Everyone who was present for the first book nodded agreeing with Rose,
Despite her small smile, I could feel the tension and fear in her; it sang through the bond. "You heard," I said, sitting down cross-legged. Her smile slipped, and the feelings of fear and unease within her intensified. I liked that our psychic connection let me protect her better, but I didn't really need my own troubled feelings amplified. "It's awful," she said with a shudder. Christian shifted and linked his fingers through hers. He squeezed her hand. She squeezed back. Those two were so in love and sugary sweet with each other that I felt like brushing my teeth after being around them.
Tatiana glared at the book while Adrian and Christian smiled. The Belikov girls were happy that Lissa and Christian loved each other so much and were so sweet,
They were subdued just now, however, no doubt thanks to the massacre news. "They're saying...they're saying there were six or seven Strigoi. And that humans helped them break the wards." I leaned my head back against a shelf. News really did travel fast.
"Nothing in that school remains secret," Mason and Eddie shook their heads
Suddenly, I felt dizzy. "It's true." "Really?" asked Christian. "I figured that was just a bunch of hyped-up paranoia." "No ..." I realized then that nobody knew where I'd been today. "I... I was there." Lissa's eyes widened, shock coursing into me from her. Even Christian -the poster child for "smartass"-looked grim. If not for the horribleness of it all, I would have taken satisfaction in catching him off guard.
"You two aren't going to get along?" Eddie shook his head,
"We are too alike," Christian smirked,
"You're joking," he said, voice uncertain. "I thought you were taking your Qualifier..." Lissa's words trailed off. "I was supposed to," I said. "It was just a wrong-place-and-wrong-time kind of thing. The guardian who was going to give me the test lived there. Dimitri and I walked in, and..." I couldn't finish. Images of the blood and death that had filled the Badica house flashed through my mind again. Concern crossed both Lissa's face and the bond. "Rose, are you okay?" she asked softly. Lissa was my best friend, but I didn't want her to know how scared and upset the whole thing had made me.
"Same old Rose, taking on the world to make sure Lissa stayed on her little cloud," Mason shook his head but he had a small smile on his face.
I wanted to be fierce. "Fine," I said, teeth clenched. "What was it like?" asked Christian.
"Serous Christian," Abe shook his head at the boy, Christian just smirked at him,
Curiosity filled his voice, but there was guilt there too -like he knew it was wrong to want to know about such a horrible thing. He couldn't stop himself from asking, though. Lack of impulse control was one thing we had in common.
"One of the many things," Victoria chuckled at Christian who shook his head at her,
"It was ..." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about it." Christian started to protest, and then Lissa ran a hand through his sleek black hair. The gentle admonishment silenced him.
"Aww so easily tamed," Adrian teased Christian who just glared at him his hands starting to steam. Adrian saw this and lifted his own hand up in surrender,
A moment of awkwardness hung between us all. Reading Lissa's mind, I felt her desperately grope for a new topic. "They say this is going to mess up all of the holiday visits," she told me after several more moments. "Christian's aunt is going to visit,
Ivan groaned, he never liked Tasha and with Rose now in the picture he was not looking forward to this. While Christian and Dimitri looked happy at the idea of her visit,
but most people don't want to travel, and they want their kids to stay here where it's safe. They're terrified this group of Strigoi is on the move." I hadn't thought about the ramifications of an attack like this. We were only a week or so away from Christmas. Usually, there was a huge wave of travel in the Moroi world this time of year. Students went home to visit their parents; parents came to stay on campus and visit their children.
"The ideal time for an attack," The guardians said shaking their heads
"This is going to keep a lot of families separated," I murmured. "And mess up a lot of royal get-togethers," said Christian. His brief seriousness had vanished; his snide air was back. "You know how they are this time of year -always competing with each other to throw the biggest parties. They won't know what to do with themselves."
