When Rose is shot by Tasha Ozera in Last Sacrifice, both Lissa and Adrian use all of the Spirit they can wield to try and bring her back. In a shocking turn of events, Rose is not only healed, but somehow ends up somewhere she never could have imagined. Canon up until Time-Travel. Rated T for language. First multi-chapter fic.
I'd seen what Strigoi could do. Me running in impetuously and trying to save the day would have only resulted in a quick death. I was developing into a tough guardian, but I still had a lot to learn—and one seventeen-year-old girl couldn't have stood against six Strigoi.
I opened my eyes.
"I'm sorry," I said, gaining control of myself.
The rage that had exploded inside me diffused. I didn't know where it had come from. I had a short temper and often acted impulsively, but this had been intense and ugly even for me.
Weird.
"It's okay," said Dimitri. He reached over and placed his hand on mine for a few moments. Then he removed it and started the car. "It's been a long day. For all of us."
Frostbite
-Richelle Mead
Bonds Of Time
Chapter Fifteen
Lover To Lover
We stayed parked on the roadside for close to an hour until we were both satisfied. There was no rush or hurry. We just held each other and comforted each other as best as we could. Doing the deed in a dark vehicle was a whole new experience for me, but I'm not complaining. It was still awesome. Part of me wished that it would never end, that Dimitri would suggest that we take off into the night together and not look back. But I knew that neither one of us could ever do that. We were guardians and we had people to protect. In my dream I had left Lissa for months and even though it was only a dream, I still hated myself for it. The guilt was still there. No, I could never abandon her again.
"Why didn't you tell me you were hurt this bad?" Dimitri hissed when he turned on the overhead light to help me find my bra. "You're bleeding out."
"I'm fine." I responded as I dug around in the back seat. "Aha! Found it!"
Dimitri gave me a long look as he took my torn shirt and put it on the gaping gash on my side. "We have to stop the bleeding. Or get you to the hospital. I'll call Alberta and find out what's nearby."
"Calm down. I'm okay." I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me. "I'd really love to get a shower before we get back to the Academy though. I still have bits of dead things in my hair."
We got back on the road soon after that. Dimitri stayed quiet as he focused on navigating the icy roads. He had called Alberta and although I couldn't hear her side of the conversation, my mood heightened considerably.
"There is an exit about twenty miles from here." Dimitri put the phone back in the cup holder. "There is a hotel with a twenty four hour pharmacy next to it. We will be stopping long enough to get cleaned up and rest."
"Nice." I bit my lip and bounced in my seat a little. "Can we get food? I'm starving."
Dimitri rolled his eyes and let out a small laugh. "Yes, Roza, we can get food."
We had eaten, showered, and dressed our wounds. Dimitri had even gone to the store to get us both clean clothes so that we didn't show up at the Academy looking like we walked out of a horror movie. Two hours later we lay in bed in a very warm hotel room. Dimitri was laying behind me with his arm holding me close. I knew I was supposed to be resting, but having him so close was like the greatest high. There was no way I could have slept even if I'd wanted to.
"I need to know, Roza," Dimitri rolled me over to face him, "You have to tell me how you knew the Strigoi were coming. I've tried for hours to figure it out but nothing makes sense. There is no way you could have known, unless there is something that you are hiding from me."
The look on his face spoke volumes to what he was thinking. "You think I have some kind of Strigoi contact? Do you think I led them there?"
"No," Dimitri responded quickly, putting a hand on my cheek and rubbing his thumb along my jaw line, "I know you would never do that. But there is so much about you that I do not know. From the first day I met you, you were a mystery to me. You are far too guarded with your thoughts and feelings. You look as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's not normal for a teenager."
"I'm not normal." I sighed tiredly. "I haven't been normal for years. Actually, I've just gotten weirder. Like scary weird."
"Tell me what happened. Tell me what started all of this." His eyes pleaded with me to tell the truth, but I was unsure of his motivation.
"Why do you want to know?" My voice was harsh and cold. I could feel the darkness creeping closer and had to take a deep breath to regain my control and block it out. "How can I trust that you won't think that I'm insane?"
"I care about you," He said vehemently, "And after what I've seen over the past few hours, I'm worried about you. And there is nothing that you can say that can make me think of you as insane."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." After a moment of carefully considering my words and figuring out just how much to tell him, I looked up at him and began my explanation. "You know all about how I'm bonded to Lissa and that she is a spirit user. You probably remember how Victor said that Lissa would eventually lose her mind. Well, he wasn't joking. Spirit is a great and wonderful gift. Lissa can heal just about anything, from plants to Moroi and probably even more if she tried. But every time she uses it, she loses a little of herself. From what I've felt through the bond, using spirit to Lissa is just about the most blissful thing she could ever experience. The high is so great that it's unmatched by anything else. So the compulsion to use it is even greater."
