Lissa realized my mom was right and shoved the piece of paper in her pocket. Being late to the test meant failure. Lissa thanked Serena, reassuring her that this had been the right thing to do. Then, my friends moved away quickly, feeling the press of time as they hurried toward the testing building.
"Damn,' muttered Lissa, in a rare show of swearing. "I don't think that old lady'll tolerate any lateness.'
"Old lady?' My mother laughed, surprising us all. She could move faster than everyone and was obviously restraining her pace for them. "The one running most of the tests? You don't know who she is?'
"How would I?' asked Lissa. "I figured she was just someone they recruited.'
"Not just someone. That's Ekaterina Zeklos.'
"What?' Lissa nearly stopped but still had their time crunch in mind. "She was ... she was the queen before Tatiana, right?'
"I thought she retired to some island,' said Christian, just as surprised.
"Not sure if it was an island,' said Tasha, "but she did step down when she thought she was too old and went off to live in luxury--and away from politics--once Tatiana was on the throne.'
Too old? That had been twenty years ago. No wonder she seemed ancient. "If she was happy to get out of politics, then why is she back?' asked Lissa.
My mother opened the door for all of them when they reached the building, after first peering inside for any threats. It was so instinctual for her that she continued the conversation without missing a beat. "Because it's custom for the last monarch to test the new one--if possible. In this case, it obviously wasn't, so Ekaterina came out of retirement to do her duty.'
Lissa could barely believe that she'd been chatting casually with the Moroi's last queen, a very powerful and beloved queen. As soon as her group entered the hallway, Lissa was escorted by guardians and hurried toward the testing room. Their faces showed they hadn't thought she'd make it. Several spectators, also apparently worried, cheered at her appearance giving the usual shouts about Alexandra and the dragons. Lissa had no chance to respond or even say goodbye to her friends before she was practically pushed into the room. The guardians looked relieved.
The door shut, and Lissa found herself staring once more at Ekaterina Zeklos. Seeing the old woman had been intimidating before, but now ... Lissa's anxiety doubled. Ekaterina gave her a crooked smile.
"I was afraid you wouldn't make it,' she said. "Should have known better. You aren't the type to back down.'
Lissa was still starstruck and almost felt the need to ramble out an excuse, explaining about Serena's list. But, no. Ekaterina didn't care about that right now, and one didn't make excuses to someone like her anyway, Lissa decided. If you screwed up, you apologized. "I'm sorry,' said Lissa.
"No need to be,' said Ekaterina. "You made it. Do you know the answer? What must a queen possess in order to truly rule her people?'
Lissa's tongue felt thick in her mouth. She didn't know the answer. It really was just like the Council dream. Investigating Tatiana's murder had taken so much time. For a strange moment, Lissa's heart burned with sympathy for that prickly queen. She'd done what she thought best for the Moroi and had died for it. Lissa even felt bad now, staring at Ekaterina. This former queen had probably never expected to be taken away from her--island?--retirement and forced back into Court life. Yet, she had come when needed.
And just like that, Lissa suddenly knew the answer.
"Nothing,' she said softly. "A queen must possess nothing to rule because she has to give everything she has to her people. Even her life.'
The widening of Ekaterina's gap-toothed grin told Lissa she'd answered correctly. "Congratulations, my dear. You've made it through to tomorrow's vote. I hope you've got a speech ready to win over the Council. You'll have to give it in the morning.'
Lissa swayed slightly, not sure what to say now, let alone in a formal speech. Ekaterina seemed to sense how in shock Lissa was, and the smile that always seemed so mischievous turned gentle.
"You'll be fine. You made it this far. The speech is the easy part. Your father would be proud. All the Dragomirs before you would be.'
That nearly brought tears to Lissa's eyes, and she shook her head. "I don't know about that. We all know I'm not a real candidate. This was just ... well, kind of an act.' Somehow, she didn't feel bad admitting that in front of Ekaterina. "Ariana's the one who deserves the crown.'
Ekaterina's ancient eyes bored into Lissa, and that smiled faded. "You haven't heard then. No, of course you wouldn't have with how quickly this is all happening.'
"Heard what?'
Sympathy washed over Ekaterina's face, and later, I'd wonder if that compassion was because of the message she delivered or because of Lissa's reaction.
"Ariana Szelsky didn't pass this test ... she couldn't solve the riddle ...'
"Rose, Rose.'
Dimitri was shaking me, and it took several seconds for me to shift from being a shocked Lissa to a startled Rose.
"We have to--' he began.
"Oh my God,' I interrupted. "You will not believe what I just saw.'
He went rigid. "Is Lissa okay?'
"Yeah, fine, but--'
"Then we'll worry about that later. Right now, we have to leave.'
I noticed then that he was fully dressed while I was still naked. "What's going on?'
"Sonya came by--don't worry.' The shock that my face must have shown made him smile. "I got dressed and didn't let her come in. But she said the front desk called. They're starting to realize we had an unusual check-in. We need to get out of here.'
Midnight. We had to meet Mikhail at midnight and get the last piece of the mystery that consumed us. "No problem,' I said, tossing the covers off me. As I did, I saw Dimitri's eyes on me, and I was kind of surprised at the admiration and hunger I saw there. Somehow, even after sex, I'd kind of expected him to be detached and wear his guardian face--particularly considering our sudden urgency to leave.
"You see something you like?' I asked, echoing something I'd said to him long ago, when he'd caught me in a compromising position at school.
"Lots,' he said.
The emotion burning in those eyes was too much for me. I looked away, my heart pounding in my chest as I pulled my clothes on. "Don't forget,' I said softly. "Don't forget ...' I couldn't finish, but there was no need.
"I know, Roza. I haven't forgotten.'
I slipped on my shoes, wishing I was weaker and would let my ultimatum slide. I couldn't, though. No matter what had passed between us verbally and physically, no matter how close we were to our fairy-tale ending ... there was no future until he could forgive himself.