Rose POV:
I shook my head slightly, freezing when I heard someone with me. Had my plan worked or was I dead? I could have imagined the hands, the frantic voice trying to call me back. I opened my eyes and was once again, face to face with lips. Ironic... I sat up, noticing the trail of dried blood down my shoulder. Great... I guess that was to be expected with a strigoi bite. I turned around, my eyes instantly meeting Dimitris. They were rich brown, warm and inviting, lacking the red rim that had almost shaken my resolve. I did it. I launched myself forwards, wrapping my arms around his neck and crushing myself to him. I laughed in relief but it instantly turned to sobs. He was bewildered, stroking my back and rocking me, murmering into my ear.
"It's ok Roza, I won't hurt you again. You... you saved me." his voice was low and strained, trying to hold back his emotions. A tear fell on my forhead so I looked up, Dimitri had a tear clinging to his eyelashes, his eyes alive with his emotion, a smile threatening to take over. I laughed again wiping the tears away and looking at Lucians body. My smile dropped away, I had lost my best friend, he was gone. "Roza... why did you save me instead of Lucian? You told me you loved him, not me." his voice still held the hurt from this morning and I knew it had cut him deeply just as his words 'it's a mistake' pained me. I knelt infront of Dimitri and placed my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look at me.
"Because, I realised that the whole time I had been with Lucian was a distraction. I was trying to distract myself from the pain you put me in, from the loneliness that always threatened to take over me. I realised that it had always been you. When I saw Lucian and Selene, how she had waited for him before moving on, that they were soulmates, just like you and me. I love you Dimitri and I can't lose you again." tears were threatening to spill again but I blinked them back, knowing I needed to stop crying. Dimitri stared at me, hope, pain and love clouding his expression. His hair had escaped it's ponytail and swung forwards, silky and gorgeous. I couldn't resist running my hand through it atleast once. Dimitri leaned forwards so his cheek rested in my palm, his eyes making me melt. His gaze was intense, full of all the love that we both had been holding back and resisting.
"Roza... I love you too, I learnt the hard way that distraction doesn't work, not when you were all I could think about, every minute of every day. Even when my eyes were closed it was like you were imprinted on my eyelids, burning into my heart the anguish that I left with, the guilt that chewed through my concious. I had lied to you, I had hurt you and I had betrayed you and my heart. I'm sorry, you saved me from myself after Ivan and you made me feel alive again, you saved me at the attacks, you saved me from losing my soul now and I all I have given you in return is hurt. I don't deserve you yet I'm selfish enough to keep you to myself." Tears ran slowly down his cheeks in earnest now, Dimitri was crying. I knew he would tear himself apart dwelling on all he did wrong and I wouldnt watch him do it. I raised his face again and made him look into my eyes, to see that I wasn't lying.
"There is nothing to forgive Comrade. I would do it all again in a heartbeat, for you." I couldn't think of anything else to say that would mean the same as one action, so I leant closer, my nose touching his, watching his eyes darken with want. Then I shut my eyes and brought my lips to his, feeling the electricity zapping to life and the burning need. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me closer, breaking away for air but continuing to kiss down my un-injured shoulder and back up to my ear.
"Roza... My Roza..." He said my name like a prayer, fervent, as if it was a life line. I smiled and kissed his earlobe, making him turn back to me. I sat back into his lap and rested my head under his chin, reveling in the feeling of his arms around me again.
"We need to escape. But, I'm not leaving Luc behind. And as much as I would like to stay here and continue our reunion but we need to find Christine, get Luc out of here and get back to court. Did you find anything out?" Dimitri stroked my hair and thought. I couldnt help but run my fingers through his again.
"I saw Christine, she's not hurt. I left the door unlocked when I came in here, i'm pretty sure the guard isnt back yet, he was certain I could take you down if you tried to escape. Plus he saw me when I was... feeding... from you." he looked incredibly guilty so I held his hand tightly and smiled at him.
"Incase you weren't listening, I basically told you to do it. And it worked, so, tough." He smiled back and we stood up, taking in our surroundings. I don't think Dimitri had seen the true extent of my more destructive episode. It really was bad. Yet the couch remained intact. He looked at me incredulously, humour hidden in his eyes. I shook my head with a grim smile. "Don't mess with Rose Hathaway." He smiled, letting the tension ease away a little.
"She's badass and hell hath no fury like an avenging angel. My angel." I smiled seductivly at him as I leant down and checked my boots. Daggers still there, check. My arm braces had been removed but my vest remained. At least I had that. I straightened up, having the satisfaction of seeing his eyes snap from other places to my face. I rolled my eyes at him. Men... switching from relaxed to serious, I kneeled by the couch and motioned for Dimitri to come over.
