AN: Hello to anyone who might be reading this. This my first VA fanfic so please bear with me. It's set towards the end of Shadow Kissed and is my replacement for Blood Promise. I have used quotes from the book so please don't get angry. I've acknowledged that I've used quotes from the book. Read, review and ENJOY!

Chapter One

The attack had left its mark on the Academy. Faces were solemn and silence permeated the once bustling buildings. Funeral arrangements had been made for those who had been lost. It was a time for unity for both Moroi and Dhampir. No one had escaped unharmed. The loss of both students and staff had been felt by everyone. Life would never be the same for us. The Strigoi had achieved everything they'd wanted. They'd slaughtered our people, killed some and tortured the rest. The structure that kept us safe had been destroyed and the seed of doubt of any real safety had been planted. Terror and uncertainty plagued the thoughts of both Moroi and Dhampir alike.

Nowhere was safe.

Just before the attack, I'd been with Dimitri, my mentor. We'd been at the cabin, right at the edge of the school's boundary, when the attack occurred. Dimitri had taken me there after the dark effects of being shadow-kissed had overpowered me. A hatred that rivalled any Strigoi's filled me until the need for bloodshed almost consumed me. It was only with Dimitri's love and warmth that I'd been able to return to myself. He'd held me and made me realise that the hate and anger was not me and was instead caused by being shadow-kissed.

Lissa, my best friend, wielded a type of magic that was almost unheard of - spirit. And it was with this magic that she'd been able to bring me back from the clutches of death after the accident that had claimed the rest of her family. My 'resurrection' had bonded us, I'd become shadow-kissed. We were bound together as tightly as two people could be. However spirit also had its downside. Along with bringing people back to life, Lissa could also heal almost anything. She could also use compulsion almost like a Strigoi but this didn't come without consequences. Every time Lissa used spirit, an almost over powering darkness would leech its way into her. This was because spirit, unlike the other elements, was less physical and had more to do with the mind and soul. Her magic came from herself and using it drained her. There was a point when the effects of spirit had gotten so bad that Lissa had fallen into a deep depression and begun cutting herself. I felt powerless during this time. I was her best friend but I was also her guardian.

I was supposed to protect her from everything.

The funny thing was that for a very long time Lissa didn't even know she was a spirit user. All the while we thought Lissa had just been one of the few Moroi who never actually specialized, boy were we wrong. It wasn't until Victor Dashkov- a close family friend of Lissa's and for all intents and purposes an uncle to her- had kidnapped her and planned to use her as his own personal fountain of youth. Victor had an air user torture her until Dimitri and the Academy's other badass guardians were able to capture him. After this incident Lissa decided that the negative effects of spirit far outweighed the positives and began taking anti-depressants which prevented her from using spirit.

However after a few months later Lissa began to miss the magic. It was also during this time that we met Adrian Ivashkov- a royal who was infamous for his party boy ways. But behind the nonchalant facade, we'd found out that he was actually one of the very rare sprit users around. He'd come back to the Academy with us and was now learning all about the mysteries of spirit with Lissa. Of course Lissa had decided to ditch the meds and was now also learning to do all sorts of things with spirit.

But with Lissa off the medication and her magic back, the negative effects of spirit had also followed. This time however the all encompassing darkness was seeping out of her and going into me instead. It was like I was taking away her madness and putting it into myself. It was driving me to do all sorts of crazy things that I normally wouldn't do.

My temper was always on the brink of erupting and my mood swings could rival even those of a pregnant woman.

Before the attack the craziness that was being caused by Lissa's use of spirit had become so uncontrollable that I'd almost killed Jesse Zeklos. He'd tortured Lissa as a test in order for her to become part of his sick little group. Lissa had used compulsion in such an abusive way in order to stop him that the darkness that leeched out of her and into me was like an avalanche of pure hatred and rage. In my red haze of anger, I'd attacked Jesse and Ralf. I craved the bloodshed so much that I no longer understood what I was doing, it was as if my body had become a puppet and someone else was controlling me. If Eddie and Dimitri, as well as the other guardians, hadn't arrived when they did, Jesse and Ralf would probably be joining those being laid to rest.

