Dante`s POV

I walked down the path of the shops with my fingers entertwined with Zhalia`s. We decided to see the court while we were here. It felt good to be back here after so long.

"Why didn`t you tell me you had a brother?" Zhalia asked suddenly.

"It never came up." I shrugged.

"So what exactly is a Moroi?"

"Moroi are a type of vampire."

"Type?"

"Ya. There are three different vampires. There are living vampires, Moroi, undead vampires," A shudder ran down my spine thinking of what happened to Dimitri. "Strigoi, and half-vampire half-humans, Dhampirs. Dimitri and I are Dhampirs."

"You`re half-vampire?" she looked at me. Shock clear on her face. I let out a small laugh.

"Ya. Our dad was a Moroi."

"So tell me a little more about vampires."

"Moroi and Dhampirs are born. Strigoi are made. Dhampirs protect Moroi because the Strigoi want to take them out. And, because of our half-human genes, we are really good fighters."

"So I`ve seen."

"Moroi are the only type that weild magic. Unless a Dhampir becomes a seeker. They specialize in one of five elements."

"There are only four elements."

"The fifth one was recently discovered. Spirit. It`s what saved Dimitri."

"What happened to Dimitri?"

"He was tuned into a Strigoi. Spirit changed him back." Tears stung my eyes thinking of it. "The queen saved him. Before she was queen of course. He was after that girl we saw him with. Rose. I heared when he was turned back he couldn`t even look at her he was so ashamed of what he did." I chocked back a cry as I thought of my half-brother as one of those souless creatures.

"Dante. If this bothers you. You don`t have to talk about it."

"It`s okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I just can`t wrap my head around the fact that he was one of those... creatures. I heared about what he did to Rose when she found him in St. Petersburg. It was terrible. It was something all Dhampirs frowned upon. We think it`s wrong."

"What did he do?"

"He turned her into a blood whore. A Dhampir who gives blood during sex. Hundreds of Dhampirs, girls mostly, run away from there duties to become them. I understand why he couldn`t stand to be around her. He didn`t want to hurt her again." I let go of Zhalia`s hand and wiped a few stray tears away.

"Dante. Are you sure you want to talk about this?"

"I feel like I need to. I abandoned the court long ago to become a seeker. I just can`t help but think that, if I was there, I could have saved him."

"It wasn`t your fault."

"You don`t get it. When we were younger. We would spar together and vowed that we would help each other through anything. Defend each other against Strigoi. I feel like I betrayed him."

"He was saved. He`s here now. Isn`t he?"

"But if I was there I could have stopped it from happening at all."

"Dante. Stop. There`s nothing you could have done. Thinking about it now woun`t change anything."

"Zhalia..."

"I know how hard it is to let go of the past. But it can`t be changed. Don`t worry about the past. Worry about the present." She wrapped me in a hug.

"You`re right." I said. She looked me in the eye and I kissed her tenderly.

"Get a room." Someone said. We broke apart. Zhalia was blushing a deep red and I guessed I was too. We looked to the source of the voice and saw Dimitri and Rose.

"How long were you standing there?" I asked.

"Too long for my liking." Rose said.

"Not long." Dimitri said. He was trying to keep his guardian mask but it falterd slightly. "Are you okay? You look like you`ve been crying."

"I`m fine." I said. Zhalia`s hand found mine again and she gave it a squeeze. I kissed her cheek.

"Alright. Enough with the kissing." Rose joked, covering her eyes.

"Come on Roza," Dimitri said. "You would`t be like that if it was us."

"Now I know how Rose feels." Zhalia joked.

"Fair enough." Dimitri said.

"So Dante," Rose said. "Do you know what Sophie specialized in?"

"I do." I said.

"What?"

"Spirit." There mouths made an O shape. Clearly they weren`t expecting that.