"Agreed," Victoria and Ivan snickered at the same time,
I could believe it. My life was about fighting, but the Moroi certainly had their share of internal strife -particularly with nobles and royals. They waged their own battles with words and political alliances, and honestly, I preferred the more direct method of hitting and kicking. Lissa and Christian in particular had to navigate some troubled waters. They were both from royal families, which meant they got a lot of attention both inside and outside of the Academy.
"This should be fun," Ivan and Christian smiled at the same time. Tatiana just glared at the two,
Things were worse for them than for most Moroi royals. Christian's family lived under the shadow cast by his parents. They had purposely become Strigoi, trading their magic and morality to become immortal and subsist on killing others. His parents were dead now, but that didn't stop people from not trusting him.
"That sucks," Mason and Eddie said at the same time, they both knew of Christian but they never thought of how it must have felt to be like him,
They seemed to think he'd go Strigoi at any moment and take everyone else with him. His abrasiveness and dark sense of humor didn't really help things, either.
"She is right," Mason nodded at Christian
"I don't want to fit in with all the crazy royals," Christian smiled at Mason his fangs showing, making Mason and Eddie uncomfortable
Lissa's attention came from being the last one left in her family. No other Moroi had enough Dragomir blood in them to earn the name.
Tatiana looked away from everyone, she was thankful that no-one knew about Jill just yet,
Her future husband would probably have enough somewhere in his family tree to make sure her children were Dragomirs, but for now, being the only one made her kind of a celebrity. Thinking about this suddenly reminded me of the warning scrawled on the mirror. Nausea welled up in me. That dark anger and despair stirred, but I pushed it aside with a joke. "You guys should try solving your problems like we do. A fistfight here and there might do you royals some good."
"Agreed," Christian and Victoria said at the same time. Tatiana just glared at them,
Both Lissa and Christian laughed at this. He glanced up at her with a sly smile, showing his fangs as he did. "What do you think? I bet I could take you if we went one on one."
"Not a chance," All the guardians said at the same time, Christian pouted
"You wish," she teased. Her troubled feelings lightened. "I do, actually," he said, holding her gaze. There was an intensely sensual note to his voice that made her heart race. Jealousy shot through me. She and I had been best friends our entire life. I could read her mind. But the fact remained: Christian was a huge part of her world now, and he played a role I never could -just as he could never have a part of the connection that existed between me and her.
"You two are too alike," Ivan laughed shaking his head. He never thought that he would meet two people who were so alike,
We both sort of accepted but didn't like the fact that we had to split her attention, and at times, it seemed the truce we held for her sake was paper thin. Lissa brushed her hand against his cheek. "Behave." "I am," he told her, his voice still a little husky. "Sometimes. But sometimes you don't want me to..."
"Grose." Victoria, Mason and Eddie said at the same time,
Groaning, I stood up. "God. I'm going to leave you guys alone now." Lissa blinked and dragged her eyes away from Christian, suddenly looking embarrassed. "Sorry," she murmured. A delicate pink flush spread over her cheeks. Since she was pale like all Moroi, it actually sort of made her look prettier. Not that she needed much help in that department.
Mason and Eddie nodded thinking back to how Lissa looked. Christian smiled he couldn't wait to see Lissa again.
"You don't have to go..." "No, it's fine. I'm exhausted," I assured her. Christian didn't look too broken up about seeing me leave. "I'll catch you tomorrow." I started to turn away, but Lissa called to me. "Rose? Are you...are you sure you're okay? After everything that happened?" I met her jade green eyes. Her concern was so strong and deep that it made my chest ache. I might be closer to her than anyone else in the world, but I didn't want her worrying about me.
Ivan shook his head as he looked at Dimitri. It reminded him too much about how his friend always acted. Like he had to take on the world one all by himself,
It was my job to keep her safe. She shouldn't be troubled about protecting me -particularly if Strigoi had suddenly decided to make a hit list of royals. I flashed her a saucy grin. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about except you guys tearing each other's clothes before I get a chance to leave." "Then you better go now," said Christian dryly.
