~ ROSE POV ~
We both dressed as quickly as we could. I slipped on a pair of black jeans and a white woollen sweater that would protect me from the cold wind of December. I tossed my hair up as we both made our way over to the cabin to talk to Tasha. I didn't know what this conversation was going to be like, but I hoped that the fact she wanted to talk to us instead of going to the guardians or Kirova, was a good thing. Dimitri talked over our plan for how to handle the conversation as we crossed the field and reached the threshold of the cabin.
"Remember, we must be honest with her," Dimitri said as we stood before the dark wooden door. I nodded, but I knew I would lie. I would do whatever it took to protect Dimitri. He knocked twice and when there was no answer. Dimitri looked to me and I knocked louder. Still no answer. Just when I was about to give up, the door swung open revealing Tasha in a pair of leggings and an extremely tight red shirt that did nothing for her slim Moroi figure and seemed to bring out the scar on her cheek more. She scanned me over with a look of distaste as if she was searching for what made Dimitri attracted to me and not her. Her eyes froze when they met mine and I saw the jealousy swimming within.
"Please come in," she said and stepped aside allowing us to move into the cabin. She shut the door behind us and moved to the dining area where the furniture had been rearranged to create an interrogation like set up. She sat in the single-seat on one side of the table and gestured to the two seats opposite her. "Sit," she said. Her tone wasn't threatening or commanding, but I knew who had the power now and I would obey her if it meant she would let us go without sharing our secret.
I followed Dimitri as he moved to join Tasha at the table, we had sat around only a day ago before everything went to shit. That felt like a lifetime ago. Tasha silently stared at us, mostly Dimitri, taking in everything. Our body language. How we reacted to one another. Dimitri had warned me, and we knew we couldn't give anything away. We were guardians. We knew how to wear a mask and how to hide our emotions when we need to. We deliberately kept space between us and no matter how much I wanted to touch him, I kept myself still and calm. Our future depended on this.
Finally, Tasha began. "I know something is going on between the two of you." She said. I opened my mouth to object, but Tasha held her hand up to silence me. "Don't bother, Rose," she smirked to Dimitri. "Or should I say, 'Roza'?" The way she spat the nickname I longed to hear every day from Dimitri's lips made me my stomach turn. I wanted to sink under the table and fade away from this day. I wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare to find Dimitri asleep beside me and all our problems erased.
Dimitri looked to me briefly and sighed before turning back to Tasha. "We'll tell you whatever you want to know." He said and I nodded. I would be honest…to a certain point.
Tasha smiled and nodded, satisfied that she had the power. "Alright then. Let us start from the beginning." We had prepared for this earlier. Dimitri relayed the story of the lust charm. His retelling was just like a guardian description of a Strigoi attack, Just like my mom's talk to the novices', short and to the point without emotion or descriptive details. When he finished, Tasha looked taken back. I discreetly reached for Dimitri's hand under the table and reassuringly squeezed his hand while keeping my focus on Tasha. She looked us over in silence for a long while before she spoke again.
"Who gave you the lust charm?" she asked me.
"Victor Dashkov. He gave it to me disguised as a necklace. It was meant to distract us so he could kidnap Lissa." I said. In the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri Tense as if preparing himself for what would follow. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and willing the words to leave my mouth. "But he was unsuccessful."
Dimitri's head turned to me and I could hear his silent question. 'What are you doing, Rose?' I ignored him and pushed on.
"It was lucky Christian was there. He saved Lissa. And the charm didn't work. Dimitri knew something was off. He managed to pull off the necklace and get rid of it before we could go too far."
Dimitri squeezed my hand tightly in a warning. I looked to him and pleaded with my eyes that he would go along with it. One tiny lie could save us, as long as we both kept to the story I had created. We just had to make Tasha believe it.
"You stopped it?" Tasha asked Dimitri. I squeezed his hand tightly and silently begged him to follow along. Dimitri swallowed and squeezed my hand in return.
"The charm made me lose all control of my actions, but I heard this small voice inside my head that told me what we were doing wasn't right. It took everything in me to push against the pull of the charm and undo the necklace. Once it was off Rose, the pull was still there but it was weaker." I noticed Dimitri's mask slip slightly. In all the time that I had known him, Dimitri had never lied. It was against his values. This must have been killing him. I jumped in quickly before his building feelings of guilt would make him stop and tell Tasha the truth.
