Chapter 2
Capturing the Princess and Novice
Allowing the girls to run away again was not a concern. Not an option. Not a possibility. Rose was weakened by the bite she allowed and Valissa's strength and speed could not compare to mine or the other guardians.
With little instruction, our team divided up. Three guardians surrounded the house and would follow the girls when they left. The rest scattered along the street. They were all instructed to stay in the shadows. Not to been seen. I jogged the distance to the car I suspected the girls would try to take, their roommate's car. The cool evening air filled my lungs wiping away all emotion and thought. I surrendered my mind to guardian instinct and action.
"They are moving." Luke's whisper came through my ear piece. A moment later, the sound of a door slamming was followed by loud footfalls. The girls were running.
My men are good at what they do. So when I told them not to be noticed, I had no doubt that they would comply. But I was slightly disappointed when Rose didn't sense them. Guardians should always be aware of their surroundings, and I had found myself hoping she would prove to already be great. Instead, she proved reckless, a. her record indicated.
As Rose and the Princess ran past my unnoticed support, I was able to overhear bits of their conversation. Rose was still trying to comfort Valissa, convincing her of their impossible escape. I could tell they were coming my direction, just as I had sensed they would.
Something Rose had said unnerved me, "The found us before. They didn't catch us then." I didn't have time to think about those words, though, because the girls were now in my line of sight. Rose was stumbling, heavily relying on Valissa to remain upright. Her slightly tanned skin was flushed as she pushed her muscles past their protest. Valissa's face was covered in fear. Her jade-green eyes, pupils' dilated with fear, captured the light, magnifying the intensity of her emotions.
The girls were making a lot of noise as they ran, so I chanced a command into my microphone. Timing it with the pattern of their footfalls, I whispered, "Close in."
After a second, Lissa straightened and her eyes darted around. Searching. "Do you hear that?" Her sensitive hearing had alerted her to the movement of my team. A moment passed before Rose registered what the Princess had heard. A grimace pulled at the corners of her lips as she reached out for the now still Valissa.
"We've got to run for it." Her voice was strained with exhaustion.
"But you can't." Valissa's concern was only for her friend now.
"Run."
Rose clung more to Valissa as they picked up their pace. I could see the other guardians approaching behind them, still unseen by their eyes. Rose began to lose more color in her face and her eyes seemed unfocused but she kept pushing Valissa.
The girls were only about 12 feet away now. I stepped from the camouflage of the shadows directly in front of them as they moved closer, allowing the light to wash over me. The other guardians recognized my move and formed a loose circle around the girls. They were trapped.
Rose must have recognized me as the leader—the threat—because she pulled Valissa behind her, shielding her from me. With her arms forming a lose cage around Valissa at her back, Rose's panicked eyes quickly surveyed the situation. She was steady on her feet for the moment, though she still looked pale.
Seeing her this close, her beauty caused my breath to catch in my throat. Her searching eyes were deep and beautiful. Dark brown. Her skin, the color of the inside of an almond, was flawless and was framed by wonderful curtains of flowing dark hair. When she growled, "Leave her alone! Don't touch her." I noticed her full lips and again her melodic voice. Watching her, I felt a protective instinct rise in me. She wasn't much older than one of my sisters.
I realized she was prepared to fight us, and I didn't want her to over exert herself. I raised my hands, palms facing her, hoping she would see I had no intention to harm them. I took a step towards her as I said, "I'm not going to—"
Before I could finish my thought, she left towards me, ready to fight. Her movements were immature, underdeveloped, but showed her skill. I was faster, however, and brushed her advance aside.
The force of my response startled me as my arm contacted her shoulder. I hadn't intended to strike so hard and my movement sent her flying backwards. She couldn't regain her balance and I could tell she was going to fall hard onto the curb. My muscles obeyed the protective instinct that flared in my stomach and grabbed Rose's arm to steady her before I had the time to think about the action. Her hair fell from her face when she lost her balance, revealing the small puncture wounds from the bite I'd watched before. My stare lingered for a moment as a drop of blood gathered at the wound. I fought the instinct to tend to her.
Rose noticed my line of sight and touched her neck. When she saw the blood on her fingers, she met my eyes, crimson rising to her cheeks and flipped her hair back over her neck, pulling from my grip. I pulled my eyes from her and quickly glanced around the circle of guardians looking for any indication they had noticed. With their guardian blank faces, I couldn't read any thoughts, but their eyes were on me, and I was certain—relieved- no one saw the bite.
With a look challenging me plastered on her face, Rose backed towards Valissa again. She readied herself to attack.
"Rose. Don't." Valissa issued a quiet warning. It had no affect at first. Rose was still ready to protect Valissa no matter the injury to herself. After a slight moment, Rose began to relax her stance as the muscles in her face shifted. A slight glassy look in her eyes struck me before it quickly vanished.
I had seen a similar look before. Two in the village in which I was raised acted the same together as Rose and Valissa. At times, the dhampir would get the same flash in his eyes, and I felt that I was missing a part of their conversation. I couldn't believe it. Valissa and Rose were bonded. I felt the tension around my eyes soften as I realized the weight of the responsibility Rose must feel.
When I recognized Rose would no longer fight me, I turned to Valissa, my eyes remaining on Rose just a second longer. I swept Valissa the greeting bow worthy of her status as Princess and introduced myself. "My name is Dimitri Belikov. I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."
