Dimitri Belikov entered the room that Ivan and the Dragomirs had acquired for lunch on their second day at the ski lodge. Ivan had been avoiding Dimitri, deliberately, all morning. Dimitri had told Ivan his thoughts on the conversation Ivan and Rose had the previous night with a two-word text message- "fuck you". Ivan had ignored the message and mentioned the lunch.

Rose was the first person to look at Dimitri as he entered. She smiled, then looked away quickly. A faint blush was creeping up her cheeks. Dimitri thought it was beautiful. She was beautiful. He pushed aside his thoughts about her. He needed to focus on the reason they were gathered, not on her.

Rhea and Eric Dragomir welcomed him, as did the others. Ivan, Tasha, Rose, Lissa, Christian, Jill, Andre, Evan, and Janine were also in the room. Everyone took seats on couches and chairs, drinking coffee and tea, eating sandwiches, waiting for Adrian Ivashkov to arrive.

Dimitri made his way to Ivan and Tasha. He looked at his friend, arching an eyebrow. Nearby, Rose made a muffled sound. Dimitri glanced her way, seeing the flush of her embarrassment. He looked back at Ivan, taking a seat beside his friend.

"Some days, you are the most infuriating person on the planet."

Ivan gave him a smile, not bothering to vocalize his response.

"Vanya, what did you do to Dimka?" Tasha asked.

Dimitri answered her. "He likes informing me of conversations that should be private. He also tries to insert himself into my personal affairs, and to talk about things that he shouldn't."

"That's what friends are for," said Ivan.

"Should I tell your fiancée what I'm unhappy about?"

"No, some of what I said was in poor taste." Ivan sent a few pleas through the bond for Dimitri to never repeat what he had said to Rose the night before.

Dimitri held his bond mate's gaze steadily for a few moments before nodding. "Only if you let the matter drop."

Ivan sighed, sipped his coffee, and agreed. "Fine. I will stop attempting to interfere in your personal matters."

"Good," Dimitri replied shortly.

When Adrian arrived a short time later, he greeted everyone with a smile. He greeted Eric and Rhea first, which was to be expected. After that, he was introduced to the rest of the room. His eyes kept landing on Rose and Dimitri. People changed seats, arranging so that Rose and Lissa sat beside one another, across from Ivan and Dimitri. The others sat or stood around the room, letting Adrian sit on a chair between the two shadow kissed pairs.

"You're paired?" Adrian asked. He was studying the two pairs with a scrutinizing look.

"It's called being shadow kissed," Rose said. "I'm bound to Lissa and Dimitri is bound to Ivan."

"Bound? Like in the old legends?" Adrian looked between them in confusion, a little startled.

Ivan answered for them. He kept his tone level and solemn. "You know how the old stories talk about pairs of Moroi or Moroi and dhampirs who knew each other's hearts and minds?"

Adrian nodded.

"One member of every pair was a spirit user. Healing has a surprising array of uses. We have a friend in Russia who told Dimitri and I about many aspects of spirit. She told us about spirit bonds. A spirit bond is formed when a person dies and a spirit user brings them back to life. It requires a tremendous amount of power and creates a permanent bond between the spirit user and the person they brought back to life."

The room fell silent. Everyone in the room, other than Adrian, had known what a spirit bond was, but hearing it put into words was humbling. Lissa squeezed Rose's hand. Dimitri looked at his own hands. Janine shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself.

"So, both of you died and were brought back to life."

Rose and Dimitri nodded in response to Adrian's statement.

"What does the bond do?"

"Drives us insane instead of our bond mates, apparently," Rose said drily.

There were a few sharp intakes of breath. Janine looked at her daughter. "Insane?"

It was Jill who answered. "Spirit users are all a bit… unstable. Every time they use their element, the instability increases. It's a darkness that slowly destroys their minds. Medication helps or healing or a bond."

"The spirit bond allows the darkness to be pulled from us into our bond mates," Ivan continued. "From there, we can heal the darkness from our bond mate."

"That's mainly what Ivan has been teaching me and Rose for the past two months. That and learning how to shut our minds to each other. Our bond mates can see into our minds, but we can't see into theirs."

"It's a bit… awkward, honestly," said Rose. "Learning to block out the bond helps keep our lives more private."

