Dimitri's POV
I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. This must be what Rose felt like when the school board interrogated her after she froze and Stan fake killed Christian. I couldn't answer Abe's question, I didn't know what to say.
"When exactly did your relationship with Rose begin?" He repeated. I forced myself to not visibly swallow in front of Rose's parents.
If Rose were here she would be able to answer her father and look him directly in the eye. There was no way I could explain what Rose and I had without it sounding really awful. I took a deep breath, "We never had an official relationship. I just knew that I was in love with her for a long time."
Janine's face softened a little but she didn't say anything. Abe scrutinized me, "So when did you two become a couple?"
I shook my head, "We tried not to acknowledge our feelings for each other. We stayed apart for a long time. I finally told her how I felt and that I was going to ask for a different guardian assignment so that I could be with her the morning of the rescue mission." It was the whole truth, in a manner of speaking, but still kept the most intimate details private.
Janine gasped, "But that's when you..." I nodded, casting my eyes to the ground.
Abe's shoulders shook as he laughed, "You mean to tell me that you confessed your love for Rose and then you died less than twenty-four hours later? That's rotten luck, my boy."
I was relieved for his laughter and mocking attitude, anything's better than Abe's wrath. I wanted to call Abe out on disobeying his daughter's wishes about talking to me, but I wasn't going to push him.
Abe's laughter dissolved and turned to more scrutiny, "And how did Rose feel about you? Surely you weren't taking advantage of a student, Guardian Belikov." With every ounce of my will and strength, I looked Abe dead in the eye and spoke, "I think you should let Rose answer that one for herself."
Abe narrowed his eyes but I saw a hint of humor there. Defiance was more of Rose's thing, and I could tell which parent she got it from. I prepared myself for the death threats and kneecap breaking promises from Abe.
Abe opened his mouth to continue when one of the bedroom doors flew open. Pavel rushed into the room, "Mr Mazur, I'm sorry to interrupt but something's happened." He reached the coffee table and snatched the remote, he started flipping channels until he reached a news channel.
There was a breaking news report, a somber looking woman stood in front of a hotel, the caption read TEN DEAD IN KENTUCKY HOTEL MASSACRE.
I had never seen a man as intimidating as Abe Mazur look so scared. "No," he whispered, his eyes bugging out of his head. The guardian pursed his lips and drifted to the corner of the room. Janine jumped into guardian mode. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Abe glanced at Janine and went back to staring at the TV. I saw him flick his gaze to me for a fraction of a second before answering Janine, "That's… that's the hotel Rose is staying at."
Janine and I jumped out of our seats at the same time, as if there were Strigoi in the room. My blood turned to ice in my veins.
"Call her!" Janine shouted, her face turning red. Leave it to a missing child to be the undoing of a concerned mother.
Abe scrambled for his phone, his fingers didn't move fast enough for my liking. She's okay she's okay she's okay... She has to be okay.
Abe put the phone up to his ear. I shook my head, making sure I held his attention, "Put it on speaker." I used as much authority as I could, all of my fear of Abe was replaced by my fear for Rose. Abe nodded, holding the phone out. The phone rang three times before there was a click and the sound of static.
"Hello? Dad, why are you calling me?"
I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when I heard her voice. Abe's shoulders relaxed. Janine was still shaking. Rose's parents stayed silent.
"Rose," I sighed, not knowing what to say except for her name. There was a moment of silence, and then, "Dimitri? What are-"
Abe cut off anything Rose might have said, "Rose I'm watching the news from Kentucky right now," he spoke through his teeth. "Do you care to explain what the fuck is going on?"
Hearing an English swear with Abe's Turkish accent sounded strange, maybe that's how Rose felt whenever I swore.
Rose made an unintelligible noise, "That's on the news already? We just left the hotel!" Rose sighed in exasperation, "You were right, mom. There were Strigoi waiting for me to leave Court. Five of them attacked us at the hotel." Hearing her voice was like a lifeline after worrying about her disappearance, but her words planted new fears in me.
Janine snapped, "OF COURSE I WAS RIGHT. COME HOME NOW, ROSEMARIE."
Rose completely ignored her, "We're all doing okay, I got a nasty cut on my neck and Mikhail hit his head but it's nothing major," she said nonchalantly. "We left the brothers behind, the rest of us took the SUV and we're going to drive through the night."
The brothers? Rose really did have a lot of explaining to do.
Abe grimaced at the phone as though Rose could see it, "Little girl, your mother is right. You need to come back to court and let others finish this business." I wouldn't want that curt tone directed at me. It's a good thing Rose doesn't really care about authority figures.
"No! I'm doing this. Nobody else can. I don't trust anyone else with this. And don't call me little girl, old man." She sounded like a petulant preteen trying to negotiate the terms of her punishment.
"Rose, please come home. Whatever you're doing it's not worth it." I begged. Janine raised her eyebrows at me. Abe stared at me as we waited for Rose's response. Were they speculating how much weight my words would have with Rose? Under the watchful eyes of Rose's parents, her silence was deafening.
