CONSIDERING I WAS ONLY SUPPOSED to visit Clarence's twice a week for feedings, I was kind of amazed that I seemed to be here practically every day. Not only that, this was my first time visiting the estate alone. Before, I'd been with Keith or Jill and had a very well-defined goal. Now, I was on my own. I hadn't realized how much that would freak me out until I was approaching the house, which became even more looming and dark than usual.

There's nothing to be afraid of, I told myself. You've been with a vampire and dhampir all week. You should be used to it. Besides, really, the scariest thing about this place was the old house itself. Clarence and Lee weren't all that intimidating, and Adrian... well, Adrian was pretty much the least scary vampire I'd ever met. He was too bratty for me to feel any real fear, and actually... as much as I hated to admit it, I kind of looked forward to seeing him. It made no sense, but something about his infuriating nature made me forget about my other worries. Weirdly, I felt like I could relax around him.

Dorothy escorted me in, and I expected to be taken to the sitting room again. Instead, the housekeeper led me through a few twists and turns of the dark halls, finally landing in a billiards room that looked like it could have been straight out of Clue. More dark wood lined the room, and stained glass windows let in filtered sunlight. Most of the room's illumination came from a hanging light centered over a rich green pool table. Adrian was lining up a shot as I shut the door behind me.

"Oh," he said, knocking a red ball into a hole. "It's you."

"You were expecting someone else?" I asked. "Am I interrupting your social calendar?" I made a big show of glancing around the empty room. "I don't want to keep you from the mob of fans beating down your door."

"Hey, a guy can hope. I mean, it's not impossible that a car full of scantily clad sorority girls might break down outside and need my help."

"That's true," I said. "Maybe I can put a sign out front that says, 'ATTENTION ALL GIRLS: FREE HELP HERE.'"

"'ATTENTION ALL HOT GIRLS,'" he corrected, straightening up.

"Right," I said, trying not to roll my eyes. "That's an important distinction."

He pointed at me with the pool stick. "Speaking of hot, I like that uniform."

This time, I did roll my eyes. After Adrian had teased me last time about my uniform looking like my normal clothes, I'd made sure to change out of it before coming today. Now I wore dark jeans and a black-and-white printed blouse with a ruffled collar. I should have known the outfit change wouldn't save me from his snark.

"Are you the only one here?" I asked, noting his solo game.

"Nah. Clarence is around doing... I don't know. Old man stuff. And I think Lee's fixing that lock before he heads to LA. It's kind of funny. He seems upset that he needs to use tools. He keeps thinking the strength of his own hands should be more than enough."

I couldn't help a smile. "I don't suppose you offered to help?"

"Sage," Adrian declared. "These hands don't do manual labor." He knocked another ball into a hole. "You want to play?"

"What? With you?"

"No, with Clarence." He sighed at my dumbfounded look. "Yes, of course with me."

"No. I need to talk to you about Jill."

He was silent for a few moments and then returned to the game as though nothing had happened. "She wasn't sick today." He said that with certainty, though there was a funny, bitter tone to his words.

"No. Well, not in the same way. She got sick out in the sun during PE. I'm going to see Keith after this to see if we can get a medical excuse." I'd actually tried calling him earlier, with no luck. "But that's not why I'm here. There's a guy who likes Jill - a human guy."

"Have Castile rough him up."

I leaned back against the wall and sighed. "That's the thing. I asked him to. Well, not rough him up, exactly. It's Eddie's roommate. I asked Eddie to tell him to back off and make up some reason for staying away from Jill - like that she's too young." Fearing Adrian would be as lax as Eddie in this, I asked, "You understand why it's important, right? No Moroi and human dating?"

He was watching the table, not me. "Yup, I'm with you there, Sage. But I still don't see the problem."

"Eddie won't do it. He says he doesn't think Jill should be denied the chance to date and go to dances. That it's okay if she and Micah hang out, so long as it doesn't get serious."

Adrian was good at hiding his feelings, but this looked like it'd caught him by surprise. He straightened up and spun the base of the pool stick on the floor as he thought. "That is weird. I mean, I get the logic, and there's something to it. She shouldn't be forced into isolation while she's here. I'm just surprised Castile came up with it."

