Christian took the book from Adrian
TEN
"EXCUSE ME, MR. NAGY? I CAN'T really concentrate with Lissa and Rose passing notes over there."
Mia was attempting to distract attention from herself—as well as from her inability to answer Mr. Nagy's question—and it was ruining what had otherwise been a promising day. A few of the fox rumors still circulated, but most people wanted to talk about Christian attacking Ralf.
"You're welcome," Christian nodded down at the book in his hands
I still hadn't cleared Christian of the fox incident—I was pretty sure he was psycho enough to have done it as some crazy sign of affection for Lissa—but whatever his motives, he had shifted the attention off her, just as he'd said. Mr. Nagy legendary for his ability to humiliate students by reading notes aloud, homed in on us like a missile. He snatched the note away, and the excited class settled in for a full reading. I swallowed my groan, trying to look as blank and unconcerned as possible. Beside me, Lissa looked like she wanted to die. "My, my," he said, looking the note over. "If only students would write this much in their essays. One of you has considerably worse writing than the other, so forgive me if I get anything wrong here."
Everyone moved uneasily in their seats, no-one wanted to hear how a grown man embraced two teenage girls
He cleared his throat. " "So, I saw J last night,‟ begins the person with bad handwriting, to which the response is, "What happened,‟ followed by no fewer than five question marks. Understandable, since sometimes one—let alone four—just won't get the point across, eh?" The class laughed, and I noticed Mia throwing me a particularly mean smile. "The first speaker responds: "What do you think happened?We hooked up in one of the empty lounges.‟ Mr. Nagy glanced up after hearing some more giggles in the room. His British accent only added to the hilarity.
Christian nodded a smile on his face, he rather enjoyed that class when someone was being embarrassed
"May I assume by this reaction that the use of "hook up‟ pertains to the more recent, shall we say,carnalapplication of the term than the tamer one I grew up with?" More snickers ensued. Straightening up, I said boldly, "Yes, sir, Mr. Nagy. That would be correct, sir." A number of people in the class laughed outright. "Thank you for that confirmation, Miss Hathaway. Now, where was I? Ah yes, the other speaker then asks, "How was it?‟ The response is, "Good,‟ punctuated with a smiley face to confirm said adjective. Well. I suppose kudos are in order for the mysterious J, hmmm? „So, like, how far did you guys go?" Uh, ladies," said Mr. Nagy, "I do hope this doesn't surpass a PG rating.
"Thank goodness for that," Adrian said thankfully. Everyone nodded agreeing with him
"Not very. We got caught.‟ and again, we are shown the severity of the situation, this time through the use of a not-smiling face. "What happened?" "Dimitri showed up. He threw Jesse out and then bitched me out.‟ The class lost it, both from hearing Mr. Nagy say "bitched" and from finally getting some participants named. "Why, Mr. Zeklos, are you the aforementioned J? The one who earned a smiley face from the sloppy writer?" Jesse's face turned beet red, but he didn't look entirely displeased at having his exploits made known in front of his friends. He'd kept what had happened a secret thus far—including the blood talk—because I suspected Dimitri had scared the hell out of him. "Well, while I applaud a good misadventure as much as the next teacher whose time is utterly wasted, do remind your "friends‟ in the future that my class is not a chat room." He tossed the paper back on to Lissa's desk.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to come back and bite them in the ass?" Victoria asked looking at everyone.
"Because it probably is," Karolina said shaking her head. Paul looked rather bored
"Miss Hathaway, it seems there's no feasible way to punish you, since you're already maxed out on penalties around here. Ergo, you, Miss Dragomir, will serve two detentions instead of one on behalf of your friend. Stay here when the bell rings, please."
Tatiana shook her hard and mumbled something about wrongful punishing the wrong person
After class, Jesse found me, an uneasy look on his face. "Hey, um, about that note…you know I didn't have anything to do with that. If Belikov finds out about it…you'll tell him? I mean, you'll let him know I didn't—" "Yeah, yeah," I interrupted him. "Don't worry, you're safe." Standing with me, Lissa watched him walk out of the room. Thinking of how easily Dimitri had thrown him around—and of his apparent cowardice—I couldn't help but remark, "You know, Jesse's suddenly not as hot as I used to think."
"Oh thank goodness, now she'll stay away from him," Abe said happily, Janine nodded agreeing with him but she got the feeling that Rose might have started liking someone ells
She only laughed. "You'd better go. I've got desks to wash." I left her, heading back for my dorm. As I did, I passed a number of students gathered in small clusters outside the building. I regarded them wistfully, wishing I had the free time to socialize. "No, it's true," I heard a confident voice say. Camille Conta. Beautiful and popular, from one of the most prestigious families in the Conta clan. She and Lissa had sort of been friends before we left, in the uneasy way two powerful forces keep an eye on each other.
Abe shook his head while Tatiana looked pleased.
"They, like, clean toilets or something." "Oh my God," her friend said. "I'd die if I was Mia." I smiled. Apparently Jesse had spread some of the stories I'd told him last night. Unfortunately, the next overheard conversation shattered my victory. "—heard it was stillalive. Like, twitching on her bed." "That is so gross. Why would they just leave it there?" "I don't know. Why kill it in the first place?" "You think Ralf was right? That she and Rose did it to get kicked—" They saw me and shut up.
"Oh for a moment I thought they were talking about the Jessy thing," Victoria said relieved, she didn't want to see how the school would react when they found out Lissa had fed of Rose.
