Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. It lets me know if I'm on the right track, so keep 'em coming.
I don't own Vampire Academy, if you didn't already know.
Adrian POV
It's been two nights since I saw Daphne walk out of the club with that blonde Strigoi. I've been trying to find her mind and pull her into a dream, but no luck. Not knowing if she's okay is driving me insane. I don't really know why I keep thinking about her. Maybe because she's risking her safety just to locate my evil half. Why she's doing that, I haven't a clue anymore. At first it was to see me killed, but now that she knows that isn't the main objective, why go through all this trouble to help me? Does she actually care about me? Is she the one Dimitri's crazy grandma was telling me about? Well, that would explain a lot.
"Hey Adrian, any luck finding Daphne?" Rose asks as she pulls up a beach chair next to me. We're sitting on the beach that I last took Daphne to the last time we dream walked together. She likes the sun since in reality it is lethal for her.
"Nope." I answer popping the 'p'. I don't look at her but keep staring out at the deep blue ocean. All the emotions going through me right now are so confusing. I feel guilty because she could be hurt or worse and I have no idea how to help her. I feel happy thinking about the last time she was here on this beach and she burried me in the sand and put two big mounds of sand over my chest so it looked like I had boobs. When she's here with me, it's like she is her old self, except ballsy-er, like Rose. You would never guess she was really Strigoi. I wonder if her animal blood diet is the reason for the difference. I also feel hopeful. When she put the necklace on I picked out for her that Lissa charmed with Spirit, I saw an immediate change in her aura, like her soul was trying to shine through. Maybe we can heal her too.
"Well, have faith, Adrian. Maybe she just hasn't gotten to Galina's yet. Siberia is pretty big and it's only been two days. Give her a little more time, and then if we still haven't heard from her yet, I'll call Abe." she says with a grimace. That cracks me up. After eighteen years of having no idea who her dad is, she finds out he's a very powerful and very intimidating mob boss type guy. I feel bad for Dimitri. Not only is he going to have Janine Hathaway for a mother in law but Abe Mazur as a father in law. If he ever screws up with Rose, he's a dead man.
"You're right. I just can't help but worry." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Rose look at me with a big ass grin on her face. I turn to look at her and raise an eyebrow waiting for her to explain the look.
"You like her don't ya?" she says. I can feel the blood rushing to my face as I look away hoping she didn't notice. Of course, she sees. "I think you looove her. You want to kiiiss her." she sings. I think I need to change the subject before my face looks like a tomato.
"So, what's on the agenda for tomorrow?" She doesn't say anything for a few minutes, still looking at me with that stupid smile on her face, but she doesn't say anything else about it.
"Well, we're having a small Molnija ceremony for Mia. Some of the guardians in town, including Abe's, are coming. The rest of us are getting our marks earlier. Three for me, two for Dimitri and Rose Ann and one for Alex and Mia." she tells me while counting on her fingers.
"Keep this up Little Dhampir and you're going to run out of room on that pretty little neck of yours." she rolls her eyes at me.
"Well, then they start on my back and go down to my ass." she laughs. I don't doubt she'll need to. I give a little laugh too, but go back to staring at the water and thinking about Daphne. Rose takes my hand and just holds it while she also looks out at the horizon. "She'll be okay, Adrian." is all she says. No wonder she's my best friend. She knows exactly what I'm thinking and tells me what I need to hear. I just hope she's right.
Rose POV
As I'm brushing my teeth, getting ready for my day, Mia comes walking in. Does she even knock? No, of course not. Good thing both Dimitri and I are decent. "S'up Mia?" I ask after I spit in the sink. She walks past me and takes a seat on the edge of the tub.
"I'm a little worried about today. Is it gonna hurt? When they make the mark?" I give her a little smile and sit next to her and take her hand and pat it gently.
"Oh hell yeah. It hurts like a son of a bitch." I say nodding my head up and down wildly. Her eyes go as big as saucers and she pales even more than she already is. I start laughing and she calms down and scowls at me.
"You're a real bitch, Rose. You know that?" she says as she gets up and starts stomping out the door. I get up and catch her arm, still chuckling.
"I'm sorry. It's not that bad. They're pretty small, see?" I lift my hair and turn around so she can see the Molnija marks on my neck. "I'll be right there with you, and so will the other guardians. We've all been through it." I see her relax and nod letting me know she'll be okay.
"Can Peter come?" she asks.
