Chapter 21

Dimitri continued to stay close to me throughout the week, which I would be lying if I didn't say it was the best couple of days I've had since being restored. Granted, that was only a month ago.

We settled into a new routine of waking up next to each other, training, him staying close throughout the day, afternoon training, and then being together at night again. I was honestly surprised that Alberta was letting Dimitri stay with me 24/7. Part of me suspected that Abe had threatened her again.

A small part of me wondering if she knew about our relationship and was just allowing it.

It gave Dimitri and me a chance to experience what living together could be like. It wasn't the best arrangement with the small bed to share and the fact he had to return to his room to shower. But he has brought over a bag of spare clothes and his gym bag, which sat next to mine by my desk.

It truly was domestic bliss.

It could only have been better if he didn't have to stay in guardian mode the whole time. Keeping true to his word, he kept the distractions to a minimum so that the next time a letter was slipped under my door; he could react quicker.

Whoever it was had eased off with both the letters and the magic attacks. Having only received one letter since, it was placed there during classes. We still had no leads.

Dimitri wouldn't let me dwell on that fact too much, though, keeping me focused on my studies and training. It's safe to say that I would never have been prepared for my Moroi Culture 4 test without his help. Can't say I was surprised by him knowing almost all of the information; the unfortunate side of this was that he now knew how bad of a student I was when it came to my more theory-based classes.

The amount of time I have seen him look up at the ceiling trying to control his frustration while he taught me was more than I could count.

When Lissa had been a part of one of our study sessions, she gave him an apologetic smile claiming that she should have warned him, which I, of course, denied and made sure they knew I took offence.

By the time Friday rolled around, I was well and truly ready for the test.

"What time is the test?" Lissa asked. She was scrolling through her Pinterest board again, making final decisions of what she wanted ahead of our drive to the shopping centre in Missoula that night.

I wasn't looking forward to it when she had first suggested the trip, but as the trip grew closer, I admit I was feeling some excitement about it. Dimitri had surprised me with a credit card this morning that he informed me Abe had set up so I could buy anything I wanted. It was a strange concept to have money to spend, having become so used to Lissa being the only way I could afford anything new. I hated using her money and often turned her down, but this time I could indulge myself.

I glanced at the time on her phone, "I have about fifteen minutes," I replied, shoving what was left of my food into my mouth. On top of taking this test to pass the class, I also have to cut my lunch break in half. Which meant inhaling what food I could get my hands on.

"You know Rose, there is this thing called chewing." Christian deadpanned. Both he and Eddie openly watched in awe and disgust as I cleaned off my plate.

I was about to reply when Lissa shot me a look, "No talking with your mouth full." she reprimanded me.

By the time I swallowed everything down, it was time for me to head to the classroom, "I gotta go."

"Don't forget to meet us behind the Administration building by six!" Lissa reminded me. I waved to her before strolling out of the cafeteria; Dimitri close on my heels.

By the end of the day, my brain felt fried. Testing well was not a skill I had; instead, I panicked and forgot everything I had learnt. It took everything I had to remember what Dimitri and Lissa had taught me these last couple of days. I was just happy that it was over with.

That was the only class that I was required to take a make-up test for. My other teachers were fine to let me continue with the rest of the class, granted those were mainly guardian teachers. While they may not know the truth, they were sympathetic to the fact that I had not missed those classes by choice.

I dragged my feet to my dorm, alone for once. Dimitri had to meet with the other guardians accompanying us on our shopping trip, planning how to guard us. It was going to be a large group. Lissa, Christian, Adrian, and Sara being the Moroi that we needed to protect. Eddie and I will be accompanying as a "training exercise" again. Then another three guardians, not including Dimitri.

I had a couple of hours to grab a snack and get ready for the trip, though a large part of me wanted to sleep. Considering that we will be staying up all Moroi night, sleep wasn't a bad choice.

I couldn't help but collapse on my bed, clutching my pillow. It still smelt like Dimitri, something I could very much get used to. His scent made me feel safe despite being alone. I gave in to the pull of sleep, letting my eyes close with thoughts of Dimitri.