Dimitri's brow was furrowed as he listened quietly. "But every time she uses it the more the darkness starts to take over. The darkness is nothing but hate, rage and every other negative emotion you can think of. To feel it is like you've just touched something dead. It's an absence of everything good and happy. For Lissa she is stuck in a never ending cycle of either feeling the best she's ever felt or being on the verge of losing her mind. She'll start getting irrational and paranoid or depressed to the point of hurting herself. Then there are the days when she is just angry at anyone and everyone all at the same time. That's where I come in."
Dimitri leaned closer and put his arm around me. "How do you help Lissa with the darkness?"
"That's simple." I said with a sardonic laugh. "I just take it from her. I reach right through the bond and take it. All I have to do is look and I can see the dark blot of hatred and anger and I can pull it right out. Lissa is just fine after that. Funny part is that she rarely ever notices when I've helped. She just goes back to her normal fun loving self until the next time she does or doesn't use spirit. "
"What happens to the darkness then, Roza." Dimitri was starting to look really confused and I hope I wasn't fucking up this whole thing.
"I think that's why St. Vladamir called Anna, his guardian, shadow kissed. She took his darkness and kept it. The same way I do for Lissa. That darkness becomes part of me. It's my burden."
When I looked up at Dimitri, it was to see that his look of confusion had turned into one of extreme worry. "You mean you feel all of that hatred and pain? There is no way to get rid of it?"
"Yelling and screaming helps," I shrugged my shoulders, "Beating the hell out of somebody is even better. Bad part is that I used to have a short temper. Now the fuse doesn't even exist."
"Do you have to be near her to take it, or can you be anywhere?" His tone was one of curiosity and plotting.
Yeah, I could see him plotting something from a mile away. Too bad I was about to burst that bubble. "Distance doesn't matter one bit."
I left no room for questions. I would never leave Lissa, even if it would save my sanity. "But there a good points to it, well, I wouldn't really call it good. But there are some useful side effects. Strigoi are an abomination, they are dead yet haven't crossed beyond the Veil yet. When they're nearby, I start feeling very nauseous. Or at least thats what I've figured out. I had the same feeling the closer I got to the cabin when Natalie was there."
Dimitri stared intently into my eyes. "And tonight at the Badica's you sensed the Strigoi?"
"Yes," I put my head down and couldn't meet his eyes.
"There is more that you are not telling me." Dimitri gave me a look that said that he'd let it go for now.
I had to give the poor guy props, I sounded bat shit crazy and he still wasn't having me committed. "That's a story for another day."
"You can trust me, Roza." Dimitri kissed me lightly on the lips and my heart soared. "Whenever you are ready to tell me, I will listen."
We started traveling an hour later. Neither of us really felt comfortable enough in the strange place to sleep. And although he didn't think I was crazy, he was still trying to wrap his mind around what I had said. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned the whole darkness thing, but it felt good to actually talk about it. I had only skimmed the surface of that topic with Adrian and there was no way in hell I could ever tell Lissa. She had enough on her mind without adding my problems to the stack. Maybe one day I would have the balls to explain everything to him. But today was not the right time for that.
Nervousness and fear that were not my own had my hands twitching and shaking. I checked on Lissa through the bond, only to find her in the assembly hall with the other students. Kirova was at the front of the room addressing the student body.
"We've received reports that there was an attack at the Badica Estate earlier today." Kirova said solemnly. "It was not my idea to tell you this, but I have been told that it would be best to inform you before rumors and untruths are spread. Eighteen Strigoi and a group of their human helpers attacked the Estate, but their attack was mostly unsuccessful thanks to the actions of the guardians present there."
Lissa gripped Christian's hand tightly as they listened.
"An attack of this magnitude is not only highly unlikely but is rarely ever seen. But still cautionary measures are being put into place. The wards here at St. Vladimir's will be going through repairs for the next few weeks. As such, we will be moving all students to a compound for their safety. There will be no classes during this time."
The chattering of students slowly drowned out her voice as everyone began cheering about the fact there would be no school.
Kirova broke a wooden dowel from the podium and smacked it loudly against the marble top. The room went silent and Kirova smiled tightly. "That's better. Your instructors will be giving you a list of reading materials. This is NOT a vacation. Already one life was lost in the attack today and we are hoping to prevent more. Please have your things ready to leave by morning."
Lissa dragged Christian to the front of the room where Kirova was talking to Guardian Petrov.
"Headmistress Kirova," Lissa said as calmly as she could, "Rose hasn't returned to her room."
"Guardian Petrov would be better to fill you in, Miss Dragomir." Kirova nodded distractedly. "I have to prepare for our departure."
