CHAPTER 26

It took us two hours to catch up on everything that happened since we last saw them. All the Belikov's, except Yeva, stared at me in awe. Paul grabs my hand and tugs me down to his level.

"Can I show you my tree-house, Princess Roza?" I nod my head and follow him to the back yard.

"You can just call me Rose." I tell him as we climb the small steps up the tree. Paul looks down at me and smile.

"Could I call you Aunty Roza? I like that better than just Rose." I reach the landing and stand p straight. Paul is still looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"I guess. We will just have to ask your grandma or mom if that's okay." He nods his head, making his longish brown hair bob. He shows me around the small tree-house, all his toys come with a small story. Some of his stories sounds very fictional, but entertaining.

"And this was Uncle Dimka's." He holds up a very old leather cowboy hat. I laugh at the thought of Dimitri wearing the hat in public. I run my fingers over the fading leather.

"Uncle Dimka gave it to me before he left. He told me to look after it and take care of it." I place the hat on my head and nod at Paul.

"Howdy partner." Paul giggles like a maniac. I grab one of Paul's fake revolvers and point it at him.

"Hold up you're hands little mister. You are being charged for being the cutest little man in the country." Paul lets out a squeal before he makes a run for the stairs. I give him a ten second head start before I run after him. I chase Paul all the way into the kitchen. He runs to Dimitri and hides behind his back.

"Surrender your mini me Mr. Belikov or face my wrath." I try my best cowboy accent. Dimitri looks at me like I have two heads. Olena glances at us every few seconds with a smile on her face. Dimitri lifts his hands as if to surrender, but he surprises me by grabbing the gun out of my hand and pointing it at me.

"Run partner, she doesn't stand a change against the two of us." I laugh at Dimitri's ridiculous accent. I hold my hands up in surrender as Dimitri walks closer to me. He tips the hat back with two fingers to see my face better.

"Has nobody ever told you not to mess with another man's hat, little lady?" I try to grab the gun like he did a few moments ago, but as always, Dimitri is faster than me. He pins both my hands behind my back in one movement.

"But it looks much better on you." Dimitri whispers in my ear. I send a glance in Olena's direction. She is too busy with the bread in the oven to hear us. I turn my face towards his and kiss his cheek. I break free from his grip while he is distracted and take the gun back. Dimitri charges at me again, but Olena claps her hands.

"Not in the kitchen. Dimka, go and tell everyone that the food is ready. Will you help me set the table Roza?" Olena holds out a stack of plates. I take the plates and silverware and walk to the dining table. I take the hat off and place it on the table. Olena brings the glasses and sets them next to the plates. She sends me curious glances every now and then.

"You and Dimka… It seems that there is more than just a guardian-charge relationship between you." I stop what I'm doing and look at her with wide eyes. Should I tell her? I don't even know if Dimitri wants his family to know. Can we tell the world now or should our relationship still be kept to ourselves?

"Well, we are friends as well. Dimitri has been a very solid rock for me to lean on since I met him." Olena shakes her head with a knowing smile on her face.

"No that is not it either. But that's okay, everyone has a right to keep secrets." I clear my throat and continue setting the table. Are we that obvious? If so, then we will need to keep our distance. I hate this. In school it was a must but now we just need to keep up appearances. I wish we could just have an open relationship.

"Something smells delicious mama." Viktoria walks into the room, sniffing the air. Dimitri and his other sisters walk in behind her. Paul grabs the hat off of the table and stick it onto his head. Everyone stands behind a chair and waits. For what I don't know. Yeva walks in slowly and stands at the head of the table. She looks over her family and smiles. Pride shines brightly in her eyes. When she sits down, everyone else does to. I stare at Yeva in awe. She holds so much respect from her family. Even though she is ancient, and she isn't technically the head of the house, they treat her as if she is. A sharp poke on my shoulder brings my attention to Dimitri.

"Try this pelmeni. You will love it." I accept the bowl from him and dish up some of the food. Everything I take tastes great, much to my surprise. I always thought that Russian food would be disgusting, but I guess I was wrong.

Xxx

"Yeah, we will be at the hotel in an hour." I answer my mother over the phone.

"Adrian asked if you could stop at a store to get him some snacks. Apparently, the hotel isn't up to standard." I can practically hear my mother rolling her eyes. She gives me a list of all the things Adrian wants. I hang up the phone and walk to the living room where Olena, Yeva and Dimitri are sitting.

