I felt the stake enter my chest yet again, but this time, I bolted straight up in bed, gasping for breath. I was covered in a thin layer of sweat, my heart beating frantically in my chest. The curtains in my room were pulled back enough to see out of but not enough to let in a lot of light. There was enough light from the emerging sun for me to notice three bodies scattered on the floor.
Kyle, Jasper, and Christopher had placed themselves on my floor and were sleeping peacefully, stakes in hand. I chuckled to myself and eased myself quietly out of bed, but it wasn't quiet enough as the floor creaked underneath me. Kyle jumped up quickly, almost tripping over Jasper in the process. Jasper also stood up quickly, but because of Kyle's close proximity, he ended up falling backward onto Christopher.
Christopher quickly pushed Jasper off of him and jumped to his feet, stake raised at the ready. His eyes quickly scanned the room, taking in a startled Kyle and myself as I tried to contain my laughter. Jasper picked himself up off the floor and dusted the imaginary dust from himself.
"Rose, are you okay?" Christopher asked quickly, his eyes quickly scanning the rest of the room, looking for any threat.
"I'm fine, Christopher," I said after quieting my laughter. "What are you guys doing in here?"
"I carried you up here last night after you passed out. We stayed to make sure that you were alright. You kept tossing in your sleep, restless." Kyle said rubbing the back of his neck probably trying to work out a kink.
"We tried to calm you, but you wouldn't settle, so we stayed in case you woke up." Jasper finished eyeing me with concern.
"You guys really didn't have to do that," I said slightly embarrassed.
"Rose, we only met you yesterday, but even if we weren't meant to protect you while you're here, we still would." Christopher started. "I know I don't speak for these two, but you're like the sister I never had." Both Jasper and Kyle nodded. "We're going to be here to protect you, both physically and, if we can, emotionally."
"We're here for you, Rosie," Jasper said with a smirk. I glared at him, but deep down I was truly touched by their protectiveness. I just hope that they won't have to protect me from my emotions like they did last night.
"As long as you three don't allow the other Guardians to call me that, I'll let it pass, but just for you three." I glared lightly at the three of them, and they all chuckled but nodded in agreeance. "Wonderful, are you guys ready for a run?"
"How far are we running?" Christopher asked hesitantly. I knew I told them I'd give them a few days to relax before we started training, but since they were all here, might as well start now.
"Yesterday I ran to the end of the island and back, but today I think I'll keep it to ten miles," I said making my way over to my closet and disappearing inside.
"I'll agree to the ten miles, but I will not be running to the end of the island and back," Jasper said firmly.
"Fair enough. Sydney should be here by the time we get back and after that, we're going shopping." I called out as I pulled on my clothes. "Do you guys need to get changed before we head out?"
All three of them shook their heads so we set out toward the beach. I set off at a fairly slow pace and judged my speed on the effort of the three Guardians behind me. I pushed them to run faster, it wouldn't be as fast as I could go, but that wasn't the point.
When we got back to the house, all three of them were huffing and puffing.
"Alright, Rosie, we aren't letting you set the pace next time." Christopher puffed as I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, guys. It wasn't that bad." I said fixing my windblown hair. There wasn't a drop of sweat of me.
"Easy for you to say. You're some freak of nature!" Jasper cried out. "I don't even know how you do it."
"I'm not really sure either, but you'll learn more today. I don't want to get into all of it all at once, and I have a feeling that Sydney can help figure somethings out. I'll reveal things as the day progresses." I said enigmatically.
"Cause that's not mysterious at all," Christopher said rolling his eyes.
"Rose?" I heard from behind me. We'd paused on the walkway at the back of the house as the three Guardians caught their breath. I turned around to see the small, blonde Alchemist. I ran forward and hugged her tightly.
"Hey, Sydney!" I said pulling back, kind of surprised that I had hugged her, but more surprised that she'd hugged me back. "How's Russia been?"
"I'm not stationed in Russia anymore. Shortly after you left to go back to St. Vladimir's, Abe got me out of Russia. I've been in New Orleans ever since, but just between the two of us, it's boring there. When Abe called and said that you needed a personal Alchemist, I jumped on the opportunity." She stated matter-of-factly.
"Admit it, Sage, you missed me," I said with a large grin. Sydney rolled her eyes but didn't negate my statement. I heard a not-so-subtle cough come from behind me.
