Ch. 18

EPOV

Songs: Beautiful War by Kings of Leon, Trouble with Boys by David Bazan

Watching Rose and Dimitri spar was like nothing I had ever seen. It was like they were trapped in a deadly dance specifically choreographed for the two of them. Each fluid strike was met with an equally swift block as if their limbs were magnets, attracting and repelling unconditionally. I wondered if I would ever be that good. I knew my skills were sharp. I had worked my entire life to make sure of it and had proven my abilities in a fight against our enemy. But seeing them circle each other in their lethal tango made me feel a combination of awe and envy.

I had already learned a lot from Belikov from the short time we had been here. He was an unbelievable instructor, no doubt a direct result of Rose's massive improvement. But I couldn't chalk it up to just that. Even as kids we could all see her raw power and massive potential. I knew one day she would be the best. A warrior goddess among us mortal men, falling in line and occasionally even surpassing the Russian god.

Since our visit to Dimitri's friends' her old self had started to shine through and I could see her coming back to us, but after her brief interaction with Paul, something changed. I had seen her act like this before. After Mason passed we were all emotional wrecks, losing someone that important to you could do that, but Rose shut herself off from the world. It was completely unlike her and I was worried she would retreat back to that depressed phase. I tried not to eavesdrop on her and Paul's hushed conversation, but hearing even the mention of love sucked me in. I remember what it was like at his age.

Unrequited love? Been there, done that. But back then, love looked like red curls, freckles, and a shit-eating grin that had a way of making me fall harder each time I saw it.

Paul's words were meant to be reassuring. Despite his young age, he knew a thing or two about love. But they caused Rose to flee from the scene and barricade herself in Dimitri's room. Belikov shot me a questioning glance and I hoped my subtle look in return was enough for him to understand that she needed him. He hadn't told me about them and was so good at keeping emotions hidden from his face, Guardians were trained to be professional liars after all, but I was able to figure it out eventually. Not to discredit his stoic abilities, but as someone who had spent a lifetime keeping secrets and hiding my true feelings, I had grown accustomed to recognizing the familiar tells.

I had seen hints here and there at the academy and that night in the alley when Rose collapsed only confirmed my suspicions. His orders were frantic, and his voice was full of worry as he clutched onto her unconscious form, scrambling to find a way to keep her safe.

The other night in the kitchen, there was a similar spec of that same worry and his sisters seemed to notice it as well. Karolina rushed over to him and grabbed baby Zoya while simultaneously telling him, "I got this, go." That was all he needed and immediately bolted from the room at amazing speed after her. I don't think I have ever seen him move faster, even against the Strigoi, than when he thought Rose was in trouble.

I'm not entirely sure what happened up there, but Rose didn't come down for dinner, which anyone that knew her could tell you was extremely rare, and she seemed to have a storm cloud following her around since then. Well, except for here—in the gym. They had been sparring this single match for almost an hour straight and it was starting to wear on both of them. I would have thought their moves would become sloppy by now, but their perfect form pressed on.

Fuck, they were good.

Finally, Belikov found a way to trip her up and as she stumbled he landed on top of her with his full body weight, pinning her for the kill. I shamelessly wondered what it felt like to be underneath him that way with their chests pressed firmly against one another. I knew he was Rose's and only her's, but the man was gorgeous and hey, I'm only human.

They seemed to be in a trance, forgetting they had an audience, so I politely reminded them. "About friggin time. I was wondering if I was going to have to stage a surprise attack and knock you on your ass Hathaway." Rose smirked and allowed Dimitri to pull her up off the ground. Now that the fight was over she shied away from his touch and when he gave her a few pointers she avoided his gaze and responded in her "professional" tone, which irked the shit out of me.

I attempted to lighten her mood again, "Well, I guess this means you're not getting first shower." She tried lifting one of her eyebrows at me; how was she still so terrible at that? "Is that a challenge Castile?"

"After that epic battle? It would hardly be fair," I teased. She huffed in response. I leaned in, pushing my forehead to hers and gave her a mischievous smile. "But tomorrow, you're on." She let out a short laugh and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri look up at the sound. I swear, it was like he lived for those moments of Rose's uncensored happiness. She turned around to grab her things and Dimitri dropped his gaze back down to his duffel. I wouldn't say he was avoiding her, but it was like he was afraid of showing her too much of himself and scaring her off.