"Ok, since you were only in the team for a while, you don't know the signals. Three fingers to the eyebrow and pointing in a direction shows where the direction the target is and where we need to go. You remember that from at the academy?" he nodded and I continued, they weren't too hard to remember. " Good, now when we need to run for an exit, and I don't care what the hell is happening to me or anyone, you run because your life depends upon it. The signal for that is "Mario". It sounds like a name but the minute you hear it, dispatch who you are fightig and leg it." he nodded again. Those were the two most important that he needed to know, when we got back to court, he could be taught the rest. We both crept towards the door, complete ninja stealth mode. I lay down on the ground, much to Dimitri's amusement and peered out under the crack of the door. I couldn't see any feet so pulled my dagger out my boot and slid it under the door, using it as a mirror to see. "All clear." I leapt back up and we met eyes once more, knowing that we were in the heart of trouble.
I opened the door, the empty corridoor strangely forboding. We quickly ran back in and held Lucian between us, staying as silent as possible. I felt normal, not even a trace of nauseae, but I couldn't rely on that all the time. I remembered the way to where Victor took us and I knew there was a window we could use, even if it was just to guage how high we were. As we silently hurtled down the eerily empty hall ways I noticed that every room we went past was completely empty. I stopped abruptly, making Dimitri whirl into a fighting stance.
"Dimitri, sniff, what can you smell?" he looked at me as if I had gone insane for a moment before I saw his nostrils flare as he tried to smell what I could. His eyes snapped to mine, understanding flowing through us.
"I smell gas, smoke and petrol." I nodded, that was exactly what I smelt. They were burning the mansion down, with us in it. A high pitch scream made my blood chill and I knew that it was Christine.
"Dimitri! Run, find her. I will wait here for you, I promise. Run and stay safe!" He took off down the hall at a sprint, tearing around the corner out of sight. I paced and watched the hall where he disappeared to. I heard the crackling and snapping before I saw it, the flames consuming everything. I picked Luc up fireman styles and dragged him further away from them. A loud poundind made me turn, Dimitri was running full speed towards me, Christine in his arms and a snarling creature hot on his heels.
"Roza! Leave Luc, run. MARIO!" I looked longingly at Luc and whispered a goodbye before taking off down the hall and basically flying down a flight of stairs. The window told me we where on the second floor. I kept on running, hearing Dimitri and the thing still with me. I stopped and let Dimitri pass, turning to the horrid thing chasing us. It had previously been a strigoi but it looks like they had starved it of blood, turning it more animalistic, wild with thirst. It didn't even think, throwing itself at me. I dragged my dagger across it's face, hearing it howl in pain, an easy opening to it's chest. It fell to the floor and I turned and fled. Dimitri and Christine nowhere in sight. I kept running down the stairs but it was too slow so I launched myself onto the railing, feeling like a little kid. I sped past a burning ceiling, collapsing in on the room and struggled to see them through the thickening smoke. Suddenly, they were right infront of me. We where on the bottom floor, the sun just peaking over the horizon. Dimitri was panting, still cradling Christine. I ran to the neareste window, delivering a power kick and shattering the glass. Fresh air poured in and I climbed out the frame, taking Christine from Dimitri so he could fit his tall frame through. We were finally out.
Struggling to a road, we flagged down a car, an elderly couple. I pulled out my best 'in-shock' expression and asked if we could borrow a phone, they handed one over, fussing over Christine while I called my team to pick us up from the abandoned mansion not too far from the academy, one that had been a hidaway when Lissa and I had run away. I turned back to Dimitri, resting my head against his chest and watching as the least of the supports gave way and the whole mansion came down. He wrapped his arms around me and rocked me slowly.
"Here little one, go give mummy and dadedy these." Christine was smart enough to go with it and bring us the blankets the old woman handed here.
"Are you hurt Chrissy?" I sat her down on my knee as I lay back against the back seat of the car. It smelt musty and old but a whole lot safer than the house. She nodded and snuggled down under the blankete. The elderly couple, Annette and Morris wouldn't leave us until our friends arrived, they looked fondly at Chrissy and I, Morris turned to Dimitri and smiled happily.
"Your very lucky sir, gorgeous wife and daughter unharmed. Nette and I lost our first child in a house fire, broke her poor hearte. But you gave 'er hope." He patted Dimitri in the shoulder and started talking to Annette. Dimitri leant over to me and kissed my cheek, smiling sadly. His eyes said it all. Not all our family got out, not this time. The red mercedes crested the hill and I reecognized Daniels halo of golden hair in the front seat.
"C'mon Chrissy, we're going home." We thanked Annette and Morris and faced the now speeding red car. I held Dimitri's hand knowing it would have to get home soon. The guilt of Lucian crashed down on me but I knew it would get better soon, any lower and I'd hit rock bottom. Dimitri squeezed back and smiled, lighting up the area around us. I hope you found peace Luc, I love you. As we stepped into the car and the onslaught of questions, my blood ran cold. Tasha Ozera was standing in the line of trees, a look of pure hate on her once beautiful features. Great, now I had to deal with a murderous ghost too...