THREE

Rose

Rose hadn't realized just how much time she was spending training until the field experience began.

She woke up two hours before Christian's alarm was set to go off every day, and spent more time in the library and cafeteria than since before her and Liss gone on the run.

Dimitri might be gone. She might not have his enticing Russian drawl encouraging her to run one more lap than the day before anymore, but her motivation hadn't left. If anything, it had gotten stronger. She had more to prove now, it had been lain bare just how lacking she still was.

So she lived in the gym, pushing her body further than it should have been pushed, in the hopes that she would be able to catch up to where she needed to be to keep Lissa safe from Strigoi.

Laying on the floor in Christian's room, waiting for him to get up and go to classes, was driving her insane.

She tried to sit and read, but she was getting even less sleep than normal and she couldn't concentrate.

Instead, her mind was left to run in vicious circles. It was taking the laps her body couldn't. And those laps consisted of wondering what she could have done differently to save Mason, of what she could have done differently to convince Dimitri to stay, to whether she would ever be worthy of guarding the Last Dragomir, whether they had a bond or not.

She sighed.

"It's hard to sleep when you're so obviously not," Christian said from above her.

"I'm not being loud."

"Yes you are."

"I sighed. It's hardly like I'm talking to myself down here."

"My hearing is better than yours."

"Get some earplugs."

He poked his head over the side of the bed and she scowled up at him. "I thought you'd be reveling in the opportunity for a lie-in."

"My body doesn't seem to believe in lie-ins anymore. Too many early mornings."

"You really normally get up this early?"

"Yes. I normally run in the morning."

"I feel like I should be generous and say we can get up three hours before class every morning so you can, but I am not willing to commit to that."

In spite of herself, she chuckled. "Don't worry, I wasn't expecting it."

She sat up, so she wasn't looking up at him anymore, and rested her back against the wall. "Do you still practice your offensive magic?"

"Even more than I used to."

She hummed. She could have expected that. It was his magic that had gotten them out of Spokane. His magic and quick thinking. He'd saved her life.

"Evenings only, though. Not even setting things on fire is getting me out of bed this early."

"Then it sounds like the earplugs are going to be your only option."

At least she would be able to get some running in while Christian was practicing his magic in the evenings, though. She was extremely concerned about keeping her stamina up after she'd spent so long getting it there in the first place.

"What do you think about the pictures?" he asked, when it had been quiet long enough she thought he was going back to sleep.

"I don't know." And she really didn't. She had to assume it was just someone trying to mess with his head, because the alternative was too out there. What were the chances that his parents had been alive all this time and only decided to get into contact now? And the guardians had killed them. They'd been reported as dead. "I think it's someone trying to mess with you. I don't know what else it could be."

"Yeah," he sounded like that was what he'd wanted to hear. "I'm sure it will be."

"Do you think they might be real?" It was the first question she'd asked Alberta.

"How could they be?"

"True," she said, though it obviously sat uneasy with both of them. They could be. However slim the chance, they could be real, and Christian's parents could be getting ready to try and snatch him away.

"Either way, Kirova clearly didn't think it was a real enough threat to ban me from going to Court for the Queen's birthday ball."

She laughed. "Clearly the Queen knows nothing about the threats, otherwise she'd be taking whatever excuse she could to make both of us stay far away."

She expected him to laugh with her, but when he didn't she leaned forward to get a look at his face. A scowl was on his face. "It would be a lot easier if she did just ban me from everything."

"That bad?" she asked. "Just tell Liss you don't want to go."

He did laugh then, but it wasn't an amused sound. "It would be a lot easier if she just said yes when I asked."

She wondered if there was anything she'd missed between Lissa and Christian recently. She'd been keeping herself away from the bond as much as possible. She wanted to focus on her training which helped, but Liss was filled with an unending positivity that could make her mood even blacker than normal sometimes.

"It'll be easier when you're living at court, she'll make closer friends with other royals, and it won't be a three-day intense trip. She'll want your company at the moment, because she'd be alone otherwise."

"You're right," he conceded. "I'm still getting used to having to do these things."

"She appreciates that you do it even though you don't want to." It was a guess, but it was an educated one.

"I told myself I wasn't going to end up treating the field experience like some kind of slumber party with heart to hearts," he joked.

She laughed. "Don't worry, I have no intention of baring my soul."

"Admitting I don't like royal functions is more than enough exposing my soul for me too. Maybe I can get some offensive magic in before class after all."

"Great. I'll put my running gear on."