Hello, everyone! I have made a Facebook page. This page will contain updates for writings and pictures for certain scenes in the upcoming chapters. The page name is "GreyMare Writings" Go give me a like and a follow! Thank you for all the support for this story. I truly enjoy writing it and mapping the paths that these characters will take.

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MATURE CONTENT THAT MAY TRIGGER SOME READERS.

Chapter 7

"Favorite color?" Dimitri asked me as we began our cool-down stretches. I took a deep breath in as I grabbed my toes and leaned down toward my knees.

"What are we? Twelve?" I chuckled as I touched the tip of my nose to my leg and sighed as I felt that welcomed burn in the back of my legs as I pulled my toes closer to my head.

"What questions should I ask then?" Dimitri had tucked one foot into his groin and laid the other leg flat out, reaching over his side and grabbing his toes with one large hand. We had fallen into a routine the past few days. We would meet at the gym after our shifts, grab a coffee, and then go our separate ways until it was time for our shifts at the end of the day. This morning was my last day of working the graveyard shift, and I was a little apprehensive to admit that I would miss these early mornings with Dimitri. It was comforting with him, he made me throw my head back and laugh.

"I don't know. Something juicy. Not what my favorite color is." I pulled my feet together and leaned over them as I heard the gears in Dimitri's head turning. He was smart. Super smart. The kind of smart that was unusual with men as good-looking as him. I had come to know him somewhat over these handful of few days we spent together, he drank coffee black, didn't really enjoy sweets, his back and chest left sweat stains before his armpits did, and he was lethal when he wanted to be. I had never been as sore as I was when I was practicing with him. He'd flip me and land me flat on my ass nine times out of ten. But I was getting quicker. That one time out of ten I was able to fold him down and buckle his knees. I was able to grab him from the back and wrap my legs around his torso one day. That was my first victory with him.

"Okay, Miss Know It All. You ask me something, so I know what to go off?" Dimitri switched to laying on his back and brought one knee to his chest.

"Okay…" I tapped my finger against my chin and grinned at him.

"How many drinks before you get tipsy?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?' Dimitri smiled over at me. God, I loved those smiles.

He'll be leaving soon. That annoying voice in the back of my head poked through my bliss. I pushed that stupid little voice down and enjoyed the deep rumble of his laugh.

"Who, me? An innocent little angel such as I? I would never." I batted my eyelashes at him and waited for his reply.

"You want the awful truth?" he asked.

"Duh."

"I've never been drunk." I stopped my stretching and looked him dead in the eyes.

"No lying. That's part of the rules." I said.

"I'm not lying. I've had a few drinks before, but I've never had enough to where I got drunk or even felt like I was drunk." Dimitri sat up, crossed his legs, and started unwrapping his wrists.

"You're joking. I saw you drinking the first time we met. So, either you have an ungodly tolerance, or you stop yourself after like, one drink."

"I stop myself after three." He started rolling one of his wrist wraps up into a neat little coil before moving on to the other one. His hair was loose today. The bottom of the strands started to curl just slightly enough to turn up at the sides of his jaw and neck. The sweat made his hair curly; I noted something else about him.

"Why three?" I asked. I looked down at my own hands, the wraps were tight, and I should probably take them off too.

"Well, there's a few reasons." Dimitri looked up at me through his lashes as he worked with his other wrist wrap.

"Tell me," I whispered. He hesitated before he started talking. Maybe he was trying to find the words or maybe he was second-guessing this game of truth or truth.

"I think the main reason is because I never want to be caught off guard. Even if it's not my shift, I want to be at my best. Whenever or however, it's needed. I've seen too many great guardians fail because they were unprepared." As he talked, I tried to get my wrist wrap off. "I wasn't raised like how you said you were. I came home from school and spent a good chunk of my time at home with my mother, grandmother, and sisters…" There was something dark in his eyes as he spoke. But his guardian mask was put into place, concealing any emotion that he may have felt. Fidgeting with the strap to my wrist wrap, I brought it to my mouth to try to tear it loose with my teeth. Out of the corner of his eyes, Dimitri saw me, moved so close that our knees touched, and grabbed my wrist.

