When we arrived at the jet everyone boarded and got ready for the long plane ride ahead. Not surprisingly Roza slept the whole way. I figured she would, with everything she was dealing with, her body needed time to recover. We were swept into a flurry of activity as soon as we disembarked. Bags and passengers being swapped from the plane to the waiting SUV'S and then being taken to Abe's place. Which truth be told looked like a fucking palace.
"Sergei, has Rose and Dimitri's room been prepared?" Janien asked.
"Yes ma'am, the mistress's suite is ready. I also took the liberty of having rooms prepared for everyone in your party. One of the maids has turned the beds down, the cooks are preparing a meal and I have notified the tailor to be ready to receive the boss, her mate and her friends at any time."
"Thank you, Sergei. Have you found out who is responsible yet?"
"No ma'am, but we are continuing with the investigation. When the boss wakes up, she might want to look at some of the things we have come up with so far."
"Again, thank you, Sergei."
"Uh, not trying to be rude or anything, but who is the boss?" Christian asked.
"Lady Rosemarie Esmeray Hathaway Mazur." Sergei answered him.
"Lady?" Eddie squeaked.
"Yes, Lord Abe was a royal, although not many knew that. His brother and sister arrived earlier today for the funeral."
"So Rose is a royal?" Mason yelped.
"Yes, but she doesn't know that yet." Janien answered.
"Which family is she from?" Mia asked.
"One of the twelve." Sergei answered.
"Which one?" Adrian asked.
"The Ivashkov's." When Sergei revealed this piece of information everyone went pale.
"So…so what you are saying is that, Rose is an actual blood relation to Queen Tatiana?" Lissa asked.
"Yes, Lady Rose is the niece and heir to the queen."
I heard all the boys start laughing, "when she finds out" laugh "that she is actually related to the queen" more laughing, "she is going to pop a few brain cells." Christian said, as he and the other guys were now laughing hysterically. Which is true Rose really hates the way Tatiana has treated her, Lissa and Christian.
"Oh God she is going to flip her lid." Adrian also laughed, then sobered suddenly. "I can't believe I actually made passes at my cousin, I think I'm going to be sick." Everyone laughed at him this time. They were laughing so loud it woke my Roza.
"Hmmmmm, what's going on? What's so funny? Where are we?" Again the boys were rolling with laughter, all except Adrian who looked a little green. Well, at least I knew I didn't have to worry about him trying to get her into bed again.
"Adrian are you ok? You look a little green." Roza asked him.
"Umm, not really cuz, I feel quite ill actually." He said as he leaned against the wall. The boys had eased off on their laughter some, but when they heard this all three of them were on the floor laughing.
"Again what's so funny?" But before anyone could answer her Queen Tatiana swept into the room.
They both saw each other at the same time, starring at each other then said at the same time, "what are you doing here?" oh boy here we go. Roza got down out of my arms standing her ground hands on her hips she challenged Tatiana, nothing new there. I thought.
"Not that it's any of your business you nosey old cow, but I'm here for Baba, uncle Pavel and the others funerals. Now what the hell are you doing here?"
Tatiana quickly looked at Adrian, and he nodded at her. "I'm here for my baby brothers funeral."
"And just who is your brother?" Roza asked her.
"Ibrahim Mazur." Tatiana answered Roza in a hushed voice.
"Ibra…wait, do you mean to tell me that my father Abe, is your brother?!" Roza squeaked and Tatiana and Nathan both nodded at Roza.
"That's not all Rose." Tatiana said.
"Oh God what else is there?" Roza's panicked voice asked.
"As my niece, you my little Rosie, are my heir and the next queen." I don't know if she was fainting or what but Roza fell against me and I caught her before she could hit the floor.
"Oh my fucking shit!" Roza screamed. "Baba you better get your ass out here right fucking now!" Again she screamed only this time it was at the top of her lungs.
Everyone besides me, Janine and Roza's friends looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Has she gone off the deep end?" Nathan asked.
"No, she talking to Abe." Janine said.
"How is she doing that, he's gone?" Tatiana asked, her voice filled with grief.
"Rose is shadow-kissed, she can see, talk to and control ghosts." Lissa answered her.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me any of this old man?" Apparently he had done as she asked and made an appearance. She was again standing and flinging her arms all over the place. Which she only did when she was super pissed.
(RPOV)
"Because I wanted you to have as normal a childhood as possible."
"Normal childhood! Are you fucking insane?! What exactly about my childhood was normal?!"
"Please calm down kiz."
"Calm down?! Calm down! Are fucking insane?" I asked again. Putting my face in my hands I took a deep breath trying to calm down.
"Before we get into this, can we at least go outside the wards. So you won't look like you've completely lost your mind? That is not the best look for a queen."
I gave him a scathing look before asking, "Fine, where's the ward line?"
"Just step outside the gates."
"Alright we will meet you there, and do not make me wait or have to call you again." With that he disappeared.
"Baby; you, me, mom, Lissa, Adrian, Mason, Eddie, Mia, Chris, Tatiana, Nathan and Sergei need to go outside the gate."
