It was time to leave Russia and I was really upset. I didn't want to go. Lissa liked Russia too. As we were packing our things, I got a phone call.
"Hello?" I asked.
"Little Dhampir!" Adrian said.
"ADRAIN! SHIT!" I gasped. Lissa mouthed, "Speaker, now." I put him on speaker.
"How're you?" He really shouldn't be doing this.
"Adrian, are you stupid? You shouldn't be calling! You're so fucking lucky I'm still in Russia."
"I had to hear your voice." He then burped.
"Adrian, you're drunk." I sighed in exasperation.
"Nah-uh. Not that drunk!" He exclaimed.
"Who do you love?" I asked, testing this.
"SYDNEY SAGE!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Lissa's mouth dropped open.
"Good bye, Adrian." I said and I hung up.
"He loves Sydney?" She asked, in complete shock.
"It's a story that I don't even know." I said shrugging. Lissa and I got our bags and walked downstairs. Viktoria hugged me and I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"Please come back soon! We have to plan the wedding. Do you know where you're going to have it?"
"Viktoria, Dimitri only just got proposed three days ago." Lissa said. Lissa and Viktoria had managed to bond over the past three days.
"Well, let us know as soon as you find out! And send us pictures of Skylar too!" She gushed.
"I promise."
"Dimka, did you show Rose the dolls?" Karolina asked, grinning.
"Hush you." Dimitri glared at her sister.
"No, I think I want to see them." I grinned ruefully at Dimitri. He gave me a pained look.
"Can I take pictures?" Lissa laughed. When I told her the story, she almost peed herself.
"NO!" Dimitri shouted while Viktoria said, "Sureeee,"
"Lead the way, Karolina," I said and she lead the way towards her room. Dimitri tried to hold me back. "Nuuu! Lemme go! I MUST SEE!" Dimitri let me go and when I walked in to Karolina's room, it looked like a normal room. But, under her bed, she had a special box. She opened it and the CUTEST dolls were hidden in there. There must have been ten of them. Lissa snapped pictures while I laughed a little and looked to Dimitri. "So you're sure? I don't have to share you? Because Blondie Number One is eyeing you like you're something to eat."
"Rose, it's just a doll," Lissa scolded.
"Hey! I'm just saying. I'm getting a little jelly."
"You have nothing to be jealous of. Karolina, put those away." Dimitri now scolded her. "We have to go." I hugged Olena, Sonya, and Karolina goodbye. Dimitri hugged his family, but his goodbyes were much harder. After the goodbyes, I felt like I had to say goodbye to Mark and Oksana. Plus, I promised Lissa she could meet her. We got our bags in the trunk and Lissa put Skylar in the carrier and put her in her seat. Lissa put on her seat belt and I hugged Olena one more time.
"He'll make a great husband Rose." Olena said.
"The real question is: will I make a good wife?" Olena looked shocked.
"Of course you will. Don't ever doubt yourself. It may cause trouble."
"I won't. Where's Yeva? I haven't seen her this whole time."
"She's been around." Olena said slyly. "She knew if she saw Dimitri, the cool and calm façade would crumble." I nodded at this and went back to the car and put my seatbelt on.
"You ready?" Dimitri asked me. I looked to the Belikov family waving to me. I took a deep breath.
"Yeah. I'm ready." I said and Dimitri drove off. Ten minutes later, we were at Mark and Oksana's.
"Lissa, stay here. I want it to be a surprise." She nodded and Dimitri and I got out to go and knock on their door.
"Rose! Dimitri!" Mark said. "Come on in." We went in. I looked back to Lissa and she nodded to me. Mark shut the door and once Oksana got a good look at me, she gasped.
"Surprise!" I said, raising my arms in the air.
"What are you talking about?" Mark asked.
"Me + dying again + going to the Land of the Dead + my best friend bringing me back= I'm Shadow-Kissed again!" Mark inhaled sharply.
"How did you die?" He asked.
"Car accident." Dimitri said.
"Wait… Someone else is here." I started smiling. "I feel another Spirit aura. Is it your bondmate?" Oksana asked me. I nodded.
"Yep. It's my best friend and Queen of all Moroi. I'll go get her." I ran to go get Lissa. I waved to her and she got Skylar and came up to me.
"How'd it go?" She asked.
"They were freaked as hell when I told them I was Shadow-Kissed again. Then Oksana sensed you." I opened the door for her. Lissa saw Oksana and through Lissa's eyes, I saw a Golden aura with bits of purple. I shuddered. It's still a new thing for me. Mark must've known what I was doing.
"Oksana, this is Lissa Dragomir." They both shook hands. Mark went next to me.
"Have you been seeing ghosts?" He asked sharply.
"Not yet, I think it only happens when I kill. The bond to the dead gets stronger that way." I said.
"Could you show me some of your Spirit abilities?" Oksana asked and that's where I butt in.
