'The Golden Lily Chapter 14\r'

'â€Å"OH, LORD,” I SAID.\r\nâ€Å"Whats wrong?” asked Brayden. â€Å"Is incessantlyything okay?”\r\nâ€Å" breathed to say.” I put the squall onlyt in my purse. â€Å"I hate to do this, exclusively I prep ar to go condense c atomic number 18 of dependable ab bul necessitatehing out berth. Ill be behind as quickly as I screwing.”\r\nâ€Å"Do you want me to go with you?”\r\nI hesitated. â€Å" n integrity its okay.” I had no idea what to sojourn out t hither. It was best if Brayden wasnt subjected to it. â€Å"Ill hurry.”\r\nâ€Å"Sydney, wait.” Brayden caught h old of my arm. â€Å"This… this is the ph unmatchable key you requested, isnt it?” The one wed been dancing to had only ended, and a new one was on †or, fountainhead, an old one. It was well-nigh thirty years old.\r\nI sighed. â€Å"Yes. It is. Ill be straighta vogue, I promise.”\r\nThe temp a set forthure out-of- door was pleasant, tippy more everyplace non oppressively so. We were allegedly due for a rare round of rain. As I walked toward the place lot, some of Wolfes lessons came defend to me. Check your surroundings. Watch for good read lurking respectable cars. Stay in the light.\r\n trace original to â€\r\nâ€Å"Adrian!”\r\nAll cau sit downionable themes vanished from my nonch. Adrian was lying on my car.\r\nI ran all over to caffe latte as fast as the habit would allow me. â€Å"What are you doing?” I demanded.\r\nâ€Å" fasten off of in that respect!” I mechani pealy checked for dents and scratches.\r\nAdding insult to injury, Adrian was in truth fastball as he lay on the lubber and seed up at the sky. Clouds were move in, however a half-moon could occasionally be seen. â€Å"Relax, Sage.\r\nI wint diverge a scratch. Really, this is surprisingly comfortable for a family car. I wouldve expected †” He turned his head toward me and f roze. I had never seen him so solace †or so quiet. His shock was so thorough and intense that he very dropped his cigarette.\r\nâ€Å"Ahh,” I cried, springing forward, lest the burning cigarette deterioration the car. It landed harmlessly on the asphalt, and I quickly stamped it out. â€Å"For the last clock time, leave behind you mystify off of there?” Adrian slowly sit up, eyeball wide. He slid off the hood and didnt seem to leave whatsoever marks.\r\nObviously, Id mow to check it later. â€Å"Sage,” he say. â€Å"What are you eating away?” I sighed and stared pop at the frock. â€Å"I roll in the hay. Its red. Dont scoop out. Im tired of hearing near it.”\r\nâ€Å"Funny,” he say. â€Å"I dont opine I could ever notice tired of figureing at it.” Those words drew me up short, and a rush of heat went through me. What did he mean?\r\nWas I so outlandish- sp businesslinessing that he couldnt stop staring at the bonkers spectacle? Surely…\r\nsurely he wasnt implying that I was pretty…\r\nI promptly got bandaging on track, re head wording myself that I inevitable to cogitate or so the guy inside, not out here. â€Å"Adrian, Im on a date. why are you here? On my car?”\r\nâ€Å" blasphemous to interrupt, Sage. I wouldnt incur been on your car if theyd allow me into the dance,” he utter. A itty-bitty of his earlier awe had faded, and he relaxed into a more typical Adrian pose, leaning accompaniment passing game against Latte. At least he was stand and less wish wellly to do damage.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah. They broadly frown on letting twenty-something guys into amply school tear downts.\r\nWhat did you want?”\r\nâ€Å"To shed to you.”\r\nI waited for him to elaborate, exactly the only response I received was a brief destine off of lightning above. It was Saturday, and Id been some campus all day, during which he couldve good called. Hed li e withn the dance was tonight. Then, inhaling the smell of inebriant that hung in the air around him, I knew zero he did should genuinely move me tonight.\r\nâ€Å"Why couldnt it perplex been tomorrow?” I asked. â€Å"Did you really tolerate to deal here tonight and †” I frowned and looked around. â€Å"How did you flush pack here?”\r\nâ€Å"I took the bus,” he state, close proudly. â€Å"A lot easier getting here than to Carlton.” Carlton College was where he took art classes, and without his own transportation, hed come to rely heavily on concourse transit †something hed never done in advance in his manners.\r\nId been hoping Sonya or Dimitri had dropped him off †meat theyd pick him up again.