"Yeah, but that's a hard concept to live by. Where do you draw the 'casual' line? Honestly, I get this feeling Eddie just didn't want to confront Micah - the roommate. Which is crazy, because Eddie doesn't seem like the type to be afraid of anything. What is there about Micah that would make Eddie so uneasy?"

"Is Micah some big, hulking guy?"

"No," I said. "He's built, I guess. Good at sports. Really friendly and easygoing - not the type you'd have to be afraid would turn on you if you warned him away from your sister."

"Then you can talk to him. Or just talk to Jailbait and explain things to her." Adrian seemed satisfied he'd solved the matter and knocked in the last ball. "That was my plan. I just wanted to make sure you'd back me. Jill listens to you, and I thought it'd be easier if she knew you agreed with me. Not that I even know how she feels. For all I know, this is all overkill."

"Can't hurt to be too careful with her," said Adrian. He stared off, lost in his own thoughts. "And I'll let her know how I feel about it."

"Thank you," I said, kind of surprised at how easy this had been.

His green eyes danced mischievously. "Now will you play a round with me?"

"I don't really - "

The door opened, and Lee walked in, dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt. He was carrying a screwdriver. "Hey, Sydney. I thought I saw your car out there." He glanced around. "Is, uh, Jill with you?"

"Not today," I said. New insight struck me as I recalled that Lee attended school in Los Angeles. "Lee, have you ever dated a human girl at your school?"

Adrian arched an eyebrow. "Are you asking him out, Sage?"

I scowled. "No!"

Lee turned thoughtful. "No, not really. I have some human friends, and we go out as a group and hang out... but I've never done more than that. LA's a big place, though. There are Moroi girls around, if you know where to look."

Adrian perked up. "Oh?"

My hope that Lee might tell Jill he too had to avoid dating faded. "Well, that would make your dating situation much easier than Jill's."

"What do you mean?" asked Lee.

I recapped everything to him about Micah and Eddie. Lee nodded along thoughtfully.

"That is hard," he admitted.

"Can we go back to the part about Moroi girls hanging out in LA?" asked Adrian hopefully. "Can you direct me to some of the... oh, let's say, more open-minded ones?"

Lee's attention was on me, however. His easy smile grew uncertain, and he glanced at his feet. "This might seem kind of weird... but I mean, I wouldn't mind asking Jill out."

Adrian was on that before I could even think of a response. "What, do you mean like on a date? You son of a bitch! She's only fifteen." You never would've guessed he'd been talking about easy Moroi girls only moments before.

"Adrian," I said. "I'm guessing Lee's definition of a date is a little different than yours."

"Sorry, Sage. You've got to trust me when it comes to dating definitions. Last I checked, you aren't an expert in social matters. I mean, when was the last time you were even on a date?" It was just another of the witty barbs he tossed around so easily, but it stung a little. Was my lack of social experience that obvious?

"But," I added, ignoring Adrian's question, "there is an age difference." I honestly had no idea how old Lee was. His being in college gave me some clue, but Clarence seemed awfully old. Having a child late in life wasn't that weird, though, for humans or Moroi.

"There is," said Lee. "I'm nineteen. Not a huge gap - but big enough. I shouldn't have said anything." He looked embarrassed, and I felt both sorry for him and confused for myself. Matchmaking wasn't in the Alchemist handbook.

"Why would you want to ask her out?" I asked. "I mean, she's great. But are you just doing this to distract her from Micah and give her a safe dating alternative? Or do you, um, like her?"

"Of course he likes her," said Adrian, quick to defend Jill's honor.

I had a feeling that there was really no good way for Lee to answer at this point. If he expressed interest in her, Adrian's bizarre chivalric instincts were going to kick in. If Lee wasn't interested, Adrian would no doubt demand to know why Lee didn't want to marry her then and there. It was one of those fascinating - but weird - quirks of Adrian's personality.

"I like her," said Lee bluntly. "I've only talked to her a couple of times, but... well, I'd really like to get to know her better."

Adrian scoffed, and I shot him a glare. "Once again," I said. "I think you guys have different definitions for the same words."

