Chapter Ten - When Fire Meets Ice

I seriously struggled writing this chapter, though I don't know why. I knew what I wanted to happen, I just couldn't write it. I hope it's still good, though, and will try to get another chapter out tomorrow.

The party was in full swing already by the time we walked into the common room, Moroi and Dhampir alike sitting around or standing to the sides, drinking and talking. It was a pleasant change from St Vladimir's in which Dhampir and Moroi rarely interacted, and only the few Dhampir were generally accepted into the more elite social groups. I guess outnumbering the Moroi did have it's benefits in that sense.

Several of the boys wolf whistled as we walked through the room, though who it was directed at was unclear. Probably both of us, truth be told, since I was proud to say we were definitely some of the best dressed girls there. I couldn't help but wish it was Dimitri wolf whistling at me, though, I quickly refigured that he wouldn't be the type of person to do that.

Malakai and Feliks were stood at the far end of the common room, coincidentally next to where most of the drinks were, I noted with a small laugh. Kai was the first one to notice us, looking up from his conversation to flash me a wide grin. "Rose! Vik! You both look great." He gave Viktoria a friendly hug before doing the same with me, though adding a small peck on the cheek as he withdrew. I thought nothing of it, smiling at him in return and giving Feliks a civil nod of greeting.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself." Dressed in a pair of casual black jeans and a long white shirt that clung to his body, it was definitely an outfit that suited him well and showed his physique off. Feliks was dressed similarly, though his shirt was short sleeved and a little baggier, and had paired it with a black leather jacket.

I was just about to turn to Viktoria to ask her what she wanted to drink when Feliks surprised me, stepping up and addressing me. "Would you like a drink, Rose? You too, Viktoria."

"I'll just take a beer." Vik nodded with a coy smile, though unfortunately most of his attention was on me. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them, Feliks for being so smarmy and Viktoria for being so obviously flirtatious with said smarmy-boy.

"Vodka and coke will do me," I waved my hand dismissively, just wanting him to clear off already. "Extra vodka, less coke."

Lucky for me, once Feliks had returned with Viktoria and I's drinks he seemed to clear off for the most part. Kai, Vik, and I stuck around together for pretty much the entire evening, conversing with some of the other senior's who I hadn't had the opportunity of meeting yet. Most of them were kind enough, complimenting me on my outfit or my skills during class or training sessions in the gym, although others almost completely blanked me - not that I was complaining. If they didn't like me then I didn't care much for them.

"Hey, Rose," Kai called over to me from where he was stood nearby talking to some blonde Moroi. He nodded his head over to where one of the Moroi's was failing epically at flirting with one of the female Dhampir's. I couldn't remember what his name was, but hers was Ana and she was probably one of the nicest girls in the class. He had a red solo cup in one hand with the other up against the wall above Ana's head, leaning down to her drunkenly as he spoke. It was evident that she was uncomfortable with the situation, but she didn't know how to tell him politely to leave her alone.

I glanced back to Kai with a mischievous smile, giving him a subtle nod. He returned my look with a borderline wicked smirk, focusing his attention back on the not-so-happy couple on the other side of the room. Viktoria looked up at me, evidently confused by my exchanged with Kai. I shook my head, placing my hands on her shoulders and gently turning her to face where I was looking. "Just watch."

The Moroi was clearly too absorbed in his conversation with Ana that he didn't notice the smoldering coming from the sleeve of his shirt that rested on the wall. Ana did seem to notice it, however, and was clearly planning on using it to her advantage. "Al, your arm. I think something's wrong." Almost on cue, a burst of flames lit up on his sleeve, alerting 'Al' immediately. He shrieked at the sight, jumping away from the girl and the wall and shaking his arm as if to stop the fire. He even tried blowing on it profusely, but that didn't do anything.

I watched as Ana quickly slid away from him, and the rest of the party turned to watch his flailing limbs. Some got out their phones and some just onlooked with smiles or eye rolls or passing comments. I could see Kai murmuring something to one of his friends with a laugh on his lips, before he focused his gaze back on Al.

He had now placed his solo cup on a table on the side and was scrambling to take his shirt off. He managed to do so with minimal scathing, still shouting and screaming, balling it up before throwing it on the floor to stamp out the flames. You could see the relief on his face once the fire was out, and he sighed in relief. Dozens of students were still looking at him peculiarly while others were looking around the room as if to see who had started the attack.

As if either forgetting or ignoring the fact he was shirtless, Al reached for his solo cup and went to take a drink of it to further inebriate him. The liquid flew up in a large splash right in the centre of his face, causing him to curse out in Russian and drop his cup to the floor while shaking his head. I really burst into laughter this time, unable to hold it back. I had expected the fire attack, Malakai being a fire user, but not the drink.