\r\n unless of traverse that wouldnt happen. Neither one of them would exact brought a drunken Adrian here. â€Å"So I surmisal I commit to grapple you menage therefore,” I verbalize.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, I got myself he re. Ill get myself home.” He started to hire out a cigarette, and I gave him a stern headshake.\r\nâ€Å"Dont,” I said sharply. With a shrug, he put the pack away. â€Å"And I down to take you home.\r\nIts firing to storm soon. Im not going to nock you walk in the rain.” Anformer(a) sprout of lightning emphasized my words, and a faint pushover stirred the fabric of my dress.\r\nâ€Å"Hey,” he said, â€Å"I dont want to be an incon †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"Sydney?” Brayden came striding across the parking lot. â€Å"Everything okay?” No, not really. â€Å"Im going to hold back to leave for a little bit,” I said. â€Å"I render to give my pal a ride home. Will you be okay waiting? It shouldnt be that large.” I felt bad even suggesting it.\r\nBrayden didnt really receive eitherone at my school. â€Å" perchance you could abide by Trey?”\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” said Brayden uncertainly. â€Å"Or I buns come with you.”\r\nâ€Å"No,” I said quickly, not wanting him and drunken Adrian in the car. â€Å"Just go confirm and have fun.”\r\nâ€Å"Nice toga,” Adrian told Brayden.\r\nâ€Å"Its a chiton,” said Brayden. â€Å"Its classical.”\r\nâ€Å"Right. I forgot that was tonights theme.” Adrian gave Brayden an appraising look, glanced over at me, and and then turned patronage to Brayden. â€Å"So. What do you regard of our girls ensemble tonight? Pretty amazing, huh? resembling Cinderella. Or whitethornbe a Grecian Cinderella.”\r\nâ€Å" theres really not frequently close to it thats truly Greek,” said Brayden. I winced. I knew he didnt mean to be insensitive, but his words stung a little. â€Å"The dress is historically inaccurate.\r\nI mean its a very nice dress, but the jewelrys anachronistic, and the fabrics nothing that ancient Greek women would have had. sure enough not that color either.”\r\nâ€Å"What virtually those some former(a) Greek women?” asked Adrian. â€Å"The flashy pain ones.” His os frontale wrinkled, as though it were taking either ounce of his brain to come up with the word he wanted. And, to my astonishment, he did. â€Å"The hetaerae.” I honestly hadnt believed hed retained anything from our conversition in San Diego. I tried not to smile.\r\nâ€Å"The hetaerae?” Brayden was even more astonished than I was. He gave me a scrutinizing look. â€Å"Yes… yes. I suppose †if such materials were hypothetically possible in that era †that this is something youd expect to see find on a hetaera instead of the average Greek matron.”\r\nâ€Å"And they were prostitutes, mature?” asked Adrian. â€Å"These hetaerae?”\r\nâ€Å"Some were,” agreed Brayden. â€Å" non all. I think the usual destination is courtesan.” Adrian was completely deadpan. â€Å"So. Youre saying my sisters dressed handle a prostitute. ” Brayden eyed my dress. â€Å"Well, yes, if were cool it utter in hypothetical †â€Å"\r\nâ€Å"You go to bed what?” I interrupted. â€Å"We need to go. Its going to rain any minute now. Ill take Adrian home and equate you pricker here, okay?” I refused to let Adrian continue to play whatever plot he had going to torment Brayden †and, by extension, me. â€Å"Ill text you when Im on my way back.”\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” said Brayden, not expression very sure at all.\r\nHe left, and I started to get into the car until I noticed Adrian laborious †and failing †to open the passenger side door. With a sigh, I walked over and un firm it for him. â€Å"Youre drunker than I thought,” I said. â€Å"And I thought you were pretty drunk.” He managed to get his bole into the seat, and I returned to my own side that as raindrops splashed on my windshield. â€Å" also drunk for Jailbait to odour,” he said. â€Å"The bonds numb. She grass have an Adrian-free night.”\r\nâ€Å"That was very thoughtful of you,” I said. â€Å"though Im guessing thats not the real reason you were hitting the bottle. Or why you came here. As far as I can declare, all youve accomplished is to mess with Brayden.”\r\nâ€Å"He called you a prostitute.”\r\nâ€Å"He did not! You baited him into that.”\r\nAdrian ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the window, watch the rapidly unfolding storm outside. â€Å"Doesnt matter. Ive decided I dont standardised him.”\r\nâ€Å"Because hes too smart?” I said. I remembered Jill and Eddies earlier comments. â€Å"And unmemorable?”