Sorry that I'm kind of dropping the ball on the consistent uploads. It's just that time of year.
I hope you all had some lovely holidays, and if I don't post before then, I wish you all a happy new year! My resolution is to finish this story next year :D
Part 28
I chewed on my thumbnail; the information Sydney had given me was spinning through my mind. The description she managed to get was good enough so that I was able to figure out who she was describing pretty quickly. Dimitri's brows had furrowed and stayed that way since.
"I just don't understand why," I repeated. I kept coming back to the same conclusion that I was confused as hell. "Why would she want to harm Lissa? If we never found Jill, then Liss never would have been allowed on the Council."
I turned to Dimitri, expecting some kind of input, only to find him staring down at his hands deep in thought. I dropped onto the spot beside him on the mattress edge, dragging a hand through my hair.
"Do you think she was behind the attack at the shops?"
Dimitri nodded, expression grim, "If destroying the records didn't work, then she would have had to resort to other measures to get Jill and stop Lissa."
I laced my fingers through his, "Jill could still be a target." I cursed myself for not pushing more to keep the extra security on Jill and Lissa. I knew it was too easy; the man just happened to turn up dead.
"I will watch her."
My eyes flicked to his, "Thanks." As much as I wanted to do it myself, I was needed with Lissa.
Lissa!
I checked my phone again, "Crap, I have to get ready." I was up from the bed, pulling on my discarded shirt and quickly freshening up in the bathroom. I already had a bag ready and waiting by the door. Lissa was touring around the university campus, and I was meant to look like just another student touring with her, so I stayed in the same clothes I did for my date.
Keeping my hair down to cover my tattoos, they would draw questions that I didn't feel like dealing with. As I brushed through my tangled curls, my eyes landed on the opal hanging from the chain around my neck. I had moved the charmed silver heart to my bracelet, so my neck was bare except for Dimitri's gift.
I know I should take it off but couldn't bring myself to do it. I liked wearing something he had given me. The flowers he had gifted me were starting to wilt, but this, I can wear every day.
"We'll need to get a stronger chain for it."
I glanced in the mirror, Dimitri standing behind me with a smile. He stepped towards me, hand coming up and running through the strands of my hair.
"That way," He continued, "you can wear it without worrying about it falling off."
I shivered, feeling his body close to mine as his hands rested on my waist, all the heat from before returning, the feeling of need for him coiling in my stomach. I prodded at the bond, discovering the same in him, but there was also a sliver of apprehension and doubt. It wasn't hard to guess what for.
"Dimitri, about before," I could feel his body tense behind me as if bracing himself for a physical blow. I turned in his arms, keeping close to him, fingers trailing up his bare skin. He hadn't redressed, and I enjoyed the chance to take in the sight of him. My touch seemed to relax him.
"I won't pressure you, Roza," His eyes filled with understanding.
So much love swelled in my chest for him, a man of his word, leaving all the choices to me in regards to our relationship, even if I decided to take back my words from earlier. I cupped his face with my hands. "When I get back, we are going to pick up where we left off, comrade. I meant everything I said." I tried to contain my smirk when his eyes widened, a smile growing on his face. "I love you."
In response, he kissed me, passionate yet still tamed. I wished I could push for more, just this simple touch fanning the flames of my desire for him. Dimitri broke the kiss before it could go further.
"I love you so much," He breathed against my face, forehead pressed against mine. He chuckled softly, "My soulmate. Just wait until my sisters find out about this. They will be planning our wedding before we finish telling them."
I quirked my head to the side, "You want a wedding?"
It wasn't unheard of, soulmate couples having weddings, mostly Moroi's doing so just to have an excuse to throw around money. Others did so to blend in more with the humans if they lived outside of Court. I never planned on having one myself, never dreamed of it when Lissa would be daydreaming about her own.
Dimitri laughed again at my expression, "Only if you want one. My mother has always wanted to plan one, and none of my sisters have found their soulmates yet or settled down. So they will all be eager for one."
I scrunched up my nose, "I'm not wearing some big fluffy wedding dress." A wedding was not something I needed, but I knew how hard it was to say no to the women in Dimitri's family.
"We can discuss all of that later."
"Much later."
