#Christian being turned and lissa being the one to find a way to save him??? makes sense

[eddiemelrose]

Can you imagine if the entirety of Spirit Bound was about Dragozera instead of Romitri. I could make a whole essay about this but I feel it would be more impactful in a lot of ways.

[enchantedalyse]

Vampire Academy Episode 9 Reaction and Theories (Spoilers)

I’ve called Tatiana being the one working with the strigoi since the first episode, so yay vindication. I knew there had to be a reason for showing her hooking up with Andre in the first episode.

I also figured out that this season would lead up to Victor becoming a villain, especially when they were making the audience root for and side with him. He’s more in line with his book counterpart now.

Andre being alive is something I thought about and considered, but I didn’t think they would actually go there. I always thought there had to be more for his character when the actor was filming for 6 months and his current screen time and storyline definitely didn’t match up with that.

Andre Theories and Musings: • Does him being alive mean that he’ll be taking the place of Jill in the show?

• Are they just going to kill him off in the finale (probably after he and Lissa are reunited)? Will he die to save/saving Lissa?

• Will they turn Andre into a strigoi, therefore giving Lissa the goal/purpose of figuring out how to turn a strigoi back to its original form?

• If Andre is revealed as being alive to everyone, will he go back to being the heir to the throne? Will this be the reason Lissa and Rose leave and go to the human world (since that was always their original plan)?

• Did Andre even want the throne in the first place or was it just what was expected of him/what he was born for? If he could actually choose his path and future would it be the one laid out for him?

• Will Andre end up being revealed to be not as good of a guy as everyone thinks? Are his beliefs what we think they are or are they more aligned with Tatiana’s? With him and Lissa both alive, it would make sense that he would be the one to get the throne. So either he’s not long for this world, or something would have to happen for Lissa to want the throne over her brother.

• Has the Andre that Lissa has been seeing the actual/real Andre? Is he a spirit user instead of a fire user? Can he dreamwalk? Has that been what’s been happening or has he just been a figment of Lissa’s subconscious? We know that their parents had plans in case Lissa didn’t specialize, did they have these plans because they had to do the same thing for Andre as well?

• Will Andre return as he actually was/is or will he be compelled into having and supporting different beliefs (more Tatiana aligned ones)? Will a corrupted Andre on the throne be the reason that Dimitri and/or Christian go after Rose and Lissa to have them return from the human world to the dominion? Will Lissa need to go against a corrupted Andre for the throne?

Other:

• If Christian’s mom succeeds in capturing/taking Lissa is that how she’ll be reunited with Andre? Will he die to protect/save her? Will he be turned into a strigoi to hurt her? Will Rose and Mason go to save Lissa and it ends in Mason’s death? Will these events be what pushes them to go to the human world?

• Will Christian be put in a situation where he has to kill his mother as well?

• I still feel like Tatiana will force her way onto the throne. Possibly through a marriage to Andre?

• Will Tatiana kill the queen? I feel like she would frame Dimitri or Rose for it. Dimitri and Tatiana’s scene was supposed to be important, maybe she collected some DNA to frame him with during the hookup? Maybe finding out he loves Rose was the important part of that scene? Especially since she has to know how important she is to Lissa as well, Tatiana could want her gone and frame her for the murder to accomplish it.

[edenprime]

I know the VA books couldn't do certain things because they were all from Rose's eyes so Strigoi Rose was out of the question but have you ever thought about the power of VA if Rose was the one who was turned Strigoi in Shadow Kiss and Lissa was the one trying to find a way to save her using Spirit's power?

that would certainly be interesting anon! i hadnt thought about it until now 👀 it would only work if shadow kiss ended right after rose's death and from blood promise on it switched to lissa's pov. i can 100% see some things happening: after (somehow) finding out that rose was turned, i can see lissa deciding that she should be the one to kill rose, i can see lissa being consumed by guilt, feeling like it's her fault that rose was turned, since it was the spirit darkness passed through their bond that made rose run from the academy and hide out in the woods, that if lissa hadn't followed rose, rose would've ran back inside when the strigoi started approaching instead of trying to hold them back so that lissa could go inside to warn the guardians, that lissa should've tried harder to convince rose not to go on the rescue mission.

lissa would turn her desperation, guilt, and loneliness and focus it on learning how to fight, because she knows her best friend and the girl she loves is currently enduring a fate worse than death, and she knows that if rose could devote her entire life to lissa then the least she can do is avenge her death and end her existence.

when she manages to locate rose, who would be a strigoi loner and would die (again) before leaving the US, she convinces christian and mia to help subdue rose, so that lissa can kill her. they are all wayy in over their head, but thankfully her guardians, dimitri and serena, are not stupid, so they arrive right before rose manages to kill any of them. serena holds her back just as dimitri is about to stake her, but lissa compels him away and makes him hand her the stake. still high with spirit magic and utterly desperate to see the living rose again, feeling just like she did in the car crash that killed her family, lissa stakes her and inadvertedly brings her back. [insert fallout, implications, the bond broken, et cetera]

please write this anon.

[lingeringscars]

“you forgot something.” 

court is always extravagant, and for someone who lives in a broken down apartment rather than somewhere provided by or with Lissa... it’s always been too much. He’s lived at Court for years now, and it still surprises him every time this time of year hits. He supposes it comes from a large religious community within the walls, but he knows from experience that outside of Court is just as bad when Christmas comes around-- if only a month earlier than here. the funny thing is he is certain that most people that live in Court have no idea that Christmas outside is typically celebrated sometime in December, not January 7th. 

Bellamy likes that it is at the beginning of the year, most of the time. Another year under his belt usually means that he has some kind of savings that can get him a small gift for o. now that he works for Lissa, the stipend is more. Not enough to be good, but enough to release the shackles around his wrists when he thinks month to month. a small smile crosses his lips now, however, because he’s not alone for the holidays-- and that means a lot for someone trained to be such. Octavia makes it so that he’s never actually alone, but he can never tell when there is going to be a blowout between them that ruins it all.  

there is the lingering fear in the back of his mind that it could happen this year. that everything is more contentious since she’s been home from college because there was someone else in her home-- and he knows that it’s valid. he should have warned her, should have told her, should have done something to make the transition easier but he hadn’t thought about it. he hates himself for not thinking about it because now...now he has to think about another voice in his head telling him failure is not an option.

he pushes the thoughts out long enough to smile again because he sees her. he never liked this time of year, but it gets a lot better when there’s someone to share it with -- and that is all levels of corny but...true nonetheless. his eyes drift away from her, taking in the decorations again, knowing that it isn’t her first Christmas at Court but everything looks different for him now so...maybe it does for her too. “kind of ridiculous, don’t you think?” motioning to the lights and holly and wreaths on every free space. they roam the grounds at night, though, so it makes sense for all the lights to take over simply because of their schedules. by their, he means moroi, of course. “never really saw the point in it all.” christmas caroling, cookie decorating, whatever other traditions people insisted on for this holiday. he supposes it’s about celebrating too, but all he sees is a show of wealth. 

