I spent the most of my morning feeling like a dunce. I wasn't able to get any help with this new 'magic' in me. I tried calling Lissa but she was in a meeting with the Council. Then I tried Adrian but he wasn't anywhere to be found. Sonia didn't have the time to answer my call, I guess. Dimitri and Christian were my last resources when it came to knowing about this part of my life. I wasn't sure about telling Mia, Eddie, or Jill. And I had made up my mind that I wasn't ready for any talk with my parents since Abe decided to unveil the month I was 'made'. God! Why did every aspect of my life have to be so damn complicated?

I stood in the shower trying to rack my brain for answers I knew I didn't have. I even tried summoning that magic that lay dormant inside of me but nothing happened. Heck. I didn't know the first thing about using any magic. But I remembered how Lissa filled with so much emotion that I figured some source of it would make the magic surface. But I had no success. In any form. I began to hate knowing.

A knock came to the bathroom door. I poked my head out of the shower door. "Who is it?"

"It's me. You alright in there?" Dimitri's voice was muffled by the thickness of the door.

I squeezed out excess water from the ends of my hair and watched the water make contact with the tile floor. It reminded me of the glittering dew on the flowers in my visit with Adrian. I kind of wished I could go back there willingly. "I'm fine. Just finishing up."

"Alright. I have to leave to get some paperwork done before we get on our way but I made you some coffee and put some donuts on the table for you."

God, how I loved that man. "You're a savior!"

I heard him laugh and then I heard the room door close. He was gone. I wrapped myself in a towel and stood in front of the long mirror in the bathroom. I sat on the counter and tried again to call forth the magic. I focused on love, beauty, kindness, and nothing. Nothing happened. It was like I was being denied access to a theatre that I owned.

Suddenly I heard the room door close again. I stood up and peeked out into the bedroom, "Hello? Dimitri? Did you forget something?"

Adrian popped his head in from the living room. I could see him straight across the floor. "Hey." He waved but once he noticed I was in a towel he dropped his hand and quickly turned around. "Sorry, I didn't know you weren't dressed."

I tightened the towel on me. "It's fine. Just wait in the living room. And close the door."

He saluted me and reached aimlessly for the door until he got a hold on the knob and closed it swiftly behind him. I patted myself dry and threw on a grey t-shirt and some jeans. My tennis shoes were already starting to grow a mouth so I went ahead and slipped on the sensible shoes my mother bought me yesterday. They were little black slip on shoes that resembled ballet slippers. Kind of girlie for my taste but they were still comfortable. I blow dried my hair until it was nearly fully dry and scrutinized myself in the mirror. It would have to do.

When I walked in I spotted Adrian eating one of the Hershey bars that Dimitri and I had left out last night. It made me smile thinking about the milk dud incident. I cleared my throat and he looked back at me. "Finally. You took a while to come out."

"My hair was wet." I scoffed at him. Why did he have to always be so sardonic? "What's up?"

He looked around the room and nodded his head, "Nice place. I don't think I've been in this room since… well since Lissa became queen."

I looked down at my feet, "I know." I hated remembering that I was the two-timer that broke his heart. "But I doubt that you came by just to see how I've redecorated."

He laughed and placed another square of chocolate in him mouth. "You're right." He continued to walk around and inspect the room's décor. "Sonia gave me a visit. She said I need to help you with your 'magic'."

"Really? You will?"

He raised his hand and shook his head, "One problem. I don't know how to…"

"But you just said…"

"Yet."

Relief swept over me. Maybe this wasn't hopeless. "So, how do we do this?"

He sighed heavily and tapped his lips with his index finger. "Hmm. Well first off we need to see what element it is."

"And how exactly do we do that?"

He walked around me looking me up and down. "It's still there. I can see it and almost feel it." He reached out a hand touched my arm. I felt the hot and cold sensations and then suddenly he pulled it back, "Whoa."

I stepped away from him, "'Whoa'? What does 'whoa' mean? What happened?"

A grin spread on his face. "It kind of… reached out to my magic."

"What?"

He attempted to reach out again and let out a laugh, "It's like it's trying to connect to me. It's like nothing I've ever seen."

I sighed. That was beginning to be something I was hearing on a regular basis. "Well, it's kind of unheard of for a dhampir to have magic whatsoever!"

He looked sheepishly away. "Right. Sorry but magic doesn't do this. It doesn't act like this."

I wish I had the power to see it. I hated not knowing. It made me feel left out. Especially when it was my own body that I didn't know about. "What does magic 'act' like then?"

