Chapter 24: Increasing Threats
Dimitri's alarm went off and again I forgot where I was, so my hand went to hit the alarm but it was caught before I could hit the snooze button.
"Roza" Dimitri said in a sleepy voice.
"Sorry Comrade" I said.
Dimitri pulled me to him with the arm he had caught. I ended up lying on top of Dimitri as his hands went up and down my sides and I started to kiss his neck.
"This will never get old" Dimitri moaned.
I was just about to kiss him when there was a knock at the door.
"Ugh" I said as I put my head on Dimitri's chest. I rolled off him and off the bed and started towards the door but Dimitri stopped me.
"Hold on Roza, let me get it." Dimitri said as he got out of our bed, threw on a shirt and a pair of sweatpants and grabbed his stakes.
"Who is it?" Dimitri asked with one hand on the doorknob and one hand on his stake.
"Guardian Novak, I have a message for Novice Hathaway from Mr. Mazur." Dimitri opened the door and took the envelope from Guardian Novak. He closed and locked the door and handed me the letter.
I opened the letter and read aloud the message "Rose, please meet with your mother and I in the dining room on the second floor. Pavel has canceled this morning's training. Love Baba".
I looked at Dimitri and he just shrugged his shoulders. We took a shower together and then I got dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a zipped-up hoodie. Dimitri put on a pair of jeans and dark fitted sweater along with his boots. I loved Dimitri in his guardian uniform but I am discovering how much I love him in casual clothes.
We walked out of the bedroom to the kitchen where we found all the guardians waiting for us. We explained the note and Dimitri instructed the other guardians to follow the workout on the board in the gym. Celeste and Yuri followed us out and across the hall to the second-floor dining room.
There was a breakfast spread that was being set up by guardians from the kitchen. Pavel, Baba and Mom were already there and I was surprised to see Oksana and Mark here as well.
"Rose, how are you?" Baba asked.
"I'm alright" I responded.
Baba turned to address everyone "Alright why doesn't everyone grab some food and then we can discuss some issues."
Dimitri and I got a huge amount of food and I grabbed some fruit to balance out my donut. I think Dimitri is wearing me down in terms of healthy food. I got juice and coffee because I anticipated a long day ahead. After everyone had gotten food and were seated, Baba fiddled with the screen and I saw Lissa and Christian.
"Lissa, are you alright?" I asked surprised to see her.
"Yes, Rose" she replied.
"Princess Dragomir, Lord Ozera, thank you for joining us" Baba started. I would like to introduce my guardian of twenty years and Head of Security Pavel."
Pavel stood up and greeted Lissa and Christian. "As everyone here knows Rose has seen through the bond with Princess Dragomir that Adrian is affected by increasing darkness. Rose has also received numerous emails from Adrian, each getting worse and more threatening."
"Pavel and I read the emails that Rose received from Adrian. It is obvious that he is infatuated with Rose but the more worrisome part is that it seems the darkness is building up in him. Plus, the fact that the Queen has not interfered in his pursuit of Rose or intervened with his increasing darkness. In fact, it is almost as if she is supporting him by giving him use of the Royal Guardians" Baba stated.
Baba looked around the room giving us all a chance to process that information. "I sent six guardians after the first episode that Rose had witness to help bolster security for Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera. The Queen will overlook this detail as she will most likely assume that I am helping to protect them from Tasha Ozera."
"However, in light of Lord Ivashkov recent actions, I feel more steps need to be taken. Since neither of you have your parents, and you have helped Rose at a point when her mother and I were unable to be there, Janine and I would like to offer more protection. But Pavel, Janine and I agree that my idea of increasing protection for Princess Dragomir and Lady Ozera will anger the Queen." Baba stated.
Pavel stated "Mr. Mazur and I have decided the best course of action is to increase the number of guardians to a total of twenty-five. Mr. Mazur has a house at Court that is better equipped to handle the influx of guardians and will be more secure than staying in Palace owned rooms. Lastly, Mr. Mazur will have a plane at Court on standby, if needed it will fly Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera with all the guardians to his house in Turkey."
"Pavel, Janine and I think that based on the actions of Lord Ivashkov and the emails that he sent puts Rose's life in danger. It is our opinion that the Queen intends for Rose to be killed so that Adrian can heal her. Therefore, Rose's bond with the Princess will be severed and Rose will bond with Adrian so that Rose could take his darkness. From what we understand, Adrian has the ability to read auras, which would benefit the Queen as Adrian can relay who is lying to Her Majesty." Baba said as he gave us some time to process the information.