As my mentor it was agreed that Dimitri would be the one to deal with me. He'd practically had to drag me away because I was still so full of rage that I couldn't understand why they weren't punishing Jesse and his little group for what they had done. The darkness almost consumed me and I was on the edge of breaking down. Dimitri held me in his arms and told me it would be okay, that the rage wasn't me. He made me see that the violence I'd just inflicted wasn't a means of defence, protection or even punishment but just plain savage. He'd brought me back from that edge and promised that he'd never leave my side, never allow me to become a monster.

It was that moment where we'd let our guards down and finally give into temptation. We'd made love in the cabin and forgot about the rest of the world, even if it was just a few hours. However those few hours of complete bliss were soon cut short when we'd realized that the school was under attack. He'd made me run back to the Academy in order to warn everyone. He'd sent me, not knowing how many Strigoi he might have to face on his own, or if he would even survive. His bravery need no words.

My warning had sent the school into lockdown which was a big part in how many people had survived that night. Alberta, the captain of the Guardians for the school, had sent me to one of the Dhampir dorms to help guard. But it was really the last place I wanted to go. I wanted to be with Lissa and make sure that no Strigoi even got within a 500 feet of her. But Lissa was with Eddie, one of the very few people I entrusted her with, so my worry about her could be put to the back of my mind. However Lissa's boyfriend Christian-who was also my charge for the field experience- was apparently going to meet up with her at their spot above the school's chapel. She was worried that me might have been caught out during the lockdown.

I don't know what made me do it but I disobeyed Alberta's orders and climbed out of the window to find Christian. I'd found him and was about to haul his ass back when we were attacked by Strigoi. The Strigoi had gotten a hold of me and his fangs were bringing me closer to my death when he caught fire. Christian- a fire user- had set him alight and saved my life. He'd begged me to let him fight with me instead of going back to the dorms which was what we were supposed to do. We headed for the elementary campus where they had the least protection.

We kicked so much Strigoi butt that as a team, we'd brought down more Strigoi than any of the other guardians.

By the end of the night we'd tallied our dead and found that their numbers were lower than expected, still any death was one too many.

However the Strigoi had not only killed our people, they'd also taken some. This was common practice among them; there was a limit on how much blood they could ingest. Also sometimes higher ranking Strigoi sent other lower raking Strigoi to fetch them 'snacks'. Of course, they also took people to turn them into one of them.

The Guardians, who usually didn't launch rescue missions, felt that the Strigoi had crossed the line. Those who were taken were usualy tallied with the dead but this was different. The Strigoi had gone too far. In our world, there were only a handful of places that were safe: the Royal Court and our academies. Children were sent to places like St. Vladimir's with the certainty they would be protected. That certainty had been shattered, and we wouldn't stand for that, especially if we could still save lives. A rescue mission was planned; we had to get back at the Strigoi. Everyone was ready for a fight. They wanted it. But this was more than our fight—it was the Moroi's too. When my mother said she'd gotten a number of teachers to volunteer—they absolutely wouldn't allow students for this—the decision was made. The guardians were going after the Strigoi, and novices and Moroi would go with them.

With Mason's help I was able to find where the Strigoi were hiding out. It was unbelievable exactly how close they were. Six miles from the Academy's boundaries were some caves that were more than big enough to hide the Strigoi during daylight hours.

A plan was made.

A team of fifteen guardians would go in from each side of the caves, accompanied by three Moroi each. Ten guardians would remain at each entrance to hold back any escaping Strigoi. With the arrival of more guardians, we set off to face down the pack of Strigoi that had destroyed our fragile sense of security.

We were a force to be reckoned with.

