Hey guys, sorry about not updating for a while, I was hoping for more reviews! I'm not going to update until I have at least 20 reviews! Sorry guys, but I've written 13 chapters and I haven't had that many reviews. I need some more inspiration for this book so R&R!
I got a message through the bond from Lissa. Come try Adrian's first charm. I immediately left the room with a smile on my face. Everyone followed me towards Lissa's room. I knocked on the door and Lissa opened it with a huge grin on her face. She ushered us in towards the bed and made us all sit down so that we could try out the charms. She had made me a necklace that would stop Victor or Robert from being able to use compulsion on me. She made rings for the others, and they all slipped theirs on.
I put my necklace on, it had a thin chain and a little silver cross hanging from it. Adrian walked over and was holding onto a bracelet, probably the one he charmed. "Liss, try testing them, use compulsion on us" I told her. "Not all of us at the same time though" I hastily added. She nodded and looked me in the eyes. She normally would have trouble using it on me anyway because I'm really good at ignoring compulsion. "Rose," She said smoothly, "Stand up and go into my bathroom" Her voice was silky but I didn't feel the urge to do what she said like any normal compulsion. She blinked out of compulsion when she realised nothing had happened. Now she had an even bigger grin, if that was even possible. She tried the same thing on Dimitri, Alex and Christian, but nothing happened.
After she was done, she took all the jewellery and put in on her nightstand. She gave Adrian a nod, and he handed me the bracelet. I slipped it on my wrist, but didn't feel anything. I realised I still had my shadow-kissed charmed ring on my finger. I slid it off my finger and waited to see what happened. Nothing, nothing at all. I didn't feel anything, no heat, no cool, just like a normal bracelet. The thing is, I suddenly felt like I didn't belong here. I felt like I should be somewhere, but I didn't know where. It's like when you're going somewhere, and you have the feeling you forgot something, except this is ten times worse. I stood up and started pacing around the room. Everyone looked confused. Lissa came over to me and pulled the bracelet off, and reality came back to me. I felt like I'd nearly been knocked out, there was a sudden pain that just wouldn't stop. Lissa and Dimitri were by my side in a flash when I was about to fall.
Dimitri walked me over to the bed and sat me down. I felt so dizzy, like I'd been spinning around for the last hour. Then Dimitri put my ring back on my finger. Everything suddenly put itself back together. I no longer felt dizzy, I no longer felt like I should be somewhere. Adrian looked grim, and gave me a look of apology when he met my eyes. Everyone else looked like they'd just seen a ghost. "Rose, are you okay. Adrian is sorry, what happened?" Dimitri asked almost frantic. I'd almost forgotten they were bonded, so I forced a smile and nodded. "I'm fine, I just need some rest. When I put on the bracelet I felt like there was somewhere I needed to be, except I didn't know where. When it came off I felt really dizzy. I'm fine now though" I told everyone.
Dimitri walked me back into our room and laid me down on the bed. I pulled the covers up and snuggled into the pillow. After a while I heard the door open. I knew it wasn't Dimitri, because he was sliding in next to me. It must have been Adrian. Poor Adrian, he must feel so bad.
That charm was so weird. It didn't hurt me, it was just weird. It's hard to explain magic, but that magic was strong. It hit me like a tidal wave when I put the bracelet on; it just wasn't a good tidal wave. I heard the bathroom door open and close. I needed to tell Adrian that it wasn't his fault; I don't want him to feel bad. My mind was running at a million miles an hour. I couldn't do this, I can't stand here-or lay here- and watch him in pain, all because of a stupid charm. When I heard the door open again, I jumped out of bed, and Dimitri did too. He didn't realise what I was about to do.
I walked over to Adrian and hugged him. He tensed, most likely because he wasn't expecting it. He slowly relaxed and I let go. "Adrian, it's not your fault. You didn't do that on purpose so stop feeling bad" I told him. Then another voice spoke. Dimitri's. "He doesn't feel bad about the charm" Dimitri told me. I took a step back, I was too shocked to say anything. I keep forgetting they are bonded as well. "He feels bad about everything else. He doesn't want to find Victor, he's afraid someone will get hurt. He's afraid that if they can't find enough evidence, you will be executed" Dimitri explained. His voice wasn't angry, it also wasn't sad. It definitely wasn't happy though. I flinched when he said the part about me being executed.
