The fire vanished (as did the incinerated Strigoi), and Nina dropped to her knees. She rested her hands on the side of her head and began to scream. And scream. Around us, the dark parking lot transformed to the sunny Getty Villa as my control of the dream returned—thanks to her efforts. I knelt beside her and gently rested my hands on her shoulders. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, lost, as she kept screaming.
“Nina, Nina . . . it’s okay. It’s okay.”
But I didn’t know if it was. She wasn’t screaming because of the Strigoi. There was something else going on, the terrible aftereffects of all that spirit use. Week after week of so much use, now followed by this . . . it was too much. The final straw. I had no idea how much damage had been done, but something was seriously wrong. I needed to wake us up and find out how she was in real life. With a thought, I let the dream begin to disintegrate.
“Nina . . .”
The small voice jerked my attention up. I hadn’t realized that Olive was back with us in the Getty Villa. When Nina had blasted through the Strigoi, she’d wrested control back from Olive and temporarily from me. Now Olive was left with nothing, no more control, no ability to escape. She was fading, though, just like Nina and me as I sent us to the waking world.
Before we all disappeared, however, I saw a few things very clearly. One was concern on Olive’s features as she stared at Nina. No matter what had passed between them, Olive loved her sister and wasn’t trying to purposely hurt her with these obstacles.
The other thing I noticed was that Olive’s cloak was gone. With no control left of the dream, Olive now appeared as she did in the waking world. The clothes she wore were old and threadbare, as though they’d been passed around a few times. Around her neck was a small, circular wooden pendant edged in green. I’d never seen it before and didn’t know what it meant.
But as I got my last glimpse of her before waking, I saw something else about her that I recognized immediately.
The dream completely shattered, and I found myself alert and sitting up in the inn’s bed. As I blinked and tried to focus, Sydney clutched my arm and tried to calm me.
“Adrian,” she exclaimed, and I knew it wasn’t the first time she’d said my name. “What’s wrong?”
“Olive’s pregnant,” I gasped out.
Chapter 8
Syndey
“OLIVE?” I REPEATED STUPIDLY. I was a little addled myself, having been woken out of a deep sleep by Adrian’s cries. “What are you talking about?”
He shook his head, regret on his features. “I’m sorry, Sydney. I didn’t mean to. Nina found me in a spirit dream, and I got pulled into looking for Olive. And this time we got to her. She was pregnant.”
I was so stunned to hear that he’d gone through with the dream that I couldn’t process the rest of what he was saying immediately. But the regret on his face was so sincere, I believed that it had been against his will. “She can’t be pregnant,” I said at last. “I mean . . . I guess she can. But I thought she was involved with Neil. If she’s pregnant, then . . .”
Adrian swallowed and slowly seemed to be recovering himself. “I know, I know. If she’s pregnant, then it was by someone other than Neil.”
Soap opera drama with Olive wasn’t dire in the grand scheme of things—especially when compared to what was happening with Jill—but it was still a surprise. Olive and Neil had seemed so close. “Do you know for certain she is?”
He gave a shaky nod. “We did it. Nina and I broke through Olive’s defenses and saw her as she truly is in the waking world. No question—she was pregnant. I guess that’s why she kept trying to hide herself in the dream.” He paused to consider. “I guess that’s why she’s hiding herself in real life too.”
“I suppose I can understand her wanting to hide from Neil . . .” I began, my mind spinning. Because she was a dhampir, only a Moroi could have gotten her pregnant. Well, a human could have as well, but most people in the mainstream Moroi world weren’t taking after Adrian and me. “But why Nina? Especially since they were so close? Unless . . . oh.” My heart sank. “Maybe . . . maybe whatever happened wasn’t consensual.”
It took Adrian a moment to catch on, and anger darkened his features. “If some Moroi forced her, then why wouldn’t she tell Nina? And everyone else?”
I laced my fingers through his. “Because unfortunately not all girls think like that. Look at my sister Carly, when Keith raped her. She thought it was her fault. She was mortified at the thought of anyone finding out and judging her.”
“Nina wouldn’t judge her,” said Adrian adamantly. “Olive should know that. Nina might be crazy, but—”
I did a double take at the alarm that suddenly filled his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nina.” He reached over and grabbed his cell phone. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear. I could just barely hear the sound of ringing and eventually voice mail picking up. “Nina, it’s me. Call me. Immediately.” When he’d disconnected, he turned back to me with a sigh. “What we did . . . whatever happened to break through to Olive, it didn’t go so well for Nina. She took control from me and ended up wielding most of the spirit. I’m not entirely sure what happened to her—it was just a sense I got before the dream disbanded, but I feel like something went horribly wrong. Like she got injured.” He glanced at his phone, as though staring long enough might make her call back.
“She might still be asleep,” I warned. I wouldn’t say so aloud—and I hoped Nina hadn’t been harmed—but a part of me was relieved Adrian hadn’t wielded all the spirit he’d planned. “She’ll probably be fine when she wakes up. And you’ll have a lot to tell her.”
Adrian sighed. “Not sure I will. I mean, I suppose I could tell her the pregnancy part. But the rest? I’m still not sure where she is. She was dressed strangely . . .” He got up and found a pen and some inn stationery. After some quick sketching, he showed me a drawing of a circle filled with abstract designs. “Does this mean anything to you?”
I studied it with a frown. “No. Should it?”
“Olive was wearing it on a necklace. I thought it might mean something.” He sat back beside me and stifled a yawn. “I hope Nina and I haven’t gone through all of this and not found any way to help Olive. Worse, if we don’t get any answers, I’m afraid Nina’s going to keep doing it.” He cast another anxious glance at his cell phone, but there was still no response from Nina.
I put an arm around him and drew him near. “Just hope for the best. That symbol may mean something to her. Be patient until she gets back to you.”
I tried to keep my tone light and hide the fear within me. I wasn’t afraid for Nina. I worried Adrian would help her again, putting her and Olive’s needs above his own, no matter the dangers. My heart clenched at the thought, and conflicting emotions stirred in my chest. I admired Adrian for wanting to help them. But I also loved him and selfishly wanted to protect him.
He tried calling Nina one more time and then finally heeded my words when I said we should try to get some rest while we could. I hated seeing him so worried and worked up, and at last, he managed to put his worries aside and relax. We fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms and were jolted awake a few hours later by a phone ringing. Adrian grabbed for his, nearly falling out of bed in the process, and stared at the screen in dismay. “Crap. My battery died. I forgot to charge it.”
“It’s my phone,” I said, making my way groggily to my purse. A jolt of panic helped push me awake as I braced myself for news from Ms. Terwilliger. But when I picked up the phone, I was surprised to see Sonya’s name on the display. “Hello?”
“Hello, Sydney,” came her familiar voice. “I trust you’re doing well.”
“Yes,” I said cautiously, puzzled as to why she was calling me. We were friendly, but usually she dealt with Adrian. “How about you?”