Ch. 31
RPOV
Songs: Suburbs by Mr. Little Jeans, Medicine by Daughter
After the hospital, we boarded Abe's private plane and shipped out to one of his homes in Pennsylvania near Court. We all knew Dimitri wouldn't tell them anything about where we were if we went back to the hotel in Paris, but we figured the last place they would look for us was right at their doorstep.
The first couple of days were rough. Lissa would go from silent, unnerving shock to pain-filled screams and shouting. She still wasn't seeing me and it was really starting to get to me.
I didn't hold any resentment towards her. I knew everything that she did wasn't her fault. Not really. But for some reason, she couldn't see past that. Eva told me she blamed herself for Dimitri being taken away. It was obvious she blamed herself for a lot more, but she wasn't talking about that yet.
I hated that Lissa was opening up to Eva, but I had to remind myself that it was better than not opening up to anyone. I could tell it was starting to eat at Chris as well. She would let him near her at least and even touch her at times, but she had insisted on her own room—despite our protests—and had yet to speak more than a few short sentences to him.
I had been spending most of my time in the downstairs library. Not a normal place for me to venture, that's for sure, but it brought me comfort. Being around the smell of old, worn paperbacks made me feel closer to Dimitri.
It also gave me an excuse to hide out from another particular topic I wasn't ready to face head on...my father. Abe and I had been doing an awkward dance around each other since we got off the plane. It was a cross somewhere between a ballet and the chicken dance—giving that particular routine a whole new meaning. I wasn't scared to talk to him, per say, I just didn't know how to be around him. Before he was just some mobster fronting our renegade misadventures, but now that I knew I was related to him, I felt completely weirded out. Not to mention having to witness him and my mother interact. She turned into a blushing schoolgirl around him. She was practically smitten! It was disgusting.
When it became obvious I wasn't happy in the slightest about leaving Dimitri behind—I may or may not have broken a few very expensive things—Abe tried to assure me that they wouldn't hurt Dimitri. It wasn't the Guardian or Moroi way to torture their captives, but I knew as well as anyone that there were plenty of ways to torture someone without physical abuse. He was currently being transported to Court to await questioning, but picturing him in a cold cell completely alone felt like a knife twisting in my gut.
I wished more than anything I could talk to him. I was at a complete loss on what to do about Lissa and was in desperate need of one of his Zen life lessons. I stared off into space, my eyes slowly skimming over the rows and rows of books, as I tried to think about what he would say. After coming up short for the hundredth time, I eventually nodded off.
I woke with a stir, my neck sore from my awkward position in the leather chair. I rolled my shoulders as I sat up and looked around to see what could have woken me. There was a strange tingling sensation rising up the back of my neck and I instinctively ran my hand along my tattoos. When it was clear there wasn't a spider or some other pestering bug crawling up my back, I tried to think what else could have caused it. I looked down at my hand to see that the ring Oksana had given me was still there. I could tell it had weakened and I hadn't had the chance to get it recharged by Eva yet, but without constantly trying to block out Lissa I was putting less effort towards my barriers anyways.
Lissa. The prickling at my hairline caused my back to shiver and I sat up straighter in my seat. Maybe it was a stir in the bond that had woken me? I chose to stay out of Lissa's head for now, partially out of respect for her privacy and partially because I was afraid of what I would see in there, but maybe she was reaching out to me. I shimmied the ring off my finger, confident that the ghosts would stay away as long as we were still behind the wards, and placed the silver band on a nearby table. As soon as it fell from my fingers I was pulled into Lissa's mind. A small breath escaped me when her familiar warmth coursed through me instead of the cold chill I had been burdened with for weeks. I tried to focus but her vision was clouded by tears and I couldn't make out anything in the dimly lit room. However, as soon as my other senses caught up and a familiar scent in the air seeped into my nose, my nerves jolted.
Blood. I sprang into action, bolting from the library to her room. I burst through her door without knocking and frantically searched for her. I didn't see her anywhere in the open space but could hear soft wails coming from a corner of the room. My eyes darted to a small beam of light peeking out from under the bathroom door and I carefully walked over to it. The smell from the bond grew stronger in my own body the closer I got to the room and flashes of her with cuts on her arm at the academy caused my pulse to race. No longer caring about being quiet or keeping calm, I flung the bathroom door open and stepped inside.
