Author's Note: Sorry about the late update, I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!


From: Rosemarie Mazur

To: Vasilisa Dragomir

Liss,

Just wanted to check in with you after everything this weekend. I've been meaning to call you but I know that you're pretty busy lately AND Dimitri hasn't given me much of a break in training since coming out to Baia.

I thought we'd maybe cool down A LITTLE out here but, no joke, we train in combat for about five hours a day. And, of course, he never seems to run out of curriculum and guarding tips that I "missed last year" so we talk about all that for probably another hour. On top of that, Ivan has taken it upon himself to tell me more about his magic research. So, really, it's like I'm not on a break at all!

We're going to meet up with Mark and Oksana at the end of the week to talk more about the delights of being shadow-kissed and how to keep everything in check long term!

Until then, training, training and, what's that? MORE TRAINING.

Miss ya, Rose

From: Vasilisa Dragomir

To: Rosemarie Mazur

Dear Rose,

Yeah, everyone's been keeping me busy and distracted ever since Natalie let it slip to our group what happened the other night… I've barely had a moment to myself since.

Thanks for… being there for me. I really couldn't have done it without you. Truly.

When you first left, I felt so lonely. I distracted myself with Natalie and Mason and got so wrapped up in Christian, when all I really wanted was to see you. I felt like you had abandoned me but you really didn't. I used to think it was creepy.. the way you could just pop into my head, like some sort of invasion of privacy. But now, I'm so thankful. You're there for me even when I don't know it. You've saved my life more than once, near and far.

All that aside, I'm glad you're keeping up with your training. I'm trying to have the most badass guardian to ever exist – though I know you already make that cut. Must not hurt to spend so much time with Dimitriiiiii. How's your hot Russian comrade doing?

We'll make an effort to talk more, I promise.

Best,

Lissa

From: Rosemarie Mazur

To: Vasilisa Dragomir

What are bondmates for, Liss? I've got your back from here 'til the afterlife, apparently.

Don't you even try and act like distracting yourself with Christian doesn't have its benefits. Flirty glances in the chapel attic? Don't forget that, even though I can control it better now, I still come for a visit sometimes.

Working so much with Dimitri has its benefits and its drawbacks, to say the least. Sometimes I wish I could go back to being the reckless child I was all too recently… but I know it's worth it to be your guardian. Anyway, brushing the sappiness aside for both of us.

Viktoria is forcing me to go out with her and her friends tonight. She's even got "the perfect dress for me" which should be… interesting considering I don't know her taste that well. Regardless, it'll be nice to get away from the guys and the distraction that is Dimitri and destress a little.

Take care of yourself, Lissa. I'm not doing all this work to guard anyone else.


I signed off of Ivan's laptop, heaving myself up from where I sat at the kitchen table and bidding everyone goodbye.

Dimitri waved from his place on the couch, winding down from the day and reading one of those worn-in Western novels he always seemed to be nose-deep in.

It had taken me a while to discover just what his genre of choice was, but when Alexei had let me in on the secret, I couldn't help but tease him to no end. He would love Montana, I often claimed. All the cowboy hats and dude ranches he'd ever need.

"You're not staying for dinner?" Ivan asked from the kitchen where he and Alexei were pulling together the meal. Despite her protests, they'd insisted that Olena take the night off from cooking. As sweet of a gesture as it was, I wasn't sure 24-year-old men could necessarily be considered decent chefs, so I was glad when Viktoria gave me an excuse not to test it.

"Nah, Viktoria wanted me to come over early and said there were plenty of leftovers."

"Okay," Ivan nodded, accepting the excuse. "Well, have fun tonight!"

Alexei, popped his head up, doing his best impression of my own father, accent and all. "Be back by eleven and if any boy is being creepy-"

"I'll punch him in the throat," I said, invoking some of my old Rose Hathaway spirit. I was looking forward to getting a bit of her back for the night.

I made my way over to the Belikova residence, where I was greeted by an ecstatic Viktoria.

"I've already got a big plate fixed for you upstairs," she said, grabbing me by the hand and leading me up the stairs. "Just wait until you see this dress. It was made for you."

"Then why is it in your wardrobe?" I joked with her.

"Trust me," she said assuredly. "It's yours now.

She was right. The dress was black and sleek. On Viktoria it might have been more modest, but with my Turkish curves and the silky material, it clung to me like second skin, flaring out and hitting just above the knee. It was strapless, so I had to go braless, only because I hadn't exactly anticipated going out with her while in Baia, and she didn't exactly have anything else that fit me.

"Blyad," she breathed once I put it on. She'd insisted we eat and do our makeup before getting into the dresses so we could see the final product in its entirety. I was happy to oblige her because she was so nice as to give me a break from the boys, and once we'd gotten down to it, I realized that I'd forgotten just how great it could be to destress with a genuine female friend. I'd been able to forget all the sinister things in life for a few hours, and I forgot how freeing being a regular girl could be. "You look hot, Rose."