"Of course, Roza," Dimitri agreed with me, kissing my forehead. "There are other things to figure out before that." The corner of his lips tilted up, grinning down at me as his desire filled his eyes.
I felt my body heat up again. "Stop looking at me like that. Otherwise, I won't be on time." I chided him.
Squeezing my waist one last time, Dimitri stepped back from me, returning to the room to retrieve his shirt. "I'll stop by Abe's, see if he can find out some more information."
"Yeah. He would get mad if we don't include him," I commented, "Though he probably already knows with his mob-boss ways."
Dimitri grimaced.
"What?"
"Just thinking of how everyone in Baia will react when they find out Zmey is your father."
I laughed, remembering the way people there acted around him. They all knew what Zmey was capable of. The only person that didn't treat him like a threat was Yeva. Knowing her, she probably knew who he was the whole time.
I wondered if Yeva even knew about what would happen to Dimitri, if she knows now that he has been restored and has just been waiting for Dimitri to come back to them.
Glancing at the time again, I reluctantly picked up my overnight bag. I grabbed my silver stake off my bedside table, slipping it into my bag. "I guess I should go now."
Dimitri was in front of me again, both of us moving to embrace each other. We hadn't been away from each other for long these past couple of weeks, and with the amount of time we have been together as of late, the distance will be noticeable.
"Be careful, Roza," Dimitri whispered against my hair.
I think, for a moment, I felt a wave of calm wash over me, similar to when Dimitri sent emotions through to me. But it was gone before I could focus on it. Regardless, it made me feel less anxious about leaving.
I pulled back, winking, "I'm always careful, comrade."
As much as I wanted more, I had to rein myself in before I gave in to the temptation again. Trusting Dimitri to lock up for me, I turned and left my room.
I was outside of Guardian Headquarters with a few minutes to spare, the beginnings of sunrise on the horizon. Sage was standing by a black van with dark tinted windows, an SUV parked behind it. A group of guardians were already standing around it, waiting for the order to go. Sables had claimed the driver's seat, sitting in the front with the window down to talk to Sage.
I hadn't checked in on the bond with Lissa yet, feeling the hum of happiness and love from her, knowing that meant she was with Christian, and I didn't need to see that.
Sage greeted me with a wave, smiling knowingly, "Have a good day off?"
"I did, thank you." I bragged. Dimitri had called in a favour with Sage to get the time off for me so he could take me out. My hand went up to touch the necklace, playing with the opal. It reminded me of Dimitri, prompting me to send a feeling of love towards him.
I haven't tested the bond with a significant distance between us, excited to see how much stronger the bond has grown. I knew he had felt the emotion when a spike of joy came through the bond, then a text on my phone.
Dimitri: I love you, too.
"Eww, look at that face she's pulling."
I looked up to glare at Christian, Lissa also giving him an unimpressed look.
"Be nice. It's great that Rose is happy," Lissa scolded him, squeezing his hand, so he knew she wasn't mad at him. I mentally enforced my walls around them so I wasn't pulled into Lissa's mind.
"A whole day without seeing you, Sparky, is going to be great," I sneered.
He smirked, "Same here. Be even better if you don't come back."
I responded by flashing him the finger, being discrete enough that Sage wouldn't see it. Lissa rolled her eyes at us, stepping past me to greet the guardians. Only then did I notice Tasha standing behind Christian with another guardian, Ethan Moore, I think.
I regarded her politely enough to still be professional, "Tasha. Came to see Lissa off?"
The smile she gave me in return looked fake, a glint in her eye I didn't like. "Actually, I am coming with you."
"Oh." I quickly dived into Lissa's mind to confirm it, feeling my mood sour when I discovered it was. I schooled my features, so my irritation wasn't displayed openly on my face. How fun…
Luckily the seating arrangement had Lissa and I together in the back seat, Tasha sat in the middle with her guardian, Ethan. Sage and Sables at the front. The other three guardians followed in the other car, they were to head straight to the safe house we were staying at tonight to make sure it was secure and the wards up for when we arrive after the tour.
I noticed Lissa beside me rubbing at her chest, able to guess what she was feeling without looking through the bond. I was feeling the same. The soulmate bond was aching with the distance.
I took her hand in mine, squeezing it, "Try sending emotions or thoughts to each other. It will help ease it."
