Olena took the book from Ivan who snorted when he read the first sentence.
"You really don't know when to give up do you," Ivan asked Adrian who looked confused.
Three
"WHY SO GLUM, LITTLE DHAMPIR?"
"Oh," Adrian chuckled and shook his head, he didn't know when to give up.
I was heading across the quad, toward the commons, when I detected the scent of clove cigarettes. I sighed. "Adrian, you are the last person I want to see right now." Adrian Ivashkov hurried up beside me, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air that of course drifted right toward me.
Ivan, Dimitri and Abe glared at him while he merely smiled innocently,
I waved it off and made a great show of exaggerated coughing. Adrian was a royal Moroi we'd "acquired" on our recent ski trip. He was a few years older than me and had come back to St. Vladimir's to work on learning spirit with Lissa.
"And flirt with Rose," Adrian smiled, proud of himself. Abe and Dimitri on the other hand were wishing he had left with his aunt.
So far, he was the only other spirit user we knew of. He was arrogant and spoiled and spent a lot of his time indulging in cigarettes, alcohol, and women.
Everyone nodded their head, looking at Adrian disapprovingly. It didn't bother him one bit, he was used to Tatiana and his father so…
He also had a crush on me—or at least wanted to get me into bed.
"Both," Adrian said before thinking. Ivan and Janine were considering letting Dimitri and Abe go just to see how fast Adrian could run. Christian being the darling he was smacked Adrian over the head for them.
"Apparently," he said. "I've hardly seen you at all since we got back. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding me."
"She most defiantly is," Mark and Oksana said at the same time. They wished that book Adrian would get the hint and leave Rose alone.
"I am avoiding you." He exhaled loudly and raked a hand through the sable brown hair he always kept stylishly messy. "Look, Rose. You don't have to keep up with the hard-to-get thing. You've already got me."
"That's not how it works," Karolina and Sonja said at the same time.
"it does for me,"
Adrian knew perfectly well I wasn't playing hard-to-get, but he always took a particular delight in teasing me. "I'm really not in the mood for your so-called charm today." "What happened, then? You're stomping through every puddle you can find and look like you're going to punch the first person you see."
"Wish she would," Dimitri mumbled imagining Adrian with a purple eye, he wouldn't even scold her for it.
"Why are you hanging around, then? Aren't you worried about getting hit?" "Aw, you'd never hurt me. My face is too pretty." "Not pretty enough to make up for the gross, carcinogenic smoke blowing in my face. How can you do that? Smoking's not allowed on campus.
"For the students," Alberta sighed, wishing there was something she could do about that rule as well, it was not fair to the students, especially if it would annoy the visiting royals.
Abby Badica got two weeks' detention when she got caught." "I'm above the rules, Rose. I'm neither student nor staff, merely a free spirit wandering your fair school as I will." "Maybe you should go do some wandering now." "You want to get rid of me, you tell me what's going on."
"I'm surprised he doesn't already know, things like that would spread through the school like a wildfire," Mason nodded thinking about how hard it was to keep things on the low in the school.
There was no avoiding it. Besides, he'd know soon enough. Everyone would know. "I got assigned to Christian for my field experience." There was a pause, and then Adrian burst out laughing. "Wow. Now I understand. In light of that, you actually seem remarkably calm."
"I'm not that bad," Christian glared at Adrian.
"I was supposed to have Lissa," I growled. "I can't believe they did this to me." "Why did they do it? Is there some chance you might not be with her when you graduate?"
"Don't get your hopes up," Ivan and Dimitri said at the same time.
"No. They just all seem to think this is going to help me train better now. Dimitri and I will still be her real guardians later." Adrian gave me a sidelong glance. "Oh, I'm sure that'll be quite the hardship for you." It had to be one of the weirdest things in the universe that Lissa had never come close to suspecting my feelings for Dimitri but that Adrian had figured it out.
"Well I have an advantage and she's occupied with Christian," Adrian relaxed back into his seat, completely at ease.
"Like I said, your commentary isn't appreciated today." He apparently didn't agree. I had a suspicious feeling he'd been drinking already, and it was barely even lunchtime.