She was crouched down on the floor with her back to me, rocking back and forth in small, quick regressions. I reached my hand out but thought better of touching her in case she still had a sharp object in her grasp. Instead, I quietly spoke out, "Liss?"
The sound of my voice stilled her nervous movements and she darted her face around. The shift in her posture gave me a better view of the scene and I could see her arms were unscathed, but there were red streaks all along her hands. I fell down to the floor beside her, causing her to scoot away from me. "Liss, what did you do? What happened?"
She pulled her hands against her, droplets of blood falling onto the cool tiles in the process. "The blood. It wouldn't come off. It haunts me. I can't get it off." Her voice was tremulous from crying and her stare was wide, fixed on her shaky hands. I carefully reached out for one of them and her breath hitched at my movement.
"Please Liss," I soothed. "Let me see." I was surprised when she obliged and allowed me to gently pull one of her marred hands towards me. I avoided touching any of the wounds directly as I examined it. They seemed to be relatively shallow—scratches from her own fingernails—and wouldn't need medical attention, which caused me to relax the tiniest bit. The closer I looked it appeared the scratches were stemming from her nailbeds trailing across the top of her hand. It was then I understood. The nail polish.
Underneath the fresh blood coating her hands, I could see the remnants of that deep red polish she had coveted as a Strigoi. I looked up at her again, her gaze was expectantly waiting for me. "I couldn't get it off," she breathed out as her sea-green eyes filled up with gleaming pools of tears.
"It's alright Lissa," I whispered back, giving her forearm a small squeeze. "I'll help you." I reached behind me and turned on the hot water in the sink and dug through one of the top drawers, pulling out a fresh towel and a nail file. I used the towel and warm water to delicately clean her hands and got to work on her nails, avoiding hitting any of her fresh cuts. I could feel her stare fixed on the top of my head as I deftly worked on her hands. When I was satisfied there wasn't a single trace left of that sick reminder of the monster she had become, I toweled them off one more time and delicately laid them in her lap.
When I looked up to her again, I could clearly see the dark pits sinking under her eyes and noticed the shallowness of her breathing. "Lissa, I want you to tell me the truth," I spoke sternly. "When's the last time you fed?"
Her brow scrunched as she looked away from me. "I don't want any. I don't want the blood." She tried to meet my authoritative tone but came up short, unveiling her pained exhaustion.
"You need to feed Lissa. If you want these to heal, then you have to—"
"No!" Her steely glare shot towards me, causing me to go rigid. For a second I saw a flash of red in her eyes that made my blood turn cold. I quickly blinked away the nightmare and tried to steady my breathing. Noticing my reaction, Lissa looked down shamefully and I mentally kicked myself for it.
"I'm sorry," I started. "I'm not going to try and force you to do anything you don't want to. I'm just worried about you."
She flinched at those last words and let out a scoff with her face still pointed to the ground. "How can you be worried about me? I'm a monster."
I grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look at me, and stared her deep into her jade eyes. "No you are not," I said with finality. "You aren't that person anymore Lissa."
Her dry lips started to tremble as she met my intense gaze. "So many faces. People I killed," she shakily replied. "What if I can't control it? What if I kill again?"
"You won't," I said automatically.
"How can you be so sure," there was a pleading note to her voice. Something begging me to tell her that her worst fears wouldn't come true. That she would never be that person again.
"Because that isn't you. The Lissa I know, the real you, would never willingly hurt someone, and that hasn't changed." I smoothed back her hair and placed a piece behind her ear. "Plus I can feel you, remember," I smirked and pointed to my head.
A small tight-lipped smile curled for an instant before she looked at me seriously again. "I don't trust myself yet, Rose. I don't think I can do it."
I knew there were other solutions. We could get her a blood bag until she felt comfortable enough feeding from a human again, but that wasn't good enough. How long would it take for her to realize she wasn't some monster waiting to be unleashed? I needed her to know that we didn't see her that way anymore and searched for a way that would help her mind start to heal. Then a brilliant or stupid idea—depending on how you looked at it—popped into my head.
I rolled up my sleeve and stuck my bare arm out towards her, giving her a small nod in invitation.
Lissa's eyes went wide with shock, immediately understanding what I was offering. "No, Rose. I can't. What if I—"
"I trust you," I deadpanned, cutting off whatever argument she was about to say. "You won't hurt me."