Rose finally spoke, "Dimitri, I can't. It is worth it. I have to do this. I can explain everything once I get home." There was pain In her voice when she said it. Abe studied me under his gaze, I wish I knew what he was looking for.
"I love you." She hung up. She didn't say who the words were for but I think it was for all of us. Janine threw her hands up and flopped onto the couch. She covered her face with her hands, near to tears. I clenched my fist, my nails digging into the skin of my palm.
Abe leaned his head back to look at the ceiling, his chest moving up and down rapidly.
I recalled my words to Rose from earlier. I think you're a time bomb. I just didn't realize what kind of havoc she would leave in her wake.
The next two days were the longest days of my life, well, next to Spokane. I spent most of my time pacing the suite's floor, my mom chased me around and tried to keep me calm. Abe hadn't heard from Rose. She stopped calling, only sending texts saying no more than "all good" or "we're fine".
Lissa went to her monarch trials and completed the first two with ease. Many of the Moroi were taking notice of her and considering her a legitimate candidate they could actually vote for. After each of the trials she would come to Rose's and my suite to worry along with me.
Everyone stayed together, never leaving each others' side unless necessary. Rose's friends spent all of their free time milling about the suite as if they could summon her by walking around her home. Everyone ate here too, Rose was coming home to no groceries. My family completely abandoned their hotel rooms and stayed with me in the suite.
As the time passed, more ill feelings grew. People were snapping at each other, sometimes there would be a verbal fight between Tasha and Ethan. They fought about simple things like a misplaced hairbrush, but the tone suggested there was something bigger making them upset. With everyone else's focus on the party missing from Court, it was annoying to witness their relationship problems.
Abe kept the private phone designated for Rose in his pocket at all times. He gave up lying to us about knowing Rose's whereabouts, but he wouldn't tell us anything else. Lissa tried unsuccessfully several times to get the phone away from Abe so she could call Rose.
My mom went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner for all of us, my sisters helped out. Christian sat on the couch with his arm wrapped around Lissa. Abe flipped through the channels on TV without really paying attention to what was on.
His phone started ringing. Everyone tensed, my mother and sisters ran into the room.
Everyone watched Abe as if their life depended on it as he pressed the green button. No one asked for the call to be put on speaker, nerves I think.
Abe listened to the other end for a long time. His serious face broke into a wide grin, "Yes, I'll tell them. See you soon." He put the phone back in his pocket.
We all watched Abe expectantly. Abe offered a slow and lazy grin, "They're pulling up to court now. She said they'll reach the gates in ten minutes and she wants us to meet her there."
I was already moving to the door. Everyone pushed and shoved to get out of the suite. Lissa and I led the group with a speed walk. Lissa grinned, "She's in so much trouble, I'm so mad." I could see a light in her green eyes that went out when Rose left. I returned her grin, "Yeah, so mad."
Our small crowd milling around the gates attracted the attention of Moroi, they figured what we must be waiting for and joined us, standing off to the side and respectfully giving us space. We would be the first ones Rose sees when she gets out of the SUV.
Hans walked up with a large group of guardians, fourteen of them. They flanked out to make a human wall between us and the growing crowd of spectators. Hans walked right up to Abe and shook his hand, "Princess Hathaway called me. I'm sure you're glad to have your daughter returning safely."
Abe casually laughed, "There was nothing to be worried about. She's still a guardian down in her core." Just like that Abe waved off all of his stress and torment about Rose's absence and bragged about his daughter in the same breath.
I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, Sonja wrapped her arms around me. "It's okay, Dimka. You can relax now." I absently put one arm around Sonja, my eyes never left the road leading away from the gate.
Viktoria laughed, "Are you seriously telling Dimka to relax? Does he even know how to do that?" Lissa smiled at my youngest sister, "He does when Rose is around." My sisters and Lissa giggled at that, though I don't see how the comment was funny.
I gasped when I saw a flash of metal reflecting the sunset. Moments later, an SUV appeared and grew larger as it moved toward the gate. Sonja released her hold on me to stand facing the road like the rest of us. The murmurs from the crowd behind me grew louder.
The SUV pulled up to the gates, the guards at the gate waved it through without even inspecting it. Everyone knew who was in the car. I saw Eddie in the driver's seat, Mikhail sat in the passenger's seat with his torso turned to talk to someone behind him. Eddie grinned at the group and eased the car to a stop just in front of us.
I wanted to move but my joints were frozen. Everything slowed down, the seconds it took for the back doors to open felt like years. I saw her dark brown hair wave in the wind before she even exited the car. All I could see was Rose, nothing else existed in that moment.
She stood there facing me for a long time. My smile slipped when I realized she didn't look happy to see me. She had regret and despair engraved onto her features.
She ran forward, throwing herself into my arms. She let out a sob of relief mixed with sorrow. "Are you angry?" she whispered. I tightened my hold on her, I felt like I could breathe again.
"Pissed. Furious. I'm never letting you out of my sight again." I sighed. I squeezed her once more before loosening my hold on her. I crushed my lips to her forehead. "I love you so much, Roza. Don't ever leave again."