Adrian nodded.
"What's the problem? Christian'll be with Lissa all the time anyway." Adrian had a point. Not that I'd have admitted it. Then, in that short-attention-span way of his, he switched subjects just as we neared the building. "Have I mentioned your aura to you?" he asked suddenly.
Adrian sat up straight, this he wanted to know.
There was a strange note to his voice. Hesitant. Curious. It was very uncharacteristic. Everything he usually said was mocking.
"Please don't let it be anything bad," Abe and Janine hoped while Mark and Oksana suspected that it had to do with the darkness, perhaps she had more and that's why she's seeing things. Dimitri and Ivan didn't know how to feel, they just wanted Rose to be fine.
"I don't know. Yeah, once. You said it was dark or something. Why?" Auras were fields of light that surrounded every person. Their colors and brightness were allegedly linked to a person's personality and energy. Only spirit users could see them. Adrian had been doing it for as long as he could remember, but Lissa was still learning.
"So you can learn new tricks," Adrian sounded pleased at that idea.
"Hard to explain. Maybe it's nothing." He came to a stop near the door and inhaled deeply on his cigarette. He went out of his way to blow a cloud of smoke away from me, but the wind carried it back.
"She does have the worst luck in the world." Christian shook his head, he could imagine how nasty Adrian's cigarettes smelled as Adrian might not have been smocking in the room but he defiantly got to smoke when they took breaks.
"Auras are strange. They ebb and flow and change colors and brightness. Some are vivid, some are pale. Every once in a while, someone's will settle and burn with such a pure color that you can…" He tipped his head back, staring into the sky. I recognized the signs of that weird "unhinged" state he sometimes fell into. "You can instantly grasp what it means. It's like seeing into their soul." I smiled. "But you haven't figured mine out, huh? Or what any of these colors mean?" He shrugged. "I'm figuring it out. You talk to enough people, get a feel for what they're like and then start to see the same kinds of people with the same kinds of colors…. After a while, the colors start to mean something." "What's mine look like right now?" He glanced over at me. "Eh, I can't quite get a fix on it today." "I knew it. You've been drinking."
"Always," Adrian missed his drinks, thankfully hadn't needed one so far.
Substances, like alcohol or certain medications, numbed spirit's effects. "Just enough to chase the chill away. I can guess what your aura's like, though. It's usually like the others, sort of those swirling colors—it's just kind of edged in darkness. Like you've always got a shadow following you."
"Well, she is shadow kissed," Mark and Dimitri rolled their eyes,
Something in his voice made me shiver. Although I'd heard him and Lissa talk about auras a lot, I'd never really thought of them as anything I needed to worry about. They were more like some kind of stage trick—a cool thing with little substance. "That's so cheerful," I said. "You ever think about motivational speaking?"
"Good idea," Adrian smirked,
"God pleas no, the world would never recover," Christian and Eddie looked at Adrian like he really has lost it. Mason was curious to see how bad it could get.
His scattered look faded, and his normal mirth returned. "Don't worry, little dhampir. You might be surrounded by clouds, but you'll always be like sunshine to me."
"That's corny," Victoria scoffed,
I rolled my eyes. He dropped his cigarette onto the sidewalk and put it out with his foot. "Gotta go. See you later." He swept me a gallant bow and started walking away toward guest housing. "You just littered!" I yelled.
"Okay that is not Rose," Mason and Eddie were sure that rose had been switched out at one point and they were reading about some strange shapeshifting creature or Alien.
"Above the rules, Rose," he called back. "Above the rules." Shaking my head, I picked up the now-cold cigarette butt and took it to a garbage can that was outside the building.
"Imposter," Mason and Eddie pointed at the book.
When I entered, the warmth inside was a welcome change as I shook off the slush on my boots. Down in the cafeteria, I found lunch wrapping up for the afternoon. Here, dhampirs sat side by side with Moroi, providing a study in contrasts. Dhampirs, with our half-human blood, were bigger—though not taller— and more solidly built. The girl novices were curvier than the ultra-slim Moroi girls, the boy novices far more muscular than their vampire counterparts.