Scowling, I skulked off across the quadrangle.Still alive, still alive. I'd refused to let Lissa talk about the similarities between the fox and what had happened two years ago. I didn't want to believe they were connected, and I certainly didn't want her to either. But I hadn't been able to stop thinking about that incident, not only because it was chilling, but because it really did remind me of what had just happened in her room.
The tension in the room seemed to build and build. Christian had a small smile on his face as he deliberately read slower and slower, trying to see who would lose their cool first
We had been out in the woods near campus one evening, having skipped out on our last class. I'd traded a pair of cute, rhinestone-studded sandals to Abby Badica for a bottle of peach schnapps—desperate, yes, but you did what you had to in Montana—which she'd somehow gotten hold of. Lissa had shaken her head in disapproval when I suggested cutting class to go put the bottle out of its misery, but she'd come along anyway.
Abe smiled proudly while Janine and Tatiana just shook their heads. Ivan and Dimitri thought back to their last year at school
Like always. We found an old log to sit on near a scummy green marsh. A half-moon cast a tiny sliver of light on us, but it was more than enough for vampires and half-vampires to see by. Passing the bottle back and forth, I grilled her on Aaron. She'd fessed up that the two of them had had sex the weekend before, and I felt a surge of jealousy that she'd been the one to have sex first.
"Now that is still something I find hard to believe," Janine and Tatiana said at the same time. for them, the idea that sweet always following the rules Lissa was the first one between the girls to have sex, instead of break every rule Rose shocked them
"So what was it like?" She shrugged and took another drink. "I don't know. It wasn't anything." "What do you mean it wasn't anything? Didn't the earth move or the planets align or something?" "No," she said, smothering a laugh. "Of course not." I didn't really get why that should be funny, but I could tell she didn't want to talk about it. This was around the time the bond had begun forming, and her emotions were starting to creep into me now and then. I held up the bottle and glared at it. "I don't think this stuff is working." "That's because there's barely any alcohol in—"
"So alcohol dulls the bond, that is good to know," Adrian smiled. Abe and Dimitri simply glared at him
The sound of something moving in the brush came from nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise. "It's some animal," she said when a minute went by in silence. That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. The school's wards kept out Strigoi, but wild animals often wandered into the outskirts of campus, posing their own threats. Bears. Cougars. "Come on," I told her. "Let's head back." We hadn't gone very far when I heard something moving again, and someone stepped out into our path. "Ladies." Ms. Karp. We froze, and whatever quick reactions I'd shown back by the marsh disappeared as I delayed a few moments in hiding the bottle behind my back. A half-smile crossed her face, and she held out her hand. Sheepishly, I gave the bottle to her, and she tucked it under her arm. She turned without another word, and we followed, knowing there would be consequences to deal with. "You think no one notices when half a class is gone?" she asked after a little while.
"The kids only ever skipped her class," Alberta shook her head, she was rather fond of Sonja and she missed her terribly
"Half a class?" "A few of you apparently chose today to skip. Must be the nice weather. Spring fever." Lissa and I trudged along. I'd never been comfortable around Ms. Karp since the time she'd healed my hands. Her weird, paranoid behavior had taken on a strange quality to me—a lot stranger than before. Scary, even. And lately I couldn't look at her without seeing those marks by her forehead. Her deep red hair usually covered them but not always. Sometimes there were new marks; sometimes the old ones faded to nothing. A weird fluttering noise sounded to my right. We all stopped. "One of your classmates, I imagine," murmured Ms. Karp, turning toward the sound. But when we reached the spot, we found a large black bird lying on the on the ground. Birds—and most animals—didn't do anything for me, but even I had to admire its sleek feathers and fierce beak. It could probably peck someone's eyes out in thirty seconds—if it weren't obviously dying. With a last, halfhearted shake, the bird finally went still. "What is that? Is it a crow?" I asked. "Too big," said Ms. Karp. "It's a raven." "Is it dead?" asked Lissa. I peered at it. "Yeah. Definitely dead. Don't touch it." "Probably attacked by another bird," observed Ms. Karp. "They fight over territory and resources sometimes." Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face. I wasn't surprised, since she'd always had a thing for animals.
Christian all but froze as he read ahead. The room was quiet for a few moments before Tatiana snapped
"Would you read, or have you forgotten how?"
She'd lectured me for days after I'd instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. I'd viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. She'd seen it as animal cruelty. Transfixed, she reached toward the raven. "Liss!" I exclaimed, horrified. "It's probably got a disease." But her hand moved out like she hadn't even heard me. Ms. Karp stood there like a statue, her white face looking like a ghosts. Lissa's fingers stroked the raven's wings. "Liss," I repeated, starting to move toward her, to pull her back. Suddenly, a strange sensation flooded through my head, a sweetness that was beautiful and full of life. The feeling was so intense, it stopped me in my tracks. Then the raven moved.
Everyone was shocked at that, now they understood why Christian had frozen.
