Lissa and Christian's honeymoon flew by, and we returned to Pennsylvania two weeks after their wedding. Lissa and Christian had decided to honeymoon in Australia, despite the sun, and as a result, everyone returned with a tan, even the Moroi.
Lissa immediately gave me and the rest of the guardians that accompanied them to Australia the next week off, with the other half of Lissa's guardians taking over guarding duties for Council meetings and anything else Lissa needed. We returned to Lehigh the following week for Lissa's senior year (and mine), and I relished the time I had before having to return to a life of studying and exams.
I knew that Tasha and Dimitri were still at Court somewhere, and I did everything in my power to avoid running into either of them. I stayed away from the palace gym, hoping that that would keep me away from Dimitri too.
I made it through the week without running into either of them, and as a result, spent most of the week away from Lissa too since the bond told me that Tasha was with Christian and Lissa a lot, and therefore, so was Dimitri. I threw up a wall between us, not needing to get sucked into Lissa's head.
"Rose!"
I turned to see my mother walking up to me.
"Hi, Mom," I said as she fell in step beside me. "What are you doing here? I thought Lord Szelsky was back in Nepal."
"He decided to extend his stay after Queen Vasilisa's wedding. He had some more matters to take care of in the United States. And he wanted to stay with Ariana a little longer," my mom said. "We leave at the beginning of next week."
I made a noise of acknowledgment low in my throat and kept walking.
"I haven't seen you around lately."
"Lissa and Christian returned from Australia last week, and Lissa gave me this week off to recuperate before classes start again. I've spent most of my time sleeping."
I didn't get into the details of trying to avoid Dimitri. He was still a touchy subject between the two of us after her suspected involvement in getting him released from the Academy.
"Are you doing okay?" she questioned. "I heard Guardian Belikov was back at Court."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm fine."
The look she shot me told me that she didn't believe me. "Let me buy you lunch," she said. "There's someone I wanted you to meet."
I nodded and followed my mother across Court, in the opposite direction that I had been heading, until we were entering a restaurant on the other side of the grounds. It was dimly lit, and the glass ceiling above allowed patrons to stargaze while waiting for their food.
My mom led me across the restaurant until we were at a table tucked into the corner of the building. There was a middle-aged Moroi man already sitting there, and my mom took the seat next to him, gesturing for me to take a seat opposite.
"Rose," my mom started. "You remember Abe, right?"
I looked over at the Moroi sitting across the table from me. It was hard to forget him. Abe was one of the few people outside of Lissa's inner circle that had helped with Jill's relocation to Palm Springs.
"I remember," I said. "What are you doing here, old man?"
"Rose!"
Abe looked amused as he turned to my mom. "It's fine, Janine. Worse names are sure to come."
I narrowed my eyes at the pair of them. "What's going on?"
A waitress came over before either of them could talk, and we spent a few minutes ordering food. As soon as the waitress walked away, I narrowed my eyes at my mom and Abe.
"What's going on?" I repeated.
They shared a look. "Rose, there's something that you should know about Abe."
"I've heard enough rumors," I said.
Abe arched an eyebrow and looked like he wanted to ask for more information, but my mom elbowed him.
"We're not here to talk about rumors," she said. "I figured it was time that it was time you met your father officially."
Her words took a few moments to sink in. "Did you say father? He's my father?"
My mom nodded. "Yes."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" I hissed. "It's been over a year since I met him. And you," I said, turning on Abe, "why haven't you said anything?"
"Don't get upset with him," my mom interjected before he could say anything. "I made him promise years ago that he wouldn't get involved until it was appropriate."
"'Until it was appropriate'? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I snapped. "And do you really think that I'd believe he hasn't been involved in my life before? I've heard the rumors about him. People call him Zmey, Mom."
She sighed. "I know. And you should know that most rumors are false."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Why are you telling me this now? What's happened to make now the 'appropriate time'?"
Abe and my mom exchanged another look before he spoke. "Nothing's happened. We decided that now was a good time for you to learn the truth."
I glared at him. "I don't believe you, old man. Whatever you're planning, leave me out of it."
I stood as the waitress brought over the food, and I left the pair of them sitting at the table as I stormed out of the restaurant.
I wandered aimlessly around Court until I found myself in front of Lissa's apartment, having subconsciously found my way to her door. I pulled out my set of keys to her apartment and unlocked the door.
"Lissa?" I called out as I walked into her apartment.
"In the living room," she called back. I could hear the low murmur of other voices coming from the living room too.
I sighed as I heard the sound of other guests but still made my way to the living room. I had gotten so good at putting a wall between me and Lissa in the bond that it was almost normal to get surprised like this. I walked around the corner and didn't hesitate as I realized that Lissa's guests were Tasha and, by default, Dimitri.
I'm sorry, Lissa said in my head. I don't know why he follows her around the entire time at Court.
"Hi, Rose," Lissa said aloud. Christian was sitting next to her on the couch, and I made my way to the armchair across the room, which put me in between Lissa and Dimitri. "I didn't think that I'd see you today."
"I wasn't planning on coming over, but I ended up here anyway. I didn't realize that you had guests."
"Is everything okay?" Lissa asked, sounding concerned. The bond was still one-way, but Lissa could read me practically as well as I could read her with the bond.
"Define okay," I muttered, thinking back to my lunch with my mother and Abe Mazur.
Lissa shot me a concerned look. "I'm going to assume that everything is not okay."
"That would be a correct guess." I focused on Lissa, ignoring the fact that Tasha and Dimitri were still in the room. I glanced over at them and noticed that they had mostly turned away from us and were having their own conversation.
I scooted the armchair closer to Lissa and lowered my voice. "I just met my father."
"Your father?" Lissa asked, leaning forward.
I nodded. "Turns out I've actually met him before; I just didn't know who he was. You've met him too."
"Who is he?" Christian asked.
I grimaced. "Abe Mazur."
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Dimitri's face go pale, and I almost turned in his direction to get a better look at him. So much for him and Tasha being in their own conversation. I should have known that nothing would escape his notice.
"Abe Mazur?" Lissa repeated.
Christian looked me over and smirked. "That makes sense, actually. I don't know why I didn't figure it out sooner."
I rolled my eyes. "We're not that similar."
Lissa and Christian shared a look before Lissa spoke. "Yes, you are."
I crossed my arms over my chest and opened my mouth to speak, but Tasha cut me off before I could.
"Well, I also have some news to share," Tasha said. "It's why I wanted to come over today, actually. I didn't want to say anything at your wedding, and with you being gone for the past couple of weeks, I didn't want to wait any longer."
"What is it, Aunt Tasha?" Christian asked, concern in his voice.
"It's nothing bad." She glanced over at Dimitri and then turned back to Lissa and Christian with a smile. "I'm pregnant."
Thank y'all for bearing with me and for the delay in updating this story! I had some of it written and then somehow lost the document so I had to start the chapter over. I do have a few hundred words of the next chapter written and will hopefully be able to update either next week or the week after! Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter (despite the devious cliffhanger) :)
p.s. I'm also on Twitter now under the user shadowkissdhamp and may post updates there for my stories as well as be chaotic about the tv show!