"Wait a second," Adrian interrupted. "You two can see into the minds of these two." He pointed first at Rose and Dimitri, then at Lissa and Ivan.

"Sometimes by accident, sometimes deliberately," said Dimitri. "Being bound requires a lot of trust and honesty with your partner. I know what Ivan thinks and feels. I can watch what he is doing, through his eyes. I can look through his memories. Rose can do the same with Lissa."

Adrian shuddered. "That sounds very… invasive."

"You get used to your life being seen by another person," Tasha said. Adrian's eyes widened. He looked between Ivan, Tasha, and Dimitri, taking in the implications of her words. A few others did the same thing after a moment.

Lissa spoke up before anyone asked an awkward question. "It's weird, but you do get used to it. I don't think bonds are the best for everyone, but when a loved one dies in front of you, it's impossible to resist. Healing is like that too or any other spirit power. The need to use it is very powerful."

"That's part of the reason why a bond mate helps," said Ivan. "It's far easier to control the need to use spirit when you know that it hurts your bond mate, your friend."

Adrian nodded, considering the overload of information on this one small aspect of spirit. Looking around, his eyes fell again on Jill. "How did you know so much about spirit?"

Jill looked at him for a moment, then squeezed Evan's hand. "My cousin is a spirit user. She used to teach at our school, but she went insane. She's in a hospital now. They refuse to allow her to have visitors because she's tried to turn Strigoi… more than once. She's fed blood by bags instead of by feeders."

Heavy silence fell again. Adrian swore under his breath. "Is there a way to bring back one of us who does go insane?"

Ivan, Lissa, Dimitri, and Rose exchanged looks. It was a question none of them had considered. Ivan glanced at Jill, then looked steadily at Dimitri. Dimitri nodded thoughtfully a few times but didn't speak. Everyone watched them. Rose laughed lightly at the sight.

"It's worth a try," Dimitri finally said. "I'll ask about it when we're done."

"Did I just watch a conversation?"

"Yep," Rose told Adrian.

"It can be annoying," Christian muttered. Rose stuck her tongue out at him. "You two do it all the time… Can you cheat on tests like that?"

"Christian!" Rose hissed. A few of the adults in the room looked at Rose questioningly. "I get my bad grades all on my own, thank you. Besides which, at this point I'm basically done with regular classes. We start field experience in February. The next month is a lot of preparation for field experience, and a few training drills."

Ivan laughed. "I'm certain that Rose is an honest student. Adrian, now that we've discussed spirit bonds at length, I'm certain that you have other questions?"

"You both said that you can heal, but I can't. Can you show me?"

Lissa shook her head slowly. She had stopped her medication, but the drugs were still in her system. Ivan looked at Dimitri.

Rhea spoke up, blanching a little. "Ivan, I would rather that you don't ask Guardian Belikov to be an example of your healing powers again."

"What did you have Dimka do?" Tasha asked.

"He asked me to cut myself to demonstrate his skills to Prince Eric and Lady Rhea."

"I wasn't going to suggest that this time," Ivan said. "I don't derive enjoyment from abusing you."

"Oh! I have an idea." Rose stood, looking at Christian. "You can control fire well enough to form a small flame, right."

"Are you crazy?" Christian stared at her. "I'm not going to burn you."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Make a flame like a candle and hold it. It will only hurt for a short time, and then Ivan can heal me."

"Rose?" Janine was regarding her daughter warily.

"It's fine mom. I was resurrected from the dead, what's a little burn?" Rose's flippant tone contained an edge of defiance.

Christian walked toward Rose. "Fine, but you asked for this." He held out his hand, forming a small flame on his palm.

Rose took a deep breath, bringing her hand forward. Christian's flame began to falter. She glared at him, and the flame steadied. She placed her hand in the fire. Rhea, Lissa, and Jill all gasped. Rose withdrew her hand a few moments later. She was clenching her jaw to hold back a scream.

Rose walked to Adrian, showing him the burn. He swore, shocked at her actions. Rose then turned to Ivan.

"Dauntless, little Rose."

Through gritted teeth, she managed a reply. "Please heal it, before I scream."

"At your command." Ivan cradled her hand in his, focusing his energy on her. A moment later, she smiled, pulling her hand away.

