Soul Bound

by PNR-guilty-pleasure

UPDATE: Story is updated. I have rewriting some of the scenes and adding new ones. Rose is affected by the darkness a lot sooner. She finds an unusual way to cope with this, but can't use this when Dimitri brings them back to St. Vladimirs. How is she going to cope? And can Dimitri just watch her suffer?

35. Chapter 35 revised

Chapter 35:

DPOV

The sun was setting and I could feel Rose getting anxious in my arms. We had been sitting here in the sun for a while now. Rose seemed to be enjoying herself. Although I was sweating like an otter. I suppose Rose was built for this kind of weather with her Turkish heritage, I on the other hand was built for subzero temperatures. But I didn't dare leave her.

Adrian was inside, his Moroi skin not being able to take this kind of weather. He sometimes called to me through the bond asking if we needed anything or how it was going. I would simply look in his direction and nod.

But we would have to go inside soon. The sun was setting and I had to work something out for dinner. Adrian and I had been living off of fast food and room service for a while. The meals Rose had provided me with were no exception. And although I knew Adrian didn't mind and Rose probably didn't either, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed a home cooked healthy meal.

This was the first time in a while we actually had a kitchenette in our suite so I was making the best of it. I had told Adrian to get some supplies when they were out shopping. He had no clue what I was making but I saw Sydney smile knowingly. She had spent some time in Russia I knew. And maybe the thought of food would entice Rose to come inside.

"Rose, I need to start dinner, you want to help me?"

She got up from her comfortable position on my chest and lap and looked at me as if I was crazy but she didn't say anything. I knew Rose was a bad cook but I also knew she wouldn't stray far from me.

She got up and I did the same. I went inside and she followed me, albeit being a little reluctant. I went to the fridge and started pulling things out. I thought maybe Rose would really help me but she sat down in the chair facing me. I guess I would do everything myself. I started chopping up the vegetables and starting a broth. Rose watched every move I made. I was actually enjoying myself. The smells that were filling the room were familiar.

I felt a pang of guilt. I hadn't talked to my family in months. And even before that I had only talked to them a handful of times. They didn't even know about Rose. I might have mentioned her in relation to Vasilissa, but other than that they had no idea what she meant to me. I would have to remedy that soon.

I was in my own zone making dinner when I looked back around to Rose. She wasn't watching me anymore but she was staring outside watching the sunset. The look of terror on her face was evident. I imagined that if being in the sun helped, that the absence of sunlight might make her worse.

I looked down at her hands. She was scratching her arms in a nervous manner. The marks became redder by the second until I saw she was drawing blood. I strode over to her, I crouched down in front of her, taking her hands into my own and taking them away from her arms.

"Rose please stop."

She didn't seem to register that I was there. I could feel her hands resisting me. They wanted to go back to their original task.

"Roza, please."

She stopped and looked up at me. She still didn't say anything but she dropped her hands to her side. I got up and took a wet cloth. I started to clean the cuts on her arms. Adrian walked in at that moment.

"What happened?"

I sighed and continued. I pointed towards the outside.

"She doesn't like the dark."

Adrian shifted his gaze outside and threw his hands up in the air.

"Well, that is just perfect. That is about half the time. Not to mention we are vampires. "

I knew he was right. Rose needed to learn to accept the dark hours again. She couldn't fear the dark anymore. If she was ever to return to her old life she needed to get past this. But maybe it wasn't just the dark, maybe it was this place. Las Vegas. The place that had been her feeding ground for a few weeks, maybe months? Maybe she wasn't scared of the night. Just had bad memories of it.

"I think it is a good idea to get out of here." I told Adrian.

"Dimitri, nobody knows she is back yet, and I think for now it should stay that way. We don't know how people will react when they find out she is turned back."

I nodded, we needed a place where a Dhampir girl would go unnoticed. Where nobody questions the fact she isn't exactly talkative. Where she will be safe and can heal in peace. I immediately knew where we needed to go, I just didn't know how to get her there..

"Adrian can you take over, I need to make a phone call."

Adrian moved over and I handed him the cloth, he refused and humphed at me.

"Pff, Like I need that." He waived his hand at me dismissively.

He crouched down in front of her and I could feel him healing her through the bond. The feeling was amazing; the world seemed a bit brighter when he was healing Rose. Rose didn't resist. When he was finished I felt the wonderful feeling disappear and I thought I felt a speck of darkness but it was gone before I could look into it any further.