"Oh, Lissa would love too, but she promised me she wouldn't be using Spirit until she's completely healed." I gave Lissa a hard look. She looked to Oksana giving the look of, 'Yeah-I-did-agree-with-this,'
"Of course. I didn't mean to be inconsiderate." Then out of the blue, Lissa touched a plant, and it came to life. I felt the magic surge through her and damn it, why can't she just listen?
"Christ, Lissa! You promised!" I exclaimed.
"She wanted to see! It's just one plant. No more, I swear." She crossed her heart. God, I hope so. I didn't feel any of the darkness yet, which was a good thing. Oksana gasped and touched the plant.
"That's amazing, Lissa." Oksana said, staring at the plant in awe. Mark looked at Oksana worriedly. I chewed my lip.
"We just came to say goodbye. We have to get back to Pennsylvania." I said, getting off topic. Oksana came to hug me.
"Please come back soon. We loved seeing you." Mark then came towards me.
"I can see that a lot is going on, but don't let Spirits darkness get ahold of you. It can destroy both of you." Mark hugged me and I grabbed Skylar's carrier. We walked out as they waved to us and we got back in the car. Dimitri drove off and one hour later we were back at the airport. I sighed and just ruffled my hair. Lissa got Skylar out and Dimitri and I got the bags.
"Do you want to go?" Dimitri asked me.
"No." I said honestly.
"Me either," He said and I looked at him in shock.
"I'm going to miss it here." I said, looking around.
"I am too. We'll come back eventually." He said, grabbing the last of the bags. We got on the jet and I just plopped on the couch. So much has happened these past couple days. Dimitri lay with me and I just scoot away. I wanted to be alone. I could sense a frown, but nonetheless, he kissed my hair and went to talk with Lissa. I closed my eyes and a few tears fell. I loved Russia and I actually wouldn't mind moving there, but I have a duty. They Come First is a real pain in the ass. I love Lissa to death, literally, but I have a child now. I want to be a family. That can't happen if I'm always guarding Lissa. I mean, on one hand I want to give Skylar to the Academy to be raised, but look how well that worked out with my mom and I. My thoughts drifted into a peaceful slumber.
"LITTLE DHAMPIR!" OhMyGod.
"Hey, Adrian." I said, walking up to him. We were in California and the sun's rays on me felt so good.
"Where are you right now?" He asked.
"On a jet ride home." I said, sighing, sitting in the grass.
"Hey… what's wrong?" Never thought Adrian Ivashkov could be caring to the person who "ripped out his heart."
"Shit happened and balloons popped, that's what happened. First, I'll give you a hint. Read my aura."
"You're actually giving me permission to read your aura?" He asked.
"Just do it." I was getting irritated very fast. He was staring at me intently and then his eyes widened.
"How?" He managed.
"I died and Lissa brought me back. Same as always." I shrugged.
"How did you die?" Adrian asked.
"Drunk driver. You should've seen Abe. He was pissed when he found out." There was a fuzz between us.
"Adrian! Don't tell anyone! I'm serious." I'm not sure if he heard me or not because I woke up on the couch. I felt my eyes. They were completely tear-stained. I went to go sit with Lissa. Dimitri had managed to fall asleep in his chair.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey – Wait. Why were you crying? You never cry." She grabbed my hand.
"I didn't want to leave. I'm having this inner battle about how to raise Skylar that won't get anyone killed, I don't want Dimitri to go away to guard Christian and that's really selfish of me, and I don't know how to setup a wedding." I sighed angrily wiping tears that came down my eyes.
"We'll make it through this rough patch. I promise. As for Skylar, I have a few ideas. With the Dimitri situation, you knew this was going to be tough, Rose. A Guardian marrying another Guardian? That rarely ever happens. If you choose to retire early, I'll understand. It's family before friends or work, right?"
"You are my family, though. And I never knew it was going to be this tough." Oh God. Tears are threatening my eyes. "I have to go to the bathroom." And before Lissa could respond, I dashed to the bathroom and poured my heart out. There was a soft knock on the door. "Go away." I groaned. There was a knock again.
"Roza? It's just me. Please come out." I chewed on my lip wiping my tears on toilet paper. I opened the door and went into Dimitri's arms, bawling my eyes out. He lifted me in his arms and brought me to the couch and lay me down. He then lay with me. "Roza, what's wrong?"
"I want us to be a family and that can't happen if we're on two separate sides of the country. Selfish, right?" I laughed a dry sort of laugh. Dimitri brushed a hand through my hair.
"They Come First, Rose. It's how it's always been."
"I know," I sniffled. "I was thinking of myself before Lissa. It was stupid."
"No, not stupid, never stupid. You need to learn to put yourself first. You never do. Thank you for telling me. If we have too, we'll retire early."
"Dimitri, I can't ask you to do that. You'd be leaving Christian vulnerable." I put my hands on his chest and he sighed. He knew I was right.
"They can always re-assign him a new Guardian. You are my life now. Please remember that." He said and then he kissed me.
"I always will." He pulled me into his arms and brushed my hair with his fingers.