"You know what she can snap into Lissa's head right?" Victoria asked looking at Christian who froze turning paler.
"Shit," Was all he said. Everyone, but Tatiana were laughing at him.
She elbowed him, and I rolled my eyes. "Good night," I told them. As soon as my back was to them, my smile vanished. I walked back to my dorm with a heavy heart, hoping I wouldn't dream about the Badicas tonight.
"Well she just jinxed herself," Ivan said closing the book.
~~~~
Pass the book here," Abe said looking at Ivan, quickly the book passed from hand to hand till it made its way to Abe and Janine. Abe opened the book and sat back against the seat,
Three
THE LOBBY OF MY DORM was abuzz when I sprinted downstairs to my before-school practice. The commotion didn't surprise me. A good night's sleep had gone far to chase away the images from last night, but I knew neither I nor my classmates would easily forget what had taken place outside
"Well it is understandable," Alberta nodded thinking back to her days of being a novice and how terrifying news like that was
Billings. And yet, as I studied the faces and clusters of other novices, I noticed something weird. The fear and tension from yesterday were still around, certainly, but something new was there too: excitement.
"Okay what would have excited them so much?" Janine asked cuddling closer to Abe
"they are teenagers so several things would excite them," Alberta shook her head looking at Mason, Eddie and Christian who nodded agreeing with her. Mischievous smiles on their faces,
A couple of freshmen novices were practically squealing with joy as they spoke in hushed whispers. Nearby, a group of guys my own age were gesturing wildly, enthusiastic grins on their faces. I had to be missing something here -unless all of yesterday had been a dream. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to go over and ask somebody what was happening. If I delayed, I'd be late for practice.
"Aww she's getting so mature," Mason and Eddie chuckled, while Janine, Dimitri and Alberta were proud of Rose,
The curiosity was killing me, though. Had the Strigoi and their humans been found and killed? That would certainly be good news,
"We can't kill the humans," All the guardians said at the same time
"Then how would they be dealt with?" Eddie asked looking at them. The guardians in the room shared a look
"The alchemist," was all Alberta said before Abe continued reading cutting of Mason, Eddie, Christian and Adrian from asking anything more.
but something told me that wasn't the case. Pushing open the front doors, I lamented that I'd just have to wait until breakfast to find out. "Hath-away, don't run-away," a singsong voice called. I glanced behind me and grinned. Mason Ashford,
Mason smiled happy that he was finial in the book,
another novice and a good friend of mine,
Mason pouted as Adrian and Eddie laughed at him. Ivan Dimitri and Abe just rolled their eyes at the 16-year-old boy,
jogged up and fell in step with me. "What are you, twelve?" I asked, continuing on toward the gym. "Nearly," he said. "I missed your smiling face yesterday. Where were you?" Apparently my presence at the Badica house still wasn't widely known. It wasn't a secret or anything, but I didn't want to discuss any gory details.
"And hopefully the other kids would understand that and leave the topic alone," Alberta said looking at Mason and Eddie, who smiled and nodded.
"Had a training thing with Dimitri." "God," muttered Mason. "That guy is always working you. Doesn't he realize he's depriving us of your beauty and charm?" "Smiling face? Beauty and charm? You're laying it on a little thick this morning, aren't you?" I laughed. "Hey, I'm just telling it like it is. Really, you're lucky to have someone as suave and brilliant as me paying this much attention to you."
"Buddy you shouldn't be so obvious," Adrian clapped Mason on the back, shaking his head
"Ladies do love a mister," Adrian flashed him a charming smile. Mason just glared at him,
"Okay firstly you don't know Rose, I do so thanks for the advice but no I know what I'm doing," Mason said before looking back to the book in Abe's hand
I kept grinning. Mason was a huge flirt, and he liked to flirt with me in particular. Part of it was just because I was good at it and liked to flirt back.
