Reaction to Frostbite

Chapter 21 - Christian

Trying to get through everything quickly, Dimitri passed the book back to Christian. He recognized that the young Moroi needed a break from his own troubled thoughts and wanted to read through how they escape, as that is the thought he is trying to hold on to.

THIS WAS SO NOT WHAT I needed right now. I could have handled anything else Adrian did: hitting on her, getting her to smoke his ridiculous cigarettes, whatever. But not this. Lissa quitting those pills was exactly what I'd wanted to avoid.

Alberta gave Adrian a glare that warned: You better not try that mister. Already she knew that while Lissa may not end them now, knowing the pills would stay in her system for a few days at least and still cut off her magic, she will end them soon enough.

Reluctantly I pulled out of her head and returned to my own grim situation. I would have liked to see what further developed with Adrian and Lissa, but watching them would do no good. Okay. I really needed a plan now. I needed action. I needed to get us out of here. But, glancing around me, I found myself no closer to escape than I had been earlier, and I spent the next few hours brooding and speculating. We had three guards today. They looked a little bored but not enough to slack off. Nearby, Eddie appeared unconscious, and Mason stared blankly at the floor. Across the room, Christian glared at nothing in particular, and I think Mia was sleeping.

"It sounds like they have all given up except Rose. This will spur her into action more though, I hope" Alberta spoke in a whisper, even she'd almost lost hope in the situation.

Painfully aware of how dry my throat was, I almost laughed in recalling how I'd told her water magic was useless. It might not do much in a fight, but I would have given anything for her to summon up some- Magic. Why hadn't I thought of this before? We weren't helpless. Not entirely.

"How are they going to use magic to escape" Janine asked as the Moroi simultaneously said "Of course", the idea only just coming them as well. Rose is truly brilliant.  Everyone else had forgotten the possibility of magic being used to help them escape while simply comfortable and reading her thoughts, yet Rose had come up with it despite everything else happenning. Now it was just a matter of seeing how she goes about getting the task accomplished as it still seems an unlikely feat.

A plan slowly coalesced in my mind- a plan that was probably insane but was also the best we had. My heart thudded with anticipation, and I immediately schooled my features to calmness before the guards noticed my sudden insight. On the opposite side of the room, Christian was watching me. He'd seen the brief flare of excitement and realized I'd thought of something. He watched me curiously, as ready for action as I was. God. How could we pull this off? I needed his help, but I had no real way of letting him know what I had in mind. In fact, I wasn't even sure if he could help me at all- he was pretty weak.

Christian scoffed at the comment but knowing he had gone so long without blood and that Rose wasn't meaning to insult him he settled. Abe confirmed as much too.

I held his gaze, willing him to understand that something was going to happen. There was confusion on his face, but it was paired with determination. After making sure none of the guards were looking directly at me, I shifted slightly, giving a small tug at my wrists. I glanced behind me as much as I could, then met Christian's eyes again. He frowned, and I repeated the gesture. "Hey," I said loudly. Mia and Mason both jerked in surprise. "Are you guys really going to keep starving us? Can't we at least have some water or something?"

"Shut up," said one of the guards. It was a pretty standard answer whenever any of us spoke.

"Come on." I used my best bitchy voice. "Not even like a sip of something? My throat's burning. Practically on fire." My gaze flicked to Christian as I said those last few words, then returned to the guard who'd spoken.