"My father…or rather the man who fathered me since he was no true father…liked to drink. A lot. He didn't live with us, but he stayed from time to time." His hand held mine as his other untangled the straps and started slowly unwrapping my wrist.

"It wasn't like what you're thinking. He is also the father to all my sisters; he liked my mother. And knowing that I had some of that man inside of me, hit a nerve. I didn't want to do the things that he had done or treat people the way he treated them. So, after seeing what he had done to my mother, and me finally taking a stand and stopping it, I swore to myself that I wasn't going to be like that. Be like him. And then I met Ivan shortly after. I knew that I wanted to protect him out of all the other Moroi. He was different too…" he let my hand go and instantly reached for the other. His hands felt so warm holding mine. My breath had caught when he first held my hand, now it caught thinking of him letting it go.

"Ivan was the nicest Moroi male I had ever met. Despite his father being an ogre. So, we made a pact. To be better than the men who were unworthy of our mothers. Ivan doesn't take it as seriously as I do, I think he meant to not put his hands on a woman. I don't want to be linked to that man in any form. And if I had it in me to do awful things while drunk like he did, I'd never be able to live with myself knowing that I was like him." Dimitri held my hands as he spoke. His thumb slowly stroked over the tops of my hands.

"You're nothing like him." I wanted him to know that. Someone who cares as deeply as he does could never be terrible.

"I know I don't know him. Or what he did. But I know that you are nothing like him. You're different. Dedicated to any cause, you find a deeper meaning in anything that you do. That's what real men do. And he wasn't a real man." I smiled at him and squeezed his hands.

"I don't know why I told you that…" Dimitri's eyes held mine. "I get around you and say far more than what I mean to. Ivan doesn't even know about what he did." His eyes glazed over, and I could tell he was remembering exactly what happened.

"I'm glad you told me. If you're comfortable, you can tell me what happened, and we'll hate this man together." I gave him a soft smile. Dimitri took a deep breath.

"Well…like I said he never really lived with us, but he did stay with us from time to time. And when he would stay with us, he would do things to my mother. He would hit her, beat her, feed off her, abuse her sexually. My older sisters and I would run and hide outside sometimes, to try and not hear her screams. They seemed to only fuel him. This went on for years. Her getting beaten and raped. Then she was pregnant, and my grandmother moved in with us fully. She would stay with us from time to time. But my grandfather had just died, so she moved in with us. My father came to visit. My mother was maybe seven months pregnant, and her pregnancy had been rough. He was going to have a little boy, and I was very excited for a little brother. My father had been drinking, he reeked of alcohol. My mother wasn't going to let him in, but he forced his way into our home. He grabbed my mother by her throat and slammed her against the wall. My grandmother tried to help but he slammed her down, she didn't get back up. My father dragged my mother by her hair up the stairs, jerked her up, and fed on her. After he was full, he threw her down the stairs. She lost the baby. He didn't come around for about two months after that. Once he heard what had happened, he tried to make it right with her. Any repairs to our home that needed done he paid for, gave my mother a new car, and bought new wardrobes for my sisters and me, but old habitats returned. A few weeks later my mother was pregnant with my younger sister. He didn't show up for a few years. I don't even think he knew about my sister until she was five. I was twelve the next time he came to visit. The last time, he came to visit." He added with a smirk.

"Please, please tell me you wiped the floor with that piece of dirt." I hadn't realized how hard I had been gripping his hands as he told me this story until I interrupted him and looked down. I went to pull my hands away, but he tightened his grip and held them in their place.

"I did." He grinned. "I was already almost as tall as him, he was drunk, sloppy, a broken nose, a few bruised ribs, and I knocked out a tooth. It felt so good, to finally stand up for my mother. To put a stop to everything that she endured out of fear of what he might do." I squeezed his hands tight and smiled.

"I love that you kicked the shit out of him! I mean you really are a god." I whispered the last have. He cocked one eyebrow up at me and chuckled.

"What" he laughed.

"Nothing." I shook my head and sat there and looked at him. He was so close to me that I could smell his deodorant and his natural smell. God, I never thought that man's sweat would be a turn-on for me. But everything that I thought I liked or wanted was contradicted with Dimitri. I wanted to kiss him. I wanted to kiss him so badly. We were close now; it wouldn't take much movement at all. Just as I was thinking about kissing him there was something that shifted between us. Dimitri noticed how close we were too. How our hands were still tangled together, how if only we just leaned forwards a few inches our lips would touch…

Dimitri cleared his throat, released my hands, and stood up. I felt like I had been punched in the gut.