Christian looked at Mason and Eddie then at Abe and he was slightly jealous. He knew that he would never build the same as them.
"I doubt Lissa would care about how muscular you were," Adrian whispered to Christian.
The Moroi complexions were pale and delicate, like porcelain, while ours were tanned from being outside in the sun so much. Lissa sat at a table by herself, looking serene and angelic in a white sweater. Her pale blond hair cascaded over her shoulders. She glanced up at my approach, and welcoming feelings flowed to me through our bond.
"Well someone had to try to cheer her up a little," Oksana smiled pleased that Lissa would know to cheer Rose up.
She grinned. "Oh, look at your face. It's true, isn't it? You really are assigned to Christian." I glared. "Would it kill you to be a little less miserable?" She gave me a censuring yet amused look as she licked the last of her strawberry yogurt off her spoon. "I mean, he's my boyfriend, after all. I hang out with him all the time. It's not that bad."
Christian puffed out his chest at that.
"You have the patience of a saint,"
"She does," Mason, Eddie and Alberta said at the same time,
I grumbled, slouching into a chair. "And besides, you don't hang out with him 24/7." "Neither will you. It's only 24/6."
Alberta chuckled,
"Same difference. It might as well be 24/10." She frowned. "That doesn't make any sense." I waved off my idiotic remark and stared blankly around the lunchroom.
"Well that's Rose's logic," Mason and Eddie chuckled.
The room was buzzing with news of the impending field exercise, which would kick off as soon as lunch ended. Camille's best friend had gotten assigned to Ryan's best friend, and the four of them huddled gleefully together, looking as though they were about to embark on a six-week double date.
"Good luck with that," Dimitri chuckled think that they were going to be the first ones tested.
At least someone would enjoy all this. I sighed. Christian, my soon-to-be charge, was off with the feeders—humans who willingly donated blood to Moroi. Through our bond, I sensed Lissa wanting to tell me something. She was holding off because she was worried about my bad mood and wanted to make sure I got enough support.
"Lissa should have known better, she can never hide anything from Rose," Alberta shook her head, everyone was curious to know what Lissa was hiding from Rose.
I smiled. "Stop worrying about me. What's up?" She smiled back, her pink-glossed lips hiding her fangs. "I got permission." "Permission for—?" The answer flitted from her mind faster than she could have voiced it. "What?" I exclaimed. "You're going to stop your meds?"
"Please no," Christian didn't want Lissa to get hurt anymore.
"They'll monitor her condition and Rose will not make let her push herself too far," Alberta was so sure.
Spirit was an amazing power, one whose cool abilities we were just starting to figure out. It had a very nasty side effect, however: It could lead to depression and insanity. Part of the reason Adrian indulged in drinking so much (aside from his party nature)
Adrian nodded.
was to numb himself against these side effects. Lissa had a much healthier way of doing it. She took antidepressants, which completely cut her off from the magic altogether.
"It is, but I wish there was a way that to have both. not to worry about the darkness but not give up the power," Olena thought about it. she hated the effect the darkness had on her and Mark, but if it wasn't for her powers she would not have Mark with her now.
She hated not being able to work with spirit anymore, but that was an acceptable trade-off for not going crazy. Well, I thought it was. She apparently disagreed if she was considering this insane experiment. I knew she'd been wanting to try the magic again, but I hadn't really thought she'd go through with it—or that anyone would let her.
"Well she's almost 18 so no one could really stop her," Abe said thinking about it, but he also could imagine the tantrum Tatiana would be throwing had she heard this, the thought brought a smile to his face.
"I have to check in with Ms. Carmack every day and regularly talk to a counselor."
"Okay," Christian was relieved that someone was making sure Lissa would take care of herself.
Lissa made a face at this last part, but her overall feelings were still quite upbeat. "I can't wait to see what I can do with Adrian."
"Okay that sounds wrong," Victoria shook her head.
"Agreed," Sonja nodded.
"Adrian's a bad influence."
"That I am," Adrian nodded proudly.
"You would never be worst than Rose so you get second place at best," Christian nocked Adrian's pride.
