Also known as "Sydney Sage says one thing and does another and can't make up her damn wishy-washy mind". We know Adrian is in love with Sydney, and we also know that she feels something for him, but instead of just admitting it, we get a whole damn novel chock full of denial and eye rolling indecision. I swear with every book I become more and more annoyed with our so-called heroine and while Indigo Spell doesn't take the cake (that's reserved for the next book, Fiery Heart), every page made me want to smack her upside the head with a mallet. 
 The plot is actually more in the foreground this book, which is a surprise because the love story is fully in effect now. Sydney is faced with two non-romantic dilemmas; there's an evil witch who wants to steal her magic (who just so happens to be Mrs. Terwillinger's sister) and the Alchemists are filthy liars (well, duh) so she needs to find an ex-Alchemist named Marcus Finch, who saved Clarence from the Warriors of Light once. 
 But first, let's talk about Sonya and Mikhail's wedding! D'aww, those two crazy kids are actually getting married and it's so sweet and happy and wonderful and the best part of this book. The only thing that ruins it is that Sydney and Adrian's non-relationship takes precedence and you barely get to see the real happy couple; instead you're treated to Adrian and Sydney dancing and then hanging out for no reason (as is becoming a pattern in the Bloodlines series) before Sydney casts a spell to find Marcus. We're also treated to Rose and Sonya both commenting about how 'good' Adrian and Sydney look together, oh gag me. (I've read a lot of fiction and I think this is my most loathed couple ever, so you'll excuse my reactions.) 
 Now that that part is out of the way, let's talk about Marcus. We're shown repeatedly that he's a magnet for female attention but Sydney just stares blankly at him like she can't understand the appeal, even though she was so focused on how handsome he was in the photo of him and Clarence at the end of the Golden Lily. The "Alchemists are up to something!" plot would be more fun if the Alchemists weren't such lame villains. Sydney meets up with Marcus several times in weird locations, and he has some insane test where she has to break into one of their top security facilities to steal some footage to prove the Alchemists are in league with the Warriors of Light. Of course, she has to get help from Adrian (who doesn't go with her, thank god) on how to seduce Ian (remember Ian? No? He was the Alchemist who was all moon-eyed over Sydney in Last Sacrifice and earlier in the book) so she can get access to the archives. She also uses magic to get the footage even though earlier on she's still bitching about how she refuses to use magic. Once she has the evidence, Marcus "breaks" her tattoo with a silver compound so the compulsion in it is gone and like the idiot she is, she reports right to Stanton, makes a huge conspicuous ass of herself, and backpedals so horribly that she makes her situation at the end of the book even worse. Way to go, Sydney! 
 The magic plot is a bit better, until you get to the end. Veronica, the evil witch, keeps her youth by stealing the powers of young witches who haven't been actively practicing and Mrs. Terwillinger is afraid she'll go after Sydney because she's 'oh so powerful for her inexperience and age'. This consists of Sydney practicing magic with her teacher (and Adrian's there too, for absolutely no reason) and going out to warn other potential targets about the danger (once again, Adrian has to go and although the reason is flimsy (he can use Spirit to distort Sydney's appearance!) it's at least a real reason). Sydney's convincing skills apparently don't work on witches like they do on high school administrative staff because the first one kicks her out of her apartment, and they never make it to the second one because she goes to a frat party with Adrian and makes out with him because she just can't help herself. Remind me to never want this girl to keep my life safe. They also hunt for Veronica but never seem to catch her. 
 Do I want to talk about the Callistana? No, I really don't, but I will. Mrs. Terwillinger has Sydney summon a little demon from a stone that looks like a dragon so it can detect dark magic and warn Sydney. What, it doesn't sound like a big deal? Oh, that's because I forgot to mention that when Sydney summons it, Adrian is there, and the damn thing thinks they are its mommy and daddy. For the love of... *bangs head on desk* 
 While I'm banging my head, let's move on to the Jill/Eddie/Angeline love triangle. It's lame and boring, much like everything else. Jill dumped Micah last book and finds out she likes Eddie, but Eddie decided he liked Angeline once Sydney talked some sense into her (by yelling at her like she's a five year old). Now Jill is miserable, but so is Eddie, because now Angeline is cheating on him with Trey. I just shook my head and stopped caring because those three are practically non-existent next to all the Sydney/Adrian drama. 
 So Mrs. Terwillinger has been hard at work on making amulets to hide Sydney's magic, and the last one Sydney recognizes as the same thing Alicia (the receptionist at the bed and breakfast Veronica was staying at) was wearing before. ZOMG! Alicia is the real evil witch here who'd been stealing people's magic, including from Veronica herself! Honestly, why didn't Sydney catch onto this? Maybe she was too busy making out with Adrian in spirit dreams and then rejecting him or something. First of all, their recon on Veronica sucked (marching straight up to the place she was staying at and asking about her? I thought Sydney was smart) and they constantly were going back. I know they didn't know it was Alicia all along, but did nothing occur to them when Adrian's tires were slashed or Sydney's car was attacked and her cross was in the glove compartment, which she lost at the bed and breakfast? They should have suspected something! Anyway, Alicia's target was actually Mrs. Terwillinger and thanks to wearing herself out protecting Sydney, she's an easy target. Well, mostly, because Adrian (seriously, why is he there?) and Sydney come to her rescue and burn her house down in the process. Oh, and Alicia escapes, which is going to bite them in the ass later. 
 With the pesky witch out of the way, Sydney decides she's going to join Marcus and his band of Merry Men (Adrian's nickname, and one of his more amusing lines) and escape to Mexico to get an Indigo tattoo like Marcus' which will prevent her from being controlled by the Alchemists ever again. Or, she almost does, but at the last minute decides she's madly in love with Adrian and goes to meet him at the coordinates he left for her with Jill at the Getty Villa. They declare their love for each other and spend their whole date making out. Sydney even uncreatively names Adrian's car (she's been pondering names all book), the Ivashkinator... why, just, why? And because they're so in love, Sydney deliberately goes back to Amberwood after curfew and takes her detention with pride instead of just having Mrs. Terwillinger bail her out like she always does. This, ladies and gentleman, is the downward spiral of the characters known as Sydney Sage and Adrian Ivashkov as they plummet into complete out-of-character territory. 
 Sydney is getting worse with every novel. She's still socially inept, boring, idiotic about love and everything from before, but now we'll add 'wishy washy' to the mix. The entire book is littered with "I'm not going to do this, it's wrong" and then two pages later she's doing it. This doesn't apply to just magic, this applies to everything; Marcus' anti-Alchemist movement, Adrian, magic, et cetera, et cetera. She says she won't help Marcus or do his test, yet she's formulating a plan as she says it. She says she doesn't like Adrian, but drags him around everywhere, keeps 'accidentally' making out with him and getting in compromising situations. She says she'll never use magic, and then makes charms on her own and practices magic with Mrs. Terwillinger. The back and forth was starting to give me whiplash. 
 Remember how I said Sydney's call to Stanton would make things worse for her? Well, Sydney goes up to her room to find her little sister Zoe (the one she stole this assignment of protecting Jill from). Apparently because Sydney freaked out so much about the Warriors supposedly trying to find Jill and then covered her idiocy by claiming Jill wasn't protected enough, they sent another dhampir Guardian and Alchemist to help. *claps* Good job, Sydney! You sister is an overeager Alchemist-wannabe who's so desperate for daddy's approval she'll sell you out the first chance she gets and you just got into a relationship with a Moroi. I can't wait to see how this turns out! /sarcasm