"What about you? How many drinks does it take?" Dimitri threw his wraps into his duffle bag and crossed his arms over his chest. Still sitting down, I outstretched my hand up for Dimitri to help me up, which he did without even hesitating.

"Oh, I'm a lightweight. Four drinks and I'm gone." There was no shame in that statement. I'd learned early on that I couldn't handle my liquor. Knowing that Dimitri had shared such a personal memory with me, I wanted to return the favor.

"It was my senior year at the academy, and everyone went on this ski trip. I mean the entire school. Lissa and I were kind of fighting at the time, but we made up and went to this party that Adrian was throwing. I had maybe two drinks before I started thinking that the room was spinning. After four, I couldn't walk. My friend Mason had to come and get me and take me back to my room. It was embarrassing."

"Are you and Adrian close?" Dimitri asked me.

"We're good friends. I actually met him on that ski trip. He kind of just tagged along ever since then. He and Lissa were curious about one another. He was the only other spirit user she had met at that point, so after the trip was over, he stayed at the academy as a guest. He and Lissa worked together and taught each other some of the tricks that they could do with spirit."

"Mason seems nice, from what I've met of him." Dimitri nodded as he grabbed his duffle bag and slung it over one shoulder.

"He is, he's one of my best friends." I walked over and grabbed my bag, and placed one hand on the door as I waited for Dimitri to walk over with me.

"How is Ivan coming along?" I hadn't been to many of their meetings. I did remember Lissa telling me about a priest coming in and chatting with them one day.

How fun, I thought, a history lesson with a side of church. I was practically falling asleep just thinking about it.

"He's actually showing a lot of progress. He healed a plant that was completely dead, I think he wants to try an insect next. He was able to charm a ring that Lissa gave him. I don't think he's come very far with auras, or dream walking." Dimitri and I started on our usual path to the queen's quarters.

"That's really good." I was happy that Ivan was showing improvement. But the words that Adrian said rang through my mind loudly at the thought of him.

"What was the priest talking to them about?" I asked as we turned a corner.

"Ivan keeps getting tripped up over this one term. Shadow-kissed. It shows up as an adjective to describe Anna in Vladimir's journals and in scripture, but a direct definition is lost. So, they debated theology and definitions for the better part of three hours." My heart stopped once he said the word. Why did I feel so bad hiding this from him? I leaped into Lissa's mind searching for any information. She had played dumb, acting like she didn't know what the word meant either. Good.

"That sounds extremely boring." I mused.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked, trying to stir the conversation in a different direction as we started going up the back stairs that led to your rooms.

"Oh, I thought that was a question for a twelve-year-old?" Dimitri chuckled.

"Come on, humor me. You wear gray and black. But that hideous duster is brown. If I was a betting gal, and I most certainly am, I would put my money on brown."

"You're guessing brown solely on the fact that my duster is brown?"

"Yup." I said, "Plus, you just look like a brown. You're earthy, rugged. Brown suits you."

"Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you're wrong." We had made it to the top of the stairs, I pressed my thumb to the print lock and opened the back door.

"What? That's basically blasphemy. I'm never wrong." The steel door hissed shut behind us.

"It's not brown." Was all he offered as his answer.

"Then what is it?" I crossed my arms and stopped walking once we made it to my room.

"Now where is the fun in that? You need to guess, Roza." The strap of my duffle bag was cutting into the bare skin of my shoulder. I had recently done laundry, so all my good workout clothes were wearable. I would be lying if I said I wasn't picking my more reviling workout clothes…

"I give up." I shrugged my shoulders and offered my surrender.

"That easily? Where is that fire and stubbornness I've heard so much about?"

"I'm too tired to put up a fight. Let me get a few hours of sleep and some food in me and I'll fight with you all day long." My hair was falling out of the loose ponytail, small trindles of hair landing on my forehead and neck. Dimitri smiled down at me and sighed.

"Well, I'm not going to just tell you. You have to work for it if you really want to know."

"I'm going to be pissed at you if you say some stupid shit like tan or something that is basically brown." I rolled my eyes.