“what are you doing here, anyway?” it occurs to him that she should be at home, sleeping, and it only takes one look over her shoulder to see that christian wasn’t with her. he had to get to his own shift, having paused just to take everything in, but this wasn’t like them walking through Court the first time when everything had a different glow to it-- this was just him pausing and actually....having christmas cheer. she makes it easy to feel hopeful about the rest of the year -- and the years after that. the thoughts are enough to give him pause, but months ago he didn’t question that she would be here now, and he doesn’t question that she will next year too.. the thought makes him smile. 

hand laced with hers out of habit, he turns towards her, moving away from the view. supposedly. “you should get home.” she has a giddy expression on her face, and he can’t place why because it seems too bright for the occasion. too bright for how tired he knows she must be -- and he knows that when he says home she could go to two different places, and either way she’d be safe. “you had a long shift.” his other hand smooths the stray hairs that were coming loose, signaling the end of her shift, smile softening. “i gotta go.” kissing her temple, he pulls away, but rose is still holding his hand, eyes turned up as she says he’s forgetting something. 

figures. he’d laugh if he wasn’t embarrassed. “guess it’s a good thing you caught me.” he mumbles, having been standing under mistletoe for the past ten minutes. he continues his attempts to leave though, only to realize.. “you’re serious?” another tradition he never understood: kissing under mistletoe. he can basically hear her saying i don’t kid about these things, bellamy ( or freckles, depends on her mood ). or the opposite that he’s experienced too is that she’d get embarrassed herself and think she was stupid and shallow for liking stupid traditions like this, and he’s able to shut out the whole court aspect for the time being.  

it’s still new, but not new enough that they haven’t fallen into a routine. it’s nice to have that security, but it also means that he doesn’t feel secure in court yet. what little signs of affection he gave her is already pushing his capacity because he knows the gossip that surrounds them-- people care about them more because they are high-powered, but they’re still dhampirs. they’re still not supposed to date or love or do anything except stand in the back and protect their moroi. “not sure i’m forgetting anything.” he whispers as he draws her closer, eyes glancing over her lips before going back to her eyes, thinking about how much he doesn’t want to look away but leaning in to kiss her anyway. 

he pulls away sooner than he would like, pressing his forehead to hers because he isn’t ready to leave just yet. eyes still closes, breathing slightly labored “see you later?” as if he still needs to ask. as if they don’t try to see each other every time their schedules align for the few seconds that they have breaks together. as if the best part of getting off his shift is going home to her. as if.... 

his hands move down her arms, finding her hands and squeezing them again before he actually starts to leave, backing up and holding eye contact until their arms are spread out between them, dropping her hands only then. a smile still on his face when he turns his back on her, heading towards the direction of Lissa’s to take his post, loving rose more with every step he takes. 

how the hell did this happen to him?  

@tocomefirst​ / * soft family things / always accepting

[outlivespast]

“i don't know where they are. i don't know what to do” / Christian & Rose

they’re all in the same boat. everyone in this room has someone that they love missing: tasha, both blakes, kara. they might all work together, but everyone has been divided this past month, and after everything... he knows that there are things that he will regret if they don’t find them. he had disappeared when everything happened, enjoying the quiet alongside kara, who he had only spoken to a few times and nothing meaningful ever passed between them, but after that day....he understood everything that he needed to know about her. she too didn’t like loud noises; she too didn’t like the chaos that came with the fighting. christian needed to get away from feeling divided between agreeing with Bellamy and needing to protect Tasha. 

his complicated feelings towards the blakes aside, he needed them all to be okay, and coming back to the church in shambles.... he knew the second they walked in that it had been destroyed by someone on the outside, and now he knew that it wasn’t a human cause either. ryan was still trying to figure out how to control the bond, still working on pulling himself out of kara’s head, entering on will. he was better than rose was when he met them, but he still had a long way to go. it occurs to him that they’ve gone a few years without this happening, and that after the end of their high school years...that had been a blessing. his first interaction with someone he loves being kidnapped started with Lissa, a still contentious relationship with rose, a concussion, and it ended with him almost dead on the ground, saved only by the joint efforts of Rose and Lissa.

they weren’t so lucky the second time, and Mason didn’t make it out alive. Then he and Lissa were both kidnapped by Dimitri..... saved, and they brought his ass back along in the process. It’s amazing that for once....he, rose, and lissa are all on the other side. upon seeing the wreckage, he automatically sought out lissa, embracing her because whenever attacks like this happened....she tended to be the target. it happens when you’re in love with the Queen. 

it also happens when you’re aunt is a legally dead fugitive. 

the next thing was determining ....where they went, and it wasn’t until Ryan showed up that they knew for certain what had happened. Kara and O had been taken from there.....causing him to turn towards Rose as soon as he realized....that meant Tasha and Bell had been taken from here. 

it would have been enough to make him stumble if he hadn’t lost Tasha more than once at this point---it was enough to close his throat in fear for five seconds before deciding that he had to stand up. he couldn’t help anyone if he crumbled, and he was not the only one with loved one missing. it came naturally after that, stepping forward and trying to see anything that was left behind that would indicate who did it. Ryan spent his time trying to figure out where they went. and Rose....Rose kicked into Guardian gear. 

A day passed.

Then another. 

the only information that they had from Ryan is that Kara was by herself. there was nothing-- no indication that bellamy and tasha and octavia were alive. 

but there was no indication that they were dead either. 

that’s what he chose to focus on-- and with the track record for the three of them... he had to believe that they were actually okay. 

“hey.” he whispers. he considers hugging her but knows that she was being vulnerable enough as is. he knows how he was every time lissa was in danger, and he knows that no amount of telling herself that bellamy was good would comfort her, but he’s going to do it anyway. “bellamy is a good guardian. there’s no one I trust more than him to take care of Lissa.” poking fun at her, but he means it. He’s protective as hell, but if there is anyone that he would want to be her guardian...bellamy has always made him feel safe. “he’s going to be okay.” he doesn’t know where he is or what his state is....but rose needs this right now. resting his hand on her shoulder, distantly realizing that it’s something bellamy does not him, but it’s something that is keeping christian standing too. “we’ll find them. it’s not just you, rose.” 

in high school. before then. yeah, she was the one that protected lissa, but this isn’t like that. they rely on each other now-- all of them. that means trusting kara and bellamy and tasha and o to all get out themselves-- it also means trusting that ryan can figure this out. it means trusting that they can pick up on enough of what ryan gets and what was left in the church to put something together. it means more sleepless nights as they come back here because christian and lissa can only stave off so much attention with their public appearances. “we are all playing our part. you know how hard it is to work with images -- and kara is better at this than liss was.” more gentle teasing. “everything she hears. everything she sees. she is relaying it all to ryan. we are going to find them. we have more than we did a few days ago. we know more. we just .... need that key to put it all together.” he’s not going to ask her to rest because he knows that she won’t until she finds them, but he is pulling out crackers for her. “eat. you’re not going to help anyone if you collapse because you don’t have enough food.”    

@tocomefirst / meme on my multi

[archivesdiveronarpg]

Congratulations, LISSA! You’ve been accepted for the role of BEATRICE. We had such a hard time deciding between the two wonderful applications we received for Brielle; that's actually the major reason why acceptances are being posted a little late. Both of you brought such wonderful portrayals of Verona's newest jockey to the table, but it was the little things—the nuances in how she speaks, her mannerisms—that broke the tie. One thing in particular that struck me was the response you had her give for the first interview. Of all the places in Verona, the place she chose was the sun, and I absolutely loved that. It was a small detail, but it showed the perfect balance of forethought and her appreciation of simple pleasures. Great work! Your request to change her faceclaim to Alia Bhatt has been accepted. Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within twenty-four hours.

                                                                          WELCOME TO THE MOB.