"Sleep, Roza." He murmured. Dimitri put his chin on my shoulder and I took a deep breath. Sleep came to me easily. I was half awake, or I thought I was. My eyes opened and shut. Opened and shut. I could faintly see that Dimitri was carrying me somewhere and it was really bright. The sun must've been out. I was put on something soft and I felt blankets cover me. I could suddenly hear soft hammering and I could tell Dimitri was trying to be quiet.
"You know… I can't really sleep when you're doing that." I still had my eyes closed and I was grinning.
"I'm setting up Skylar's crib." I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"Very domestic of you," I commented. Dimitri just shook his head and got it together in record time.
"Where is Skylar, anyway?" I asked.
"Lissa has her. She wanted some aunt-niece bonding time." I smiled at that and then suddenly gasped.
"Dimitri, tell the Court Officials to go on lockdown. I have to get to Lissa." I ran out of the room dashing for her. ROSE! HELP ME! I ran faster and went into Lissa's mind. Robert Doru was standing there with a Silver Stake aimed at Lissa. Lissa was holding Skylar. How the HELL Robert got into Lissa's room is a mystery, but I have to get there. I kicked the door open and Robert stared at me.
"Shadow-Girl, please join us." Robert beckoned me in and I walked in slowly.
"Robert, give me the Stake." I said softly.
"You two ruined everything. You killed my brother, Shadow-Girl and I warned you. The World of the Dead won't give you up a second time."
"But they did." I said.
"You killed Victor?" Lissa gasped.
"Small minor detail that you didn't need to know." I shrugged.
"She killed him with no regret. Now it's an eye for an eye. She kills my brother, I kill her bondmate." Yeah, he's not going to give up, so I lunged for Robert and tackled him to the ground.
"Lissa! Get Skylar's carrier and get out of here! Go! Now!" I shouted. She nodded and ran out of the room. Robert punched me in the eye and I suddenly saw stars above me. I kicked him off of me and Dimitri and a herd of Guardians ran in. Thank the Lord, Lissa was with Dimitri. I looked back to them and Robert did a kick to the stomach and I gasped for air. He had his stake and aimed it at me. Dimitri's face hardened and he obviously wasn't going to let this happen. Dimitri then lunged for Robert and subdued him in a choke hold. The Guardians then grabbed Robert and injected him with something. Dimitri came for me while I was trying to catch my breath.
"How's my eye?" I asked.
"Pretty bad, we'll get some ice on it when we get back to the room." The Guardians PULLED Robert out of the room and I stood up.
"Lissa, are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her. She nodded numbly. "How did he get in here anyway?"
"He had a Spirit disguise as a Guardian. He said he wanted to discuss shifts for next week and then he became Robert." I took Skylar from her and gave her to Dimitri.
"Maybe this is a sign… that we shouldn't keep Skylar." I said, chewing on my lip.
"Rose, things like this will happen all the time. It doesn't mean you have to give up someone you love." I sighed, agreeing with her.
"Well, we better get back to our room. We still have stuff to setup for Skylar. Well, Dimitri does. Lissa, I need a favor."
"Anything, what is it?" She asked.
"Is there a good pediatrician here?" I asked.
"Yeah, on the left wing of Court. Why?"
"I don't know Skylar's exact age, plus I need to know if she's healthy."
"You know she is,"
"Still. I just want to make sure." I said. Dimitri and I waved goodbye to Lissa and then Dimitri and I parted ways. It took about ten minutes to walk there because Royal Court is so damn big. I walked in and there was a nurse there.
"Hi!" She said, all-to-perkily. "Sign in here and we'll be with you in just a moment." I signed in and I was called in right away.
"Guardian Hathaway, I'm Dr. Kellie, what can I help you with?" She asked.
"See, this is my daughter, Skylar. I was in Russia with Guardian Belikov when we found her in a trash can and I couldn't just leave her there. I don't know how old she is and I'm wondering if you could figure that out." I said, chewing on my lip.
"Of course. May I?" I nodded and handed Skylar over to Dr. Kellie. She put Skylar on the scale and Skylar only weighed 25 lbs. "She's very light. Be sure to feed her extra." I nodded at this. "Can she walk?" I shook my head. "Well, Guardian Hathaway, it seems that she looks to be about 7 months."
"Could you tell when her birthday was?" I asked.
"By the looks of it, I'd say early August, possibly August 1st." I sighed. This brought such a weight off my shoulders.
"Thank you." I told her as she handed Skylar back over to me.
"She looks very healthy, but make sure she eats. That's most important." I nodded and waved to her as I left. Ten minutes later I got back to our room and Dimitri had the crib setup!
"Look at that, Skylar! Daddy got your bed setup!" I put Skylar in the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Very nice, Daddy," I said, pecking him on the lips.
"Thank you, Mommy." He said, putting his hands on my waist.
"Were you serious?" I asked him.
"About what?"
"About retiring early…" I trailed off.
"Yes," He said seriously. "We're a family now and we can't be separated. If that means we have to resign, then that's that." I nuzzled my head in his chest.
"Everything's going to change now, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes, I won't lie to you. It will be difficult, but we'll get through it. We always do."