"Before the spell could infect us again, Dimitri threw the necklace out the window. Once the charm was gone, I remembered the reason I had gone to Dimitri in the first place. To tell him that Lissa was in danger. We ran out but we were too late. It was only because of Christian and his fire magic that Lissa was not taken. He sacrificed himself for her and she saved him. I'm sure you would have heard about all that." Tasha nodded.
"Why did Dashkov target you two and why with a lust charm of all things?" I looked to Dimitri and he nodded reading my thoughts.
"Victor and his young daughter Natalie noticed how we behaved around each other during our training sessions and other moments. They saw how we felt for each other long before either of us really admitted it ourselves. Until the night of the charm, we had no idea how deeply those feeling ran and after that night, there was no way we could hide it anymore."
"What are you saying Dimka?" Tasha asked.
"I love her, " Dimitri said with no hesitation. He turned to me and smiled. "I love, Rose" I smiled back at him.
"And I love him," I said in return before placing my free hand on top of Dimitri's hand on the table. Tasha stayed silent for a while, looking us over, pausing for a moment on our hands as Dimitri's fingers laced through mine. Her eyes were frozen, and I could see the cogs turning as she thought of what she was going to do. Suddenly, she shook her head and blinked rapidly bringing her out of her mind.
"I know this might seem intrusive, but I need to know so I can figure out what I should do about all this. Have you two been intimate?"
Dimitri opened his mouth, no doubt to tell her the truth because it was the right thing to do, but I beat him to it.
"No." Dimitri's eyes flashed to me, but I did not look at him. my focus stayed glued on Tasha. I didn't care how many lies I told. I was not going to let Dimitri go and I would not let this bitch tear us apart. "We know the rules and we plan to keep it that way until after I graduate." Tasha nodded. "I'm sorry but what are you planning to do with this information?" I jumped in. I was becoming impatient of Tasha's interrogation. Dimitri stoked my hand under the table in a reassuring way, but it did nothing to calm me down. Nothing could at this moment.
"I don't know, Rose. You have told me your stories and I am relieved to hear that no rules have been broken. I still have concerns about your relationship not just because of your age and positions but also your future. You are both going to be Vasilisa's guardians after graduation. I am worried about how your relationship might affect her safety and Christian's."
I looked at Dimitri and smiled. "You're right, Tasha. We can't both guard Lissa without compromising her safety." I turned to Tasha. Her face remained neutral but there was a satisfied glint in her eyes at hearing me admit she was right. "Luckily, Dimitri and I have come up with a plan for after graduation." The twinkle extinguished like a candle in the wind. Tasha sharply turned to Dimitri waiting for him to elaborate.
"After graduation, Rose will apply for a position as the Dragomir Princess' guardian. If she is successful, I will step down from my position and find a new Moroi to guard. Hopefully one at court. If Rose is denied the position, I will stay with Vasilisa and Rose will find another charge," Dimitri explained.
For a split second, I thought I saw a flash, of what looked like hope, behind Tasha's eyes but too quickly it was gone. She sat in silence for what felt like hours. I held my breath knowing we had done everything we possibly could have done. The ball was in Tasha's court now. It was all up to her. I just prayed she would take the high road and let us be.
Tasha stood suddenly. The breath I had been holding in left me reluctantly and Dimitri and I raised to our feet ready to hear her verdict.
"I am leaving within the hour…and I will be taking this secret with me." Both Dimitri and I released a sigh of relief. I was so happy I wanted to jump into Dimitri's arms and never let him go. "I hope you continue to obey the laws for both of your sakes. But if you are discovered and I am asked to share what I know; I will not hold back. Do you understand?" I nodded feverishly, so grateful to her.
"Yes. Thank you, Tasha," Dimitri said, taking Tasha's outstretched hand and shaking it. She smiled up at him and I had the sudden urge to slap her, but I pushed that feeling away. She was letting us go now. I didn't want to do anything that would make her change her mind. So, I smiled and tightly hugged Tasha, hoping that hug conveyed my gratitude.
