A/N: This is a belated birthday gift (six months late hah) for Katerina, my bondmate. If not for her, I wouldn't have probably finished it. If Blood Promise was painful to read, well, writing it is another story. Let's just say I read fluff and fairytales after writing each chapter. LOL.

Gasp. I know, someone finally did it. A Strigoi Dimitri POV of Blood Promise. The horror. No, really it is (horrible), but that's why I wanted to write it.

(Twisted, I know, thank you.)

Much gratitude to my lovely, strong-headed, clear-minded beta, ohayou/Zmeyette, for keeping me in line with the T rating. Or so we hoped.

Disclaimer: Vampire Academy and its characters belong to Richelle Mead. No copyright infringement is intended with the writing of this story.

Prologue

The sun was too low for my liking that day.

If only we were given the time to strike at mid-day, I wouldn't be this worried. As it was, there was no time to lose if we wanted to save as many students and teachers taken captive by the Strigoi. We feared that they were already being used as food, or worse, turned—then we have no choice but to destroy them all.

Our group was hushed; tense, as we crept closer and closer to the caves where we knew they lay. The sun trapped the Strigoi for now, but as I glanced towards the darkening sky, I knew we do not have the luxury of time for this attack. I questioned for a moment if this was folly.

No, I shook my head. I had no time to second-guess our actions. I conceded with the rest of the Guardians that saving the rest was the best way. We were many and the Strigoi were outnumbered from the loss they sustained earlier inside the school. I cannot hesitate about the decisions made, especially when our group is composed of my closest colleagues, the Moroi teachers I've come to respect, and some students whom I have taught myself since coming to St. Vladimir's.

Rose.

As if she heard her name in my head, she glanced up at me. Even with the dirt and grime in her face and clothes, she looked beautiful. A warrior I've come to respect, and if my confidence with her were any less, she would not be here in this hunting party. I wanted her safe inside the walls of the school, if it was only up to me.

Then again, I knew now that Rose will have my head if I prevented her in any way from doing her responsibility as a guardian, even as a novice. And I wanted to have faith in her, faith in my capability as her mentor. I taught her almost everything I knew… I have no doubt she will surpass me in the near future.

For a brief moment, I saw apprehension in her eyes. How can I conveniently forget that she was still a child in a way? If only I could alleviate her fears… but no. This has to come first. I have to trust her enough that she can handle herself.

Alberta directed the group to split up. Janine and I were heading the first hunting party, while Alberta and Stan will follow soon after. The others—Rose and her other classmates, together with some guardians—will stay behind as back up in case some Strigoi escape past us. I hoped that would not come to pass.

I immediately felt the temperature drop as we stepped inside the cave. I didn't—couldn't—look back to where Rose was standing. She was safer than me, so my job was to return to her in one piece, along with the other captives. I have a future with her to take care of—so I was going to come back to her, no matter what.

We weren't deep inside the cave when the fighting started. Judging from their actions, they knew we were coming, but were unprepared by our number. We pressed that advantage. Screams and grunts erupted left and right. A burst of fire from one of the Moroi teachers distracted many of the Strigoi, so it made the fighting easier. No, not easier, but more even.

I gripped Abby Badica's arms as she was trembling uncontrollably from a corner, trying to flinch away from the fighting. As far as I can tell, she had no bites, but was terrified out of her mind.

I shook her a little. "Can you hear me?"

Her eyes re-focused on me with great effort. "Y-yes."

"You must run." I said in a clear, commanding voice. "Back to the entrance of the cave. Just run straight… don't look back. Rose—" her name caught in my throat. "Rose and the others are waiting out there. Do you understand?"

She nodded shakily, and turned to run together with Mr. Ellsworth. That was two.

I glanced back at our group…. Most of the Strigoi in this area were neutralized. I turned to see Janine's eyes on me. She heard me say Rose's name—will she make something out of it? For a second I thought she was going to say something, but someone yelled—more Strigoi were coming.

I gripped my stake as we met our opponents—they were uncannily fast and their strength was more than I was used to facing. No doubt because of the round of feeding they just had. My anger fueled me as I fought relentlessly. More captives started emerging, and we directed them towards the mouth of the cave. Eddie Castile was adamant to stay and fight, but he was in no condition to do so and would only become a liability. Alberta all but kicked him out of our way.

My mind could not fathom how many of the Strigoi we were fighting. How can they be so organized when they were just savage, mindless creatures with a thirst for blood and destruction?

I dodged a Strigoi as he tried to grab me from behind. I grappled him down and plunged the stake right through his chest. I glanced at his face briefly—he didn't look older than me.

A piercing shriek caught my attention. I swiveled my head just in time to see one of our female guardians go down—I couldn't see who it was. I rushed to help, but something more caught my eye: one of the Strigoi was doing something to the wall behind us. On his feet was another dead guardian. My eyes traveled to the wall—and realized what he was trying to do. Shit.

I ran to him, but a Strigoi stopped me on my way. I evaded swipes from him as I yelled to the guardian closest to the Strigoi.

"Stan! Stop him! He's trying to collapse the—"

But it was too late: A strong explosion shook the wall—Stan and several others dived out of the way just in time as the rocks fell and covered our only exit. Alberta delivered a fatal blow to the Strigoi's chest.