"That is not it," Mason shook his head. Eddie patted him on his back soothingly
But I knew his feelings toward me were more than just friendly, and I was still deciding how I felt about that.
Everyone could see the home in his blue eyes shine a little brighter
He and I had the same goofy sense of humor and frequently drew attention to ourselves in class and among friends. He had gorgeous blue eyes and messy red hair that never seemed to lie flat. It was cute. But dating someone new was going to be kind of difficult when I still kept thinking about the time I was half-naked in bed with Dimitri.
Mason, Abe and Janine all glared at Dimitri while Ivan merely chuckled happily that Rose wasn't planning on using the poor boy to get to Dimitri
"Suave and brilliant, huh?" I shook my head. "I don't think you pay nearly as much attention to me as you do your ego. Someone needs to knock it down a little." "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Well, you can try your best on the slopes."
"Huh?" Everyone asked at the same time,
I stopped walking. "The what?" "The slopes." He tilted his head. "You know, the ski trip." "What ski trip?" I was apparently missing something serious here. "Where have you been this morning?" he asked, looking at me like I was a crazy woman. "In bed! I only got up, like, five minutes ago. Now, start from the beginning and tell me what you're talking about." I shivered from the lack of movement. "And let's keep walking." We did. "So, you know how everyone's afraid to have their kids come home for Christmas? Well, there's this huge ski lodge in Idaho that's exclusively used by royals and rich Moroi. The people who own it are opening it up for Academy students and their families -and actually any other Moroi who want to go.
"That is not a bad idea," Tatiana nodded thinking about how safe that would be for everyone and how easy it would be to organize. Plus with so many young people spending time together it would be easy to arrange the right pairings to meet and bond. Tatiana's mind filled with ideas on how to get Lissa and Adrian to interact at a place like that.
"Oh no she has that crazy schemer look in her eyes," Adrian whispered to those around him. All eyes were on Tatiana who was just smiling like she had the best day ever.
"Good luck Christian," Abe tried to smile to the boy
With everyone in one spot, they're going to have a ton of guardians to protect the place, so it'll be totally safe." "You can't be serious," I said. We reached the gym and stepped inside out of the cold. Mason nodded eagerly. "It's true. The place is supposed to be amazing."
"It is very beautiful," Tatiana smiled sweetly, but no-one was happy about that, Adrian most of all.
He gave me the grin that always made me smile in return. "We're going to live like royalty, Rose. At least for a week or so. We take off the day after Christmas." I stood there, both excited and stunned. I hadn't seen this coming. It really was a brilliant idea, one that let families reunite safely. And what a reunion spot! A royal ski lodge. I'd expected to spend most of my holiday break hanging out here and watching TV with Lissa and Christian.
Alberta and Christian chuckled at that.
"So that means Dimka isn't coming home for that Christmas," Olena smiled sadly at her only son.
"Mama," Dimitri began but Olena just cut him off with one of her sweet smiles,
"Cough* Mama's boy* Cough" Adrian coughed into his hand. Olena and Dimitri merely glared at him
"What did you say, young man," Abe asked sweetly but deadly. Adrian paled before shaking his head.
"I thought so," Abe said returning his focus to the book.
Now I'd be living it up in five-star accommodations. Lobster dinners. Massages. Cute ski instructors ...
Mason and Dimitri both groaned at that, while Adrian and Ivan just laughed.
Mason's enthusiasm was contagious. I could feel it welling up in me, and then, suddenly, it slammed to a halt. Studying my face, he saw the change right away. "What's wrong? This is cool." "It is," I admitted. "And I get why everyone's excited, but the reason we're getting to go to this fancy place is because, well, because people are dead.
"Well that is a sad way to look at it," Adrian shook his head. Everyone nodded agreeing with him.
