Thank you so much for the follow and favorite! and to answer catherine10 question: Rose and Dimitri have not slept together yet, they have gotten closer though which is why it is so hard for Rose to leave him behind. She want's to trust him but she knows very well the kind of man she is which is why she can't. There will be more Romitri in later chapters including this one. :D

That night I dreamt of Dimitri. We were just training, there seemed nothing special about this memory but to me it meant the world to me.

He had one of those soft smiles on his features. One that used to make my heart skip a beat, "Roza..." He breathed shaking his head slightly. "Not a word comrade." I spoke quickly pointing at him as I ran my lines. "I'm just saying If Kirova got that stick out of her ass, maybe she'd be lovable. " I could feel my heart lungs begging for a relaxing break but I kept pushing.

Dimitri and I had never had a simple relationship. I am seventeen and he is seven years older than me, but it didn't stop us from growing close. I loved him and he loved me but too many things kept us apart.

We were both supposed to protect Lissa and if we loved each other. We'd be risking her life and Lissa came first.

The memory kept playing before me and it made my heart ache. I wanted to go back but not before all of us were eighteen or they caught us.

I slowly woke up at the flood of lights despite it being nighttime. "Ugh..." I groaned. "Morning sleeping beauty!" Lissa giggled and I just rubbed my eyes. "Where are we?" I yawned. "Hotel in Colorado. " Eddie Explained And I Jumped "What?!" I almost shouted. " I thought we were going to New York? " did they really pull that trick on me in my sleep. "We had to change our path, I spotted Guardians on our tail and had to shake him."

"So we are taking the scenic route." Christian mused but with a once over I can see he was as tired of being in this car as I was. "We are going to stay here for the night." Christian continued. "One room though we need to stay next to each other." I could feel slight disappointment from Lissa but the last thing I needed was a glimpse into another romantic getaway of theirs. I lead them inside and I turned to Lissa, she walked over to the front desk and spoke in a lyrical voice. "Excuse me but you were just about to check us in." The guy looked as if he was about to protest but a glossy look came over his features. "Oh yeah." "Why not type our names in and give us the keys." Lissa added and I'm pretty sure I saw Christian beaming with pride and a little bit of fear.

Lissa's powers scare us both. After a few more minutes, Lissa walked over to us holding a key up and we all smiled. I made sure she requested a room with a fire escape to give us another out in case Eddie didn't really shake those Guardians. The room was rather nice, two queen beds set with a flat screen TV and a decent sized bathroom.

Lissa and I were going to share a bed and Eddie and Christian were. Lissa and Christian would alternate spending half the night alone as Eddie and I were sharing night shifts. He got to sleep first and I was up. I sat by the window at first, My eye's shifting from the outside view and to that of the room and after every few minutes I walked to the door and pressed my ear to it to listen.

Hours passed with no noise and I found myself wishing I could peek into Dimitri's mind or heck even Adrian's to see what was going on back at the Academy. I looked over at Eddie's sleeping frame. I had not just run off with one royal this time, I ran off with two and as far as the school was concerned so had Eddie and I could have not just ended my career but his as well. the thought alone just killed me.

I noticed Lissa's phone on the nightstand light up, of course. I leave mine and make sure Christian left his and Lissa is the one I forget to double check. I walk over to it grateful she had it on silent so it didn't jolt the whole room awake.

I checked the number and my heart tightened. It was Dimitri's number. I had it memorized in case I was in a tight spot and needed help. I looked around the room at the three sleeping frames before moving toward the bathroom, it wasn't total privacy but it kept me close on the off chance they needed help.

I took in a sharp breath trying to muster all the courage I could before answering it. I didn't reply first but my whole body tightened at the sound of his voice, "Vasilisa." He spoke urgently and once again I didn't reply. "Vasilisa, It's imperative you tell me where you are right now. I know you feel inclined to Rose but this adventure could end with one or both of your deaths." I could hear the emotion in his voice.

I wondered if he was actually worried about me, or just her and I felt a mix of jealousy and compassion boil inside of me. "It's not Lissa." I replied, and then there was a long thick silence in the room.

It was like we were both staring at each other without either of us finding words. "Roza…" He sighed, "Please come back before this trip get's to out of hand and costs you or Eddie your future." He explained as if it was simple.

I found myself conflicted, part of me wanted to tell him. Maybe he might help us and we could use the extra help and I wouldn't mind being around him but the more rational part of me knew he'd follow his orders, He would drag us all back to a place I couldn't protect them all. There was too much red tape at St. Vladimir's and too much to risk. I could feel my heart tighten as I let the silence between us. To protect my friends it will cost me the man I loved and my future as a Guardian.

Lissa meant the world to me, I wasn't going to risk her. As much as I cared about Dimitri, I had to chose and right now the choice was clear. "I'm sorry I can't, She needs to be kept safe and St. Vladimir isn't the place for it." I replied, "We can protect her here together, you need the wards, you need us. Roza please listen to reason.." I could feel the pain in his voice, the anger, the passion and the compassion and oh how my heart ached as I heard my nickname. He cared for me and it pained me to hear him like this. "I'm sorry, please just trust me this once. We will be home once all this is figured out. Dimitri you always said I was a great guardian and This is me doing my job, They come first. I'm sorry" and before he could say anything else.

I hung up.

I held the phone in my hand and slid to the floor, part of me yearned for the comfort of Dimitri. He was a god and maybe he had been right. The school was a heavily guarded area, but I couldn't risk it. I will never play with their lives but maybe I was just playing with them more out in the real world but it was too late to turn back now.

"Rose…" I heard Lissa's voice as the bathroom door pushed open, I gave her a faint smile but through the bond I could feel she wasn't convinced by it and she sat across from me. "That must have been hard on you." She muttered reaching out for my hand which I extended toward her.

"I will never put anyone before your safety Lissa." I assured her but I could feel the guilt encroaching on my own feeling's. She felt like she was the reason I had given so much up. "Lissa look at me, You are my best friend. This isn't me giving up my happy ending or anything this is me securing my happiness in the future. I would not be able to handle losing you." My words were true.

I couldn't imagine losing Lissa, I honestly wasn't sure i'd be able to survive it at all. All the stories we've found, The Shadow Kissed don't last long after the one they are bound to dies. It's said to be maddening and I will never put Lissa or I through that.

"So I will protect you with everything I have and we will worry about the small things later, cause I mean after we survive all this me finding a boyfriend should be a piece of cake." I joked giving her my best smile.

"You know this is so odd with you being the rational one." Lissa chuckled and it just made me feel so light. I knew If I had Lissa on my side, we could get through this. "You need to get back to bed, we have a long day ahead of us." I looked down at her phone, "And Lissa, we can't keep this with us. I'll get you a new one but they could be tracking us." I could see the disappointment in her face but she nodded.

"Now off to bed Princess." I half ordered as she stood up and walked out of the room. I looked down at it one more time and saw a single text from Adrian that just read.

Tell her to bring you all back safe.

He was worried. Great another person to feel bad about. Maybe I should just make a list by now, it would seem simpler. I tossed her phone aside and stood up.

I walked out of the bathroom and scanned the room again, Lissa was curling back up in her bed. I could hear the soft combined snoring from Eddie and Christian brought a partial smile to my features. I would die for these people and I had a feeling they'd do the same and i'm still not sure if I should take comfort in this fact or be worrisome of the fact I could be leading them all to their death.