"Your magic should only reach out to you. The only time it goes to someone or something else is when we transfer magic into objects like stakes or wards. In the case of spirit we use it to heal so we transfer it to the soul." He stuck out his hand. "Let me show you."

I put my hand in his, "What now?"

His smile grew pensive and he laughed, "Just don't hit me."

"Why would I…?" He pressed a nail to my palm and dragged it across fast. It stung and blood quickly surfaced. "Damn it!" I tried to pull away but he held on tightly to me.

"Don't be such a baby."

I winced, "That really stung. You could have warned me."

He pressed a finger to his lips as a signal for me to be quiet. He closed his eyes and I felt sensations tingle through my hand. The blood started to disperse and the wound began to close right before my eyes. When it was fully closed the sensations stopped and he opened his eyes. "Did you feel that?"

"Yea. I always noticed it when Lissa healed me and that time you tried to heal me in the dream world." I traced a finger over the spot the cut once sat.

He nodded, "I was sending healing powers to the source of the wound. Spirit carries that power."

"I get it but what about mine?"

He touched my skin again, "When I try to pull some out of you, like this," he focused his eyes as if staring at my aura and then I felt a little dizzy. The air started to buzz and feel like static was zapping around my skin. "It attaches itself to my magic and kind of tries to replace the taken magic by taking some of mine."

Shock struck me so hard I was dumb struck, "So my magic is eating off of your spirit?"

He shrugged, "Something like that."

"Does any magic do that?"

He shook his head, "None that I know of."

I sighed. Great. Another dead end. Why couldn't Sonia help me? She acted like she knew something about it in her visit. Why couldn't she just tell me what she knew? Why would she send Adrian of all people? "Now what?"

"Now we try to concentrate the magic on objects by using emotion as a trigger."

I dropped my head back, "I already tried triggering it with emotion." We had barely gotten started but I was already getting very impatient. I wasn't meant to have magic, that was certain.

"Anything happen?"

"Nope."

"Then you didn't do it right."

I felt a vein pop onto my forehead. I didn't like being lectured by anyone. I especially didn't like being lectured by my friends, little lone Adrian. He was the last person I'd ever expect to teach me a thing or two about anything. I placed my hands on my hips, "Oh really? And how would you know that? You weren't even there."

"I know because every magic is triggered by some form of strong emotion." He placed his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Maybe you didn't use the right ones or didn't focus it strong enough." He looked like he was staring at an invisible force that surrounded me. That's kind of what an aura was. "Try it now."

"Which emotion?"

"Which one in strongest in you right now?" He circled around me.

Agitation, frustration and maybe even a little aggravation. I felt the impatience growing on me and tried to steady my thoughts to calm myself. "You tell me."

He smiled slyly, "Just a moment ago you had a bit of red in your aura but it looks like you've chilled out a little since then." He stood in front of me and his smile turned wicked, "Maybe you should have tried sticking to it, little dhampir."

I stared him down. I knew what he was getting at but I wasn't so sure I fully agreed. I decided that I would do what I must to figure this thing out. I let out a heavy sigh, "Just do your worst."

"What? Me? I get on your bad side easiest?" He placed a hand on his chest mockingly and acted like it really hurt his feelings. "I'm so hurt."

"I really doubt that."

"Huh." He shrugged and started inspecting me. He laughed. "So this was the best thing you could find in your closest?"

I looked at myself, "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing if you're going to go work out and intend to get all sweaty." He smiled, "Sweat does wonders for your scent."

I caught on, "That's a pretty lame way to get on my nerves."

"I was just saying, Lissa has time to get pretty and do her makeup," he dropped his smile.

"Lissa's not a guardian".

He nodded, "You're right, she's not a guardian. She's queen."

I felt my face flush. "Which is all the more reason to prim and powder herself."

"So you don't like wearing makeup?" his smile played a little bit of concern.

I was starting to get flustered and just a little agitated. "I do! But I just don't have the time or the need for it. It's not part of my job description."

He turned away from me, "Geez, you can just say that you'd rather not look pretty. We're all friends here."

What! "I don't need fucking makeup to look pretty!" He had struck a vein there. I always had issues with this topic. It was a privilege to get to wear makeup on special occasions. I even got to wear some eyeliner on a daily basis if I was lucky enough to wake up early. But I knew I was pretty without it. I had gotten plenty of compliments without it before, right? I hated doubting myself.