I mean, doesn't this all seem weird?" Mason's cheery expression sobered a little. "Yeah, but we're alive, Rose. We can't stop living because other people are dead. And we have to make sure more people don't die.
"Okay, where and when did you get so wise?" Eddie asked looking shocked at Mason.
"How should I know," Mason answered,
That's why this place is such a great idea. It's safe." His eyes turned stormy. "God, I can't wait until we're out of here in the field. After hearing about what happened, I just want to go tear apart some Strigoi.
"And he's back to normal," Alberta shook her head
"You do understand that they are stronger and faster than you. If you don't work on your ego then you are going to die," Dimitri said looking at Mason dead seriously, Mason just looked away from him.
"He's right, you wouldn't last one fight with a mindset like that," Janine nodded
I wish we could go now, you know? There's no reason. They could use the extra help, and we pretty much know everything we need to." The fierceness in his voice reminded me of my outburst yesterday, though he wasn't quite as worked up as I'd been. His eagerness to act was impetuous and naive,
"See even Rose is agreeing with them," Alberta hoped Mason would listen to what they were telling him.
whereas mine had been born out of some weird, dark irrationality I still didn't entirely understand.
Dimitri and Ivan looked at each other worried. Yeva looked at the book then to Dimitri and Ivan wondering how long it would take for them to figure it out and how long till they saw the signs in Adrian,
When I didn't respond, Mason gave me a puzzled look. "Don't you want to?" "I don't know, Mase." I stared down at the floor, avoiding his eyes as I studied the toe of my shoe. "I mean, I don't want Strigoi out there, attacking people either. And I want to stop them in theory... but, well, we aren't even close to being ready. I've seen what they can do I don't know. Rushing in isn't the answer."
Mason and Eddie were shocked they never thought they would hear the day Rose would say that out loud
I shook my head and looked back up. Good grief. I sounded so logical and cautious. I sounded like Dimitri. "It's not important since it's not going to happen anyway. I suppose we should just be excited about the trip, huh?" Mason's moods were quick to change, and he turned easygoing once more. "Yup. And you'd better try to remember how to ski, because I'm calling you out on knocking down my ego out there. Not that it's going to happen." I smiled again. "Boy, it sure is going to be sad when I make you cry.
"Oh that is going to be funny to see, or in this case read," Eddie laughed looking at Mason who pouted,
I kind of feel guilty already." He opened his mouth, no doubt to deliver some smartass reply, and then caught sight of something -or rather, someone-behind me. I glanced over and saw Dimitri's tall form approaching from the other side of the gym. Mason swept me a gallant bow. "Your lord and master.
Everyone chuckled at that,
Catch you later, Hathaway. Start planning your ski strategies." He opened the door and disappeared into the frigid darkness. I turned around and joined Dimitri. Like other dhampir novices, I spent half of my school day on one form or another of guardian training, be it actual physical combat or learning about Strigoi and how to defend against them. Novices also sometimes had practices after school. I, however, was in a unique situation. I still stood by my decision to run away from St. Vladimir's. Victor Dashkov had posed too much of a threat to Lissa.
Everyone glared at the book, no-one wanted to hear that name ever again,
But our extended vacation had come with consequences. Being away for two years had put me behind in my guardian classes, so the school had declared that I had to make up for it by going to extra practices before and after school. With Dimitri. Little did they know that they were also giving me lessons in avoiding temptation.
"Pretty sure that was not their intentions," Alberta shook her head, a smile on her face while Dimitri just looked away. Ivan patted him on his back, but Dimitri knew Ivan was enjoying his torture,
But my attraction to him aside, I was a fast learner, and with his help, I had almost caught up to the other seniors. Since he wasn't wearing a coat, I knew we'd be working inside today, which was good news. It was freezing out. Yet even the happiness I felt over that was nothing compared to what I felt when I saw what exactly he had set up in one of the training rooms. There were practice dummies arranged on the far wall, dummies that looked amazingly lifelike.
