Chapter 8: Dinner with the Devil

I froze when I heard a knock at my door. It was a wonder I could hear it at all, even with my sensitive dhampir ears, because I was blasting music. My hair was held off my face by a blue bandana, and Dimitri's old t-shirt hung loosely on me. For once in my life, I was cleaning my room. In just a few hours, Dimitri, Lissa, and Christian would arrive at the Academy for the All Saint's Day celebration. I had been fairly bored with the festivities during my years as a student, but now I could hardly wait for them to begin. Of course, I slept late instead of starting my cleaning early, and my room was still a total mess.

Standing in the doorway was none other than my tall, handsome boyfriend. I shrieked like a little girl and jumped into his arms.

"Roza!" He carried me into the room as I clung to him like a monkey. After a long kiss, he playfully tossed me on the bed. For the first time, he surveyed the mess that was my room. I cringed. Because alcohol was banned at the Academy, even for teachers who were of legal age, I couldn't recycle bottles very often. Actually, I had yet to figure out how to successfully get rid of them at all. It made me much more nervous as a teacher than it ever had as a student. The unfortunate result was a large pile in the corner of the room.

Dimitri frowned. "Is there something we need to talk about?"

Nope. Nothing at all. "How much I missed you?" I suggested. "Everything I want to do to you to make up for lost time?"

That worked. He dove onto the bed and grabbed me. "Was that my shirt?" he asked, pulling it over my head and tossing it aside. His shirt and both of our jeans soon joined it on the floor.

"Maybe," I said flirtatiously. "Am I forgiven for stealing it?"

"I think you can make it up to me." He pulled off my pink lace panties. "But in the meantime, let's pretend I owe you a favor, shall we?" His kisses moved from my neck downward, past my breasts, ending between my legs.

I arched my back as his tongue moved quickly, rhythmically, perfectly. He was as precise with his tongue during foreplay as he was with his fist during fights. My body, too, responded with adrenaline like it did in combat. I felt the tension build in my body, a lovely tingling sensation all over.

"Getting close?" he asked after several minutes, using his fingers where his tongue had just been without breaking the rhythm of his strokes.

I nodded. "Yes," I said breathlessly.

He smiled, pulled himself up so that his body was level with mine, and slid inside me. We knew each other's bodies so well that we could manipulate them to climax at nearly the same time. When we finished, we lay flat on our backs, side by side, breathing heavily.

I was the first to speak. "May I ask why you're here so early? Obviously, I'm not complaining, but I really did plan to have my room clean for you." And at least half of those wine bottles stashed under the bed for your sanity.

"Everyone was ready to leave Court early, so we did," he answered. "One of the many perks of private jets, my dear."

"So who do I know here? Just you, Lissa, and Christian?" I asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that," he said nervously. "We were the only ones who arrived from Court, but I ran into another—guest—on the runway. How he knew we were arriving early, I have no idea. But Abe Mazur is in town."

"What?"

"Oh, and your mother."

"Why?"

"And we're having dinner with them tonight."

I was shocked. "And they didn't think to tell me themselves?"

"Abe thought it would be funnier this way."

"Well, he has a shit sense of humor," I snapped. I ignored the fact that if this had been happening to anyone but me, I would have found it kind of funny too. Ignoring mine and Abe's glaring similarities usually worked pretty well for me. "Has he threatened to disembowel you yet? The lecture he gave Adrian was apparently pretty graphic."

Dimitri scowled at my mention of Adrian's name. "No. I suppose I have that to look forward to. Don't worry, Roza. I can handle Ibrahim Mazur's threats better than most men could."

I wondered if that was supposed to be a subtle dig at Adrian, but decided that it didn't really matter. I had more pressing matters at hand, like what I could possibly wear that wouldn't cause my mother to call me a blood whore again. Reluctantly, I kicked Dimitri out of my room and texted Lissa. I hoped that she wouldn't be too busy with her queenly duties yet.

I'll never know what excuses she gave or what obligations she skipped to help me with my wardrobe crisis, but in less than five minutes she was at my door.

"Rose!" she squealed, all dignified royal airs gone. She leapt at me like I had at Dimitri, which was awkward because she was so much taller than me. "I missed you so much! I mean, being queen is great, for the most part. Not always pleasant, but it's such a satisfying job. I still question my decision not to go to college after all, but I think it's for the best. I'm so busy and I still worry about political extremists trying to kill me, you know. Not that you should worry about that. I'm fine. But it's best if I stay at Court. And I make time to read books! Lots of books. It's like my own independent study."

I laughed and squeezed her tightly, deciding not to mention that she shared the same information with me on the phone all the time, or that her rambling sounded exactly like Jill's. I didn't need the bond to tell me that their relationship is still a sore spot for Lissa.

