My heart was pounding, and not from the recent exercise. I didn't pause when I entered the house. I bolted up the stairs and into my room where Dimitri stood pulling on a casual jumper. He looked up as I came in and instantly noticed the panic in my expression. He pulled me into his tight embrace whispering calming Russian words into my hair.
"Roza, what's wrong? What happened?" he asked in English.
"I went for a run to town," I started. "You were still asleep, and I didn't want to wake you. I stopped out front of a church and a Moroi Father approached me. He recognised me, Dimitri. He recognised me as the Dhampir Princess. We were meant to be hiding away but if he knows it won't be long before everyone does." I was rambling frantically now. Dimitri hugged me tighter.
"Hush, Roza, it's alright. Everything is going to be alright."
"He saw my picture in the paper, that's how he recognised me."
"It's a small town, Roza. The people here are here to escape the vampiric system. Even if they knew, it might not matter."
"We need to leave," I said. "Right now, let's pack up and go."
"Go? Go where?" He asked. "There is no place where we will be completely hidden. This was meant to be the safest option."
"I don't know where, Dimitri. I just know we need to go, or at least I do. I don't want to endanger your family by being here. I can't endanger you." I said.
"I am your guardian, Roza. Not the other way around. I am meant to be the one protecting you."
"What about your family?"
"You may find this hard to believe, but Yeva was a guardian for a while before she got pregnant with my mother. My sister attended an academy but dropped out before graduation. Each of my sisters went to the same academy I did. Viktoria still goes. My family aren't defenceless. They can protect themselves."
"I just can't think about causing you or your family any pain."
"You are a part of this family. Family protects each other." He kissed me quick pulling any words of protest from my lips to be lost forever." I looked up at him with a smiled and nodded letting my worries slip.
He brought me into his tight embrace and I placed my head on his chest. His heart beat strong reminding me that he was alive, and we were safe.
Dimitri kissed my head and released me.
"Have a shower, I'll get you some breakfast." He said. My stomach twisted but I forced a smile and nodded. Dimitri gave me one last sceptical look before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. As soon as I knew he was gone, I ran as fast as I could to the bathroom, just making it in time for me to spill my guts into the porcelain bowl. Quickly, I cleaned up erasing any evidence. I guess I was more stressed than I thought. This morning's events must have had a bigger effect than I thought.
Every night, while everyone was asleep, I would sneak downstairs and practice my magic. I already knew a little from my first time but now I had to control it. Yeva was there for some of it but would leave me alone after giving me some advice. I started with air. Opening the windows just a little and pulling it to make the roof fan spin until it was so fast it threatened to pull the roof off.
Earth was easy. I just used a pot plant and managed to create a small earthquake. I would like to try it on a bigger scale, but I didn't want to destroy the neighbourhood, so I decided against it.
Water was harder. I pulled drops one by one from the tap until I had made a sphere out of water. I shaped it and moved it into any shape I wanted and slowly created waves in the sink.
Fire was the hardest and the riskiest. I got a candle and slowly learnt to control the flame by growing it and shrinking it. there were a few almost incidents but in the end I mastered it to the point where I can light a candle with the snap of my fingers or create a small but harmful fireball.
A week had passed and there was no threat of danger. I started to relax but I refused to leave the house without Dimitri. It was Friday night. Dimitri and I were up in our room getting ready for dinner at Oksana's. She had texted earlier inviting us for dinner that night. I changed into a dusty rose skater dress. Dimitri was dressed in a nice pair of dark jeans and a white button-down shirt with his favourite duster on top.
Looking in the mirror, I couldn't help but noticed the effect my lack of training in the short time had done to me. I was still muscular, but my breasts were bigger making the dress feel tighter than it had before.
"Ready?" asked Dimitri. I blinked pulling myself back to reality as he came behind me and wrapped his arms around me. I smiled up at him.
"Yup, I hope we aren't out too late. I was hoping to spend a little more quality time with you," I hinted. Dimitri smirked.
"We have an eternity to spend quality time together," he said.
"No time like the present," I smirked. Dimitri laughed.
"Oh, Roza. You know it is hard to say no to you." I smiled turning to kiss him. He met my lips but pulled back quickly. "But, later. We promised and if we stall any longer we'll be late."
"Always punctual," I sighed.
"Better than always being late," he threw back. I pouted, and he laughed. We grabbed a bottle of wine and went to Oksana's. She met us at the door and smiled hugging us quickly while speaking rapidly in Russian.
"Sorry, I'll speak English," she said once she noticed my blank expression.
"It's alright, I think I am starting to get the hang of it," I said and started trying to say a few Russian words. Oksana smiled to Dimitri.
"You are getting the hang of it," she agreed.
"But, your pronunciation still needs a little work," Finished Dimitri. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll work on it." I shrugged. Oksana pulled us into the house and took our coats. We walked into the dining room to see Mark, lighting some candles on a table decorated in various dishes. Mark looked up when we approached and stood to greet us. Dimitri handed Mark the wine.