Viktoria looked at me with a look half of disbelief and half of humour as I covered my mouth to cease the laughter, shaking my head at her as if to say not to ask me about what I found so funny. I looked back over to where Kai was stood, his gaze focused on me with a smile on his lips. I nodded and giggled in his direction, him winking back at me. I just shook my head dismissively, taking a sip of my drink as I returned to my original conversation with Viktoria.

The rest of the night itself had been a blast, though nothing as eventful as the fire incident. Al had cleared off at some point to 'get a new shirt', though I also noted that he hadn't returned since his departure. Viktoria and I had stuck together for the entire night despite my urges for her to go and enjoy time on her own with her friends. She had insisted that I stay with her, because she didn't want me to feel abandoned or awkward because I didn't know anybody. When I told her I'd be fine, she just gave me a look.

As the night went on I had felt myself getting more drunk, although I'd drank the least between Viktoria, Kai, and myself. I felt borderline sick by halfway through the night and so had resorted to just drinking orange juice - good for soaking up the alcohol, and still looked like I was drinking some exotic cocktail. It was 2am by the time the party really started dying down, and partners and groups of people began to drift back to their dorms both drunk and semi-sober.

"I should probably get going," I slurred slowly, draping an arm around Viktoria's shoulders for support despite the fact she was taller than me. "Dimitri will be worrying about where I am."

"Guardian Belikov?" Kai asked with an arched eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink. "Surely seeing you in this state he'll know you were at a party."

"Pfft," I waved my hand dismissively, losing my balance as I did so and resting my hands on Kai's shoulders so I didn't fall. He naturally placed his own on my waist to steady me. "Dimitri's a babe. He's fine with us partying. Well, he's fine with me partying at least." I giggled, swaying slightly as I leaned into him. "He lo-o-oves me."

"Okay! I think it's definitely time you headed back. " Viktoria shouted pointedly in order to distract people from my words, replacing Kai's hands with an arm wrapped around my waist to begin guiding me back to my dorm. Kai was shortly behind, making sure I didn't fall over as Viktoria let me go.

"You sure you're gonna be alright heading back alone? Myself or Viktoria can walk you back to your dorm if you'd like."

"Aw, is little Malakai concerned for me?" I teased with a childish grin, slugging my way to stand in front of him. I pursed my lips drunkenly and tapped the side of his face perhaps a little too roughly. "How cute. Don't you worry your pretty little head about it - we Hathaway women know how to defend ourselves."

Both he and Vik rolled their eyes at me at that statement, pretending to ignore it as they made sure I was okay to make my way home. Viktoria forced me to take my shoes off, saying I'd be safer walking home barefoot in my state. I had obviously tried to fight her on it, saying without the heels I just looked short, but she was having none of it. Eventually, with shoes in one hand and an empty cup in the other, I was making my way down the hallway of the buildings in the general direction of my dorm.

I was humming idly to myself as I strode down with a drunken smile on my face, lifting the hand with my shoes in it to push my hair out of my face using the back of it. I heard footsteps a little ahead of me and instantly froze, even in my drunk state recognising the state of danger when it presented itself. "Hello?" I called out more confidently than I felt. "Who's there?"

I was preparing myself to flip my boots around to use the heel as a weapon when Feliks stepped out of the shadows, setting me immediately at ease. "Don't sneak up on a Guardian, alright?" I raised an eyebrow unconvincingly as I pointed my shoe at him, before moving to continue walking. He sidestepped directly in front of me, surprising me and forcing me to step backwards slightly. "Can I help you?"

"Perhaps you can," he said sleezily with a cunning glare in his eyes, and he reached forwards to shift my hair out of my face. I flinched away from his touch, watching him cautiously as he moved. "Although you did me the greatest favour by letting me get you a drink this evening."

I frowned at him, slowly getting more and more frustrated with him. "Look, Feliks, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'd appreciate it if you moved. I'm tired, I'm hungry, my feet are killing me, and although I may me drunk I'm sure I could still kick you on your Moroi ass." I attempted to bypass him but he was too quick for me to get all the way around, as he grabbed me and shoved me harshly against the wall. I yelped out in both pain and surprise, dropping the stuff in my hands.

"You Dhampir are all the same." He growled, pressing my legs tightly to the wall with his knees and pinning my wrists above my head with one hand, his other arm across the base of my throat. I lashed out desperately in an attempt to throw him off me, but my inebriated state and his surprisingly strong stature meant that my efforts were merely that - an effort. "Actually, I think you're probably worst than most. Our whole society knows all about you, Hathaway, and all the men revel in the fact that you're a bloodwhore."

"I am not a bloodwhore," I spat at him, attempting to launch myself forwards and attack him but still failing. He thrust the arm against my throat in an attempt to shut me up, and I swallowed a whimper of pain.

