Part 7
"You know, when you said we were meeting someone, I thought it would be in a city. In civilisation. Maybe some stores. Not… this." I gestured to the two-lane road that we were parked on. The small, very much in need of maintenance road was also the main road of a tiny town. I think it was the only road in this town.
The sides of the road had a speckling of buildings on either side; most looked abandoned. The only one that had some semblance of life to it was the one Pavel had pulled up to, a restaurant simply named DINER.
Don't get me wrong, after being in the car for over six hours, I was overjoyed to eat and stretch my legs, but I was almost certain that I would get food poisoning from this place. And from what I could feel through the bond, Dimitri was equally distrusting of it.
Spending the car ride so close to Dimitri had helped a lot, and my strength was back to normal, thankfully. Even the ache in my chest had subsided enough that I could almost ignore it. I think it would only ever fully go away if he accepted me as his soulmate, and there was no chance of that happening.
"Well, Rose," Abe started, placing a fedora on his head to protect himself from the sun. I couldn't believe he had managed to find one that matched the orange of his suit. "We will be discussing sensitive information, and I thought it best not to risk being overheard by someone that shouldn't."
I scoffed, "No risk of that. I don't think anyone even lives here."
Begrudgingly I followed Abe into Diner. It wasn't difficult to figure out who Abe's associate was, seeing only one person was sitting in a booth, and other than a bored waitress on her phone and the cook, the place was deserted.
My eyes zeroed in on the head of blonde hair, already knowing who it was. "Sydney," I greeted, sliding into the other side of the booth taking in her gold tattoo and indignant look.
"Hi, Rose," She greeted me with a tight smile. While we had built some kind of relationship in Russia, Sydney was still put off by dhampirs and Moroi, and now she was surrounded.
"I would ask what you were doing here, but I can already guess." I shot Abe a look, guessing he had called in his favour for getting her out of Russia. Sydney's eyes flicked to mine, and I knew it was true.
Abe gave us one of his charming smiles, "Sydney has so graciously offered her services to help you both on your little hunt," He explained, amusement in his eyes as he lowered himself to the seat beside Sydney, which left Dimitri taking the spot beside me.
I subtly tried to shift closer to the wall so that we weren't touching. I was willing to put aside our romantic history for the sake of getting this done, but his actions still hurt me. I wasn't planning on cozying up to him any more than I had to.
Ever since I had revealed to Dimitri how much I could feel through the bond, he had been guarding his emotions more, and I had been trying to block them on my end as well.
"What is she helping us with, exactly?" I asked.
Abe was perusing the menu, "She had access to the funds you will need for accommodation, travel and such. Also, find any information you may need, she is quite good with a computer. How do you think I found out Sonya was on the bank account?"
Sydney bristled at Abe's words; I don't think she saw it as a compliment. No doubt that her finding that was a part of Abe's favour.
I tilted my head at him, confused, "If she has the funds, then what was that envelope you gave me at Court?"
"That," His eyes locked on mine, "is just in case." I understood his meaning when he gave Dimitri a dangerous look.
My eyes dropped to the table; my gratefulness for Abe grew. While we had told everyone that we would be fine working together, it was a lie, and a huge risk for me, given that Dimitri could break me at any moment. Abe knew this too and was giving me an out if I needed it.
Pushing down everything again, I looked back up, "So, what's the plan? What's our next move?"
"You tell me."
Right, this was our mission now. I glanced at Dimitri.
"I'll call Boris back. He should have some information by now." Dimitri stood from the table; Abe had given him his phone to keep, retrieving it from his pocket as he left the restaurant. I watched him through the yellowed windows as he stood by the car.
The tension was back in his shoulders, and try as he might, I could feel his apprehension through the bond. He kept his back to me, and I was grateful. I didn't have to hear the conversation to know what his voice sounded like, and I didn't need to see his expression either. I'm sure if I closed my eyes, I could see that dark, menacing look. Red eyes glowing.
"Who's Boris?" Sydney asked, following my gaze and then back to me. I could see the unease in her eyes at the sight of Dimitri. Dhampirs made her uncomfortable; I could only imagine her thoughts of an ex-Strigoi.
