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CHAPTER EIGHT

As much as I want to indulge in my nostalgia being back at my old academy, Spiridon and I found ourselves running late to the meeting introducing the first Trial.

"Come on, Dimitri, I don't want to miss their face when they find out." He laughs and we jog over.

We slip quietly into the Gym, standing off to the side, the bleachers to our right and the groups of Novices directly in front of us, the line of them separated by schools, taking up the whole of the South wall.

Guardian Galina Minkoff stands in the middle of the room at a podium with a microphone set up and I smile ever so slightly at my old mentor, a warmth of old memories of me in my youth being whipped into shape by her.

"She's just told them they must win by knockout," Spiridon whispers, joining in on the mini commotion.

I take a look throughout the room, focusing on the female Guardians, seeing if I feel the spark Yeva said I would at first sight of seeing her.

Nothing.

"Silence!" Galina commands, making even me stand up a little straighter. Oh, I remember that tone well.

"Goddamn, I do not remember girls being that fucking sexy when we were teenagers, do you, Dimika?" Spiridon whispers to me, and I don't even need to see who he's looking at to be disgusted by his words.

I've always gotten along with him, but I've forgotten what a pig he could be.

He doesn't catch on to my glower and jerks his head further down the line to our right and I almost choke on my saliva.

No, no this can't be . . . this can't happen . . .

My heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest in a way I can't even begin to describe, nothing I've experienced comes close, not my first crush, or having sex for the first time, not killing my first Stigoi . . . nothing.

She's the most beautiful, sexy girl . . . woman, I've ever seen with long wavy black hair, perfect tan skin and a figure with the most seductive curves that make my mouth water and my dick harden. Everything Yeva said to me comes back in snippets. "She is a beauty unmatched, make him whole . . . it will be at first sight."

"Most of you will be full fledged Guardians soon. There will be no ground rules protecting you from injury when you are facing Stigoi out in the real world, so there will not be any now. Furthermore, The loser of your match up today will be permanently eliminated and will be sent back to your home academy. Only 25 will move on today after scoring two knockouts!"

I watch as an array of emotions pass over her face, which was once as stone cold as any Guardians is capable of and my heart aches for her.

No! She cannot be the one my grandmother foresaw! She's probably only 17 or 18 and she's definitely a student. I am a grown man and mentor during these trials. That's it, Dimitri, talk some sense into yourself! She's not the one, she's just a very beautiful girl, anyone would notice that.

I have to stop myself from a murderous look taking over my face at the thought of other men looking at her. Men like Spiridon.

I've never in my life laid eyes on a woman and wanted so badly to have them.

No. No, I refuse. It's not her.

Galina finishes up and other Guardians remove the podium and it takes everything in me not to stare, but I fail miserably.

She'll sometimes turn her body in a certain way where I'm able to see the curve of her very full breasts and ass, making my situation even harder to ignore. My hands clasped in front of me can only do so much.

Focus, Dimitri! It can't be her.

'She knows about you too.'

I almost keel over, remembering Yevas words.

ROSE POV

Minkoff's patience wears thin quickly and calls out to the crowd again.

"Anyone that has a problem with the rules, may leave now and pack your things."

That shuts everyone up. No way did I just travel close to 15 hours to just turn back and go home. Uh uh not a chance in hell.

"Good, lets begin." She steps off the podium, keeping the mic and two other Guardians remove it from the middle of the gym. As she does so I notice for the first time about six Guardians holding cameras. They spread out getting as many angels as possible it would seem.

"First matchup!" She plunges her hand in the bowl, "Henry Peterson, St. Williams, Rank 3 vs. . . . Lucas Montoya, St. Williams, Rank 4. Step forward!"

"Oh, shit, they're from the same academy!" Eddie, hisses.

Damn, I don't know why, but It didn't occur to me that we could be fighting each other so soon . . .

Two males, both about 6 feet or so, cautiously walk into the middle of the gym and face each other, and from what I can tell they are not happy about having to fight one another.