She stared at me, amazed by my complete trust in her even after everything we had gone through. Her lips parted as if she meant to say something else, but nothing came out. I could see her resistance starting to wear down so I nodded again in encouragement, lifting my arm the slightest bit higher as I whispered again, "I trust you."
She looked down to my arm, and I could see the hunger boiling inside her. I had seen that look a thousand times when accompanying her to the feeders lounge, or even before she took my own blood out of necessity, but somehow it still sent a dart of worry through me—even if only for an instant. Before I could change my mind or say anything to scare her off, Lissa's fangs launched forward and sank into my arm. The action caused my pulse to race and panic to flutter inside my chest, but just as soon as it rose it faded into relief. I had convinced her to finally feed and knew it was a huge step in her recovery. As my blood flowed from my arm and into her mouth I felt the beginnings of her venom affecting my endorphins, but not nearly as much as it had when we were on the road in Portland.
It only lasted a small moment and before I felt pulled into that deep familiar high, Lissa released her hold on me and sat back. I knew she hadn't drunk nearly enough, but didn't want to push her.
"Thanks," she said timidly as she wiped a drop of blood from the corner of her mouth.
"What are friends for," I shrugged as I flashed her a playful smile. Her expression warmed and I could see another small piece of her old self coming back to her. My head was spinning a little and the bathroom floor suddenly felt too cold underneath us. I slowly stood up, paying particular attention to my balance as I rose. When I felt steady on my feet I reached out my other arm to help her up. "Come on, it's late. We should get you back into bed."
I poked my head into her room and looked around to make sure no one else had come in looking for us. When I decided the coast was clear I motioned for her to follow me. We made our way over to her bed and I pulled the covers back for her as she got in. After I comfortably tucked her in, I turned to leave but before I could go anywhere she called out to me.
"Rose?"
"Yeah Liss," I said as I turned to face her again.
"Stay with me," she quietly asked. I remembered back to a similar time in Baia where I had asked Dimitri to stay in his room with me. I needed him there to make me feel safe, to provide me the security that I desperately sought but at the same time, was terrified to ask for.
I nodded in response to her modest request and walked back over to the bed. I crawled under the covers and laid on my side to face her. She looked slightly unsure, but still relieved to have me there. I reached up and stroked a piece of her pale blond hair soothingly and watched over her until she fell asleep. A string of Russian words floated into my mind from the quiet nights lying beside Dimitri. I wasn't sure what they meant, but as he whispered them over me when he thought I was asleep they warmed my soul and gave me the comfort I needed to relax enough to rest. I softly murmured them as my eyes closed, knowing that I probably hadn't gotten all the words right, but hoped the meaning behind them would still work the same.
DPOV
Songs: Dreamcatchers by Odetta Hartman, Rooster by Alice In Chains, Nightcall by Kavinsky
I had been in a hypnagogic state since we arrived at the Royal Court. The iridescent lights made it nearly impossible to sleep. They never turned off, giving me no indication of how long I had been down here. Everything about this cell was too small. The bed that barely fit my width little less my length, the sink that was far too low to the ground, and the walls that seemed to close in on me by the hour.
My body had mostly healed after a couple of days and I was beyond relieved to move out of that ridiculous hospital bed, but would welcome it now after being in this place.
I was going insane.
Every time I shut my eyes, a vision of Rose hovering over me under a bright light danced across my vision. When the Guardians had first come for me, I thought it had been a hallucination and she had never really been there. But after catching the faintest scent of her shampoo on my chest where she had laid before, I knew it was real. I tried to cling to that vision to help send me into sleep, but a buzzing flicker from those pestering bright lights or an echo from someone entering the hall always pulled me back.
Lack of sleep wasn't necessarily something new. We had been trained to go strenuous amounts of time without it or catching rest in short increments when we could, but this was a whole other level...even for me.
After what felt like hours but was probably only minutes of failing to fall asleep again, I got up and began my normal routine—pacing. It was probably my overtired imagination, but I swear I could see the cement starting to wear along the trail behind my anxious feet.
"Belikov!"
My face darted up, slightly more slowly than usual, at the sound of my name. A surly, red-headed Guardian stood at the end of my cell and I quickly wondered how long he had been there without me noticing. I let out a grunt in acknowledgment, pretty much the only form of communication I had participated in since being apprehended.