"Oh about time," Everyone said at the same time,
No straw-stuffed burlap bags here. There were men and women, wearing ordinary clothes, with rubbery skin and different hair and eye colors. Their expressions ranged from happy to scared to angry. I'd worked with these dummies before in other trainings, using them to practice kicks and punches. But I'd never worked with them while holding what Dimitri held: a silver stake. "Sweet," I breathed. It was identical to the one I'd found at the Badica house.
"Please tell me it's not the same one?" Adrian asked worried,
"No it's not the same," All the guardian said at the same time,
It had a hand grip at the bottom, almost like a hilt without the little side flourishes. That was where its resemblance to a dagger ended. Rather than a flat blade, the stake had a thick, rounded body that narrowed to a point, kind of like an ice pick. The entire thing was a little shorter than my forearm. Dimitri leaned casually against the wall, in an easy stance he always pulled off remarkably well, despite being almost six-seven. With one hand, he tossed the stake into the air. It spun around in a cartwheel a couple of times and then came down. He caught it hilt first. "Please tell me I get to learn how to do that today," I said. Amusement flashed in the dark depths of his eyes. I think he had a hard time keeping a straight face around me sometimes. "You'll be lucky if I let you hold it today,"
"She needs to learn to use it," Janine said looking at Dimitri,
"She needs to be ready and she isn't yet" Dimitri answered, not looking at Janine as he knew his confidence would disappear the moment he looked at the couple,
"I agree with him," Albert said not wanting another fight to break out,
he said. He flipped the stake into the air again. My eyes followed it longingly. I started to point out that I had already held one, but I knew that line of logic would get me nowhere. Instead, I tossed my backpack on the floor, threw off my coat, and crossed my arms expectantly. I had on loose pants tied at the waist and a tank top with a hoodie over it. My dark hair was pulled brutally back into a ponytail. I was ready for anything. "You want me to tell you how they work and why I should always be cautious around them," I announced. Dimitri stopped flipping the stake and stared at me in astonishment. "Come on," I laughed. "You don't think I know how you work by now? We've been doing this for almost three months. You always make me talk safety and responsibility before I can do anything fun."
"Oh that is not going to work with him," All Dimitri's sisters and Ivan said at the same time,
"Okay you were right," Janine said shaking her head. She hated admitting to anyone that she was wrong, so saying that to the man who had feelings for her teenage daughter left a sour taste in her mouth
"I see," he said. "Well, I guess you've got it all figured out. By all means, go on with the lesson. I'll just wait over here until you need me again." He tucked the stake into a leather sheath hanging from his belt and then made himself comfortable against the wall, hands stuffed in pockets. I waited, figuring he was joking,
"He is not very good at jokes," Ivan shook his head sadly
but when he said nothing else, I realized he'd meant his words. With a shrug, I launched into what I knew. "Silver always has powerful effects on any magical creature -it can help or hurt them if you put enough power into it. These stakes are really hard-core because it takes four different Moroi to make them, and they use each of the elements during the forging." I frowned, suddenly considering something. "Well, except spirit. So these things are supercharged and are about the only non-decapitating weapon that can do damage to a Strigoi -but to kill them, it has to be through the heart."
"Not bad," Dimitri and Alberta said at the same time
"I wonder what would happen if spirits were added to it?" Adrian asked tilting his head to the side.
"Not going to happen," Tatiana said firmly,
"Will they hurt you?" I shook my head. "No. I mean, well, yeah, if you drive one through my heart it will, but it won't hurt me like it would a Moroi. Scratch one of them with this, and it'll hit them pretty hard -but not as hard as it'd hit a Strigoi. And they won't hurt humans, either."
