CHAPTER FOUR

It took me awhile to fall asleep.

I was lost in thoughts of Dimitri. Running over not just his conversation with Lissa, but everything that had happened with him since he was changed back.

Even though all of the things he said to me, to Lissa as well, brought more and more tears.

My head was so full of my teary haze that when I finally fell asleep and found myself in the quad at St Vladimir's, I just about didn't notice.

"Little Dhampir, nice to finally see you. I expected to see you much earlier seen as you said you were tired." Adrian said from behind me.

I turned around, wiping at my face. My tears hadn't actually stayed on my face in the dream but I could still feel them.

"Hey." I replied look at Adrian. "Nice dreamscape."

Adrian shrugged "I thought this might cheer you up, you seemed so sad earlier."

I just looked at Adrian. He was trying to do something nice but I couldn't even muster a smile.

"What, are you not speaking again?"

"No, that's not it. It's nice, thanks."

It was Adrian's turn to stare. I could see his mind turning over, trying to decide how best to deal with my current state.

I forced a smile for him, he deserved that much.

Adrian took a step toward me; obviously feeling like my smile was an invitation.

He leaned in and kissed me obviously wanting to step it up a notch. But I cut it short. Somehow the whole kissing him thing didn't feel right when I had just stopped crying over another man.

"How far does this scene go?" I asked him.

"Why?"

"Well, I thought maybe we could walk a bit." I said trying to cover my not wanting to kiss him.

"It's a dream Rose; we can go wherever you want."

Adrian took my hand as I started to walk.

We walked for a while looping the campus, not talking at all. When we came to the back of the campus proper Adrian stepped on to the path that, I was well aware, lead to mine and Dimitri's cabin. I jerked my hand from his and headed back toward the school buildings.

Adrian followed me for a few steps then stopped.

"Rose, what's wrong?" I looked at him sideways.

"Well I mean aside from the obvious."

I shook my head and looked at the ground.

Walking around the campus hadn't made me feel any better, in fact seeing the path to the cabin had made me feel worse.

Adrian moved toward me and tried to wrap his arms around me.

"Adrian, please don't." I said with as much force as I could manage.

He stopped, obviously confused.

"I can't do this Adrian."

"Do what exactly?" Adrian's face dropped.

I thought before my next words, I didn't want to break Adrian's heart, but he couldn't stay with me. I would just drag him down, not to mention the fact that I was still completely and utterly in love with a certain ex-strigoi.

I figured that I would take the 'rip the bandage off' approach.

"Be with you."

Adrian started to protest but I kept on talking.

"I'm bad for you Adrian, you need to walk away now, before, before . . . . "

I couldn't say the rest off that sentence.

"Well I guess my playboy antics - as my father calls them – are nowhere near as badass as some of your exploits." He lit up a smoke, and took a drag.

"I'm serious Adrian."

"Oh I'm quite sure you are Little Dhampir, but I've already told you I'm not walking away again."

I just about yelled at him, actually I really could have throttled him, here I was trying to be kind and he wasn't buying it.

I took a few calming breaths. But before I could speak again Adrian dropped a kiss on my check, and started walking away from me.

"I will see you again little Dhampir, for now stop thinking so hard, it's not a good look for you." He said in a very teasing tone.

"Screw you Ivashkov."I yelled back just as the dream dissipated and I feel into an uneasy sleep.

The sun was still up when I woke the next day, being the middle of summer it wouldn't set for another hour or so. Got to love the Vampiric Nocturnal Schedule.

My sleep had been plagued with bad dreams. The photos of the Queen murdered in her room flashing through my mind. The blood. My stake, sticking out of Tatiana's chest.

I was still in shock when i got out of my bed.

Taking deep beaths i continued with what had become my morning routine.

A female guardian would come down and escort me to the bathroom where i took my shower and got ready for my riveting day of sitting on my ass.

I was never left alone, not even when I was actually in the shower. I mean I had a curtain and everything but my guardian watchdog was in the room.

Let me tell you, prison is so not cool!

My routine only took about 15 minutes; I wasn't allowed any facial products just soap and shampoo.

Back in my room, I made my bed and then sat down leaning on the wall.

I thought about Adrian; how he didn't seem to want to recognise that I was trying to breakup with him.

I thought about Dimitri, how he didn't want me anymore.

I thought about Abe, and if he really would be able to get me out of here.

And I thought about Lissa. She would be so hurt if I managed to get away and didn't take her with me. But that hurt was a better option than if did tell her. If I did she would insist on coming with me and if that happened it wouldn't just be her life that would be ruined. I was starting to see how important she was to both our races. I didn't want her use spirit to change strigoi back to their former selves because of the damage the darkness would do to her, and me, but people were starting to see her as a leader, as their future.

I slipped into Lissa's mind then. She was actually already out and about. She was sitting in one of the courts many cafe's having breakfast with Christian.

"So, what's your plan for today?" Christian asked her through his mouthful of Bagel.

My mouth watered a little when I saw him taking another bit. Prison food wasn't bread and water but damn, it sure as hell was a BLT Bagel.

"Not much, I thought I would go and see Rose later, but I'm not sure when I'm going to get to that."

Christian looked at he a bit confused.

"I've got a couple of meetings this morning. Some of the royal families' representatives want to sit down with me." Lissa explained

"I wondered how long that would take." Christian said with a knowing nod of his head.

"Yeah I know, but it just seems kind of weird without Rose. She always manages to analyse what people say and give me another point of view."

"Yeah, she certainly does that." Christian said with a laugh.

Lissa laughed too, but it was short lived. Through the window of the cafe she saw Dimitri walking along with last person she expected, Abe.

They seemed deep in conversation.

"What are you looking at?" Christian asked her, his back was to the window so he had to turn around to see anything.

Lissa pointed in the direction of Dimitri and Abe.

When he had seen what Lissa had pointed at he turned back and looked at Lissa.

"I didn't know they knew each other." He said.

"Well Rose said she meet Abe in Baia, Dimitri's home town, so maybe they know each other from there?" Lissa shrugged.

Even though that's what she said, her thought were a lot more in-depth, she wondered what Abe was up to talking to Dimitri. Something didn't quite feel right about see those two together.

I slipped back out of Lissa's head.

She was right; it wasn't right seeing Abe and Dimitri together.

In Siberia, when Dimitri had held the healing ring Oksana had given me, he had warned me to stay away from 'Zmey', telling me he wasn't to be trusted. So, seeing him talking to Abe, well it set off all kinds of warning bells.