I got 90, so here's the update!
Disclaimer: Adrienne, Jeremy, Sabrina - MINE. Rose and Dimitri? (Sigh...) Nope.
Dimitri and I flew into a frenzied dash for Lissa's bedroom. I was a second behind Dimitri, one, because I was not a Strigoi, and therefore could not move as fast as he could; and two, because I had to grab Jeremy from Lissa.
"Just a second!" Lissa called hastily. "Are you guys okay?" she hissed under her breath.
"Go ahead, Liss," I answered calmly. Dimitri and I were currently hiding in Lissa's bedroom, sitting on the floor. God, if the Academy found us, we would be in so much trouble.
I was alert, letting myself completely absorb what Lissa was feeling. Lissa's anxiety, coupled by my own, was turning me into a nervous wreck. I heard the door open, and Dimitri and I froze. I was silently hoping that the kids would stay quiet. And like they always did, they were silent, staring up at us with huge eyes, but smiling, nonetheless.
Relief washed through me, and it was not my own. "Oh. Hey, Christian." Lissa's voice was pointed, but I was still skeptical.
It's okay, Rose. You can come out. I was not as confident as she was.
"Lissa says it's safe," I murmured, cradling Jeremy and Sabrina tenderly. Dimitri had his face next to Adrienne's, looking concerned.
"It's Christian," I stated flatly.
"Yes, I know." Dimitri sounded unsure.
"If you want me to go first, I will," I offered. I knew Dimitri would never want to endanger any of his kids, especially Adrienne. He nodded slowly. I handed him Jeremy, since Sabrina was always with me. I stood up, trying to stay silent. I didn't want to give away my position, but I also didn't want to scare the hell out of Christian.
I creeped out of the bedroom, being silent. Christian was turned toward Lissa, so he couldn't see me behind him. Lissa looked worried, but I gave her a look that told her to cut it out.
"Um, Christian? Please don't freak out, but look behind you," she squeaked. I froze, clutching Sabrina to me tightly.
Christian turned slowly. "Shit," he hissed lowly. I nearly rolled my eyes. This wouldn't be a happy reunion. "What are you doing here?"
"What? No hug or anything?" I teased.
He scowled at me, then his eyes widened when he caught sight of Sabrina. "Is that what I think it is?" he breathed.
I nodded a little, glancing up at him. I was trying to judge how he was taking all of this. I didn't want him freaking out on me. So far, he just looked like he was going to faint.
Lissa decided to interject at this point. "Uh, Christian?" He glanced at her warily. "There's more."
"What more could there be?" he nearly shouted. Sabrina stirred in my arms. Just as I was going to whack Christian for screaming around my daughter, Liss beat me to it.
She smacked his arm. "Could you shut up?" she hissed. "You almost woke Sabrina up."
He sighed, looking at me. "Sorry. What else is there?"
"Wait right here," I instructed, turning as quickly as possible. I knew Dimitri would be anxious for me to get back. I went to the bedroom, where he was sitting on the bed, his body rigid. I saw a hint of his fangs extended. I put a hand on his shoulder gently, hoping to rouse him from his tense state.
His head snapped up to look at me. His eyes were full of self-restraint, but beneath that was anger. The beginnings of a growl were rumbling in his chest, and his mouth was twisted into a tight scowl. He bared his teeth at me, but I knew he wasn't upset with me. This anger was caused by Christian.
"Shh, Dimitri. Everything will be okay. We'll get this worked out, I promise," I soothed. I knew he was worrying about taking Adrienne to meet Christian. "Lissa would rather bite Christian's head off than see Jeremy hurt."
I chuckled at that visual, and Dimitri stirred a bit at the sound. He looked worried.
"I'll go first again, if you want," I offered. I held my free arm out to take Jeremy from him. I knew Dimitri would want all of his attention to be focused on Adrienne. He loved all of his kids, but his attachment to her was astounding.
He nodded slowly and handed Jeremy over willingly. I was still worried about him at this point. I didn't need him trying to kill Christian for saying something rude. I took his free hand as best I could and squeezed tightly.
I could feel Lissa worrying about where we were. She was starting to think that we'd jumped out the window and escaped.
"I promise, Dimitri. Our children will not be harmed." When I said 'our children', he came to life and seemed to relax. He squeezed back gingerly.
"I love you, Rose."
"I love you, too. Now let's go. Lissa is starting to worry."
I went back out, taking a deep breath. I knew I had to prepare myself for Christian's reaction. Because, just like all of us, he was going to be shocked when he saw three children rather than one.
Christian's face paled quickly. He put a hand on his head, like he had a headache. "Another one?" he whispered softly. I nodded, glancing back at Dimitri. He kept his face low but moved slowly from the shadows of the hallway.
"God," Christian spat, stumbling backwards in his haste to get away from our children that much faster. Lissa was looking on, concern on her face. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. "Do I at least get to know their names?" he asked icily.
