Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead Page B

hours, but for most of the day, students had to go to the commons to get their daily fix.
    As I continued walking, taking in the sights of white trees, white fences, and white boulders, something else white in the landscape caught my attention. Well, it wasn't white exactly. There was color—pale, washed-out color.
    I came to an abrupt halt and felt my eyes go wide. Mason stood on the other side of the quad, nearly blending in with a tree and a post. No, I thought. I'd convinced myself that this was over, but there he was, looking at me with that sorrowful, phantom face. He pointed, off toward the back of campus. I glanced that way but again had no clue what to look for. Turning back to him, I could only stare, fear twisting within me.
    An icy-cold hand touched the side of my neck, and I spun around. It was Christian.

    "What's up?" he asked.
    I looked back to where I'd seen Mason. He was gone, of course. I squeezed my eyes shut a moment and sighed. Then, turning back to Christian, I kept walking and said, "Nothing."
    Christian usually always had some witty stream of comments whenever we were together, but he was silent as we made the rest of our journey. I was consumed with my own thoughts and worries about Mason, so I had little to say either. This sighting had only lasted a few seconds.
    Considering how hard it was to see out there, it seemed more than likely that he'd been a trick of the eye, right? I tried to convince myself of this for the rest of the walk. When we entered the commons and escaped the cold, it finally hit me that something was amiss with Christian.
    "What's wrong?" I asked, trying not to think about Mason. "Are you okay?"
    "Fine," he said.
    "The way you just said that proves you aren't fine."
    He ignored me as we went to the feeders' room. It was busier than I'd expected, and all of the little cubicles that feeders sat in were filled with Moroi. Brandon Lazar was one of them. As he fed, I caught a glimpse of a faded green bruise on his cheek and recalled that I never had found out who had beaten him up. Christian checked in with the Moroi at the door and then stood in the waiting area until he was called. I racked my brain, trying to figure out what could have caused Christian's bad mood.
    "What's the matter? Didn't you like the movie?"
    No answer.
    "Grossed out by Adrian's self-mutilation?" Giving Christian a hard time was a guilty pleasure. I could do this all night.
    No answer.
    "Are you— Oh."
    It hit me then. I was surprised I hadn't thought of this before.

    "Are you upset that Lissa wanted to talk magic with Adrian?"
    He shrugged, which told me all I needed to know.
    "Come on, she doesn't like magic more than she likes you. It's just this thing with her, you know? She spent all these years thinking she couldn't do real magic, and then found out she could—except it was this wacky, completely unpredictable kind. She's just trying to understand it."
    "I know," he said tightly, staring across the expansive room without actually focusing on any of the people. "That's not the problem."
    "Then why …" I let my words fade as another revelation hit me. "You're jealous of Adrian."
    Christian fixed his ice-blue eyes on me, and I could tell I'd hit the mark. "I'm not jealous. I'm just—"
    "—feeling insecure over the fact that your girlfriend is spending a lot of time with a rich and reasonably cute guy whom she might like. Or, as we like to call it, jealous."
    He turned away from me, clearly annoyed. "The honeymoon might be over between us, Rose.
    Damn it. Why are these people taking so long?"
    "Look," I said, shifting my stance. My feet hurt after so much standing. "Didn't you listen to my romantic speech the other day about being in Lissa's heart? She's crazy about you. You're the only one she wants, and believe me, I can say that with 100 percent certainty. If there was anyone else, I'd know."
    The hint of a smile crossed his lips. "You're her best friend. You could be covering for her."
    I scoffed.