Chapter 21
"Follow us!" the deep monotonous voice of the prison guard ordered. Six torturously long days had passed, without any sign of further action towards him. The trial was inevitable and much desired at that point. He wanted to get rid of the omnious doubt Victor Dashkov had planted in his mind. Was Galina the one behind all this?
The bulky Guardian opened a door, stepping aside to allow him in. Dimitri looked briefly at his expressionless face before entering the room.
"Guardian Belikov, I am so glad to see you are alright." Lissa spoke as soon as he came in.
"Princess what are you doing here? Are you alone?" Dimitri was surprised and worried to see the young girl without a guardian.
"No I am here with Mr. Mazur and..- she got interrupted from the opening door. Abe came in followed by Adrian, Christian, Eddi and finally Tasha who rushed to his side.
" What have they done to you?! " she could hardly contain her disdain and panic to see him handcuffed. Dimitri had not given many thought to his looks, his mind too busy with more urgent matters. Tasha's expression matched the others affirming his doubts. He must look like hell.
"Do you have any news from Rose?" He tried hard to restrain his emotions from tripping over his voice, just at the sound of her name.
"I visited her in a dream last night. She is fine and does not suspect anything yet. Your mother is keeping her unaware and Lissa is blocking the bond!" Adrian said making Dimitri uneasy for few seconds. He had never liked the idea of Adrian stalking Rose in the only place he could not be present. He quickly brushed off his unnecessary jelousy and thanked him with a slight nod.
"She has to come back," he looked at Abe again,"Keeping her away might only make things worse."
"We are afraid she might do something reckless if she sees you like this." Adrian looked as if he wanted to say more but eventually just looked at him.
"She is stronger than you think. It was convenient having her in Baia the first days after this, " he slightly moved his hands to show the handcuffs, "but Roza is strong. The princess needs her protection!" He said a little too hoarsely.
Everyone remained silent, not sure how to respond at his earnest trust in his companion.
"I haven't seen anyone since they brought me here." Dimitri spoke again needing to change the flow of emotions radiating from him, determined not to let them out. Instead their strength roiled cruely his insides.
Christian and Eddi remained silent, a little too effected by the situation. They both had a great respect for Dimitri as a Guardian and just like Rose, thought of him as invincible. Dimitri was really good in keeping a straight face but uppon mentioning Rose, a flash of strain crossed his features, gone quickly. Unfortunately none of the present could have mistaken it for anything else but what it was. He was suffering. Lissa felt overwhelmed with guilt all over again, reminding herself of how cruely she had tried to erase him from Rose. Although it had been Spirit taking over her actions, she could clearly recall the genuine resentment she had felt towards him.
"Guardian Belikov...Dimitri, I need you to forgive me...! Lissa's words trailed off with difficulty. He nearly flinched at the rancor in her voice." When I heard about you and Rose, I lost it and used compulsion on Rose...I wanted to get rid of you." That caught him by surprise. He looked at Lissa, noticing that something flickered in her eyes,- not quite pity, but a profound request for forgiveness.
To her surprise Dimitri suddenly smiled stepping closer to her." I would never take her away from you Princess. Roza needs you as much as you need her. I deeply regret breaking my vow as your Guardian."
"You gave me much more Dimitri. You have made Rose the happiest I have ever seen her!" Color flushed back in her face, finally able to forgive herself.
"Dimitri?" Tasha spoke again standing near Abe. "They are gathering an open hearing for you tomorrow!"
He was silent for a moment before asking, "Is it true they have found my silver stake near the Wards?"
"That's correct." Abe muttered.
"I did not fight near the Wards!" he said bitterly.
"That's the point. You didn't, but they say you had an early shift that morning, allowing you to act unnoticed."
"His shift ended right after the sun set, there wasn't possibly enough time to let the Strigoi in." Christian had read the reports, disgusted at how inaccurate and offensive they were. He had been with Dimitri and Rose since early morning that to mention Dimitri's own strength and loyalty to Moroi had always been impeccable. How people could call the man a traitor was beyond Christian's comprehension.
"That is their gripp Ozera, the argument will be tough. There is no other suspect for now and Belikov seems like the perfect culprit."
"Did you really lost your stake?!" Tasha spoke almost in a lecturing tone.
"Obviously not!" Dimitri replied maybe a little too bitter, " I delivered mine to Bartekov upon my surrender.
"Our spy is not a Strigoi, probably easely forged an exact copy. Maybe if we checked with our contractors supplying the silver stakes, we'll be able to find a clue" Adrian said confiden.
"Is that possible?" Eddi suddenly spoke showing a great deal of interest. He had been shocked when the news about Rose and Dimitri broke. After the initial confusion, it was easy for him to accept the thing, especially after seeing how broken Rose had been. Eddie had promised to be there for his friend, he would do whatever he could to protect her happiness. Mason would have done the same.