"Hello," Sydney said shyly as she observed the three Guardians. I never noticed, but they were all around the same height and could probably pass as brothers.
"Howdy, ma'am," Jasper said, letting his southern drawl thicken. His sandy blond hair still damp with sweat but somehow still looked good. "I'm Jasper Carr."
"It's a pleasure, Jasper," Sydney replied, keeping her distance. While she'd been more than happy to greet me with a friendly hug, she was not prepared to get comfortable with any other supernatural creature.
"I'm Christopher Fleming, and this is Kyle Howard." Christopher introduced with a winsome smile. He stepped forward, hand extended which Sydney took hesitantly. Kyle rolled his eyes at Christopher and gave Sydney a small smile.
"This is Sydney Sage. She'll be my personal Alchemist." I said with a smile.
"I'm still not entirely sure what that job description entails," Sydney said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"I'll tell you as we shop. I'm going to show you up to your room, shower, and then we're heading out." I said, steering her back into the house. The guys headed down to the basement to shower and dress for the day.
Sydney and I climbed the two flights of stairs to our floor, and I led her to the door directly across from mine.
"My room is there," I said gesturing to the door behind us. "This room is yours, and Abe's room and office are at that end of the hall. I believe the only other person up here is Pavel, and he's down there." I said pointing to the appropriate doors.
"I think I met Pavel downstairs. He answered the door and told me where to find you, but he didn't offer his name."
"Yep. That would be him. He's not much of a talker until he gets used to you. He's Abe's personal Guardian." I said opening to door to her room.
This room was almost identical to mine, but the colors were different. Where my room was shades of black and white, this room was different shades of gray and purple.
"Did Abe always know I was going to be in this room?" Sydney asked with a smile on her face.
"I doubt he knew when he was actually designing the room, but I think he knew he was going to put you in here when you agreed to the job," I said leaning against the doorjamb as I watched her take in the room.
"This room will be more than sufficient." She said in her business voice. I chuckled and turned to head to my room.
"I'm going to take a shower, but if you need me, I'm right across the hall," I told her before disappearing into my room.
I quickly undressed and stepped under the cool stream of water. I washed the sand from the beach off my feet and legs and washed the salty sea spray from my face, trying to keep my hair from getting too wet.
I jumped out of the shower and quickly dried off. I'd succeeded in keeping my hair dry and ran my fingers through the locks. I wrapped a towel around my body to go out to my bedroom to find something to wear.
After sifting through my clothing options, I pulled some leggings and a large off the shoulder t-shirt. Thankfully, these leggings had pockets, so I wouldn't need to carry a purse.
For the first time since leaving Court, I turned on my phone. There were dozens of missed calls and unanswered texts from Lissa, Adrian, Eddie, and, surprisingly, Christian. They all wanted to know where I was and why I wasn't answering them. All of them expressed their concern.
Eddie eventually told me to stay in touch and to be safe. Lissa held on hope that I was still going to answer her and kept her concern in place. Christian had turned to pleading, telling me what Lissa was going through, but I could tell he was anguished also. Adrian's messages started off like Lissa's, but slowly they morphed into anger. He was angry at me for leaving him, for leaving Lissa, and then his messages stopped coming.
To keep my sanity, I blocked Lissa, Christian, and Adrian. I kept Eddie unblocked and hovered over the keyboard to type out a response to him.
I'm going to trust that you don't tell Lissa, Christian, or Adrian. I'm doing good. I'll keep in touch and answer any questions I can, but please don't tell the others. I don't want to be found, so don't look for me. If you ever get tired of Court, you will always have a place beside me. ~ Rose
I sent the message and scrolled through the rest of the missed messages, ignoring the various voicemails I got from them.
I felt my heart constrict and my blood run cold as I saw one, just one, message from Dimitri.
Roza, I'm so sorry. ~ Your Comrade
Four words, so vastly different from the last four words he told me. Only, he wasn't my Comrade anymore. He would never be my Comrade again. My finger hesitated over the block button, but in the end, I didn't press it.
It's too late for sorry. ~ Guardian Hathaway
It was a harsh response, but I knew it was needed. I needed him to know that he hadn't broken me. I was still a Guardian, and nothing he said to me was going to change that. I'd left Court, I'd left my charge, I'd left everything I've ever known, but he had not broken me, and he will not break me.