Kirova walked away quickly while looking over her shoulder, Lissa and Christian watched as she ran straight into Mia Rinaldi and the two toppled over onto the floor. Lissa's amusement floated through the bond and I couldn't help but laugh.
Dimitri's hand on my arm pulled me back to myself. "Rose! What's happened?"
"Kirova just busted her ass and took Mia with her." I said through my laughter.
Dimitri shook his head and sighed. We were pulling up to the Academy's driveway and I held on to his hand as tightly as I could without hurting him. I didn't want our time together to end. The fight at the Badica's aside, it had been a decent trip. We had barely been gone for twenty four hours. But it had felt like a lifetime. And it hadn't been long enough.
Dimitri turned to look at me with a sad smile. "You did good out there, Roza. Be proud of yourself."
I reached out and touched his cheek. "Don't forget about me when we get back."
He grabbed my hand and kissed it. "I could never forget you."
"One last song before we go back?" I waggled my eyebrows at him.
"If you'd like." Dimitri reached back to hand me the box of cassette tapes.
Okay, so the BeeGees hadn't been what I had picked, but apparently the tape was in the wrong case, so I went with it. Dimitri tried his best, I give him that much credit, but when I started belting out Stayin' Alive and rocking that song like a boss. He lost it. The sound of his laughter made my heart beat faster and I wanted nothing more than to let the moment last forever. The music was going so loud as Dimitri had tried to drown out of my high pitched out of tune singing, that the guard at the gate waved us through without questions as he stared wide eyed at me dancing around in the front seat.
"My ears are still ringing." Dimitri joked as we walked into the guardian offices.
"You know you loved it." I said as I walked faster and strutted to the tune as I hummed it.
"Miss Hathaway," Guardian Petrov walked out in front of me and I lurched back in surprise, "Guardian Belikov, follow me please."
I looked back at Dimitri and shrugged my shoulders as we followed her. It wasn't until I realized that we weren't headed to Lionel's small office that I started to feel the apprehension creeping in. We were headed to the ballroom and that really set my nerves on edge.
"I apologize for not letting you have some time before this, but we must leave in the morning." Alberta stopped at the doorway and placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're all very proud of you, Miss Hathaway. Don't think we are taking this moment lightly."
"Yes, ma'am." I said as she opened the doors.
The room had transformed once again. It was back to its bare and open state. There were chairs lining the edges of the room and each chair was full. Guardians and novices alike stood as Dimitri and I entered the room. They stood there in solemn silence as we were led by Alberta to the two chairs in the middle of the room. We sat down and then everyone else did. Lionel pulled his tray to the middle of the room and with him was a woman I had seen in my dream. Tamara. She had been mentored by Arthur and was there to investigate his death. I didn't understand why she was there, but when she carefully pulled my hair into a bun and then set to work on the molnija marks it set in. She had probably been called in to escort the students to the safe house.
Dimitri received his last mark and turned around to pat Lionel on the back. I watched as he went from guardian to guardian and each gave him either a handshake or quick hug. The man really needed to make some friends. Dimitri stood at the end of the line just as Tamara had finished tattooing my last mark. I stood quickly and turned to face her, ready for a handshake, but was unprepared when she pulled me into a hug.
"Thank you." She whispered to me.
I pulled away and nodded to her as I saw her tear filled eyes. And then I made my way around the room, accepting hugs and handshakes from the guardians when I felt inadequate as just a novice. It went by in a haze until there was one face I couldn't ignore. My mother stood there with tears in her eyes as she pulled me into a hug and held me tightly.
"You need to keep yourself out of these situations, Rosemarie." She whispered with a strained voice. "You're going to send me to an early grave if you keep this up."
"Not a chance." I hugged her to me and then let go.
She nodded her head and smiled at me as I went on to the next guardian. Eddie, Mason and Meredith all hugged me, looking both impressed and a little jealous. I hoped they would live very long lives without ever having to see a Strigoi. By the time I got to Dimitri I was all hugged out and wanted a fucking kiss. But I held back and shook his hand while trying to contain my laughter just thinking about all the naughtiness we were getting up to less than six hours ago.
"It's time to go, Rose." My mother caught me by the elbow as I stumbled back in shock. "You're dead on your feet. I'll help you pack and get you something from the cafeteria. Or maybe I can get the ingredients to make some soup."
Dimitri covered his mouth as his shoulders shook with laughter while my mother pulled me away and out of the building. I would get him back for that soon. I swore I would. But as I walked through the courtyard, there was a face among the staring crowd that I couldn't comprehend. My chest felt tight and my breath caught in my throat. Because standing there beside Lissa, Christian and Dimitri. My Dimitri. Was Tasha Ozera.
End Chapter Fifteen
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