"Rose!"

I sprung up from my bed, hand reaching for my stake. My door was shaking from the impact of the knocks against the wood.

"Rose, we have to go soon!"

I breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing as I recognised Eddie's voice calling through the door. Then his words sunk in, and panic shot through me. I glanced at my clock. It was already six.

"Shit!"

"Are you in there?" Eddie yelled.

I hastily moved around my room, throwing clothes about as I tried to find something to wear, "Yeah! Almost ready!" I responded. Finally, with jeans and a shirt in hand, I changed.

"Sounds like a lot of movement for almost ready."

"Shut up!" I huffed, out of breath. Seeing I didn't have any pockets deep enough, I strapped my hoster to my hips, sliding my stake into place. My shirt was baggy and long enough to cover it. With a quick brush through my hair, I was opening my door to see Eddie leaning against the door frame with a smirk.

I glare at him, "Why are you just standing there? Let's go."

He held up his hands, making me pause, "I think you are going to want some shoes first."

I glanced down at my bare feet, "Shit."

We ran to the Administration building; the whole time, I heard Lissa asking through the bond where we were. When we rounded the corner, we were greeted by the whole group, Lissa in front of them, arms crossed, tapping her foot.

"I said to meet at six," Lissa eyed me, waiting for my excuse. Eddie beating me to it.

"She was sleeping."

I elbowed him, "I was not, I was just…."

"Passed out?" Christian filled in with a smirk.

I glanced around at the group, trying very hard to ignore the amused looks I was receiving. I realised that we were missing someone, "Hey, where's Sara?"

Lissa stepped forward to loop her arm through mine and started to lead me to the van, "She changed her mind last minute." I could feel through the bond that Lissa was upset that Sara was going to miss the trip; they had been becoming closer.

"Why someone would rather stay here than go outside, I will never understand." Adrian sighed. He was apart from the group finishing his cigarette.

I started to laugh. While the academy wasn't all bad, I have experienced living in the human world and, at times, missed it. I hadn't been out there since -

My body stiffened, my feet planting themselves on the spot.

My sudden lack of movement caught Lissa off guard, causing her to stumble, "Rose, what's -" Lissa's words died on her lips as she took in my expression.

I felt my breath pick up in speed as my hands shook.

The last time I had been out of the academy grounds, past the wards, was when I was Strigoi.

The night I was restored.

My memory of the trip back to the school was foggy, but I could clearly remember what had happened before. I had been attacking guardians, trying to hurt people I knew and cared for.

And then I remembered the faces of the ghosts.

"Rose." Fingers gripped my shoulders, digging into my skin. "Rose, look at me ."

I wasn't in control of myself anymore, but somehow my body knew to react to that voice. Following the command, my eyes snapped up to his warm brown eyes. They held me in place.

"Breath with me, okay." He took my hand and held it against his chest. I could feel the steady rise and fall. "Copy me, Rose."

So I did. Eyes never leaving his. Slowly he brought me back to myself.

The world became clear again, his eyes on mine. My friends stood nearby but not close enough to crowd, giving a small sense of privacy to my panic attack.

"Rose?" Dimitri called my name, drawing my focus back to him. His eyes searched my face, eyebrow raised in question.

I had to swallow a couple of times; my throat had gone dry, "Last… the last time…." I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself, "The last time I was out there…."

His eyes widened in understanding. I could feel his thumbs rub against my shoulders, giving me what comfort he could. He glanced behind him at the group, "Get ready to leave. I just need a moment." I realised he was speaking to the guardians by the van. With a nod, Dimitri led me away from them until we were hidden from view by the building. Once out of the sight of others, Dimitri pulled me towards him, cradling me against his chest.

"Roza, I'm sorry, I didn't think… I'm sorry."

I shook my head, gripping his shirt with my fingers, "I didn't think about it either. It just suddenly hit me."

He pulled back to see my face, "You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, I want to go. I just need a minute." I mumbled, pressed against him again. Though I wasn't hyperventilating like I was before, my breath still felt shaky. I bit my lip, "I'm worried about the ghosts."

