If she isn't a Dhampir, then does that mean she can still protect Lissa? Dimitri and Rose's friends bust her out of her cell. At first it's just Dimitri and Rose on the run; then they meet and Alchemist, and then three becomes a crowd. Dimitri tries to understand what Rose is going through, and is raging a battle of his own – against insanity. As Lissa toughs out trying to become Queen and prepare herself for the thrown, she, Adrian and Eddie try to keep Dimitri and Rose hidden by veering the Court off their trail. Find out what happens when Rose is being hunted by other Strigoi. Are they there to kill her, or recruit her? And will Mason join the ranks, or is he only looking for Rose to kill her himself? What are they going to do now that Rose and Dimitri are wanted criminals? A life on the run wasn't how Rose thought she'd spend her life, but she'd done it before, and she can do it again.
Let me just say now that I never thought this story was going to go this far, let alone be so popular. I didn't think I had this many ideas for this story. Each chapter is literally something thought up on the spot. Thank you all so much for review to help me with ideas and letting me know what this story needed.
So, keep up all the ideas and good work!
Here's the next chapter:
Rose's POV
It's very hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that several more days have passed by. So far, Dimitri has avoided hand to hand combat – he claims it's because he wants to see my stamina and resistance to pushing my body to its limits. I think it's because he's preparing his own body for me, for when I'm too strong for him to hold. As far as everything else is considered, this could be the unavoidable calm before a storm.
As it so happens, I'm not all invincible as we thought I was. My limit is 500 laps around the small patch of trees outside town. Dimitri estimated it to be about as long as lapping the track around a football field 250 times, meaning I can run more than twice what I normally could. I really do sweat and my muscles cramp up to let me know it's too much and I need to give it a rest. Apparently my body can handle an all-day work out – for me anyway, because I'd always make Dimitri take a break from training with me and run more laps myself. Despite all of the training I've been doing, nothing seems to change, I don't build a lot of muscle, considering my body is doing twice the work it would normally need to do. And I'm not losing weight much. It's weird…but at the same time it makes sense. I'm not a Dhampir anymore, and it takes a reminder from my super hearing for that to get through my head.
Sydney has taken over roll as "mother hen". She's always bugging me to watch what I do and make sure I'm listening and looking out for danger. I'm almost surprised she doesn't want to tuck me into bed every night and sing me a lullaby she came up with at the top of her head.
Right now, it was just me and Sydney on our way through town – Dimitri had gone ahead to check out for possible Guardians or Strigoi. My ever-paranoid man.
Of course I had my glasses and jacket on for our short walk, trying to block as much sun light as possible. I don't think anyone in this part of town really noticed that we've been walking to the same place every day, but we try to make two trips, once in the morning, and again late at night when everyone is off the streets. Using Sydney's car was a risk, so she only used it when we needed food and had to go in search of a grocery store.
"Hey, Syd." She glanced at me, letting me know I had her attention. We rounded another corner, nearly at our destination. "Where are we going after this?"
She sighed then shrugged. "I don't know – I won't know till Abe takes care of everything at Court."
My eyes widened, worry shooting through me like a bullet. "What's going on at Court? Is everything okay? Is Lissa okay?"
Sydney chuckled at me ranting, though I frowned deeper when she hesitated answering. "Nothing's wrong, per say."
"What does that mean exactly?"
She sighed again, clearly torn between telling me and leaving me in the dark. Rose Hathaway does not like to be left in the dark; this should be apparent by now.
"Sydney Sage, so help me, you will not leave me out of your secret plans again." It wasn't supposed to sound like a threat, but, you know, shit happens.
"Okay, okay! Well, according to Abe, your people's Queen, Tatiana, gave her nephew some rather interesting information, and your friends are acting on it rather…quickly."
"What was it about?"
"It's really hard for me to believe it myself, seeing as though Lissa's father – form what I heard and read – was a greatly respected man. Not only in their family line but also to the council as well." When I kept quiet, she took that as a chance to continue before I could jump in with a comment. "I guess Lissa's has some kind of step sister out there in the world. I don't know anything more than the fact that they are trying to find out who this girl is and where she's hiding."