"What? How?" Tatiana asked finally after a few moments of silence. But no-one answered her. Thankfully Christian relaxed a little more before he continued to read
Lissa gave a small scream and snatched her hand back. We both stared wide-eyed. The raven flapped its wings, slowly trying to right itself and stand up. When it managed to do so, it turned toward us, fixing Lissa with a look that seemed too intelligent for a bird, its eyes held hers, and I couldn't read her reaction through the bond. At long last, the raven broke the gaze and lifted into the air, strong wings carrying it away. Wind stirring the leaves was the only sound left. "Oh my God," breathed Lissa. "What just happened?" "Hell if I know," I said, hiding my stark terror. Ms. Karp strode forward and grabbed Lissa's arm, forcefully turning her so that they faced each other. I was there in a flash, ready to take action if Crazy Karp tried anything,
All the guardian in the room nodded approving about her response
though even I had qualms about taking down a teacher. "Nothing happened," said Ms. Karp in an urgent voice, her eyes wild-looking. "Do you hear me? Nothing. And you can't tell anyone—anyone—about what you saw. Both of you. Promise me. Promise me you won't ever talk about this again." Lissa and I exchanged uneasy glances. "Okay" she croaked out. Ms. Carp's grip relaxed a little. "And don't ever do it again. If you do, they'll find out. They'll try to find you."
"How is it possible that a known crazy person knew more about the girls then we all did?"
She turned to me. "You can't let her do it. Not ever again." On the quad, outside my dorm, someone was saying my name. "Hey, Rose? I've called you, like, a hundred times." I forgot about Ms. Karp and the raven and glanced over at Mason, who had apparently started walking with me toward the dorm while I was off in la-la land. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm out of it. Just…um, tired." "Too much excitement last night?" I gave him a narrow-eyed look. "Nothing I couldn't handle." "I guess," he laughed, though he didn't exactly sound amused.
Alberta shook her head, she didn't understand why Rose couldn't clearly see that Mason like her
"Sounds like Jesse couldn't handle it." "He did okay." "If you say so. But personally, I think you've got bad taste." I stopped walking. "AndIdon't think it's any of your business." He looked away angrily. "You made it the whole class's business." "Hey, I didn't do that on purpose." "Would've happened anyway. Jesse's got a big mouth." "He wouldn't have told." "Yeah," said Mason. "Because he's so cute and has such an important family." "Stop being an idiot," I snapped. "And why do you even care? Jealous I'm not doing it with you?"
"Yes," Everyone in the room said at the same time
His flush grew, going all the way to the roots of his red hair. "I just don't like hearing people talk shit about you, that's all. There are a lot of nasty jokes going around. They're calling you a slut." "I don't care what they call me." "Oh, yeah. You're really tough. You don't need anyone." I stopped. "I don't. I'm one of the best novices in this fucking place. I don't need you acting all gallant and coming to my defense. Don't treat me like I'm some helpless girl."
"Well that escalated quickly," Janine said shocked, she never thought that Lissa would go off on one of her friends like that.
I turned around and kept walking, but he caught up to me easily. The woes of being five-seven. "Look…I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried about you." I gave a harsh laugh. "I'm serious. Wait…" he began. "I, uh, did something for you. Sort of. I went to the library last night and tried to look up St. Vladimir," I stopped again. "You did?" "Yeah, but there wasn't much on Anna. All the books were kind of generic. Just talked about him healing people, bringing them back from the edge of death."
That got everyone's attention.
That last part hit a nerve. "Was…was there anything else?" I stammered. He shook his head. "No. You probably need some primary sources, but we don't have any here." "Primary what?" He scoffed, a smile breaking over his face. "Do you do anything but pass notes? We just talked about them the other day in Andrews class. They're books from the actual time period you want to study. Secondary ones are written by people living today. You'll get better information if you find something written by the guy himself. Or someone who actually knew him."
That broke the tension in the room, a few of the people in the room chuckled
"Huh. Okay. What are you, like, a boy genius now?" Mason gave me a light punch in the arm. "I pay attention, that's all. You're so oblivious. You miss all sorts of things." He smiled nervously. "And look…I really am sorry about what I said. I was just—" Jealous, I realized. I could see it in his eyes. How had I never noticed this before? He was crazy about me. I guess I really was oblivious.
"Well that took her long enough," Alberta smiled happy that Rose seemed to be observing the people around her more.
"It's all right, Mase. Forget about it." I smiled. "And thanks for looking that stuff up." He smiled back, and I went inside, sad that I didn't feel the same way about him.
"And done," Christian said closing the book.
"Dinner time," Yeva smiled before standing up and leaving the room. Again everyone but Tatiana followed her out.
~~~~
Olena, Sonja and Victoria moved around the kitchen getting dinner ready as everyone ells talked and watched the three lady's work their magic. Dimitri was busy playing with Paul, who simply loved having his uncle's attention solely on him. Adrian and Christian were talking about defensive magic, not that either of them knew much about it.
Tatiana was still in the living room, she was not liking the idea of Lissa and Christian being together. As Tatiana sat on her chair and thought she started planning how to get Lissa with a more respectable royal Moroi, one like her dear nephew Adrian. There was a knock on the door and 5 feeders walked in after the queen answered
Two hours later everyone was back to sitting in the living room, their bellies full. Adrian looked at his great aunt and saw that she too was in a much better mode, and he was not liking the smile she was sending him.
Ivan picked up the book and opened it
ELEVEN
"YOU NEED SOMETHING TO WEAR?" Lissa asked. "Hmm?" I glanced over at her. We were waiting for Mr Nagy's Slavic art class to start, and I was preoccupied with listening to Mia adamantly deny the claims about her parents to one of her friends.