Her eyes darted to mine in confusion, then softened in understanding. Closing her eyes, I felt her relax after a minute. Glancing back at me with a smile, "I knew it would hurt, but I didn't think it would be like this."
"It's the first time since you connected the bond. It'll get easier." Mine was like a dull ache in my chest, nothing compared to what I've experienced before.
I could feel distress coming through my bond with Dimitri. I sent a calming wave and a text to ask what was wrong. He had mentioned seeing Abe but didn't go into detail about what he found out; I was worried that he might have found out something bad.
His response caused my breath to catch.
Dimitri: My chest has been hurting since you left.
Lissa looked over at me, easily able to read the message on my phone, releasing a gasp of her own. "Does that mean…"
"He can feel it more." I finished for her, feeling her hesitancy to voice it. I replied to Dimitri what it meant, not even needing to read his response, feeling his happiness. The block was slowly breaking down. I couldn't keep the grin off my face.
"So I take it that the date went well?" Lissa asked, shifting closer to me so we could talk without others overhearing.
"You could say that," I answered coyly. "It was kind of perfect." Except for the two guardians that wanted to start a fight. I felt bad for Dimitri feeling guilty for hitting another guardian, but I couldn't deny I liked him standing up for me.
"Is that where that came from?"
I glanced down at my hand, not realising that I had been playing with the gem, "Yeah."
If we weren't in the van, I was sure Lissa would be squealing with delight; instead, she settled on giving me the largest of grins. "I'm so happy, Rose. This is great! So, did you two talk? What are you going to do?"
Even more questions were running through her mind, desperate to know everything. I chewed on my lip before giving in, "I told him that I want to complete the bond when we get back to Court."
"What!"
Lissa's outburst pulled the attention of the others. She blushed, sliding down in her seat a little until everyone turned away again.
"Nice," I muttered. Eyeing Tasha's reaction in case she heard what I had said, but she seemed focused on her conversation with Sage.
"Sorry," Lissa apologised in a soft tone. Looping her arm around mine, she shook me a little, "I can't believe it. After everything."
I nodded in agreement. Things had changed a lot since I first felt the soulmate bond with Dimitri.
"And now Dimitri is feeling the bond more. Everything is going great."
A laugh escaped me, a lightness spreading through my body at her words. For once, things were going my way. I sent another wave of love to Dimitri, his resulting burst of happiness warming my heart.
I don't think the tour guide we had was ready for the number of questions Lissa had prepared. The twenty-something-year-old woman had looked drained by the end of the four-hour tour. Then after we ate, Lissa still wanted to see more of the campus.
I trailed closely behind her. With her sunglasses and umbrella, Lissa stood out a little among the other students touring the university. There were two other Morois with the group, though neither had a guardian, let alone three.
Tasha and her guardian had left us at the beginning of the tour, saying she had some stores she wanted to check out nearby. I was grateful that I didn't have to spend the day following the two of them, talking about politics. It was all they spoke about now that Lissa was on the Council.
It was mid-afternoon by the time Lissa had decided she had seen enough, a collection of flyers and information clutched against her chest as she kept talking excitedly about the courses she wanted to take.
While I wasn't feeling the excitement she was, I had to admit the university looked nice, and even some of the electives Lissa went on about didn't sound half bad. On the drive to the safe house, Lissa told me the plans for her and Christian to get a house near the university to take classes there in the Fall, while Christian attended the nearby culinary school.
An idea started working its way through my mind, slotting it away to ask Dimitri and Lissa about it later. I couldn't imagine being this far from Dimitri every day, only seeing him on the rare times our days off coincided.
If we were going to complete the bond, I wanted to be close to Dimitri, see him every day, not just feel his emotions on the edge of my mind all the time.
Tasha was already at the house by the time we arrived, appearing cheerful as she greeted us.
"You have to tell me what it was like. Did you get the information you wanted?" Tasha asked Lissa, leading her to the couch in the lounge room to discuss their day. With Ethan staying close to Tasha, I took the chance to check in with Sage.
He was in the kitchen, checking in through the radio with the other guardians; we would each be taking turns guarding the perimeter and in the inside of the house tonight.
"How's it looking?" I asked, looking over the blueprints of the house and surrounding area laid out on the table.
