrangements are made. You may go now."
The queen made no signs of moving, so Lissa bowed again and scurried to the door, still reeling with this news. Tatiana suddenly called out to her.
"Vasilisa? Will you send your friend here to talk to me? The Hathaway girl?"
"Rose?" she asked in astonishment. "Why do you - ? Yes, of course. I'll get her."