That got smiles on everyone ells face
"It's not like they're servants or anything," she exclaimed, clearly flustered. Straightening her face, she tried for haughtiness. "They're practically advisors. The Drozdovs don't decide anything without them." I choked on a laugh, and Lissa shook her head.
"No-one is going to believe that," Adrian smirked,
"You're enjoying this way too much." "Because it's awesome. What'd you just ask me?" I dug through my bag, messily looking for my lip gloss. I made a face when I found it. It was almost empty; I didn't know where I was going to score some more.
Dimitri tilted his head intrigued
"I asked if you need something to wear tonight," she said. "Well, yeah, of course, I do. But none of your stuff fits me." "What are you going to do?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Improvise, like always. I don't really care anyway. I'm just glad Kirova's letting me go." We had an assembly tonight. It was November 1, All Saints' Day
Tatiana smiled she knew her book self would be showing up soon
—which also meant we'd been back almost a month now. A royal group was visiting the school, including Queen Tatiana herself. Honestly, that wasn't what excited me.
Tatiana glared at the book, while Abe merely smiled
She'd visited the Academy before. It was pretty common and a lot less cool than it sounded. Besides, after living among humans and elected leaders, I didn't think much of stiff royals. Still, I'd gotten permission to go because everyone else would be there. It was a chance to hang out with actual people for a change and not stay locked in my dorm room. A little freedom was definitely worth the pain of sitting through a few boring speeches.
All the kids in the room nodded
I didn't stay to chat with Lissa after school like I usually did. Dimitri had stuck to his promise about extra training, and I was trying to stick to mine. I now had two additional hours of practice with him, one before and one after school. The more I watched him in action, the more I understood the badass-god reputation. He clearly knew a lot—his six molnija marks proved as much
Dimitri rubbed the back of his next not liking the idea of killing more strigoi's. Ivan tried to smile at Dimitri but he knew how hard it was for Dimitri
—and I burned to have him teach me what he knew. When I arrived at the gym, I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt and loose running pants, as opposed to his usual jeans. It was a good look for him. Really good.
Olena and Yeva shared a look and smile. Victoria and her sisters, on the other hand, did not understand what was so appealing of their brother wearing a t-shirt and loose running pants
Stop looking , I immediately told myself. He positioned me so that we stood facing each other on the mat and crossed his arms. "What's the first problem you'll run into when facing a Strigoi?" "They're immortal?" "Think of something more basic." More basic than that? I considered. "They could be bigger than me. And stronger." Most Strigoi—unless they'd been human first—had the same height as their Moroi cousins. Strigoi also had better strength, reflexes, and senses than dhampirs. That's why guardians trained so hard; we had a "learning curve" to compensate for.
The guardians in the room nodded thinking back to their own fights with the strigoi's
Dimitri nodded. "That makes it difficult but not impossible. You can usually use a person's extra height and weight against them." He turned and demonstrated several manoeuvres, pointing out where to move and how to strike someone. Going through the motions with him, I gained some insight into why I took such a regular beating in the group practice. I absorbed his techniques quickly and couldn't wait to actually use them.
Alberta, Janine and Abe all had proud smiles on their faces, as had Dimitri but his just looked different
Near the end of our time together, he let me try. "Go ahead," he said. "Try to hit me." I didn't need to be told twice. Lunging forward, I tried to land a blow and was promptly blocked and knocked down onto the mat. Pain surged through my body, but I refused to give in to it. I jumped up again, hoping to catch him off guard. I didn't. After several more failed attempts, I stood up and held out my hands in a gesture of truce. "Okay, what am I doing wrong?" "Nothing."
"Then why can't she hit you?" Sonja asked looking at Dimitri
Because it was the first time she tried and but that time I have been doing it for years," Dimitri answered
I wasn't as convinced. "If I wasn't doing anything wrong, I'd have rendered you unconscious by now." "Unlikely. Your moves are all correct, but this is the first time you've really tried. I've done it for years." I shook my head and rolled my eyes at his older-and-wiser manner. He'd once told me he was twenty-four. "Whatever you say, Grandpa. Can we try it again?" "
"That's not a bad idea for a nickname, Grandpa" Ivan laughed
"You're older than me," Dimitri shot back to Ivan who just stopped laughing
"Right," Ivan said looking down at the book in his hand
We're out of time. Don't you want to get ready?" I looked at the dusty clock on the wall and perked up. Almost time for the banquet. The thought made me giddy I felt like Cinderella, but without the clothes. "Hell, yeah, I do." He walked off ahead of me. Studying him carefully, I realized I couldn't let the opportunity go by.
"Not going to work," Ivan smiled, but Dimitri's mother and sisters all sat forward hoping that Rose would be able to.
I leapt at his back, positioning myself exactly the way he'd taught me. I had the element of surprise. Everything was perfect, and he wouldn't even see me coming. Before I could make contact, he spun around at a ridiculously high speed. In one deft motion, he grabbed me like I weighed nothing and threw me to the ground, pinning me there. I groaned. "I didn't do anything wrong!" His eyes looked levelly into mine as he held my wrists, but he didn't look as serious as he had during the lesson. He seemed to find this funny. "The battle cry sort of gave you away. Try not to yell next time."
Abe laughed as Janine just shook her head. Alberta was imagining it in her head and she was having a hard time keeping her laughter it.
"Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?" He thought about it. "No. Probably not." I sighed loudly, still in too much of a good mood to really let this disappointment get me down. There were some advantages to having such a kick-ass mentor—one who also happened to have a foot of height on me and outweighed me considerably. And that wasn't even considering his strength. He wasn't bulky but his body had a lot of hard, lean muscle. If I could ever beat him, I could beat anyone.
Janine and Alberta looked at Dimitri and nodded
All of a sudden, it occurred to me that he was still holding me down.
Abe looked at Dimitri who just hoped his book self wouldn't get him killed
The skin on his fingers was warm as he clutched my wrists. His face hovered inches from my own, and his legs and torso were actually pressing against mine. Some of his long brown hair hung around his face, and he appeared to be noticing me too, almost like he had that night in the lounge.
Ivan smiled, while Abe and Janine were looking at Dimitri like they were debating with themselves on what to do with him.
And oh God, did he smell good. Breathing became difficult for me, and it had nothing to do with the workout or my lungs being crushed. I would have given anything to be able to read his mind right then. Ever since that night in the lounge, I'd noticed him watching me with this same, studious expression.
Dimitri's sisters and mother were also looking at him, waiting for him to explain, or just say anything. While Abe, Janine and Adrian were looking at him with no expression on their faces
He never actually did it during the training themselves—those were business.
Ivan rolled his eyes and huffed, he wished that his best friend would relax a little more
But before and after, he would sometimes lighten up just a little, and I'd see him look at me in a way that was almost admiring. And sometimes, if I was really, really lucky, he'd smile at me. A real smile, too—not the dry one that accompanied the sarcasm we tossed around so often. I didn't want to admit it to anyone—not to Lissa, not even to myself—but some days, I lived for those smiles. They lit up his face. "Gorgeous" no longer adequately described him.
No-one said anything. Abe and Janine knew that everything they were hearing was Rose's thoughts and they had no reason to be mad at Dimitri. Dimitri, on the other hand, was pale, not sure how he should feel. He knew that he should have felt nothing, but for some reason, he was very happy.
Hoping to appear calm, I tried to think of something professional and guardian-related to say. Instead, I said, "So um…you got any other moves to show me?"
That got a chuckle out of everyone.
His lips twitched, and for a moment, I thought I was going to get one of those smiles. My heart leapt. Then, with visible effort,
Ivan smiled up at Dimitri who had become pale again. Abe and Janine were glaring at him now,
he pushed the smile back and once more became my tough-love mentor. He shifted off me, leaned back on his heels, and rose. "Come on. We should go." I scrambled to my own feet and followed him out of the gym. He didn't look back as he walked, and I mentally kicked myself on the way back to my room. I was crushing on my mentor. Crushing on my older mentor.
"He's not that much older," Karolina said smiling at her brother
"He's her mentor, it is not allowed," Tatiana scowled
I had to be out of my mind. He was seven years older than me. Old enough to be my…well, okay, nothing.
"Thank goodness for that," Dimitri whispered
But still older than me. Seven years was a lot. He'd been learning to write when I was born. When I'd been learning to write and throw books at my teachers, he'd probably been kissing girls.
"Oh she had it bad," Victoria laughed. Her sisters nodded agreeing with her
Probably lots of girls, considering how he looked. I so did not need this complication in my life right now. I found a passable sweater back in my room and after a quick shower, I headed off across campus to the reception. Despite the looming stone walls, fancy statues, and turrets on the outsides of the buildings, the Academy's insides were quite modern. We had Wi-Fi, fluorescent lights, and just about anything else technological you could imagine.
"Thank goodness for that," Christian smiled
The commons, in particular, looked pretty much like the cafeterias I'd eaten in while in Portland and Chicago, with simple rectangular tables, soothing taupe walls, and a little room off to the side where our dubiously prepared meals were served. Someone had at least hung framed black-and-white photos along the walls in an effort to decorate it, but I didn't really consider pictures of vases and leafless trees "art." Tonight, however, someone had managed to transform the normally boring commons into a bona fide dining room. Vases spilling over with crimson roses and delicate white lilies. Glowing candles. Tablecloths made of—wait for it—bloodred linen.
Tatiana smiled happily at how the school was still keeping the up with its traditions.
The effect was gorgeous. It was hard to believe this was the same place I usually ate chicken patty sandwiches in. It looked fit for, well, a queen. The tables had been arranged in straight lines, creating an aisle down the middle of the room. We had assigned seating, and naturally, I couldn't sit anywhere near Lissa. She sat in the front with the other Moroi; I was in the back with the novices. But she did catch my eye when I entered and flashed me a smile. She'd borrowed a dress from Natalie—blue, silky, and strapless—that looked amazing with her pale features.
Alberta nodded about Lissa.
Who'd known Natalie owned anything so good? It made my sweater lose a few cool points. They always conducted these formal banquets in the same way. A head table sat on a dais at the front of the room, where we could all ooh and ahh and watch Queen Tatiana and other royals eat dinner. Guardians lined the walls, as stiff and formal as statues. Dimitri stood among them, and a weird feeling twisted my stomach as I recalled what had happened in the gym. His eyes stared straight ahead as if focusing on nothing and everything in the room at once.
All the guardians in the room nodded.
