I do not own Vampire Academy or any of it's characters.

Chapter One

RPOV

I groaned and rolled over, reaching for my Russian god. My hands hit an empty spot where they should have met sculpted abs. My eyes flew open at the absence of Dimitri, and I had to resist crying out in protest, knowing no one was here to hear me anyway. I glared at the lack of my other half but smiled slightly when I saw an envelope labeled Roza on his pillow. I sighed, still wishing he was here, rather than a letter explaining his absence, but beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

I examined the unopened envelope, turning it over in my hands. My heart clenched slightly, since the last time Dimitri sent me letters, he wasn't, well, Dimitri at all. Sure, that monster wore his face and had all of his memories and even his mannerisms, but it was not my Comrade. I took a deep breath, shaking myself out of those awful memories. I forgave him the instant he was brought back to me by my best friend and our now queen of the vampiric world. I tore open the envelope and unfolded the crisp paper inside, smiling as I read.

Dearest Roza,

It occurred to me a few weeks ago, that I missed a very important day. The day that you, the absolute most important person in my life, turned eighteen years old. That particular day was even more important due to the fact that it was when we should have been able to announce our love to all the others who love us. Since our lives had other plans in store for us, I've decided that even though I'm quite a bit late, we are going to celebrate today. I have organized a day full of surprises for you in the form of a scavenger hunt and I do apologize that I will not be present for all of them, but I think you'll find them worth your time.

Love Always,

Dimitri

P.S. Maybe after today, I'll finally let you in on some of those guardian secrets.

I could practically feel my eyes sparkling. This should be fun. I sat on the edge of our bed and stretched. Dimitri and I have started every morning for the past couple of months with a leisurely run around Court, but I guess we were skipping it today. I headed into our kitchenette and went to open the fridge for some orange juice, but another envelope stuck to the front caught my eye. I yanked it off the fridge, tearing it open eagerly. A key fell on the floor, and I snatched it up and set it on the table before reading the same notecard inside.

Clue #1

I hate to miss our morning run,

but I fear there's too much to be done.

We have too much to make up for.

I have a full day of fun in store.

Eddie will meet you outside

And lead you where clue #2 hides.

I laughed a little at his attempt making his clues rhyme and ran back into the bedroom to change into my workout clothes. I grabbed my phone off the charger and shot a quick text to Dimitri.

Since when are you Dr. Seuss? I sent. My phone pinged almost instantly. He simply sent a winky face. I rolled my eyes, grabbed the key I tossed on the table, and practically ran outside and almost directly into Eddie. He caught my arm to keep us both from faceplanting and grinned at me.

"Easy there, tiger," he joked. "The next clue isn't until the end of our run." I smacked his arm.

"You're in on this!?" I exclaimed. "I knew everyone's been acting funny! You won't look me in the eye, Liss is hiding so many thoughts from me and my parents have both been oddly twitchy all week!"

"You didn't mention Christian or Adrian," he pointed out, smirking. I rolled my eyes yet again.

"Those two are always weird," I reminded him. He just laughed and gestured for us to start running. I sighed heavily but followed suit anyway, taking the familiar path Dimitri and I take every morning. We ran in silence for about ten minutes when Eddie suddenly veered in the opposite direction from what I'm used to.

"Keep up, Hathaway," he taunted, jogging backwards. I resisted the urge to tackle him. He came to an abrupt halt by the main guardian building and leaned against the doorframe, directly next to another envelope. I shrieked and snatched it off the door.

"Have fun, Rosie!" Eddie called, running off towards his own apartment.

"What?!" I shouted after him. "You're not gonna help me?!"

"They're all personal clues," he chuckled. "It'll be a breeze for you, and I don't want to find out something I don't wanna know about my honorary sister."

I laughed at his retreating figure and tore open the new envelope. This one only contained a notecard. No more keys attacking me for now.

Clue #2

Though you're not the worshipping type,

Head to where I gave you a fright.

Short, sweet and to the point. Worship is obviously church related, and he did frighten me during a service by telling me his love had faded. I thought it was a little weird for him to send me somewhere where he practically broke my heart, but I'm sure he has his reasons. I took off at a near sprint to cross the short distance between the guardian's headquarters and the chapel. A brilliantly colored bouquet of assorted flowers sat on the bench outside with another notecard. I scooped up the flowers and gave them a quick little sniff. The scents wrapped around me invitingly. They weren't overpowering, just very fresh. I pulled the notecard out and scanned it quickly.

Clue #3

I'm sure by now my love is starving,

Head to where we fought the guardians.

My stomach grumbled just then, proving his point. I grinned at how well he'd timed this. Nerd, I thought, giggling a little to myself. I walked this time because the little café where he'd defended me when the royal guard came to arrest me for Tatiana's murder wasn't far at all. No notes stuck to the door, nothing on the benches this time. Maybe I'd misinterpreted this clue. I reread it and decided I definitely had the right place. I pushed the door open and walked up to the counter.

"Excuse me?" I asked the young moroi at the counter. She shot me a smile and tilted her head inquiringly. "Did Guardian Belikov leave something here for me? I know that sounds kind of strange."

"Not strange at all, Guardian Hathaway," she answered, kindly. "This is for you." She handed me a takeout bag and I thanked her before going back outside. I peaked inside to find three donuts and another notecard. I tore into one of the donuts and started to read the card when a flash of blonde hair started to zip past me, several royal guardians trailing a respectable distance behind. Damn, she's gotten good at blocking me from the bond. Or maybe I'm just distracted by my scavenger hunt.

"Vasilisa Dragomir!" I all but screamed. "How dare you keep something like this from me!"

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