Rose walked back to Adrian, turning her hand in front of him like a stage magician showing that there was nowhere to hide a trick. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Adrian took her hand, turning it over a few times. "That is… I've never seen anything like that." He looked at Ivan. "Can you train me?"

Ivan nodded. "It would be my pleasure. I can also show you how to make charms and do telekinesis. You need to promise that you'll show me how to walk in dreams."

"Done," Adrian agreed.

Rose withdrew her hand. "You're going to live on campus with us?"

Adrian shrugged. "I have nothing better to do, and this is the first time in my life that I've had a chance to learn what my powers mean." Adrian looked at Ivan. "So, what else can you show me?"

Later in the day, Rose went ice skating with Jill, Evan, Meredith, Ivy, Derek, Eddie, and Mason. Other people were at the rink as well. Lissa was forced to attend one of the royal parties, which she forced Christian to attend with her.

Eddie was terrible at skating. Mason was a better skater than Eddie, but he was still not the best. The other novices were better skaters. Jill was the best skater in the rink. Between her ability to control water, and her talent for dancing, Jill could skate like a competitive skater. She performed small jumps and twists as she moved on the ice. The others cheered her on, encouraging her performance.

When they left, Mason walked with Rose. "How are you doing? We haven't talked since the other day…"

"I'm fine. I've had a lot on my mind. You didn't do anything wrong the other day, I just needed to clear my head of a lot that's been going on lately."

"Did you want to talk about any of it?"

"No. I want to forget about it."

"Oh."

"Oh!" Rose, seeing Mason's crestfallen expression, was horrified. She didn't want to hurt him. She still cared about him. "No, I didn't mean… ugh, I suck at this. You were fine. It's the other stuff that's been going on that I want to forget. Your note was very sweet."

He seemed cheered by her response. "Glad you liked it. I didn't realize things have been so stressful for you lately."

"You don't know the half of it. Forgetting most of it would be great."

"You could have another party with the novices," Ivy said. She was walking a few steps behind, arm in arm with Derek. "Parties are a great way to forget everything."

Rose laughed. "I think I need a break from that kind of party."

"No fun," Ivy pouted. "We're graduating in six months. After that we become boring and responsible guardians."

"Not all guardians are boring," Rose said.

"Like Andre Dragomir's guardian?" Mason's question came out like an accusation.

Rose narrowed her eyes as she looked at Mason. "Dave is an old friend. You've known him for just as long as the rest of us. He's a good guardian. He doesn't have molnija marks yet, but he graduated near the top of his year. He's a good guy, and he still has fun. Just because we graduate doesn't mean we can't have fun."

Whatever Mason was going to say, he stopped because Dimitri was walking toward them. They all greeted him. He looked at Rose. "Rose, can we talk?"

He seemed relaxed, but his face gave nothing away. Curious, Rose nodded. "Yeah, of course." She turned to her friends. "Um, I'll see you all later. Try not to have too much fun without me."

The others said their goodbyes as Rose and Dimitri walked. They walked down a gravel path away from the ski lodge. "What's up?"

"Ivan is going to be heading out later today on a trip. Tasha and Christian will be coming, and obviously Brandon and I will go as well. We should only be gone a couple days at most."

"Oh, what's going on?"

They walked a few more paces before he responded. "Ivan is going to attempt to heal Sonya Karp."

"That's…" Rose stopped, turning to look at him. "That's incredible. Is that what the two of you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes."

"If it works, that would be amazing."

"We need it to work," he said soberly. "We need to ensure that spirit madness can be healed from someone who is badly damaged."

"Need to? Are you afraid that Ivan or Lissa or one of us will go crazy?"

Dimitri ran a hand through his chin length brown hair. "No, not right now, but the possibility does exist. This is a good time to test whether or not we can heal the darkness from another person."

Rose chewed on her lower lip, nodding slowly. "Won't healing her cost Ivan a lot of his power? Won't that effect you?"

"It will, but we both think that this is worth the risk. We'll balance out in a few weeks, if everything goes as planned."

"So when you come back, both of you will be moody?" She smiled teasingly at him.

"Maybe," he chuckled.

"Jill would be so happy for Ms. Karp, Sonya, to be back. She talks to and sees her mom's family sometimes, but she was close to Sonya after her mom was killed."