When I pulled back, I smiled and moved to leave, but Tasha's surprisingly strong grip on my shoulders prevented me from moving. I met her eyes with a silent question in my expression. Her smile was fake, and her eyes were filled with poison as she spoke with her voice thick with an artificial sweetness that dried my throat and made shivers run down my spine.
"I truly hope you get Vasilisa, Rose." With that, she let me go and Dimitri and I walked out of the cabin. Dimitri smiled as we crossed the academy field, completely content with how that conversation had gone. Dimitri might have been ignorant of Tasha's final threat, but I wasn't. Tasha wasn't letting this go. No…She was only getting started. She still wanted Dimitri. But she didn't want to destroy him, so she would keep her mouth shut…For now. But how long? That's a real question. She wasn't going to let him go. But guess what, bitch. Neither. Am. I!
We were almost back to the main hall where lunch was probably waiting but just as we were about to enter, Dimitri grabbed my hand and pulled me into a small alcove hidden from prying eyes by the dark shadows of the academy. Before I could say anything, Dimitri pulled me close and kissed me senseless. My knees wobble but with Dimitri's strong arms wrapped around me, I knew I could never fall. When he pulled back, I was left dazed, drunk off his scent, taste and touch.
"What was that for?" I whispered teasingly. Dimitri's face was dead serious, and his expression sobered me up instantly. "Dimitri?" His hand reached up and brushed a lock of hair that had fallen from my bun behind my ear.
"I almost lost you today. I always knew risks if our relationship was discovered but I never knew how it would feel to be on the verge of losing you. I never want to lose you again." I cupped his cheek and he leaned into my touch to kiss my palm.
"You will never have to know what that feels like. I have never been more scared than I was today, and I never want to go through anything like that ever again. I love you," I said. Dimitri smiled.
"I love you too, Roza. And I agree. I never want anything like that to happen again. Which is why we need to be even more careful and cannot let any more slips happen especially at the academy with so many prying eyes. We need to stop being so careless." I smiled teasingly.
"Maybe you should follow your own advice. I think you forget who pulled us into this dark space in the open for everyone to see." Dimitri smiled in return and kissed me quickly before pulling back.
"Starting now." He announces before pulling away and walking out of the hidden space. He looked around, checking for others who could see us. He signalled to me and I walked out to join him, my guardian mask firmly in place to hide the lingering lust in my eyes from that breathtaking kiss. Dimitri cleared his throat. "I'll see you this afternoon for training, Ms Hathaway."
"wouldn't miss it for the world, Guardian Belikov." He winked discreetly and walked off. I watched him for a moment before walking in the opposite direction towards the hall where I would join my friends for lunch.
I was so distracted by that damn kiss that I ignored my guardian senses as I rounded the corner and walked straight into someone.
"Oh my god. I am so sorry. I wasn't paying attention." I said to the stranger which I had knocked onto his ass.
"Clearly. Maybe I should be concerned about the future of my race if this is the star novice of St. Vlad's." I rolled my eyes and reached out my hand. He took it and I pulled him to his feet, still too embarrassed to look him in the eye.
"Hey! Maybe you shouldn't blame the future guardian that knocked you on to your ass without even trying," I said. The stranger chuckled lightly, the sound smooth filling my ears forcing my eyes to raise to his. I was confronted by the same jade green eyes I saw every day. His eyes seemed to dive into mine. It was more than just seeing me. it was like he was staring into my very soul and could see my every thought, every desire. I wanted to blink or close my eyes or look away, but I couldn't. I was frozen, mesmerised staring into this man's eyes. Slowly his lips lifted into a lazy half-smile which suited his face perfectly as if he was very practised in the art of the sexy smile.
"Hello, Little Dhampir." I blinked, at last, free from his spell and when I opened my eyes, I took him in and suddenly it clicked. I should have seen it. The expensive clothes, the arrogant attitude, the eyes. I placed my hands on my hips.
"Hello, Adrian Ivashkov."
Look at that! I hope I surprised a few of you with the way Tasha handled the situation and how Adrian was introduced. I' trying to be as unique as possible with this story and am trying to not be predictable. I think a lot of you saw that there was no way Tasha was just going to let them off the hook though. Please let me know what you thought. I have a busy week ahead of me with l work but I hope to find some more writing time because I have a few exciting ideas I want to work with ASAP! thanks for all your continued support. I'll be back with a new chapter very soon! :)