Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide by Richelle Mead, Michelle Rowen Page A

the fight finally dissipates, Rose drunkenly scolds Mason for getting involved. Doesn’t he know that she had it covered?
    “Are you out of your mind?”
    “Huh?” he asked.
    “Jumping into the middle of that!”
    “You jumped in too,” he said.
    I started to argue, then realized he was right. “It’s different,” I grumbled.
    He leaned forward. “Are you drunk?”
    “No. Of course not. I’m just trying to keep you from doing something stupid. Just because you have delusions of being able to kill Strigoi doesn’t mean you have to take it out on everyone else.”
    “Delusions?” he asked stiffly.
    —pages 185–186
     
     
    Feeling nauseous, Rose leaves Mason behind and, while her head spins unpleasantly from alcohol, she wanders into a side room hoping to find some food to help sober her up. Instead, she finds herself in a feeder room where Moroi guys are drinking the blood of attractive human girls. It seems pretty sexy, actually. Rose can’t help but be reminded of how good it feels to experience the bite.
    “Want to volunteer?”
    Light fingertips brushed my neck, and I jumped. I turned around and saw Adrian’s green eyes and knowing smirk.
    “Don’t do that, ” I told him, knocking his hand away.
    “Then what are you doing in here?” he asked.
    I gestured around me. “I ’m lost.”
    He peered at me. “Are you drunk?”
    “No. Of course not . . . but . . .” The nausea had settled a little, but I still didn’t feel right. “I think I should sit down.”
    He took my arm. “Well, don’t do it in here. Someone might get the wrong idea.”
    —page 187
     
     
    Adrian works hard to be snarky and flirtatious on the outside, but on the inside he does care deeply about others, especially when they’re putting themselves in harm’s way. He directs Rose into the massage area of the spa and fetches her a glass of water. Conversation between them again turns to Lissa, although Adrian assures Rose he isn’t interested in her friend the same way he’s interested in her.
    While his arrogant manner does annoy her . . . Rose really can’t help but like being around him. There’s something about Adrian that’s incredibly hard to resist.
    Lissa’s been searching for her friend and is relieved to find her safe and sound. Alcohol numbed the bond, and Rose knows it was stupid of her to take such a stupid chance tonight. What if Lissa had been in danger?
    Adrian surprises the girls by asking if it was their psychic bond that enabled Lissa to locate Rose. How does he know about their bond? It’s a secret. He’s extremely curious about which power Lissa specializes in, but the girls say nothing more. That’s another secret they don’t want to reveal to him—not a lot of people know that it’s spirit. Rose is confused by the major interest Adrian is showing in Lissa. Is he hitting on her?
    Lissa already has a boyfriend. And, for that matter, so does Rose if she’s really interested in giving Mason a chance. When they leave the spa area, Mason is annoyed and hurt that Rose continues to spend so much time with Adrian, so she reassures him that there’s nothing going on with the Moroi guy. When the others take off, they kiss, but when she wants to go further, Mason puts the brakes on. Rose is still drunk right now. If she still wants him when she’s sobered up, they’ll talk.

AMOR AMOR
     
    The next morning, Adrian sends a gift to Rose’s room—thirty little bottles of perfume. Since she really doesn’t want to encourage his romantic attention, she returns them. Except for one, a scent called Amor Amor, which seems fitting, given her romantic woes of late.
    When Rose brings the bottles back to Adrian, she’s surprised to see that he already has a guest in his room: Lissa. What’s she doing there?
    Before she can bring herself to ask that very question, though, Dimitri suddenly appears in the hallway. And he’s not happy. His alleged reason? Male and female students aren’t supposed to be in