"Roza" Dimitri whispered to me and instinctively he pulled me closer to him.
"My first question is for Princess Dragomir and Lord Ozera. Like I said before, I can increase the number of guardians for both of you as well as having a plane on standby. However, the consequences may be that you are never allowed back into Court and Princess Dragomir you will most likely not become Queen" Baba stated.
"Rose, Dimitri, Celeste, Yuri, if the Princess and Lord Ozera agreed to this, and if you continue to work for me then none of you will be allowed back to Court or assigned any other Guardian Post" Baba said.
Dimitri spoke up immediately "I am on board; I plan to protect Rose whenever and wherever."
Celeste and Yuri both agreed, they had no desire to go back to Court and would rather continue working for Baba and Pavel.
"Princess Dragomir, Lord Ozera, what are your thoughts about this?" Baba asked.
"While I am worried about Adrian's behavior, I was hoping to go to Leigh in the fall" Lissa said nervously.
"Lissa, you can't go to Leigh if your killed, injured or kidnapped. We will figure out a way for you to go to school" turning towards the screen Christian continued "Mr. Mazur, we would be very appreciative of any help you may have."
Pavel explained "Guardian James will be in charge of your security. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know."
"Thank you very much Mr. Mazur and Guardian Pavel" Lissa said.
Once Baba was finished, I introduced Oksana and Mark to Lissa and Christian. Oksana explained her abilities and inquired further into Lissa's and Adrian's abilities.
Oksana explained "One way to protect Rose from the darkness is to have you make a spirit charm using a piece of jewelry. I have already made a few pieces to help Rose to start with, but the charm will be stronger if it comes from you, since it's your darkness she is taking."
The six of us talked for a while before Lissa and Christian had to leave for dinner. Baba said he would be in touch in the next day or two and to expect the additional guardians to arrive tomorrow.
Once Lissa and Christian had hung up, I asked "Baba, I was wondering if it would still be safe for Dimitri and me along with Celeste and Yuri to go out on Saturday for dinner and dancing?"
Baba and Pavel looked at each other and Pavel said "Yes, that should be fine. Dimitri and I will discuss the security plans."
Celeste, Yuri, Dimitri and I left the dining room and headed back to the suite. Celeste and Yuri went to their rooms on the second floor and Dimitri and I climbed to the third floor. Once there, we found Vika and Matt on the couch talking.
"Hey Vika, Hey Matt" I said.
"Hi Rose, Hi Dimka" Vika said.
"Hey guys, so what's going on?" Matt asked.
Dimitri and I sat down on the couch and he pulled me to him and tucking me under his arm. Dimitri took a deep breath and blew it out and said "So Rose is shadow kissed, she died and was brought back to life by Princess Dragomir."
"The one where her whole family died?" Vika asked.
"Yes" I said "If Lissa has intense emotions, I can get pulled into her head. I can see what she sees, hear what she hears and hear her internal thoughts or moods. Spirit use causes darkness which I can take away from her and burn it off."
I waited for a response, but it took about a minute before Vika and Matt processed the information.
"Wow" Vika said with a shocked expression.
Dimitri continued for me "Adrian, who is the Queens great nephew is a Spirit user as well, but he does not have a bond mate. He deals with his darkness by drinking and smoking."
"Adrian has been harassing Lissa and Christian to figure out where I am. Plus, Adrian has sent me increasingly aggressive emails." I told Vika and Matt.
"Abe and Pavel have sent guardians to Court to protect Lissa and Christian because the Royal Guardians are protecting Adrian" Dimitri said.
"Vika, because of this, there is a chance we will not be allowed to work as guardians for Court and you may not be able to graduate from St Basil's depending on how this situation plays out" Dimitri stated.
"What?" Vika huffed out. "I've studied for my entire life for this, what am I supposed to do?"
"Right now, we will continue to train you and Rose as if the plan is for you to graduate. It will be a wait and see what happens situation. But Mr. Mazur understands the fear of not being a working guardian for Court, so he is offering positions here" Dimitri said.
Vika relaxed as she heard that there was a potential job for her. Just then Dimitri's family walked in to prepare lunch for everyone. After being shooed out of the kitchen by Olena, I asked Dimitri "Is she okay making lunch for everyone? I don't want to burden her."
"Trust me Roza, Mama is in her element cooking for a large group of people" Dimitri stated as he encircled his arms around me.
