Rose's POV
Dimitri did not make any changes to the schedule for the rest of the week. I spent my nights at the front gate, which had become slightly busier with people occasionally coming by to drop their children off, and my days sleeping or at the gym. When I had the time, I tried to sneak in a conversation with Sunshine. She told me she hadn't had any nightmares again, but I knew she was lying. It was worrying, but I hoped they would stop soon. There wasn't really anything I could do about dreams, after all.
On Wednesday, a guardian I didn't know delivered a schedule and some material on what was to be taught to the novices this semester to my room, and I rolled my eyes at the lengths Dimitri was going to to avoid me again. I could have picked it up in his office like literally everyone else had. Oh well.
My week didn't become particularly interesting until Friday, though. It was Sunshine's birthday – or, well, the day Sunshine believed to be her birthday – and I knew she would hate it if I didn't find a way to celebrate it. Her roommate had arrived the day before, though, so that complicated things.
In the end, it was much easier than I expected. She had told her roommate – Jane Badica, if I recalled correctly – that it was her birthday, and the other girl had immediately announced it to the entire dorm. I was sure it would have embarrassed Sunshine but, by the time I had entered the building, she was smiling and laughing with several other Moroi children in one of the common rooms. Several guardians assigned to the elementary campus had made an appearance to wish her a happy birthday, and nobody found it odd to find me there. I managed to slip her the gift I'd bought a few weeks prior – a little silver sun charm for her charm bracelet – and left soon after. She'd paid little attention to me, far more interested in talking to the other kids around her, and I took comfort in knowing that she would be just fine.
It wasn't Sunshine's birthday that made the day more exciting than the previous ones, in any case. No, it was the moment I drifted off to sleep after visiting her, and I felt the beginning of a spirit dream again. That had to mean he'd done what I'd asked.
My good mood disappeared the moment I realised where we were – seated at a table in the library at St. Vladimir's, where we had often researched Spirit magic and its effects. Adrian looked around the room, then back at me. "Mhm, that's what I thought."
"What's what you thought?" I asked, though it didn't take a genius to figure it out.
Adrian put down a stack of files on the table between us, but he placed his hand on top to keep me from taking them. "Figured I'd let you choose the place for today's meeting. You tend to reveal your location when you do."
"It's just a familiar place," I tried to argue, but why did I even bother? The proof was in the pudding – or, as it were, in those files in front of him.
Adrian gave me a wry smile. "You didn't think I'd break into the guardians' archives, steal a whole bunch of files for you, and not get curious what they contained, right?"
I'd hoped that only telling him the file numbers – I'd spent enough time organising the files in those damn archives years ago for the numbering system to still be burnt into my mind – would be enough to keep him from finding out what information was inside, but it really was as simple as opening them up and reading probably no more than the first page he found. No, I should have known better than that. Maybe my other option – calling my mother again – would have been the smarter decision. Then again, I really couldn't have her knowing I was looking into the academy's history. Adrian would keep this secret, and he would know better than to try to persuade me to leave it be. My mother, on the other hand, might agree with Dimitri on this and reassign me again. I couldn't take that risk.
"No, I guess not," I said. I looked at the stack on the table again. "Are these all of them?"
Adrian nodded. "Yup. Every single incident report from St. Vlad's of the past seventy-five years."
"I only asked for sixty."
"Oh, well, sorry I didn't exactly have the time to sort through them while I was illegally hanging out in the guardians' secret archives," he said sarcastically. "It's more than you wanted, not less, so I figured you'd appreciate it."
"I do. Thank you," I said, expecting him to lift his hand so I could take a look at what he'd found. He didn't, though. "Can I see them?"
"Are you going to tell me what you're looking for?"
I sighed. "It's not exactly that I'm looking for something specific. I'm more so trying to figure out what isn't there."
"I'm not sure I understand."
What use was it lying to him now? "I have it on pretty good authority that I'll find answers at the academy."
"So you've said."