He turned to face me and grabbed my shoulders, "Now focus it. Try to summon your magic."

I closed my eyes tightly and balled up all my anger into my core. It felt like trying to gather water with my hands. Some just got loose from me. It was harder than I had predicted. I grabbed his hand and squeezed, "Help me."

He squeezed back, "Feel it in every part of you. Let it run its course. Don't hold back."

I could hear my pulse. The thudding of my heart felt like a drum. I picked all the bad things that had occurred since I could remember. But I didn't feel anything else. Just the anger sitting on me. It was infuriating. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was just staring me down, "Anything?"

"Your aura is extremely red. You don't feel any tingles, power, anything?"

I shook my head. "No. Now I just feel pissed off."

"Huh." He pointed at me, "Then that's not it."

"What? You mean to tell me that I got all worked up for nothing?"

"I told you we had to experiment with the emotions. That was only one." He stepped towards me and cupped my face. "This is going to be by trial and error. We don't know anything about it."

I felt my heart sink. Why does everything have to take so damn long? I took in a breath and tried to calm down. I nodded, "Well then let me go blow off some of this steam in the gym."

He released me and nodded in agreement, "Sure. Just call my cell when you get back."

"You're not coming with me?"

"I have other matters to attend to."

"Then who do I spar with?"

He laughed, "Do you really think I'd spar with you?" He shook his head, "I would have to be out of my mind."

I sighed, "I'll just have to find someone else."

Adrian walked to the door, "I'll see you later, little dhampir."

I waved at him, "See you later."

I grabbed two donuts from the table and downed a cup of coffee. I threw on a hoodie and decided to buy a new pair of shoes before heading to the gym. The shoe store was nearly vacant which was lucky for me because I was in a hurry. I dropped my sensible shoes into my gym bag and slipped on my new Reeboks. They were pretty comfy but obviously needed to be broken in. And what better way to do it than to work out in them?

I walked into the gym and threw off my hoodie. It was pretty warm in here. I stretched out my limbs and approach the punching bag. I started off with a few jabs but then things got aggressive. I unleashed all my pent up anger from the 'practice run'. I threw punches, elbows, kicks, and knees. I seriously wanted to hurt this bag.

The gym door opened. I stopped to see who my visitor was and in walked Dimitri. "Looking good."

I smiled at him, "Just trying to calm down."

His face grew puzzled, "From what?"

"Adrian stopped by. He's helping me to find my magic but I have to trigger it with emotions."

He smiled, "So he pissed you off?"

"That was the plan."

"Anything happen?"

"Nope. Just got pissed off." I forced out a laugh. "I'm supposed to meet with him after I calm down."

He grabbed the punching bag and leaned in, "What emotion do you plan on triggering next?"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure. This one was random. He just told me to stick with the one that was already in my reach."

"And anger was your first pick?"

"That's what he told me he saw."

He let go of the bag and walked over to the wall. His long body rested with poise against it. I couldn't help but feel a yearning to go and kiss him. That pull was there and it was tugging at my heart. "Can I join your next session?"

I nodded, "Of course you can." I walked up to him and ran my finger on his chest, "Maybe you can even help trigger some emotions."

He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him. Our faces were just inches away. I could almost taste his lips. "I think I'd rather enjoy that."

"You're more than welcome to try." I pulled him down to me and our lips met. It was always like heaven to have him kiss me. I doubted that this feeling would ever change. When we parted it was like a wave crashing down and dying on the surf. I tilted my head towards the ring. "Interested in sparring? I need a partner."

He raised an eyebrow. "Will you take it easy on me?"

I gave it momentary thought, "Probably not."

His smile grew, "Then let's get started."

He slipped out of his duster and dropped it on my bag. We entered the ring as he limbered up. "So what are the rules?"

He shrugged, "No face hits."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

He came at me first. I threw a punch that he dodged and he landed a quick jab to my shoulder. I struck out and grazed his rib. When I tried to back up he kicked and swept my legs right from under me. I landed with a thud but quickly recovered. I shot up into his chest and landed a good blow to his sternum. But that didn't faze him for long. He grabbed my wrist and spun me against his chest. I tried an elbow but he caught it with his free hand. I struggled a bit before I stomped on his foot. He slacked and I pushed him off of me. He stumbled just a little but regained his posture.

"You're getting better, Rose." I could hear his breaths getting heavy.

"I had a good teacher." I shot for him and the sparring ensued. We kept at it for about thirty minutes before deciding to take a break.

