Jesse's dorm room was larger than mine. The large bed was covered with a black comforter. The desk was lined with bottles of alcohol in lieu of textbooks, and the nightstand had a half empty beer. I glared Jesse down as he cleared a spot on the floor for me. His cheeks flushed when he caught sight of the murderous look on my face.
"Look, about the slap..." he began. My eyes narrowed, and he showed his palms in a peacemaking gesture. "I didn't mean to make you so angry." The look on his face was a grin, accented by the dimple in his cheek, he looked like a rueful, naughty schoolboy. I ignored his half-ass apology that obviously wasn't sincere.
"I'm here for the field experience. I'm here to show the guardians that I have what it takes to graduate. This is not a joke, nor is it fun. They are pretending to be Strigoi, which are a real threat to you and to others on this campus." I paused, evaluating Jesse. "Have you ever seen a Strigoi? I mean in real life?"
"No," he said with a cocky grin.
"You can thank the guardians for that," I told him simply, coldly. I stepped closer to him, so that the air between us was us sharing breath. "Just so you know, I know how to kill someone and make it look like an accident. It would be a shame if you messed with me again."
The grin on Jesse's face slowly melted away to a stony, frightened look. I smirked.
"Sweet dreams," I said with a dimpled grin of my own.
Jesse tiptoed around me the rest of the night. It was easier to sleep in the same room as him than I thought.
Until I woke up in the middle of the day to an abnormal noise.
Attacks during the daylight were not off the tables, as far as the guardians were concerned. We were on duty twenty-four hours a day, for six days a week.
I woke Jesse and pushed him under the bed protectively just as a guardian burst in through the door to the hallway. I snatched my stake from my pile of clothes and went to work "killing" my "Strigoi" in the limited space of the dorm room. Large by dorm room standards but not in fighting quarters, the guardian and I struggled for several minutes as we circled each other. I remained between him and Jesse at all times, not allowing him to get to my charge curled under the bed.
Finally, I seized an opening the guardian had on his left side. I flipped him onto his back and stabbed him "through" the chest with my blunt stake. He laughed as I helped him up from the floor.
"Ah, Hathaway. Never a disappointment," he said proudly. "Well done. Mr. Zeklos, you can come out now."
Jesse rolled out from under the bed, his blonde hair askew.
"Sleep well," the guardian said as he left, shutting the door behind him.
"Huh," Jesse huffed. "Well...uh...good job." Jesse apparently needed his beauty sleep for his Casanova sparkle. He crankily rolled back into bed and fell into a heavy sleep. I lay awake though, staring at the ceiling, thinking back on a time in a very different room, during the daylight with a very different royal.
"I need to get back to my room," I said with a giggle as Andrew peppered my cheek with kisses. He pressed on top of me, not a breath of space between our bodies. We had been laying in bed together for hours, the DVD menu playing on repeat in the background, forgotten.
"Stay," he moaned as he rolled on his side and stroked my hair. His fingers pulled through my long curls, breaking them apart. The slight head rub he gave me when he began at the roots of my hair had me softening to his plea.
"I can't get caught!" I exclaimed. Andrew shut me up with a kiss and I rolled my eyes, ready to concede. A little longer couldn't hurt...
He pulled me on top and I straddled him beneath the sheets. Clothed in a skimpy black halter top and just my workout leggings, There wasn't much separating me from Andrew, in just his plaid pajama pants.
"You'll be the death of me," he groaned, pulling me down for another long kiss.
I giggled as I pulled away and glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
"Shit! I really have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow," I told him with a quick peck as I dashed out of his bed and through the open window.
"Hathaway," Guardian Kane barked. I was shimmying down the drainpipe of the Moroi guest quarters. I dropped to my feet, catlike, and turned to bat my eyes at the handsome guardian. His expression softened only slightly, but I seized my opening.
"Guardian Kane," I breathed in a laugh. "Such a surprise to see you."
"What are you doing, Hathaway?" he demanded. Though it was pretty obvious what I was doing, I was thankful for the opening his question provided.
"Admiring your excellent watch skills," I admitted in a sweet drawl. "And hoping you'll let me by with a warning?" I clasped my hands together, hoping to resemble a young girl in need of a favor.
Kane wasn't stupid, but flattery got me over the last little hurdle.
"Hathaway...if I catch you here again..."
"You won't," I told him as I zipped away down the path to the novice dorms. I huffed in relief when I slipped inside my building, undetected.
I blinked away my tears, unsure whether I was crying over the loss of Andrew's humanity or my childish love for him. Having been his prisoner had slowly chipped away at my affection for him, until it was all blown away from my heart by the ultimate betrayal.
I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep with the adrenaline still pumping through my veins. I flopped on my belly and strained to relax.
Kate, Adrian's voice breathed in my mind. I tuned into his thoughts, surprised he was calling to me at this hour. I wasn't surprised he was awake, but I was surprised he thought I was. Kate. Again.
Colors exploded in Adrian's thoughts, flittered this way and that until I saw myself, dark curls hanging down my back, clothed in a slick black dress with a deep v-neck and black stilettos. It was something I had never worn before. It occurred to me in a flash that Adrian was dreaming.
"Kate," he called to the dream me, reaching out his arms. We were in some fancy ballroom. People were blurred in the background, unimportant to dream Adrian and me. Colors swirled around us, and I thought if I caught glimpses, I could see people dancing. We were at some fancy royal party, but it didn't make sense that I was dressed for dancing. I should have been in the shadows with the other guardians, dressed in formal black and white guardian attire.
Dream me walked to Adrian, though with every step I took to him, my aura grew stronger into focus. Shadows swirled around me, with only threads of other colors. Shadows that grew as I stepped closer to Adrian. Shadows that were flowing from him and to me, in a thin, ribbon like swirl that connected us.
"What's happening?" Adrian asked in a panic as I stepped close enough to touch him. One of my small hands reached out to him as I looked up into his eyes.
"You saved me. Now I'm saving you," I whispered, touching his hand with mine. When I did, thick black smoke billowed around me, and something forced us apart. Adrian struggled from the scramble he had become from being thrown and watched as my flung body became engulfed in shadows before completely disappearing.
Adrian's scream woke him.