Rose laughed, wiping tears from her face, "I love you." She brought her lips to mine, pulling on my shirt. Only then did our audience exist for me again. I could hear the whispers and aw's from the Moroi standing being us. Suddenly I felt self conscious standing here.
Lissa stepped forward and tapped Rose on her shoulder, "Sorry to interrupt, but I kind of missed you too." Rose and Lissa embraced, laughing in the way that girls do when they don't have the right words to say.
Rose's hair had fallen behind her shoulders. I saw two adjacent pink lines across Rose's neck, like a cut that had just begun to heal. She really wasn't going to be let out of my sight.
The others formed a line to hug Rose and the others from the SUV. For the first time I noticed Sonya Karp standing with Mikhail. I felt panic course through me but that was overruled by confusion. Sonya was a Strigoi as far as I knew, but there she was, standing within the ward lines.
Hans eyed her but didn't send any guards for her. I looked back at Rose, wondering how much she could have accomplished in two and a half days.
I also noticed a young Moroi girl, I remember her from the day I did community service with Rose. Jill, I think her name was; she had practically salivated from meeting a legend such as Rose Hathaway.
She didn't have that same excitement now. She looked shy and terribly awkward. Sonya patted the girl's arm and said some comforting things to her. Lissa was also watching Jill suspiciously.
When Tasha reached Rose, Rose didn't embrace her. Rose simply stared at the older woman with all emotions hidden from her face. Tasha looked confused and hurt at Rose's attitude. None of us knew what was going on. Tasha moved to hug Rose, but Rose stepped away from her.
"Hans!" Rose called out, keeping her eyes on Tasha.
Tasha's confused expression turned to understanding. A fake smile was etched on her face. She clasped her hands in front of her, "Ethan, dear, come here."
"Yes, Princess?" Hans said. Rose lifted her head in the way she always did when she was on display in front of the Court. Her eyes were devoid of any emotion. She spoke loud and clearly so that the whole crowd could hear her, "Take Natasha Ozera and Ethan Moore into custody for my assault, kidnapping and attempted murder."
Rose sat in the metal folding chair across from Hans in the interrogation room. She convinced him to let me, Lissa, Eddie, Adrian, Mikhail and Sonya, her parents and my family observe from behind the trap mirror. "I only want to explain it once," she had told him. Christian refused to come. Jill came with us because she had nowhere else to go. I was still unsure of her presence here at Court, but Rose always has her reasons.
I came for Rose, even though I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what she's going to say about Tasha. I had questions, but I was afraid of the answers. Betrayal coursed through me. Rose wouldn't lie about something like this, and I saw the truth in Tasha's eyes when they hauled her away. How could she?
The thirteen of us stood uncomfortably close to each other as we watched Rose and Hans lean into the table and sip coffee. Hans hasn't asked any questions yet.
Rose looked at the mirror, her eyes moving over the surface as though she could see all of us through it. "Are they all in there?" she asked. Hans nodded and took another sip of coffee.
Rose took a deep breath and sighed, "Then I'm ready to tell you everything."
"Alright, Princess. I guess what I want to know first is why you didn't turn Tasha and Ethan in earlier." Hans studied Rose suspiciously. Rose nodded, "I didn't remember then. I got my memories back when I left Court. Oh, by the way I want Eddie and Mikhail exempt from any punishment for accompanying me." Rose paused, waiting for Hans to respond with a nod before continuing.
"My memories were triggered by crossing the wards. I was compelled to forget until I left Court. That's not important, though. I was kidnapped the night that Dimitri went to church for the first time after being transformed. I remembered seeing him there before I went back to my room, and for the time I've been back at Court I didn't remember anything after that." Rose's voice trailed off, I could tell she was reliving the church service.
Love fades, mine has. I have never regretted words so much.
"Yes, it is my understanding that Guardian Belikov said some upsetting things to you at the church service, that's why your friends believed you ran away."
Rose pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes, I was upset. I went to my room to be alone. I took a shower, I got out when I heard a knock at my door. Tasha was there with Ethan Moore. She came into the room complaining about how you were making Dimitri jump through hoops to prove he was a dhampir. She said she came to me because I would understand her frustration." Hans nodded along, jotting down notes here and there.
Rose wrapped her arms around herself, she hunched over in her seat. She looked so small. "I told her that I didn't really want to talk about Dimitri. She was fine with that, looking back now I think she just used Dimitri as an excuse to get into my room. We talked about me becoming her guardian. She requested me."
Hans grunted, "You were going to be her guardian?" Rose rolled her eyes, "Well, at the time it didn't look like I could have been Lissa's guardian."
Hans shrugged, "Okay, so what happened after that?"
Rose tensed, "We were making small talk, laughing about stupid things. I didn't pay attention to Ethan. He just sat there. Tasha leaned close to me, she said she had to tell me a secret. I thought it was funny at the time, that she would lean so close when we were basically alone. I played along though. I leaned in to hear what she wanted to say…"
Rose closed her eyes. A painful expression clouded her face. Hans gestured with his hand, "And then what?" He asked impatiently. Rose opened her eyes, a tear fell down her cheek.
"And then she bit me."