He sat at the edge of the ring. I walked over to my bag and pulled out my water bottle. It was a refreshing relief to my drying throat. I waved it at him, "Want some?"

He nodded, "Sure." He took a swig. He looked over at me and smiled with pride, "I haven't had a good work out like that since the test at St. Vladimir's."

"Not even when we fought when you…" I stopped. I knew better than to go there. I didn't like to see the pain it brought him when his Strigoi past was brought up.

"Not even when what?" He looked sincerely interested in my next words. He probably hadn't caught on. But then he looked at my face. My ever readable face that I should have thought to change before he managed to look at me. His smile dropped instantaneously.

"I'm so sorry. I'm stupid." I looked away and started to twist my bottle in my hands. I kind of felt like thumping myself in the head with it.

He touched my hand, "It's alright. But you're right. You put up one hell of a fight then too." He smiled but I could always read him just like he could read me. We never needed much to communicate with one another. Some days I loved that about us, other days it was just maddening. This was definitely one of those days I wish we couldn't. This just made my mind rush back to our Valentine's Day.

The roses I got were beautiful. They smelled fresh and their white pedals made me think of pearls. I loved white roses. Lissa once told me that they symbolized love. Dimitri must have known that fun fact. I popped a chocolate into my mouth from its heart shaped box. It had a caramel center, "Mmm. Try this one."

Dimitri laughed, "No more, please! I don't know how you can stand eating so many sweets."

I shrugged, "I have a sweet tooth that must be satisfied."

"Must be a pretty good size" he mumbled under his breath but just loud enough for me to hear.

I hit him with my bear. "Ha ha. Not funny."

He hugged me to him, "I was just playing." He kissed my face, "But you should be careful not to eat so many."

"Why?"

"Have you ever heard about that kid that ate so much chocolate that he turned into chocolate and ended up eating himself?"

I nearly choked on the sweets. "What? That's ridiculous. You cannot turn into chocolate." But still I put the box down and wiped my hands clean.

He laughed and I could feel it rumble through his chest. I started playing with a strand of my hair. "Dimitri?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you ever think we'd be like this? Back in each other's arms?"

He looked contemplative. He finally smiled. "For a while, I honestly didn't think so."

I quickly turned around, "And why not?"

"Rose, when I was Strigoi I really thought I'd lose you. That I would never hold you." He looked away, "That you might not love me."

"I will always love you regardless. Even when we're long gone and dead, my heart is yours."

I could read the distress on his face. "Roza, I was really scared." I pulled him to me and he rested his face on my chest. He nuzzled in my hair. "You don't know what it was like for me not being able to control myself. I'm so sorry."

I tightened my arms around him, "It wasn't your fault." I felt my eyes water.

"I couldn't stop. I felt sick to my stomach from all the things I did. Things that I said." He looked up at me and cupped my face in his hands. "I hated myself for it. For hurting you."

"I just wanted to save you." My voice was merely a whisper but it had all the impact in the world.

He wiped a stray tear from my cheek and kissed me. "If there is ever a time that you feel you have to save me, please think it through." He pulled me to him. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You wouldn't." Even though I spoke the words I wasn't so sure. I hoped he couldn't read my thoughts. I hoped he couldn't see that I was afraid. At one point I really thought I wasn't getting away. He would have turned me if he was given just a little more time. And that thought scared me.

He saw it there too. This was an unspoken message that both he and I understood. I hated times like these when he could read my thoughts. "But he would."

I snapped back to reality. Back to the gym and my Dimitri. He was watching me deep in thought. "How goes it on planet Rose?"

His joke was more than a welcomed relief. "Sorry. I spaced out."

He lightly laughed, "Rose, don't worry so much. Enjoy what we have right now." He took my left hand and entwined his left hand with mine. Our rings clinked when they touched.

"I do enjoy it. I embrace it every morning. But…"

"But?"

"But sometimes I cannot help but think about us. What we've been through to get here."

He smiled, "All the more reason to cherish it."

He was right. "I just don't like the way it makes you feel when it is brought up."

"How it makes me feel…"

"The look on your face. I can see it in your eyes." I looked away. "It hurts you, I know that. And I feel so stupid when I'm the one who causes it."

"A big chunk of our past was partly embedded in those times, Roza. It's not your fault."

"But I should be smart enough to know not to dwell in it."

He gently stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers, "You don't have to feel like that. You shouldn't. It's always going to be there. No point in avoiding it."

"But…"

"The more it's discussed the easier it will be to handle when it comes up in other situations."

