If you consider yourself an expert on Moroi royals, have fun looking out for all the references in this chapter!

19. Road Trip

(Mikhail POV)

I couldn't quite believe it... I was just dreaming of Sonya and then she suddenly appeared at my door. I didn't care that I hadn't slept properly in weeks and was standing there unshaven and only half-dressed – whatever she wanted from me, my answer was yes.

Now, half an hour later, a quiet sense of elation was rising in my chest as I glanced over at the beautiful creature from my dream who was seated in the passenger seat of my car, staring out at the lightening sky ahead of us. This was the first time we'd ever really been alone together without the chance of being interrupted. We were free.

The ambient sound of electronic strings against a backdrop of driving percussion pulsed through the car, and I smiled as I caught sight of Sonya in my peripheral vision, one eyebrow raised sardonically at my choice of music. This woman had invaded my mind and stolen my heart but even she couldn't change my taste in music. I reached forward to turn the volume down a little further then settled back into my seat contentedly. There was nothing I'd like more than to reach across and hold her hand but there was no rush. Our drive would last the better part of three hours, followed by the shopping adventure and then the return journey. She was stuck with me – for better or for worse.

'So have you been to many banquets in your time at St. Vladimir's?' I enquired, eager to use the long drive to find out more about the mysterious woman beside me.

'I haven't been to a royal banquet since I was twenty-one, and that experience was traumatic enough,' she replied with an exaggerated shudder.

'Why? What happened?' I asked curiously, pleased that she seemed relaxed and ready to talk.

'Queen Ekaterina decided to hold a banquet in honour of the young royals returning home from college for the spring break,' she began, glancing across at me as she played with her scarf. 'Clearly I wasn't a royal, but I took several of the same classes as one of the Voda girls so I was sent an invite too.'

Her voice was quiet but clear, becoming more animated as the story progressed.

'My cousin Emily took me shopping and made sure I was ready from my eyelashes down to my toenails, and I arrived at the banquet hall feeling like a princess. But as soon as the doors swung open and I entered that room full of royalty I knew I was an imposter.'

The scarf dropped from Sonya's fingers and she began to wave her hands to add emphasis her words.

'I never thought I could feel so alone in a crowd of people. It's not that I didn't recognise anybody – I just had no idea what to say or how to behave. Everybody was so poised and elegant. They all seemed to be intimately acquainted with one-another, flirting and discussing fashionable topics of conversation effortlessly, while I sat off to one side of the hall trying to avoid the unwanted attentions of a drunken Neil Szelsky and the pitying glances of the younger royals who made a point of letting me know that I was in the wrong place. And don't even get me started on the dancing.'

She rolled her eyes then hid her face in her hands, too embarrassed to go on.

'One problem at a time,' I smiled at her gently, brushing my fingers against her arm. When Sonya looked up at me her cheeks were slightly flushed and I found her humiliated expression so endearing I nearly kissed her then and there. God, she was beautiful when she was all worked up.

Steady on, Mikhail, I reprimanded myself. Stop thinking with your pants and come up with something useful to say. I'd been around royals long enough to know the damage that could be caused by their petty social games. Perhaps there was a way I could help Sonya – pass on some small piece of information that would give her an advantage when she walked into the lion's den? Why not? I decided, placing my hand back on the steering wheel.

'I know I'm only a dhampir and I've never been to a royal banquet as a guest, but I have attended hundreds of them in my role as a guardian at Court. Let me tell you something from personal experience; the royals might put on some dignified airs but they all have something to hide. Everybody wears a mask and they only let the world see what they want it to see.'

'I'm not sure I follow,' she said, wrinkling her nose doubtfully. 'They seem pretty convincing to me.'

I glanced over at her, feeling a devious excitement building in my chest. 'Normally I'd consider it poor form for a guardian to share private information about the moroi in his charge, but in this case I think it would be okay for me to…,' I dropped my voice to a conspiratorial whisper, 'divulge a few secrets.'

Her eyes widened in delight and I pressed on, encouraged by her reaction. 'Think of me as your personal spy – what do you want to know?'

Sonya chewed her bottom lip and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she considered my offer. Unlimited access to moroi secrets for the next two hours... So many questions danced behind her eyes and she opened her mouth then closed it again at least three times before she finally spoke up.

'Who is safe to talk to?' she asked carefully.

Of course that would be her first question. Sonya's whole life had been tainted by the overwhelming fear that her magical abilities would be discovered, and after talking with Spiridon and Victor Dashkov I knew that she had good reason to mistrustful of strangers. Even so, I wanted to remind her that she didn't need to be intimidated by everybody she met – that she didn't need to be ruled by her fear.

'Well that depends on your definition of safe,' I joked, trying lighten the tone of the conversation. 'Princess Arianna Szelsky is one of the more approachable royals. She is the current leader of her family, and is known for her politeness towards non-royals and dhampirs alike. You may not have the chance to speak with her though – many believe she would be a good candidate for queen when Tatiana's reign comes to an end and she will likely be surrounded by her supporters for most of the evening.'

I glanced across and saw Sonya nod to herself, filing the information away for retrieval at a later date.

'If you'd prefer a more lively conversation you could keep your eyes open for Natasha Ozera,' I suggested.