Sage shrugged, "Quiet, but it's still daylight for a couple of hours. We will work in three shifts for the night, four-hour each. I will go first with Miles, then Sables and Fischer. I want you to take the last shift with Weber. Moore will stay with Lady Ozera. We will be leaving at four am, so you will start at midnight. Any questions?"
I shook my head; having stayed up all Moroi day and night, I was exhausted and looking forward to getting some sleep before my shift. Thankfully I didn't have the middle shift.
"Good," Sage nodded, "Grab some food, and then you can head to bed. I'll take over guarding the Princess. Good job today, Rose."
Pride spread through me at the compliment, "If you could tell Hans that, that would be great," I joked, causing Sage to laugh.
"Oh, trust me, he is asking for updates on you all the time."
I frowned but wasn't surprised; with my previous interactions with Hans, I wasn't surprised that he would be keeping an eye on me.
Sage left me to join Lissa in the lounge room, and I set about finding some food.
I held my phone in my hands, scowling down at the screen. Dimitri's contact information was up, but I couldn't bring myself to dial. Even after everything, I was still second-guessing myself. I felt stupid being nervous calling him after literally telling him I wanted to give him every part of me.
Scolding myself for my anxieties, I pressed the call button before I could talk myself out of it again. It rang a few times before he picked up, the deep tones of his voice automatically easing my nerves.
"Roza," Dimitri greeted, "I was just thinking of you."
The corners of my lips pulled up into a smirk, "Oh, really? How convenient that I called."
"It is. It's nice hearing your voice. It makes things a bit more bearable."
I fiddled with a lock of my hair; the rest pulled back into a bun so I could sleep. Luckily the house we were staying at was large enough I didn't have to share with the other guardians; Lissa would be sleeping in my room, but she was still up talking to Tasha.
"So you've been feeling it this whole time?" I asked, feeling my own ache in my chest; the pain eased talking to him.
"Not at first, but it's become more noticeable. I hate it. I can't wait for you to get back."
I frowned, "Yeah, it sucks, though I've had worse." I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth, guilt seeping through from the bond. The silence on the other end of the call made me feel worse, "Crap. I'm sorry -"
"No, it's fine. You need to talk about it, and I need to understand what I did to you. Maybe that will help."
I shifted down on my bed, "Maybe. But not right now. I'm too tired to get into all of that."
"We will have time to talk about everything when you get back," Dimitri promised, the guilt receding until it was just on the edge of the bond. "When are you on shift?"
"Midnight until four, and then we will be heading back." I have never been so grateful that the sun rose so early during summer, less time waiting around for the safety of the sun to return. "Did Abe say anything?"
"He said he had some leads. I won't know until later, though."
I could feel his concerns coming through the bond, could imagine Dimitri sitting there rubbing his forehead. While he was concerned that Lissa and Jill could still be in danger, his fears came from the fact that I would throw myself in between any threat that came near Lissa.
Taking a deep breath, I allowed a sense of calm and love to flow through me and to him, "Breathe, comrade," I ordered him, focusing on the bond. Slowly I felt his fears fade, and then I felt his side of the bond return emotions similar to mine, though they were almost muted. A slight presence from the bond. "Are you doing that on purpose?"
Joy flowed through the connection, "I was wondering if it was getting through."
I smiled, "Do you think you could keep doing it until I fell asleep?" I asked in a soft voice.
"Of course, Roza."
When my alarm went off for my shift, I couldn't remember falling asleep, just a sense of happiness in my mind. It was almost as good as having him beside me while I slept.
I was dressed and trading spots with Sables within a couple of minutes, he grumbled at me as he returned to his room. It seemed I still wasn't well-liked by him.
I was alone for an hour, occasionally checking in with Weber through the radio when I was joined in the kitchen. My eyebrows furrowed when Tasha appeared at the kitchen entrance.
"Your turn on shift?" She asked, giving me a kind smile. At my nod, she entered the room, "Mind if I keep you company? I can't sleep."
"I guess," I replied, unsure what to do. I kept my body angled so I could still see out the window and keep the front door covered.
"Great," Taking a seat at the table across from me, Tasha folded her hands in front of her. She grinned, "I was hoping to talk to you about Dimka."