We'd arrived at the cave a few hours before sundown. The guardians executed the plan into near perfection. We'd gotten all of our people who were taken out, except for a pretty Moroi girl called Molly who'd been around my age. The Strigoi had gotten hungry, we found her drained of all blood.

As the battle neared its end, some of our people had gotten stuck in the cave. A part of the roof had collapsed in and made any escape almost impossible. They were being cornered and were also outnumbered. Dimitri and my mother were part of this group. Emil, one of the guardians in charge at my end of the cave had sent me in with Stephen, another guardian. We were to provide the back up so that the trapped group could get out. We helped kill as many Strigoi, assisting in allowing the others to escape. The exit of the cave was so close when we were suddenly ambushed.

One Strigoi went for Mrs Carmack but my mother had fended him off. Another Strigoi went for Dimitri. I'd already made it out of the caves by this point but when I saw Dimitri fall I ran towards him.

At least tried.

A guardian, I didn't know who, had grabbed me and was telling me to run. I heard someone yell, the sound echoing in the caves. It was a few moments before I realized the screaming was coming from me. Never amongst all the chaos did I think to worry about Dimitri. He was unstoppable, invincible. I'd convinced myself that nothing could take him down. I'd seen him take down Natalie without even a moment's hesitation.

He was a god.

"Rose. Run!" I heard my mother yell at me.

I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. Didn't she see that Dimitri was still in there? We couldn't leave him. My muscles locked into place, I was not leaving without him. My mother would have to drag me back the whole 6 miles kicking and screaming if she wanted me to go back without him.

"Rose, please!" my mother pleaded for me to move.

I should have run like she told me to. My refusal to move was also putting her danger. The sun was slowly but surely making its way across the horizon and the orange twilight sky was soon being replaced by the darkening early evening. My determination not to leave without Dimitri was endangering others and was going against every guardian instinct I had. The internal war I was waging had distracted me and when I looked upand blinked, I saw that Dimitri had won his fight with the Strigoi. He looked battered and beaten but he was safe. He'd begun making his way back to me. My body yearned to meet with him but knowing that he was okay, I turned around and ran towards the safety of the Academy.

Every muscle in my body was begging me to stop. My breathing was ragged but I knew stopping would only give the Strigoi a chance for attack. Every few minutes, I'd turn around just to make sure that Dimitri was still there. I needed to make sure that he was still following. He met every one of my gazes and my resolve to survive this would grew stronger.

By the time our group had arrived back behind the Academy's newly placed wards the sun had long gone down. We didn't think that the Strigoi would follow us back; their numbers had been substantially diminished.

All those who had been rescued were sent straight to Dr. Olendzki for check-ups. The guardians who tried to refuse were ordered to get them anyways. Dimitri was among this group. When we arrived safely behind the Academy's wards he was the first person I sought out. His struggle with that last Strigoi was where he'd earned most of his injuries. He had a few cuts on his face and his left eye was beginning to show the tell tale signs of a black eye but I suspected most of his injuries were internal. I saw the Strigoi push him into the cave wall like he was swatting a fly. For the first time since I'd met Dimitri I saw him stagger. However even while I was calculating the extent of his injuries I could still feel his worry for me.

Apart from a few scratches I'd left the battle pretty much unscathed. I ran up to him and gave him a tight hug. He winced and I suddenly regretted my actions. I tried to stepped away from his embrace but was pulled back.

"Oh Roza," he breathed into my ear.

Just for a moment I forgot about the rest of the world. He was all that mattered.

"I thought you were dead," I sobbed into his chest.

I hadn't realized the tears streaming down my face. I'd come so close to losing him. Hugging him seemed so surreal. It didn't matter that everyone might be watching us. I had him back.

The world was good again.

Dimitri tightened his arms around me, like he couldn't believe he was hugging me either. We clung to each other. It was like if either of us let go, everything would fall apart. I was more than happy to continue holding on to the man I loved.

"It's okay, Roza. I'm here now"