"He didn't make me do this, Rose. I chose it." When I didn't answer, she lightly touched my arm. "Hey, listen. Don't worry. I've been so much better, and lots of people are going to have my back." "Everyone except me," I told her wistfully.
"Not even I'm going to be able to keep Rose from helping Lissa," Christian shook his head, he didn't understand why Rose would think she would not be around to help her sister in all but blood.
Across the room, Christian entered through a set of double doors and approached us. The clock read five minutes until the end of lunch. "Oh man. The zero hour is almost here." Christian pulled up a chair at our table and flipped it backwards, letting his chin rest on its slatted back. He brushed his black hair away from his blue eyes and gave us a smug smile.
"Oh don't piss her off too much," Mason was going to enjoy this.
I felt Lissa's heart lighten at his presence. "I can't wait until this show gets on the road," he said. "You and me are going to have so much fun, Rose. Picking out curtains, doing each other's hair, telling ghost stories "
"Oh you are going to die by a very slow hand," Eddie chuckled.
"Rose can bring it," Christian was so sure of himself. He was also hoping that Lissa would stop Rose from killing him if it came to that.
The reference to "ghost stories" hit a little closer to home than I was comfortable with. Not that choosing curtains or brushing Christian's hair was much more appealing.
"Wasn't doing it for you," mumbled Christian
I shook my head in exasperation and stood up. "I'll leave you two alone for your last few private moments." They laughed.
"You know with Rose around your sex life is over right?" Sonja asked with a smile.
"No," Christian paled realizing that he won't be able to sneak away with Rose along.
I walked over to the lunch line, hoping to find some leftover doughnuts from breakfast.
Ivan and Dimitri made a note at that.
So far, I could see croissants, quiche, and poached pears. It must have been highbrow day at the cafeteria. Was deep-fried dough really too much to ask for? Eddie stood in front of me. His face turned apologetic as soon as he saw me. "Rose, I'm really sorry—" I put up a hand to stop him. "Don't worry. It's not your fault. Just promise me you'll do a good job protecting her."
Eddie nodded, he would keep Lissa safe.
It was a silly sentiment since she was in no real danger, but I could never really stop worrying about her—particularly in light of this new development with her medication. Eddie stayed serious, apparently not thinking my request was silly at all. He was one of the few who knew about Lissa's abilities—and their downsides, which was probably why he'd been selected to guard her. "I won't let anything happen to her. I mean it." I couldn't help a smile, in spite of my glum mood.
Eddie was happy that he had been able to cheer Rose up at least a little.
His experiences with the Strigoi made him take all of this more seriously than almost any other novice.
Alberta patted his back, while Mason and he stared at each other, both wishing it hadn't taken so much for them to grow up.
Aside from me, he was probably the best choice to guard her. "Rose, is it true you punched Guardian Petrov?" I turned and looked into the faces of two Moroi, Jesse Zeklos and Ralf Sarcozy.
"Please hit them," everyone in the room wanted to say at the same time.
They'd just stepped in line behind Eddie and me and looked more self-satisfied and annoying than usual. Jesse was all bronzed good looks and quick thinking. Ralf was his slightly less attractive and slightly less intelligent sidekick. They were quite possibly the two people I hated most at this school,
"And about time too," Mason shook his head. Pleased that Rose had finally woken up to how horrible Jesse was.
mainly due to some nasty rumors they'd spread about me doing some very explicit things with them.
"Oh, I'm going to get them," Abe all but snarled.
It was Mason's strong-arming that had forced them to tell the truth to the school, and I don't think they'd ever forgiven me for that. "Punch Alberta? Hardly." I started to turn around, but Ralf kept talking. "We heard you threw a big hissy fit in the gym when you found out who you were with."
"It wasn't a hissy fit," Alberta glared at the book.
"'Hissy fit'? What are you, sixty? All I did was—" I paused and carefully chose my words. "—register my opinion." "Well," said Jesse. "I suppose if anyone's going to keep an eye on that Strigoi wannabe, it might as well be you. You're the biggest badass around here."
Christian glared at the book. Oh, he was going to teach Jesse a lesson.