"Which is why I'm going to cross-check these reports with the ones kept here and—"
Adrian's eyes lit up. "—and find out what's missing from these files! Rose, have I ever told you that your brain really is wasted in your profession?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a genius. Now – the files?"
He shook his head in amusement but slid the files across the table. "Knock yourself out, but I doubt you'll be able to remember all of this."
"I don't need to," I said. At least I hoped that was true. "Are you… awake in the real world?"
"Yes."
"Can you write while you're… in here?"
The answer to that question came after a moment's hesitation. "I think so? I haven't tried that before."
"You'll make it work." I opened up the first file, realising that this might take a bit longer than I'd initially thought. "Write down these numbers: 10-03-1942."
A loud noise woke me shortly after Adrian had left me, and it took me a moment to realise that it had been the sound of someone absolutely pounding their fists against my door. I could guess who it was before I'd even opened the door.
"Jesus, Dimitri, do you want the whole floor to know you're here?" I asked, stepping aside to let him in.
He stormed past me without acknowledging my question. Not that I'd expected him to. Standing in the middle of my room now, he was waiting for me to shut the door. I did so, then turned to face him. I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing here, but he was faster.
"Why did Adrian Ivashkov just send me several messages containing a list of random numbers?" he demanded.
I leaned back against the door, crossing my arms in front of me. "Because I asked him to?"
"Don't play dumb with me now," he said dangerously, taking a step towards me.
With my back already against the door, I had nowhere to go. Smart move, Rose. Very smart.
Luckily, Dimitri stopped at about a foot's distance in front of me. "I'm listening?"
"Dates," I finally said. "They're dates, not random numbers."
When I'd realised the extent of the information in those files, I'd known it wouldn't be feasible to try to write down more than the dates at the top of each report. Those would be enough for my purposes, though. All I needed was to check them against the dates on the records kept here, and if I was right, I'd finally know more about what was going on here. Of course, I did need Dimitri's help for that if I didn't plan on doing some breaking-an-entering of my own. Which I definitely had no desire to do without spirit magic at my disposal.
"What dates? What does that mean? Why do you—"
Another loud noise interrupted Dimitri, and I immediately found the offender. My alarm clock. Well, wasn't that just a perfect excuse to throw his own stubbornness about my schedule in his face?
"I'll tell you later," I said, sauntering over to my nightstand. "I think I have a shift at the front gate to get to."
Dimitri narrowed his eyes at me. "Not before you tell me what you're planning."
"No, I'm pretty sure you insisted that there was nothing to be done about the schedule so I'm afraid that won't be possible," I said and turned around. "I'm sure you can find your way out."
He had intercepted me on my way to the bathroom door before I could even take two steps. "Forget the schedule for a moment and talk to me. You promised you would."
"I did. If you agreed not to shut me out, which isn't exactly what you've been doing, is it now?" I countered.
He didn't move. "You had him send this to me, so you must know that you don't have a chance at getting your hands on this information unless you cooperate with me."
"What makes you think I won't just take your phone again?" I asked, stepping closer.
He took a step back in turn. "For one, I'm not going to let you kiss me again."
"Let me?" I asked, suppressing a laugh. "I remember that interaction a little differently. You were the one who initiated that kiss to get me to stop fighting. I just used it to my benefit."
Dimitri stayed put this time, even as I kept advancing on him, and I had no doubt he was trying to look like nothing about this bothered him. "I won't be doing that, either."
"We'll see about that." His breath came unevenly, and I could practically hear his heart beat faster. Whatever he was trying to tell himself, he still felt this pull between us just as much as I did. I couldn't let it distract me, though. Not this time. "Now either let me go to my shift or get someone else to take it."
He looked conflicted for a moment, and I knew neither of the options I was giving him were acceptable. If he'd had his way, I would have told him everything now, and then still gone to my shift so he could use that time to do what I'd intended to do. Nuh-uh. That wasn't how this worked.
"Fine," Dimitri finally said, and I was really hoping he'd picked the second option. Of course, that hope was dashed immediately. "Come find me after your shift. No detours."