"Spare me the pity. Everyone knows how the Princess Dragomir fed off you while you were away from the Academy. Your promiscuous reputation back at St Vlad's precedes you, and we all know that most reputations are well deserved. I'm sure you're even sleeping with that Guardian friend of yours - Belikov, is it?"

"You don't know a damn about me, Feliks." I growled defensively, mentally thinking all of my plans of escapes. My main hope would be to scream and alert somebody of our presence, though that risked worrying everybody of a Strigoi attack, or exposing the senior class for being up past curfew. My next opportunity would be to wait for him to lose concentration, or his grip to weaken. As soon as I had the open way, I could take him down within seconds.

Feliks scoffed, looking at me with a sickeningly lustful look as he blatantly ignored my words. "All I had to do was slip something in your drink, and you were more than willing to take it. Everyone at that party saw how drunk you were. So, should you decide to try and tell the Headmaster about this, everyone will think you were just some drunk slut who threw yourself at me."

"You drugged me?" I almost screamed, thrashing against him violently. I could tell he was putting as much force as he could muster into pinning me down, but his grip was loosening. He gripped my chin tightly and forced me to look into his eyes.

"Stop talking, stop fighting me, and come with me."

"Newsflash, buddy, you've gotta be better at compulsion than that to get me to obey you." I chuckled at his feeble attempt, knowing exactly from the menacing glare in his eyes that that was what he was aiming to do. He clenched his teeth in frustration, and I smirked victoriously.

"Fine." He growled. "Guess I'll just have to get you to come with me in a different way." I narrowed my eyes at him as he smiled wickedly, licking his fangs. A scream was caught in my throat a moment too late as he darted down to the crook of my neck, and I suddenly felt a sharp pain. I gasped, feeling my eyes almost roll into the back of my head at the sudden euphoria that washed over me despite every inch of my being telling me to fight and shout.

Almost as quickly as Feliks had moved to bite me, his weight was thrown off my body, and I felt myself collapse down to the ground after having been supported by him. I cried out with a mixture of shock and joy as I hit the ground, surprisingly thankful for the hard gravel connecting with my body beneath me. I coughed as I quickly recovered myself, looking up and around to see where he had gone.

I saw him laying on the ground as he spat up blood, rolling onto his side to look at me. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and looked up at the formidable figure looming over him. Kai was there, his body positioned protectively in front of where I sat, looking towards Feliks.

"You better get out of here before I set your ass on fire." He hissed to him as Feliks slowly got to his feet, his resentful glare never shifting from where he stared at Kai. The tension was so thick in the air as they stared each other down, neither giving up. Eventually Feliks was the one to back down, giving a simple nod before retreating hastily into the shadows from where he came from.

As soon as he was out of his sights, Kai was instantly by my side, crouching down on the filthy floor besides me. "You're shaking." It wasn't a question or a statement, but more of an accusation. I looked down at my hands and saw that I was, in fact, shaking, more than I thought was possible. It was as if seeing the shakes made them more noticeable, because suddenly I could feel everything. They were wracking my entire entire body, and I was nearing on hyperventilating. I wasn't sure if it was from the adrenaline, the drug-like trance induced from the bite, or the fear of what Feliks could have done. Considering I'd faced Strigoi on multiple occasions, I doubted it was the latter.

"I'm fine," I shook my head adamantly and rose to my feet, placing both hands on the wall behind me for support as I went. Kai watched me the entire time, arms outstretched slightly as if to catch me in case I fell. I could see he was about to say something, perhaps ask if I was alright, but I didn't give him the chance. I took off in the direction of my dorm instantly, running as fast as I could without a single care of who could have seen me.

I fumbled with the keys to my dorm room though eventually made it inside, almost collapsing against the back of the door with relief. I let out a whimper of relief as I took in the comforting feel of my new living room. The lights were all off, which inclined me to believe that Dimitri was still sleeping. I was thankful for that, not wanting to face him until the morning. He didn't have to see me like this, and I'd much rather face him when I was sober and with a clear mind.

I made my way into the bathroom first to take off my makeup, staring myself shakily in the mirror the entire time. I had stopped shaking, thankfully, and was now stripped of everything on my face.

Walking into the bedroom as silently as I could, I was pleased to see Dimitri curled up on his side of the bed. He had his arms wrapped around my pillow, hugging it tightly to him. I smiled affectionately at the sight, shifting to near the desk to take off my dress. I threw it on the desk unceremoniously, not caring that technically I should put it in my designated room. I was too tired, and frankly too drunk to care.

I slid into my side of the bed in just my strapless bra and underwear, moving the pillow Dimitri was holding to wrap his arms around my body instead. He welcomed my presence instantly, humming sleepily in delight as he tugged our bodies close together and nuzzled his nose into my hair. I sighed in contentment as I let myself be wrapped around by his entire being, closing my eyes as I wished away the last fifteen minutes of the night.