The grudging tone in his voice made it sound like he was complimenting me. I didn't see it that way at all. Before he could utter another word, I was standing right in front of him, with barely any space between us. In what I considered a true sign of discipline, I didn't put my hand around his throat.
"Please so that," Christian hoped. But he was pleased that Rose was willing to stand by him, especially in front of everyone.
His eyes widened in surprise. "Christian has nothing to do with any Strigoi," I said in a low voice. "His parents—" "Are his parents. And he's Christian. Don't confuse them." Jesse had been on the wrong side of my anger before.
Christian, Mason and Eddie shuttered they had seen Rose angry and it was not a fun place to be.
He was clearly remembering that, and his fear warred with his desire to trash-talk Christian in front of me. Surprisingly, the latter won out. "Earlier you acted like being with him was the end of the world, and now you're defending him? You know how he is—he breaks rules all the time. Are you saying you seriously don't believe there's any chance at all he might turn Strigoi like his parents?" "None," I said.
Christian smiled, Rose had his back and he will have hers no matter what.
"Absolutely none. Christian's more willing to take a stand against Strigoi than probably any other Moroi here." Jesse's eyes flicked curiously toward Ralf before returning to me. "He even helped me fight against those ones in Spokane. There is no chance of him ever, ever turning Strigoi." I racked my brain, trying to recall who had been assigned to Jesse for the field experience. "And if I hear you spreading that crap around, Dean isn't going to be able to save you from me."
"Run Dean," Mason and Eddie said at the same time.
"I'm getting a feeling that Jesse and Ralf are going to be more trouble than before," Janine said worried for the girls.
"Or me," added Eddie, who had come to stand right beside me.
Christian looked shocked at Eddie who nodded a small reassuring smile on his face.
Jesse swallowed and took a step back. "You're such a liar. You can't lay a hand on me. If you get suspended now, you'll never graduate." He was right, of course, but I smiled anyway. "Might be worth it. We'll have to see, huh?"
"And I'm pretty sure the guardians would look away," Alberta added.
It was at that point that Jesse and Ralf decided they didn't want anything from the lunch line after all. They stalked off, and I heard something that sounded suspiciously like "crazy bitch." "Jerks," I muttered. Then I brightened. "Oh, hey. Doughnuts."
Everyone even Yeva laughed at that.
I got a chocolate-glazed, and then Eddie and I hurried off to find our Moroi and get to class. He grinned at me. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you just defended Christian's honor. Isn't he a pain in the ass?" "Yes," I said, licking icing off my fingers. "He is. But for the next six weeks, he's my pain in the ass."
Christian chuckled and shook his head. he was starting to look forward for Rose's return to the school, but he couldn't wait for Lissa's return.
~~~~
Olena handed the book over to Karolina.
"Mamma, when are we going to eat?" Paul asked looking up as his mother,
"Two more chapters' sweetie," She smiled at him softly. Paul smiled at her before climbing into her lap and making him comfortable.
Four
IT BEGAN. At first, things weren't too different from any other day. Dhampirs and Moroi attended separate classes in the first half of the school day, then joined up after lunch. Christian had most of the same afternoon classes I'd had last semester, so it was almost like following my own schedule again.
"That is good, let's just hope she focuses on the guardians in disguise," Dimitri said wondering how long it will take for the attacks to start.
The difference was that I was no longer a student in these classes. I didn't sit at a desk or have to do any of the work. I was also a lot more uncomfortable since I had to stand at the back of the room the entire time, along with other novices who were guarding Moroi.
The guardians nodded,
"It won't take long for her to get used to the standing," Janine remembered when she started.
Outside the school, this was what it was usually like. Moroi came first. Guardians were shadows. There was a strong temptation to talk to our fellow novices, particularly during times when the Moroi were working on their own and talking amongst themselves. None of us cracked, though.
Alberta felt a shiver of pride go up her spine. These kids were going to make her proud.
The pressure and adrenaline of the first day had us all on good behavior. After biology, Eddie and I started using a bodyguard technique called pair guarding.
