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Thirteen
Chapter 20
RPOV
I made a beeline for my friends as they studied me with sympathetic eyes. I braced myself, taking a deep breath and sitting between Lissa and Dimitri. I tried my best to look calm but could feel panic bubbling just below the surface.
"So, they found out I fed you?" I directed at Lissa as Dimitri slid his arm around my waist.
"Yes," she said quietly. I closed my eyes and breathed harshly out of my nose. I nodded slowly.
"Okay," I whispered. "This isn't that bad. But who told?" Lissa wouldn't meet my eye.
"You didn't…" I trailed off, knowing she wouldn't. I felt my eyes go cold. "Christian. He figured it out right away and he-"
"It wasn't him, Rose," Lissa snapped. I was surprised at her tone. "Even if he did, no one would have believed him."
"Then why do you look so…" I grasped for the word. Not guilty, exactly. Ah, "Timid?"
"There's more," she breathed. Dimitri squeezed my hip and Natalie peered at me as though I was a bomb about to go off.
"Jesse…" Lissa started, looking away again. Rage swirled within me and I started to stand. Dimitri tightened his grip around my waist, holding me in place.
"He's saying that you guys, you know," Natalie supplied, uncharacteristically quiet. "Well, yeah. And that you let him drink from you while you guys…did." I stood abruptly, breaking Dimitri's hold. Lissa grabbed my wrist.
"Ralf too," she told me, so low I barely heard her. My rage snapped and I stormed to where they were sitting, laughing with their other friends. The entire room went silent.
"What did you do?" I hissed, menacingly. They both paled, but Ralf recovered more quickly than Jesse. He smirked, showing his fangs.
"Nothing you didn't want us to," he replied, smugly. My little control I had left snapped and I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.
"You, him and I know damn well I never touched you," I growled, dragging him to his feet. He looked like he was about to faint. "There is no amount of illegal substances in the world that would make me stoop that low."
"Aren't you on probation, Rose?" Jesse finally recovered and shot his eyes to the guardians along the wall. I glanced at them and slowly released Ralf's shirt. With more restraint than even I knew I possessed, I turned and walked away, but not before growling,
"This isn't over."
"I mean, if you're really offering to do it again, I'm game anytime," Ralf said loudly, catching the attention of the entire room. I spun back, fist poised to strike but before I could, he literally burst into flames. Sounds of alarm broke through the room as Ralf screamed louder than I expected he could. Just as quickly as the flames appeared, they were gone. I blinked in shock when I saw there wasn't a single mark on him. The entire room was deathly quiet, until someone started laughing hysterically. My eyes fell on Christian Ozera as two guardians removed him from the cafeteria. He met my eyes smugly as they passed and I glared at him. I stormed back to my friends, nearly collapsing into Dimitri's arms and fighting back tears.
"It'll be okay, Roza," he murmured into my hair, rubbing my back. "Everyone will realize they're lying soon." I nodded mutely into his chest as Lissa's hand found mine and squeezed. I squeezed back, leaning on the strength of my two favorite people. Dinner passed in a blur of awkward silences and whispers. I kept my head down and barely touched my food. Dimitri, Lissa and Natalie tried to include me in conversation but their efforts were futile. All I could focus on was my swirling anger, and Lissa's. I was shocked to feel such dark, rage-filled emotions passing into from sweet, innocent Lissa but couldn't bring myself to worry too much with my own emotions so intense. Dimitri walked me back to our dorm after dinner, holding my hand firmly and glaring at anyone who dared say anything blood related. He walked me straight to my room, regardless of getting yelled at mere hours ago and glanced around when we got there. He gently shoved me inside and slipped in with me, closing the door and pulling me to his chest. I sobbed my eyes out as he held me, whispering to me soothingly in Russian. I was distinctly reminded of the day I was released from the clinic after the accident, which only made my tears fall harder. I sniffled and pulled away, walking numbly to my bed. Dimitri sat next to me and held my hand.
"Thank you for not believing them," I whispered, feeling and sounding hollow. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Why would I believe them?" he asked, curiosity clear in his voice. I shrugged weakly. He wrapped me in his arms again, holding me close. "Even if I hadn't interrupted you and Zeklos that night, I know you, Roza. I know your standards and morals and I know that you would never lower yourself to that. Not with anyone. And I know your heart belongs to me."
"I love you," I whispered, pulling back enough to look into his caring, dark eyes. He kissed me gently.
"I love you," he responded. A loud, urgent knock sounded on my door and I jumped. Dimitri regarded me with a question clear in his eye.
"I'm not expecting anyone," I told him, before climbing to my feet and opening the door. Mason stood before us, face grim. He squeezed my arm.
"Follow me," he said softly. I complied, Dimitri hot on my heels. Mason led us down the back stairwell and out an emergency exit quietly. I was shocked to see Lissa and Mikhail standing outside the door. I must've been so wrapped up in myself I didn't feel Liss and I was utterly confused why Mikhail was there. Mason said his goodbyes and went back inside. Mikhail tilted his chin to Dimitri, indicating him to step aside with him. He did so without argument.
