I stood in the Court's field and waited anxiously for Dimitri.
"Don't worry," Lissa murmured. "He'll be fine." I shook my head. Recently, everybody had found out about Dimitri and I, and my parents weren't happy. Thinking about what Abe had said to Adrian when we got together, I didn't even want to imagine what kind of hell Dimitri was going through. It would've happened sooner if he wasn't being my bodyguard during my healing time.
"I don't know," I muttered. "Abe can be pretty scary." She knew that well enough. Or did she? I still hadn't got used to having the bond. It was only now that I realised how much I'd relied on it. I was suddenly thankful that Alberta had tested me during the field experience. Being a guardian would be this much harder now, especially as she was the Queen and pretty much the last of her kind. Apart from Jill. Christian, Lissa's annoying, sarcastic boyfriend wandered over.
"He's brave because he loves you," he smirked, and then he turned his back to me and started rubbing his hands down it, mimicking Dimitri. "Oh, Roza. Oh, Roza!" I smacked him around the back of his head and he stopped abruptly. However, apart from his crap version of a Russian accent, he'd got it pretty spot on. We were will known for, how do I put this lightly, expressing our love. Not, like, publicly, but he was very, very affectionate over me. Christian laughed and I saw a small smile spread over Lissa's face. Suddenly, on the other side of the field, I saw a tall figure come into view. I grinned and sprinted over to him. He opened his arms wide and I fell into them, burying my face into his chest, smelling the gorgeous scent of his aftershave. He was mine, and I was glad.
"I'm so glad you're okay," I gasped.
"Okay? What do you think Abe could do to me?" he chuckled.
"Lots of things. He has a mafia of guardians."
"Oh, Roza. You worry too much. I was fine." I could still hear his voice tremble, though. Christian and Lissa soon turned up behind us.
"What did I tell you?" that snarky voice which I had somehow grown to like muttered. Christian was behind it, "Roza, Roza." Dimitri's playful glare wasn't enough to silence him, probably because his eyes were laughing. My smile was hidden in his duster, which he still wore in the height of summer. Tomorrow, we would be official guardians and get sent off with our charges, so guardians all over the court were enjoying their last day of freedom. Even the Queen's guardians were on quite loose duty. We went back to the rooms and I grabbed hold of Dimitri's hand in mine.
"Please tell me what they said. I've been in agony since this morning," I pleaded with him. We sat down on the plumped up bed together. "Was it scarier than Strigoi?"
"Yes," he was actually shaking. "It was. You don't realise where you got it from."
"What did Abe say?" I could feel myself trembling.
"Oh, he threatened to kill me if I hurt you. In great detail." He seemed very blasé
"You don't sound that bothered."
"It's more your mother I'm worried about. Janine Hathaway is just as feisty and ferocious as you are. All I will say is that thank goodness Lissa is queen and not somebody who would punish me." Thousands of ridiculous images cropped up in my head, but I ignored them. I was just so glad that he was unhurt. Not a single scratch on his perfect face. Just how he should be. I leaned in to kiss him when my phone rang.
"Ignore it," he mumbled, but it was vibrating against my leg. I reached down to put it on silent, when I saw the number. I quickly pushed it onto speakerphone, knowing Dimitri would want to hear. We didn't keep secrets anymore.
"Hello?" a tentative voice with a Russian accent asked.
"Hey, Viktoria. How's it going?" I saw Dimitri eyes widen, and then a gorgeous smile spread across his face. It lit up his beautiful features and I wanted to jump him there and then. But this conversation was important.
"Rose? You're alive? Oh thank goodness! I thought-" I never got to hear what she thought because she was interrupted by somebody tall dark and Russian.
"Viktoria?" It was strange, but his velvety accent seemed even more pronounced when he spoke to hear. It was like music to my ears.
"D-Dimka?" she stuttered.
"Yes, Viktoria. It's me! I'm alive. I'm not Strigoi!" There was a scream from the other end of the line and then she asked breathlessly,
"How?"
"I was saved by Rose and Vasilisa."
"Oh my goodness! I can't believe it." They started talking to each other rapidly in Russian, and as I watched Dimitri, I knew that this was most definitely the way he was born to speak. It was like he'd been made for it. However, I couldn't understand a word.
"Er, guys," I began. "I hate to interrupt this lovely, um, chat you're having here, but why exactly did you call me?"
"Oh, well, I didn't want to call Dimka because that would've been creepy if he was still Strigoi." Her saying that reminded me of how harsh his Strigoi voice was. I never wanted to hear it again. "And, I had an apology to make. I'm really sorry about what I said to you before you left. I was annoyed and I thought he really did love me."
"What do you mean?" Dimitri questioned with a perplexed expression on his face.
"Oh, well, I, um, was saved by Rose and Abe. From becoming a, uh, blood wh-" It turns out he decided not to hear the rest. Instead he shot me a very grateful look. "So yeah, Rose, thanks for saving me. Secondly, thank you so, so much for saving my brother! I can't honestly thank you enough for what you've done for me."
"My pleasure," I murmured.
"And third, well, you see my mother's ill."
"Mama's ill?" Dimitri's expression dropped and he suddenly seemed so feeble. His family were worth everything to him.
"Why don't you just use spirit to heal her?" I asked.
"We can't. Oksana tried but it wouldn't work." A illness that couldn't be healed with spirit? Unheard of. "We need your help. Please. We have to save her." I glanced at Dimitri and then nodded.
"We'll be there."