I feel the bed shift and dip, hear the springs creak under the unexpected weight, and I know he's here.
Though he, technically, still shares my apartment, I haven't really seen him in at least a month. Well, perhaps that isn't true. I haven't seen him in the light of day for a month, or even talked to him for that matter, either. I see signs of him, of course. The kitchen is always cleaner than I had left it (at least he's eating) and his coat is always gone when I wake in the morning (at least he can move on his own), but he is always gone from the apartment long before I wake up, and back long after I've gone to bed.
It worries me, I suppose. After taking care of him for so long, I suddenly have no idea how his health is, how he's doing, if he's even sick anymore. But, after all, he's the one clearly avoiding me. I refuse to feel guilty about being unable to take care of him. At least, I'm trying to refuse to feel guilty.
I've started working for Lissa again, as her head guardian, which eats up an enormous portion of my time. Early hours and late nights, sometimes little to no sleep. But if all my focus is on work, it's not on Dimitri, a place where my thoughts seem to be adament on wandering to.
"Rose," he whispers in my ear, luring me from my rest. "Rose, I'm sorry." I can feel as his hand slips under my neck, rubbing gently with the pad of his thumb. Groggily, I sweep the dark hair to the side, preparing myself for the pain of the bite.
It hurts, just as it always does, and the sharp flash of pain that accompanies it jolts me from my hazy state, lights up my vision with a flare of red, forcing me to be aware of Dimitri leaning over me, feeding from me.
The pain lessens, and I find myself once again drifting off, my eyes fluttering shut.
I'm asleep before his teeth leave my skin.
~xXx~
I climb the stairs to the throne room, taking two at a time. Lissa had called for a meeting for her Guardians, a surprising move, especially since I was her Head Guardian and had no idea what this meeting was even for. She refused to tell me.
Running late as always, I burst through the doors, taking my place beside Lissa, trying to ignore the look of humour she shoots in my direction.
Looking regel as ever, Lissa stands before her team with her perfect posture, warm smile, her golden hair twisted and pinned to her head with silver hairpins. She greets every one grandly, her voice sweet but authoritative.
"Alright," she announced. "Well, I wanted to go over the last few plans before tomorrow evening. We still need to increase our security in the dining hall, as we're understaffed. Some of the most influential minds in our world will be attending, and we need to keep them safe."
Lissa smiles at the crowd, shooting an extra wink at me, giving a slightly disapproving gaze at my inability to show up on time. "Guardian Hathaway?"
"Thirteen graduating students will be arriving by plane from St. Vlad's this afternoon. That should fill up some of our missing time slots for the evening-"
"We're keeping these Moroi safe with high school students?" A Guardian pipes up from the back, a look of shock and distaste on his face. Damn. I'll admit, probably not the most preferrable choice, this was a big job for a first assignment, but we didn't have any other choice.
"Well, I know-"
"Actually," Lissa cuts in, giving me her queenly, apologetic look, one that made me immediately snap my jaw shut. "You have a valid point. We can't have high school students alone on a single shift. We need a professional. Someone trained. With experience."
What the hell? "We don't have anyone else, Your Majesty. Not on such short notice. We've stretched the schedule as far as we can. I'm afraid it's not a possibility."
There's something in her eyes, glinting. Worry. She's worried. And she's blocking me from the bond. Damn.
"I'm sorry I haven't been able to contact you until now, Guardian Hathaway, but this is a pretty recent hire. I think he'll be great for this, he's a fantastic Guardian."
Now, I'm nervous, extremely nervous.
"And..."
"Guardian Belikov?"
Damn.
Damn damn damn.
Dimitri steps into the throne room, rubbing the back of his neck in his typical nervous way. He's thin, always thin, back his skin has turned back to its usual golden hue. Thin, yes, but I can see he's filled out since I've last seen him, some of his old muscle has returned.
He runs his fingers through his dark, lush hair, giving somewhat of a shy half-smile.
There's a buzz that echoes through the room; Dimitri certainly has a reputation. The murmurs cease after a sharp look from Her Majesty herself, and she pulls Dimitri forward, a smile on her face.
"Guardian Belikov will be on the seven o'clock shift on Friday night, and he's doing us a big favour by joining our team on such short notice, so it's with my wish that you help him out whatever way you can. Rose, I'll leave you to fill him in."
And she's gone.
The rest of the Guardians file out, giving one last stare at Dimitri before shuffling out of the room. Dimitri keeps his distance, I have been known to throw a punch or two, his eyes cast downwards, his body tense.
"What..." I stutter, quickly biting my tongue to keep from sounding even more ridiculous. "What... how?"
Swallowing, he clears his throat once, twice, before meeting my gaze with a shy look. A guilty look.
"Well, I suppose you have a few questions to ask me," he drawls, his Russian accent thicker than it's been in a long time.
"Yeah," I whisper. "Let's start with a few."