I felt him stiffed, "You can see them outside the wards."

I nodded into his chest, "I haven't seen them since that night." I didn't need to elaborate on which night I was talking about, "I want to go, but I'm scared of seeing them."

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Can I help?"

This time I pulled away, contemplating the idea. I have always been able to gather strength from Dimitri, and maybe I could do so again to build my walls against the dead that haunt me. "Stay close to me?"

"Of course."

With one last embrace, we separated and walked back to the van, everyone already seated and ready. When we climbed in, no one questioned what had happened or why we went out of sight, which I was grateful for. Even more so to the fact that they left the back seat empty for Dimitri and me.

Two guardians were in the driver and passenger seats. Now I was taking notice; I saw it was Stan and Wyatt, both scowling. The van had three rows of two-seaters, Adrian and Eddie in the first row and Lissa and Christian in the middle. A single-seat sat in line with the middle row; the guardian that had broken up the confrontation between Jessie and I sat there. I still didn't know his name.

Dimitri and I took our seats in the last row of seats, me by the window and he next to me, using the gathered material of his duster to conceal our hands clasped between us. He squeezed my hand once we were settled, looking at me questionably, asking if I was ready to cross the wards.

At my nod, he told Stan to go.

I focused on my breathing as the van started moving. I couldn't help wondering if this was the same van that had brought me back here that night. I shook my head, not wanting to focus on that. Squeezing Dimitri's hand, I began to mentally prepare myself.

I imagined a way of blocking out the ghost would be similar to how I could block out Lissa—imagining a wall around myself.

"We are almost there," Dimitri whispers in warning to me.

I braced myself and waited.

And waited.

I opened one eye, having closed them tightly when the van started. Dimitri was watching me, concerned but determined. The others had started talking amongst themselves, not paying attention to us.

But there were no ghosts.

Opening both eyes, I searched around me before settling wide-eyed on Dimitri, "There are none."

His shoulders sagged in relief though a look of confusion crossed his face. He glanced down at our hidden hands; his finger rubbed along the smooth surface of my ring, "I wonder…."

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue but he didn't, "Wonder what?"

His eyes flicked up to mine, "I wonder if the ring is helping somehow."

I glanced at the ring as well. It was plausible. If it could help with the darkness, then why not the ghosts as well. I didn't feel like testing the theory, though. "I will have to ask Abe."

"Oh Rose, I never showed you this dress I found." Lissa's voice pulled me out of my thoughts; I glanced over in time to see her passing me her phone. A quick look at Dimitri, telling him that we would continue the conversation later before giving my full attention to Lissa.

The two-hour drive was filled with a lot of talk of clothes that Lissa and I were searching for, followed by Dimitri and the other guardian, that I have learnt is named Daniel, explaining to Eddie and me what we would be doing.

It was the same plan as when we had gone to the shops with Victor and Natalie. Eddie and I were the near guardians, with Daniel and Dimitri being the far guardians and our partners. With Stan and Wyatt providing additional surveillance from afar.

"Do I get a stake?" Eddie asked from the front. I looked away from Dimitri; he was still unaware that I travelled with mine at all times.

Dimitri tilted his head, considering it. Daniel gave him a playful smile, "There's no harm in the kid having one. I'm sure he knows which is the sharp end."

Dimitri shrugged his shoulders in agreement, "Castile is skilled enough to use it." He commented.

Upfront Stan opened the glovebox to retrieve a silver stake and passing it to a very excited Eddie. Dimitri's eyes shifted to me, as did most of those in the van. I didn't want them to know I already had one.

"No thanks, I have nowhere to conceal it," I explained, trying to appear nonchalant, "Besides, I won't be needing one in the middle of the day." I avoided the questioning looks I received. I stretched back and stared out the window.

No one mentioned my out of character response. The Rose they all knew would jump at the chance to have a stake. They probably all assumed it was some leftover trauma that made me reluctant, which would be why they let it slide.