"We can check but I am afraid we'll find nothing. A silver stake, with a name on, can be made in many ways, escaping regulation." Abe spoke with a knowing expression.
"It's not just my name," Dimitri intervened, "there is also a three digits number, printed in small size, near the upper edge. My own mentor had it done for me, she was the only one to know. A reminder of her pride for my score."
"She might be involved than!" Abe stated before Tasha's sharp breathing interrupted him.
"Galina?! She gaped at him unable to add anything else. Dimitri's mentor had also been the one who had introduced her to combat. She had encouraged Natasha to trust in herself and had become friends in the process. Dimitri just stared knowing his eyes were speaking for him.
" But she cannot handle a silver stake!" she added in a low colourless voice.
"Why?!" Abbé and Adrian asked in unison.
"She is a Strigoi!" Dimitri said blankly.
Rose could not shake off the constant negative feeling that kept shaking her. It was almost a week since Dimitri left with Abe. The first days had gone by fast, getting to know her future in laws. She had tried very often to check the bond but always remained frustrated from the complete silence of it. Adrian had been visiting her everyday in her dreams reassuring that everything was fine and they were looking forward to see her soon.
"I know you are hiding something from me Adrian and I want you te tell me now!" She burst out after his fifth, annoyingly reassuring clichés.
"Chill my darling. I thought the craddle robber was making you happy. You dropped out of everything for him after all." Adrian tried to joke, aware that his pity and concern were squeezing his throat.
"Dimitri is still in St Basil's" she barked. Obviously they have not yet accomplished anything. Maybe she had been a little too haisty in accepting to stay in Baia. She found herself alone in a unfamiliar country, killing herself with worry over Lissa and unable to assist Dimitri in finding the culprit. She had always known that sitting around waiting had never been her thing, she was just discovering how much. Her instincts were in a storm, beyond her meager control.
" You know what, you are right?I'll go to him! " she said
"You can't!" Adrian spat out, immediately pressing a hand to his mouth.
Her recent feeling of loss flooded her senses like a thunderstorm, "Why?" she hissed an ominous feeling made her shiver.
Adrian swore viciosly as he looked at her in horror. His mouth went dry and he couldn't begin to start a lie, nevertheless finish it. She was staring at him as if he was some sort of disturbing bug, perfectly aware that he had kept something very important from her. He couldn't speak or tell her the truth, afraid of her reaction.
Adrian sighed. Lies had been more difficult than he had imagined it to be. The Russian was right, they had to trust her strength.
"Rose, Dimitri is in the Royal Court. He ..." his voice and image started to fade as she woke up gasping in surprise. She jabbed her hands in the mattress unable to control her anger. She inhaled deeply and concentrated on the bond again. Nothing.
"Fuck!" she exploded. She hated Adrian, she felt like an idiot, like a fool.
Rose joltef out of bed in one go and started to grabb few things in a bag, her mind racing in frenzy. She had do go back, something was definitely wrong, Lissa was alive that much she could guess from the bond but all the rest didn't make sense. Her silence, Adrian's lies, the Belikov's overly accommodating behaviour this last days, it just didn't make sense. Why was Dimitri in the Court without notifying her? A piece of cloth distracted her attention, the black T-shirt was still folded on the chair where he had left it before leaving for St Basils. Rose reached the garment bringing it to her face. Her anger wavered making her knees weak. She fell on the chair overwhelmed. She missed him, his laugh and his scent. She missed how he tangled his legs with her in the middle of the night and all the new sides of him she had just discovered. Her eyes shut against the pain, refusing it as the ruling emotion of her present. She got up again, determined more than ever to take control over her life.
Rose closed the door carefully behind, walking on the tip of her toes. She had never had any trouble to escape from a place before, but this was a house full of Dhampirs and they were all Belikovs. To her relief, she made it all the way to the front porch and quickly bent down to put her shoes on.
"Take this my girl." Yeva suddenly spoke as Rose closed her mouth with both hands to prevent a loud scream.
"Babushka you really are a creep, you know that?" she hissed, snatching a little too angrily the folded paper that was extended to her.
"What is this?!" she asked not being able to give a sense to anything written,it was too dark outside.
"Give this to the people waiting for you near the bridge. It's the money for the transportation and your plane ticket !" Yeva tucked the small folder in Rose's bag, who had gone speechless.
"Remember my girl : his choice is a very dark one, but you can lead him through."
"What does that mean?!" Rose whispered.
"You'll find out soon. Trust him." Yeva pulled her in a hug.
"Thanks babushka. For everything." Rose flew down the stairs and disappeared into the darkness.
"Thank you my girl for binging us your gift." Yeva muttered under her breath meeting Olena's worried eyes.