"Son of a bitch," she said angrily. This changes a lot of things.

"Tell Emil we need reinforcements," Alberta said to Stan. "Our escape route is severely compromised."

My insides clenched—Rose will be sent inside, there was no way she was not, since she was one of the strongest novices we had here.

The fighting resumed. I looked at Janine. For a moment I saw worry in her face—undoubtedly she thought of the same. But as quickly as it came, she masked it out. There was no time to be distracted.

In a split second, more Strigoi suddenly jumped on us. There were more, and they were coming out as night approached. The tables are slowly turning against us, the rest of us now trapped between a crumbled wall and a pack of Strigoi. All of us were breathing heavily now as we fought back.

"Someone's fighting on the other side!" Celeste yelled while fending off her Strigoi opponent.

Reinforcements to clear the other side—Rose was just there. I saw a measure of fear among the other Strigoi circling us. They felt fear? Impossible.

I saw Stephen crawl out of the small opening, followed by Rose. Together, they tackled the Strigoi closest to them. My eyes didn't want to leave their fight, but I had my own battle to win.

Slowly we were winning. Stephen and Rose's arrival helped our odds, so now we were the ones trapping the remaining Strigoi. Alberta yelled for the others to start leaving. I saw an easy opening to break through the defense of one, and I lunged for him.

"What about you? We have to get out!" Stephen shouted at us.

"We'll be right behind you!" Alberta yelled back as she dodged her attacker. She was fighting one of the old ones.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Stephen beckon to Rose. My relief was greatly increased when she obeyed without question. We finished the remaining two and crawled back out. As soon as I emerged from the opening, Rose's body visibly sagged with relief.

It was quiet, but I knew it was far from over. Janine and several other guardians were in the other channels of the cave, separated from us by the caving of the wall. We ran further in the tunnel, and true enough, we encountered Janine's party fighting the remaining Strigoi. With our combined forces, they didn't stand a chance.

Our victory was brief, however. Janine informed us that there were still more others waiting in the recesses of the cave, and could just jump on us anytime. Light was fading fast as well. Alberta did not hesitate—we have to get out immediately.

All of us obeyed her, and we started to move forward. I went beside Rose, just to make sure she was really alright. She looked battle-worn, but otherwise fine.

"Did Eddie get out?" she asked.

"Yes, we had to practically force him out. He wanted to fight," I shook my head. If Rose was in his position, she would have wanted the same. She will make a hell of a guardian once she graduates, I was sure.

It was the narrower part of the tunnel—a good place to ambush us. Janine barely finished speaking about the nearing exit when a pack of Strigoi attacked.

My worst fears were realized—not all of us can move effectively in this cramped space. I saw Alan fall—but I could not dwell on that as I rammed my elbow through a Strigoi's face and staked him simultaneously.

"Start retreating!" Alberta barely had time to order before one of the Strigoi grabbed her back.

I moved forward and gripped the Strigoi's neck—with a snap I broke it. Alberta flipped her stake and plunged it through the chest. I looked up and saw Rose and the other guardians were gone. Good. We all scanned our surroundings—it was quiet. Satisfied, we followed the earlier party to the mouth of the cave, breaking into a fast run. We had no delusions they were the last of them.

Purple twilight greeted us as we rounded on the last corner. The exit was just a few feet away—in this distance I can see the relieved faces of our colleagues anxiously waiting for our escape. Rose was a couple of meters ahead of me—my eyes followed her as she safely exited the mouth of the cave. Finally, she was safe. She was—

Loud snarls and roars followed by sprays of blood assaulted my senses. I was momentarily stunned—where did they come from?

Then it hit me: they were waiting… Janine was right. Our realizations were too late.

Someone grabbed my back with a strength I was unprepared for. I fell to the ground, his body pinning me. I tried to free my hands, but it was no use.

His red eyes glittered maliciously, as if he was waiting for this moment. His blonde hair… for a strange moment, Ivan crossed my mind.

His mouth opened wide, revealing his fangs. Our eyes met. There was no time to feel even fear.

I knew it was over when I felt the sting of his bite. I struggled because I was taught to fight to the end. That was what Rose would have wanted, what my family would have thought of me…

But it was no use.

The venom will be in my system in a few seconds. Then I will remember nothing. Nothing of what I am or what I was supposed to be.

Rose's screams for me were the last coherent sound in my head. Ah, she saw me fall. I wish she had been spared from this. She didn't deserve this pain I was causing her…

All I begged for, was if I was turned instead of killed, that I never see Rose ever again. Because if not….

Everything ceased to matter as I succumbed to the feeling of peace that I knew was a lie.

Peace will only come to those who are dead, never to those who have been awakened.

A/N:

It's all been written out, five months ago, so expect regular updates. We start with chapter 17, when Rose meets Dimitri in Novosibirsk. This is also the stand-alone fic found in my profile. It ends… well you know where it ends. T_T

If you're staying with the story… thank you for giving me a chance, and let me know what you think. :)

Anya

P.S. Have you read Spirit Bound? THAT quote from Dimitri. Sigh. And THAT ending. I know, I know. Double sigh. Richelle Mead must have patented the heartbreak or something.