When Spirit Shows Its Thorns

Chapter 15

We returned downstairs just in time to join everyone for lunch. Every time Christian caught my eye he would wink at me. Abe kept a grim stare in Dimitri's direction, and my mother would roll her eyes every time our eyes locked. Lissa was no better. She would begin to giggle every time we looked at one another. Poor Eddie just sat silent looking about the faces of the rest of us.

Sighing at the not too subtle staring contest that Dimitri and Abe seemed to have formed, I pushed my near empty plate away from me. "Do you have a problem with Dimitri, Baba?" I asked a little too sweetly. Whatever his mood was, I was hoping to smooth it over with my Turkish word for father. It was the first time I had ever used the phrase. Abe's eyes slightly widened and he glanced my way with a large smile before he narrowed his eyes and returned to his staring match.

"No, no. I was just wondering if Dimitri has ever participated in any hunting of wildlife." Abe said slowly, his mouth twisting into a devious smile. I huffed and rolled my eyes.

"As a matter of fact, I have. I provided my family with wild game once I turned twelve." Dimitri deadpanned, never taking his eyes off of Abe. I couldn't believe that of all the times, they chose now to have a pissing contest.

"That must have been a big responsibility at such a young age." My mother said, trying to smooth their ruffled feathers. The atmosphere around the table was growing thicker by the second. Even Christian had stopped his playful winking at me and he and Eddie were glancing back and forth between the two riled males. Lissa was playing with her food, not looking anywhere in particular.

"Great! Perhaps we should take a little time after we settle things here at Court and have a gentleman's weekend at some point." Abe commented as his gaze grew even more intense.

"That would be pleasant." Dimitri gritted out as he visibly swallowed. Abe was starting to get to him, but Dimitri was not one to back down. Great, Dimitri just gave my father permission to drag him off into the wilderness to be used as a personal shooting target.

I sighed loudly and stood from the table. "If you're done trying to threaten my boyfriend, Old Man, I think it is time for you to go find someone else to threaten and exploit." Abe's eyes flew to mine and he gave me a look as if I had wounded him. "Give it up, Abe; I know you are no saint. There isn't any need to try to pretend any different."

Taking Dimitri's hand, I pulled him away from the table, our friends following close behind, and left my mother and Abe to sit gapping and alone. We settled for playing cards in the living room while discussing the upcoming Council and private meeting with the Queen. When we tired of the discussion, Lissa and Christian left off to enjoy some alone time, leaving Eddie, Dimitri, and I alone.

"Lissa needs to use Spirit. She is starting to feel it building up." I said once she was out of earshot. "I think she has been hesitant to use her magic since she had the Spirit Dream."

"I thought you didn't like the way it made you feel when she used it often." Eddie stated as he settle back into the chair he had claimed.

"I don't like it when she uses too much of it. The darkness it leaves behind builds to fast and when I take it from her, it makes me feel so angry." I explained. "She has to use it some though or else Spirit builds and builds up in her and she becomes agitated. If she gets angry or feels threatened she releases it all at once and it makes her really unstable. You weren't there when Jesse and the others," My words dropped off. It wasn't something that I remembered fondly. "She was so angry and filled with so much darkness. I took too much too fast. If it had not been for Dimitri, I would have killed them. I wanted to kill them all." My words ended in a whisper.

Eddie nodded and Dimitri nestled me closer to his side. No one said anything for a long moment. "Is there anything we could do to help her with it?" Eddie asked.

I shook my head. "I really don't know. Adrian seems to be of more help than anyone for her. I don't think he would come over though. He is still really hurt over everything. He promised he would do what he could for Lissa, though, so I don't know. It might be worth a try. I think they help one another with it all." I rambled.

"We have some more time before supper will be served, maybe Adrian could come over before then and we can get it all out of the way." Dimitri said flatly, his face showing he wasn't exactly pleased with the idea of Adrian coming over. I nodded at him, giving him an apologetic look and told them that I would go talk to Lissa about it.

I knocked on Lissa's door and heard Christian call out for me to enter. I sat on the bed beside her and told her my thoughts on how she should use Spirit. She was hesitant at first, but agreed with me. It was starting to feel a bit unbalanced. She also thought that it would go over better if she invited Adrian over instead of me. I left her to make the phone call and went to rejoin Dimitri and Eddie. They were still in the living room, Eddie tuned in to the television and Dimitri sat in the corner of the couch reading his book. "I'm telling you, the book is much better than the movie." I heard Dimitri say, as I walked into the room.

"I have to disagree. Although the movie leaves a lot of the book out, it is more enjoyable to be able to visually see the best parts. You just can't beat a good fight scene." Eddie bantered back.

"I have to agree with him, Comrade." I said. Dimitri patted the couch next to him and walking over; I pushed his leg toward the back of the couch and took a seat between his legs. Leaning my back against his chest, his arm wrapped around my waist as his other set his book on the back of the sofa.

"Rose, I have never seen you open a book since I've known you unless it was to learn something about the bond." Dimitri chuckled into my hair.

"Hey, I read!" I defended myself. Eddie snorted and rolled his eyes. Dimitri chuckled knowingly as he placed a kiss on my head. I blew out a defeated breath and turned my attention to the television. A western, great, that must have been what prompted the book vs movie debate. I watched the movie with little interest while Dimitri perched his book on his knee and began reading again.