I would have to keep an eye on him. He had healed me first and then Rose. He wasn't particularly skilled at healing either. He had a lot of practice with me in the last four months, but it still cost him more than reading auras or dream walking.

I took out my phone.

"Who are you going to call?" He asked.

I smiled. "How would you like to meet your cousins?"

I dialed the phone number I knew by heart. Somebody answered on the second ring. I switched to Russian.

"This is Olena."

"Momma, hi, it's Dimitri."

"Dimka!, how are you? Is everything okay, I haven't heard from you in months, I was so worried, I thought something had happened to you. How could you not call me, I was worried sick. How could you let your mother think the worst?"

"Sorry Mom, stuff… happened. But I am coming home and I am bringing company."

"You are? Oh Dimka, It has been so long. I would love for you to come, so I can whoop you myself for letting me worry."

I laughed. No matter how tall I grew my mother would always be my mother and if she said she would whoop me she would. Even though I knew she would be too glad to see me.

"Who are you bringing?"

"My charge, Adrian Ivashkov...and the reason why I am coming over. I have someone in my custostudy... she has been… hurt and traumatized and she needs a place to heal, a place far away from the memories and far away from prying eyes."

My mother seemed to understand the implications. Nobody needed to know Rose was there or where she came from.

"Alright Dimitri, when will you be coming?"

"As soon as I can make arrangements, however, those can be a bit of a challenge. I'll let you know when we are boarding the plane."

I hung up the phone and turned to Adrian.

"We need traveling documentation with fake names. At least for Rose, although I don't want anyone tracking us either. You wouldn't know how to get those would you?"

He smirked.

"I might know a guy"

I knew he would. It was either Adrian or Zmey and I didn't want to open that can of worms if I didn't have to. At least Adrian would use money to get what he wanted. Zmey had...other ways to convince people to do things for him.

Adrian left the room to make some calls. I sat down with Rose again. By now dinner was ruined anyway. I could smell the burning unions from here. And Borscht just wasn't the same without the unions. I sighed and picked up the phone to order some pizza.

When the pizza came I knew I had made the right choice. Rose was practically inhaling hers and she had pizza all over her face and a big smile graced her features. I smiled back. It was good to see her this way. Adrian came back and started on his. Through the bond he said it was taken care of. We will get our ID's tomorrow.

I was impressed. I had many Guardian contacts but all would run things through official systems. I couldn't afford any trace of Rose yet. I had no idea what it had cost, but I stopped caring how much Adrian was spending about a couple of months ago.

After dinner, I really needed a shower. I had been sweating all day in the sun.

"I am going to take a shower. Will you be alright with Adrian, Rose?"

I saw her panic a little but she nodded anyway. Adrian sat down next to her but her eyes never left mine until I disappeared around the corner into the bedroom.

I was in the shower no more than five minutes when the door opened and a naked Rose walked in. She stepped into the shower and put her head against my chest. I suppose she wasn't alright with Adrian. I petted her head. I didn't mind. I decided I was going to try and talk to her. Maybe if she could talk about what happened it would be better.

"Roza, you're safe now, no one is going to hurt you anymore. But please talk to me."

I removed some wet hair from her face. She looked at me and I could see tears in her eyes forming at the edges. She buried her face in my chest again.

"Please comrade, don't make me."

I was torn. On the one hand I couldn't be happy about the sobbing girl currently in my arms, but on the other hand, hearing her voice and hearing her calling me comrade gave me hope. Hope that Rose could get back to herself, she just needed time.

That night was hell. Adrian and I both stayed up with her half the night and he eventually compelled her to fall asleep. The first night she had been too exhausted from her transformation. But now she had slept just enough to be able to fight her sleep. I hoped going to Russia would help, she needed to get away from a Strigoi-invested city. Luckily it was summer in Russia and there would be even more sun than here because we were higher above the equator.

Adrian and I both fell asleep, exhausted. When morning came I woke up to empty arms. Rose had been in them the entire night, but now she was gone. Adrian was snoring next to me and I pushed him awake. When I looked around the room I found her sitting in the window, one knee pulled up to her chest. She had opened the curtains and let the sun illuminate her face. I was staring at her. She was beautiful, in this light she looked like an angel.

Adrian tapped me on my shoulder getting me out of my trance. He smiled at me knowingly. He left the room in search of breakfast no doubt. I sat down next to Rose and she looked at me, I saw something in her eyes I hadn't seen in a while, peace. It was in large contrast to the look she had last night, one of pure terror.