"So, what are we going to do for the rest of the day?" I asked.
"After lunch, Vika and you can do your schoolwork. Then, I was thinking that Matt and I can spar with the new guardians assigned to you. They are probably antsy over the lack of a workout" Dimitri said.
"I get that, I'm getting antsy. Is there any way I can do some training?" I begged.
"After lunch, I will call Dr. Morozov and see if it's safe for you to train" Dimitri said.
"Thank you" I said kissing Dimitri on the lips. Just then my stomach decided to growl letting the world know that it needed food asap. Dimitri and I stood up as the rest of the guardians came up to join us for lunch. Dimitri introduced his family to the guardians who were protecting Rose.
"Mrs. Belikov, thank you so much for making lunch, it was delicious" I said.
"Oh, Rose, please call me Olena and I am glad that you like my cooking" Olena replied.
"Yes, thank you Mama, it was delicious" Dimitri said. "Rose, why don't you and Vika go do your schoolwork in the office. Celeste, do you mind staying here with them?"
"Sure, I can stay with them" Celeste stated.
"Alright" Dimitri addressed the rest of the guardians "Let's clean up and then Logan do you mind helping me with the sparring with the guardians?"
"Nope" Matt said as he and the other guardians got up and started clearing from lunch.
Vika, Celeste and I went in, to the office, Celeste grabbed one of the comfy chairs and then Vika and I pulled out our laptops. It turns out our assignments were very similar and which would make doing the work so much easier.
About fifteen minutes later, Dimitri walked in and said "Roza, I spoke with Morozov, and she said you can work out and spar, but if you feel dizzy or anything, then stop. Matt and I are going to work with the rest of the team. Why don't you and Vika come down in about two hours."
"Okay" I replied and Dimitri leaned in and gave me a quick kiss.
Two hours later, Vika and I had gotten thru a decent amount of schoolwork. But we both agreed our brains were fried. So, we stopped and Vika went home to change as Celeste and I got changed and headed towards the gym.
We walked in and Dimitri was talking with Matt and Vika and as though he could sense me, he turned around and gave me a huge smile. Celeste and I went over to them and since Celeste's arm was still healing Dimitri asked if she would mind helping with monitoring a third group of guardians that were sparring.
"Rose, why don't you and Vika do a warmup around the track and then spot each other with weights." Dimitri suggested.
Vika and I stretched before running around the track. And as soon as we started running, I started to interrogate her about Matt.
"So, what were you and Matt discussing?" I said with a smirk.
"Nothing, something, I don't know" she said frustrated.
Understanding her frustration with the potential relationship, I said "Why don't you start with today, when we came back you two looked comfy."
"He came to the house because he wasn't sure whether I was aware that practicing had been canceled for the morning. And I hadn't, I was leaving to go to the gym as he came up to the house. He said that the other guardians were going to work out in the gym, so he suggested that we go to your suite. He wanted to discuss what I hoped to gain with him mentoring and what ideas he had" Vika explained.
We had finished our warmups on the track and went over to lift weights. "Do you think that you can work with him?" I asked.
"Yes, he is really easy to talk with and I like his plan for training. He even said if I needed help with schoolwork, he would help me" Vika said and it hard to miss the dreamy look she had on her face.
I laughed and she said "What?"
"Nothing, I am happy that you think he can help you."
"Do you mind me asking how it was with you and Dimitri?" Vika asked.
"Until very recently, I knew I has a crush on him, but he was trying to fight his feelings form me."
"Why?" Vika interrupted.
"A couple of reasons, we are both slated to be Princess Dragomir's guardians, he's my mentor and I am his student and the seven-year age difference" I told her.
Vika started laughing.
"What?" I asked.
"You have that dreamy far away look" Vika laughed. And I started laughing with her. I could see why Dimitri thought that Vika and I would get along. We both had the same sense of humor.
Just then Dimitri came over to where we were doing weights and asked "What are you two laughing at?"
"Nothing" we said simultaneously, which caused us to laugh even more. Dimitri released a large sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose as he said "I've created a monster."
"Yup, but you love me" I smirked at him.
"Yes, I do" Dimitri said as he pulled me in for a hug.
"So Vika, why don't you spar with Matt so he can get a feel for his fighting style and then Rose and I will spar." Dimitri instructed.
We went over to the sparring ring and Vika and Matt started stretching. "I talked with Pavel while you were doing your schoolwork and he said that we should take six extra guardians with us tomorrow night. Are you excited? I can wait to dance with you Milaya." Dimitri said kissing the top of my head.