When the time came for the royals‟ entrance, we all stood up respectfully and watched as they walked down the aisle. I recognized a few, mostly those who had children attending the Academy. Victor Dashkov was among them, walking slowly and with a cane. While I was happy to see him, I cringed to watch each agonizing step he took toward the front of the room. Once that group had passed, four solemn guardians with red-and-black-pin-striped jackets entered the commons. Everyone but the guardians along the walls sank to our knees in a silly show of loyalty. What a lot of ceremony and posturing, I thought wearily. Moroi monarchs were chosen by the previous monarch from within the royal families. The king or queen couldn't choose one of his or her own direct descendants, and a council from the noble and royal families could dispute the choice with enough cause. That almost never happened, though.
"Why does that feel like foreshadowing?" Adrian asked looking at the book.
"Write it down and we will see," Yeva said with no emotions
Queen Tatiana followed her guards, wearing a red silk dress and matching jacket. She was in her early sixties and had dark grey hair bobbed to her chin and crowned with a Miss America-type tiara. She moved into the room slowly, like she was taking a stroll, four more guardians at her back. She moved through the novices‟ section fairly quickly, though she did nod and smile here and there. Dhampirs might just be the half-human, illegitimate children of the Moroi, but we trained and dedicated our lives to serving and protecting them. The likelihood was strong that many of us gathered here would die young, and the queen had to show her respect for that.
Tatiana said nothing she merely nodded
When she got to the Moroi section, she paused longer and actually spoke to a few students. It was a big deal to be acknowledged, mostly a sign that someone's parents had gotten in good with her. Naturally, the royals got the most attention. She didn't really say much to them that was all that interesting, mostly just a lot of fancy words. "Vasilisa Dragomir." My head shot up.
Tatiana smile, she had an idea about how the next part was going to playoff
Alarm coursed through the bond at the sound of her name. Breaking protocol, I pushed out of my position and wiggled over to get a better view, knowing no one would notice me when the queen herself had personally singled out the last of the Dragomir's.
Everyone nodded, but Tatiana looked did not look impressed
Everyone was eager to see what the monarch had to say to Lissa the runaway princess. "We heard you had returned. We are glad to have the Dragomir's back, even though only one remains. We deeply regret the loss of your parents and your brother; they were among the finest of the Moroi, their deaths a true tragedy."
Abe and Olena were glaring at Tatiana
I'd never really understood the royal "we" thing, but otherwise, everything sounded okay. "You have an interesting name," she continued. "Many heroines in Russian fairy tales are named Vasilisa. Vasilisa the Brave, Vasilisa the Beautiful. They are different young women, all having the same name and the same excellent qualities: strength, intelligence, discipline, and virtue. All accomplish great things, triumphing over their adversaries. "Likewise, the Dragomir name commands its own respect. Dragomir kings and queens have ruled wisely and justly in our history. They have used their powers for miraculous ends. They have slain Strigoi, fighting right alongside their guardians. They are royal for a reason." She waited a moment, letting the weight of her words sink in. I could feel the mood changing in the room, as well as the surprise and shy pleasure creeping out from Lissa. This would shake the social balance. We could probably expect a few wannabes trying to get in good with Lissa tomorrow.
Tatiana smiled, she had always liked the girl, she needed to be taught a lesson
"Yes," Tatiana continued, "you are doubly named with power. Your names represent the finest qualities people have to offer and hearken back in time to deeds of greatness and valour." She paused a moment. "But, as you have demonstrated, names do not make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out." And with that verbal slap in the face, she turned away and continued her procession.
It was fair to say that Tatiana was not the most liked person in the room
A collective shock filled the room. I briefly contemplated and then dismissed any attempts at jumping into the aisle and tackling the queen.
"Well she is learning," Alberta smiled happy that Rose was able to control herself.
Half a dozen guardians would have me down on the floor before I'd even taken five steps. So I sat impatiently through dinner, all the while feeling Lissa's absolute mortification. When the post-dinner reception followed, Lissa made a beeline for the doors leading out to the courtyard. I followed but got delayed having to weave around and avoid the mingling, socializing people. She'd wandered outside to an adjacent courtyard, one that matched the Academy's grand external style. A roof of carved, twisting wood covered the garden, with little holes here and there to let in some light, but not enough to cause damage to Moroi. Trees leaves now gone for the winter, lined the area and guarded paths leading out to other gardens, courtyards, and the main quadrangle. A pond, also emptied for the winter, lay in a corner, and standing over it was an imposing statue of St. Vladimir himself. Carved of grey rock, he wore long robes and had a beard and moustache. Rounding a corner, I stopped when I saw Natalie had beaten me to Lissa. I considered interrupting but stepped back before they could see me. Spying might be bad, but I was suddenly very curious to hear what Natalie had to say to Lissa.
"Why does that sound like a smart idea?" Dimitri asked not understanding why he was not trusting Natalie
"No idea," Janine answered unsure herself.
"She shouldn't have said that," Natalie said. She wore a yellow dress similar in cut to Lissa's but somehow lacked the grace and poise to make it look as good. Yellow was also a terrible colour on her. It clashed with her black hair, which she'd put up into an off-centre bun. "It wasn't right," she went on. "Don't let it bother you." "Kind of late for that." Lissa's eyes were locked firmly on the stone walkway below. "She was wrong." "She's right," Lissa exclaimed. "My parents…and Andre…they would have hated me for what I did."