"But why would they-" Before I could finish my own question, I understood. "To make Lissa eligible for the thrown."
She nodded. "That's how I understand it."
We finally made it to the building, looking up at its tall creepiness. "Okay, but don't tell Dimitri," she said, looking me in the eye to tell me she was serious.
I nodded. I didn't want him worrying about Lissa, even though he was technically her Guardian. She was like a sister to me, and I'll be damned if I'm going to make him worry over me and her at the same time.
We walked to the back of the building and I let Sydney go in first. I stood in the doorway for a second, focusing my hearing to expand and listen for any signs of threats. All I really heard was the sound of cars and people walking by. Turns out the small town Ann Arbor of Michigan was a place where you could walk to almost anywhere in town; it was actually pretty nice, because that was less engines and cars of Diesel trucks interfering with my "signal".
Satisfied that there wasn't anything suspicious, I shut the door behind me as I followed Sydney inside.
Before I could even say one word, Dimitri looked at us both brow raised. "What's this about keeping Lissa's search for her possible sister a secret?"
I froze, we both did. Either he has super powerful hearing too, or…well I don't know!
"How did you hear that?" I asked, still trying to run options through my head.
He made a point to look at the damn black, leather watch attached to my wrist, and then point to the small chip he had in his ear.
I groaned. I had completely forgotten about that thing. No wonder I couldn't think of another way he could hear us.
Sydney got over her shot pretty quickly. "I didn't want you to know because I want you focused on what we are doing here, rather than what's going on at Court."
A playful smirk edged onto his lips. "But you'd rather tell Rose? Even though she's the one and only person on this earth that would worry over everything that had to do with Lissa?"
Sydney actually looked… Well, she obviously hadn't thought about that.
Wait a minute…
"Hey!" I put my hands on my hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"
His gaze turned to me, the damn smirk still very much in place. "Oh, nothing, Rose. Just that you tend to worry about Lissa more than is necessary."
"'More than is necessary'?" I mimicked, almost sounding like a parrot. "What ever happen to 'they come first'? It's our golden rule."
"Yes, that is true, but that doesn't mean when it is not our place to worry that we should anyway."
I sighed. "It was supposed to be my place to worry…" I muttered under my breath. The room fell silent, all hints of joking around gone – vanish into this thin atmosphere I created. When I started again, it was with more volume. "Before…before I became what I am. I was supposed to carry out my duties as Guardian at Lissa's side and protect her no matter what the cost. We already know risking my life wasn't a problem, seeing as though I've put myself in harm's way – or rather, harm seems to follow me around where ever I go."
No one said anything. They probably didn't know what to say. From the moment I met Lissa, I wanted to be her true Guardian, the one that would their body into the path of any danger. Since we started school at St. Vlad's, I honestly thought that life, long dream was going to come true. Sadly, I was wrong.
"Um…" Sydney's timid interruption broke the dead silence. "Why don't I give Abe another call and see if they found out anything. I'm almost positive he assigned himself to that case and is fully aware of what they're doing."
I nodded, and actually smiled at the suggestion. It wasn't just a way to break the silence – she was trying to make me feel better. "Thanks, Sydney."
She smiled back and nodded. "Any time, Rose." With that, she was gone, probably deciding to make the call back at the hotel.
Dimitri was standing at one of the boarded windows, and was now making his way over to me. "You know, I always loved that protective side of you." I turned more to him, our bodies completely mirroring each other. He was wearing loose gym shorts that were riding dangerously low, and a slightly tight tank top, showing off his bare arm muscles. "I know you want to protect her, but right now you need to focus on protecting yourself, and right now I'm going to help you with that."
Without so much as a warning, and clearly taking advantage of the distraction he was causing, he gripped my wrist and literally flipped my over his shoulder, letting my body glide through the air and hit the work-out mat with a loud thud.
I gasped, trying to recover from the wind being knocked out of me. It felt like a flashback from the plane jump we experienced.
I groaned. "What…the hell was that for?" I yelled between gasps.