I focused on her, ignoring the emotions coming from Dimitri, "He is one of Dimitri's… old contacts. He should have an idea of where Sonya is, or at least who to ask."
"And what do we do once we find her?"
I shrugged, "Hopefully, get her to talk. I'm not sure about that part."
"Just remember to be careful. We still don't know who stole those records in the first place. There is more than you looking for the unknown Dragomir." Abe warned me.
I gave him a quick nod. As much as I hated going on this search, I was thankful to Abe for coming all the way to Court to negotiate it. At least this way, there was still some hope that I could guard Lissa in the future, granted that would mean seeing a lot of Dimitri as well, considering he had promised her his life.
I was still very pissed about that. Sure she had managed to give him life again, but without me and everything I had to go through, Lissa never would have known what to do or that he could be saved. But instead of gratitude, I am kicked to the curve.
"What's wrong with your chest?" I was startled by Sydney's question, not even realising that I had been rubbing it.
Shoving my hands under the table, I muttered, "Nothing."
My eyes moved back to Dimitri一stupid eyes. His conversation was over, but he was still standing there. A slight worry for him grew; I didn't need the bond to know he was lost in his memories of the past. My body was begging me to go to him, to comfort him. I reminded myself that I had to stay strong.
But then he brought a hand to his face, and his shoulders dropped. He looked devastated.
I opened myself to the bond, the sadness and self-hatred near unbearable. I focused on him, on sending through soothing thoughts, easing the weight of it all. I shouldn't be doing this; using the bond like this will only make breaking it harder, but a part of me could never leave Dimitri hurting like that.
It was like payback for when he helped me fight the darkness. Now we were even.
He spun around to face me, eyes wide. But I turned away before I could read the emotion in them; with one last push of calm, I closed off the bond.
I hated that helping him had eased the pain that was growing in my chest.
A minute later, Dimitri was rejoining us, mask in place again, "He gave me an address of someone who knows Sonya and probably where she is. We will have to go in person to get the information."
"Where is it?"
"Lexington, Kentucky."
I groaned, "Why couldn't it be Hawaii, or someplace fun, making this trip worth it?"
"You could always just stay here if you preferred," Abe mused.
"Kentucky sounds great."
Abe had separated from us after that, waving us off with a wish of good luck and that he would be checking in. I noticed him giving Dimitri another dark look in warning before climbing into his car with Pavel and driving off.
Sydney had a car parked up the road, a tan Honda CR-V.
"Wow, what a practical choice. I figured you would have gone for something flashy." I joked, climbing into the passenger side seat. It would have been better for Dimitri to be in the front due to his long legs, but I was okay with him suffering a little, sending him to the back.
Sydney rolled her eyes, hoping in behind the wheel, "We are trying to not draw attention to ourselves."
It was only a couple of hours drive to Lexington, deciding it would be best to go there now and find a hotel. It was almost midday which meant it was the middle of the night for Dimitri and me, and I was looking forward to sleeping. We would have to wait for the sun to go down anyway to speak to Dimitri's lead, considering he was Strigoi and believed Dimitri to be one still.
It was too late to check in on Lissa to pass the time, and with nothing to do, my mind wandered.
This whole week was almost non stop for me, each day getting worse. Dimitri's return and then rejection, finding out Lissa's father cheated on Rhea, not to mention all the drama with Adrian, and then there was a possibility that Tatiana could change her mind when I returned to Court and still throw me into jail.
But my biggest problem was, of course, this stupid soulmate bond. The pull of it, making me crave Dimitri's touch and affection, was torture. And for some reason, he felt none of it. I had never heard of a one-sided soulmate bond, but it wouldn't be the first time I achieved something new.
Maybe that was it. I could feel the bond because Dimitri was my soulmate, but I wasn't his.
Someone up there royally fucked up, and now I was paying the price for it.
No matter how many times I tried not to, my eyes kept looking at Dimitri in the rearview mirror. Each time I would catch myself and scowl. After I caught my body turning in my seat towards him, I crossed my arms and turned as much as possible to face the window. I probably looked like a child having a fit, legs curled up to my chest, glaring out the window as I muttered under my breath about how much I hated this.
The hotel was a welcomed sight, slightly less so when Sydney got us one room with two doubles. There goes my chance to get away from Dimitri, even if it was just for a couple of hours.