"It's not brown." He assured me.

"Fine, I'll figure it out though. What's mine?" I leaned against my doorframe and laced my hands together.

"Let's see…" Dimitri looked me up and down, from my head to my toes, he slowly dragged his gaze up my body. He stopped to look at my hands, shoulders, neck, and hair.

"You wear a lot of neutral tones. But the little splashes of color that you do manage to sneak in are often very bright. But not neon bright. You were wearing red the first night we met, but something tells me that isn't your favorite. Just a color that complements your skin well. Your hair is tie to yellow. And so have been a few of your clothes. So, I think that's my guess. Yellow." Dimitris's voice was soft and warm as he spoke. I shook my head and smiled.

"I hate you." I turned away and opened my door.

"I'll take that as I'm right." I could hear the smile on his lips as he spoke.

"You're right." I rolled my eyes, admitting that he was right was like vinegar on my tongue. I threw my bag down and stood on the threshold of the door. Biting my lip, I wanted to ask him if he had plans later.

"Do you-"

"What are-" we cut each other off.

"What are you doing later?" Dimitri asked. Raking my brain for a smartass answer I smiled.

"I had some pretty important plans." I put on my best man-eater smile as I carried on. "You know, wash my bedding, meal prep, pick up the dirty dishes that are lying around my apartment, alphabetize my sock drawer according to brand…" I droned on.

"Well, I wouldn't want to impose on such important dealings then."

"I might be able to get talked into something more interesting…" I teased. I had never flirted this much with another man. Flirting was fun and easy, but I never used to get someone to flirt back with me. The small compliments that I got from Dimitri did more to me than any other man's kiss ever has.

"Well, I'm not sure how important it is compared to those grand events you described, but I can guarantee that I can make it more interesting."

"What did you have in mind?" hopefully it was something that involved both of us. Naked. Alone. For hours.

"Dinner? Tonight, at eight? My treat." Dimitri took another step closer to me, closing the gap that was between us. It took all of my mental strength to not jump on him right then and there. Damn, my near-perfect self-control.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" I just needed to hear that sexy voice say yes.

"Yes, Roza. I am. Will you please have dinner with me?" Dimitri placed his forearm on the doorframe right above my head and leaned his weight against it.

"Well. It depends." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Oh, what?" he asked.

"On where you take me. Because I've been to some of these places at court that serve nasty stuff like liver and pancreas and no matter how good-looking you maybe I am not going through that again." I hate myself. Why the fuck would I admit that he was good-looking? Dimitri smirked at me and gave a soft laugh.

"No fancy places; got it. Burger and fries exclusively." The way he rolled his r's made me lose my mind.

"Now you're talking. I'd love to. See you at eight." I pushed off the doorframe, gave Dimitri one last smile, and shut the door closed so I could squeal in happiness in private.

Dimitri's POV

Fuck me, this woman. I went back to my apartment and got in the shower. Cold water would definitely be my friend right now. After I took a cold shower and slipped on some cotton pajama pants, I fell into the bed and threw the sheets over myself. I was tired. More tired than I usually was. I had snuck and looked at the schedule and saw that Rose worked last night but was off the next two days. So, I switched my shifts to have the same days off as her.

She was overwhelming to the senses. Her beauty hurt my eyes, her sweet, flowery scent overpowered my nose, and the soft honey of her voice was like a lullaby. Her soft skin set trails of fire along my skin, there was only one thing lacking and that was taste. And I planned on remedying that. Rose captivated me in a way that other women never had. Running my hands through my wet hair I racked my brain for all the possible ways tonight could go. So many possibilities with a woman like her, a rapid knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Dimitri, open up!" Ivan kept pounding on the door. Groaning, I got out of bed and opened the door. Ivan hadn't shaved, his stubble was a few days old, and it looked like he hadn't fed in a day or two either. Once inside of my room, Ivan kicked the door closed with his heel and grabbed me by the arms.

"What. Do. You. Want."

"I've got to tell you something." Ivan gripped me tighter, his fingers digging into my biceps.

"Shadow-kissed." He whispered, looking around the room. His eyes were beady.

"And?" I lead him on. Not wanting this to last much longer.