"You didn't have to do this," Mark said.
"Of course, I did," Dimitri replied.
"I'll get some glasses," said Oksana and she made her way to the kitchen. Mark lead us to the table. Dimitri pulled out my chair for me and I sat down giving him a sweet smile as he joined me. Mark had just finished lighting the last candle when we heard a loud crash. Our dhampir instincts kicked in and we all intently turned, tensed ready to jump into battle. We found no threat, instead we just saw Oksana standing in the door way holding the bottle in one hand while the other was empty. On the ground sat a pile of glass that used to be wine glasses. Her expression looked haunted, with dropped jaw, gaping mouth and wide eyes staring straight at me. Mark was up in an instant.
"Honey, what happened?" he asked. She shook her head and her face softened giving him a reassuring smile.
"Nothing, I just thought I saw something. Look at the mess. I should get this cleaned up. Rose, would you mind giving me a hand?" I nodded, standing up.
"Sure." I followed her retreating form into the kitchen and when we were out of sight the pulled me into a dark small room off to the side. The door closed, and I felt panic start to rise until the light clicked on and I saw we were in her pantry with no threat.
"Oksana, what the hell!" I hissed.
"Rose, there is something I have to tell you but before I do, I have to ask you something," she said. I hesitated as I stared deep into her eyes and saw the desperate look in them. Slowly, I nodded. "How many guys have you slept with?" she asked. My eyes went wide at the personal question. She must have read my thoughts because she cut me off before I could say anything. "I'm serious."
"Only Dimitri," I answered. She backed away and sighed.
"How is this possible?" she muttered under her breath.
"What are you talking about?"
"I heard something. It was different, so faint that I almost missed it but I heard it again and so I checked the auras in the room to see where it was coming from and that's when I saw it."
"What?" I asked.
"You."
"Me? What do you mean?"
"I saw you, your aura."
"I know, it's black." Oksana nodded.
"It is but there's more. You had two auras."
"Two?" she nodded.
"One black, yours and one light, your baby's" my breath caught in my throat. The word floated around my brain for what felt like hours. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"Ba-Baby?" I choked.
"You are pregnant, Rose. I don't know how it is possible, but you said Dimitri is the only one then there is only one explanation."
"I'm pregnant?" I asked worriedly. Oksana nodded.
"Yes." Slowly a smile grew on my lips.
"I'm pregnant!" Oksana smiled with me and met me in a tight embrace. Was I worried? Yes. I was way too young for a baby but that didn't matter. The only thing that kept Dimitri and I apart was that I needed children and we couldn't have them together. There was no way this baby was anyone else's. This baby was a miracle. A very early miracle. Oksana and I pulled apart.
"Do you know how this could have happened?" she asked. I shook my head but thought back to the tattoo. It had given me temporary Moroi powers. Maybe, it has also given me other Moroi abilities, like being able to have children with a Dhampir. If that was true, this tattoo could be the solution to Dhampir numbers decreasing, but it could also be the end to guardian's devotion to protecting the Moroi leaving them helpless against the Strigoi. Yes, this would be a blessing, but it could also be a curse for the future of the Moroi. I decided to keep this to myself for a little while.
"Are you going to tell Dimitri?" She asked pulling me back. I nodded.
"Later, when we are alone." She smiled.
"Congratulations, I am so happy for you."
"Thank you," I said hugging her again. This sure did explain the vomiting every morning. I thought it was just the stress or the magic fighting my system.
"Come on, let's go back. Dinner is ready, and I am sure baby is hungry."
"We're always hungry," I laughed.
We left the pantry and quickly cleaned up the glass.
I had never felt more content then I had at that moment sitting at the table with one hand intertwined with Dimitri's and the other on my growing stomach.
Dimitri was laughing and smiling, completely free of his guardian statue mask from the academy. He was happy here and I was happy as long as I was with him. My plate was empty, and my stomach was fully satisfied from the delicious Russian dinner and a sweet honey cake for dessert. Dimitri turned to me and stroked the top of my hand with his thumb.
"Are you alright?"
"Perfect comrade," I responded.
"You don't want your wine? In America you might not be able to drink but here you just passed the legal drinking age." I shook my head.
"I don't think I'll be drinking for a while," I smiled. Dimitri smiled, and I wondered if he had taken the hint. Then again, probably not as he doesn't know about the tattoo or that it is possible.
With dinner finished, we had a couple more drinks until it was time for us to go. Dimitri and I put on our coats and said goodbye to Mark and Oksana. Mark hugged me quickly. Oksana brought me in for a tight hug and whispered 'good luck' into my ear. She stood back and handed me a small silver ring.
"This is to help with the darkness. It is a charmed silver ring that will pull the darkness from your aura. Your bond mate should practice charming silver, so she will be able to help clean the darkness you take away." I nodded thanking her and slipped the ring on. "It will also help with ghosts," she whispered. I gave her a grateful smile and waved her good bye as Dimitri and I started walking away.