"Hands through the bars," he ordered. His accent sounded similar to Janine's when her angry, Scottish side came out. I had witnessed it a handful of times and was unfortunately on the other side of that wrath as well. I stared him down for a moment—if only to keep myself from launching at the bars and begging for reprieve. I couldn't appear weakened or they would surely take advantage of my current state.
Eventually, I reached my hands vertically through a gap in the bars so he could place those pesky cuffs on me. He tightened them a little more than necessary and shoved my hands back through, eliciting a feral growl from me. Normally, I wouldn't let him see how much that annoyed me but the exhaustion was eating away at my self-control.
As he yanked open my cage, two other Guardians simultaneously appeared next to him. I rolled my eyes at the unnecessary cavalry. Now that I had most of my strength back I could most likely take the three of them out, but it would be impossible to get past the other hundreds of guards around court and through the front gates; not to mention the fact that even if I did, I had no idea where Rose and the others were. The ginger Guardian pulled me forward by my shoulder and shoved me in front of them. I complied, if only to get out of that godforsaken hole, and continued to walk down the hall with the other two Guardians flanking me. When we reached the end of the hall, another Guardian joined the ranks and walked in front of me so that I was now encased in a new portable cage made of flesh and blood instead of steel.
We went through a few doorways and I tried to sharpen my tired mind to memorize the path we were taking. Eventually, we reached another doorway and two of the Guardians stood beside it rather than going through. As I walked in with the remaining two, the Scottish Guardian lifted his arm to push me again. Without turning around I deftly moved to the left to avoid his jab and jutted my heel into his ankle, causing him to stumble forward. When he regained his footing he charged towards me with gritted teeth. I held my position as he pressed his face inches from mine until the other Guardian moved an arm between us and pulled him back.
"Back off Conall. Don't start any trouble," the other Guardian admonished.
"Yeah Conall," I goaded. "Wouldn't want to start something you couldn't finish."
That set the little fireball off.
"And you," the Guardian pointed to me while holding a flailing Conall back. "Shut your goddamn traitor mouth before I muzzle you."
"That won't be necessary," a new voice interrupted, causing all three of our heads to turn. "Besides, it would be rather counter-productive wouldn't it?" Hans Croft walked through the doorway and motioned for me to sit at a table near the center of the small room. I brushed past Conall as I made my way to the steel chair and plopped down heavily into the seat.
Hans moved to sit across from me and placed a folder of documents down as he sat. "You two can go now," he waved at the other Guardians. "I can take it from here."
Before they made it fully out the door, I promptly added, "I'll be seeing you around Conall," eliciting one last sneer to form on his freckled face.
"Was that really necessary," Hans rebuked as the door shut us out from the rest of the watchers in the hall.
"He annoyed me," I huffed in response.
"Take a number," he replied as he looked down to his open folder. I suddenly felt like I had been transported back to St. Vladimir's and was once again being interrogated by Guardian Petrov and Janine Hathaway. Maybe it was being around Conall's red hair and Scottish accent, but for a moment I could have sworn I saw Janine brooding there in the corner of the room. I had to shake my head to wake up from the daydream scene my lethargic mind had created as Hans presumed to repeat a question to me.
"Where is Princess Vasilisa Dragomir?"
I took a deep breath, pushing it out through my nostrils before responding. "I don't know."
"Witnesses spotted someone who looked remarkably like the Dragomir Princess at the hospital with you, which is odd since she had supposedly been taken during the attack on St. Vladimir's over a month ago," he disputed. I stared at him deadpanned, giving nothing away. "We thought it may have been a mistake, but those we spoke to were adamant about it being her." The slow tapping of his fingers on the desk seemed to be in synchronization with the ticking of a hanging clock behind me. I turned around to look at it, hoping to get a sense of the time for the first time since being here, but was left confused when I saw there wasn't a clock there. "After receiving this news, the Moroi Council believes you are involved in her kidnapping and the attack on the school was just a cover-up to sneak her out. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to take her from the academy."
My guise cracked a little at that statement. It was the most absurd thing I had ever heard. Distracting me and Rose with a lust charm as Victor had done was one thing, but to actually stage an attack on the school where innocent lives were lost—it was complete madness. I straightened up a little, pulling my stone mask back into place before turning around to face him again. "Sounds like a lot of effort just to get one girl out of the academy. If I really wanted to sneak her out of there, for whatever reason you have cooked up, with all of my training and familiarity with the campus I wouldn't need an attack on the academy. Innocent people wouldn't have had to die."