"Jill is a very brave girl."

"She's been through a lot."

"How is she?"

Rose shrugged and continued walking down the path. "We haven't talked much recently. I know she worries about Evan. It can't be easy for her to watch him go through this after everything that happened to her."

"How are you doing?"

"With what?"

"With the murders, or your mother, or anything else you want to talk about."

"Well, I can almost sleep through the night without waking up with images of dead bodies showing up in my nightmares, so that's improving. My mom and I talked on Christmas and a bit today. We're okay; I guess. She is worried about me volunteering to be burned, and she told me a bit about my father."

"Oh?"

"Apparently she sends him updates about me, and he cares about me. I think she loves him, or loved him. She got this weird dreamy look when she talked about him." Rose grimaced, making a vaguely disgusted noise. "She said he does something dangerous, which I don't know if I believe, but whatever. Anyway, he supposedly doesn't want anyone to know that we're connected for safety reasons. I don't believe that, but my mom doesn't lie." She shrugged.

"Maybe it's true."

"Or maybe he's a royal with his own legitimate Moroi kids."

"Maybe." Dimitri sounded doubtful.

"It's not important. It's not like I'll ever meet the guy. I'm kinda glad that my mom seems to have loved him though, and that she sends him updates. Most of us don't even have that much."

"So things have improved between you and your mom?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's not a war anymore, but we're not exactly fixed either."

"That will take time."

"Maybe." She sighed, looking at him. "So, why didn't you tell me the truth about your ex-girlfriend?"

"I did, just not all of it. It wasn't Ivan's place to tell you anything."

"Yeah, but he did."

Dimitri brushed his hand against the wall of snow to their right. Snow tumbled in small clumps onto the walkway. "You haven't killed. One day you probably will kill as part of your guardian duties. It will change you. Nothing in your classes, nothing I tell you, will be able to prepare you for what it is like to take a life. Physically and intellectually, you will know everything, but emotionally it will change you. It will change something in your soul."

Silence grew between them as they walked. He drew a deep breath, letting it out through his mouth. White steam formed in the frigid air. "Svetlana knew me before I killed the first time. She saw me change afterward. She saw me change even more after I became shadow kissed. We tried to make it work, but she couldn't handle the ways my job was changing me. She also wanted to have children. It was easier for her to say she was leaving because she wanted children than it was for her to tell me that she didn't like who I was becoming."

Rose remained silent for a long time. They walked along the path in the chilly nighttime air. The world was silent, except for the occasional sounds from the ski lodge. "Is that another reason why you don't want to date me? Are you afraid that I won't like who you are after a few more years of you being a guardian?" Her voice was gentle and seeking.

"I don't know."

"Are you afraid that I'll change too much after killing?"

He stopped walking. She turned, looking up at him. He reached out to her, brushing a few hairs away from her cold reddened cheeks. "No, but I do know that you won't be the same. I don't want to see the light die in your eyes. I can see how much you are affected by death. The shadow of the Badica house hangs over you. It's still so obvious to me. But I can handle those changes in a person I care about. I can wish that you would never see so much pain, but I know that I can't protect you from it."

"And she, your ex-girlfriend, couldn't handle that in you?"

Dimitri's hand still rested on her cheek. He stroked her cheek slowly with his thumb. He shook his head. "No, she couldn't. She wasn't made to be a warrior. You aren't much like her, Roza."

Rose was staring up at him, heart racing. She wished that he wasn't so tall, because then she could kiss him. She couldn't reach his lips from their foot height difference unless she jumped into his arms. She considered the thought briefly.

"I thought we were trying to just be friends?" Her words were a little breathless.

He closed his eyes, pulling away. "We are, though your conversation with Ivan last night didn't help."

She laughed nervously. "Well, I didn't exactly expect him to be so awkward. Did he really think about kissing me?"

"No, he sent the thought that he stated to you. He doesn't see you as anything more than my potential girlfriend."

Rose groaned. "He's trouble."

"He is very well meaning, but very nosy. He'll let it go for now."

"Good."

The continued walking. After a few yards, Rose spoke again. "What do you mean that I'm not much like her?"