"I can't wait either, technically it will be my first official date" I said with a big smile on my face.
Matt and Vika squared off and started sparring. Dimitri got into guardian mode carefully watching them and narrating the fight for everyone. I was surprised as I was watching Vika spar and I turned to Dimitri and said "Comrade, she's good, she would probably be one of the top novices at St Vladimir's."
"Yes, she would. I'm glad we have this time and we can increase her training, both of your trainings."
Vika was getting some good hits on Matt, but Matt was finally able to get her to the ground and like Dimitri does with me, Matt used his body weight to pin her and stake her. Matt held his hand out for Vika and helped her up. I gave Vika a high five and said "Vika, that was awesome."
"Yes, Vika, that was great. Rose said and I agree, you would have been a top novice at St Vladimir's. What was your ranking at St Basil's?" Dimitri asked.
"I was okay" Vika said shyly.
"Vika was the top female novice at St Basil's. I checked her records that they sent over" Matt said almost with pride.
"Vika, why didn't you tell me" Dimitri asked.
"I don't know, I didn't want to brag." Vika replied.
Dimitri pulled Vika in for a hug and said "I'm so proud of you."
I knew Dimitri felt closer to Vika, partly due to her being younger and because she was following in his footsteps. And I think Dimitri being proud of her was the best compliment as evident by the biggest smile on her face.
"Are you ready to show them how it's done Novice Hathaway?" Dimitri smirked.
"Of course, Guardian Belikov" I said as I gave him my best maneater smile.
Dimitri and I walked into the sparring ring and I realized it has almost been a week since we last sparred and I realized I just how much I missed it. Dimitri must have picked up on my change in emotions because he straightened up out of his defense position and closed the gap between us.
"What's wrong Roza?" Dimitri asked as he held my face.
"Nothing I just realized how much I missed this, us sparring" I whispered.
"Me too" he said as he kissed me. "Are you ready?"
"Ready to kick your butt" I replied.
We both got into position and we started circling each other. I could tell that Dimitri was going to stay on the defensive so I went on the offensive and I punched his right shoulder as I simultaneously tried to sweep both his legs out from under him. He was able to block my punch and jumped before I could kick his legs out.
"Good move, Roza" Dimitri said as we got back into fighting stance. This time Dimitri went on the offense and he charged me, but I got pulled into Lissa's head.
Adrian was in front of Lissa with the Royal Guard and as Lissa looked around I didn't see Christian, but at least Lissa's Guardians were surrounding her. Thankfully Adrian seemed to be a little bit calmer and was asking Lissa where I was instead of yelling at her.
"Lissa, don't lie to me. I know you were talking to Rose earlier. Where is she?" Adrian asked.
"Dimitri?" I asked.
"Yes, Roza I got you" Dimitri answered.
"Adrian is with Lissa asking her where I am, he seems calmer but I don't know where Christian is" I said.
"Yes Adrian, Christian and I were talking with Rose this morning because she met a couple who were shadow kissed and they were giving us some insight." Lissa said.
"Well, why didn't you let me know, I would have loved to talk to them as well. Where are they? I am sure that Aunt Tatiana would be happy to fly them in or we could fly out to them. That way you can see Rose." Adrian said a little too sweet for my liking.
"Adrian, I don't know where Rose is, she didn't say where she was" Lissa said. I could feel Lissa starting to panic.
"Comrade, call Lissa and tell her to calm down so I can get out of her head and I will talk with Adrian." I instructed Dimitri. I hope this will work and not backfire.
I heard Lissa's phone ring and she pulled it out and answered it.
"Put it on speaker" Adrian demanded.
"Hello" Lissa asked.
"Princess Dragomir, it's Guardian Belikov. Rose got pulled into your head and she wants you to try to calm down, so she can get out and then she can speak with Adrian." Dimitri said.
I could see Adrian's face light up when he heard that. But unfortunately, Lissa wasn't calming down.
"Comrade, she's not calming down, can you find out where Christian is?" I asked.
"Yes, Guardian Logan is on it" Dimitri responded.
"See if Adrian will let her leave the room, if she leaves the phone" I asked.
I heard Dimitri asking the question and I felt Lissa anxiety decrease a little, but Adrian said "As soon as I let Lissa go, Rose might hang up."
