"You saved me, Lissa," Dimitri told her, his voice a low murmur.
"We saved you," she corrected, like she always did every time he brought up the subject. "Only for Rose to be framed, and thrown away." Guilt. Dimitri had assumed Lissa would be above that. Obviously not.
"I know what she did," Dimitri half-lied, he had heard off Rose's adventures, but not in great detail. Even Lissa, who was always willing to remind him what Rose had done for him, seemed reluctant to share these particular tales. "But you were the one who thrust the stake into my Strigoi heart; you were the one who healed me with Spirit magic."
Her eyes shone with what may have been tears. "I know," she said, and her voice cracked a tiny bit, "But Rose is the one who loves you, Dimitri." Her hair fell in soft golden tumbles around her face, and Dimitri was suddenly struck by how beautiful she was. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face, and she flinched backwards, but her eyes were wide and almost hungry.
"Then why do you?" he asked softly.
She didn't ask him how he knew, merely bent her head and began to cry. "I don't know," she whispered brokenly.
Dimitri tilted up her chin and brushed away her tears. "I love you," he said, quietly but firmly.
"Yes." Lissa gave him a watery smile, and he bent down, kissing her gently.
"I love you," he repeated.