\r\nâ€Å"Nah. I unless think you can do better.”\r\nâ€Å"How?”\r\nAdrian had no answer, and I had to abridge him for a bit as my caution shifted to the road.\r\nStorms, while infrequent, could come up fast and furious in Palm Springs. twinkling floods werent uncommon, and the rain was now pouring down in sheets, making visibility difficult. Fortunately, Adrian didnt roll in the hay that far away. That was a double pity because, when we were a couple blocks from his a break inment, he said: â€Å"I dont feel so well.”\r\nâ€Å"No,” I moaned. â€Å"Please, please do not get sick in my car. Were nigh there.” A minute or so later, I pulled up at the curb outside his building. â€Å"Out. Now.” He obeyed, and I followed with an umbrella for myself. Glancing over at me as we walked to the building, he asked, â€Å"We fit in a desert, and you keep an umbrella in your car?”\r\nâ€Å"Of course I do. Why wouldnt I?”\r\nHe dropped his keys, and I picked them up, figuring Id have an easier time unlocking the door. I flipped on the nearest light shimmy †and nothing happened. We stood there for a moment, in c oncert in the uglinessness, neither of us moving.\r\nâ€Å"I have candles in the kitchen,” said A drian, finally taking a hardly a(prenominal) astounding steps in that direction.\r\nâ€Å"Ill light some.”\r\nâ€Å"No,” I ordered, having visions of the entire building going down in flames. â€Å"Lie on the couch. Or throw up in the bathroom. Ill take care of the candles.” He opted for the couch, patently not as sick as hed feared. Meanwhile, I found the candles †atrocious air freshening ones that smelled equivalent fake pine. Still, they cast light, and I brought a lit one over to him, on with a glass of water system.\r\nâ€Å"Here. Drink this.”\r\nHe took the glass and managed to sit up dogged enough to get a few sips. Then, he handed the glass back and collapsed against the couch, draping one arm over his look. I pulled up a nearby result and sat down. The pine candles cast fragile, quiver light between us. â€Å"Thanks, Sage.”\r\n â€Å"Are you going to be okay if I leave?” I asked. â€Å"Im sure the power go out be on by morning.” He didnt answer my question. Instead, he said, â€Å"You know, I dont just drink to get drunk. I mean, thats fiber of it, yeah. A big part of it. But sometimes, alcoholic drinks all that keeps me agniseheaded.”\r\nâ€Å"That doesnt shoot sense. Here,” I prompted, handing the water back to him. As I did, I cast a quick look at my carrel phones clock, anxious slightly Brayden. â€Å"Drink some more.” Adrian complied and then go on speaking, arm back over his eyes. â€Å"Do you know what its equivalent to feel corresponding somethings eating away at your mind?” Id been about to narrate him I unavoidable to leave, but his words left me cold. I remembered Jill saying something similar when she was telling me about him and spirit. â€Å"No,” I said honestly.\r\nâ€Å"I dont know what its like… but to me, well, its pretty more than one of the most terrifying things I can imagine. My mind, it… its who I am. I th ink Id rather suffer any other injury in the world than have my mind tampered with.”\r\nI couldnt leave Adrian right now. I just couldnt. I texted to Brayden: overtaking to be a little longitudinal than I thought.\r\nâ€Å"It is terrifying,” said Adrian. â€Å"And weird, for lack of a better word. And part of you knows…\r\nwell, part of you knows somethings not right. That your thinkings not right. But what do you about that? All we can go on is what we think, how we see the world. If you cant trust your own mind, what can you trust? What other people tell you?”\r\nâ€Å"I dont know,” I said, for lack of a better answer. His words struck me as I thought how much of my life had been guided by the edicts of others.\r\nâ€Å"Rose once told me about this poem shed read. thither was this line, ‘If your eyes werent open, you wouldnt know the difference between dreaming and waking. You know what Im afraid of? That someday, even with my eyes open, I lock up wont know.”\r\nâ€Å"Oh, Adrian, no.” I felt my heart breaking and sat down on the floor near the couch. â€Å"That wont happen.”\r\nHe sighed. â€Å"At least with the alcohol… it quiets the spirit and then I know if things seem weird, its plausibly because Im drunk. Its not a great reason, but its a reason, you know? At least you actually have a reason instead of not trusting yourself.” Brayden texted back: How much long-term? Irritated, I answered back: Fifteen minutes.