"That may be true, but it would help cover your tracks and act as an alibi. If you weren't so sloppy," Hans added.
I huffed in response and leaned back in my seat, waiting to hear the bullshit he was about to lay on me. "According to the school reports, your whereabouts when the attack started are unknown. Guardian Petrov went on record to say that your warning helped jump-start the emergency responses, but it could have also been just rising guilt for the lives that were about to be lost because of you that spurred you to do it." I turned my scowl away from him and stayed silent, knowing that no matter what I said his mind was already made up that I was the bad guy here.
"Fine," he sighed as he shuffled through a couple more documents. "If you won't tell us where the Princess is, then maybe you can at least tell us where Rose Hathaway is."
My eyes instinctively darted over to his at the mention of Rose. A very small reaction that turned out to be a large mistake on my part. Croft noticed he had peaked my interest and the growing smirk on his face told me he was fully prepared to use it against me.
"Why is Novice Hathaway any of your concern," I attempted to sound impartial. "She hasn't done anything wrong."
"How can we know that for sure? Her whereabouts at the beginning and during the attack are unknown as well. Her disappearance shortly after also raises suspicion."
I had to painfully bite down on my tongue to keep my snarling words at bay and avoid revealing more information than I should. The taste of iron filled my mouth and a dull ringing reverberated through my ears as I tried to maintain my control. "Rose hasn't done anything wrong," I quietly repeated.
"Well, then you should have no problem telling me where the two of you were when the attack started, or why the both of you disappeared around the same time?" I looked down at the table before my impassive mask could completely fall. I wanted to defend her with every fiber of my being, but I was unable to find a way to clear her name without tarnishing it first; especially without the Princess here to back it up. If I was going down, there was no way in hell I was letting them take Rose with me. I began to feel defeated by my struggling battles with my emotions and my body. I fought to hold my drooping eyelids up, but I was tired. So tired.
"Look, Dimitri. Off the record," Hans lowered his voice as he leaned in. "I don't think you had any part in the attack or were plotting to take the Princess away. I remember the Guardian you were and don't believe that someone as dedicated and honorable as you would be capable of that." I looked up to meet his sympathizing expression and could see the truth behind his words as he continued. "But my hands are tied here. The evidence they thought up is detrimental and without compliance from you, there's not much I can do to help. If you can just tell me where the Princess is, I'm sure there's a way for us to clear all of this up. I can tell the last thing you want is the Hathaway girl sharing a cell next to you."
Those last few words hit me harder than they should have. Maybe it was the lack of sleep pulling at my emotions, but picturing her in one of those suffocating cages felt like a tightening grip inside my chest and around my throat. If I was already having a difficult time, I knew there was no way she would be able to handle it. She was like wildfire. She had this undying need to burn unbridled and free. I couldn't let them snuff her out. Not like this.
"You're right. It's the last thing I want," I said as my shoulders hung heavy with fatigue. "But even if I wanted to tell you, Guardian Croft, I don't know where she is."
A mournful sigh filled the room accompanied by the shuffling of papers. "Well then, Belikov I'm sorry," Croft said as he stood to leave with that same pitying look. "I truly am. For the both of you."
As soon as he exited the room, the same four men entered. This time I had lost all will or energy to rebel against them and let them shove me around until we were brought back to my cage. I kept my head down as they yanked at the shackles around my wrists. I didn't even struggle as they slid open the scraping steel doors and threw me inside. My hands and knees slammed into the cool cement, just barely keeping my face from colliding with the hard surface. I could hear Conall spit some smart-aleck remark at my back, but I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about anything. The complete and utter exhaustion combined with the thought of Rose being anywhere near this place had crushed my spirit and I had no one else to blame but myself. I lifted my depleted body onto the too small bed and buried my face between the mattress and slick wall, trying to hide my shame as a tear slid down my jaw.
\
After a couple hours, I finally moved my head from its makeshift nook and pressed my cheek into my flat pillow. I hoped that maybe now sleep would finally take me when suddenly, I heard a small sound from the other side of the room. I laid still, thinking that my over-tired imagination was running wild again when it grew louder. It sounded almost like...sniffling.