Abe and Janine were proud, Eddie and Rose had thought off it on their own, they were getting ready, preparing.
I was near guard and walked with Lissa and Christian for immediate defense. Eddie, being far guard, walked farther away and scanned the larger area for any potential threats.
"Smart," Dimitri nodded. Rose would probably always be the near guard while her partner would be far. So it was very good that they were preparing for it already.
We followed this pattern for the rest of the day, up until the last class came around. Lissa gave Christian a quick kiss on the cheek, and I realized they were parting. "You guys don't have the same schedule this time?" I asked with dismay, stepping over to the side of the hall to stay out of student traffic.
"I wonder why?" Christian said tilting his head to the side.
Eddie had already deduced that we were parting and had stopped far guard duties to come talk to us. I hadn't known how Lissa and Christian's schedules lined up for this new semester. Lissa took in my disappointed look and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Sorry. We're going to study together after school, but right now, I've got to go to creative writing." "And I," declared Christian loftily, "have to go to culinary science."
Everyone looked at Christian, waiting for him to explain. He simply chooses to ignore them. To him, the class didn't sound like such a bad idea.
"You're not going to say anything?" Mason asked
"Who knows why I took the class," Christian smirked, wondering if he could exchange one of his classes now to the culinary science class.
"Culinary science?" I cried. "You elected culinary science? That's like the most brainless class ever." "It is not," he countered. "And even if it was … well, hey, it's my last semester, right?" I groaned. "Come on, Rose," laughed Lissa. "It's just one class period. It won't be that—"
"Here it comes," Eddie and Mason said sitting forward eager to see who would fail or succeed.
She was cut off when a commotion broke out farther down the hall. We and everyone near us stopped and stared. One of my guardian instructors, Emil, had practically appeared out of nowhere and—playing Strigoi—reached for a Moroi girl. He swung her away, pressing her to his chest and exposing her neck as though he would bite her.
"Failed," Alberta shook her head.
"That was to easy," Dimitri said worried for the students.
I couldn't see who she was, just a tangle of brown hair, but her assigned protector was Shane Reyes. The attack had caught him by surprise—it was the first one of the day—but he fumbled only a little as he kicked Emil in the side and wrested the girl away. The two guys squared off, and everyone watched eagerly. A few even whistled and shouted, cheering Shane on.
Mason, Eddie and Alberta shook their heads, same old Shane and his friends.
One of the catcallers was Ryan Aylesworth.
"He should focus on his charge," Alberta smirked.
He was so fixated on watching the fight—which Shane, wielding his practice stake, had just about won—that he didn't notice two other adult guardians sneaking up on him and Camille. Eddie and I realized it at the same time and stiffened, instinct readying both of us to spring forward. "Stay with them," Eddie told me.
"Good call," Dimitri nodded at Eddie who sat up straight and puffed out his chest.
He headed toward Ryan and Camille, who had just discovered they were being set upon. Ryan didn't react as well as Shane had, particularly since he faced two attackers. One of the guardians distracted Ryan while the other—Dimitri, I now saw—grabbed Camille.
"Poor girl," Ivan shook his head, he felt bad for the girl. Dimitri was giant and him grabbing her would surly have terrified her.
She screamed, not faking her fear. She apparently didn't find being in Dimitri's arms as thrilling as I did.
"You know you didn't have to scare her," Karolina pointed out to Dimitri.
"I doubted that I did it on purpose," Dimitri rolled his eyes.
Eddie headed toward them, approaching from behind, and landed a blow on the side of Dimitri's head. It hardly fazed Dimitri, but I was still amazed. I'd barely ever been able to land a hit on him in all our trainings.
"Well he was occupied with the screaming girl so…" Ivan smirked.
Eddie's attack forced Dimitri to release Camille and face this new threat. He spun around, graceful as a dancer, and advanced on Eddie. Meanwhile, Shane had "staked" his Strigoi and jumped in to help Eddie, moving around to Dimitri's other side. I watched, fists clenched in excitement, intrigued with the fighting in general and with watching Dimitri in particular.