"No they wouldn't," Tatiana shook her head,
"No, they wouldn't have," Natalie spoke in a gentle voice. "It was stupid to run away. Irresponsible." "So what? You made a mistake. I make mistakes all the time. The other day, I was doing this assignment in science, and it was for chapter ten, and I'd actually read chapter eleven—" Natalie stopped herself and, in a remarkable show of restraint, got herself back on track. "People change. We're always changing, right? You aren't the same as you were then. I'm not the same as I was then." Actually, Natalie seemed exactly the same to me, but that didn't bother me so much anymore. She'd grown on me. "Besides," she added, "was running away really a mistake? You must have done it for a reason. You must have gotten something out of it, right? There was a lot of bad stuff going on with you, wasn't there? With your parents and your brother. I mean, maybe it was the right thing to do." Lissa hid a smile.
"She's looking for information," Dimitri said without thinking
"But why?" Alberta asked
"I don't know, but she is," Dimitri said not sure how he knew that.
Both of us were pretty sure Natalie was trying to find out why we had left—just like everyone else in the school. She sort of sucked at being sneaky. "I don't know if it was, no," Lissa answered. "I was weak. Andre wouldn't have run away. He was so good. Good at everything. Good at getting along with people and all that royal crap." " You're good at that too." "I guess. But I don't like it. I mean, I like people…but most of what they do is so fake. That's what I don't like." "Then don't feel bad about not getting involved," Natalie said. "I don't hang out with all those people either, and look at me. I'm just fine. Daddy says he doesn't care if I hang out with the royals or not. He just wants me to be happy."
Tatiana shook her head, she really did not approve of way Victor was raising his only daughter
"And that," I said, finally making my appearance, "is why he should be ruling instead of that bitch of a queen. He got robbed."
Tatiana was shocked, she didn't know how to respond to what she just heard. Abe nodded, he also thought that Victor would make a better ruler then Tatiana. Hell Abe believed that anyone would make a better ruler than her
Natalie nearly jumped ten feet. I felt pretty confident her vocabulary of swear words mostly consisted of "golly" and "darn." "I wondered where you were," said Lissa. Natalie looked back and forth between us, suddenly seeming a little embarrassed to be right between the best-friends dream team. She shifted uncomfortably and tucked some messy hair behind her ear. "Well…I should go find Daddy. I'll see you back in the room." "See you," said Lissa. "And thanks." Natalie hurried off. "Does she really call him 'Daddy'?" Lissa cut me a look. "Leave her alone. She's nice." "She is, actually. I heard what she said, and as much as I hate to admit it, there was nothing there I could really make fun of. It was all true." I paused. "I'll kill her, you know.
"But she is so sweet," Victoria said not understanding why anyone wanted to harm a sweet girl
"I don't think she meant Natalie. I believe Roza was talking about the Queen," Olena smiled down at her daughter
The queen, not Natalie. Screw the guardians. I'll do it. She can't get away with that." "God, Rose! Don't say that. They'll arrest you for treason. Just let it go." "Let it go? After what she said to you? In front of everyone?" She didn't answer or even look at me. Instead, she toyed absentmindedly with the branches of a scraggly bush that had gone dormant for the winter. There was a vulnerable look about her that I recognized—and feared.
Everyone sat forward wanting to know what would make Rose scared
"Hey." I lowered my voice. "Don't look like that. She doesn't know what she's talking about, okay? Don't let this get you down. Don't do anything you shouldn't." She glanced back up at me. " It's going to happen again, isn't it?"
"What is going to happen?" Tatiana asked worriedly
"Nothing good," Alberta said worried for the girls
she whispered. Her hand, still clutching the tree, began to tremble. "Not if you don't let it." I tried to look at her wrists without being too obvious.
"She wouldn't," Tatiana said shocked, everyone who knew Lissa was in shock as well,
"You haven't?…" "No." She shook her head and blinked back tears. "I haven't wanted to. I was upset after the fox, but it's been okay. I like the coasting thing. I miss seeing you, but everything's been all right. I like…" She paused. I could hear the word-forming in her mind. "Christian."
All eyes were on him again
"I wish you couldn't do that. Or wouldn't." "Sorry. Do I need to give you the Christian's-a-psychopathic-loser talk again?" "I think I've got it memorized after the last ten times," she muttered. I started to launch into number eleven when I heard the sound of laughter and the clatter of high heels on stone. Mia walked toward us with a few friends in tow but no Aaron. Immediately my defences snapped on.
"Smart," Alberta nodded, everyone ells nodded agreeing with her,
Internally, Lissa was still shaken over the queen's comments. Sorrow and humiliation were swirling inside of her. She felt embarrassed over what others must think of her now and kept thinking about how her family would have hated her for running away. I didn't believe that, but it felt real to her, and her dark emotions churned and churned. She was not okay, no matter how casual she'd just tried to act, and I was worried she might do something reckless.
"Alberta make a note, I want Lissa to see someone when she gets back to the academy" Tatiana ordered as Alberta wrote it down
Mia was the last person she needed to see right now. "What do you want?" I demanded. Mia smiled haughtily at Lissa and ignored me, taking a few steps forward. "Just wanted to know what it's like to be so important and so royal. You must be so excited that the queen talked to you." Giggles surfaced from the gathering group. "You're standing too close." I stepped between them, and Mia flinched a little, possibly still worried I might break her arm. "And hey at least the queen knew her name, which is more than I can say for you and your wannabe-royal act. Or your parents."