I was leaving my room when I felt my phone vibrate. My heart rate increased, thinking it could be Dimitri, but when I looked it was Eddie's name that flashed across the screen.
It's good to hear from you, Rose. Don't worry, I'll keep your secret, just let me know you're alive every once in a while. ~ Eddie
Will do. Thank you for everything. ~ Rose
I once again pocketed my phone and exited my room. Sydney's door was wide open, but she wasn't in there. I made my way downstairs and hear sounds coming from the kitchen. The smell of food was also drifting from that direction, so I figured the best place to find Sydney would be the kitchen, not that she'd be eating.
"Hey, Rose!" Pavel called as he presided over the sizzling bacon.
"Hey, Amca!" I responded with a smile. His shocked expression turned into a wide smile.
"I like that." He said kindly. The other Guardians in the kitchen looked shocked at Pavel's soft demeanor.
"What does it mean?" Christopher asked from his spot around the dining table.
"It means 'uncle.'" Pavel said proudly. I sat at the bar next to Sydney, who, like I guessed, wasn't eating. Kyle and Jasper emerged from the hallway leading to the basement and sat at the table with Christopher and three other Guardians.
"What are you and the other Guardians doing today, Amca?" I asked digging into the food Pavel had set in front of me.
"I'm going to run them through a few more training exercises and then I'm going to have them become extremely familiar with the layout of the house." He said turning back to the stove.
"I have something that could help with training." Sydney supplied, looking nervous and excited.
"What is it?" Pavel asked focusing his attention on the Alchemist in his kitchen.
"It's a virtual simulation. The Alchemists have had some Guardians wear body cameras in order to track body movements of Strigoi. We entered the data into a program that simulates Strigoi attacks. You can have newly turned Strigoi or Ancients generated. We're hoping to get them implemented in the academies, at least for the senior Novices."
"That's a wonderful idea!" I said. "That would be so helpful! I know my first Strigoi encounter was terrifying, and I was nowhere near ready to take them on. If seniors could have practice fighting a Strigoi, even if it's a virtual one, they could be better prepared to face one when they graduate."
"That was kind of the idea," Sydney said rolling her eyes, though I could see she was pleased that The Alchemist's idea would be taken positively by the training Novices. "I'm assuming you have a large enough gym in this house that I could set up the simulation?"
"I don't know how large a gym you need, but we should," Pavel said nodded, his eyes shining bright with excitement.
"I'll put in a request," Sydney said pulling out her phone to send a text to someone. A soft ping came back almost immediately. "Do you have a day that someone could come by to install it?"
"Any day, any time," Pavel said with a shrug. He turned off the stove and set out large plates of food on the table, the Guardians rushed to grab the food while it was still hot.
"I'll let them know any time next week. It'll give me a chance to see if the space is big enough." Sydney said nodding. When she'd received confirmation, she pocketed her phone and turned back to me with a smile. "What are we shopping for?"
"I need something that works for both clubbing and fighting. Not only that, but I need something that will hide, or at least mask, my swords." I said patting my hip where my Khopesh would sit and reaching back where the Scimitar would rest on my back.
"Sexy but sensible. Got it." She said looking up at the ceiling in thought. "What about rompers? They make some that have a skirt that could hide your hip scabbard and your back scabbard could be made to look like a backpack. It wouldn't be as conspicuous."
"I like that idea. As long as we can find something that will work." I said.
"What about us?" Jasper called from the table, his mouth full of food.
"I thought you guys were going to be using stakes," I said with a smirk.
"Yes, but you want us to practice with swords. If we decide we want to use a sword, I'm not wearing a skirt to mask the fact that I have a hip scabbard." Christopher said, throwing his own smirk at me.
"You guys might benefit more from a back scabbard," Sydney said eyeing the three Guardians. "Of course, they do have some extendable swords a similar length of a stake that we could possibly acquire."
"I'm going to suggest a back scabbard, though. There's a lot that can go wrong with an extendable sword." I added and Sydney nodded in agreeance.
"So, normal clothes for us?" Kyle asked.
"Clubbing clothes for Jasper and Christopher. Kyle, you'll probably need to look more like a chauffeur or a bodyguard." I said.
"Speaking of chauffeurs." Baba's voice filtered into the room as the man himself entered. "I have a surprise for you, Rose."
"A surprise?" I asked sitting up straighter.