"Shadow-kissed Anna. She was kissed, by the shadows. We all know that Vladimir was able to heal people, right? Cure their illness, broken bones, and stuff like that. What if Vladimir was able to bring people back from the dead? People who were kissed by the shadows. It's a literal name for something, but a symbol or sign." Ivan didn't take one breath in between his words.

"I think that you need some sleep and a feeder." I pushed his hands off me and walked back to my bed.

"Dimitri, please listen to me. I'm not crazy, I'm onto something here." Ivan rushed to my side and continued.

"If we can bring people back from the dead, if that's possible, what would that mean for our race? For the Moroi? We could raise our numbers…we could fix our population problem. The dhampirs that die in the field, that problem is fixed!"

"Ivan, you almost killed yourself when you used too much spirit doing party gags. What do you think would happen if you tried to bring someone back to life, which is madness by the way? Do you think that there are enough spirit users to follow dhampirs into the fields? That Moroi would even risk it?" I leaned back and put an arm behind my head.

"That is why it needs to be in the school's curriculum. To reteach the new generation of Moroi a different way of living. Lissa has the power to make that happen. Her word is law. She would fight for this if I was able to prove it."

"What are you going to do? Kill someone and then try to bring them back just to prove a point? Ivan, you're talking madness right now. You're making these crazy leaps, and you know it."

"Oh, but I'm not. I've been watching them…" Ivan's voice dropped and trembled as he spoke.

"Who?" I asked.

"Rose and Lissa. I think Rose is shadow-kissed." Ivan's eyes lit up as he spoke. "There's something there. A bond. Rose ticks her head to the side when Lissa is looking at her, and nods in agreement when nothing is said. I saw their auras for the first time the other day, it was fuzzy, but they move like magnets. They are rimmed in gold. Watch them next time you see them together. They have a bond. Lissa can heal anything, she's told me about animals she's healed before, why is it that big of a stretch to think that she can't heal one of us?" Ivan inched closer to me as he spoke, trying to drive his point home. I thought back to the time I saw Rose in the hallway. It was like she was there in body but not there in spirit. I shook my head.

"No, it's not possible Ivan." I put my foot on his hip and pushed him off the bed.

"Go, sleep, eat, feed, take a shower because you reek. I'll talk to you later." Ivan got off the bed and turned around.

"I'm perfectly sane. I know what I'm talking about. They're hiding something, and I'm going to figure it out. You know that Lissa's entire family died in a car accident, I read the reports. Rose's body was flung out of the car, there is no way that she should have survived, Lissa was the only one that should have survived. She must have saved her…" I had heard the news of the crash when it happened. It was a tragic thing, for one of the great royal families to be wiped out in such a harsh and unforgiving way. I was visiting at court with Ivan for the first time when the news of the crash hit.

"Ivan, I hear you. I do. But I think you're making connections to things that don't connect." I stood up and walked him to the door, intending to lock it behind him and answer it for someone else.

"You'll see…" Ivan warned as he walked out of my door and shut it behind him. After I was already back under the covers and fast on my way to sleep, my mind drifted back to the day I saw Rose in the hallway...

Rose's POV

I was floating around my apartment as I got ready for my date. After I had closed the door, I gave a victory squeal and slid down with my back against the door. The chase was always the most exciting part of anything, and I intended to make him straight sprint after me. I skipped taking a shower as soon as I got back and just entire to my bed. I wanted to shave my legs and wash my hair as close to eight as I could. After a deep shower and scrubbing my skin raw, I sat on my couch in nothing but a plush towel, the damp hair clinging to my arms and back.

I wanted to dress nice, but not ever do it. Jeans seemed appropriate if I paired them with one of my nicer tops. I blew dry my hair, leaving it loose and letting my natural curls take over, did a few swipes of mascara, and swiped a thin layer of my favorite lip gloss over my lips.

I looked through my almost bare closet and found the least worn-out pair of jeans I had, slapped them on, and pulled a think black shirt that had some form of designs over the cotton fabric. The straps were thin, but the black of my bra matched the colors so they blended together nicely. I had sprung for the black bra that was clasped in the front and matching black thong for anticipation of what I hoped would happen tonight. It was a few minutes before eight when I heard a knock on my door and a devilish smile creeped onto my face.