"Are you sure you want to give her a weapon like that?" Christian asked thinking about everything he was going to do to piss her off on purpose,
"She is going to need it to protect Lissa," Alberta and Janine said at the same time,
I stopped for a moment and stared absentmindedly at the window behind Dimitri. Frost covered the glass in sparkling, crystalline patterns, but I hardly noticed. Mentioning humans and stakes had transported me back to the Badica house. Blood and death flashed through my thoughts. Seeing Dimitri watching me, I shook off the memories and kept going with the lesson. Dimitri would occasionally give a nod or ask a clarifying question. As the time ticked down, I kept expecting him to tell me I was finished and could start hacking up the dummies.
"Yeah not till the end of the lesion," Ivan and Dimitri said at the same time shaking their heads,
Instead, he waited until almost ten minutes before the end of our session before leading me over to one of them -it was a man with blond hair and a goatee. Dimitri took the stake out from its sheath but didn't hand it to me. "Where are you going to put this?" he asked. "In the heart," I replied irritably. "I already told you that like a hundred times. Can I have it now?" He allowed himself a smile. "Where's the heart?" I gave him an are-you-serious look. He merely shrugged. With overdramatic emphasis, I pointed to the left side of the dummy's chest.
"That is not where it is," All the guardians in the room shook their heads,
Dimitri shook his head. "That's not where the heart is," he told me. "Sure it is. People put their hands over their hearts when they say the Pledge of Allegiance or sing the national anthem." He continued to stare at me expectantly. I turned back to the dummy and studied it. In the back of my brain, I remembered learning CPR and where we had to place our hands. I tapped the center of the dummy's chest. "Is it here?" He arched an eyebrow. Normally I thought that was cool. Today it was just annoying.
"Well she having a rather bad day," Alberta shook her head. Everyone ells shook their heads chuckling
"I know how she feels," Victoria shook her head glaring at her brother, who just smirked at her,
"I don't know," he said. "Is it?" "That's what I'm asking you!" "You shouldn't have to ask me. Don't you all have to take physiology?"
"That is in Junior year so she would have missed it," Eddie and Mason said at the same time
"Yeah. Junior year. I was on 'vacation,' remember?" I pointed to the gleaming stake. "Can I please touch it now?" He flipped the stake again, letting it flash in the light, and then it disappeared in the sheath. "I want you to tell me where the heart is the next time we meet. Exactly where. And I want to know what's in the way of it too." I gave him my fiercest glare, which -judging from his expression-must not have been that fierce.
"Aww that's because you like her," Ivan smiled. "Not letting her scare you how sweet," Ivan chuckled clapping Dimitri on his back. Dimitri just rolled his eyes and hid his smile. He could almost picture the face Roza was making.
Nine out of ten times, I thought Dimitri was the sexiest thing walking the earth. Then, there were times like this ... I headed off to first period, a combat class, in a bad mood. I didn't like looking incompetent in front of Dimitri,
"Aww she wants to impress the sexy Russian god," Karolina and Ivan chuckled. Dimitri just shook his head and looked away from the two. He sneaked a look to Abe and Janine and saw thankfully that they weren't glaring at him, hell they had small smiles on their faces
and I'd really, really wanted to use one of those stakes. So in class I took out my annoyance on anyone I could punch or kick.
"Thank you," Eddie and Mason said coldly to Dimitri.
"Aww can't a class full of novices handle one little Rose," Alberta smiled at the boys who in turn glared back at her.
By the end of class, no one wanted to spar with me. I'd accidentally hit Meredith -one of the few other girls in my class-so hard that she'd felt it through her shin padding.
"Poor Mer," Eddie felt bad for her,
She was going to have an ugly bruise and kept looking at me as though I'd done it on purpose. I apologized to no avail. Afterward, Mason found me once again. "Oh, man," he said, studying my face. "Who pissed you off?" I immediately launched into my tale of silver stake and heart woes. To my annoyance, he laughed.
"Are you really that stupid," Eddie asked looking at Mason who just smiled.
"How do you not know where the heart is? Especially considering how many of them you've broken?" I gave him the same ferocious look I'd given Dimitri. This time, it worked. Mason's face paled.