I squinted at myself in the mirror, barely believing what I saw before me. I had lost myself in my training for the past few months. From taking so many beatings in class, I had grown used to my skin being mottled by bruises of differing ages, but Oksana's ring had taken care of each of them, much like it had my hands. While I didn't feel right anymore packing on a lot of makeup, what I had indulged myself in accentuated my dark eyes and made me feel a smolder of Rose Hathaway return to my face.

Viktoria looked equally as beautiful, if not more so. If we'd still been at the academy, or say St Vladimir's equinox dance, we would've squarely been kicked out for breaking the school dress code.

"Is this too much?" I asked her, slightly doubtful. "It's so early in the week, no one is going to be out."

"Trust me," she said. "Baia is the kind of town where people come to party, you know what towns like this are like, and when the students are back, we all like to let loose early in the week."

She tossed me a small handbag. "Take this and leave your jacket. You won't want to carry it around with you when we're daaaaancing." she grinned with a shake of her hips.

"Do you mind if we hit up the rental on our way? I can just drop my stuff off and I want to grab some lip gloss I left there."

"Yeah, no problem, I'll tell Nikolai to meet us there!"

I grinned at her, "Speaking of… when are you just going to open your eyes to the fact that he likes you?"

Viktoria rolled her eyes in return, shuffling me out of her room and towards the stairs. "No way, Rose."

"You can deny it all you want, but he flirts with you endlessly."

She turned to me with a slight smile on her face. "You think?"

"She knows," Yeva murmured from her place in the living room. Ever since I'd personally thanked her for getting me to Mark and Oksana in the nick of time, we had made strides in our relationship. That's to say, she spoke slower around me and didn't leer… as much.

"Oh, girls, you're going to need coats," Olena scolded.

I slipped mine on to appease her, waving goodnight as Viktoria slipped out the door without responding to her mother's worries.

"Have a good night," she called back to them, closing the door with a huff.

As we made our way towards the rental house, Viktoria opened her clutch, producing a shiny metal flask. She shook it in my face, beaming as it barely sloshed, full of liquid.

"What is that, poison?" I joked.

"If I have all my facts right," she started, uncapping it and taking a swig before handing it over to me. "This is your first taste of Russian Vodka."

I followed her lead, swinging back a large gulp and barely getting the entirety down before sputtering and coughing in the street. "You got ripped off," I insisted. "That is gasoline."

"All work and no play since you've started training with Dimitri," she scolded. "If you're going to live in Russia, you're going to have to get used to the way we drink. Plenty and strong."

Nikolai was waiting for us on the corner between the Belikova home and our rental. From his own pocket, he produced a matching flask and, with raucous cheers, they chimed them together. The two were literal peas in a pod.

"I'll be right back," I insisted, making my way to the door of the home.

The boys had given me one of the sets of keys, not anticipating any of them would need it for a night staying in, so I easily let myself in. Ivan and Alexei were gathered around the television, watching a movie in the dark. Unexpectedly, however, Dimitri was still up to join them.

The two guardians sprung up from the couch, ready to strike.

"Relax, you two."

"Having no fun? Back so soon?" Alexei teased as he and Dimitri sat back down.

"No," I laughed at him, swinging my jacket off and onto the coat hangers next to the door. I moved past them, bound for the bedroom I was staying in. "I just forgot something."

In the millisecond it took for me to throw my clothes onto the bed and find my lip gloss, the boys had taken it upon themselves to throw the lights in the living room on, making me squint in the contrast of the dark hallway I'd just come from. The three of them stood standing, watching me like concerned fathers. Well… two of them did.

"Jeeze, you guys. Way to blind a girl."

"Damn, Mazur," Alexei whistled, earning a hit on the backside of his head from Ivan. "Hey! I just wanted to tell her she cleaned up nice."

I laughed at their antics, noticing the way that Dimitri was looking at me. Blank-faced in the way he usually put on his guardian face, his features gave nothing away outright, but the way he was staring… Well, maybe I was imagining it, but his eyes gave away so much more than I'd anticipated.

As if I could blame it on the single shot of vodka, I gave them a swirl, shaking my hair over one shoulder and pulling off my best Rose Hathaway, "You see something you like?"

"You look very nice, Rose," Ivan said diplomatically, gesturing for the door. "But, you'd better get going, I believe you left an equally coat-less Viktoria out there."

"Have fun," Alexei sang to me as I went to leave.

"Roza?" I heard Dimitri say warily from behind me.

"Hmm?" I spun towards him, having just turned the handle and cracked the door, he was closer to me than he'd been just moments ago.

I realized that I wanted desperately for him to tell me how pretty I looked. Give me any sign of approval. Anything to show that he noticed me.

"Don't let my sister get you into anything stupid."