"The sunset was spectacular. The sky streaked itself with rose and the region of the sun became an indescribable glory. All my life I have used words, and yet I find times when they are totally inadequate." His voice tickled my ear as he read from the book. "That is how I feel when I look at you, Roza. Words could never do your beauty justice." He continued, his left hand tracing circles on the inside of my thigh. With each word, my skin pimpled to the soft air they brought against my ear and neck. When his tongue traced the edge of my ear, I released a soft moan.

"Really, guys?" Eddie whined from across the room. His eyes had quickly darted in our direction, to dart away just as quickly. "Can't you save it for later?" I felt Dimitri's head turn in his direction. He grunted and giving my neck a swift but soft peck with his lips, he returned to his reading. I giggled and went back to watching the television, but I had even less interest in the movie than before. My mind was wandering to all of the wonderful things I wanted to do with Dimitri behind the closed door of my bedroom.

Before I could suggest another romp in the bed to Dimitri, the doorbell rang signaling the arrival of Adrian. Dimitri worked his way out from behind me and stood to answer the door, his hand ready at his side if he needed his stake. Lissa and Christian joined us as he let Adrian through the door.

Adrian ignored Dimitri, walking past him with a box tucked under his left arm and gave a one armed hug to Lissa in greeting. He looked around her to give Christian a nod. Seeing me sitting on the couch, his lip twitched into a toying smile. "Little Dhampir, I must say blush is a good color on you. Are you excited to see me, darling?" He asked in a snarky but sweet voice as his free hand came to rest over his heart. Dimitri mumbled something Russian under his breath and joined me on the couch again. Adrian just grinned innocently at him and looking back at Lissa, his face relaxed. "Well might as well get this over with."

They gathered in the corner of the living room and he began to pull a few small potted plants from the box. "Since we both struggle with the plants, I thought they would be best. We could go slow, letting out little bits of Spirit at a time." Lissa agreed and I leaned forward to watch. I had not seen them work with plants before. Slowly they worked back and forth with the plants and I felt Lissa's agitation began to slip away. Adrian was keeping a close watch on her aura and deemed that it would be enough. Taking a glance to where Dimitri and I sat, he dramatically brought his hands to cover his eyes. "You two are blinding me. Can't you keep some sort of distance between you?"

"Adrian." I warned. "I know that seeing me with Dimitri must add to all of the hurt I've caused the three of us, but could we drop the dramatics, please?" I asked getting a little peeved with him.

"Rose, I'm not trying to be the sorry loser here, I am talking about how blinding your auras are when the two of you are close to one another. You know how well I can read them. Everyone has a unique aura. Auras are tied to their souls; they fluctuate to a degree depending on how they are feeling, but all the same, there is always the same basic undertone of colors to their auras. When people love one another, it shows. I can see it around them. Each one is different, depending on what level of devotion and feelings they share, but I can always tell. I would have tried to ignore it, save my face and act much braver, except with you…"

"What are you gabbing on about Adrian? Do you even have a point to make with all of this?"

"When you are with Dimitri, your auras are bright enough to rival the sun. I tried to ignore it, Rose, hoping that over time I could win you over. I am saddened that I could never be what you need, I have to admit, and I would never be enough for you. You and Dimitri are soulmates and I could never win a fight against that."

Everyone sat in stunned silence trying to process Adrian's admission. I toiled over my feelings for Dimitri. I knew that I loved him from the very core of myself and would now sacrifice anything and everything to be at his side, but soulmates? I sat staring at Adrian as each thought settled in my mind, ending with the fact that I could never fully live in a world that Dimitri did not exist in. He owned my heart, no, he owned much more than that. He owned my soul.

My face settled with a joyous smile at the conclusion. I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything. With the realization, I felt as if I could fly. I felt nearly invincible. The only thing that could destroy me in this world was if Dimitri was to be suddenly and permanently taken from me.

"That is the only reason I will accept this and step aside willingly. I don't have a chance for anything more than friendship, Rose, and to honest, I should have realized a lot sooner that I never did. I am sorry for any trouble I brought between the two of you. Believe me when I say, I won't try to interfere again." Adrian gave a solemn promise to us both, giving Dimitri a look that said much more. In that look he had made clear that though he was stepping aside, he did not want to see me hurt.

"Thank you." Dimitri's voice was thick with emotion. He must have been as affected as I was. I had no words that came to mind so I smiled at Adrian and clutched Dimitri's hand tightly in mine. Admitting the depth of my feelings for Dimitri left me with one lingering thought, one that Dimitri had questioned and fought with when we first developed feelings for one another. What did this mean for us as Guardians? Where would my devotion lay if ever questioned?

The excerpt from the book that Dimitri read to Rose is from the book 'The Ferguson Rifle" by Louis L'Amour

I will begin typing and editing the next chapter but it may take a little longer than usual, so I won't be posting five chapters this weekend. Unless I am able to get ants in my pants, as they say, and the words just begin flying across the screen in perfect accordance, this will be my last upload for today. I have been building up to Chapter 16 since the beginning. It is one of three pivotal moments that I have had mapped out as a goal since the starting of this story. With that said, I don't want to rush my writing. I promise to not take too overly long in getting it published, but please be patient if it takes a day or two to get there.