I looked at him unsure of his words. I was sure he wasn't lying but I felt like he was trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince me. "If you're sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Only fools are positive."

He laughed, "I think we've already established that I am a form of fool."

"And why is that?" I leaned against him and rested my head on his shoulder.

He ran his fingers through my hair, "I'm a teacher who fell for his student."

I punched his arm lightly, "Hey, I was very mature for my age."

He laughed, "In more than one way."

I pushed him down on the ring floor and straddled him. "You want to prove that theory?"

He pulled me down over him until our mouths were nearly touching, "If given the chance."

We kissed but then his cell phone went off. He sighed heavily. I looked at it, "I hate cell phones."

He laughed and I rolled off of him. He answered the call, "Hello?"

The conversation was dim. It had to do with paperwork, vacation time, finding substitutes, and such. I blocked most of it out. Too boring for my tastes. He finally hung up. We both just laid there for a few more moments enjoying each other's company.

He propped himself up on his elbow, "Ready to get a hold of Adrian?"

That's a questions I'd never thought I'd hear from his lips, "Yea. I need to call him once I get back to the room."

He stood up and helped me to my feet. "Well, let's hurry. I have a few more things I have to do in a few hours." I nodded in agreement and we set off for the room.

Adrian picked up after the first ring. He seemed enthusiastic to get started at first but once I mentioned Dimitri was going to be joining us he made a groan. I guess he wasn't too excited about that part. He showed up pretty quickly after we hung up. My guess was that he was probably already on his way over.

Dimitri had decided to just be a spectator for now and took a seat on the couch. Adrian was pacing around me again. He stopped. "What emotions have you tried?"

I thought carefully about this, "Anger."

"That was established. What else?"

I shrugged, "I tried love, beauty, and kindness."

"Together?"

"They are kind of related emotions aren't they?"

He shrugged, "Well that's partly true. Those are the some emotions needed for healing." He paused, "Maybe it's a mixture of emotions to trigger your magic."

"Great. I was already having difficulty with just one."

He sighed, "Patience, little dhampir, or we'll never get anything done."

I took a deep breath and released the tension that had built up in my shoulders. "Alright. What do I do?"

He walked around me. "What are you feeling right now?"

"I don't know. Kind of calm I guess."

"Not too in touch with your emotions, Rose?"

I glared at him, "Not on a daily basis."

"Then try one out. Something you'd be use to. Something easy."

Oh, I knew an emotion that I was getting quite use to but it wasn't one that I wanted exposed in front of Adrian. I shot a glance at Dimitri. He knew my look all too well. A smile spread across his face. "There's one…"

"Well, do it."

I closed my eyes and relaxed. I pictured Dimitri's lips. His deep gazing eyes bearing down on me filled with so much desire it made my skin break out in goose bumps. I imagined his hands on my skin and his heavy breaths. I could practically hear him moaning my name.

"Whoa."

I opened my eyes, "What?" I had nearly forgotten what was going on.

"Your aura flared. It looks like intense silver." He looked me in the eye so eagerly awaiting my next words, "What'd you think about?"

I shot a glance to Dimitri who had suddenly become extremely interested in the conversation. "I… I don't know." I could still feel my pulse racing.

"How do you not know? You did it easily just now."

I shrugged, "Desire. Longing. Craving."

Adrian smiled derisively, "Wow. Who would have thought lust was your power?"

I shook my head, "It wasn't lust per say. It was like an undeniable yearning."

Dimitri's eyes grew wide as he realized exactly what I meant. He probably realized what I must have been thinking about. "I can almost feel it coming off of you. Like it's radiating." He took a step towards me.

Adrian put out his hand to stop him. "Don't move. We need her to focus this emotion into a form."

I was getting anxious, "How do I do that?"

"Um, try to push it off into something. Like your stake."

I looked down at my bag. I had packed it to go with me. Ever since Tasha had stolen my stake to kill Queen Tatiana I started keeping it on my person at all times. I took it out and held it tightly in my hands. "You have to coach me. I have no idea how to do this."

He placed his hands over mine. "I'll try to help it flow but there is only so much I can do."

I nodded, "I understand."

"Close your eyes." So I did. "Ok, now what I want you to do is focus your emotion into your core. Try to send it to the pit of your chest."

I could barely manage it but I felt it start to build up. It felt like I had tingles forming in my chest. They started to make it hard to breathe. "I got it. Now what?"