"Now what do you need a dress for?" she asked brightly. "Did they invite you to the royal dinner tonight? I would have, but I didn't think you'd be interested. We couldn't spend any quality time together there anyway."

I grimaced. "Worse. It's a meet-the-family dinner with Dimitri and my parents."

"What? Why?"

"That's what I said. You would think that Dimitri's stellar reputation as a guardian would be enough for my mom, but I think she's still hung up on the age issue. Or the non-issue, as I like to call it. As for Abe, he's just being his slippery serpent self. You know, graphic threats to the boyfriend about what will happen if he breaks my heart." I scoffed. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Yeah, I can see that." Lissa gestured toward the pile of bottles in the corner. Maybe I should have given myself more time to clean before texting her, but my wardrobe emergency had really distracted me. I guess she took pity on me and my family dinner predicament, because she dropped the subject immediately and we began to tear apart my closet, brainstorming possibilities.

The only formal clothes that covered most of my skin were my black and white guardian uniforms. They were flattering, but I wasn't really supposed to wear them when I wasn't on official duty or taking part in a ceremony. Lissa and I finally selected a halter dress in a deep shade of plum that was appropriate for autumn. The cut was asymmetrical. I hoped that my mother would focus on the right side, which hung nearly to my knee, and not the left. A single silver flower wrapped around the left side of my ribs. It was understated and classy.

Shoes were a challenge. As a guardian, I wanted to be prepared for a fight at a moment's notice, so I rarely wore heels. I owned only one pair, and they would not have been Janine-approved. I couldn't borrow anything from Lissa—her feet were two full sizes bigger than mine. We decided that a slightly worn out pair of flats, which used to be silver but now were closer to grey, would have to work. They clashed with the only formal jacket I have—a short-sleeved, cropped, white one— so the halter dress would have to stand on its own.

Lissa surveyed the final product. "Well, Dimitri will be happy, anyway."

"I don't think Dimitri cares what I wear as long as he can take it off of me later. Assuming we both survive this thing, that is."

"You'll be great." She took both of my hands in hers and gave them a quick squeeze. "I'm so sorry, Rose, I need to get going. Remember when our biggest obstacle to spending time together was your tendency to be under house arrest at all times?"

I grinned. "I spent a decent amount of time in Russia and jail too. Plus it's my fault you're queen, remember? Go be your beautiful, regal self. I'll see you tomorrow."

By the time 5:00 rolled around, I was antsy. Dimitri wasn't coming to pick me up until 5:45, and I was already wearing my dress. I kept casting nervous glances at my mini-fridge. Nothing wrong with taking the edge off the anxiety, right? I asked myself. Nothing wrong at all. Pressure-filled situations are my specialty, and I work best with anxiety. However, this was a special case. This wasn't a Strigoi attack. This was dinner with the parents. So much worse.

I filled half of a tumbler with vodka and the other half with orange juice. No ice for me, thanks. I made sure to brush my teeth before Dimitri picked me up, but we dhampirs really do have excellent senses. That, and I tripped over my feet on my way out the door. Dimitri looked at me disapprovingly. We're typically pretty coordinated too. I definitely didn't look like my usual self.

On our way, he took my arm and pulled me to the side of the hallway. His stern expression reminded me of the days when he was my mentor. "You're overthinking this," he told me. "It doesn't have to be so hard. We have nothing to prove. Not only are we in love, we're compatible as partners. We're not perfect, but we bring out the best in each other. We have what everyone else wants. Janine and Abe will see that and they'll come around." He cracked a smile. "Besides, do you think I couldn't take them down if I need to?"

"My mom might give you some trouble."

"Like mother, like daughter."

"Hey!" But I returned his smile and allowed him to take my hand. The pressure of his fingers laced through mine was comforting.

We made our way through the commons to a small room that Abe had reserved for us. I had no doubt that this family dinner would be catered, complete with waiters. I sighed. Maybe there would be wine.

There was no time for another pep talk before entering the dining room. Janine was already waiting for us outside as if she were on duty as a guardian at her post. She wasn't wearing her guardian black and white, but she might as well have been, standing in front of us in perfectly tailored grey pants and a navy blouse. I didn't know whether or not to hug her when we approached, so I smiled awkwardly and let Dimitri take over.

"Guardian Hathaway," he greeted her, shaking her hand. "Pleasure to see you. And you too, Mr. Mazur." Abe had joined us in the hallway.

"Please, call me Janine," my mother answered.

"And me, Abe," he said, shaking Dimitri's hand firmly. This was a good sign. "How's my girl?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulder protectively. I stumbled again, falling into him.

"Rosemarie, are you drunk?" asked Janine, hands on her hips and eyes boring into me.