On the walk back, Dimitri stayed ahead of us a few yards with his phone glued to his ear. Zmey, most likely. He had been keeping in touch with him, and me with Adrian. We gave Rose the minimum amount of information to keep her in the loop, but not the full extent until we knew how well Oksana's ring was working. To say it was driving her crazy was a massive understatement. She was bursting at the seams with frustration but also knew how important it was to stay ahead of the game. In an attempt to distract herself from the conversation ahead of us, she averted to other topics. Her favorite one of late: Viktoria.

"So, Vika seems to be taken with you," she started.

"Oh yeah? Hadn't noticed." A lie. She had been flirting with me all week. I had been politely trying to hint that I was only interested in her friendship, but she was a stubborn one.

"Oh please. You're either lying or completely oblivious. Don't sell yourself short Eddie."

Normally I would indulge to keep up her playful attitude, but today I just wasn't in the mood. Maybe it was watching them spar, their reluctance towards each other outside the ring, or a combination of both, but I couldn't help but feel slightly resentful. I gave her a tight smile and rolled my eyes.

"What? She not your type," she leaned in and asked quietly, keeping one eye on Belikov.

I followed her gaze, frustration building again at how aloof they were being. "Just not interested," I curtly replied.

She looked at me curiously for a moment, trying to gage my thoughts. Her face turned somber as she spoke. Misreading my meaning, she said, "I know what you mean. No point in starting something up. Love isn't a luxury we can afford."

Her words put lead into my feet and my pace started to slow. I know most Dhampirs would most likely agree with her but to me, she couldn't be more wrong. Love wasn't a luxury. It was life.

It's true, many of us didn't get to experience it, our duty or short lifespan normally got in the way, but those of us who did knew better than to discredit it. What was the point of being alive if not for love?

My heart had been shattered the day Mason died. I selfishly wished I never harbored those feelings and he was just another novice to me, but I realized that my love was the only thing I had left of him. At first, I thought the only thing that remained was pain but as time went by, the small details that drew me to him manifested deep within me. The crease in his forehead when he was concentrating on perfecting a new move, his ability to make a joke out of anything, his need to always put others before himself—even in the end.

He knew how I felt and was the only one I had ever told, but it didn't faze him in the slightest. Mason never treated me differently and after an awkward shoulder pat and humiliating conversation that started with, "I'm flattered man, but you know I don't really swing that way," he assured me our friendship would never change. It still hurt thinking about him, but the reminder of those feelings and that another person could cause such a deep physical and emotional reaction from you gave me purpose for something other than dying in the line of duty. Something I never knew existed.

I hadn't realized I'd stopped walking until I heard Rose call to me. "Eddie? You alright?"

I could plaster a carefree smile on my face, brush off her comments and put on a happy front just like always. Her and Belikov could keep on avoiding each other and I could act oblivious. Like I said, I wasn't a stranger to keeping secrets.

"You're wrong." Or I could do that.

The hushed phrase flew out of my mouth before I could catch it, but once it was out I felt like I had released a caged bird longing to be free. She didn't respond. She just looked at me with confusion clouding her cold facade.

"There's so much wrong with our world, so much that we can't control. But the things that we can…" my thoughts were jumbled. I was having a hard time putting them into words. I let out a clearing breath. "With all the ugliness surrounding us, the only way to survive is to let in as much beauty as we can. You're full of love Rose, don't deny it, and you're pushing it away."

Her eyes narrowed like I had thrown a dagger at her. "What do you know about love?" Her words were laced with an icy burn. She protectively crossed her arms over her chest and started to turn away.

"I know how precious love is," my words were quiet with my gaze fixed on a crack in the pavement. "How one minute it's there, coursing through your veins and feeding you life, and how quickly it can vanish with the snap of a Strigoi's wrist." My heart was in my throat and I thought I might choke on it. I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering the promise I had made Mason in that hotel room in Novosibirsk, and willed myself to carry on. I slowly looked up to Rose and her cold expression had turned to shock and realization. "You may not want to hear this, but I promised him I would take care of you and I won't fail him again."

She stayed silent, looking at me like it was the first time she was really seeing me.

