Before bringing the runaway Princess and her Dhampir Novice back to St. Vladimir's Academy, not much was said about Dimitri's life beforehand. We all know he attended St. Basil's in Russia, he guarded his best friend, Ivan Zeklos, who died while Dimitri was on leave before being allocated to the academy. We don't even know how he got his first 6 molnija.

At the ripe age of 22, Ivan held the position of as a Private Counselor at St. Basil's for the Trouble Students. Dimitri as Ivan's sanctioned Guardian was temporarily placed as an Academy Guardian when his charge held his position. Dimitri saw Ivan's work with the troublemakers of the Academy as a waste of time and didn't agree with his charge's idea that every deserves a second chance. To challenge Dimitri's views, Ivan has a young female Novice who is in danger of not earning her Promise Mark tutored by Dimitri; despite the latter male's reluctance.

Yuliya constantly ran into trouble when she attended St. Basil's. If it weren't for her mother, Princess Svetlana Voda, she surely would have been expelled a long time ago. Although it was rare for a Royal to admit they have Dhampir children, Yuliya didn't experience the luxury or safety of being of a higher inheritance. At the age of seventeen, Yuliya is far behind her fellows Novices, hasn't passed her Qualifer yet, and is sure not to pass the field experience. Ivan Zeklos, her paternal Uncle, has offered up his own Guardian as a private tutor for her as he feels that the young girl didn't deserve the hand she was dealt.

What if Rosemarie Hathaway wasn't Dimitri Belikov's first love or even first impossible relationship? What if there was more to Ivan's death than what anyone would ever know?