Out of Character

Alias | Lissa

Age | Twenty

Preferred Pronouns | She/Her

Activity Level | It’s hard for me to estimate right at this precise moment because I’m about to enter my first week of spring semester, so I’m not entirely sure what my load will be, but I’d like to say 6/10? That’s sort of the minimum level of activity I’d function at and if it were to ever drop lower than I’d be sure to ask for a hiatus and keep you all in the loop.

Timezone | PST

In Character

Character | Beatrice; but could I request a face claim change to Alia Bhatt?

Brielle ( English ): “God is my Strength” — It is a variation of Gabriel, the name of one of God’s seven archangels in Judeo-Christian tradition. As the harbinger of news, the angel Gabriel played a critical role in the fate of men and women alike, influencing history and impressing upon humans their futures as God saw it. Perhaps, then, her name is also prophetic in a way — after all, it foretells her ability to craft her own future. Regardless, she finds it ironic, as her belief in God is tenuous at best. She derives her strength from within and not the heavens above, though others try to convince her otherwise.

King ( English, Scottish, French ): “Leader” — Rooted in the Old English word cyningwhich was used to denote a tribal leader. Her father, as loving as he was, fell short in many ways. He was always able to provide the bare minimum and ensure their family’s survival, but quite simply he was unremarkable, a good worker yet still replaceable. Thus, his surname became a burden; people expected so much out of him when they heard the name King. Because of that, he was reluctant to pass it on, but to Brielle it has never been a reminder of what they aren’t. No, to her it has always been a look to the future, a look at what could be. Although she isn’t a leader in the traditional sense — she doubts anyone will ever follow her into battle — Brielle has always striven to be a trailblazer, a leader in her specialty, and to be worthy of her familial name. Sure, the kings and queens of yore are antiquated, but for all their faults and shortcomings, they were noted in history, revered and remembered — really, everything she could ever wish for.

What drew you to this character? | It’s fitting that Beatrice comes from “Much Ado About Nothing,” because Brielle approaches her life like it is a comedy, facing the challenges set before her with a bit of resolve and humor. Truthfully, it very well could’ve taken a different turn and been a tragedy since fate handed her the short end of the stick, but she firmly believes in living on her own terms. She strives to craft her own future, with or without God’s blessing, using the tools life has tossed her way. A lesser girl might have buckled under the weight of it all, but Bri views each obstacle she faces as something to overcome, something to surpass, and that is the sole reason for her success. I think that is something I’ve always hoped to embody, the way she takes and takes from life, never satisfied with being labeled a victim or an unfortunate soul. Pardon the pun, but she takes life by the reins and makes her own luck. Enough horsing around though — honestly, is anything more badass than that?

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

I. THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER: She has worked so hard to get to this point, spent days on end tirelessly rehearsing, and now that she is reaping the benefits, there is still no time to get lazy. Brielle didn’t stumble upon her skill and sport by sheer luck, it required diligence, patience, and practice. It would be easy to fall into the flash and pomp of the city, but she’s not after the quick fix. No, she’s in it for the long haul, and that is not for the faint of heart. Even in a different country she heard of the quarreling families mobs of Verona and she knows it is wisest to keep her nose out of it. Neutrality is such a fine line though, but the alternative doesn’t suit her much either.

II. HELL IS EMPTY AND ALL THE DEVILS ARE HERE: She is wary about God and although she admits He may exist, she cares for Him as little as He cared for her when her family was just barely scraping by. It’s a contentious relationship, that’s for sure, and she can’t figure out for the life of her why Hugo Kim is so bent on changing her perspective. There are plenty of nonbelievers in Verona — in fact, the city is chock-full of devils — so why her? Brielle doesn’t want to admit it, but there other reasons for her reluctance. To fully commit, she must relinquish her tight grasp on the reins and give in to the idea of a higher power. For a girl who has spent so much of her life in full command of her future, it could be understood why she is so reluctant to do so. However, Hugo uses logic and persuasive speech to sway her and maybe, just maybe, there is a design. It helps also that he saved her that fateful day the bomb went off. Of course, there is more to the priest than God, just as there is more to the city than tourist traps and sunshine, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll see his side of things too.

III. PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW: Brielle is not heartless or devoid of emotion, nor has she ever given that impression. It’s been a month since she’s arrived in Verona’s sunlit streets and now she is homesick and achingly so. It’s a minor inconvenience on her path to glory, something she’ll withstand with grit and pluck, she’s sure of it. Every so often though, nostalgia overtakes her, and she finds herself yearning for her Papa’s engulfing embrace and her Mama’s flaky Napoleons, but above all she misses Katya, her sister in every sense of the word. They had their differences, yes, vast canyons of divide, but they were childhood companions, bound by the blood of the womb. To curb these aches however, she finds weak substitutes and although a cannoli is a poor proxy, she makes do with what she has — a lesson she learned when she was penniless with little to no prospects. Brielle refuses to let sentiment get in the way and, again, although Catherine Daly is not Katya, she fills the void. But as days pass, Brielle finds herself empathizing with the Capulet emissary. She is drawn to her soft, flickering light and maybe even her conflict-filled plight. There’s no doubt about it, Brielle came to race, but she might stay for an entirely different reason.

In Depth

The following THREE questions must be answered in-character, and in para form (quotations, actions written out if applicable, etc). There is no minimum or maximum limit for your response - simply answer as you would were you playing the character.

They had contacted her not too long after she had landed, using her benefactor as their mouthpiece. They were eager to pick her mind, circling as vultures do when they’ve spotted their prey. Brielle had done interviews before for various news syndicates, but that was back home, back where she wasn’t an outsider. Wary as she was, she needed to build up a reputation and make her name more recognizable; the interview would help with that. What tipped the scales in their favor however, was the firm insistence of her employer. At his behest, she had acquiesced, unwilling to bite the hand that fed her, especially this early in the game.

A week later she sat across from a rather austere journalist the paper had sent. He pulled out a blank yellow pad and black ballpoint pen, foregoing technology completely much to her surprise. When she had arrived, he had already ordered and now as her drink was placed before her, his espresso cup was empty, leaving her rather on edge. As he prepared to speak, Brielle braced herself for his questions, her slim fingers haphazardly tracing the rim of her full mug.

What is your favorite place in Verona? | She had expected this question and rehearsed its answer in her mind countless times, running through a number of potential responses. It would be boring if she said the stables ( though also true ) and a bit pathetic if she said her room, but in truth those were the only two places she spent enough time to know. Instead, she went a safer route, gesturing to expanse around them. “I’ve only been here for a week, so I’m afraid my knowledge is limited, but I do quite enjoy the sun — its warmth wasn’t quite as enveloping in St. Petersburg, so I like sitting outside in little cafes like this one.”

What does your typical day look like? | It was another seemingly easy question, but as a newcomer she struggled to answer. Brielle supposed her routine was the same as it was in Russia with few modifications, so truthfully she answered, brows scrunched together as she did. “Again, I’ve just arrived so I’m still adjusting to the time change and finding my rhythm, but typically I’m at the stables by dawn to groom my horse and practice. Then I run errands and try and find time to explore Verona, it’s quite easy to get lost here.” As he jotted down what she said, she took a quick sip of the liquid before her, its warmth sliding down her throat and settling into her belly. He gave her a brief look and she smiled politely in turn, wanting to put her best foot forward.