"Oh that had to hurt," Adrian said with a small smile. The teens nodded agreeing
I could see the pain that caused her. Man, she wanted to be royal so badly. "At least I see my parents," she retorted. "At least I know who they both are. God only knows who your father is. And your mom's one of the most famous guardians around, but she couldn't care less about you either. Everyone knows she never visits. Probably was glad when you were gone. If she even noticed."
Janine and Abe looked down sadly.
"I do know she is gone, but there's nothing I could do about it," Janine all but whispered to herself
That hurt. I clenched my teeth. "Yeah, well, at least she's famous. She really does advise royals and nobles. She doesn't clean up after them."
"Oh I'm proud of her," Abe smiled proudly. Thankfully no-one ells said anything
I heard one of her friends snicker behind her. Mia opened her mouth, no doubt to unleash one of the many retorts she'd had to accumulate since the story started going around when the lightbulb suddenly went off in her head. "It was you," she said, eyes wide. "Someone told me Jesse'd started it, but he couldn't have known anything about me. He got it from you. When you slept with him."
"She did not," Abe, Janine and Dmitri said at the same time
"We all know that," Ivan smiled at his best friend
Now she was really starting to piss me off. "I didn't sleep with him." Mia pointed at Lissa and glared back at me. "So that's it, huh? You do her dirty work because she's too pathetic to do it herself. You aren't always going to be able to protect her," she warned. "You aren't safe either." Empty threats. I leaned forward, making my voice as menacing as possible. In my current mood, it wasn't difficult. "Yeah? Try and touch me now and find out." I hoped she would. I wanted her to.
"If Mia attacked her and Rose responded would Rose get in trouble?" Abe asked looking at Alberta
"If they could prove Mia attacked her, she would get into less trouble. But in the end Rose is a trained novice and Mia is a Moroi," Alberta said sadly. She hated it that Rose would get into trouble
We didn't need her messed-up vendetta in our lives just now. She was a distraction—one I very much wanted to punch right now. Looking past her, I saw Dimitri move out into the garden, eyes searching for something—or someone. I had a pretty good idea who it was. When he saw me, he strode forward, shifting his attention when he noticed the crowd gathered around us. Guardians can smell a fight a mile away.
All the moroi's looked at the guardians in the room who smiled and nodded
Of course, a six-year-old could have smelled this fight. Dimitri stood beside me and crossed his arms. "Everything all right?" "Sure thing, Guardian Belikov." I smiled as I said it, but I was furious. Raging, even. This whole Mia confrontation had only made Lissa feel worse. "We were just swapping family stories. Ever heard Mia's? It's fascinating."
"Well she's more your child than mine," Janine smiled looking at Abe who nodded agreeing with her.
"Come on," said Mia to her followers. She led them off, but not before she'd given me one last, chilling look. I didn't need to read her mind to know what it said. This wasn't over. She was going to try to get one or both of us back. Fine. Bring it on, Mia. "I'm supposed to take you back to your dorm," Dimitri told me drily. "You weren't about to just start a fight, were you?" "Of course not," I said, my eyes still staring at the empty doorway Mia had disappeared through. "I don't start fights where people can see them."
"That is true," Alberta said nodding thinking about all the times Rose had started fights.
"Rose," groaned Lissa. "Let's go. Good night, Princess." He turned, but I didn't move. "You going to be okay, Liss?" She nodded. "I'm fine." It was such a lie, I couldn't believe she had the nerve to try to put it past me. I didn't need the bond to see tears shining in her eyes. We should never have come back to this place, I realized bleakly. "Liss…" She gave me a small, sad smile and nodded in Dimitri's direction. "I told you, I'm fine. You've got to go." Reluctantly, I followed him. He led me out toward the other side of the garden. "We may need to add an extra training on self-control," he noted. "I have plenty of self contr—hey!" I stopped talking as I saw Christian
"This is not going to end well," Ivan shook his head
slip past us, moving down the path we'd just come from. I hadn't seen him at the reception, but if Kirova had released me to come tonight, I suppose she would have done the same for him. "You going to see Lissa?" I demanded, shifting my Mia rage to him. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and gave me that look of bad-boy indifference. "What if I am?" "Rose, this isn't the time," said Dimitri. But it was so the time. Lissa had ignored my warnings about Christian for weeks. It was time to go to the source and stop their ridiculous flirtation once and for all. "Why don't you just leave her alone? Are you so messed up and desperate for attention that you can't tell when someone doesn't like you?" He scowled. "You're some crazy stalker, and she knows it. She's told me all about your weird obsession—how you're always hanging out in the attic together, how you set Ralf on fire to impress her. She thinks you're a freak, but she's too nice to say anything." His face had paled, and something dark churned in his eyes. "But you aren't too nice?" "No. Not when I feel sorry for someone." "Enough," said Dimitri, steering me away. "Thanks for „helping,‟ then," snapped Christian,
Everyone looked at Christian with sad eyes, well everyone but Tatiana, she was rather happy that Rose had spoken up.
"Thanks," Christian said looking up at Dimitri who just nodded.
his voice dripping with animosity. "No problem," I called back over my shoulder. When we'd gone a little way, I stole a glance behind me and saw Christian standing just outside the garden. He'd stopped walking and now stood staring down the path that led to Lissa in the courtyard. Shadows covered his face as he thought, and then, after a few moments, he turned around and headed back toward the Moroi dorms.
Tatiana smiled happily. Ivan closed the books and waited to see who would like to read next,
"I'll read next," Dimitri said taking the book from Ivan