"Five minutes," Mikhail said, voice hard and leaving no room for questions. He and Dimitri stepped back just enough to give us privacy and started their own quiet conversation as Lissa studied me for a moment.
"You were crying," she stated, simply. I shrugged, looking away. "They won't get away with this." Her voice was cold and harsh. My eyes snapped up to meet hers.
"It's fine, Liss," I assured her. "It'll blow over." Neither of us believed my hollow response.
"No, it's not," she snapped. "You always take care of me. Now, I'm going to take care of you." She sounded determined. My eyebrows knitted in confusion.
"What do you mean, Liss?" I asked, skeptically.
"I'll tell them," she informed me and my heart sunk.
"No!" I said quickly as Mikhail stepped forward once more.
"Time's up," he said grimly, looking back and forth between us.
"I'll fix this, Rose," Lissa told me as Mikhail led her away. "I promise." I felt sick. Dimitri led me back inside, this time leaving me alone at my door. He kissed my cheek and bid me goodbye. I went inside and collapsed on my bed, falling into a restless sleep nearly as soon as I hit the pillow.
One Week Later
"Again," Mikhail demanded, watching Dimitri and I beat our respective training dummies with the combo he'd taught us. I grunted, throwing myself into the moves as aggressively as I could. Darkness was swirling within me and the more Lissa 'told them', the worse it seemed to get. I sent out my final kick, knocking the dummy to the floor with a solid thud. Dimitri looked up from his own, concern shining through. Mikhail studied me thoughtfully. He nodded once.
"Good," he commented, addressing both of us. "Get cleaned up and go on ahead to breakfast." He turned on his heel and left us alone in the gym.
"Roza," Dimitri placed his hand on my shoulder and I flinched. "Sorry. Are you okay?" I laughed bitterly.
"No, Comrade," I answered, honestly. "Not really." He hugged me to his chest and told me to sit while he quickly put the dummies and mats away on his own.
"I know you're worried about Lissa," he told me, taking my hand and pulling me to my feet. "But friends are supposed to look out for each other."
"Not in our case," I grumbled. "I'm supposed to look out for her."
"It's okay to let someone take care of you for a change," he insisted.
"When's the last time someone took care of you?" I snapped. He smiled softly.
"You take care of me all the time, Roza," he whispered, kissing my knuckles. I rolled my eyes.
"Hypocrite," I mumbled under my breath. We walked slowly to the cafeteria, grabbing breakfast and tracking down Lissa. She sat at a table with Natalie and her friends, but today, Camille and Carly sat with them as well. I eyed them skeptically as we sat across from the group of royals and Dimitri placed his hand on the small of my back. Lissa smiled warmly at me.
"Hey, Rose!" she said, sounding cheerful, but I knew how tired she was. I grumbled my hello, starting in on my chocolate donut.
"I'm surprised you're still hanging out with her, Lissa," Camille tossed her pretty blonde hair over her shoulder, eyeing me with barely masked disgust. I glared back before Lissa caught her eye.
"Jesse and Ralf were lying," she said, smoothly. Camille's face went slightly slack. "Rose never did those things. Not with them. She fed me while we were on the run, sure. But we had no other options and it wasn't a big deal." Camille nodded slowly, still looking dazed. Carly looked confused but didn't question anything.
"Yeah, not a big deal," Camille repeated. She looked back at me. "Sorry, Rose. I know they were lying." I swallowed thickly.
"Thanks," I whispered. Lissa sagged slightly then immediately perked up.
"Did Guardian Tanner tell you he got you two approved to come on that shopping trip?" she asked me and Dimitri excitedly. I smiled weakly.
"That's great, Liss," I replied, leaning onto Dimitri's shoulder. He felt oddly tense so I glanced at him. There was a frown firmly planted on his face. I returned my full attention to Lissa.
"That's not even the best part!" she exclaimed. "Uncle Victor said Camille can come too AND Headmistress Kirova said you can come to the dance!"
"That's great, Liss," I said, again. I looked at Natalie and she looked a little put out but smiled when she saw me studying her. Camille and Lissa began chattering excitedly about the shopping trip while the rest of us mostly observed. I looked back at Dimitri to find he was still frowning and watching Lissa curiously. I squeezed his knee and kissed his jaw and he finally turned to me, smiling down at me.
"Do you think they'll make us guarding partners or do you think they'll give us each a guardian?" he asked, grinning a little. I smirked.
"I hope they let me have you," I whispered, tilting up to press a kiss on his lips. He smiled against mine and returned it sweetly.
"You'll always have me," he murmured, leaning into my ear so I was the only one who heard. I shivered slightly at the promise in his tone and tucked my head into the crook of his neck. I was still worried about Lissa, but with Dimitri by my side, I felt like everything was going to be okay.
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