"You're hurt. Your mind is in a million places. I get it, I really do," I continued with more confidence. "But Lissa—the real Lissa—wouldn't want you living this way. She didn't bring you back from the dead to live a half-life. She loved you Rose, why else would she have gone looking for you that day? She knew your only purpose wasn't just to serve her, like most of the Moroi do. She wanted you to live." Rose was breathing heavily, and tears were rimming her eyes. I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"You may not be able to see it now, but eventually you have to realize that it's okay to let someone love you...and even love them back. In this life we chose, our lives are short but it's the only one we've got. It would be a shame not to truly live while we can."

She stared at me as I waited for some kind of response. It was hard to tell if everything or nothing was running through her mind. She was trying her hardest to hide her thoughts from me; looks like she picked up on more than just impeccable fighting skills from Belikov. Her stone mask was almost impenetrable, but there was a moment where she looked like she would concede—however brief and flitting—it was still there.

"Lissa comes first," the quiet mantra I had heard her whisper to herself on occasion, was the only thing that came out of her mouth. I could have smacked her across the face again, but that brief look of understanding stopped me. Even if she wouldn't admit it out loud, I somehow knew that the internal battle inside her was slowly starting to subside.

"Rose, Eddie," Dimitri called out from his front porch. "We have a lead." Rose snapped her attention to him and headed toward the house. I straightened up and followed in kind. I tried to convert all my focus to what he was saying but couldn't fully shake my and Rose's conversation.

I looked at her out of the corner of my eye to see her regarding Belikov with that same professionalism from the gym. The earlier frustration building within me hadn't completely vanished, but I felt hopeful that she would eventually come to her senses.

I just hoped when the time came, it wouldn't be too late.

RPOV

Song: Manipulation by The Black Angels, Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon

The serpent had come through. Dimitri had asked him to put a tail on Grigory back in Novosibirsk and to be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior. Apparently, he caught wind of something and wanted to meet with us in person to discuss.

I didn't see why he couldn't just tell us over the phone, but Dimitri said he had been adamant about meeting face to face. So now after an hour drive in an old rust bucket that Dimitri had borrowed from Mark, we were patiently waiting at a small coffee shop for the snake to finally show. I should have been grateful for the ride or excited for the chance to finally get some insight to who this mystery guy was, but my conversation with Eddie earlier had thrown me off and I was on edge.

Didn't this place have any food?

Just before hangry Rose was about to rear her head, Dimitri walked up with a basket of black bread. I had to stop myself from tackling him to the ground to get to the food. I had already snatched a piece from the basket and was halfway through it before he even set it down on the table. He let out a knowing smirk and grabbed a piece for himself. I was about to politely tell him not to look so goddamn pleased with himself when his focus shot to the front door. He immediately dropped his piece of bread and straightened up. Eddie and I followed suit and prepared ourselves for the illusive Zmey to enter.

...what the hell?

At first, I thought maybe Dimitri had mistaken the wrong Moroi, but when I saw two giant Guardians in tow behind him, my instincts told me he was right. Zmey was not at all what I had expected. He had on a charcoal gray suit, freshly pressed, paired with a multicolored paisley scarf that reminded me of a sunset. The splash of orange and pink rested on top of a blindingly bright blue button up and I could see specs of gold glimmer from his ears. When he sat down across from us I got a closer look at his dark features and darker eyes. There was something familiar about those eyes.

"Hello there, pleased to make your acquaintance. Apologies for my tardiness, we ran into a bit of...a delay." His emphasis on that last word combined with the grin on his face came across as amusing. I chalked it up to weird mobster humor and brushed it off.

"I'm Rose, this is Eddie," I said gesturing next to me.

"Yes, your reputation precedes you," he replied airily. "I'm glad to finally put a face to the name. Belikov, good to see you. It looks like Siberia has been treating you well" Dimitri nodded in response, tension radiating from him.

"How's the family? Yeva doing well?" I should have been surprised that he knew Dimitri's grandmother's name, but he seemed like the type of man who prided himself on knowledge, no matter how insignificant.

"She is. As are the others," Dimitri politely replied.

"Splendid. Glad to hear it." This guy was either hell-bent on being cordial or was stalling.

