The next day, Dimitri and I were back to guarding Lissa and Christian.
When they went out to lunch, we dropped the bomb on them.
"You got a death threat from a Strigoi in Russia?" Lissa exclaimed.
Dimitri nodded. "Rose and I think it would be best if we went to Russia and found this…Shadow and staked him."
"But what about us?" Christian asked.
"We need you to come with us. We taught you how to fight and you know what to do." I said.
"But I'm the queen. I can't just leave!"
"Queen Tatiana left all the time." I pointed out.
Lissa sighed. "When are you planning on leaving?"
"The note was sent yesterday. They're probably still in Russia." Dimitri explained.
"We're also going to visit his family…who doesn't know he's still alive." I said.
Lissa's eyes went wide. "They don't know you're still alive?"
He shook his head sadly. "No. They had a funeral for me when Rose met them."
"I think it would be best if you did go see them. They must be suffering while thinking you're dead."
I noticed Christian was silent. "Hey, pyro. You okay over there?" I asked.
He shot a glare at me. "Yeah, I'm fine, Guardian Hathaway."
He knew how much I hated being called that and I shot him a glare as well.
"So, are we going or not?" Lissa asked.
"We have to, but don't tell the Council that we talked you into it or we'd be fired." I said.
Dimitri's POV
I was going to see my family again.
After all these years, I was going back to see them.
I'd get to meet my nephew and niece, see how my grandmother was doing…and get to see my mother.
I shivered as we boarded the sixteen hour flight and sat down next to Rose.
Christian and Lissa were sitting in front of us and immediately, Lissa fell asleep on him.
"Are you alright?" Rose asked, looking over at me.
I sighed. "I don't know, Roza. I'm nervous and scared. What if they decide not to believe me?"
"A mother knows who their son is. I know she'll believe you."
"I hope you're right.
*Sixteen Hours Later*
We were finally standing outside of my house. Nothing has changed at all.
I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"I'll get it." I heard Victoria yell.
She opened the door and gasped.
"Hello, Victoria." I said.
"MOM!" She screamed.
"What is it?"
She came to the door. "Dimitri?" She asked.
"I'm back."
She smiled and grabbed a hold of me, despite being so much shorter than me, and held me in her arms. "My baby boy is back." She sobbed.
I swallowed and she pulled away, wiping a tear from my face. "We thought you were dead." She said. "Rose told us you were Strigoi."
"I was, but she saved me. She changed me back." I said, pointing to Lissa.
She had tears pouring down her face and she smiled. "I'm Lissa Dragomir." She said.
"Aren't you the queen?"
She nodded. "But please, don't let anyone know while I'm here."
"Where's Rose?" My mother asked.
"Right here." Rose said, stepping next to me and taking my hand.
"Come in. I'm sure you'd like to meet your niece and nephew." Mom said to me.
I nodded and my whole family bombarded me with hugs and kisses.
"Is this…my uncle?" My nephew, Paul, asked.
I knelt down in front of him. "It's nice to finally meet you." I said.
He smiled and gave me a hug.
I pulled away and Karolina handed me a baby. I looked down into her small face and she smiled.
"Dimitri, this is Zoya." Karolina said.
I smiled down at the baby. "I've missed so much."
"Yes, you have." Mom said.
I handed the baby back to my sister and sat down on the couch next to Rose.
Lissa and Christian sat on the floor and Lissa held Zoya.
"Now, explain to us how this happened." My grandmother said in Russian.
I took a deep breath. "Alright." I said in English, knowing perfectly well that she knew the language.
Over the course of the next three hours, Rose and I took turns telling the story. We started from where we were both in America and how Lissa changed me back with spirit.
"You need to meet Oksana." Sonya said to Lissa.
Lissa nodded and leaned back against Christian. "I should. Rose will have to introduce us."
Then, we explained everything else, excluding the romance.
"Well, that was enough stories to last us a few years." Mom said.
Everyone laughed.
"Your room is still here. Rose knows a lot about you as a child."
"Oh, boy." I said, looking at Rose.
"Let's show each of you a room and then we'll celebrate tomorrow."
"Goodnight, everyone." I said.
Sonya showed Christian and Lissa a guest bedroom and I led Rose to my bedroom.
"Well, it wasn't that bad." Rose said as I was holding her in bed.
"No. It wasn't." I replied.
"I wonder if they'll get everyone together again to celebrate."
"I don't know."
"I remember when I first came here. I had been attacked by Strigoi and used spirit to summon ghosts. I passed out and Abe and Sydney had driven me here, because I had been saying your name in my sleep. Abe knew where your family was. I woke up in this bed."
"You did?"
"I did. I kept trying to smell your scent on it…it was faint, but still there." She said, turning around to face me.
I kissed her forehead. "I never thought I'd be holding you in here."
She smiled. "Me neither."
I kissed her again, this time on the lips, and pulled her onto my chest.
We kissed more and eventually, she slipped off my chest and into my arms.
"I love you. I never want to go through anything like that again." She whispered breathlessly.
"I promise it won't ever happen again." I murmured.
She nestled into my arms and I held her for a few hours before I finally fell asleep.