Chapter 1

Adrian, wine and a pinball machine were the last things I remembered. I woke up in a dark, unfamiliar room. I squinted to see the dark shadowy, silhouettes of my fingers. When I had become accustomed to the light, I look around. It was a bedroom, and I was lying in the bed. It was made of dark mahogany and the sheets felt like pure silk. The room was filled with large, and filled with pieces of antique furniture. Whoever owned this house was clearly rich.

I raised myself to a sitting position and winced. My head spun, propelling me back down. My body felt sore and I couldn't move. A gasp of pain escaped my lips. Then someone came into the room. A woman dressed in jeans and a loose fitting shirt walked in holding a tray of food. I panicked, because I didn't know who she was. She scared me. She had dark brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail. Her face was twisted in a crude form of a smile, as if she didn't know how to curve her lips up and look genuinely happy. The effect made her look insane. Then her eyes shattered my very being. There was no expression in them at all. She was walking; living, breathing, and she obviously had strength. But inside she was dead. Her spirit and free will had been crushed.

She held out the tray and I took it, not wanting to offend her. It contained a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of water. A surge of hunger passed through me and I devoured the food. Each bite made me realize I had been starving. I probably hadn't eaten a while. But that idea was absurd, seeing as I had eaten the previous night with Adrian on our date.

Suddenly I felt exhausted. They must have put something in the water. But why would they do that? And who exactly were "they"? Where was I? I beginning to become lucid, but I was also falling asleep. I tried to force myself to stay awake but it was no use. I laid down into the silk sheets and fell asleep.

No sooner had I closed my eyes, I was back in the room. Down to every last stitch in the silk sheets, it looked so real. But I knew it wasn't. I had been drugged and had fallen asleep. The door swung open and two people entered.

One I had only seen from a distance, and she was looking particularly regal at the moment, as she was Vasilisa Dragomir. The newly elected Moroi Queen was standing there in my dream.

The other one was someone I had recently become very fond of, if not more. Adrian Ivashkov in all his glory was standing before me as well.

He walked over to a chair and sat down in it, smiling lazily up at me. The queen gave him a dirty look that somehow had a hint of amusement in it.

"We're not here to lounge around, Adrian. She could wake up at any minute." Lissa snapped at him.

He rolled his eyes at her, but nevertheless hopped up from his seat. Then giving me a look over, he gave a low whistle.

"Damn Sage, you can't dress yourself in real life but in your dreams, you do pretty good." He said.

I looked down at myself. Instead of wearing my usual ensemble of slacks and a blouse, I was wearing something I wouldn't even be caught dead in. It was a long dark purple, skirt that went down all the way to my ankles, and I was wearing a white tank top to go with it. It wasn't as completely gorgeous as Adrian was making it out to be. But then again, I was pleased it showed him that I could pull off a un-Sydney like outfit.

"Am I really in a spirit dream right now?" She asked Lissa, ignoring Adrian's comment.

Lissa nodded. "Yes, and you need to tell us where you are so we can rescue you."

"I'm in this room. Other than that I don't know where I am. What do you mean by rescue me?" I asked realizing what she had just said.

Adrian walked closer to me and grabbed my hands. "Sage, you were kidnapped after we walked out of the arcade. Do you remember that? Dimitri tried to save you but he couldn't without killing the humans that did it."

"How long have I been gone?" I asked, starting to panic even more. How could I have not remembered something like this?

"Two days, and you haven't slept for those two days either. We kept trying to reach you." Lissa said.

I frowned. If hadn't been sleeping when I had woken up in this room than what had I been doing?

"I can't remember anything." I said, panting. I was trying really hard not to cry, especially in front of the Queen of Vampires, and a vampire prince/lord that I really liked.

Adrian turned to Lissa. "Can you leave us alone for a few?"

Lissa gave me a sympathetic look and walked out of the door and presumably out of the dream.

"Sage we really need to know where you are." He asked pleadingly.

I shook my head unable to look at him. "I told you I don't know."

He tilted my head up and our eyes met. If there was one thing that was exceedingly sexy about Adrian Ivashkov, it was his eyes. Not that he had money, not that he in general was good looking, not even the fact that he was a part of the royal community.

It was his eyes. They were an impossible shade of green. They held emotions no one would ever know he was capable of feeling. People thought he was a party animal that drank too much. I saw someone who poured his soul into whatever he did. I saw someone who had their heart broken too many times. I saw someone who was funny, slightly crazy, but incredibly amazing.

Our faces grew closer and closer, until our noses touched. But then, the warmth of his skin against mine disappeared. He had drawn back, giving me that intense stare that stirred something inside me.

"I'll find you Sydney, no matter what it takes." He said.

I must have had a doubtful expression on my face.

"I don't care what anyone else thinks. I will personally find you and harm whoever took you from me. Then our first kiss won't have to be in your dreams." He said winking as he said the last part.

I rolled my eyes at him and settled for pulling him into a tight embrace. Then everything started to fade. The room was slowly disappearing.

"You're waking up. As soon as you find out where you are try to fall asleep." Adrian said, quickly. I nodded, showing him that I had heard.

He vanished and I opened my eyes and stared up at a pair that looked exactly like mine.

They were my father's. My father had kidnapped me.