Chapter 8

Rose's POV

"I thought you didn't have you license yet." I asked Viktoria- who was driving- from the backseat.

"I don't." She answered.

"Oh, shit. We gunna die." I muttered loud enough so she could hear me.

"Vika!" Dimitri chastised, "I would have never let you drive if I knew that!"

"To late for that, Comrade." I said as we sped off down the road.

Olena was sitting in the front seat of the van with Vik. Zoya, Paul, and Karolina were in the middle. Dimitri, Sonya, and I were in the last row with me in the middle- to my dismay- and my mother and father were with the other guardians in their own car.

I wasn't going to take any chances on letting Dimitri's hand go, or I would have driven. A few minutes later we were outside of Mark and Oksana's quaint little house. We all got out of the car and prepared ourselves for what would come. My father's- still too weird to say- car pulled up moments later and my parents got out. Olena grabbed Zoya while Viktoria and Karolina carried Paul up to the door and knocked. Mark opened it and assessed the situation like a true guardian and immediately grabbed Paul and took him inside to Oksana.

We followed Mark in to the kitchen where he set Paul down on one of the chairs. I was proud of Paul. He had only whimpered a little but no serious tears. A true Belikov. Oksana came down the stairs and paid no attention to us because her focus was on Paul. "What happened?" She asked Karolina.

Karolina was about to answer but I cut her off. "We will tell you afterwards. Right now, just heal him." Her eyes flashed towards me and Dimitri and a puzzled look crossed her face. She brushed it off and put he hands on Paul's leg. I looked at Mark and saw the dazed look I had always worn when I was with Lissa. Paul's leg was healed now and everyone calmed down. At this point everyone was stuffed in to the small kitchen. Oksana helped Paul stand up and led us all in to the slightly larger living room. Everyone except me and Dimitri sat, because there were no more chairs. "Would you care to explain?" Mark asked.

"You have skin so white… and I can see your auras. SO I know you aren't Strigoi." Oksana said. Then something dawned on her. "Can I just go into your heads? It will be much easier than having you explain everything." Dimitri and I nodded and I felt something reaching into my mind and bringing out my last 24 hours. I looked at Mark and saw that he was looking at everything Oksana was.

The tickle in my head eventually stopped and Oksana moved again. "Well, you two sure have been through a lot in the last few hours."

"No kidding." Said Mark.

Dimitri laughed. "Yes, it has been quite an ordeal."

"When either of us gets too far from my ring that you gave me, we become Strigoi." I said. "We were hoping you would replenish mine and give Dimitri one."

She nodded. "Yes. If it helps you two, then of course I will." I smiled and Dimitri thanked her. "No need. You two are family. I would do anything for you." She went upstairs and came back down with a silver ring. She held it in her hands and focused, infusing it with Spirit. When she finished she handed it to Dimitri and he slipped it on his right hands. Everyone gasped. Including me. Dimitri was a Dhampir again.

"Oh my god. Dimitri, you're a Dhampir again." I said astonished.

He looked down at himself. "I never thought this would happen." He said.

"Me neither." I commented. "But here you are." I took his hand in mine again so I wouldn't lose control and handed Oksana my ring.

Dimitri ran over to Paul and kneeled in front of him. "I am so sorry Paul." This is one of the only times I have ever seen Dimitri cry. "I will do anything to make it up to you."

Paul thought for a second. "Piggy back rides any time I want?"

"Of course!" Dimitri told him and swung him up on his back. I smiled. It was sad that I couldn't give Dimitri kids. Maybe we could adopt. Dimitri understood why I was sad and walked over to me. "It's okay, Roza, I am happy with you. And that's what counts." He whispered into my ear. I smiled and awkwardly hugged him and Paul.

I turned back to Oksana. She focused again and handed my ring back to me. I slipped it on, and once again, everyone in the room gasped. I looked down at myself and saw I was a Dhampir again. "My skin color is back! I'm hot again!" I yelled.

"You were always hot too me." Dimitri said and pecked me on my lips. I giggled.

"Guys!" Viktoria shouted. "Get a room!"

Dimitri and I laughed. "What do we do now?" I asked.

"We go America." Dimitri said. "I am sure Lissa is worried sick about you."

I gasped. "Lissa!" Last time I was with her she was drunk! All because of Avery Lazar. I hope Lissa figured it out.

"Is she okay?" Dimitri said alarmed.

"Let's see if this still works." I pushed myself into her head and found her in her room.

She was clutching her head. "Lissa?" Christian asked her. "Is everything okay?" I sifted through her thoughts and saw what happen with her and Avery and how she got Christian back. And how she thought I was Strigoi.

"She's there again, Christian!" Lissa exclaimed. "I can't contact her but I can feel her there. She's alive."

"Rose?" Christian asked, "Lissa, that's impossible." I pulled out of Lissa's head satisfied that she was alive and sober.

"Roza?" Dimitri asked.

"Yah?" I said.

"Don't do that without warning us." He said and hugged me.

"What just happened?" Abe asked the room.

"It's just a thing she can do with Princess Vasilisa." My mom said with a shrug of her shoulders.

He put his head in his hands and grumbled, "I am so out of the loop."

"The feeling sucks, huh, Old Man?" I asked him while laughing. "Now you know how the rest of us feel." He looked at me with a fake sadness. I laughed some more. "So who is coming with us to America?" Every raised their hands, including Mark and Oksana. "Well then get to packin'!" I yelled at them. The Belikov's scurried out to van while Mark and Oksana went up stair to pack. We followed my mother and Abe out to their car. We said we would get the ticket and got in the van with the rest of the Belikovs.