With no fanfare Minkoff greenlights the fight to begin. They shake hands in good sportsmanship and fall into a standard stance before dancing around each other, both too timid to throw the first blow. A Guardian hovers nearby, acting as the ref for when one of them falls.

I quickly become bored by their shyness to deliver a blow. Like I get it, it's nerve wracking being first and fighting your friend, but still, this is a competition. Even through my boredom I pay close attention, I may have to fight one of them and I need to learn all I can of technique, strengths and weakness.

After about 15 minutes Montoya was able to knock out his classmate and it only took another five minutes or so for him to repeat it. That's the kicker about being knocked out, once it happens the first time, it's way easier for it to happen again. You see it in human combat sports all the time. An amazing fighter could be in the prime of their lives but eventually the head damage catches up and the dudes with the best chins start to fall easier and easier.

Dhampirs are made of harder stuff thanks to our vampiric blood giving us increased strength, speed, healing etc etc, but getting knocked out unconscious and then having to fight again moments later . . . you gotta be a whole other beast.

Match after match is called and I continue to pay close attention. Most of the guys taking the wins are gassing themselves out, wanting to destroy and conquer but in doing so are showing every single card in their hand.

I formulate a plan in my mind of how I want to present when it's my turn. I want to be impressive, they need to fear my skills, but they cannot know the extent of them. This is only the beginning, if I blow my load in my first fight like a lot of these guys, climbing this hill will be 1000% harder.

The 10th match finishes up and we eagerly and anxiously await the next names.

"Alla Bosch, St. Basils Rank 3 vs. . . . Meredith Beckham St. Vladmirs Rank 5. Step forward."

She's the first of our school to go and against a higher rank at that. My regret of being so . . . hardcore against her back at St. Vlads comes back and I extend an olive branch.

"You got this, Meredith." I call out strong and clear as she walks forward. I don't know why I want her to know I'm rooting for her but here we are. Surprisingly she looks back and smiles softly at me in thanks and I can tell it's genuine.

"Thank god she pulled another female," Mason says, and I find myself agreeing even though it annoyed me to. She's too nervous and doesn't have enough faith in herself to last against a top male. Even more fortunate, hopefully, the girl is way smaller than Meredith. Not that that means everything, look at me for gods sake, but still, I'm hoping it does.

The Alla girl, repping St. Basils, snubs Meredith's hand shake and uses the outstretched arm to do a judo throw at the start of the match.

"Bitch." I hissed.

Meredith apparently felt the same because it lit a fire under her ass. With a wicked right hook, Meredith had her out cold in just a few minutes. After waking her up and resetting, Alla tipsy on her feet, Meredith rolls out the gate in a fury of fists, knocking her out a second time in a few seconds flat.

"There you go, Meredith, beast mode!" We all cheer her on, Mason the loudest, pumped she was able to win. I join in with a loud whistle, happy for her, but worried as well.

Everyone is watching and inspecting just as closely as I am and Meredith's showing was that she's hot headed and fights emotionally. Her next opponent is not going to be as dumb as the girl they're carrying out currently and if they can get her riled up again it'll be bad news.

"Next!" Guardian Galina calls out as Meredith rejoins us to hugs and pats on the shoulder, me included which she accepts sheepishly.

She sticks her hand in the bowl and retrieves a new name.

"Igor Gusev St. Basils Rank 1 vs. . . . Rosemarie Hathaway-Mazur, St. Vladmirs, Rank 1!"

My back straightens as I hear my name called and a very audible gasp can be heard from the crowd, family and novices alike.

Like I said, my father is very infamous around these parts.

I don't miss the whispers of 'Zmey' and "Zmey has a daughter?"

He sure does, I think to myself.

I remove my jacket leaving me in my leggings and sports bra, put my hair in a top knot and head over to square up against my opponent, another student of St. Basils.

Looks like me and Meredith get to deal with the people we eliminate after all of this. Fu-u-un

"You got this, Rose!" Mason and Eddie yell in unison.

I eye my opponent. He's tall, 6'2" at least to my 5'3" and built like the definition of brick shit house and very pissed off looking. I have barely two seconds to finalize how I want to handle this but luckily I'm quick on my feet. He's gonna be stronger and faster than me, with a much longer reach, so I need to be smarter, always smarter.

