He strolled around and picked up one of the crystal goblets, nodding in approval as though he were some sort of glassmaking expert. "Exactly that reason. I saw how much that dream bothered you. I figured if I pulled you into one of these, it'd keep you from one of Veronica's."
I'd never thought of that. Vampire magic was certainly preferable to hers. Looking around, I gained a new appreciation for the room. It became a sanctuary, a place where she couldn't reach me. At least, I hoped not. We really didn't know how her magic would work against Adrian's. For all I knew, she might come walking through the door, carrying Sonya's bouquet.
"Thank you," I said. I sat down at one of the tables. "That was nice of you." It was another one of those incredible moments when Adrian had had the insight to guess my thoughts - or in this case, my fears.
"Well, it was also selfish. I wanted to see you in the dress." He reconsidered. "Actually, I wanted to see you in that red Halloween dress again, but I figured that would be pushing my luck."
I looked away as an image of that dress returned to me. Lia DiStefano had created the costume for me. She'd loosely based it on an ancient Greek dress and ended up with a gauzy confection of red and gold. That was when Adrian had said I was the most beautiful creature walking the earth. It had happened before he expressed his feelings for me, but even then, his words had undone me. I thought about what he was doing for me now and decided to give him a small compensation. I focused again on my clothes, and the blue dress returned.
"Better?" I asked.
His face lit up in a way that made me smile in return. "Yes."
Hoping I wasn't setting myself up for some suggestive answer, I asked, "So what are we going to do?"
"You sure you don't want to dance? I can make some music." My silence spoke for me. "Fine, fine. I don't know. We could play a game. Monopoly? Life? Battleship? Twister? Whatever we do, I am not playing Scrabble with you."
We warmed up with Battleship - I won - and then moved on to Monopoly. That took a little work to set up because Adrian could only create things that he could imagine. He couldn't remember all the streets and cards, so we made our best attempt to re-create them. Neither of us could remember one of the yellow streets, so he named it Jet Way.
We proved surprisingly well matched, and I became engrossed in the game. The power shifted back and forth between us. Just when one of us seemed to have all the control, the other would seize it back. I had no doubts about my ability to win - until I lost. I sat there, dumbstruck, staring at the board.
"Have you ever lost a game before?" he asked.
"I . . . yes, of course . . . I just didn't think . . ."
"That I could beat you?"
"No, I just . . . it doesn't happen very often." I looked up at him and shook my head. "Congratulations."
He leaned back in his chair and laughed. "I think beating you just improved your opinion of me more than anything else I've ever done."
"I've always had a high opinion of you." I stretched out, surprised to feel kinks in my body. It was strange how these dreams could have such a realistic physical component. "How long have we have been here?"
"I don't know. It's not morning yet." He appeared unconcerned. "What do you want to play next?"
"We shouldn't play anything," I said. I stood up. "It's been hours. I'm asleep, but you aren't. You can't stay up all night."
"I'm a vampire, Sage. A creature of the night, remember?"
"One who's on a human schedule," I chastised.
He still didn't seem worried. "Only one class tomorrow. I'll make it up."
"What about the spirit?" I began to pace restlessly as more of the implications hit me. "You have to be using a lot of it. That's not good for you."
"I'll take my chances." There was an unspoken for you at the end of his sentence.
I returned to the table and stood in front of his chair. "You have to be careful. Between this and the Veronica hunt. . . ." I suddenly felt bad. I hadn't thought twice about asking him to help with that. I'd forgotten the risks. "Once we've stopped her, you need to lay off the spirit."
"Don't worry." He grinned. "Once we've gotten rid of that bitch, I'll be celebrating so much that I won't be sober for days."
"Ugh. Not the healthiest way to do it. Have you ever thought about antidepressants?" I knew they helped some spirit users by blocking the magic.
His smile vanished. "I won't touch those things. Lissa took them and hated them. Being cut off from spirit nearly drove her crazy."
I crossed my arms and leaned against the table. "Yeah, but using it will drive you crazy too."
"No lectures tonight, Sage. It mars my stunning Monopoly victory."
He was far too casual for such a serious matter, but I knew him well enough to recognize when he wouldn't yield. "Fine. Then let's end on a high note. Send me back, and get some sleep."