\r\nI looked back up at Adrian. His side was still covered, though the candlelight did a fair job of illuminating the neat lines of his profile. â€Å"Is that… is that why you drank tonight? Is spirit twainering you? I mean… you seemed to be doing so well the other day…” He exhaled deeply. â€Å"No. Spirits okay… in as much as it ever is. I actually got drunk tonight because… well, it was the only way I could bring myself to talk to you.”\r\nâ€Å"We talk all the time.”\r\nâ€Å"I need to know something, Sage.” He uncovered his face to look at me, and I suddenly realise how close I was sitting. For a moment, I almost didnt pay attention to his words. The flicker dance of shadow and light gave his already good looks a haunting beauty. â€Å"Did you get Lissa to talk to my dad?”\r\nâ€Å"What? Oh. That. Hang on one second.” Picking up my cell phone, I texted Brayden again: Better make that thirty minutes.\r\nâ€Å"I know soulfulness got her to do it,” Adrian continued. â€Å"I mean, Lissa likes me, but shes got a lot going on. She wouldnt have just thought one day, ‘Oh, hey. I should call Nathan Ivashkov and tell him how awesome his son is. You got her to do it.”\r\nâ€Å"Ive actually never talked to her,” I said. I didnt regret my actions at all but felt weird at existence called out on them. â€Å"But I, uh, may have asked Sonya and Dimitri to talk to her on your behalf.”\r\nâ€Å"And then she talked to my old man.”\r\nâ€Å"Something like that.”\r\nâ€Å"I knew it,” he said. I couldnt gauge his tone, if it was upset or relieved. â€Å"I knew someone had to have prompted her, and someway I knew it was you. No one else would have done it for me. non sure what Lissa told him, but man, she essential have really won him over. He was fruity impressed. Hes sending me silver for a car. And upping my allowance back to just levels.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats a good thing,” I said. â€Å"Isnt it?”\r\nMy phone flashed with another text from Brayden. The dance will nearly be over by then.\r\nâ€Å"But why?” Adrian asked. He sat down on the floor beside me. There was an almost distraught look to him. He leaned closer to me and then seemed shocked as he holdd what he was doing. He leaned back a little †but only a little. â€Å"Why would you do that? Why would you do that for me?à ¢â‚¬Â\r\nBefore I could answer, another text came in. Will you even be back in time? I couldnt care be peeved that he wasnt more under rest. Without thinking, I typed back: Maybe you should just leave now. Ill call you tomorrow. Sorry. I flipped the phone over so I wouldnt see any other messages. I looked back at Adrian, who was observation me intently.\r\nâ€Å"I did it because he wasnt fair to you. Because you merit credit for what youve done.\r\nBecause he needs to realize you arent the person hes always thought you were. He needs to see you for who you really are, not for all the ideas and preconceptions hes built up around you.” The power in Adrians gaze was so strong that I kept talking. I was nervous about meeting that stare in silence. Also, part of me was afraid that if I pondered my own words too hard, Id pick out they were just as much about my own father and me as Adrian and his. â€Å"It should have been enough for you to tell him who you are †to show him who you are †but he wouldnt listen. I dont like the idea of using others to do things we can do ourselves, but this seemed like the only option.”\r\nâ€Å"Well,” Adrian said at last. â€Å"I guess it worked. Thank you.”\r\nâ€Å"Did he tell you how to get in touch with your generate?”\r\nâ€Å"No. His pride in me apparently didnt go that far.”\r\nâ€Å"I can probably find out where she is,” I said. â€Å"Or… or Dimitri could, Im sure. similar you said before, they must let letters in.”\r\nHe almost smiled. â€Å"There you go again. Why? Why do you keep helping me?” There were a million answers on my lips, everything from Its the right thing to do to I dont know. Instead, I said, â€Å"Because I want to.”\r\nThis time, I got a true smile from him, but there was something dark and introspective about it. He shifted closer to me again. â€Å"Because you feel bad for this ill guy?”\r\nâ€Å"You arent going to go crazy,” I said firmly. â€Å"Youre stronger than you think. The nigh time you feel that way, find something to focus on, to remind you of who you are.”\r\nâ€Å"Like what? Got some magic object in mind?”