"Aww you're not immune to her like Dimitri is," Eddie chuckled at Mason
"Hey you know how her stares are so don't laugh at me," Mason defended himself,
"Belikov is a sick, evil man who should be thrown into a pit of rabid vipers for the great offense he committed against you this morning."
"Suck up," everyone in the room said at the same time,
"Thank you." I said primly. Then, I considered. "Can vipers be rabid?" "I don't see why not. Everything can be. I think." He held the hallway door open for me. "Canadian geese might be worse than vipers, though."
"They are horrible animals," Mason shook his head. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy, Eddie was chuckling shaking his head,
I gave him a sidelong look. "Canadian geese are deadlier than vipers?" "You ever tried to feed those little bastards?" he asked, attempting seriousness and failing. "They're vicious. You get thrown to vipers, you die quickly. But the geese? That'll go on for days. More suffering."
"Dramatic much?" Adrian smiled at the redhead who just pouted and crossed his arms over his chest defensively
"Wow. I don't know whether I should be impressed or frightened that you've thought about all this," I remarked. "Just trying to find creative ways to avenge your honor, that's all." "You just never struck me as the creative type, Mase." We stood just outside our second-period classroom. Mason's expression was still light and joking, but there was a suggestive note in his voice when he spoke again. "Rose, when I'm around you, I think of all sorts of creative things to do."
That got him a lot of glares, and a slap from Eddie, who was shaking his head,
I was still giggling about the vipers and abruptly stopped, staring at him in surprise. I'd always thought Mason was cute, but with that serious, smoky look in his eyes, it suddenly occurred to me for the first time that he was actually kind of sexy.
"What?" Dimitri, Mason, Adrian and Ivan asked at the same time shocked, the girls snorted and began laughing,
"Oh, look at that," he laughed, noticing how much he'd caught me off guard. "Rose gets rendered speechless. Ashford 1, Hathaway 0." "Hey, I don't want to make you cry before the trip. It won't be any fun if I've already broken you before we even hit the slopes."
"Good save," Eddie said looking at his best friend who was still frozen from shock,
He laughed, and we stepped into the room. This was a class on bodyguard theory, one that took place in an actual classroom instead of the practice field. It was a nice break from all the physical exertion. Today, there were three guardians standing at the front who weren't from the school's regiment. Holiday visitors, I realized. Parents and their guardians had already started coming to campus to accompany their children to the ski resort. My interest was piqued immediately.
"I wonder if it would be anyone that Rose knew?" Victoria said sitting forward,
One of the guests was a tall guy who looked like he was about a hundred years old but could still kick major ass. The other guy was about Dimitri's age. He had deeply tanned skin and was built well enough that a few of the girls in class looked ready to swoon.
Mason and Dimitri rolled their eyes while Ivan just hoped that Rose wouldn't try anything with Mason. He hoped that his best friend would get off his high horse and just be with Rose.
The last guardian was a woman. Her auburn hair was cropped and curly, and her brown eyes were currently narrowed in thought.
"Please let it not be Janine," Alberta prayed. She didn't want to know how their reunion would go,
As I've said, a lot of dhampir women choose to have children rather than follow the guardian path. Since I too was one of the few women in this profession, I was always excited to meet others -like Tamara. Only, this wasn't Tamara. This was someone I'd known for years, someone who triggered anything but pride and excitement. Instead, I felt resentment. Resentment, anger, and burning outrage. The woman standing in front of the class was my mother.
Janine looked at the book sadly, she didn't want her daughter to feel that way toward her. Abe closed the book and handed it over to Janine. She didn't want to take it,
"You need to read the next chapter, I know that she is mad at you but you need to understand her emotions and why," Abe said looking straight into her brown eyes who held fear in them.
"Janine how ells are you going to know how to fixed things between you two," Alberta said looking at the redhead.