"Take it you're not the handshake kinda guy." I brace my body in a light stance, trying not to give away what I have planned.

He curls his lip at me like a rabid dog, "Not a chance in hell. This is bullshit, I even have to fight a bitch."

Oooh, I am not the one, motherfucker.

"Begin!"

To the untrained eye this move may seem extremely desperate and half baked, much like Meredith's match, but I have only one option at my disposal and with the super crouched stance he was taking to make up for our height difference, I knew it would work.

As soon as I hear Guardian Minkoff give the green light, I abandon my much more relaxed stance and bolt towards him as fast as I can, building up momentum before he can realize what's happening and deliver a good old fashion flying knee to the chin. In seconds it lands ruthlessly and with a sickening crunch of poor Igor glass motherfucking jaw.

Blood splatters from his lips, spraying all over my exposed skin. The feeling of his jaw shattering reverberating through my knee and throughout the rest of my bones, making my blood curdle and a shiver travel up my spine.

His eyes immediately roll into the back of his head and he crumples to the ground, out cold.

"That's my girl!" I hear my dad shout, jumping from his seat in pure glee, and the rest of the joint erupts in gasps and cheers, louder than any match before.

I give some space as the Guardian acting as the ref and a medic trained Guardian come to check up on Igor who is just absolutely gushing blood and still not coherent. They put him on his stomach so he doesn't choke on his blood and Guardian Minkoff walks over inspecting him and speaks to the medic, still trying to wake him up.

I stand to the side, returning my dads comical thumbs up, the cheers of my friends behind me.

"Who's the bitch now, Igor?" Meredith shouts very unsportsmanlike to the prone novice, and I realize he must have said it loud enough for the whole place to hear.

After a moment Minkoff rises from her crouch and walks over to me, lifting my hand like she has the other winners.

"Novice Gusev is unable to continue after one knock out," She announces into the mic, "our winner is Novice Hathaway-Mazur!"

The whole gym erupts again as I shake Minkoffs hand and take my place with my classmates, each of them basically picking me up in congratulations, even Mikhail.

I don't put my jacket back on. Even though my match lasted literally five seconds, the adrenaline dump was enough to make me break out in a sweat. Plus as barbaric as it is, I want them to see Igors blood all over me.

They saw enough to know I'm powerful but not enough to have an understanding of the extent to my skill set, so I'm hoping in their minds this could be their blood next time.

My breathing is hard and I'm trying to calm my nerves but failing. I look around the gym to see most everyone but Igors classmate clapping and looking at me with impressed expressions and it's not helping me let go of my adrenaline.

What helps even less is when I catch sight of a man I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed until now. I was very focused on analyzing all the novices but still . . .

He's the tallest person in the room, easily 6' 7", with long brown hair tied in a small bun at the back of his head. He's wearing the usual Guardian black pants and black t-shirt but over it is a long dark brown leather coat that I think people call a duster. Usually something like that would look so out of place but on him it looks natural and incredibly badass and sexy.

My heart that was already in overdrive, skips a beat at the sight of his massive, towering body and I instantly know. It's him. Rhonda was right and there's no way I ever stood a chance.

He's clapping for me and we make eye contact and a searing heat fills my chest, stomach, and even lower as my breath hitches in my throat.

No, I would have never stood a chance, even if Rhonda had never told me what was to come. With or without fortune telling there is nothing more obvious in the world to me that I want that man just as much as I want to be Lissa's Guardian.

I watch as he lets me see the same heat that's in my gaze reflect in his own and another wave rushes throughout my body, tightening things in me I've never felt before.

On one hand I know right off the bat that he's attracted to me so no problem there, but do I tell him the whole truth? That a tarot card reader saw my future and told me we were destined for eachother? Yeah, I'm sure that will go over well. I struggle with the thought for a moment and then something even more important finally hits me.

He's not a student. He's a Guardian. An adult. I mean technically I am as well, but only for the last month. He's like . . . a real adult.

I look away, trying not to make my panic obvious.

This cannot be happening to me.

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