Chapter 9

It was an unusually warm day in June when the usually quiet manor exploded in noise. The sound of fighting–grunts, screams, and thuds–reached my ears from the third level. Excellent. I smoothed the front of my dress, straightening the neckline so it laid perfectly against my chest. I learned from my time in Russia that with enough money and access to the internet, anything was possible. Despite shops being closed during night hours and being unwelcome in Moroi dress shops, I managed to custom order dozens of dresses online. Ordinarily, I would call that a waste of money, but this was a special occasion. If the dress wasn't the exact shade of blue I was looking for, I had Inna return it. It had to be perfect.

The voice I had been waiting for rose above the fighting noises. I began my descent from the third floor down to the fray of the fight, the plush carpet muting my steps. I stopped directly behind twin marble pillars at the top of the front entryway and looked in the gap between them at the scene below.

A Strigoi now, I could appreciate more details about Dimitri's fighting. Previously, I had thought him fluid and graceful, whirling so fast I couldn't see him. Other students at the Academy had called him a deity and worshiped at his feet. Now I could see hesitancy, a pause in his actions as he processed the moves from his opponents. Funny. His slow dhampir brain would not help him here, not while being surrounded by Strigoi much older and much wiser than he was.

A shrill shriek caught my attention and I leaned into the gap. The sight of a large ball of flame had me grinning so wide my fangs scraped my lip. Svetlana's shriek continued to echo off the walls, furious no doubt about the now-burnt velvet fainting couch she had custom ordered from Milan. The fire hurt my sensitive eyes, but I forced myself anyway to look for a dark figure behind it.

Black jeans, dirty sneakers, and dark hair bracketed the giant fireball. In an impressive show of magic, the fireball was blue with heat and still expanding. Satisfied, I started down the staircase to greet my guest.

Beautiful blue eyes the exact color of my dress met mine.

"Welcome home."