My words were fast and clipped. "I have Sabrina and Jeremy, and he has Adrienne." I purposely left out who he was.
Christian motioned his head toward Dimitri, who cringed back half a step, shielding Adrienne immediately. "Who's he?" I was silent, hoping he wouldn't press for more information. A strange look came over his face. "This is - this is that thing, isn't it? That thing Lissa won't tell me?" he accused, stepping forward, gaining more courage.
I paused for a moment, then nodded meekly. To put it bluntly, he looked really pissed off. I took a step back, but that didn't do anything to diffuse the tense atmosphere in the room. We were all watching each other warily when Lissa moved by my side. She glanced at me, an inquisitive yet forceful feeling washing over me.
She touched Jeremy's cheek, silently asking if she could take him. I nodded wordlessly, and my best friend picked up my son and smiled. She glided gracefully back to her boyfriend. "Isn't he cute, Christian?" she asked. Lissa made sure to stick Jeremy right next to Christian.
Dimitri leaned forward, growling quietly. I backed up closer to him. "Shh. She won't let Christian hurt him."
It was a tense ten seconds before Christian finally relented. "Fine. He is pretty cute." The atmosphere lightened noticeably, and I figured that it was now or never for the final part of our little half-confession.
I handed Sabrina to Dimitri. He smiled anxiously, and my hand lingered on his wrist longer than it normally would have. I gripped his wrist gently, giving him a light squeeze then released him. I moved discreetly to the door so that Christian couldn't escape.
"Now for the, um, last part," I mumbled uncomfortably.
Christian looked at me like he was going to murder me if I had any more tricks up my sleeve. "What now?" he grumbled.
I said the sentence quickly, and I halfway hoped that he wouldn't catch it. "Their last name is Belikov."
His eyes widened, and he inhaled sharply. His eyebrows dipped in utter confusion. "Belikov? Belikov? As in Guardian Belikov?" he asked in disbelief.
I nodded, managing to murmur a soft, "Yeah."
Christian looked like he was thinking hard about something. "So, what, did he rape you?"
Dimitri lost it. He crouched, and I noticed the tendons in his arms flexing tightly as his muscles tightened and coiled, waiting to pounce. The start of a hiss was in his throat, and it was obvious that he forgot that the kids were in his arms. I moved over to him cautiously, hoping that some recollection would hit him.
It never happened.
I touched his face gently, making him look at me. "Dimitri," I breathed. "He doesn't mean it. He didn't know that we were in love. We never publicly announced it or anything. You need to calm down. You have Adrienne and Sabrina, remember?" Even with their advanced hearing, there was no possible way that Lissa and Christian could hear what I was saying.
At the names of his daughters, he straightened immediately and looked at me. He glanced over my shoulder at Christian, frowned in disgust, then pressed his lips against my forehead. He stared into my eyes for a short moment, then let out a soft breath.
"I love you," he whispered.
"Dimitri, let me have Sabrina, all right?" He willingly handed her over, sensing that I was not in a mood to fight over this. I handed Sabrina to Lissa. "You can handle both of them, right?" I had to make sure for Dimitri's sake. Lissa nodded, completely sure of herself.
I went back to guarding the door. "No, Christian. He didn't."
"So what? You guys slept together?" There was blatant skepticism in his voice, and I saw Dimitri scowl at it.
"Yes," I replied evenly.
"And what? You're carrying on his name since he isn't here anymore?" Christian scoffed, and I mentally sighed. This was going to be a long explanation.
"Oh, he's here," I simply said, resisting the urge to look at Dimitri.
Christian rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. You heard what Kirova said. And besides, if you know where he is, then tell me. Where is he?"
"Right on top of you," I snickered. Dimitri was merely feet away from him.
Christian turned, but, to him, that wasn't Dimitri. It was only the mysterious stranger I had brought with me. "Ha ha. Very funny. You almost had me going for a minute."
"I wasn't kidding." I arched an eyebrow in amusement, and I felt a smirk curl my lips. He looked at me, disbelief written all over his face. He turned his attention to Lissa.
"Tell me she's kidding, Liss," he begged.
She glanced at him. "She's not, Christian."
He locked his jaw. "Well, where the hell is Belikov, then? I don't see him," he snapped.
I almost laughed. Christian was going to get the shock of his life when Dimitri revealed himself. Which looked like it was going to happen in the next five seconds if I was judging him correctly. Dimitri was going to get his revenge, and I knew he was looking forward to that fact.
I was quiet as he silently moved foward, ready to scare the hell out of Lissa's incredulous boyfriend.
Yay, an update! And it's over 2,000 words! So maybe I could get over 100 reviews? Hope you all have an amazing New Year's! =D
Review. Or I shall have Dimitri scare the hell out of you. Mwahaha...
- J.C.