I lifted my heavy head and turned it towards the sound. When I spotted its source I blinked a few times to banish away the hallucination, but this time it remained. There was a small figure crouched in the corner of the cell, their shoulders moving in small, uneven pants. I looked to the front of the cell to see a guard still standing there with his back to the bars.
How had they moved someone in here without me noticing?
I sat up and slowly moved over to the center of the room. The crouched figure didn't stir from their position and kept their face away. "Are you alright," I quietly asked. Their only response was a few more light sniffles. I looked over to the guard again who had yet to budge from his statuesque stance.
"Dimitri," her voice whispered to me. My eyes shot to the girl in the corner and I slowly took a step towards her. That voice was so familiar.
"Dimitri," she whispered again, her face still facing the wall. I gulped as I took another step in her direction and could now see those dark silk waves curtained around her face.
"Roza? Roza is that you," I shakily asked. A small wail escaped her and I reached my hand down to touch her hair. Once my skin made contact with her, there was no doubt in my mind she was here. "Rose. Oh, my Roza. What have they done to you?" I leaned down behind her and soothingly stroked her hair as her soft wails continued to echo off the wall. How did they find her? How could they do this to her?
"Don't worry, Rose. I'll find a way to get us out of here. I'll find a way to set you free," I promised her.
Suddenly her wailing stopped and her body went unnervingly still. Just then I realized that she seemed cold. Too cold. "No, Dimitri," her voice maliciously hissed out. An eerie scraping noise drew my attention away as the guard listlessly slid down the bars of the cell. When he slumped limply to the ground I shifted my focus back to Rose. She slowly began to turn her head towards me as she spoke, but her voice wasn't hers. "It is I who have come to set you free."
When her face finally met mine, her red-ringed eyes turned my breath to ice in my lungs. "No," I croaked out. "No. It can't be." Those tainted orbs stared deep into me as if she was damning my soul. My heart shattered inside my chest and sent me careening backward to the ground. I screamed out her name as I fell.
I fell and fell and fell, her red eyes dragging me down to hell. But the hard surface below me never came. I thought I would fall for eternity when finally something soft and plush came up to meet me and pulled me into its soft cocoon.
I kept my eyes shut tight, afraid to see my distorted love waiting for me to wake. But instead of Rose, another familiar voice seeped into my ears. "Well, it's about time, Belikov. I've been waiting days for you to finally go to sleep."
My eyes shot open and I launched my torso up. I was sitting on a plush, king-sized bed in what appeared to be someone's bedroom. I looked over to my left to see Adrian, leaning against one of the bedposts. "Where am I," I asked dazedly. My memory became clouded, like waking up from a dream. What had just happened? How did I get here?
"In my room. I would have moved to yours but thought you could use a break. It was getting a little crowded in there anyway," he raised an eyebrow at me.
My mind felt fuzzy. How could a jail cell be crowded?
Then the memory of what had happened rushed back to me. Rose.
"Rose! Where is she? Is she alright? What's happening?" I stood off the bed and frantically rushed towards him.
"Woah, calm down. It was just a nightmare, Dimitri," Adrian replied with an anxious look in his eyes. It was then that I realized I had a tight grip on his shoulders and had practically shaked him for answers. I dropped my hold and looked down at my hands, wondering when I had done that.
"I—I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on with me."
"It's okay," Adrian let out a relieved breath. "You're just over exhausted. You haven't slept in over five days. I've been trying to get in contact with you, but could never get a good hold on you."
Five days. I'd been in that place for five days. "But if we're here," I looked around. "That means we're in a—"
"A dream," he finished for me.
A Spirit dream. Rose had told me about them before. "I never imagined it would look so real," I said to myself.
"Why don't you take a seat," Adrian motioned over to a small sofa with an uneasy look on his face. I obliged to ease his worriment that I might snap at him again.
"So Rose is alright," I questioned more calmly this time. "She's safe?"
"Yes. She's fine. Worried about you, but fine," he smirked.
I released a calming sigh and laid my head back against the sofa. "Slava Bogu."
"She actually had a breakthrough with Lissa the other night," he started as he pulled a chair over to sit across from me. "It was tough going in the beginning, but something happened a few nights ago. We're not sure what, Rose said the details weren't necessary, but Lissa seems to be improving by the day."