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues? | This question caught her off-guard, the odd one out in his compiled list of queries. With due diligence, Brielle had done her research on the city, wanting to be knowledgable of the area and its affairs. She had been told in confidence by her employer that in the shadows of Verona, a civil war was being waged. A bout of suspicion crept up on her and she felt as if the entire interview was centered on this one question— perhaps, there was more to this? Bri was careful in piecing together her answer, defining her neutrality in clear terms. “It’s not my quarrel and I’d be a fool to comment on something I have so little information on. The only opponents I have share the track with me.” From behind his wire glasses, the journalist’s dark eyes lingered on hers for a breath too long, giving her the impression she was standing on shaky ground. Before she could add anything else though, he moved on and soon the interview was over. As she watched him stride back onto the main road, Brielle remained in her seat, wondering who exactly would read his transcript — the people of Verona of course, but who exactly?

In-Character Para Sample:

The sun was rising from the East, illuminating the vast sky with streaks of soft light — a painter’s dream, she supposed, especially since the shapely puffs of clouds held in splashes of vibrant color, reflecting back various shades of warm yellows and cool blues. To Bri, it was a particularly noteworthy sunrise and though she was not quite an artist, she had seen enough to know the difference. Granted, she was a bit more optimistic than usual, but she still retained a large degree of her sensibility. It would take more than a moderate amount of success and relocation to disillusion her.

Perhaps sunrises were a bit symbolic to her — after all, they often signified opportunity, elevation, and new beginnings. Here now in Verona she was faced with all of that and more, and if this were the beginning of some play or work of literature, it probably would have foreshadowed all the good things yet to come. It wasn’t though, which she appreciated, because stories, once written, began and ended the same fashion. See, that just didn’t sit well with her — Brielle was the master of her own fate and all of her successes and failures were hers to plot out.

In a way she supposed that her occupation was a challenge of sorts; those who bet on horses and their jockeys were usually superstitious or subscribers to the concept of luck or religion. She rejected that however, and built her career on hard work, dedication, and practice. Bri was clever in picking her steeds and meticulous when it came to the details. She would research her opponents, both horse and jockey, while also noting the track’s turf and area to be better prepared when rounding the loop. The crowds would cheer whenever she broke ahead of the pack, thanking God, Lady Luck, and everyone else in between, but Bri chalked it up to good form and precise maneuvers — exactly what she was practicing now alone on the turf.

Already she felt a thin sheen of sweat bead on her forehead, Italy’s temperate mornings not agreeing with her cold roots. It was her third and final time coming around the oblong oval as she was careful always to make sure she was not exhausting or overextending her horse. As Brielle cut through the air, the stallion’s muscles taut as it galloped ahead, she was filled with a sense of serenity, driven with purpose. Every single time she approached the last stretch with finish line in sight, the young jockey saw what it promised — the chance for glory, triumph, and success.

The distance closed, the stallion’s stride slowing down to a trot under her insistence, a result of the unshakable rapport she had built over the span of weeks with her dark bay. As they came to a halt, she swung off in a fluid and practiced motion, landing on her heeled feet with a soft thud. The helmet came off first and Brielle tucked it snugly under her arm, gripping the horse’s reins with her free hand.

Back in the paddock, she finished the rest of her routine, grooming and feeding her paired partner. Some in her line of work hired grooms to care for their horses during downtime, but Brielle never did. It was a much needed reminder of what she had done to get here, something to ground her after spending so much time with her feet up in the stirrups of her saddle.  

A voice startled her from behind, speaking in that melodic Italian that seemed so foreign on her tongue. “Are you ready for the race?”

Brielle turned her head towards the visitor, her disheveled hair flying loosely around as even more strands fell out of her braid. With a sure smile on her lips and resolute nod, Bri leveled her gaze to her benefactor’s. “Of course. We’re the dark horse; we’ll make history tomorrow.”

Extras: Everything can be located at my mockblog located here.

[sydneysageivashkov]

Fic: Buried With Our Past (3/4)

Sydney and Adrian have had five years of peace, living happily ever after with their adopted son and extended family.

And then a spirit experiment goes very wrong, and Sydney wakes up in Russia, seven years earlier. The Alchemists might think they control her, but Sydney’s got a family to reunite.

Parts 1, 2 | AO3 | FF.net

Sydney opened the door on her apartment to find Rose watching TV. She had somehow arranged herself to be upside down and half hanging off the sofa, her long dark hair sprayed out on the ground. As Sydney entered, Rose twisted and somehow ended up the right way round in one smooth movement.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell me who Abe Mazur is,” said Rose. She wasn’t quite sulky in the way she said it, but she did seem put out at being left out of the loop.

“I’m guessing Adrian and Jill are refusing to tell you the specifics?” asked Sydney, crossing to the kitchen area to grab some food.

Rose coughed and shifted awkwardly. “Of course they tell me. They just got busy with your phone call, that’s all.”

Sydney laughed and turned around. “Rose, I’ve known you for seven years. I can tell when you’re lying.” Rose huffed dramatically at that and flopped back into her seat.

“They say that relationships should be allowed to develop naturally, instead of being stunted by their interference,” grumbled Rose, crossing her arms across her chest.

It wasn’t something that Sydney had needed to consider before then. She might have technically been surrounded by people – the other Alchemists, her contact with her family – but she either hadn’t known about their future relationships or hadn’t been in a situation which would have allowed for her to interfere. But it had been a logical call for them to make: if someone from the future had told her about her marriage to Adrian too soon, she certainly would have reacted badly.

“I just don’t know what the relationship could be,” continued Rose. “I don’t even know who Abe Mazur is!”

Sydney covered her amusement by taking a bite of the muesli bar she had picked out. After she was sure she could control her smile, she swallowed and said, “He’s a mob boss who happens to be interested in your reasons for being in Russia.”

Rose regarded her suspiciously. “Do you know why I’m in Russia?”

All of Sydney’s good humour vanished as she thought of Dimitri. Good, kind Dimitri Belikov, always ready with his steadfast support or words of wisdom. Dimitri Belikov, who was currently a Strigoi. She hadn’t ever seen Dimitri as a Strigoi, but she’d heard Dimitri pretending to get information, and she had seen reports of Rose’s condition in the aftermath of her escaping him. She put the museli bar down, suddenly no longer feeling hungry. “I’m so sorry, Rose,” she said, quietly.

“Adrian says I can save him,” said Rose, almost to herself. She was staring at nothing in particular, expression dark. “I’ve just got to lure him out first.”

“You did save him.” Sydney cleared her throat. “Him and others.” She thought of Sonya, who was probably in the house by the lake at that very moment, still tending to flowers even though she had forgotten the love that had once driven her. Of Olive, for the few precious months she’d gotten back. Even of Lee, who had been given a second chance, even if he had thrown it away.

“Apparently I’ve got to piss Dimitri off first,” said Rose. She smirked a little. “I’m pretty good at that.”

Sydney bit her lip and sat down next to Rose. “I don’t think anyone ever knew exactly what happened,” she said. “But I did read the report from after you escaped… You have to be careful, Rose. It took Dimitri a long time to forgive himself for what he did as a Strigoi, especially what he did to you.”

Rose swallowed. “It doesn’t matter. If it’s possible to save him, I have to take that chance.”

Sydney wondered, briefly, what it would be like to have friends who didn’t regularly charge into life-threatening situations with little to no regard for their own safety because someone they loved was in danger. It would probably be a lot like the life she’d been living for the past month, to be honest.