"Yes. It's out in the garage if you'd like to see it before you leave." Baba said as he turned his body slightly toward the garage. I jumped down from my spot at the bar and followed him out of the kitchen. Sydney and the guys followed close behind. I had a feeling that the guys were curious, but Sydney probably didn't want to be left in the kitchen with the other Guardians.
Baba opened the door that led out to the garage and motioned me through. I expected the garage to be filled with SUVs and town cars, but the only thing in this garage was a matte black Kawasaki Ninja.
"No way," I stated as my jaw dropped.
"Indeed. Way." Baba chuckled amusedly. "It's the fastest thing I could find. Kyle will be in charge of escorting Ms. Sage and her two Guardians, but you will be traveling separately. It will be hard for Christopher and Jasper to blend, even if they're in clubbing gear, just because they're built like Guardians. You, my dear, don't possess the stereotypical look for a female Guardian. It will be easier to believe that an Alchemist has two Guardians than for you to show up in non-Guardian gear with the other two."
"That's smart," I mumbled, running my hands along the body of the machine.
"I don't know how I feel not being able to have Rose with me all the time," Kyle said uneasily which made Baba smile.
"You don't have to worry about me, Kyle. I'll be fine. Taking two vehicles allows us to be separated if necessary." I said still studying my bike.
"The keys are on the wall when you get ready to leave, Kiz," Baba said with a large smile.
"Are you guys ready to leave?" I asked the group as they stood near the door. Sydney was eyeing the bike with a hint of envy while the others nodded in response. "You want to ride with me, Sage? There's an extra helmet." I said pointing to the two helmets that sat off to the side.
"Are you sure?" Sydney asked, the excitement clear in her voice.
"Yes, I'm sure." I laughed. "Will you guys be good to follow?" Kyle nodded, revealing keys in his hand as he opened the garage door. There were three shiny black SUVs sitting in the large driveway.
Kyle pressed the button on the fob and unlocked one of the SUVs before headed toward it. I passed one of the helmets over to Sydney and pulled the second one on myself. I slung a leg over the Ninja and sat down, adjusting to the feeling of the bike under me.
"Are you going to name him?" Christopher asked with a smirk.
"Do you think I should?" I responded. "What do you think of Sasha?"
"Alexander?" Christopher questioned, and I nodded. "I like it."
"I call shotgun!" Jasper called as the SUV roared to life. Christopher sprinted after him but lost by a fraction of a second.
"Boys," Sydney mumbled with a small smile.
"They grow on you." I laughed as she climbed on Sasha behind me. As Sasha roared to life, a shiver ran through Sydney and myself.
"Don't you love that feeling?" She asked. I could hear to smile in her voice but didn't answer as I took off out of the garage. I barely heard her squeal of happiness as it was drowned out by the exhaust system.
I flew down the road, daring a look over my shoulder to see Kyle trying to keep up. I heard a ringing from my helmet and looked down to see the phone symbol on the screen in front of me.
"Rose, you need to slow down so I can keep up with you." Kyle's voice came through when I hit the green answer button.
"Kyle, that would take the fun out of everything. Maybe you should just keep up." I said saucily.
"Rose. Slow down." Came the stern response. I rolled my eyes, knowing that he couldn't see me, but complied and slowed down. "Thank you."
"Where are we going, by the way?" I asked.
"Perhaps I should be in the lead." Kyle chuckled. I sighed but slowed down to let him pass by me so I could follow him to wherever we were heading. I hung up and enjoyed the ride, though at a slower pace than I wanted.
"Jasper is cute." Sydney's voice filtered through my helmet.
"You think so?" I asked with a smirk.
"Do you not?" She asked, avoiding my question.
"Eh. I mean yes, but I'm not really looking for anything. They've all kind of taken on brotherly roles." I said shrugging.
"What happened to Dimitri?" She asked softly after a while. "I mean, I know you accomplished the impossible. You created quite the uproar in the Alchemist community, but you're here and not with him. What happened?"
"He didn't want me," I whispered, fighting off tears. My chest constricted and I tightened my grip on the handlebars.
"I'm sorry, Rose," Sydney said, squeezing my waist tighter. It was surprisingly comforting.
"It's okay. I'm glad it happened, saving him, I mean." I said forcing a smile on my face to make myself feel happier.
"He doesn't deserve you if he doesn't appreciate all you've done for him. You're better off without him." I knew Sydney meant to make me feel better, but I couldn't help but feel differently.
Am I better off without him?