He considered the question carefully before responding. "You are prone to acting first and thinking second. Sveta is very deliberate in her actions. You are interested in physical activities, and she is interested in intellectual pursuits. She works as a translator and interpreter."

"That sounds super boring. And aren't those the same thing?"

Dimitri chuckled. "No. Translation is the process of transcribing words from one language to another. Interpreting is listening to a person speaking one language and conveying the same meaning to listeners in another language. Neither are easy, but interpreting requires an ability to think in multiple languages at the same time."

"She sounds super smart."

"She is."

Rose kicked at a clump of snow with her booted foot. "I'm not that smart."

"Roza." She looked up at the affectionate note in his voice. "You are smart in other ways. Everyone has their own talents and gifts."

Rose nodded pensively. She looked up at him, chewing her lip briefly. "You know the other guys don't mean anything, right? I mean, I care about Dave and Mason, but they're just friends. Well, Mason and I have a past, but we're just friends now."

"I believe you," Dimitri replied quietly.

"Sorry. Friends. We shouldn't have this conversation." She let out a frustrated growl. "This sucks."

"I know."

She stopped, turning toward him. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. He arched an eyebrow, regarding her warily.

"Kiss me."

"Rose…"

"We're standing alone on a deserted path in the dead of winter. It's not like this is my bedroom. Plus I'm wearing a winter coat and a sweater."

He laughed. "You are trouble." He enunciated every word clearly and carefully.

She grinned wickedly. "It's part of the charm." She took a step forward, placing her hands on his waist.

He pulled her hands away, kissing the tops of her fingers before letting her hands go. "You don't know how difficult it is to tell you no." He sighed, turning toward the lodge. "Come on, and don't tell Jill about the plan. We don't want to raise her hope, in case we can't heal Sonya."

"I won't."

He glanced down at her. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. On impulse, he reached for her hand, squeezing it. She squeezed back, looking up at him with a small smile. They held hands until they were in sight of the lodge.

Rose spent the rest of the day playing board and card games in a common room with classmates. She wasn't able to take her mind away from the fact that Dimitri had held her hand. The memory made her feel warm and happy. Maybe Ivan was right, Dimitri would come around eventually.

Rose woke early the next day to a surge of terror pulling her into Lissa's mind. Lissa, Jill, and Andre sat with Eric and Rhea as their guardians stood around the room. Four guardians, Frank Linden, Daniel Bellamy, David Smith, and Vincent Addison, served the Dragomir family. Frank was telling them about another attack. A Drozdov family had been hosting a party, and everyone had been slaughtered.

Andre paled. "That's the family Mia's parents worked for. Have they been told?"

"Not yet," Vincent replied. "Should I call them?"

Andre shook his head. "No, I'll call Mia shortly."

"Do they think it was the same Strigoi who slaughtered the Badicas?"

The guardians exchanged looks before answering Eric. "Yes, Prince Dragomir," said Daniel.

Eric stood, drawing a deep breath. "Keep me informed on any information that comes in. I need to speak with Princess Voda."

"Of course, sir," Frank replied.

Rose listened through Lissa's mind for a few more minutes before returning to her own mind and body. Rose was shaking, remembering the horror of the Badica house. No one had thought that these Strigoi would do it again. Strigoi seldom attacked in large groups, let alone twice in a week.

"What's wrong?"

Rose looked at Meredith, who had just walked out of the bathroom. "I, um, there was another massacre. Drozdovs this time."

Meredith sat on her own bed. "When? How did you find out?"

Rose fumbled for a moment, raising her cellphone. "Lissa told me. Her family was just told by their guardians. I'm sure they'll tell us all later."

"Was it the same way as the Badica attack?"

"Yeah, it sounds like it. I'll see what I can find out from the guardians I know, but it sounded like the attack was the same- multiple Strigoi and wards broken by humans."

"What's going to happen now?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't know, nothing good."

Notes:

Thank you to everyone who is following, commenting, and favoriting, you make me smile. Critiques are welcomed :)

I might skip next week so that I don't catch up too quickly to my buffer of chapters. Some parts of AU-ing Frostbite were a huge pain (literally the most difficult part of the entire story outline for me), which caused the writing to be slow. I also have two other stories I need to update, one in this fandom and the other in a different fandom, so I want to spend some time on them too.