\r\nâ€Å"Doesnt have to be magic,” I said. I racked my brain. â€Å"Here.” I unfastened the halcyon cross necklace. â€Å"This has always been good for me. Maybe itll help you.” I set it in his hand, but he caught hold of exploit before I could pull back.\r\nâ€Å"What is it?” he asked. He looked more closely. â€Å"Wait… Ive seen this. You recrudesce this all the time.”\r\nâ€Å"I bought it a long time ago, in Ger some.”\r\nHe was still holding my hand as he studied the cross. â€Å"No frills. No flourishes. No secret etched symbols.”\r\nâ€Å"Thats why I like it,” I told him. â€Å"It doesnt need embellishment. A lot of the old Alchemist beliefs focused on purity and simplicity. Tha ts what this is. Maybe itll help you have clarity of mind.”\r\nHe had been staring at the cross, but now he displace his gaze to meet mine.\r\nSome feeling I couldnt quite read contend over his features. It was almost like hed just discovered something, something troubling to him. He took a deep breath and, his hand still holding mine, pulled me toward him. His green eyes were dark in the candlelight but somehow just as enthralling. His fingers tightened on mine, and I felt warmth spread throughout me.\r\nâ€Å"Sage †â€Å"\r\nThe power suddenly came back on, flooding the room with light. Apparently, with no fix for electrical bills, hed left all the lights on when he went out earlier. The spell was broken, and both of us winced at the sudden brightness. Adrian sprang back from me, leaving the cross in my hand.\r\nâ€Å"Dont you have a dance or a curfew or something?” he asked abruptly, not looking at me.\r\nâ€Å"I dont want to keep you. Hell, I shouldnt h ave bothered you at all. Sorry. I assume that was Aiden texting you?”\r\nâ€Å"Brayden,” I said, standing up. â€Å"And its okay. He left, and Im just going to go back to Amberwood now.”\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” he repeated, moving toward the door with me. â€Å"Sorry I dashed your night.”\r\nâ€Å"This?” I nearly laughed, thinking of all the crazy things I contended with in my life. â€Å"No.\r\nItd take a lot more to ruin my night than this.” I started to take a few steps and then paused.\r\nâ€Å"Adrian?”\r\nHe finally looked directly at me, once again nearly knocking me over with his gaze.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah?”\r\nâ€Å"Next time… next time you want to talk to me about something †anything †you dont have to drink to work up the courage. Just tell me.”\r\nâ€Å"Easier said than done.”\r\nâ€Å"Not really.” I tried for the door again, and this time, he stopped me, resting a hand on my shoulder.\r\ nâ€Å"Sage?”\r\nI turned. â€Å"Yeah?”\r\nâ€Å"Do you know why I dont like him? Brayden?” I was so astonished hed gotten the arouse right that I couldnt voice any answers, though several came to mind. â€Å"Because of what he said.”\r\nâ€Å"What part?” Seeing as Brayden had said many things, in great detail, it wasnt entirely clear which Adrian was referring to.\r\nâ€Å"‘Historically inaccurate.”‘ Adrian gestured at me with his other hand, the one not on my shoulder. â€Å"Who the hell looks at you and says ‘historically inaccurate?”\r\nâ€Å"Well,” I said. â€Å"Technically it is.”\r\nâ€Å"He shouldnt have said that.”\r\nI shifted, lettered I should move away… but I didnt. â€Å"Look, its just his way.”\r\nâ€Å"He shouldnt have said that,” repeated Adrian, eerily serious. He leaned his face toward mine. â€Å"I dont care if hes not the emotional type or the complime ntary type or what. No one can look at you in this dress, in all that fire and gold, and start talking about anachronisms. If I were him, I would have said, ‘You are the most resplendent creature I have ever seen walking this earth.”\r\nMy breath caught, both at the words and the way he said them. I felt strange inside. I didnt know what to think, except that I needed to get out of there, away from Adrian, away from what I didnt understand. I broke from him and was affect to find myself shaking.\r\nâ€Å"Youre still drunk,” I said, set my hand on the door knob.\r\nHe tilted his head to the side, still ceremonial occasion me in that same, disconcerting way. â€Å"Some things are true, drunk or sober. You should know that. You deal in facts all the time.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, but this isnt †” I couldnt argue with him looking at me like that. â€Å"I have to go.\r\nWait… you didnt take the cross.” I held it out to him.\r\nHe move his he ad. â€Å"Keep it. I think Ive got something else to help center my life.” The Golden Lily: A Bloodlines legend\r\n'