Hey guys! Thanks for your reviews! They really do mean a lot to me! And I am sorry for the cliffhangers last chapter.
Guess what? TODAY IS MY FIRST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL! Wish me luck! I'm so excited!
Shout-outs for last chapter's reviews:
EMMA LU, who said she'd buy my book if I ever wrote one, thank you sooo much! Ily 3
ANNIKA TAYLOR, who updated Saving Grace just for me AND wished me luck. Guys, go read her stories! ALL of them. They're amazing, much better than mine :)
LISSA, whose first review made me laugh. I'm glad you're psyched about Rose losing her memory, but Dimitri is MINE! Jk, I don't own him. I wish I did though… Tell me your name and I might add you in for Adrian though… And your second review: who said anything about Strigoi? ;)
A PERSON WHO LOVES BOOKS, you should love me and beg me to write more. Remember, killing me isn't healthy for me :D And I'll get started on that book of yarn right away. JK! I know next to nothing about yarn. But I won't stop writing. And I feel very lucky ;)
PAVNEET (geez, these last three have been anonymous reviewers… are you guys all the same person just reviewing under different names?) Hopefully one day, I'll publish a book ;)
THANK YOU GUYS! Those people I didn't respond to, I'm sooo sorry! :/ I was swamped with last-minute school things yesterday, but I did what I could! And to my anonymous reviewers, YOU GUYS ROCK! Though I'm starting to think you're all the same person… But you can review all you guys want :D
RPOV (GO BACK AND READ MY AN IF YOU DIDN"T!)
Pale, ghostly shapes flitted around me. My breathing picked up as they floated closer. They looked like people—but they were too pale. They looked like old photographs that had been left out in the sun for too long. They all were staring at me, despair in their eyes, but also something like curiosity.
Some of the figures had strong, lean builds that reminded me of the man in my room and the men I'd seen occasionally walking past my window. There were also a few children, dark stains on their neck. It took me a while to realize that the stains were blood. The sight of their faces stirred up feelings of fear and I felt like some great injustice had been done to me. Staring at their pale faces, I was overwhelmed by voices.
"This changes everything, doesn't it?" I heard my voice whisper. I sounded small and scared and vulnerable.
A man's deep voice was the next thing I heard."Yeah. It does," His voice was grim. His face flashed into my mind. IT was the guy from my room! Excitement rose up in me. Now I had some knowledge about my past life. We had obviously been close before whatever had caused my amnesia. I knew he was way older than me, so it hadn't been romantic, ugh. That would be just wrong.
I blinked, slightly startled by the memory. "Hey," I called out softly to the children. "Are you—are you okay? What happened to your neck?" The children stared at me sadly, their mouths moving in silence. They and the other people drifted closer. Panicking, I turned and started to run as fast as I humanly could.
They were all around me, trapping me in a giant circle. I shrieked and clawed at their reaching hands. "Make them go away!" I sobbed, praying that someone would hear me and help. I would settle for that ditzy blonde chick from the hospital place right now. "Go away! Help! Please, someone, make it stop!" I screamed. I was pleading and sobbing, my breath coming out in ragged gasps.
I went backwards, desperately trying to avoid the people. Stumbling and falling, I gasped and choked on dirt that entered my mouth, nose and eyes.
I scrambled to my feet, rubbing my eyes blindly. My arm brushed against something. Reacting instinctively, I jerked back and crouched in a defensive position.
Though my vision was hazy and blurred, I was able to make out the shapes of a man and a woman with blonde hair and green eyes. Even though the rest of them was pale, their eyes glowed brightly, reminding me of the girl back where I'd just come from. I felt a small spark of recognition, but I couldn't quite place who they were. I didn't want to waste time trying to figure it out. Right now, I just wanted to get away from this hellish place.
The woman reached for me, her expression sad and slightly disapproving. You need to come back with us. You belong with us. His expression seemed to say.
