They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lisa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope.

"Who's going to put in the extra time? " demanded Kirova. "You?"

Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I-"

Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."

Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lisa and me, and I wondered what he saw.Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lisa's inheritance?

«Yes,» he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."

"And then what? " retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?"

"Find some other way to punish her, " answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another.A girl, in particular."

His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores.»

Few dhampir girls became guardians anymore.

Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."

Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule,morning andafternoon were relative terms.That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light.

When she turned back around, Lisa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."

Oh, Lisa,I thought.Be careful. Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous-particularly in front of witnesses. But Lisa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get.

Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening.

I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed.

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be. " She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of lineonce, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have-beforeand after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."

I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart? " I nodded toward Lisa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall,you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for. " Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."

I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know.

Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lisa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress.

"Fine.I accept.»

Sending us straight to class after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lisa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature.

They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired.Or died.

The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class.

1stPeriod Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques

2ndPeriod Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3

3rdPeriod Weight Training and Conditioning

4thPeriod Senior Language Arts (Novices)

— Lunch-

5thPeriod Animal Behavior and Physiology

6thPeriod Pre-calculus

7thPeriod Moroi Culture 4

8thPeriod Slavic Art

Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lisa until after lunch-if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too.

Dimitri andAlberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence. Walking behind them, I saw howAlberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark andmolnija marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair.

She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak.

All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lisa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that.

Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin.

"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."

A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day.

"Thisis my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."

"Oh yeah? "I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."

"It'salways a good a time to think about you naked, " added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile.Another friend of mine.

Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary.

But as for me…well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students.

The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lisa and I had become legends. I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well.

The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them.

"Come on, Hathaway, " he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time."