He must have noticed my labored breathing, "Deep breaths, Rose. Try to steady your breathing."

I took in a gulp of air and slowly exhaled. In and then out. In and then out. I caught myself mentally coaching myself on how to breathe.

Adrian's grip on my hands gave me a soft squeeze. "Good. Now I want you to send that power out through to your shoulders, your arms, your hands, and finally your fingertips." I focused. But it was getting harder to stay on task. My body felt like it was shaking. "Feel it like a flow of water coursing through you. Let it take its course. Don't force it."

I felt his fingers caress the back of my hands. It helped me to relax from the comfort it sent through me. I could still feel the sting of passion in a ball traveling through my chest. "How do I get it to flow?"

He sighed. I could feel his breath by my ear. "Picture the waterfall. Picture the dream world I made for you. Serenity, clarity, peace. Let the magic run its course."

I suddenly felt it smooth out. It was just like he said. It felt like cool water running through my veins. It sent chills through me but as it spread and traveled I felt my breaths come easier. First it ran through my shoulders, then it slowly made it through my arms. I was growing anxious.

"Just stay the course, Rose. Patience."

Adrian's voice was soothing. It made me calm. I slowly released the anxiety and returned to my peaceful state. I focused once more. I could feel the magic flow into my hands and out the tips of my fingers. Once the tingles were gone I opened my eyes. Adrian stood just a few inches from my face. He had a soft smile that showed just a smudge of pride. "Did I do it?"

He let out a laugh and nodded. He held up the stake. I could feel the intense magic inside when I touched the silver. "Well done."

It felt powerful. The magic radiating from the stake was unknown but it held a strong essence. "What is it?"

"My guess would be a new form of magic. I've never seen anything like this." He took the stake from my hands and examined it.

Dimitri was staring in awe. He walked up to me and brushed a stray strand of hair off my face. "That was amazing. How do you feel?"

I shrugged. "Fine. A little tired but otherwise fine." That was true until I tried to walk. My legs felt like gelatin. I nearly fell but luckily Dimitri was there to grab me. He always seemed to be there to catch me when I fell.

"Easy." His voice was like silk.

I laughed a little, "Wasn't expecting that."

Adrian followed us to the couch. "You need a break after all that." He patted my shoulder as Dimitri lowered me down, "You did perfectly."

"I couldn't have done that without your help."

He waved away the comment, "Naw. Well, yea. I'm not going to lie. You did kind of need me."

I laughed, "Thanks anyway."

He smiled sincerely, "It was my pleasure." He straightened up, "But I must be on my way. I have to go find a reliable source to help me identify this stuff." He patted the stake.

"You're going to tell someone about it?" I wasn't so sure I wanted this information given out just yet. Or even at all. I didn't want to be someone's lab experiment.

"Hey I can only do so much. But don't worry," he must have noticed my stressing over it, "I am going to ask someone who can keep their mouth shut. And I won't tell them where I 'found' it."

Relief swept over me. "Thank you."

"But first I'm going to go rub it in Lissa's face." He wagged the stake and tossed it from hand to hand.

"Adrian, you aren't serious."

He propped up and eyebrow, "Aren't I?"

"Don't do that. Lissa is just celebrating her dream walking accomplishment. Don't be a buzz kill."

He shrugged, "I'm already ahead of her in abilities I just haven't mastered them all yet."

"And how the hell did you manage that?"

"Simple, I have plenty of time on my hands to go over the new abilities we just learned about. We have loads of documents in Hans' office."

I laughed, "You read?"

He picked up his hands in defense, "Hey, it's not like it's for pleasure."

That was for sure. That was a big difference between him and Dimitri. My Russian cowboy enjoys his occasional western novel while Adrian's pastime consisted of his occasional drink and daily pack of cigarettes. "Just let her enjoy her victory before you go and bum her out."

He looked like he actually had to think about it, "I don't know. This is kind of a big deal."

I looked at him pleadingly, "Please. Just one more day?"

He sighed heavily, "Fine, whatever. But just until tomorrow." He saluted Dimitri then turned and walked out the door.

Dimitri laughed, "That was entertaining."

"That's always the case." I threw myself back and relaxed on his lap. He twisted a strand of my hair on his fingers. "I hope he really does leave Lissa alone until tomorrow."

"He will if he doesn't want the wrath of Rose Hathaway brought down on him", he laughed.

"You mean Rose Belikov."

He smiled sweetly and brought his lips to mine, "How could I forget."

By Shadow-Kissed Mori