Adrian came back into the room waving passports around. And not just any passports, Russian passports.

"Look what the cat dragged in. Or more accurately a shady contact dropped off under the door."

I took them from him and looked down at them. He had used our own names seeing as they were Russian enough, hell I am Russian. Rose was now Roza Belikova, but there was no indication of a marriage on the paper so I am guessing Adrian had listed her as my sister. Funny.

"Why do we have Russian passports? And not American ones?" I asked. I doubt Adrian knew much Russian. Probably only pickup lines.

"Because it will be faster once we land, and easier to get through customs. Besides you are a Russian native, if I had given Rose an American passport she would have to stand in another line being separated from you. They won't be able to track us this way. Social security numbers don't match. I have booked a flight from here to Omsk for this afternoon."

It would be a long flight to Omsk. I wondered if Rose would be alright. She couldn't very well have a panic attack on the plane. Although if things did go south Adrian could always compel her to sleep again. Nobody would be the wiser.

Eventually the flight wasn't as bad as I had imagined, but it was… interesting. The flight attendant kept telling Rose to sit in her own chair, strapped in, but she would move as close to me as possible whenever she could, clearly not liking the restrictions of the seatbelt. The flight attendant wasn't amused and I even detected a hint of jealousy. Adrian took care of that though with excessive flirting, which did seem to distract the flight attendant.

But I knew his heart wasn't in it. He was thinking of Sydney. His goodbye with her had been hard. I had even seen her face drop a bit when Adrian said we would go to Russia. He had seen it too and luckily he had taken comfort in that. He didn't know if he would ever see her again. Mostly alchemists only deal with guardians. Most Moroi don't even know they exist. It would be unlikely that our paths would cross again unless we would specifically request Sydney. I was still thinking of a way to do that without raising suspicion. Adrian helped me to get the girl I loved back. I would help him in any way I could. And having his gloomy mood invade my own, wasn't exactly pleasant either.

I was glad when we landed at Omsk airport and was pleased to see it was already light out. I had called ahead to reserve a car and thanks to Adrian's quick thinking in getting us Russian passports we got through customs quickly. I had phoned my mother that we would be arriving later that afternoon.

"I'll drive, the two of you get some sleep. It is a long drive to Baia." I said. I didn't need the sleep. And I knew the roads well.

The road to Baia was long, but every mile was a mile in the direction of my family and to some peace.

As I was entering Baia I was getting excited and a little nervous. What would my mother think of Roza... what would my grandmother think? I knew they would like the real Rose, but I hoped they would accept this one. Also I hadn't told my mother about Rose at all. She doesn't know I was sleeping with my student. At least Rose was eighteen now. Well actually physically she would still be a few days away from eighteen. She was turned about a week before her eighteenth birthday. Her body would have stopped aging and only started again when she was turned back.

I entered the street and woke up Rose and Adrian. I gently jostled them. Adrian sat upright with a jolt. "I didn't touch your daughter." He mumbled the last piece of a dream no doubt.

I rolled my eyes at Adrian. I read his mind when he woke up. He definitely touched that person's daughter. I saw Rose smile at his antics. At least someone found him funny,

I pulled up to the house.

"We are here."

I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Rose followed close behind me and Adrian was bringing up the rear.

I walked up the walkway of my childhood home. The pavers telling the story of all the people living here with years of wear and tear. I knocked on the door. I heard some shuffling and some keys being turned and safety locked being taken off. I was glad my mother hadn't let that part slide since I had been gone.

My mother opened the door with a dishrag still in her hands. She always had a rag in her hands for cleaning or washing up. We may not have many possessions but she took care of them with great vigor. She looked me over, just to see if I wasn't hurt in any way, missing a limb or something. When she found no obvious injury granting me some pity she hit me with the dishrag. It actually hurt. Then she hugged me. Her eyes locked with mine for a moment when I pulled back. She seemed to look me over in a totally different way now. I had no idea how I looked. I looked much better than I did a week ago that was sure. But I had aged a lot in the last few months, if not body than in my soul. Maybe Rose wasn't the only one that needed to heal.

I pulled back and stepped away from my mother so I could introduce Adrian.

"Mama, this is my charge, Adrian Ivashkov."

My mother actually bowed a little.

"Lord Ivashkov."

Adrian smiled from ear to ear.

"See now that is how I deserve to be treated." He said triumphantly pointing at my mother.

I rolled my eyes.

"Mama, Adrian is fine, we don't want him to get a bigger head that he already has."