“I thought you might say that.” Sydney stood back up. “Grab your bags. We should get to the train station,” she added over her shoulder, grabbing her keys off the bench. Rose shook herself and blinked at Sydney. Sydney prayed that it would go better for Rose this time.

-

“You know, whenever I thought about the future, I always thought it was going to be me or Rose who shocked the delicate sensibilities of the royals,” said Christian, flopping down on to Adrian’s couch. Lissa sat down next to him, watching her boyfriend with an indulgent smile.

“Oh, you did,” assured Adrian. “Lissa did too, just by associating with you both.”

“Looks like you blew us all out of the water, though,” said Lissa. Jill quietly slipped out of Adrian’s room and handed him back at his phone.

“I’ve missed her,” said Jill. Her voice was quiet and a sad kind of happy.

Adrian rubbed at her shoulder before looking back at Lissa and Christian. He briefly considered deflecting to Jill – hey, what about one of the last Dragomirs getting engaged to a dhampir – but that definitely went against their relationship spoilers rule, even if Eddie wasn’t there.

“How does she even know about vampires?” asked Lissa. She was running her hands through Christian’s hair, who had somehow rearranged himself so he was lying with his head in Lissa’s lap.

“She was – is, I guess – an Alchemist. They’re humans who help cover up for us: getting rid of Strigoi bodies, pulling strings and covering stuff up if humans ever see anything. They started dealing with the humans who served the Strigoi, too, once they were proven to be out there,” explained Adrian.

“Huh,” said Christian. “I never thought about that, but I guess they had to be out there. Alchemists, I mean.”

“Yeah, well, most of them are awful,” grumbled Jill. She leant back and crossed her arms.

Lissa raised her eyebrows. “Aren’t they helping us?”

“Only because they want to keep humans separate from ‘evil creatures of the night’,” said Jill. “And they makes everyone toe the party line or they get sent off to re-education.” The righteous fury in her voice was only barely masking the worst of her worry.

“Two more months,” said Adrian, pulling Jill into a hug. “Two more months, and she’ll be back in the States, and we’ll get her out.”

“Two months,” repeated Jill. “Which escape plan are you going to use?”

Adrian smiled, although his face was obscured by Jill’s brown hair. “I hear Rome’s nice this time of year.”

Jill snorted and pulled back. “Okay, you can stop being a dad now. I’m good.”

“Being a dad is a natural state at this point,” admitted Adrian, earning outright laughter from Jill. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t as worried for Sydney as Jill was, but after raising a child, it was a lot easier to lock down the panic and comfort someone else. The medication still allowed for some of spirit’s natural, non-magical benefits, like charisma and a greater sensitivity for other people’s emotions, making it easier still to distract others from the worst of their fears. It was easier to do with someone like Jill, who he knew so well and who trusted him entirely. It was easiest with Declan.

Had been. Had been easiest with Declan.

Jill touched his shoulder gently. Her gaze was empathetic as he met her eyes. “I’m fine,” he promised. Jill didn’t look convinced but didn’t press him. He turned back to Lissa and Christian. Christian was fidgeting awkwardly, and Lissa was watching him with a compassionate stare that was identical to her sister’s. “Anything else you’d like to know?” he asked.

“How much longer until Rose comes home?” asked Lissa.

“I don’t know. Her goal’s different, her meeting with Sydney is different – and I don’t know much about her trip to Russia to start with, so I don’t know how much those differences will matter,” replied Adrian. He shrugged, gesturing widely with his hands. “Maybe she’ll get to where she found Dimitri earlier, before even he got there, and she’ll move on before he arrives and she takes a lot longer. Maybe the things Sydney and I said about Russia will make her react differently when she meets him. Maybe Abe will actually succeed in packing her in a box and sending her home. There’s no way of knowing.” Lissa nodded, looking down towards the floor.

“I don’t suppose you’ll tell us who this Abe Mazur is?” said Christian. Now that the emotional displays were over, he had stopped fidgeting and returned to his lounging position. “Promise I won’t tell Rose.”

“Nope,” said Adrian, popping the ‘p’. Christian grimaced a little, but otherwise looked like he had expected the answer. “You just want to be able to know something that Rose doesn’t.”

“Knowledge is power,” said Christian, voice lofty.

-

Travelling with Rose was the first time Sydney had spent with any of her friends since she’d found herself in the past, and she should be enjoying it unreservedly. It wasn’t like she wasn’t enjoying; it was just that Rose was so frustratingly young sometimes.

Rose was eighteen. Sydney didn’t begrudge the dhampir girl her youth, but sometimes she’d say something, expecting the reaction twenty-four-year-old Rose would have given, and get nothing. It wasn’t Rose’s fault, but it hurt anyway.

And it wasn’t even like this was normal behaviour for eighteen-year-old Rose. Rose had just lost Dimitri to the Strigoi, and was probably still coping with the deaths of anyone else she had known who was lost in the attack on Saint Vladimir’s. Sydney had been through a lot in her life, but she had never experienced the sheer amount of loss that Rose and the others at Saint Vladimir’s had experienced. Rose seemed horrifically sad so often. Sydney didn’t think she fully believed that Dimitri could be saved.

Sydney wondered how Adrian and Jill had dealt with it all this time. At least they had each other, she mused, staring out the window of the train. Their absence still felt like a physical ache, and she couldn’t decide if it had gotten better or worse since she had spoken to them.

“So how did you and Adrian meet?” asked Rose. She was lying on her bed, propping her head up with her hand and one leg leaning off the side. “I can’t picture him in Russia.”

“I got posted back to the USA eventually,” said Sydney. Rose raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting a story to follow. “But I’m pretty sure the story is going to fall under the spoilers rule.” She hated to turn down Rose when she was in one of her better moods, but there were definitely some aspects of the previous timeline that Sydney wanted to keep.

Rose groaned and dropped her head into her pillow. “All of the good stories are covered by the spoilers rule.”

“What makes you think it’s such a good story?” asked Sydney. “Maybe we met at a windmill museum.” She, personally, thought that windmill museums were perfectly interesting, but based off the general reactions her dates with Brayden had gotten, it was apparently the most boring thing in existence to most people.

“Well, first of all: Adrian? In a windmill museum? Even the new and improved future him wouldn’t be caught dead in there,” said Rose, flicking up one finger. Sydney hid a smile. She couldn’t exactly argue that point. “Secondly, we’ve been keeping track of references to future relationships, and we’ve definitely established that something interesting happened with you, Jill, Eddie and Adrian. And finally, whatever caused the Adrian Ivashkov of a month and a half ago to settle down must have been spectacular.” Rose had kept holding up additional fingers as she made her points, and now she waggled the three fingers at Sydney pleadingly.

Sydney laughed. “It wasn’t that amazing, okay? There wasn’t some big moment where the stars aligned and we were both madly in love. It just – happened. Over slushies and investigating and crosswords, because we were right for each other.” She paused. “It wasn’t anything about us that made our story eventful or spectacular. It was the rest of the world having a problem with it that did.”

Rose had looked down, and Sydney almost sighed. She’d made Rose think about Dimitri again, and with all that stuff about ‘being right for each other’, she couldn’t blame anything but herself for this. She picked up her book and started reading.

It was another twenty minutes before Rose spoke again. “Okay, I know you’re not meant to be giving me any spoilers, but when you talked about Dimitri as a Strigoi… What did you mean? What did he do?”