"Alright milaya." As we walked outside, I ran my hand up and down her back to calm her, to the apparently always waiting SUV'S.
"Babe get in and drive this SUV, moroi inside. Damphire, we will stand on the rails that way we won't need but one car and the moroi will be protected." Everyone did as I asked. "Comrade, I'll be standing next to you."
"Alright love, don't worry I won't let you fall."
"I know baby." Everyone took their places, I stood on the bar next to the driver's seat, Dimitri raised the bar and wrapped his arm around my waist to be sure I didn't fall. And I wrapped one of my arms around his shoulders and with the other I held on to the rack on the roof of the SUV. Dimitri pecked my lips gently but lovingly before starting the truck.
When we stopped at the gate Sergei told them to open up and let us out. As we walked away from the truck Dimitri still had his strong loving arm around me. As soon as we were all past the wards baba appeared to me. "Alright baba we are all here now spill."
"Hang on, I have to solidify a little so everyone else can see and hear me." I stood there tapping my foot in frustration, it took him a minute but he did get there. I knew this because I heard gasps all around me.
"Alright old man, we can all see and hear you so get on with it." I told him with one hand on my hip while waving the other at him.
"You are so impatient kiz." He tried joking.
"Baba." I warned.
He held up his hands up and began his tale, "fine, fine. As you already know you are the next queen of our world, which you would have found out at your graduation next week anyway. You also know that being shadow-kissed has given you some remarkable powers. What you don't know is, that you don't know all of them yet, you don't even know a tenth of them actually. Very soon you will be able to control all six elements…"
"Baba there are only five elements; earth, air, fire, water and spirit."
"And darkness."
"Wait, your saying darkness is an element?"
"Yes, and as rare as spirit is, a darkness wielder, like you, is a million times more rare. With a bonded spirit user, their bond mate takes their darkness, as you know, but being a wielder you have the ability to use the darkness as a weapon. It also gives you powers no one would believe. The reason you can't control it, is because you are still bonded to Lissa. You must break the bond to be able to control your powers kiz."
"But if I do that then Lissa will have to deal with it."
"Kiz, those are Lissa's emotions to deal with. You were never supposed to deal with them for her, until she learns to deal with them she will remain a child. For her or anyone to be an adult, they have to learn to deal with their own shit, not let someone else deal with it for them."
I turned to Dimitri, "Dimi?"
He stepped closer to me, "Yes my love?"
"What should I do?" I asked. Begging him, with my eyes, for the help I knew only he could give me.
Bringing his hand up he cupped my cheek, I leaned into his touch. "You should do what you know you need to, what I've already tried to get you to do."
"But if I do that, Lissa will have to deal with it all on her own."
"Milaya, like your father said, to become an adult everyone has to learn to deal with their own emotions. You can't always do that for her." He lifted his other hand and gently caressed my other check lovingly, brushing his thumb across my lips. "Who deals with your emotions Roza?"
Sighing I answered him, "I do."
"See, you have been dealing with yours and Lissa's emotions since you were fifteen. You have to let her grow up my love, it's time."
"Alright." I closed my eyes and did what I should have done a long time ago. "I did it, but I can still read her mind, and feel her emotions."
"And you will continue to do so, just as you can with everyone else you wish. You just won't pull her darkness anymore, well at least not at dangerously violent levels. From this day forth, the darkness you get from her will increase your powers. You won't get it all, but you will still get a little, unless you forcibly take it. Which for your own health and wellbeing I implore you not to do. From now on, the rest is her own to deal with, as it should have always been. Now your new powers should start kicking in anytime."
"What kind of powers exactly other than controlling the six elements, I mean?"
"Lots of them actually. You will be able to move things with your mind, you can read anyone's mind, memories and emotions you wish whether they want you to or not including strigoi. You can fly and teleport, you will be faster and stronger than the oldest strigoi, you can use compulsion better than anyone else, you will have visions like Yeva, you will be able to kill with a thought, you will be able to heal and dream walk better than anyone else ever has or ever will, you will be able to charm things such as jewelry to help spirit users with their darkness," There I quickly looked at Lissa and Adrian with a smile. "Your strigoi sensor will increase immeasurably instead of a few hundred feet it will be twenty miles, being outside the wards won't cause you pain anymore and neither will flying. You will be able to control the weather to an extent, you will be able to read aura's, you and Dimitri will be able to see each other's auras just as spirit users can, you will glow red for love, crimson for passion, green for jealousy and blue…well, I will tell you later what that's for. You will be able to tell when someone is lying, you will be able to change a strigoi back to their former selves and so many, many more. Some you will have to discover yourself. Some you and Dimitri already know, but have told no one about. Oh, you can also give Dimitri as many of your powers as you wish to share with him. Oh, oh, oh and you can also make copies of yourselves, that way if you are in a meeting or something and you need or want to be somewhere else you can do that too. While knowing still participating in both places and retaining everything that happened in both places."