Ch 7

DPOV

Songs: Blue Veins – The Raconteurs, Vienna - Billy Joel

I returned to my room to have a quick shower and formulate a plan. Janine was right, if Rose wouldn't see me, I needed to find another way to help her. I was going to have to swallow my pride and seek out Adrian Ivashkov. As much as it still pained me that she had opened up to him and not me, Rose was more important than my stupid ego and I needed to talk to him about what was going on with her.

I had already radioed the Guardian on patrol outside her room and he informed me that Ivashkov had left several hours ago and hadn't returned yet. I realized I knew little about his habits and was unsure where he would be. I decided the guest quarters would be the best place to start and walked over to my dresser to grab a shirt. As soon as I pulled it over my head, I heard my door fly open as someone burst through. I whipped around ready to take on my intruder, only to be stunned still.

"Roza." Her name escaped my lips before my thoughts even registered that it was her.

The images from my memories that were keeping me company for a week had nothing compared to the beautiful creature in front of me. She stood there staring at me in a similar state of stupor. Her breathing was heavy and her hair was in tangles, indicating that she had raced over here. I was quickly reminded of the last time she busted through my door and the events that followed due to Victor's lust charm. I started to think maybe she was just a hallucination my tormented mind had created as we both stood there frozen. Her wild eyes were simmering with some of the familiar passion for life they used to exude, and I had this overwhelming urge to reach out and touch her.

I took one step forward and her gaze immediately shot to the floor, as if the spell between us instantly broke. I could see her discomfort as she crossed her arms around her stomach and the small action stung deep within me. It appeared she still didn't want to see me, but something had brought her here nonetheless.

"I need to talk to you," she voiced, still avoiding looking at me.

I took a couple steps away from her to give her some space. "Please, come in."

Rose turned to shut the door behind her and walked closer into my room. She looked around as if she was noticing her surroundings for the first time. I guess it made sense since the last time she was here she was under compulsion, but I suddenly felt very naked and vulnerable as she took in the elements of my private life.

"Would you like to sit," I asked in an attempt to alleviate some of the awkwardness. My voice seemed to startle her out of some deep thought and she shook her head in response.

"I need to talk to you about Lissa," she asserted with the professional Guardian tone that she so often heard from me. I responded in kind, pushing emotion from my voice to avoid scaring her off. Rose began pacing in my small space as she began telling me the events that brought her to my room.

By the time she had stopped pacing I was seated on my bed in complete shock and disbelief. Not only was the Princess a Strigoi, she was still bonded to Rose. With Rose's emotional state already so fragile, I was terrified what this would do to her. I wanted nothing more in that moment than to pull her into my arms and tell her how I would keep her safe. It was killing me being so close to her, yet so far away from her. Was it possible to miss someone who was right in front of you?

She looked up at me, her eyes finally meeting mine. There was a serious note behind them that she sometimes got when a plan had formulated in her mind, and I felt unnerved by what she was about to say.

"We have to go after her."

My eyes widened, and my breathing hitched. Although I had deduced that this was exactly the sort of thing she would be requesting, I had desperately hoped she wouldn't. Now it was my turn to shamelessly look away as I tried to decide how to respond. I had been waiting all this time for her to finally open up to me. Searching for ways to help her. Now there she was, giving me that opportunity—and I was hesitant. I wanted her to know I would do anything for her, but I wasn't sure if I had it in me to put her in a direct line of danger. However, Rose knew me too well and already sensed my reservations. Her fists clenched by her side and she interjected before I could even muster a reply.

"You know better than anyone why I have to do this. You said it yourself on the bus: you would rather be dead than be one of them," the unspoken promise that we had made that day came back to me. "I can't let her continue walking around as a monster. It's our fault she's this way and we have to do this one last thing for her." Her accusation put pressure on the already open wound and caused me to wince.

She turned her back to me with her hands on her hips, focusing her gaze out my window. With her warrior stance in place, I couldn't help but stare at the strong, alluring goddess before me. Her loyalty and passion to help her friends was a quality that radiated through every fiber of her being, and this request only proved it. Vasilisa was gone and Rose was still willing to lay down her life for her. If I took that away from her, what would she become? Who would she be?

"You're right," I finally let out. Rose turned her head slightly to the side acknowledging my response but still avoided looking in my direction.

"But we need some time. We don't know what we are up against and we need to formulate a plan."

She turned her face back towards my window. "I should've known you would try to talk me out of it. You were always the rational one," she responded with disappointment laced in sadness.

"Roz—" I could see her shoulders tense as my term of endearment unconsciously rolled off my tongue. "Rose. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, I'm just saying we need to be smart about this. I think I know someone who can help us, you just have to trust me." I started to think about a couple from my village that Yeva had told me were bonded. Their interactions with each other are what tipped me off about Rose and Vasilisa when I brought them back to the academy. I didn't know the extent of their bond or if they had any experience with Rose's shadow kissed side effects, but they would be our best bet on getting the information we needed.

Rose let out a heavy breath and dryly responded, "Okay." She dropped her arms and started heading towards the door. I knew how persistent Rose could be, especially when it came to something she was passionate about. Her stubbornness could drive me mad some days, but it was also one of her most endearing qualities. It started to dawn on me that if she truly believed this is what needed to be done, she would find a way—with or without me.