“Honestly? I don’t know, Rose. When I said that I don’t think anyone but you and Dimitri knew, I was telling you the truth. And all the injuries in the reports could have come from just you fighting your way out,” said Sydney.

“You and Adrian and Jill keep talking like it’s set in stone,” said Rose, quietly. “It’s  kind of… I don’t know. It’s like I have a destiny all of a sudden. I want to stop asking you guys about it, but I just can’t stop.”

Sydney sighed, turning to face Rose, letting her legs swing off the bed. “I don’t know how to make that better,” she said, honestly. “I know that the first time I was on this train with you, if someone had told me where I was going in my life, I would have freaked out. I can stop telling you things about the future, but – that’s my past. It’s a huge part of my life. I can’t guarantee I won’t reference it sometimes.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Rose, “and you shouldn’t have to stop being you for me. I just wish there was a middle ground here.”

Sydney shrugged. “Maybe there is one. We just have to find it.”

-

Sydney woke to a dark and empty room.

That normally wouldn’t be that bad a thing. Except they were travelling along a road that Strigoi were known to frequent, and Rose was missing.

She sat up, unable to shake the uneasy feeling. She went to peer through the window and felt her heart stop at what she saw. Rose, alone, fighting three Strigoi.

Sydney threw the door to the bedroom open and ran down the stairs, two at a time. She burst out of the house to see that Rose had managed to stake one Strigoi, but a second gave her a nasty backhand and Rose staggered back, giving the Strigoi an opening.

Sydney hadn’t used magic since she found herself in the past. The chances of her tattoo turning silver before she got out of Russia were slim, but she hadn’t wanted to take any chances.

Now, she had no choice. Rose was in danger. Sydney had to act.

She summoned a fireball into her hand and threw it at the Strigoi. The two remaining Strigoi had barely even noticed her arrival, so focused on dispatching Rose. But the Strigoi she had hit screamed, his head enveloped entirely by the fire. Both of the Strigoi had stopped their advance, too astonished (or too busy burning) to move.

Unfortunately, that also applied to Rose.

“What the hell,” breathed Rose, staring at Sydney like she’d never seen her before.

“Hurry up,” Sydney shouted back. Rose blinked and startled, turning her attention back to the Strigoi. She staked the flaming Strigoi and engaged the last, who had also been spurred back into movement under threat of Rose’s stake.

Rose dodged the Strigoi’s attempt to grab her, slipping down and around. The Strigoi turned to follow her and Rose dragged her stake across his arm. The Strigoi let out a loud noise, half a scream and half a snarl.

They were moving almost too fast for Sydney to follow, but at last Rose got an opening, and the last Strigoi received a stake to the heart.

Rose staggered back, her breathing ragged. “You threw a fireball,” said Rose, turning to face Sydney. “You threw a fireball. That’s impossible. I’m hallucinating, right? I’ve finally cracked.”

“You’re still sane,” said Sydney. “Witches generally prefer not to show themselves to the Moroi world if they can help it. I don’t think there are many Moroi or dhampirs who know.”

“My entire perspective of the human world has changed in the past week,” said Rose, running a hand through her hair. “I didn’t think that could happen, since I’d already lived there.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. So you’re Adrian’s human wife from the future who can also throw fireballs and maybe other stuff and spends her time hiding vampires from humans. Did I get everything?”

Sydney thought about it. “No, I think that’s it.”

“I really didn’t think Russia was going to be this eventful,” said Rose. “Oh my god. I can actually see it. I can imagine you two. I bet you caused all kinds of grey hairs.”

“I think we scandalised the Ivashkov family beyond repair,” admitted Sydney, and Rose choked on a laugh.

“I can imagine. Oh, man. This is awesome.”

-

Rose felt like she was floating.

All the pain she’d been experiencing seemed to have disappeared, subsumed by the feeling of bliss that was still pumping through her veins. She thought she had been scared, a little while ago, but she must have been wrong. What was there to be afraid of? There was no one even here, and the only one who came was Dimitri…

Dimitri.

She remembered a voice, unbidden: “It took Dimitri a long time to forgive himself for what he did as a Strigoi, especially what he did to you.”

Rose made a face. Dimitri hadn’t done anything to her yet. They must have gotten it wrong.

Except…

Well, Sydney hadn’t gotten anything else wrong. Everything Sydney had talked about, every interaction they’d had – well, it was hard to deny that Sydney knew Rose. She’d even made it sound like she’d known Dimitri.

Well, Dimitri was Dimitri, she supposed. (Dimitri was a Strigoi.) Nothing changed that. Except that something had.

Rose groaned and turned over, screwing her eyes shut. She didn’t want to think about this. She wanted to sleep instead.

But there was no peace to be found in sleep, apparently, because a world materialised around her. She was in a bright, flowering garden, and she almost groaned as she recognised it.

“Adrian, I’m fine,” she said, turning around to face him. “I’m great! Didn’t Sydney tell you?”

“Rose, Sydney hasn’t seen you since she left Baia, and you missed check-in by a full day,” said Adrian. His expression was serious, and Rose frowned. Why was he so solemn? “Where are you?”

Rose shrugged. “With Dimitri.”

Adrian froze, his eyes widening with horror. “Fuck. Fuck, Rose, are you okay? Has he hurt you?”

“I told you! I’m fine!” she exclaimed. He frowned and leant towards her, brushing her hair off her neck. She tried to rear away from him, but it was too late. He stared at her neck, and swallowed, hands curling slowly into fists.

“God, I remember this,” he muttered. “I wondered, but I guess I didn’t want to know. You have to get out of there, Rose.”

“Why would I do that?” she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “Dimitri’s here. I only just found him again.”

“That’s not Dimitri, Rose!” snapped Adrian, throwing his hands into the air. He ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath, visibly trying to calm himself. “That’s not Dimitri, okay? You’d understand if you’d ever heard him or Sonya or Olive talk about it. It’s like when they get raised again as Strigoi, everything that makes them capable of goodness is just stripped away from them. They might act like they did before, but it’s only to prove that they still can, not because they’re the same.”

Rose blinked, her eyes stinging with tears. “That’s not what he says.”

Adrian scoffed. “He probably doesn’t even realise. That’s how it works. Rose, please. Come back. Come home.”

“I can’t!” exclaimed Rose. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get past the doors.”

Adrian regarded her very seriously. “You did last time.”

Rose scoffed, turning away. “Last time! You and Jill and Sydney say that all the time. I’m not the same person as last time, alright? I’m not that Rose Hathaway! Stop looking at me and seeing her!”

“Rose, please -”

“Send me back, Adrian,” said Rose. “Send me back!”

“Rose!” shouted Adrian, but the garden was dissolving around her already. She blinked awake and sat up. She wanted to go back to that floaty feeling to return, but all she could feel was that same resentment that had caused her to push Adrian away.

She gritted her teeth. She just wanted to be seen as herself, not as some mysterious Other Rose who had apparently always made the right call. Maybe that Rose had run, but that didn’t mean she would.

Except she trusted Adrian. She trusted Jill. They had never hurt her. All they had done, the whole time that they had been back, was try to help people. They had warned her about the ghosts and the school about the Strigoi. They hadn’t done a single thing to earn her mistrust. She even trusted Sydney, despite how little she knew her.

All three of them said the same thing. They said she could save Dimitri, and they said he had regretted his actions as a Strigoi.

Well then. She was just going to have to make sure he had one less thing to regret.

-

Rose Hathaway arrived home from Russia almost an entire month before she had done last time round. She walked straight into Adrian’s arms at the airport and started crying.