He smiled down at me, seeming so innocent. God, I wanted to smack that smile right off of his face. Too bad his face was too pretty to damage. "You are going to learn how to defend yourself, Roza."
I turned over on my stomach and nearly jumped to my feet. It was almost creepy how quickly my body healed now, it was like I had spirit implanted into me and it does all my healing and recovery. "You mean, we're actually sparing today?"
He nodded once. "Yup."
I pumped my fist in the air! "Thank God! I haven't done any real fighting since Victor attacked Lissa." I started doing pre-stretches, not wanting to waste any time. "I thought I'd never throw a punch again! That's how deprived I felt."
He chuckled his time, and actually bowed slightly at the waist, sweeping his arm to the side. "It would be my honor to spar with an amazing woman such as yourself, Roza." He then started his own stretches next to me.
Okay, that got me to smile. He knows how to annoy me and keep me on my toes. But he also knows how to be sweet, and how to push my buttons to make heat rise in my cheeks.
We took our time warming up, doing our usual push-ups and sit ups before practicing. We decided to skip running for now and use that was a cool down run instead. We didn't talk the whole time, not needing words to communicate. It was like we had some kind of freaking mental connection, like we knew each other's movements enough to know what our next ones will me. Whatever it was, I wasn't complaining. I liked how in sync we are to each other.
By time we were finished, my adrenaline was already starting to pump through me from anticipation. I was so looking forward to facing-off with Dimitri again. The thrill of knowing what you're doing is almost…intoxicating.
Suddenly, all of my senses froze up. I felt my eyes widen and my body tense. My entire being was paralyze. That word… That was the word I thought of to describe Dimitri's blood. That was the though I used to describe the heat of battle. Why? Why was everything…intoxicating to me? What is it about all of my senses that makes me want to be somebody else? When did it all just go away; how much longer was I going to have to wait to feel normal again? Who would to live in a life of killing, when I could be the savior? Where was the justice in turning innocent people into freaks like me?
It was like several doors of knowledge were opened up to me in those few questions. All of the information that I needed to get myself through this hell was there – it was already inside me! All I had to do was learn how to access it.
Then, another thought hit me: Why was I the one to be turned into a freak – is this my destined path pre chosen for me? No. I wasn't going to let something like that control who I was, not when so much is on the line.
"Roza? Roza!"
Dimitri's voice brought me back from my train of thought. I blinked a couple of times – when did my body un-tense?
"Hey. Are you okay?" He looked a little relived that I wasn't about to spring on him like I did that other night. "You looked like you were somewhere else."
I nodded, shaking any earlier thoughts away. "Yeah… Just realized that this will be the start of me new future. You know, the where I pack up every other day and keep hidden from the people I once called my equals, my allies, and my friends?"
He nodded, already understanding what I meant. "It will be hard, Roza, but you have to know that you will never be alone."
I looked deep into his dark brown eyes, seeing all that I needed to see there. I nodded too. "You're right. Thanks."
End Chapter. Surprisingly wasn't much of a cliff hanger, considering that's how I normally leave you guys hanging.
There wasn't anything too special about it. It was really just another filler chapter. The next one should be Rose and Dimitri actually training and testing her strength, as well as tactics to get around hurting people she doesn't want to hurt. There might be some more fluff, but there will be action. Rose will, however, realize she can never use her strength to its fullest potential, and that she will have to keep guard over that strength for as long as she lives. It's actually pretty melodramatic, if you think about it.
Anyway, I liked this chapter – for a filler chapter, anyway. There was a lot of discovery and wondering on Rose's part, but all in all, good. Abe may make another appearance soon, as well the other main characters.
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but there are specific lines from the book playing out in the story. A few are from Lissa, and there are some from Rose and Dimitri. Because I recently reread the whole series, it was almost hard not to put them in here, considering we are jumping around from book to book – not to mention some were unintentional. Most of this will be – an already is – taking place somewhere between Spirit Bound and Last Sacrifice, I believe (if those two are the last books, correct me if I'm wrong). I thought it was a pretty clever way to spice up the story, seeing as though I'm no longer quoting the book word for word.
As stories end, so must this Author's Note…
Thanks For Reading! R&R
-Aly
