We had just paid the check when Dimitri's cell phone rang. "Hello?" he answered. And like that, his face transformed. That fierceness I so associated with him softened, and he practically glowed. "No, no. It's always a good time for you to call, Roza." Whatever the response on the other end was, it made him smile.

Staring into the mirror, I was surprised to see a haunted look in my brown eyes. There was pain there, pain and loss that even the nicest dress and makeup couldn't hide.

Well, I guess I can wait two weeks then." "for what?" "to ask her out

What have I done?" I whispered. Jill put her arm around me, but it was Dimitri who spoke. "What you had to.

But what are loyalty and caring really worth?" "To me? Everything.

There was no "me" in Alchemy. Well, phonetically there was, but that wasn't the point.

I wasn't fooled. He was avoiding looking at me. "There's nothing to talk about." "I knew you'd say that. Actually, it was a toss-up between that and 'I don't know what you're talking about.'" Dimitri sighed.