"No!" I said defensively. "Why would you think that?" I was a little tipsy, that's all. Nothing a good meal couldn't fix. As it turns out, I was in luck. I was pleased to see that Abe had gone all out for dinner, with a large and hearty meal. Maybe he really was getting to know me well. He was decked out in a fancy suit as usual with a lime green handkerchief tucked into the breast pocket of his jacket. Only Abe could wear something like that and look suave rather than ridiculous.

I doubt my mother believed that I wasn't drunk, but she wasn't about to make a scene in front of a dinner guest. Our relationship had been so much better lately. We may never be affectionate, but we seemed to have decided on mutual respect. I hoped I hadn't just thrown all of that away, and resolved to be on my best behavior at dinner no matter what. I almost turned down the first round of wine from the waiter, but hey, good behavior has its limits. Besides, that could be seen as impolite.

"So, Dimitri," Abe began, helping himself to a scoop of mashed potatoes. "You were born in Siberia, correct? Were you near any big cities?"

We chatted about Russia for awhile. My mother had been all over the country as well, traveling with the Szelsky lord she guarded. All-expenses-paid international travel was one of the best perks of guarding a wealthy, royal Moroi. When the conversation shifted to work, Dimitri didn't ask Abe what he did for a living. Nobody ever did. It was best not to know.

Dinner was going surprisingly well. Abe and Dimitri are far more charismatic and easygoing than are my mother and I, and they carried the conversation with little effort on our part. I tried to eat gracefully and smile at the right times. But leave it to Janine Hathaway to take a good thing and totally ruin it.

"I think there's a point we need to address," she said formally during a lull in the conversation. We all turned to look at her. "You two met here at St. Vladimir's, when Rose was a student. An underage student."

Oh. That. "Mom, I was seventeen when I got back to St. Vladimir's! Seventeen and a half! More than a half. Seventeen and seven months. Almost seven months. I was at least seventeen and a half. It rounds up to eighteen!"

Dimitri shot me a "you are not helping" warning look before addressing my mother. "That's correct. Circumstances were not ideal. I certainly did not intend to think of her as anything more than a student. But Rose is very mature for her age—" Abe snorted. "—and we came to truly care about each other. Even then, she was a wonderful young woman. Less than a year later, she sits here as a full-fledged, adult guardian. I couldn't possibly see her as a child once I got to know her."

"The age itself is hardly even the problem," Janine plowed on. "The point is that you were willing to risk your career and your reputation for a relationship."

He looked uneasy and unsure of how to respond. "I would risk a lot for Rose. I love her."

"And therein lies the problem," she said seriously. "I want to be happy for you two, but I also want the best for my daughter, and I'm not sure if falling in love is good for her."

"Mom!" Now I was furious. I stood up, hitting the table with my knee and nearly knocking over my wine glass. "What the hell is wrong with you? I am an incredible guardian. You know it, I know it, and everybody else knows it. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointment to you. But unconventional people like me, who put up with utter shit from people like you every day just because we follow our own paths, are the ones who change the fucking world. And for that, I will never apologize."

She looked too stunned to be angry. Abe, for once in his life, looked unsure of what to do. Dimitri grabbed my wrist. "Sit down," he hissed.

Abe cleared his throat. "Anyone want dessert?"

Twenty extraordinarily awkward minutes later, we said our goodbyes.

"Are you going to lecture me?" I asked Dimitri when we were a safe distance away.

"Lecture you? All things considered, I think that went surprisingly well. Wanna celebrate?" He grabbed my hand and took off down the school hallway at a run. I laughed, holding up my strapless bra with one hand as we dashed through a door leading out to the grounds.

"We escaped!" I yelled. "We're freeeeeee!"

"Shhh! It's past curfew, my love," he teased. He had a point. For the students, it was. "Looks like we'll have to be sneaky." He leaned down and motioned for me to jump on his back. We must have looked crazy, but I didn't care. At the edge of the woods, I slid off his back, and we walked the rest of the way to our destination.

But when we got there, my joy and desire quickly evaporated. There were fresh tracks in the mud leading up to the door. The sun was out in full force by now, but the woods were still dusky. Through the curtains, I could clearly see the lights on in the cabin. We snapped into guardian mode.

"Rose," he commanded. "I need you to open the door. I will be the first inside, and then you can follow me."

I obeyed. On his count of three, I flung open the door and he jumped inside. Hurdling around the doorframe, I followed. I froze when I recognized the long, blonde curtain of hair obscuring the face of the girl kneeling on the bed under the blanket. She tossed back the hair in shock and turned to look at us, revealing another girl underneath her in the bed. I thought dinner with my parents had been horribly awkward, but apparently the night had more in store for me.

"Polina?"