“I killed him,” she said between the big, heaving sobs. “You told me I could save him and I killed him instead.”

Adrian didn’t know what to tell her. He could say that Dimitri had survived, but he didn’t know that for certain. Who knew? Maybe Rose had actually succeeded in staking him this time round.

So he didn’t say anything. He just hugged her back until her sobs subsided. When her cries had been reduced to a few silent tears running down her face, he pulled back and gently lead her to get coffee.

“You and Sydney never did say why Abe was so fond of me,” said Rose, hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. She was curiously still, like she had cried all the emotion out and had been reduced to a rather soaked doll.

“Huh,” said Adrian. “If he didn’t tell you, then I’ve got absolutely no idea where you found out. You knew when you came back.”

She blinked. “How did Abe change? You and Jill never met him, and Sydney barely did. How did you guys change his actions?”

Adrian shrugged. He knew that Sydney had probably had considerably more interactions with Abe than Rose knew of, but if Sydney hadn’t said anything, he wasn’t about to betray her. “Maybe we aren’t the only people to come back. Or maybe you’re the one who changed.”

“Me?”

“You’re back a month early, Rose. Part of that was Sydney picking you up so much earlier, but the rest was all you,” said Adrian. Rose’s mouth opened a little, and she leant back against her chair. “I guess you really aren’t that Rose Hathaway after all.”

“What I said in the dream…” said Rose, voice soft. “It was out of line, Adrian. I was angry because you were making me think past those endorphins. I’m sorry.”

Adrian shrugged. “You were right, though. I talked about it with Sydney and Jill. We look at you and Lissa and Eddie and everybody else that we know, and we want – expect, sometimes – you to be the people we left behind, but you’re not. We need to stop treating you like you are.”

“So maybe we all just stop resenting each other for the whole time travel thing?” suggested Rose. “It’s not like any of this was under our control, or our choice. We just have to make do.”

“Sometimes, Rose Logic can be very wise,” said Adrian, lifting his mug up to her. She smiled and clinked her own against it. “I do have one favour for you when we get back to school, though.”

“What?”

“You should punch Avery Lazar for me,” said Adrian. It was unexpected enough that Rose barked out a laugh. It was a harsh, almost choking sound, like it had been torn out of her against her will. Adrian wondered if it was the first time she’d laughed since she may or may not have killed Dimitri.

“Punch a royal? I thought I was meant to be able to get back into school after this,” said Rose.

Adrian huffed. “Fine. Not right now, then. But you’re definitely going to have to punch one of them at some point, because as proud as you were of Lissa for punching Reed last time, some actual physical back up could be nice in the upcoming spirit battle.”

“Doesn’t this fall under spoilers?” wondered Rose, sipping at her hot chocolate.

“This is the kind of thing that requires advanced warning,” explained Adrian. Rose nodded understandingly, then paused abruptly.

“Wait. Lissa punched someone?”

-

“Okay, so,” said Lissa, sitting cross-legged on Adrian’s couch, “let me get this straight. Avery Lazar is a spirit user, who is masking the gold in her aura and pretending to be an air user.”

Adrian nodded. “Affirmative.”

“And her brother and her guardian are both bonded to her.” Adrian nodded again, so she continued. “And she wants to kill me and bond me to her, so she gets all my spirit power, and she wants to compel you into falling in love with her, so she gets all your social influence.”

“Except I’m already married and will lose all my social influence once wider society finds out about it, so joke’s on her,” said Adrian. Lissa nodded.

“And last time we dealt with her by frying her with spirit?” asked Rose, who was sitting with her back against the couch.

“Yeah, I’d rather not do that again, because she doesn’t deserve spirit insanity, even if she is kind of evil,” said Adrian. “Pretty sure Reed and that guardian definitely don’t. They didn’t ask to be bonded to an evil spirit user and take on all her spirit darkness – and there’s got to be a lot of that, because I’ve done some serious stuff with spirit, but I never worked out how to mask an aura.”

“Did we ever get a break in the future?” asked Lissa.

“Not really,” admitted Adrian. Lissa and Rose both groaned loudly. “But if I get my way, Lissa becoming queen is going to be put off for several years, so you will get a break in this timeline.”

“So long as I get to go to college first,” said Lissa, lying back on the couch and stretching her legs out. “Seriously, I have no idea how I did both in your timeline.”

“By being a total nerd, probably,” said Rose, and promptly dodged a half-hearted kick from Lissa.

“You know you’re going to have to do it all with me,” said Lissa, and Rose wilted a little. “Maybe you’ll be glad I’m such a nerd sometime.”

“What, when I’m failing all your classes?” asked Rose.

Lissa grinned mischievously. “You said it, not me,” she said, the end almost drowned out by an outraged yowl from Rose.

-

It took another week for Avery Lazar to arrive at Saint Vladimir’s. Lissa deposited Avery in guest housing and came straight to Adrian’s door.

“Now what?” asked Lissa, after explaining where she’d come from. “You talked about how to protect ourselves from her compulsion, but how do we stop her without hurting her or letting her hurt anyone else?”

“I don’t know, Liss,” sighed Adrian. “Spirit magic is hard to get around. I don’t know how to except -” He broke off. Lissa straightened, noticing his expression.

“Except?” she prompted.

“Except through human magic,” said Adrian. “Alicia made charms to make her immune to my compulsion. Maybe there are charms to stop vampires from using magic altogether.”

Lissa’s eyebrows had been climbing skyward the entire time Adrian was speaking. “Human magic?” she said, voice faint.

Adrian waved her confusion away. “Yeah, that’s a thing. We were surprised, too. I have to talk to Sydney.”

“Human magic exists,” murmured Lissa, looking like she needed to sit down.

“Someday, I’m going to tell you about the future and you’re not going to look like you’re about to pass out,” Adrian said, picking up his phone.

“Hi, Adrian,” greeted Sydney. Her voice was lighter than he’d heard in a long time and he blinked in surprise. “Guess what?”

“What?” he asked, mildly bewildered.

“I’m coming back to the USA early,” she exclaimed. “Rose organised it with Abe. Apparently she made it one of her conditions for him shipping her back to the USA.”

“When?” he asked. He felt lighter than air.

“A week,” said Sydney. “We’re so close, Adrian.”

“This is incredible, Sage,” breathed Adrian. He caught sight of Lissa shifting weight. The movement wasn’t quite impatient, but it reminded him of why he had called. “For more reasons than you know.” He filled her in on his theory about human magic and Avery. Sydney listened patiently.

“I’m pretty sure it’s possible,” said Sydney. “I need to talk to Mrs Terwilliger about this. She’ll know. Inez if not.”

“That will be a very odd conversation,” said Adrian, earning a laugh from Mrs Terwilliger.

“‘Hi Mrs Terwilliger, I’m your apprentice from the future, and I need advice on how to stop an evil spirit-using vampire, please and thank you’,” quipped Sydney.

“Maybe phrase it a little better, and you’re golden,” said Adrian, and she laughed again.

“I have to go,” she said. “Ivanov is expecting me. Give me two weeks – a week to get back to the US, then some time to get dirt on my father, contact Mrs Terwilliger, get the spell parts and get to Missoula.” Sydney’s voice grew quiet, almost reverent. “Then we’re home free.”

-

When Sydney touched down in Utah, it was her mother waiting to greet her.