"Adrian wants us to stop at a store to get some things." Dimitri glances at his watch then he sighs.

"Then we should probably head out." Olena offers to walk us to the door, but Yeva steps in and tells us that she will walk us.

"Dimka go and wait in the car, but first give me a hug." Dimitri does as he is told and leaves us after he gives her a hug.

"Rose, sometimes things happen for a reason. It is to show us how strong we are. Just remember how strong you are." She places her hand over my heart. With a small nod, she turns on her heels and shut the front door. All the way to the store I thinks about her words. Is she talking about me being crowned a Dragomir Princess? She probably thinks I have enough power now to help the dhampirs in need. But that is obvious. I may be moroi now, but I will never forget about the needs of the dhampirs.

"I hate driving here at night. This quick stop-store is infested with strigoi this time of the night. Just be on high alert Princess." I shove Dimitri's shoulder and glare playfully at him. I'm always on high alert. Dimitri locks the car and looks around at the total deserted parking lot. I think, aside from us, the clerk inside the store is the only person awake. Dimitri comes to the same conclusion as he extends his hand towards me. I take his hand excitedly and walk close to his side. A very loud wolf-whistle catches our attention. Four strigoi men stand a few feet away from us. Dimitri and I were both so wrapped up in being able to hold hands, that we didn't pay attention to our surroundings. I could kick myself for being so stupid. The look on Dimitri's face agree with me. We stand back against back as the four strigoi form a circle around us.

"Remember my first lesson. Don't hesitate and run when you get the chance." I nod my head slightly, but I know deep down that I will never run if Dimitri needs me. I will fight until my last breath.

"Aw, now don't tell the pretty girl to run. She looks like great fun." The strigoi closest to me says with a laugh. Dimitri literally growls at him. I try my best to stand firmly and not look intimidated. Odds were not so good. Each strigoi looked to be dhampir before they turned, meaning they most likely have guardian training.

"If you give the pretty lady up, we might let you go big guy." Dimitri saw this as the perfect time. He struck out to the guy closest to him. The strigoi was taken by surprise. I throw a couple of fire balls at the two in front of me. To say they are shocked would be a major understatement. But it did just piss them off more. Dimitri makes quick work of his two opponents as I distract my two with fire and earth magic. Dimitri tackles one to the ground and they start to wrestle. I get distracted for a split second, but it is enough for the other strigoi to take me down. A scream escapes my lips as he digs his fangs into my neck. The strigoi gets tackled off of me a second later. Dimitri yells at me to run as he and the strigoi roll around on the floor. I want to stay, but I can see that staying is only distraction Dimitri. I take off into the direction of the car as fast as I can. I can almost touch the hood when two arms grab me from behind. The strigoi Dimitri fought earlier hisses at me as he wraps his hand around my neck. Dimitri's stake is nestled into the strigoi's chest, just not deep enough to kill him. I must have distracted Dimitri.

"Oh guardian. Look who I have here." Dimitri stops fighting the other strigoi to look at us. Fear for my life shines brightly in his eyes.

"Kill him Emmet." Before I can utter a word, the strigoi behind Dimitri reaches out and snaps his neck. Dimitri's eyes roll back into his head as he falls to the floor. Images of Lissa's death flashes into my mind. Now it's mixed with images of Dimitri to. I can see both of them lying on the floor next to each other.

Lifeless.

Dead.

I summon up every ounce of darkness I have in me to fight on my behalf. It feels like everything happens in slow-motion. I elbow the stake deeper into the strigoi behind me, finishing what Dimitri started. As I walk to the strigoi that killed Dimitri, I see fear creep on his face. Good he should be scared. He should be dead scared. I deliver a series of fatal kicks and punches, just to make him hurt. I set my hand on fire and place it on his head. His screams satisfy my dark-side. I watch as I cremate him from his head to his feet. Once all the flames, fighting and screams die down, I fall to my knees beside Dimitri. I shake his shoulders. He needs to come back. He has to. I need him. I place my hands on his chest and beckon up spirit magic. At first the magic refuses to come out. I feel drained.

"Rose, sometimes things happen for a reason. It is to show us how strong we are. Just remember how strong you are."

Yeva's words flood back into my mind. I'm strong. I can do this. I push past the magical blockage and reach for every emotion I ever felt for Dimitri Belikov. I feel the hot and cold sensation of spirit as the magic leaves my body and enters his. I manage to stay awake long enough to see Dimitri open his brown eyes.