"Honestly Rose, you are not getting much better at this," Adam told me – he was a guardian at St Vladimirs and one of my 2 teachers/mentors. He was my magic and mind reading mentor and for the last 3 weeks, we had been practicing on the mind reading front than just what the person was thinking in that second, to read into their lives, past, subconscious. It was almost un-known for a Dhampir vampire to get powers – magic or whatnot. That was usually left for the Moroi and their royalty – one of which was my best friend Vasilissa Dragomir. The last remaining in her family leaving her the only princess in our world who can carry on the Dragomir name. Her parents, brother and Guardians were killed in a car crash which her and I were both a part of. She survived because of her specific power area and healed me. I was dead before she bought me back. She has a very rare element. Most Moroi specialize in one of the 4 elements-Water, Fire, Air and Earth. Those who "don't specialize" are probably specialized in Spirit, which is what Lissa has specialized in. We didn't figure this out until last year. Spirit can do some incredible things. Lissa can heal things-though depending on healing extent, it can drain her of all her energy. When she healed me a bond formed between us when she bought me back from the dead. Having that bond allows me to feel everything she does, read her mind as to what she is thinking, know what is wrong with her just by channeling in on her thoughts. Sometimes, when I concentrate, my mind can become part of hers, without her realizing it is happening. It is just like I am her, I feel everything she does, hear everything, see everything. It is only one way though, like a window to her mind, which is why I am to be her guardian when I have finished school. My theory of why I got my powers is because of the bond and Lissa passing spirit though me. It is like a play off of the bond but at my disgression and to whomever I want.
"Criticism is hardly something I need right now," I told him. To get into the depths of someone's mind, you must get through the first 2 layers, what they are thinking in the second and what they see and think and remember in that second. Adam was letting his mind go blank to help me through it easier, also to try and keep his thoughts, well, private. It was practice and concentration. My skill is rare; even those few Dhampirs who get magic usually don't get a skill like this. I am one of very few who ever existed, one of them was Adam, which is why he was good at blocking it and knew so much about it.
This was when Dimitri walked into start my extra fighting and defensive training-the general training for a Dhampir who is going to become a Guardian. I have a personal teacher for this because Lissa and I ran away from school for 2 years and when they caught us and bought us back, I was far behind. Adam was trained as a Guardian also, but was nowhere near as bad ass as Dimitri at the fighting. I looked into Adam's eyes, they were a deep blue. Dimitri and Adam were both gorgeous. Dimitri was a tall 6 foot 5 inches, skinny, tanned but muscled – enough to complete humiliate a lot of people in a fight but not enough to look over the top and silly, very lightly tanned with longish brown hair that he tied back during sessions with me, dark brown eyes and a gorgeous smile. Adam, although a bit shorter than Dimitri at 6 foot 2 inches, was just as gorgeous in a different way. Blue eyes, black hair, tanned (very rare for a vampire, only found in Dhampirs because we are half human), muscled in the same way as Dimitri (most male guardians were) and his smile, although shy and sheepish sometimes was completely melting. Of course, I noticed this as soon as I met them, but they were off limits.
When Adam made eyes contact with me, he said inside his head 'Rose, we will try this again this afternoon. I'm proud of how well you are doing with this' and smiled, his eyes lighting up. He stood up and I followed suit, tying my hair up as I did.
"Guardian Lockheart," Dimitri said as Adam went to leave. Adam nodded his head and said "Guardian Belikov," and then left the room, leaving Dimitri and I for practice.
As soon as Adam had left the room, Dimitri turned to me
"How are you Rose?" I sighed internally. Even the sound of his voice did strange things to me.
"I'm good," I told him, smiling. He looked like he was trying to hold something back. The rest of our lesson was spent on fitness and practicing offensive tactics.
"Your getting better," he said, not really any emotion being shown on his face. I wondered if it was because of his job or something else – like holding back emotion because I was on probation, extra lessons with Dimitri were crucial if I wanted to graduate with my classmates at the end of the year AND become Lissa's Guardian. Even as his extremely serious self he was gorgeous, it was hard not to notice.
"Thanks," I said to him, avoiding eye contact.
"How are your mind reading sessions going with Adam?" he asked me, seeming genuinely curious.
"Good…" I said cautiously. "… he must be trying to drop his mental barrier for me to be able to get in and read his mind. But I think, because he is like me, his mind automaticly has a barrier that is stronger than most people. I am having trouble getting past his immediate thoughts. It will take time." Dimitri looked at me thoughtfully.
"Why don't you try it on me? I don't know what to expect so I don't know how to put a wall up," he said, staying perfectly professional, hardly any emotion showing. I grinned at him, breaking the serious look on his face momentarily. This could be fun. I desperately wanted this to work. We had been working together for a year and once, only once, his control slipped with me. We were off school campus – Dimitri had something he had to do and requested I go along too for the experience (Guardian work). We had got trapped in a town by a snowstorm on our return. We had to stay in the same rom. It was too cliché and we didn't get far. We were just talking killing time until we could return to St Vladimirs. Something he questioned me on struck a nerve and I let go off my control just a little, letting a few tears fall. We ended up kissing and it was amazing, until he realized what he was doing and pulled away. The rest of the trip, he was all business, making sure he didn't slip up around me again. For him to have to do that, he must have had control problems before that. There must have been that same attraction towards me that I felt when he kissed me. Wondering what he felt and what he was thinking was something I never knew and I had wanted to know for a long time.
I sat down on the floor and he sat down across from me, the stray bits of hair that escaped his ponytail (which was laying down the back of his neck) draped over his face and into his eyes, his ponytail sticking to the delicate beads of sweat that lined his collarbone. I closed my eyes, breathing in the smell of him, the smell that I would always associate with him. He was so close, the closest we had been apart from fighting since the car ride back after that trip, and even then, it felt like the hugest gap when, really, we were only about a metre apart. I relaxed my mind, preparing to invade his.
I took one last breath and then dove into his mind.