Sydney took the bed closest to the window, and Dimitri sat on the one by the door. I could tell he was in guardian mode, ready for any threat that could try breaking our door down.
I stood between them, trying to decide what I should do. I would rather be away from him, so I should just share with Sydney, no matter how uncomfortable it made her. But then the pain was building again, and if I spent the next couple of hours apart from Dimitri, I would be useless tonight if we had to fight.
Dimitri noticed my indecision, and he knew which was the right choice. He threw the blanket back and climbed in, patting the spot beside him, "You will need your strength."
Kicking off my shoes and removing my jacket, I climbed in next to him, "You better sleep as well. We both need our strength," I warned him, knowing it would be just like him to stay up guarding the room. "It's daytime, and the door is locked. Sleep."
I turned onto my side, lying on the pillow, and after a moment, I felt him do the same, his body pressing up against me, followed by his arm looping around my waist.
This was the worst kind of torture because of how good it felt.
I was hoping for some nice, possibly at the beach, happy dreams. But no, instead, I was staring at none other than Victor Dashkov.
His brother Robert stood beside him, keeping up an invisible wall between us so that I couldn't attack Victor like I wanted to.
"Ah, Rosemarie, still acting without thinking, I see." Victor smiled at me, one that I used to find comfort in but now was just slimy. Setting Victor free and then losing him was one of my biggest regrets.
"Still dying, I see," I shot back. Though the dream world concealed a lot of it, I knew by now his disease would be retaking hold of him.
His eyes flashed dangerously, "Look at you, all grown up, and even with a soulmate now," He paused, expression becoming shocked, "Oh, wait. No, he rejected you, didn't he. That's truly terrible, and after the way he took advantage of you as his student." Victor clicked his tongue, giving me a look of pity.
I winced at his words, feeling anger and hurt rise to the surface. If I didn't think Robert would be keeping the wall between us still, I would have tried to attack again. "What the hell do you want, Victor?"
His smile returned, "I'm just checking in, Rose, honestly. What makes you think I want something?"
"Because it's you."
"I'm hurt," He pressed a hand to his chest, "But since you brought it up, I was wondering why you have left Court? Along with your soulmate even. Both of you leaving poor Vasilisa all alone."
I stalked closer to him, my voice dropping low, "Stay away from her."
Victor waved me off, "Vasilisa isn't my concern right now. No, I want to know what you are doing."
I tried to keep down the panic that Lissa wasn't his focus right now. I would never let him get his hands on her again. I cocked my head to the side, staring him down, "Why do you want to know?" It was bizarre he would care so much about my comings and goings. "And how do you even know I did leave?"
"Words travel quickly in the Moroi world. And quite a few are talking about you and Dimitri. Congratulations, by the way, on restoring him. I'm sure he was delighted and so grateful to you."
I clenched my fist; I was growing tired of the constant low hits at my relationship with Dimitri. "I'm not telling you anything."
"Come now, Rose. I could be of some help."
I paused.
He could help.
Victor had his nose in a lot of people's business, and he was close to Lissa's parents. Surely if Eric did have an affair, Victor would know about it, and if he had information to share, it could cut down all this travelling across the country. And I could even get away from Dimitri sooner.
It was a terrible idea and risky, but it was worth it for the information.
"Tatiana said that there was another Dragomir. That Lissa's dad had an affair and that if I could find whoever this is, it'll give Lissa her power back on the Council."
I messed up. With the shocked expressions they shared, I knew I had just given away information that I should have kept to myself.
"That is very interesting indeed. Do you have any leads?"
And of course, I spoke without thinking again, "A name on an account."
"What's the name?"
"Sonya Karp."
Victor started to pace, hand on his chin, "This is very interesting, isn't it. I'm assuming you and your soulmate are searching for Sonya then. It could be quite dangerous to do, not only searching for who this brother or sister may be, but also because there are many who would rather not have Vasilisa on that Council. She is progressive and will throw off the current dynamic."
"Someone else does know. That's why I have to find them first." I really had just thrown caution into the wind, telling everything to Victor. Dimitri was going to be pissed when he found out.
"Very well," He stopped, coming to stand before me, "Once you have a location, we will contact you again, and then we will meet you there."
