A strong hand at last caught hold of her arm. Christian. "Come on. Let's get out of here.' He pulled her away, shouldering through the onlookers. "Hey,' he called to a couple guardians on the crowd's periphery. "A little help here for the princess?'
It was the first time I had ever seen him act like a royal, throwing around the authority of his bloodline. To me, he was snarky, cynical Christian. In Moroi society, at eighteen, he could now technically be addressed as Lord Ozera. I'd forgotten that. The two guardians hadn't. They rushed to Lissa's side, helping Christian part the crowd. The faces around her were a blur, the noise a dull roar. Yet, every once in a while, something would come through to her. The chanting of her name. Declarations about the return of the dragon, which was the symbol of the Dragomir family. This is real, she kept thinking. This is real.
The guardians efficiently led her out of it all and back across the Court's grounds to her building. They released her once they considered her safe, and she graciously thanked them for their help. When she and Christian were in her room, she sank onto the bed, stunned.
"Oh my God,' she said. "That was insane.'
Christian smiled. "Which part? Your welcome home party? Or the test itself? You look like you just ... well, I'm not really sure what you just did.'
Lissa took a quick survey of herself. They'd given her dry towels on the ride home, but her clothing was still damp and was wrinkling as it dried. Her shoes and jeans had mud all over them, and she didn't even want to think about what her hair looked like.
"Yeah, we--'
The words stuck on her tongue--and not because she suddenly decided not to tell him.
"I can't say,' she murmured. "It really worked. The spell won't let me.'
"What spell?' he asked.
Lissa rolled up her sleeve and lifted the bandage to show him the tiny tattooed dot on her arm. "It's a compulsion spell so I won't talk about the test. Like the Alchemists have.'
"Wow,' he said, truly impressed. "I never actually thought those worked.'
"I guess so. It's really weird. I want to talk about it, but I just ... cant.'
"Its okay,' he said, brushing some of her damp hair aside. "You passed. That's what matters. Just focus on that.' "The only thing I want to focus on right now is a shower--which is kind of ironic, considering how soaked I am.' She didn't move, though, and instead stared off at the far wall.
"Hey,' said Christian gently. "What's wrong? Did the crowd scare you?'
She turned back to him. "No, that's the thing. I mean, they were intimidating, yeah. But I just realized ... I don't know. I realized I'm part of a major process, one that's gone on since--'
"The beginning of time?' teased Christian, quoting Nathan's nonsensical statement.
"Nearly,' she answered, with a small smile that soon faded. "This goes beyond tradition, Christian. The elections are a core part of our society. Ingrained. We can talk about changing age laws or fighting or whatever, but this is ancient. And far-reaching. Those people out there? They're not all Americans. They've come from other countries. I forget sometimes that even though the Court is here, it rules Moroi everywhere. What happens here affects the whole world.'
"Where are you going with this?' he asked. She was lost in her own thoughts and couldn't see Christian as objectively as I could. He knew Lissa. He understood her and loved her. The two of them had a synchronicity similar to what Dimitri and I shared. Sometimes, however, Lissa's thoughts spun in directions he couldn't guess. He'd never admit it, but I knew part of why he loved her was that--unlike me, who everyone knew was impetuous--Lissa always seemed the picture of calmness and rationality. Then, she'd do something totally unexpected. Those moments delighted him--but sometimes scared him because he never knew just how much a role spirit was playing in her actions. Now was one of those times. He knew the elections were stressing her, and like me, he knew that could bring out the worst.
"I'm going to take these tests seriously,' she said. "It's--it's shameful not to. An insult to our society. My ultimate goal is to find out who framed Rose, but in the meantime? I'm going to go through the trials like someone who intends to be queen.'
Christian hesitated before speaking, a rarity for him. "Do you want to be queen?'
That snapped Lissa from her dreamy philosophizing about tradition and honor. "No! Of course not. I'm eighteen. I can't even drink yet.'
"That's never stopped you from doing it,' he pointed out, becoming more like his usual self.
"I'm serious! I want to go to college. I want Rose back. I don't want to rule the Moroi nation.'
A sly look lit Christian's blue eyes. "You know, Aunt Tasha makes jokes about how you'd actually be a better queen than the others, except sometimes ... I don't think she's joking.'
Lissa groaned and stretched back on the bed. "I love her, but we've got to keep her in check. If anyone could actually get that law changed, it would be her and her activist friends.'
"Well, don't worry. The thing about her "activist friends' is that they have so much to protest, they don't usually get behind one thing at the same time.' Christian stretched out beside her and pulled her close. "But for what it's worth, I think you'd be a great queen too, Princess Dragomir.'
"You're going to get dirty,' she warned. "Already am. Oh, you mean from your clothes?' He wrapped his arms around her, heedless of her damp and muddy state. "I spent most of my childhood hiding in a dusty attic and own exactly one dress shirt. You really think I care about this T-shirt?'
She laughed and then kissed him, letting her mind free itself of worry for a moment and just savor the feel of his lips. Considering they were on a bed, I wondered if it was time for me to go. After several seconds, she pulled back and sighed contentedly.