I looked at Dimitri and then back at Adrian. They both had miserable looks on their faces. It made me feel bad because I'm the one responsible for this. I walked back over to the bed and slid in. After a few more moments of silence, Dimitri joined me. I fell asleep after tossing and turning for what seemed like an eternity.
I woke up to Lissa's sweet voice. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. Being on a human schedule, it was sunny outside. Lissa's platinum hair was done with perfect curls which must have taken a while. There was no sign of Adrian or Dimitri either. "Good morning" Lissa chimed. "I let you sleep in, everyone else is in my room. They are learning to fight if it really comes down to that. I wanted to wait for you, I want you to teach me, Rose." She explained. I was at a loss for words. The only time Lissa has ever practised fighting was on her Lehigh trip, and I was totally against it.
"Liss, you know I never wanted you to learn to fight" I started and she covered my lips. "I know that Rose, but please, just teach me" She pleaded. "Hey, I was just about to tell you that I've been thinking that it's actually a good idea!" I smiled. Lissa's eyes widened and she jumped up in excitement. She pulled the covers off of me and pulled me out of bed. I never knew how strong she really was, but she managed to get Rose Hathaway, badass Rose Hathaway out of her bed.
I went into the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth and hair. When I came out Lissa had made the bed and gotten some clothes out for me. A blue tank top and some black slacks. She was sitting on the bed next to my clothes and handed me a little red velvet box. I knew she wasn't proposing when she handed it to me, but I was still shocked when I saw what was inside. It was a silver ring with little diamonds on it. It was so cute, and I slipped it on straight away. I actually felt the difference when I put it on, I felt my mood change and felt better.
"I've been working on that one for about a month, I can even see the power in it" She grinned. "It's gorgeous Liss, I can feel the change" I smiled and hugged here. I could feel through the bond that she wanted me to hurry up and get dressed so that she could get started with the fighting. I let go of her and grabbed my clothes and went into the bathroom and got dressed.
When I came out again, Lissa was doing warm up stretches and I held in a laugh. It was so weird to see Lissa doing warm up stretches. "What are you looking at me like that for" She asked accusingly. "Nothing" I told her and gestured for her to get off the floor. I went over to my stake and grabbed it. I knew Lissa wouldn't need a stake, but I also knew she wanted me to teach her how to stake strigoi, even though she already knew. "Rose, I know how much the bond is giving away, but I just want to learn some fighting moves" She smiled. I put the stake down and walked over to her.
"Get in a stance like this, you should always be in a stance when punching, otherwise you'll lose your balance" I explained, showing her how to stand. I was all business now. Lissa copied after a few moments of examining. "Okay, now pull your arm back like you're about to swing" I told her. She pulled her arm back and I lifted her elbow a little so that it was in the right position. "Okay, make a fist and make sure it's strong" I told her. She made a fist and I tried to pull her fingers up to see how strong it was. I lifted them a little and told her to tighten her grip.
"Okay, so what now?" She asked. I stood in front of her and said "Swing" She hesitated and I could tell through the bond that this isn't what she had in mind. She didn't want to punch me and she definitely did not want to hurt me. "Don't hold back Liss, I know you can do this" I encouraged her. With the way she punched Christian the last time they were practising I knew this wasn't going to hurt much. She swung as hard as she could and hit me in the chin. It was a lot more painful than I'd expected, and it was the same for her. Her hand was killing when she dropped it by her side and forced a smile at me.
"How was that?" She asked sincerely. "That wasn't bad" I told her. I was being honest. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't that good either. We continued practising for about another hour before everyone barged through the door. They seemed way too excited in these circumstances that I had to know what was going on. I looked at Lissa confused, and then I saw a smile creep up her lips. "You know something" I accused her. Lissa's smile just got bigger and everyone sat down on the bed.
A further look into the bond told me everything. The results were back for the DNA test. The tests got sent back quicker than we thought and all the guys went and bought phones for everyone. They also managed to get something we all needed. They got the number of Hans Croft. Hans and I were never good friends. He had become the leader of the group of guardians that are searching for me.
We were all handed our phones, and I was handed Hans's number. I wasn't ready to bargain with Hans Croft, so I told everyone that I was going to wait until we found Victor. We needed to find more evidence to get Victor into trouble for what I was accused of. I didn't kill Tatiana, but I was framed by my worst enemy.