Technically, Sydney was meant to be making her way to New Orleans, but her assignment wasn’t due to start for another four days. The Alchemists had already sorted out the apartment and most of her living costs. She didn’t see any harm in spending a few days with her mother and sisters before she made her way to New Orleans.

Besides, Sydney didn’t have access to the Warriors of the Light this time around. That meant she had to find dirt on her father another way, and this was the best way she could think of. Once she found some evidence of her father’s dirty dealings, she would make her way to New Orleans, and disappear from there. It would take longer for someone to notice she was missing if she left from New Orleans, and she could use her father’s dealings to blackmail him into keeping her free from the Alchemists.

But that was still hours or days away. Now, Sydney’s mother was waving excitedly at her and Sydney couldn’t help but grin as she walked into her mother’s arms. Sydney’s relationship with her mother was one of the few that hadn’t been damaged by her relationship with Adrian. She might have been married to an Alchemist, but she had never internalised the Alchemist teachings in the same way that Sydney or her sisters had.

“So how was Russia?” asked her mother, hooking her arm through Sydney’s.

Sydney laughed. “Eventful.” Honestly, that didn’t even begin to cover it.

“I want to know everything that happened since I saw you last,” said her mother. “And I don’t want any excuses about Alchemist business or the like.”

Sydney’s smile faded. Since her mother had seen Sydney last? The best part of a decade had past from Sydney’s point of view. From Sydney’s point of view, Katherine Sage was a grandmother and mother-in-law (twice over, at that: Marcus and Carly had tied the knot only a few months before Sydney found herself in the past). But from Katherine’s point of view, of course, Sydney was barely eighteen.

“I met some vampires for the first time,” Sydney said instead. “One was called Rose. She was nice – you know, for an evil creature of the night.” The last part she said in a sardonic tone, and her mother laughed.

“I’m glad your Stateside again,” said Katherine. “You always said you were fine, and Jared said that all of the reports he was getting said you were doing good job, but I worried anyway. Now you’ll only be a few hours flight away, rather than half a world away.”

Sydney worked her jaw for a second before trying to settle her face back into a neutral expression. Of course her father’s main concern was that she was doing a good job as an Alchemist. “It’s nice to be home again,” she said. Her mother glanced at her, face concerned, but Sydney managed a smile. Katherine looked away, hopefully dismissing Sydney’s response as Alchemist diplomacy.

“Zoe will be excited to see you,” said Katherine. “She and your father were busy with lessons but they should have finished up by the time we’re home. And Carly’s home, too! She heard you were coming home and flew home for the weekend. She was just finishing up an assignment.”

That earned a genuine smile. This Carly would be closer to the Carly she remembered than anyone else in her family except her mother. She had been away at university, working through her traumas in a healthier environment and growing into the activist Sydney knew. Would she be the same sister who had sat in Sydney’s living room only two months ago, holding Declan in her arms and pretending to teach him to dance? Of course not.

But she would be closer to the sister Sydney had known than Zoe, still timid and eager to please their father. She would certainly be closer to the sister Sydney had known than to the father Sydney had known, who was God knows where and probably only thought of Sydney with loathing and disgust.

Apparently even something as simple as visiting your childhood home and family couldn’t be an easy, happy occurrence when you were a time traveller, Sydney noted, annoyed.

“It sounds like Carly’s having a good time at college,” said Sydney, because it wasn’t like she could tell her mother any of her thoughts.

“I would have liked it if you could go to college, too,” said Katherine, irritation leaking into her voice.

“I would have loved to go to college,” said Sydney, honestly. College had been wonderful. Soaking in all that knowledge, and not having to hold any of it back, either, because everyone was there to learn the same the things she was – because they wanted to, not because they had to, like at Amberwood.

What had come after had been good, too. Working at the museum had been lovely, and having a steady income had certainly made budgeting easier. But that didn’t lessen how magical college had been for her.

The drive home was quiet, but when the car pulled into the driveway, the front door to the house was flung open and Carly poured out of it, wrapping Sydney in an embrace almost before Sydney was out of the car.

“I’ve missed you so much,” said Carly, voice fierce.

“I’ve missed you, too,” said Sydney, leaning into Carly’s hug. “Are you okay?”

Carly pulled back and smiled at Sydney. It still wasn’t as bright as it had been before Keith, or as it would be in the future, but it was a smile. “Getting there.”

“I’m glad,” said Sydney, hugging Carly again. She longed to tell Carly everything, suddenly: how Carly healed but never forgot, that Sydney had ensured Keith was punished without breaking her promise to Carly, that Carly had been wonderful and brave and had saved so many girls from spiralling into the despair Carly herself had experienced and had helped a lot of the victims of re-education rebuild themselves. Carly had built a good life for herself, with Marcus. Sydney loved them both.

Zoe was waiting for them in the kitchen, and she lit up as Sydney walked into the room. Sydney felt her heart lift at the sight. It hadn’t been since she left for Amberwood that she had seen Zoe so happy to see her. It had been almost as long since she had seen Zoe with an unadorned cheek.

“How was Russia?” asked Zoe, jumping off her stool and hugging Sydney tightly. “I heard that you met all kinds of vampires! I heard you saw Strigoi,” added Zoe, her voice dropping low on the last word.

Sydney couldn’t help but laugh at her sister’s eagerness. “Only from a distance. Rose – she’s a dhampir, Rose Hathaway – took care of them. I only had to deal with the bodies, like usual.” A lie. Her first words to her sister were a lie. It stung, but it was necessary.

Zoe bounced a little on the balls of her feet. “Still! And you had to spend so much time with that dhampir! I don’t think I could have done it. You’re really brave, Sydney.”

It was quite a difference from six years ago, when Zoe had been accusing Sydney of spending too much time with vampires. Six years ago, it had been fraternizing and had gotten Sydney shipped off to re-education. Now it was brave.

But that wasn’t entirely fair. There were no black marks on Sydney’s records at the moment, and their father hadn’t been pitting her and Zoe against each other. Of course Zoe wasn’t suspicious of her.

So Sydney shrugged delicately and wrapped an arm around Zoe’s shoulders. “Just doing what had to be done, Zo.”

“As should we all,” said Jared Sage, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. All of Sydney’s good humour vanished at the sight of him. “It’s good to see you again, Sydney.”

Sure it is, Sydney thought, unable to control her resentment. But Jared was probably telling the truth: Sydney was being a good little Alchemist, so he was proud of her. He did love her. It was just that his love was conditional.

“It’s good to see you, too,” said Sydney, forcing herself to keep smiling. Jared smiled and stepped forward to hug her. Sydney accepted it with none of the eagerness she’d had with her sisters and mother, skin crawling.

“Ivanov told me you were doing well in Russia,” said Jared, pulling back. He ran a disapproving eye over her. “Evidently, there was plenty of food in Saint Petersburg.”

Sydney gritted her teeth. It had taken her a long time to fully recover from her eating disorder and the unhealthy standards her father had set for her. She wasn’t going to let herself spiral again because of Jared Sage, dubbed by Adrian the World’s Worst Father of 2007 (And Probably Other Years, Too). Sydney had been unable to disagree with his assessment.

“Just taking in the culture,” said Sydney, keeping her voice light. She turned to Carly, trying to dismiss her father in a way that her father wouldn’t take offence to. “You’d love it there. The architecture is so beautiful.”

Carly grinned. “Only as a tourist, though,” she said. “Alchemist work sounds awful.”

You’ve got no idea, Sydney thought darkly.