Hello. It's been a while, I know, but here is the next chapter. I will hopefully be able to update more in the next few weeks, so you should be hearing again from me soon :) Until then, enjoy.
Dimitri POV
Janine was in a rage, demanding to know why she had not been informed about what had happened with her daughter- clearly this was the first she had heard about Roza being shadow kissed. Her anger was clearly focused on the two Guardians in the room, and although she was a foot shorter than me, I'm sure she would have kicked my ass had the circumstances not been so grim. Vasilisa burst into tears, clinging to Christian as though her life depended on it, as he frantically attempted to comfort her. Eddie and Alberta were arguing about the next step, debating whether or not to seek out this Donovon person. Alberta was vehemently opposed to it, suggesting more common medicinal practises. However, what really held my attention was Adrian Ivashkov.
Now that I looked closely, he really didn't seem as drunk as he had appeared earlier. He was still sitting on the floor, but was staring at Roza with a degree of concentration that was uncharacteristic of someone who was drunk to the point of passing out. Noticing my scrutiny, Adrian beckoned me over with a quick motion of his hand. I sat down beside him, keeping myself between him and Roza, mostly out of instinct. He chuckled at the expression on my face, which was a cross between confusion, wariness, and grudging interest. He leaned towards me, whispering quietly enough that only I would hear him.
"I find that people have a tendency to give me my way when I appear intoxicated. Just humor the drunk, rich royal. Make sure he doesn't pass out somewhere and get lost." He sighed, then continued, "A lot of people seem to think I'm harmless enough, just a bit of a pain in the ass. How else would I get away with as much as I do? And it's a very convenient cover for nosy royals. Let them think I'm always out partying and getting drunk, rather than wonder what I'm really up to."
"Ivashkov, you are making absolutely no sense right now."
He gave me a look filled with disbelief. "Whatever you're doing, wherever you're going, I'm in. And I think it would be best to keep this as low profile as possible. Hence the need to avoid raising suspicion."
I leaned back, thinking. I had been seriously misjudging Adrian Ivashkov. He really was different from his public image. As much as I hated to admit it, he really did seem serious about Roza. He cared about her. And he was smart too; I had to give him that.
When I had turned to my inner musing, he had returned to his concentration on Roza. I realized now that he was probably reading her aura, and while I was reluctant to disturb him, he was taking far too long. Surely this wasn't normal. Suddenly his eyes widened, and I saw emotions in them that I easily recognised, as they perfectly mirrored my own. Fear. Worry. Pain.
I shot to my feet, checking Roza's breathing, pulse, anything that would indicate any sort of change for the worst. Physically, she appeared fine, which was what worried me most. Modern medicine could deal with those kinds of problems, but I was at a loss when it came to this business of spirit and auras. I was totally helpless, and quite frankly, it scared me.
"What's wrong with her?" I demanded after completing my hasty physical examination.
He took didn't answer right away, but as much as I wanted to, I didn't push him. It was obvious that he was not delaying out of spite or for theatrics, but because he truly needed a chance to recover from whatever had taken place. Although it was almost physically painful, I put on my guardian mask and waited. The room was silent- my outburst seemed to have caught the attention of everyone else present.
"Her aura is completely black," he muttered, dazed, "I don't know how that is possible, it shouldn't be possible, it doesn't make sense…" he took a deep shuddering breath, then continued, "She isn't there either, not at all. I tried to reach her dreams, but there was just a void, dark and cold, empty… She's here, but she's gone, perhaps too far to come back this time, perhaps not…"
From Roza's description, it seemed that Adrian was having one of his spirit-induced episodes. I was at a complete loss for what to do, but Vasilisa came to my rescue, dragging him into a corner to calm him down and talk spirit. Turning away from that conversation, I found myself facing Eddie, Janine, and Alberta.
Although she was quick to anger, Janine really wasn't as hard as she often seemed to outsiders. I could see it on her face that she was truly worried about her daughter, something Roza would never believe. As for myself, I tried to avoid looking at Roza as much as possible, because it was nearly impossible to do so without showing the depth of the emotions I felt for her. People were already suspicious after my performance today, and judging by the sidelong glances that Eddie kept shooting me, he in particular suspected something. How close to the truth, I couldn't be certain, but I would hope that our secret could remain a secret for a little longer.
"So Dimitri, what do you think should be our next move?" ventured Alberta, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had taken root among us. I looked directly at her when I answered the question, gauging her reaction.
"I think we should find Donovon," I replied. There it was again, that flash of pain, but only for a second before she had composed herself. No one would have noticed unless they had been looking for it.
"Dimitri, our numbers are already strained, after losing so many, and we just can't afford to send search parties to find some reclusive Dhampir that may or may not exist. It would leave the school open to another attack, and we simply don't have the numbers to repel another assault of that magnitude" While Alberta's logic was sound, it was clear that she was avoiding the subject, "We have very good doctors here, as well as two spirit users who have the ability to heal. Frankly, I don't see the point of looking for ghosts." I opened my mouth to respond, but Janine beat me to it.
"Alberta, please. We need to do something. I won't sit here and watch my daughter die."
I don't know what it was, but something about Janine just broke Alberta. She made no sound, but tears flooded her eyes and cascaded down her face. However, she managed to speak with barely a hitch in her voice, "He's in Tarasov. Clinically insane."