Adrian, however, decided to up the antes a bit and he hugged her before I or my mother could stop him. She seemed absolutely flabbergasted. I sighed and moved Adrian aside when he was done hugging her. I decided long ago that the best course of action with Adrian was to ignore him.

"And Mama, this is Rose"

Rose was hiding behind me, but at the mention of her name she peeked from behind me and looked at my mother. I nudged her forward a little. She was now standing beside me still tucked away under my arm. I pulled my arm away from her but I used it to pull a strand of hair behind her ear. Anytime I would touch her hair it seemed to calm her down.

"Rose, this is my mother: Olena."

Rose didn't say anything but my mother held out her hand for Rose to shake. She moved closer to me a bit and I just kept running my hand through her hair at the back. She eventually took my mother's hand and shook it.

"Well, let's get you inside."

We followed my mother inside. When I entered the living room I saw my grandmother sitting in her rocking chair. She had aged, but other than that she was exactly the same. Her shrewd eyes never lost their gleam. I felt a shudder from Adrian as she was staring at him. He returned the favor and stared back. I knew he was reading her aura. I wondered what my grandmother's aura would look like. A smile came across her face and it was mirrored in Adrian. I wondered what she had seen in him? When she looked me over though she frowned. When she turned her gaze towards Rose, her expression was unreadable.

I hugged her quickly and made introductions. Adrian and Rose extended their greetings but neither of them made a move to go closer to my grandmother than they needed to.

"I have made sleeping arrangements. Rose will sleep with Victoria. Lord Ivashkov, I mean Adrian will sleep in your room, Dimitri, and you can sleep on the couch."

My mother informed us, but that, unfortunately, wasn't going to work.

"Sorry Mom, but Rose will sleep with me in my room and Adrian can take the couch."

"But, but, he is royalty, He can't sleep on the couch." My mother stuttered in horror.

Adrian, of course, couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Yeah, Dimka, I can't sleep on a couch, I am royalty." He whined.

I turned my head towards him and glared at him. I had to fight the urge to flip him off. My mother would not like that very much.

He put his hands up in surrender. Rose giggled beside me.

"Actually Olena I have had much worse. Let me tell you I can't count the number of times I have woken up in a strange bed, someone else's couch or on occasion the floor without knowing how I got there."

Adrian offered as an explanation. My mother turned her attention to me.

"But Dimitri I don't feel comfortable with Rose in your room. I don't want you to take advantage of her."

This made Adrian laugh.

"Oh, he hasn't taken advantage of her in a while. Besides we will all sleep a little easier if she isn't too far away from Dimitri."

My mother looked at me confused. I still was debating telling my family the truth. The fewer people knew about Rose's miraculous transformation the better, but how could I explain her behavior or my life for the past few months without including that.

I looked around and saw Rose was walking outside. She had seen the backyard and it was overflowing with afternoon sun at the moment. I couldn't help the smile that graced my face.

My mother was starting tea, a clear sign she wanted to talk. She gave me a look that said I would give her the answers she wanted. And she wouldn't go easy on me. I had neglected her long enough. She knew a lot had happened recently. And none of it I had shared with her. She was angry and hurt I could tell, but she was stuffing it down right now.

A little reluctantly I sat down with my mother at the kitchen table, still being able to see Rose and Rose was still able to see me. Rose would check every few minutes to make sure I was still there and I would do the same to her. I could already tell that being here was helping her.

The tea was almost cold when my mother finally spoke. "What does she mean to you, Dimitri?"

Her voice was gentle. I had expected a lecture first. I answered her question as truthfully as I could while looking at Rose outside bathing in the sun.

"Everything."

I turned back towards my mother and her face had softened a bit at my confession.

"What happened Dimitri? I haven't heard from you in months, I even called the school, they said you got a new charge and left after that horrible incident."

Horrible incident. Is that what it is known now in our world? Horrible incident? I suppose it was. But to me it was so much more. It was the day I lost everything. I knew Rose was right outside. But I could still see the moment Adrian told me she was gone crystal clear in my mind. I could still remember how the room had smelled, I could still hear the beeping of the machines reminding me my heart was still beating and hers wasn't, at least not naturally. And I still remember how I had felt as my entire world collapsed in on itself. How could I explain that to my mother?

"I lost her mama. I lost her, and I felt like I died with her. Rose was a whirlwind, coming into my life. She broke through my control so easily. She was unpredictable and rash but she knew duty like no other guardian I had ever seen... and I think I loved her since I first laid eyes on her."