Due to my oversleeping and slight breakdown, we ended up arriving at the store later than planned. Lissa swiftly went into shopping mode, mumbling that there were so many stores but so little time.

For the most part, we stayed together as a group knowing it was the easiest to defend should something happen. But after lunch, the boys insisted on separating from us. Christian claiming that he has seen enough shoes and dresses to last a lifetime.

Lissa waved him off, "That's fine. Rose and I need to find our dresses still anyway."

We had both gained quite a few bags from our shopping, mainly new casual clothes and gym clothes for me. I blanched at the idea of carrying these around for another couple of hours.

"Do you think you could take these to the van first?" Dimitri asked. I smirked, knowing he read my mind.

"Be nice to get rid of my bags, too," Adrian commented. Like Lissa, he was an avid shopper and had gained his own collection of bags.

With that, we split up, Stan staying with the boys and Wyatt following us. I could tell he still had yet to forgive me for dislocating his shoulder. He wasn't rude to me, but he wasn't friendly either. Luckily I didn't need to be around him today.

Choosing a dress proved to be difficult for me. While Lissa was pointing out dresses that would look amazing on me, I didn't have the same confidence in showcasing my body as I once had. Which quickly made a lot of dresses not an option.

But Lissa was not going to give in easily.

"So you want something more conservative?" She asked, flipping through the racks. I had lost hope of finding one I liked and was half-heartedly searching.

"I guess," I replied, "I don't know. Maybe I should just skip the dance."

"Rose!" Lissa looked at me, shocked, "You can't skip your last dance."

I shrugged, doing a once over of the store. I could easily spot Dimitri's tall form, being taller than the racks of dresses, yet somehow he could appear as if he belonged. "It's not like I will have a date anyway." There was only one person I would want to go to the dance with, and I did not see that happening anytime soon.

I was about to tell her to stop looking when a sales assistant strolled up to us, a dress in hand.

"Hi, your friend over there asked me to bring this to you."

I was instantly on edge, "Friend?"

"Yes, the tall gentleman over there." She pointed behind me. I didn't have to look to confirm, having known where Dimitri was in the store already.

Dumbfounded at the idea of Dimitri choosing a dress for me, I took the dress automatically from the woman. With a smile, she walked off.

"Oh wow." Lissa gasped beside me.

I finally looked down, taking in the dress. It was deep moss green, and the material was chiffon. The bodice, while modest, still gave a slight view of cleavage, the v-shaped neckline with a sheer black material as a modesty window. The dress came in at the waist but otherwise flowed with the sleeves cascading down to where my elbows would be. The skirt was full and light, coming to an end around knee level.

It was not what I would usually go for, but it would not be tight while still giving me a figure.

Lissa smiled, beaming at me, "I think we have found your dress."

By the time we had finished shopping, we were late in the human afternoon. Eager to get back to the safety of the school before nightfall, we left the shopping centre quickly. While it was usually a two-hour drive, the traffic we would have to get through first added at least an hour, if not more.

We had taken our original seats in the van, though this time with less chatter, all feeling the exhaustion of staying up all night and day—everyone except for the four guardians.

Eddie and I tried to stay up but were eventually convinced to sleep.

"It's a long drive back. Just sleep," Dimitri told me; he removed his duster and was rolling it up to be a pillow for me. I smiled at him.

"I love the dress," I whispered to him as I slipped into darkness.

A sudden screeching of tires and jolting forward woke me up. Eyes quickly searching our surroundings for danger. It was dark outside, shadows of the forest on either side of the highway.

I heard Dimitri curse beside me, "Rose, Eddie! Stay in the car and keep them safe!" He ordered as Daniel opened the side door, leaping out, Dimitri following after and slamming it closed after him. Not a second later, I heard Stan and Wyatt exit through their doors.

I searched through the darkness that surrounded us. Dread washing over me.

There across the road, was a fallen tree; it blocked our way. Daniel hung back by the van with the other three trying to move the tree over enough to pass.

I realised what this was.

This was a trap set by Strigoi.

I felt the familiar feeling in my stomach just before I saw the red-ringed eyes glowing in the distance.