Alethea has always been awkward - eccentric, even. On a typical day she spends her time cloistered inside a tiny apartment hiding from the world she doesn't really understand. When her therapist encourages her to push herself outside her comfort zon...
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"The pope?"
I shot Roran an exasperated look. "That's your plan? Please tell me you're joking."
He scowled, causing a wrinkle form between his dark eyebrows. "And what exactly is wrong with it? It seems like a pretty solid plan to me."
"Roran, you and I would never be allowed anywhere near the pope, and even if he agreed to see us, he wouldn't believe a word we said. I don't know if you've noticed, but people don't believe in monsters in this time period."
"I never said we would tell him that Moroi was a vampire," he snapped in reply. "We just need to convince him that the souls in purgatory are in danger."
I rubbed my forehead, feeling a tension headache building behind my eyes.
"You haven't explained how you are going to convince the pope to see us. He may not even be staying at the Vatican right now. He travels all over the world."
"It doesn't matter. We can go there and wait," he replied, refusing to see reason.
"Go there and--" I took a deep breath and counted to twelve. Ten just didn't seem to be long enough.
"Go and wait? Are you being serious? My parents are in danger now. We can't afford to waste time, Roran!"
"And how long are we supposed to just sit around and wait? Huh? A week? A month? Six months? And how many times will Moroi try to kill us while were waiting? And where will we get the money? They aren't going to let us stay anywhere for free, you know, and my savings is running out."
He tilted his head back and rolled his broad shoulders. If he still had his powers, Roran's body would probably be encased in angry red flames right about now. But I didn't care. I wasn't afraid of him.
After several minutes of tense silence Roran let out a deep sigh and said, "First, no one said you would be forced to tag along. Second, vampires won't attack us on holy ground. And it isn't going to take us that long to convince the pope to see us. I was planning this out a long time before you showed up."
I shrugged and threw my hands into the air. "Fine! We'll do things your way, stubborn ass! But don't complain to me when we get there and things don't work out like you've planned."
He scoffed. "I'm stubborn? Me?"
I placed my hands on my hips and rolled my eyes. "Yes, that's what I said. Are you hard of hearing as well?"
"You are the most infuriating woman to have ever been created," he said, stalking toward me with a grimace. "I swear if I wasn't so in love with you I would have never helped you in purgatory."
He and I both seemed to realize what he had said at the same time. Our faces contorted into matching looks of horror and embarrassment at his accidental revelation. Despite his darker skin tone, I could clearly see a faint blush staining his cheeks as he turned away from me.