"Get away from me!" I screaming, tears streaming down my face. I was on the verge of hyperventilating.
The woman reached out even farther and, somehow, even though I was doing my best to avoid her, she grabbed my wrist.
Her grip was light and airy, but try as I might, I couldn't break free. I was surrounded by them on all sides. Steadily, they propelled me forward towards a dark patch that was steadily growing. I screamed and thrashed around, my mind blank with terror and panic. The patch of shimmering blackness drew closer, increasing my panic.
"Let me go!" I begged. "Please! I don't even know you people!" My pleas were met with a quickening in pace. The woman yanked on my arm, propelling me forward. I stumbled a few feet. The ghostly people hung back now, just watching me.
Confused, I turned to the man and the woman. "I don't understand! What the hell do you want from me?" I shrieked at them.
They just stared dully back at me before beckoning. I laughed out loud. It was a panicked, slightly hysterical laugh. "Are you out of your fucking mind? No way in hell am I coming anywhere near you!"
Suddenly, my eyes were drawn to the patch of darkness next to them. It had grown and now resembled a large, dark cave.
I felt an urge to go into it, an urge I'd never felt before. The longing was almost irresistible, I felt like in that cave, lay my true home. It was an urge to finally explore and be with people like me, people who had…
People who had moved on, were no longer living. The words sprang unbidden to my mind. People who have died, who can never fully be a part of the living world.
Startled, I snapped out of my reverie and realized that I had unknowingly moved closer to the darkness. I was now only feet from the entrance.
I tried to step back, but something held my feet in place. Instead, I felt myself being pushed yet again by one of the pale people behind me.
I fell, shrieking and screaming, into the darkness as my own terror consumed me.
DPOV (I know, I'm evil, right?)
I mentally steeled myself for more bad news. "What is it Guardian Petrov?" I asked wearily.
Alberta sighed. "Is your brother at the academy right now?"
I frowned. What did Felix have to do with anything? He had just gotten here. There was no way that he'd already gotten into trouble with Kirova or the head guardian. "Yea," I said slowly.
"Good. There's a situation. Get him, then come to the infirmary. There's someone who needs to see you two."
"Who?" I questioned. As far as I knew, no one other than Rose, Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Abe, Alberta, and my family knew Felix was my brother.
Alberta shrugged and refused to meet my eyes. That was my first clue she knew more than she was letting ON.
"Alberta," I said firmly. "I am not leaving this room until you tell me everything you know about whoever wants to chat with me and Felix." My little brother had been through enough. He didn't need any more surprises.
She looked up and glared at me. I folded my arms over my chest and waited. She stayed quiet. I raised one eyebrow and sighed impatiently, letting her know I was waiting for her to explain.
Finally, Alberta broke. "I honestly don't know who he is. Well, I mean, I know who he says he is, but either way, I don't have a name for you."
"Well, who does he say he is?" I pressed.
Alberta's features transformed into sympathy and regret for a few quick moments. Then her guardian training kicked in and she became the brisk, business-like Alberta I knew so well. "He says he's your father," She said quietly.
I kept all emotions off my face. "My father?" I asked in an even voice.
Alberta nodded. "He arrived maybe twenty minutes ago smelling like alcohol and has been causing trouble for all the guardians and Kirova. He demands to speak with his sons. He named you two by names. I think he's drunk though," As guardians, we were trained to protect Moroi and not judge them, but it was clear Alberta was struggling to keep the disgust off her face.
Inwardly, I groaned. Could nothing go right in my life? "All right," I said. "I'll get Felix and we'll get everything sorted out."
Alberta nodded and turned and strode off.
I jogged across the school grounds. When I got to Felix's dorm room, I hesitated. What I was about to do could seriously hurt Felix. But I couldn't face my darling daddy alone.
And in case you didn't catch it, the children were the children from the Badica attack in the beginning of Frostbite :)
Well, that's it. Now it's time for you to review, and if you have any funny high school stories, feel free to share them with me :D