Unconvinced that she was fully taking in what I was saying, I leapt from the bed and strode towards her. In a desperate attempt to keep her from leaving, I reached for her arm and felt the familiar bolts of electricity shoot through me as our skin touched. Her head snapped towards my hand on her arm and she slowly looked up towards me. A light flush filled her cheeks and she swallowed down any objections that may have escaped her. The look she wore baffled me. Was she longing for my touch? Or was she desperate to be released from my grasp?

I stared deep into her dark eyes, hoping she would see the seriousness behind mine as I pleaded for her to agree to my conditions, "Rose, please just tell me you won't do anything rash. I'll figure something out, but you just have to be patient."

We stood that way for a moment longer, gazes locked as we tried to decipher what the other was thinking. Then she turned her gaze towards the floor again and meekly nodded in response. I released her arm and she instantly vanished from my room, leaving me standing there alone staring at my closed door.

RPOV

Songs: Nothing Else Matters – Lissie, Edge of Seventeen - Fleetwood Mac

Seeing Dimitri had been equally exhilarating as it was devastating. His chocolate eyes radiated hidden messages of longing and love. My cold heart threatened to slightly thaw at the sight of those eyes and if I stared into them too long, I thought it would melt completely; pleasantly sloshing like warm water in my chest. His damp hair hung loosely at his shoulders and my fingertips twitched at the memory of running his silky strands through my hands. I realized I was on the verge of letting myself give into my selfish wants again and had to tear my gaze away from him in order to push my rising emotions away. There was no longer room for anything other than Lissa. Focusing all of my thoughts on her helped to keep my feelings at bay. I needed to keep this icy hold on myself to do what needed to be done. I failed at putting her first once, and I wouldn't do it again.

Leaving his room left me suppressing another familiar emotion that I still hadn't quite figured out how to get a grasp on. Guilt. Even though we weren't together anymore, and I would no longer let myself give into my feelings for him, I still respected Dimitri and trusted him with the information I had given him. That's why it pained me so much to lie to him.

"...you just have to be patient." His words ran through my mind.

Not only was I the least patient person I had ever met, this was far too important to me to just sit on while he contacted whoever it was that he thought could help us. No, I would have to find another way.

After leaving his room I quickly sent a few text messages and started heading towards the church attic. Christian would be my first stop, but there were a couple others I would need to recruit as well. When I entered the dimly lit room, Adrian and Eddie were already there waiting for me.

"Hey there little Dhampir. Nice to see you out and about," Adrian flashed a lazy smile and I shot him a sarcastic salute in return.

"Hey Rose," Eddie voiced hesitantly. We hadn't spoken since the incident and I could tell he was still full of grief and guilt. I gave him a tight smile and walked towards him. I put my hand on his shoulder to let him know we were good, and catching me by surprise he pulled me in for a tight hug. I allowed one tear to escape but quickly wiped it away as we pulled apart.

"Well, now that we've gotten that over with, are you going to tell us what you called us all here for," Christian voiced in his usual snarky tone. "Not that it wasn't touching and all."

I took a deep breath and readied myself to unleash the giant bomb on them, "You're gonna want to sit down for this."

I admit, I was half expecting Christian to completely fall apart when I told him what I saw. He had lost his family to Strigoi and now Lissa, but to my surprise, he was still holding it together. I had to give the guy credit.

When I finished telling them what had happened and what I planned to do, the three of them stared at me in disbelief, similar to how Dimitri had looked. I was about ready to scream after what felt like an eternity of silence when Christian finally spoke up. "Transforming the undead."

"What," Eddie and Adrian asked in unison. It seemed that phrase had stuck with Chris just as much as it did with me. He got up from his seat and headed towards the table of books.

"Transforming the undead. It doesn't mean healing people like Lissa did with Rose. Look here," he pulled the familiar book from the pile and handed it to Adrian.

"Yes, I remember this verse," Adrian scrolled over the text with his fingers. "I've heard some conspiracy theories that center around it. But you couldn't possibly think..."

"Think what," Eddie questioned, still confused.

"That it means restoring Strigoi. Transforming the undead back to their original state," I quietly replied as clear realization finally dawned on me.

"I didn't think of it before," Christian turned towards me, "but when you said Lissa described herself as being 'transformed', it finally clicked. It's probably a long shot."

"Longer than long," Eddie added.

"But if there's any chance that it's real, we have to find out how." Christian stood there looking between me and Adrian hoping one of us were crazy enough to agree with him.

"Lissa and I had been looking into other possible Spirit users before…well, before," Adrian started. "There were a couple leads I was able to track down. We could start there and see if they know more about it than we do." A spark of hope crossed Christian's features and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get anything out Adrian interjected. "However, Ozera, it's very possible this is just the crazy ramblings of Spirit induced madness," he looked towards me with a questioning gaze. Apparently, I had just been nominated as the unofficial leader of this misfit brigade.

I knew Adrian was right, I had experienced only a fraction of this madness and had seen firsthand what it could cause someone to become. But I also knew there was no way in hell Christian would let this go and if I was being honest with myself, neither would I.

I let out a breath and nodded to Christian in agreeance. Eddie and Adrian responded in kind and the four of us began to formulate a plan. Just as the sun started to go down again we had almost all the arrangements in motion. I knew how much everyone was risking, especially Eddie, but we were all determined to do what it took to help Lissa—one way or another.

Tomorrow, on my 18th Birthday I would withdraw from school and there would be nothing left to hold us back. Big, outlandish parties were so overrated anyways.

A/N: I had several people reach out, wondering who Rose was running to. Hopefully, this didn't disappoint. Coming up: we will finally be leaving the academy! Exciting things ahead :)