"Yes, well that's all very nice but can we get to why you dragged us all the way out here? Wasn't there something important you wanted to tell us?" I could feel Dimitri stiffen next to me, a silent warning to behave.

"I see that patience is not one of your virtues, little girl." The snake's haughty tone was starting to piss me off.

"No. It's not, old man. So, if you'd be so kind, let's get this show on the road." Dimitri's head whipped towards me, but I didn't dare meet the scolding gaze that was awaiting me. Eddie remained perfectly still beside me as I kept my fixed glare pointed at the mysterious foreigner in front of me. To all of our surprise, he threw his head back and let out an unrestrained laugh.

"A bit of fire in you," he chuckled. "Good, you're going to need it." I held my tongue and lifted my brows, waiting for him to elaborate. "My contact has kept a close watch on our little friend and has come back with some interesting news. About a ball," his cocky smirk reminded me of Adrian and was enough to make me roll my eyes.

"Oh really, a ball? And is Cinderella going to be there?" Dimitri was mentally facepalming at my snarkiness and Eddie, true to form, let out an amused huff.

"Hmm, not likely. Unless you have a pair of glass slippers stowed away." Abe could keep up, I'd give him that. "The event will be held in Paris one week from now and is exclusive, very exclusive."

"How do you mean," Eddie jumped in.

"Well it seems like dear old Grigory and his band of misfits all received an invite, but no one else that frequents Zavlekat' appeared to have heard of it, including several high-ranking royals."

"And you think it could be Mână related?" Abe's dark eyes widened with surprise at the term. If I had to guess, he didn't think a lowly Dhampir girl had heard of such an "exclusive" group.

"Possibly," he narrowed his gaze briefly before leaning back and plastering the amused grin back on his face. "We'll just have to go and find out now, won't we?"

"Uhh, we?" Did I hear him correctly?

"Yes. I managed to obtain an invitation with a few guests. Seeing how Mr. Ivashkov and Mr. Ozera are royal, it wasn't too difficult to convince my contact that they were interested parties. The rest of you will be joining as either personal guard or...mhmm company." He cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, sneaking a quick glance at Dimitri.

"You mean Blood Whores," I interjected.

Zmey's face became serious and I could tell the term bothered him. But why? "In a sense, yes."

Dimitri's shoulders went rigid as he gripped his knees under the table. I could tell he was about to do something stupid, like tell Zmey to forget it, so I jumped in before he could speak.

"Okay, we'll do it." Eddie nodded in agreement. "I need to call Chris and Adrian and tell them the plan. Hopefully, we can get them here and all travel to Paris together in time for the event."

"No need," the serpent held up his hand. "I've already made the arrangements. They will be arriving here in the morning." I was starting to think I had been mistaken about those cocky looks from earlier and this guy was really just that good. He had managed to get us all into an exclusive Moroi event in another country and ship our friends out to Siberia before we even had a chance to blink.

"Why are you helping us?" I was still skeptical of him, but the question came out more as genuine curiosity. With all his apparent business dealings around the world, what was the point of stepping in to help a group of renegade Dhampirs? Surely, he had to know the return on his investment would be nonexistent.

"What? A man with my reputation can't put some of his skills towards the greater good?" The three of us just stared at him blankly, completely unconvinced. He smiled again and let out a sigh. "Don't worry about the details for now. Besides, Belikov and I have an arrangement. Don't we?" His voice dropped somewhere between a questioning and threatening tone. As if it was a reminder of something he'd refuse to back down on. Now it was my turn to shoot Dimitri an accusatory look. Before I could ask any more questions, Zmey waived one of the cafe employees over to our table.

"Ah, perfect timing. Tea anyone?" I instinctively pictured the grotesque brew from Oksana's house and couldn't stop the scowl that spread across my face, my burning questions pushed aside to make room for my disgust.

/

We stayed at the cafe for another hour discussing the details and logistics of the next few days. We would be using a combination of Adrian and Abe's resources to make it seem like they were working together on some sort of business venture in Paris. It was a little far-fetched but given Adrian's exaggerated reputation, it wasn't completely unbelievable.