My mother laid her hands on mine in an attempt to calm me down. I hadn't noticed I had tears running down my face. I touched my face. Other than that day in my dorm room, I hadn't cried. I wouldn't let myself. I knew if I let all of those feelings in I wouldn't be able to function.

"Tell me about her."

I swallowed and nodded.

"As you know, after Ivan, I was placed at St. Vladimir's and I was to be Princess Vasilisa's guardian. However, Vasilissa and Rose had left the school two years before and hadn't been heard from since. So I first had to find them, It took me a couple of months, but I brought two very reluctant girls back. Rose was behind on her training and I was charged to training her and getting her up to speed, so she could graduate together with the Princess."

My mother squeezed my hands again but this time it wasn't because she was trying to comfort me, it was of surprise. She knew about me finding the girls, I talked about it a bit. But I had never mentioned Rose's name, I think. My mother at least hadn't put those pieces together until now.

"Rose… was your student?"

I looked away from her eyes and nodded.

"Dimitri, how old is Rose?" Really that was her question. Did it matter now? It doesn't anymore for me. It might have been once upon a time when we were still at the Academy. But that felt like a lifetime ago. And if I had aged significantly in the four months, so had Rose. But I answered my mother honestly.

"Eighteen."

She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"How old was she when you met her?"

I sighed.

"Seventeen."

I saw my mother try and compose herself. Her hands were on her tea. She was staring at me. She didn't seem angry or anything, she was just assessing me.

"Continue."

"Rose had a lot of responsibility on her shoulder even without being the princess's official Guardian. Rose and the Princess were bonded, like the old stories. Vasilissa is a spirit user. It is an element that was long forgotten. Adrian is one too. They can do incredible things, things I never thought possible. Things like bring people back from the dead. Rose died in the car accident that killed the other Dragomir's when they were fifteen. Vasilissa brought her back from the dead and bound Rose to her. But it has some… side effects."

I realized I wasn't just explaining this to my mother to clarify what happened to Rose. She needed to understand what it meant to be bonded, because I was bonded too.

"Using spirit creates a darkness in their wielders. It transferred to their bondmates as well. This darkness, if left unchecked can drive the spirit user insane. But Rose found a way to take the darkness away from Vasilissa and to put it into herself. I saw Rose being controlled by the darkness a few times and I realized just how much she was willing to sacrifice for her charge."

My mother was taking all of this in. She seemed a little less shocked than what I expected her to be. Spirit wasn't known here, I hadn't known anything about it. She was just nodding along. But maybe for now that wasn't important.

"Rose was dedicated to Vasilissa and she was ready to fight for what she believed in, no matter how slim the odds. But she was crude in terms of technique. She hadn't been training for the two years they had been on the run. So I trained her. I couldn't let her raw talent go to waste. It wasn't long before I realized how much she had suffered because of the darkness and how much she had endured. I was the only one that could pull her back from the darkness when it took over. She was so strong mom, she could go toe to toe with me... I tried not loving her. I tried staying away from her, but I couldn't. The pull towards her was too great."

I started to feel my lungs constrict again, the way they always did when I thought about the caves. I pulled at the top of my shirt a bit, trying to loosen it around my neck. But I knew it would be in vain.

"Then the raid on the school happened. She was fearless as I knew she would be. She took down a lot of Strigoi. I was proud of her. But some students were taken and a rescue mission was organized. She went on that rescue mission, and I knew there was no stopping her. We were nearly out of the caves the students had been held."

The feeling in my chest worsened. Because I knew what I had to tell next. I hadn't spoken about it before. Not even to Adrian.

"She came back for me Mom. We were almost safe. The students were safe. But I was dragged back to the cave by a Strigoi, I knew I was going to die and I accepted it. I had seen Rose with her mother safe in the sun. But she came back for me. She died because of me."

By the end I was sobbing, my head in my hands. I felt someone take my head and place it on their chest stroking my hair and holding me. I first thought it was my mother but when I looked up I saw it was Rose. I could no longer hold it together and I grabbed her arms and cried in her hair pulling her close to me. She didn't move, just held me. I felt a weight lift off of me. I had blamed myself for what happened to her. I felt it drain as she held me.

I replayed the conversation I had just had with my mother in my head. I had told her Rose was her own person, she made her own choice. I had been worried she blamed me though. I blamed myself, I knew I always would, but I blamed myself for not being able to save her, not that she tried to come after me. I knew nobody would have been able to stop her. Hell, there were three Guardians right there with her and they couldn't stop her.