'Natasha?' she interrupted, 'I didn't think she would come to a royal event after what they did to her family.'

The unfortunate events surrounding the staking of Lucas and Moira Ozera were common knowledge, as was the resentment harboured by Natasha towards the majority of the royal circle who had gradually pushed her and her nephew Christian out of favour.

'If it was a normal royal event I'd agree that Natasha wouldn't be likely to attend. But seeing as this banquet is being held in honour of the Dragomir family she might make an exception. If she does show up, though, you can expect some fireworks. She has an opinion on everything from offensive magic-use to legal rights for blood whores. If she ends up talking to Reece Tarus we might need to move the tables aside and set up a containment barrier – it could prove to be extremely entertaining!'

Sonya chuckled at my colourful description then her smile deepened and an unexpected glint appeared in her eyes. 'And what about some dirt?...' she asked wickedly, 'in case I get into trouble and need a bargaining chip.'

I laughed out loud, pleased she was sinking her teeth into the activity.

'Well, keep an eye out for Adrian Ivashkov. He's one of the younger royals so you might not have met him. He is famous for arriving with a few drinks under his belt and keeping the party going from there. As a favourite of the queen he is rarely removed from official functions, and he is known to get quite amorous with the ladies. Some say he takes after his uncle, Prince Rufus, who is always surrounded by women despite the disapproving looks from his wife.'

'You do know your stuff,' she said, impressed.

I paused briefly from my instruction, mentally sifting through all of the intel I'd picked up over the years, trying to find a juicy titbit that could be useful to Sonya (without me having to resort to slander or treason).

'The Badica family are fairly harmless,' I resumed the lesson, 'but some of them are overly keen to brush shoulders with more important families and they take offence if approached by anybody they deem to be 'beneath' them. Ironically, most of the other royals consider them to be insignificant in the scheme of things but they are too proud to see the truth.'

'Sometimes it's easier to admit you're insignificant than to find out from somebody else,' Sonya commented with a wry smile.

I nodded in agreement then remembered one final piece of information that I hoped would be of particular interest.

'But I think my personal favourite is the Lazar family; Eugene is an administrator at the Royal Court but he holds hopes of being headmaster at St. Vladimir's one day. He went up for the position a few years ago but Ellen Kirova won the job. Rumour has it that Queen Tatiana told him if he couldn't control his own daughter. Avery, she failed to see how he expected to control a whole school full of teenagers.'

That one made her stop and think. Sonya would have been a member of staff when the Head Teacher position was advertised. She must have had her own ideas about who should get the top job, and clearly this little piece of news hadn't been made public knowledge.

'Well, that gives me a lot to go on,' she finally replied, a look of confidence spreading across her face. 'Even if I don't use any of the information you've given me, now I won't feel so intimidated when I look them in the eye.'

'Excellent. My job is done,' I grinned, imagining her walking up to Marcella Badica and telling her to get off her high-horse.

'So, next we have to solve your dancing problem,' I went on casually, sneaking a glance at the attractive woman beside me. If I was going to mentor her in relaxation strategies and self-defence techniques it couldn't hurt to include some more pleasurable recreational training in the schedule. I knew Sonya was shy, but I had a feeling she would be a good dancer if she let herself trust me. (And, if I was being honest, I'd take any excuse at this point just for the chance to hold her.)

'I think you've helped enough for one day, Mikhail,' she arched an eyebrow at me coyly, perhaps guessing my thoughts.

There was a lull in the conversation for a short while after that, and I hoped I hadn't made her uncomfortable with the dancing suggestion, but when she spoke up again there was a strange note to her voice - vulnerable and wanting - that sent a quiver through my body.

'Will you be at the banquet?' she asked shyly, avoiding my eyes.

'Yes. Yes I will,' I assured her. 'I'll be serving in an official capacity for the first part of the evening but my shift finishes at 9:00am. I'd be happy to walk you home after that if you'd like?' Before I knew what I was doing my hand drifted from the gearshift to rest on her knee, and I heard her take an unsteady breath then she turned her head to look at me.

'Yes,' she said simply. 'I'd like that.'

Our eyes met for a moment, conveying so many unspoken messages; possibility, desire, promise, trust. I let my thumb stroke the soft fabric of her leggings and squeezed her leg lightly before consciously dragged myself away from her gaze, moving my hand to grip the steering wheel and returning my attention to the road – my immediate task was getting Sonya to the shops safely and if I kept thinking about what might happen after the banquet I was definitely going to cause an accident.

The rest of the trip passed quickly, alternating between light conversation and companionable silence until we came across a sign at the side of the road that read; "Welcome to Missoula – the discovery continues."

'We're nearly there,' I announced, feeling strangely sad that our drive had come to an end, until I remembered that the fun was just about to begin. 'Are you ready to do some shopping?'

Author's Note:

This scene links back to the road trip Rose & Dimitri took at the start of Frostbite on their way to the Badica residence. The only difference is that Romitri were at a point of denying their relationship, whereas Sonya & Mikhail are ready and willing to see where their relationship will lead. Are you enjoying the building sexual tension?!

I hope you liked all of the references to royal characters from the books/movie - took a bit of research to get that right!