"No, sorry. It's something that we share only with our fellow guardians, because we are all part of the same brotherhood, so to speak. We all put our lives on the line to protect Moroi, and it's something special that we keep among us. It's special. Does that make sense?" she nods. I walk her to the door and tell her to spend some time with Peter until we leave.
We get to Baia's Guardian Headquarters and tell the guardian at the desk our names and appointment time. He takes us back to a large room with a stool at the front and about fifteen folding chairs set up in the middle. There is a long table along the side with a white cloth table cloth and some party food I had sent over from the local deli. The tattooist, Boris, sets up his equipment and motions for one us to sit down on the stool. Rose Ann went first, followed by Alex, Dimitri and then me. After I was done and bandaged, I hopped down and went over to Mia, who was nervously sitting in the corner. A few guardians started showing up for her ceremony and were talking to Dimitri, who seems to know everyone.
The guardian that was at the front desk when we came in, walked up to me holding a form with a confused look on his face. He looks over to Mia and then to me. "Is she Mia Rinaldi?" he asks pointing to Mia.
"Yeah, why? What's the problem?" I ask him politely.
"She's Moroi, not a guardian." he says with attitude. Great, just what I need to deal with. I put my hands on my hips and glare.
"She's training to be a guardian. She made the kill, she gets the mark." I tell him.
"Oh really, exactly at which academy is she training to be a guardian?" he smirks, thinking he's got me. This is really pissing me off.
"She's a novice at St Rose's, now give her the damn Molnija before I take that needle and tattoo 'Loser' across your forehead!" I shout. Everyone in the room goes quiet and listens to our little disagreement. Mia doesn't move from my side or say anything. This guy doesn't say anything but matches my glare. He reminds me of Stan back at St Vlads. I step closer to him, letting him know I'm not backing down. Finally he gives up and tells Boris to go ahead. I take Mia's hand and lead her up to the stool. All the guardians in attendance take their seat and I go sit in the front row next to Dimitri. He holds my hand and leans down to whisper in my ear.
"I think we still need to work on your people skills." I look back over to him.
"Why? I got my way, didn't I?" He shakes his head and smiles at me.
"Oh Roza." We all watch as Mia sits still and gets her first Molnija mark, first of many. I'm so proud of her, I feel a tear run down my cheek thinking about all that we've been through together. Being enemies, Spokane and then training her to be a guardian. She reminds me of myself. Poor thing. When Boris is done and bandages up her neck, I run up to her and give her a big hug. I don't say anything, just hold her. I finally release her and Dimitri also gives her a hug. I know he's proud of her dedication to reach her goal. All the other guardians also go up to Mia and welcome her to our guardian society. Not one seemed to object to the fact that she isn't Dhampir. We go over to the table of food and fill up our plates and socialize and eat. I talk with Abe's guardians and try to get them to spill some juicy info on my newly found dad, but their lips are sealed. They probably don't want to end up at the bottom of the Ob river in concrete shoes.
Talking with the others, it seems our little group is becoming well known in the guardian community, mainly because of the Moroi with us. The general census is that having Moroi help in the fight is welcome. Anything that can keep more guardians alive is good.
We get back to the hotel and the others embrace Mia just as we did at the ceremony. They all understand that it's not necesarily something to celebrate, but to recognize. I go to Lissa's room to talk wedding stuff when my cell phone rings. "Hello."
"Rose, this is Daphne." she whispers through the receiver. "I found Adrian." Holy crap!
"Where are you? Are you okay?" I ask excitedly. Please let her be okay.
"I'm at Galina's estate right outside Novosibirsk. I just got here and I saw Adrian when Nathan introduced me to Galina. I think he recognized me, but he hasn't said anything yet. I'll try to be available to visit Adrian in a few hours. I need to hunt first." she sounds nervous.
"Adrian will be thrilled to know. He's been so worried about you." I tell her.
"Thanks Rose." Adrian says sarcastically.
"Really? Tell him I'm alright, but hurry and find me. I want to see the sun again, okay?" she sounds excited now. I think she might be falling for Adrian too. Huh? A Strigoi in love? Who knew?
"He knows. I'll see you later then. Be careful." I tell her as I hang up. I tell Dimitri and the others about the call. Adrian doesn't think he can pull Daphne in and everyone else, so we decide to just pull in Dimitri and of course me when we talk with Daphne. I can't believe she did it. Now we just have to go to Novosibirsk, which Dimitri informs me is a two day car ride. Ugh, not another road trip.
I hoped you liked it. Thanks for reading and please review.