I was taken aback, "Why would I do that?"
"Because you will need my help, Rosemarie."
I wanted to punch him so bad, "I don't trust you."
He grinned, "Ah, I just want to help Vasilisa as much as you do. Besides, an enemy of your enemy is your friend." He nodded back at Robert. "We will be in touch."
"Wait, I'm not -"
I jolted awake; the movement startled Dimitri awake, who was still pressed up against me. His eyes quickly searched the room for danger, but when finding none, he looked back at me expectantly. I wanted to curse loudly, maybe even put a few holes in the walls, but instead, I just shook my head and whispered, "Nightmare." Then I laid back down.
I needed to figure out what the hell I'd just done.
Sydney pushed what was left of her fries to me; I gladly took them. We were sitting cross-legged on her bed, eating the food Dimitri had bought for dinner. He had already finished his and was now showering. I had yet to reveal the visit in my dream to them, deciding to hold off for a little. I could tell Dimitri was anxious about tonight and didn't want to add to it.
As I finished off her fries, I felt Sydney's eyes on me. "What?" I asked, not the first time I had noticed her staring at me. "You want to ask something, so ask it."
She hesitated for a moment, "What's going on between you and Dimitri?''
I frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I thought he was the love of your life or something, and now you are glaring at him all the time. But then you were sleeping together. I'm just confused." She spoke, eyebrows knitted together.
I sighed. I had expected her to question it, she was observant, and I wasn't exactly being discrete. "He's my soulmate."
She looked at me in shock, "Oh… I thought that was meant to make you happy?"
"It usually does, but he doesn't feel the bond, so it's all one-sided."
She became silent again. I thought the subject was dropped until she asked, "Has that happened before?"
I shrugged, having been wondering the same myself, "I don't know. I don't think so."
"We don't get told much about the bond, just that it's important to you."
"It is. It gives us a connection, and we can feel each other's emotions and sometimes hear thoughts. Or I can affect Dimitri's emotions like sometimes I've calmed him. And I can always tell where he is now." I explained, keeping my voice from sounding too emotional. "When the bond is felt both ways, and it's strong between the two people, their souls practically become one."
"Wow," Sydney's eyes were wide, absorbing all the words I said. I had forgotten how much she loves learning about stuff. "Has there ever been a bond between a human and one of your kind?"
I shook my head, "Not that I know of, though if there were, I wouldn't be surprised if it was kept hushed." Sydney agreed with me. Both Alchemist and Moroi would have wanted to keep that quiet.
"So you can send thoughts to Dimitri?"
"I've sent emotions. I haven't tried to send a thought," I responded, though now I was curious if I could do that. I wasn't sure if it would even go through if he wasn't feeling his side of the bond, but then my emotions had.
When he walked out of the bathroom, freshly shaven and changed, I decided to give it ago. I reached out to the bond, having to push aside his guilt that was always prominent. Focusing, I repeated my thought over and over, hoping to send it through to him. Bring Rose her bag.
Sydney was watching intently, guessing what I was doing. At first, there was nothing, but then Dimitri paused, standing up straight. He left his bag on the bed, grabbed mine from the wall where I had left it, and then crossed to us, dropping it in front of me. After giving me the bag, his face became bewildered, looking down at his hands with a strange expression.
"Thanks, comrade," I grinned at him, honestly surprised it had worked, even more so that Dimitri hadn't even realised why he did it.
His eyes snapped to mine, widening in realisation, "That was you?" He didn't sound angry, more… intrigued.
"Yep. Sydney told me to do it."
Sydney shot me an indignant look. "I did not."
Dimitri was still staring at me, "I didn't know you could do that." I shrugged, starting to feel uncomfortable under his piercing eyes, mainly because I loved it when he would look at me. I could feel my body warming up because of him.
"I didn't either." I quickly jumped off the bed, "I'm going to shower." I told them before closing the bathroom door after me.
Standing in front of the mirror, I berated myself for doing that. Bad Rose. You are meant to be ignoring the bond, not experimenting with it.
I really hated this.
Not my best chapter, but we are going with it.
Now we have Sydney with us. Yay! Favs and reviews appreciated and welcomed, love hearing what you think :D