"That's good news." I wasn't sure how long the Princess' recovery would take. I could only imagine the guilt and pain she must be suffering through. I couldn't even fathom coming to terms with that torment if I had been in her position.
"Great news actually," he started. "That means it won't be long before we can come to court and present our case to Aunt Tatiana. Those Mână pricks will finally be put away."
I let his words sink in and suddenly felt my stomach drop at the mention of them coming to court. Hans had expressed that the Council was now not only accusing me of these false deeds but were now looking into Rose as well.
"I'm getting an unexpected vibe from you Belikov," Adrian eyed me speculatively. "I thought the mention of your upcoming freedom would make you happy, but you look like someone just pissed in your milk."
I ran my hands over my face, hoping it would wash away some of the absurdity that Hans had poured into my mind just hours before. I glanced over at Adrian who was looking at me expectantly and decided I might as well tell him, maybe he could convince her not to come with them to court if he heard what they were accusing her of.
"What a crock of shit," he announced as soon as I was done.
"My thoughts exactly." I reached up and tried to rub out the dull ringing at the side of my head.
"You look like you could use a drink."
I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head. "They don't really offer a side of Moskovskaya with our daily rations of food."
Suddenly, a chilled bottle of Russian vodka and two shot glasses appeared out of thin air on the table beside us. "Lucky for you, I aim to please," Adrian said with a wink. He reached out and poured the thick liquid into the glasses and handed one over to me. The glass was cool to the touch and I could detect the familiar sharp scent of my homeland's finest. I rolled the glass around in my hands, fascinated by how real it appeared.
"Za Vas," Adrian said as he lifted his glass to me. I hesitated a moment. I'd never been much of a drinker; really only a glass or two during special occasions. But I figured what the hell. It was a dream anyways, right?
"Za Vas," I repeated the toast before slinging the clear liquid into my mouth. My eyes widened at the burning taste, astonished by the image Adrian had created. Everything about the vodka was the same as I remembered, and I wondered if I drank enough if that calming buzz that normally accompanied it would arise. However, I decided against testing that theory and set my glass back down beside the misty bottle. Adrian on the other hand, poured himself another.
"Well, I'm not sure how much time we have left, but you should know better than anyone that I can't make Rose stay behind," he said as he drained his drink. "I'll tell her what you told me, but she's going to make up her own mind whether we like it or not."
The truth of that statement ironically made me grin. It was true. Rose was resilient and loyal to a fault. If there was a chance to clear my name I knew she would be at the frontlines, but I just hoped she would see reason and hang back until this all blew over. Wishful thinking.
Adrian looked at me curiously and I couldn't quite gauge the meaning behind that expression. I scrunched my brow as I tried to get a read on him, which apparently amused him. He let out a sigh and ruffled his hair as if he was shaking some cobwebs out.
"Listen, Belikov. I know your situation isn't ideal right now, but hang in there. We'll be coming s—"
Suddenly a furious wave of cold water fell over me, rushing into my nose and eyes. I gasped for air, thinking that Adrian had somehow transported us to the ocean, but quickly realized that my body was laying on something hard.
"Rise and shine knobdobber," that pesky Scottish accent rang.
I looked down to see my now too small bed was soaked in water, along with my face and torso. There was an empty bucket hanging from Conall's hands, which was no doubt the reason behind that satisfied smirk on his face.
I couldn't have had more than a few hours of sleep, but I already felt rejuvenated. Originally, the thought of Adrian invading my dreams would have irritated me beyond reproach but after seeing him I had to admit, I felt gratitude for not only the information, but the company as well. The news that Rose was making progress with Vasilisa and the thought of being able to hold her in my arms again soon sent a new wave of hope and perseverance through me.
I slowly rose from the soaked bed to tower over the Conall's stocky build. Noticing that I was a lot less complacent than a few hours ago caused his Adam's apple to bob nervously as he took a small step back.
"Ah, Conall," I replied as I moved forward. "Just the man I wanted to see."
A/N: I know I usually put the dream and/or spirit dream sequences in italics, but I wanted to show here how the exhaustion was confusing Dimitri so much to the point he couldn't tell if he was dreaming or awake. Poor guy. But it looks like there may be a light at the end of the tunnel :D. Thanks for reading!
Translation:
Slava Bogu - Thank God
Za Vas - To you
Knobdobber - a complete prick of a tosser