"Not true," said Adrian. "All guys mean the same thing when they want to 'get to know a girl better.' You're a well-bred young lady, so I understand why you'd be too innocent to understand. Good thing you've got me here to interpret."

I turned back to Lee, not even bothering to respond to Adrian. "I think it's fine if you go out with her."

"Assuming she'd even be interested," said Lee, looking uncertain.

I remembered her smile when he'd stopped to talk to her yesterday. That had seemed pretty promising. But then, so had her enthusiasm over Micah. "I bet she would."

"So you're just going to let her go off alone?" asked Adrian, giving me a look that told me not to question him. This time, his concern was legitimate. I shared it. Jill was in Palm Springs to be safe. She was enrolled at Amberwood because it was also safe. Suddenly going out with a guy we hardly knew would not meet either Alchemist or guardian protocols for safety.

"Well, she can't even leave campus," I said, thinking aloud. "Not without me."

"Whoa," said Adrian, "if you get to come along as a chaperone, so do I."

"If we both do, then Eddie will want to as well," I pointed out. "Doesn't sound like much of a date."

"So?" Adrian's brief moment of seriousness and concern had vanished in the face of what he saw as social fun. How could anyone's mood flip so quickly? "Think of it as less of a date than a faux-family outing. One that will entertain me while protecting her virtue."

I put my hands on my hips and turned toward him. This seemed to amuse him more. "Adrian, we're focusing on Jill here. This isn't about your personal entertainment."

"Not true," he said, green eyes sparkling. "Everything's about my personal entertainment. The world is my stage. Keep it up - you're becoming a star performer in the show."

Lee glanced between us with a comically helpless look. "Do you guys want to be alone?"

I flushed. "Sorry." Adrian made no apologies, of course.

"Look," said Lee, who kind of seemed like he was beginning to regret bringing this up at all. "I like her. If it means bringing your whole group so I can be with her, then that's fine."

"Maybe it's better this way," I mused. "Maybe if we do more things as a group - aside from her feedings - she won't be in danger of wanting to go out with a human guy." Who we didn't even know for sure that she was interested in. We didn't even know if she was interested in Lee either. We were being awfully heavy-handed with her love life, I realized.

"This is kind of what I wanted before," Adrian said to me. "Just more of a social life."

I thought back to yesterday's conversation, in which he'd demanded I find him lodging. "That's not quite what you asked for."

"If you want to get out more," said Lee, "you should come back to LA with me tonight. I'll be back here after class tomorrow anyway, so it'd just be a quick trip."

Adrian brightened so much that I wondered if Lee had suggested it to try to smooth over any tension remaining about his interest in Jill. "Will you introduce me to those girls?" asked Adrian.

"Unbelievable," I said. Adrian's double standard was ridiculous.

I didn't notice the door opening until Keith was completely in the room. I was never exactly happy to see him, but it was good luck that he was suddenly here, right when I needed to talk to him about Jill and her problems with PE. My best plan had been to show up at his apartment and hope to catch him there. He'd saved me the trouble.

Keith looked at all three of us - but he didn't share our smiles. No winks or pretty boy charm from him today. "I saw your car out there, Sydney," he said sternly, turning to me. "What are you doing here?"

"I had to talk to Adrian," I said. "Did you get my message? I tried calling earlier."

"I've been busy," he said crisply. His expression was hard, his tone chilling the room. Adrian and Lee had lost their smiles, and both now looked confused as they tried to figure out why Keith was so annoyed. I shared their curiosity. "Let's talk. In private."

I suddenly felt like a naughty child without knowing why. "Sure," I said. "I... I was just leaving anyway." I moved to join Keith at the door.

"Wait," said Lee. "What about - " Adrian nudged him and shook his head, murmuring something I couldn't hear. Lee stayed quiet.

"See you around," said Adrian cheerfully. "Don't worry - I'll remember what we talked about."

"Thanks," I said. "See you guys later."

Keith left without a word, and I followed him out of the house and into the late-afternoon heat. The temperature had gone down since the ill-fated PE class but not by much. Keith trudged through the gravel driveway, coming to a halt beside Latte. His car was parked nearby.