I pulled back from Rose and locked eyes with her. My grandmother came in and sat down at the table. I wiped my eyes.

"Tell the rest of the story Dimitri." I knew what my grandmother was implying. She knew what Rose used to be.

"They turned her, I survived the caves, she didn't, and for four months Adrian and I hunted her down and tried to kill her, It was the only way I knew to save her."

I was running my hands across Rose's cheek. I was telling the story to my mother and grandmother but somehow I wanted Rose to know, I did what I did because I loved her.

"But I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill her. Adrian found another way. A way to bring her back. She is a Dhampir again, but her time as a Strigoi and the transformation back has left its scars. I wanted to bring her here, so she could heal in peace. She likes the sun. And she doesn't stray very far away from me. The nights have been the most difficult but if I am around we can manage."

My mother nodded. She understood now why I needed Rose in the room with me.

"How does Adrian fit into this? How did you get transferred from Vasilissa?"

Adrian walked in at that moment and looked around the kitchen. Wondering what was going on. Rose sat back in her chair, she seemed attentive. I guess she wanted to hear this too. She hadn't been there for this.

I sighed.

"After the funeral for those that had been lost in the raid including Rose, I couldn't stay at the Academy, but deserting meant I would never be a guardian again. Adrian knew about Rose and I and had been pursuing Rose himself. But all that changed when she was turned. Adrian had me transferred to him and together we went after Rose. It was funny, we were rivals in winning Rose's affection and ended up together to hunt her down."

There had been a certain kind of poetry about our brotherhood. Although the first few weeks were certainly awkward.

"Adrian saved me in more ways than one. I was so lost after I lost Rose. I didn't know which way was up. He helped me stay connected to the world. Adrian and I couldn't have been more different. But we worked together to save Rose. and I would forever be grateful to him. He gave her a second chance."

I felt my grandmother's eyes bore into me. I could hear her silent message. 'Tell the whole story'. I chuckled.

"He gave me a second chance too. Searching for Rose had been going slow and I was getting discouraged. I took some risks that I shouldn't have. I had gotten some intel on her location but I was met with three Strigoi and I couldn't handle all three of them. One of them got me and… killed me. Adrian brought me back. I was gone maybe a few minutes. I am bonded to him now, like Rose used to be with Vasilissa. Rose doesn't have to deal with the bond anymore. It broke when she was turned. It is funny how the roles are reversed now."

The irony was hard to miss. "Except my bondmate has significantly dirtier thoughts than the Princess. Some about my girl." I growled.

Adrian laughed. He slapped me on the back.

"Relax cousin. My dirty thoughts have been moving in a different direction, you know that. I will try to keep the Rose gawking to a minimum."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Why does he call you cousin?" My grandmother asked and by the look in her eyes, she knew. She always did. Here I had been resurrected, cured a Strigoi and overall done and seen things I had never thought would be possible and here she was in a rocking chair in the kitchen. Knowing them all.

"Well, it turns out Adrian is my cousin."

I saw shock register on Rose's face as well as my mothers. Rose hadn't known that part either.

"My father Randall, Randall Ivashkov is Adrian's uncle."

My grandmother nodded.

My mother now seemed to understand the relation between me and Adrian. We were family and like an older sibling I was trying to keep the rebellious younger sibling in line, and like a good younger sibling he gave me a purpose in keeping him safe.

"Well, I knew he was an Ivashkov, but you know there are so many of them I didn't know you two would be so closely related."

"Yup. Dimitri is the cream of the crop. Directly in the queen's lineage. Although the jury is still out if that is a good or bad thing." Adrian helpfully answered.

"Huh."

Rose hardly spoke anymore, but when she did I listened. Although, 'huh' wasn't exactly eloquent.

"She knows."

I was a little startled by that one.

"Who knows?" I was confused. Rose stood up and threw her hands in the air.

"The queen! She knows you are her nephew, and she knows about us. She called me into her office and told me to stay away from her nephew, I assumed she meant Adrian. But she didn't, she meant you!"

Rose was getting angry, but I didn't notice. I noticed that Rose was forming full sentences and for the first time in three days looked like her old self again. But as she controlled her breathing and her rage and shock subsided, I could see Rose retreat again too. I wanted to bring that Rose back. Maybe anger would work. Rose was always a bit of a hothead. Maybe I just had to get her angry enough. I used to be an expert in pressing her buttons.