The ride back had been predominantly silent as the three of us went through the plan in our heads, the only sound coming from the low hum of the radio. I looked out the window from the passenger seat recognizing some of the passing structures and realized we were almost back to the Belikova home. I started thinking about the next few hours and how I felt about leaving this place. Dimitri's family had been such a warm welcome to this messed up situation we were in, and I started to feel depressed at the thought of having to leave them.

My thoughts were interrupted when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Dimitri reached over to the stereo and turned the music up slightly. Of course, it was some cheesy 80's song that had piqued his interest. He was subtly bobbing his head and tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, seemingly enjoying himself until he saw me looking at him like he had two heads. The look I was giving him was mostly for his taste in terrible music, but when I caught the hint of embarrassment on his face I realized he might have thought I was reading into the lyrics about a love-sick fool holding back his feelings more than anything else.

I wanted to make sure he knew that wasn't the case and spoke out blatantly. "Comrade, your horrible taste in music never ceases to amaze me." The corner of his mouth tugged, and he rolled his eyes to suppress a smile.

"Aw c'mon Rose. It's not that bad," Eddie chimed in from the backseat. I leaned over the center console to face him with mock seriousness on my face. "Do not encourage him, Castile. You and I both know this hardly even classifies as music."

Eddie huffed. "Oh, I forgot, Rose Hathaway is too cool for any music predating 2004."

"Too cool, not musically-challenged? Either way." I shrugged my shoulders and faced the front again. I waited for Eddie's rebuttal, but the car went completely quiet.

I was giving myself a mental high-five for winning the argument when suddenly, Eddie belted out at the top of his lungs, "AND I CAN'T FIGHT THIS FEELING ANYMOREEEEE. I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT I STARTED FIGHTING FOOORRRR!"

The silence of the car was shattered, and Dimitri's booming laugh filled the air. My eyes widened to my forehead. I hadn't heard that sound in so long I had almost forgotten it. His full-bellied laugh vibrated through my chest filling me with a blissful warmth and I couldn't help but let out a giggle in response. Eddie continued singing at a ludicrous volume and to my even greater shock, Dimitri looked at me and smiled then began joining Eddie in the song. Hearing them both full heartedly sing along to the corny melody had me folding over in hysterics. At his point, I was laughing so hard it was becoming difficult to breathe.

"Alright, alright," I managed to get out between gasps for air. "I get it, okay? It's not that bad." They started laughing at their victory as we pulled to a stop. We were all still chuckling as we got out of the car and almost didn't notice Sonya in the front yard on her way home from work.

"What's so funny," she fussed.

"Oh, nothing. Eddie and Dimitri were just gracing me with their musical talents to REO Speedwagon," I teased. Eddie took a gallant bow and Dimitri just shook his head as he closed the car door.

Sonya placed her hands on her hips and I prepared myself for her cranky response. "Oh, you think that's bad," her tone was surprisingly light. "When Dimitri was in grade school he blared the entire Air Supply album on repeat for six months straight! We thought we were going to have to have an intervention."

Dimitri shot her a death glare and yelled something at her in Russian. "Pochemu by tebe ne zatknut'sya!"

"Aw bednyaga. Dimka's chuvstva zadety," Sonya's voice was mocking, and she was clearly amused by his reaction.

Eddie and I couldn't help our gaping jaws and stared at them before busting out laughing again. Dimitri muttered something under his breath and walked into the house, Eddie, Sonya, and me in tow grinning like fools.

A/N: I know some of you were hoping for a DPOV after that last chapter, but I wanted an outsider's perspective here and who better than Eddie? A HUGE thanks to ohorpheuss for her help with this chapter. I've had this planned for a while but needed a lot of expert help here. My main inspiration transpired after reading sagemb's story, "when your love's out of harm's way." It is seriously a brilliant depiction of Eddie and I couldn't get it out of my mind throughout this whole story. If you haven't read it yet, get on it!

On another note: Zmey finally made his debut to Rose! Thoughts on their interaction? I hope you guys enjoyed that small bit of comic relief there at the end after all the angst and emotional terrorism from the last chapter. A Dimitri/Eddie duo to Radio Speedwagon seemed to be in order lol.

Bonus track for Eddie: Brother's Blood by Kevin Devine

Russian Translations:

Dimitri: "Why don't you shut the hell up?!"

Sonya: "Aw poor baby. Dimka's feelings are hurt."