"That was rude," I told him. "You didn't even say goodbye to them."

"Sorry if I don't bring out my best manners for vampires," snapped Keith. "I'm not as close to them as you are."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded, crossing my arms. Staring him down, I felt all my old animosity bubble up. It was hard to believe that I'd been laughing just a minute ago.

Keith sneered. "Just that you seemed awfully cozy with them in there - hanging out, having a good time. I didn't know this was where you spent your free time after school."

"How dare you! I came here on business," I growled.

"Yeah, I could tell."

"I did. I had to talk to Adrian about Jill."

"I don't recall him being her guardian."

"He cares about her," I argued. "Just like any of us would for a friend."

"Friend? They're not like us at all," said Keith. "They're godless and unnatural, and you have no business being friends with any of them."

I wanted to shout back that from what I'd observed, Lee was a hundred times more decent of a person than Keith would ever be. Even Adrian was. It was only at the last second that my training kicked in. Don't raise a fuss. Don't contradict your superiors. No matter how much I hated it, Keith was in charge here. I took a deep breath.

"It was hardly fraternizing. I simply came by to talk to Adrian, and Lee happened to be here. It wasn't like we'd all been planning some big party." Best not to mention the group date plan.

"Why didn't you just call Adrian if you had a question? You called me."

Because being face-to-face with him is less sickening than being around you.

"It was important. And when I couldn't get ahold of you, I figured I'd have to drive over to your place anyway."

Hoping to shift away from my "bad behavior," I jumped in and recapped everything that had happened today, including Jill's sun exposure and Micah's attentions.

"Of course she can't date him," he exclaimed, after I'd explained about Micah. "You have to put a stop to that."

"I'm trying. And Adrian and Lee said they'd help."

"Oh, well, I feel a lot better now." Keith shook his head. "Don't be naive, Sydney. I told you. They don't care about this stuff as much as we do."

"I think they do," I argued. "Adrian seemed to get it, and he has a lot of influence over Jill."

"Well, he's not the one the Alchemists are going to come after and send off to re-education for playing around with vampires when she should be disciplining them."

I could only stare. I wasn't sure which part of what he'd just said was more offensive: the well-worn insinuation that I was a "vamp lover" or that I was capable of "disciplining" any of them. I should've known his false friendliness wouldn't last.

"I'm doing my job here," I said, still keeping my voice level. "And from what I can see, I'm doing more work than you, since I'm the one who's been putting out fires all week."

I knew it was an illusion, seeing as the glass eye couldn't really stare, but I felt like he was glaring at me with both eyes. "I'm doing plenty. Don't even think to criticize me."

"What were you doing here?" I asked, suddenly realizing how weird that was. He'd accused me of "socializing" but had never explained his motives. "I had to see Clarence, not that it's any of your business."

I wanted more details but refused to let on how curious I was. He'd been here yesterday too, according to Lee. "Will you call the school tomorrow and get Jill excused from PE?"

Keith gave me a long and heavy look. "No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because being out in the sun won't kill her."

Again, I bit down on my anger and tried for the diplomacy I'd been schooled in. "Keith, you didn't see her. Maybe it won't kill her, but it was miserable for her. She was in agony."

"I don't really care if they're miserable or not," Keith said. "And neither should you. Our job is to keep her alive. There was no mention of making sure she's happy and comfortable."

"I wouldn't think anyone would have to tell us," I said, aghast. Why was he so upset? "I'd think being sensitive human beings, we could just do it." "Well, now you can. You can either get someone above us to issue a note to the school or you can give her ice baths after gym class. I really don't care what you do, but maybe it'll keep you busy enough that you'll stop coming over here unannounced and throwing yourself at creatures of darkness. Don't let me hear about this happening again."

"You are unbelievable," I said. I was too upset and at a loss for words to manage anything more eloquent.

"I'm looking out for your soul," he said loftily. "It's the least I can do for your dad. Too bad you aren't more like your sisters."

Keith turned his back on me and unlocked the car door without another word. He got in and drove off, leaving me staring. Tears threatened my eyes, and I swallowed them back. I felt like an idiot - but not because of his accusations. I didn't believe for an instant that I'd done anything wrong by coming over here. No, I was mad - mad at myself - because I'd let him walk away with the last word and because I hadn't had the nerve to say anything back. I'd stayed silent, just like everyone always told me to.