Ugh, with that Lissa anxiety went right back up. But then Christian came into the room with more guardians and I felt Lissa relax and I was able to pull out of her head. As I got acclimated to my surroundings in the gym I was confused as to why I was sitting in Dimitri's lap, but I needed to talk to Adrian to try and get him to leave Lissa and Christian alone.
"Adrian?" I asked.
"Little dhampir, where are you? I have been trying to get a hold of you. Did you get any of my emails?" Adrian asked.
I saw that Baba and Pavel had come into the gym and Baba was shaking his head no, for me to tell Adrian. "No, Adrian, I haven't been able to get into my account to read my emails."
"Don't lie to me Rose, I know that you have read them and I even know that you have read and responded to Lissa's emails." Adrian stated.
Fuck, this was not going well.
"Your right Adrian, I did read a few of them, but I couldn't read them all, you were getting kind of aggressive" I said.
"Sorry, Rose, I was just trying to get your attention. Just tell me where you are and I can come get you with the Royal Guard and bring you home to Court" Adrian told me.
"Adrian, I appreciate what you are offering, but I'm here with my parents and we are making up for lost time."
"Rose, why would you want to stay with them, they abandoned you for almost 18 years" Adrian said.
"Adrian, I appreciate what you are saying, but you need to respect my decision to get reacquainted with my parents. And I need you to leave Lissa and Christian alone, they do not know where I am. How about I call you on Sunday and we can talk more then, maybe we can talk with the shadow kissed couple?" I asked praying this would work.
Adrian was quiet for a while and then he said "Okay little dhampir, I will talk to you on Sunday."
I hung up the phone and relaxed into Dimitri embrace. I looked up at Baba and he said "Rose, that was good negotiating maybe I should train you to be a mobster instead of a guardian. But in all seriousness, we learned that he is monitoring Princess Dragomir's communications. Pavel and I are going to update Guardian James and to see how much the Princess's communications have been compromised. Have a good night, kiz"
"Kiz?" I asked.
"It means daughter" Baba said.
"I like it" I said.
After Baba and Pavel left, I asked Dimitri "Why am I in your lap?"
"When I went on the offense and charged you, I could tell you were pulled into Lissa's head. I pulled you in to me and rolled over protecting you" Dimitri said.
"Wow, close call" I said.
"Yeah, to close for my comfort. I think we are going to need to work on helping you extracting yourself from Lissa's head'" Dimitri stated.
Speaking to the rest of the group Dimitri said "How about everyone gets cleaned up and then come upstairs for an informal dinner tonight."
We all walked backed to the suite and Dimitri and I went to the third floor where there were guardians already setting up food for dinner.
Once we reached our bedroom, Dimitri closed and locked our door. He sat down in one for the comfy chairs and he pulled me down to sit on his lap.
"What's up Comrade?" I asked as I could tell he was a little off.
"Nothing milaya, I just need a minute" he said as his arms pulled me tighter to his chest.
"Comrade, are you okay?" I was getting more worried about him.
"Yes, it just freaked me out that I could have hurt you if I hadn't realized that you got pulled into Lissa's head. And what if that happens while you are fighting a strigoi, you are totally vulnerable" Dimitri expressed his concerns.
"We will figure it out Comrade" I said as I gave him a tight squeeze. "Now let's go take a shower because you stink!" I said laughing.
"Is that so?" Dimitri responded.
"Yup" I said playfully.
"Well, let's fix that" Dimitri said as he stood up with me in his arms and brought me into the bathroom. He started undressing me and himself, then he grabbed my hand and led me into the shower. We washed each other in a loving way, just being in the moment. We tried not to take too long cognizant of the fact that the other guardians would be coming upstairs shortly.
Dimitri and I finished the shower, he shaved and then we got dressed in casual clothes. We walked out to the kitchen and there was an insane amount of food but we were feeding nine dhampirs. The dining room table was beautifully set and most of the guardians were gathering in the living area, where there were appetizers and drinks.
Once everyone was upstairs, Dimitri addressed everyone "I just wanted to thank everyone for accepting this position to protect Novice Hathaway. We are still waiting for a few more guardians to arrive over the next few days. At that point we will discuss specifics, but I just wanted to have an informal dinner so everyone can get acquainted. Tomorrow night we will be going into town for dinner and dancing, we will split into pairs to guard Rose, we will be leaving her at 7pm, no uniforms just dress casually."
Dimitri was alerted that dinner was ready and we all went and sat down. It was a fun night just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. One by one everyone went back to their rooms. When Dimitri and I retired to our room, Vika and Matt were still on the couch talking to each other.