I kicked the gravel in my anger, sending a spray of it into the air. A few small rocks hit my car, and I winced. "Sorry."

"Would he accuse you of being evil for talking to an inanimate object?"

I spun around, heart racing. Adrian was leaning against the house, smoking. "Where did you come from?" I demanded. Even though I knew everything there was to know about vampires, it was hard to shake superstitious fears of them appearing out of thin air.

"Other door," he explained. "I went out to smoke and overheard the commotion."

"It's rude to eavesdrop," I said, knowing I sounded unbearably prim but unable to stop myself.

"It's rude to be an asshole like that." Adrian nodded toward where Keith had driven away. "Are you going to be able to get Jill out of class?" I sighed, suddenly feeling tired. "Yeah, I should be able to. It'll just take a little longer while I get some other Alchemist to be our fake parents. Would've been a lot faster if Keith had done it."

"Thanks for looking out for her, Sage. You're okay. For a human."

I almost laughed. "Thanks."

"You can say it too, you know."

I walked over to Latte and paused. "Say what?"

"That I'm okay... for a vampire," he explained.

I shook my head, still smiling. "You'll have a hard time getting any Alchemist to admit that. But I can say you're okay for an irreverent party boy with occasional moments of brilliance."

"Brilliant? You think I'm brilliant?" He threw his hands skyward. "You hear that, world? Sage says I'm brilliant."

"That's not what I said!"

He dropped the cigarette and stamped it out, giving me a devil-may-care grin. "Thanks for the ego boost. I'm going to go tell Clarence and Lee all about your high opinion."

"Hey, I didn't - "

But he was already gone. As I drove away, I decided the Alchemists needed an entire department devoted to handling Adrian Ivashkov. When I got back to my dorm room, I found Jill sitting surrounded in textbooks and papers, undoubtedly trying to catch up from yesterday. "Wow," I said, thinking of the homework that waited for me too. "You've got a whole command center set up."

Rather than smile at my joke, Jill looked up with an icy gaze. "Do you think," she said, "that maybe next time you want to mess with my dating life, you could talk to me first?"

I was speechless. Adrian had said he'd talk to Jill. I just hadn't realized it'd be so quickly.

"You don't have to go behind my back to keep me away from Micah," she added. "I'm not stupid. I know I can't date a human."

So Adrian had apparently told her that much.

"And," Jill continued, still in that cold tone, "you don't have to set me up with the only eligible Moroi within a hundred miles in order to keep me out of trouble."

Okay... Adrian had apparently told her everything. I would've expected more discretion from him, especially with the Lee part.

"We... we weren't setting you up," I said lamely. "Lee wanted to ask you out anyway."

"But rather than talk to me, he asked permission from you guys! You don't control my life."

"I know that," I said. "We weren't trying to!" How had this just blown up right in front of me? "Lee acted on his own."

"Just like you did when you went to talk to Adrian behind my back." Her eyes glittered with angry tears, daring me to deny it. I couldn't and only now realized the wrongness of what I'd done. Ever since she found out she was royal, Jill had watched other people dictate her life for her. Maybe my intentions to get Adrian to talk to her about Micah were good, but I'd addressed them in the wrong way.

"You're right," I said. "I'm sorry that I - "

"Forget it," she said, slipping a pair of headphones on. "I don't want to hear any more. You made me look stupid in front of both Adrian and Lee. Not that they'll even think twice about me in Los Angeles tonight." She waved a hand at me and looked down at the book in front of her. "I'm done with you."

Whether she couldn't hear me because of the music or simply because she'd now chosen to ignore me, I couldn't say. All I knew was that I once again found myself comparing her to Zoe. Just like with Zoe, I'd tried to do something good for Jill, and it had backfired. Just like with Zoe, I'd ended up hurting and humiliating the one I'd tried to protect.

Sorry, Sage. Last I checked, you aren't an expert in social matters.

That, I thought bitterly, was the saddest part of all - that Adrian Ivashkov was right.