"Well that is nothing new," Ivan chuckled, he was wondering who would win in a fight between Rose and Dimitri. Yes Dimitri did have a lot more experience but Rose was a fast learner and she always watched him whenever he was in a fight, so who knows how much she had picked up on.
It amazed me that someone so deadly could be so beautiful. I wished I was part of the fray but knew I had to watch the area around me in case any "Strigoi" attacked here.
Alberta, Janine and Dimitri nodded approving.
But they didn't. Shane and Eddie successfully "finished off" Dimitri. Part of me was a little sad at this. I wanted Dimitri to be good at everything. However, Ryan had tried to help and failed. Dimitri had technically "killed" him, so I felt a twisted comfort in thinking that Dimitri had still been a badass Strigoi.
No one said anything. No one knew what to say.
He and Emil praised Shane for being fast on his feet and Eddie for realizing we had to treat this as a group endeavor rather than one-on-one trials. I got a nod for watching Eddie's back, and Ryan was chastised for not paying attention to his Moroi. Eddie and I grinned at each other, happy over getting high marks on this first test. I wouldn't have minded a slightly bigger role, but this wasn't a bad start to the field experience. We high-fived, and I saw Dimitri shake his head at us as he left.
"They're still kids, let them enjoy the moment," Abe told Dimitri who simply nodded.
With the drama over, our foursome split up. Lissa gave me one last smile over her shoulder and spoke to me through the bond, Have fun in culinary science!
"That would probably be her favourite class if she got to eat what they made," Eddie thought about it.
"Oh no," Christian realized this as well. And now he was worried about the fact that Rose could literally eat his grade.
I rolled my eyes, but she and Eddie had already rounded a corner. "Culinary science" sounded pretty impressive, but really, it was just a fancy term for what was essentially a cooking class. Despite my teasing Christian about it being brainless, I had some respect for it.
Christian nodded and sat up proudly in his chair.
I could barely boil water, after all. Still, it was a lot different from an elective like creative writing or debate, and I had no doubts Christian was taking it as a blow-off class and not because he wanted to be a chef someday.
"Well with Lissa running things. Someone has to be the housewife- sorry house husband," Adrian laughed.
"I don't care. I'm getting the girl of my dreams." Christian responded.
At least I might get some satisfaction out of watching him mix a cake or something. Maybe he'd even wear an apron. There were three other novices in the class who were guarding Moroi. Since the culinary science room was large and open, with lots of windows, the four of us worked together to come up with a plan to pool our efforts and secure the whole room.
The guardians were pleased. Most of the kids were doing very well. And if they continued most of them might even survive out in the world.
When I'd watched novices do their field experiences in past years, I'd only ever paid attention to the fights. I'd never noticed the teamwork and strategizing that must have been going on. Theoretically, the four of us were here to only protect our assigned Moroi, but we'd slipped into a role where we were protecting the whole class.
"That's surprisingly the easy part," Dimitri nodded at Janine and Alberta who nodded.
My post was by a fire door that led outside of the school. Coincidentally, it was right by the station Christian was working at. The class normally cooked in pairs, but there was an odd number of students. Rather than work in a group of three, Christian had volunteered to be by himself. No one had seemed to mind.
"I work better on my own anyway," Christian wasn't bothered. He was rather used to working alone.
Many still regarded him and his family with the same prejudice that Jesse did. To my disappointment, Christian wasn't making a cake.
"My grade is saved," Christian let out a breath. Everyone knew how Rose could eat and cake or anything chocolate was her kryptonite.
"What is that?" I asked, watching him take out a bowl of some kind of raw, ground-up meat from the refrigerator. "Meat," he said, dumping it onto a cutting board. "I know that, you idiot. What kind?" "Ground beef." He pulled another container out and then another. "And this is veal. And this is pork."
"What are you feeding?" Mason asked
"Rose probably," Christian answered back.
"Do you have, like, a T.rex that you're going to feed?" "Only if you want some. This is for meatloaf." I stared.
"Three kinds of meat?" Abe asked thinking it was a little overkill,
"Why eat something called meatloaf if you aren't actually going to get some meat out of it," Christian answered making Karolina laugh.
"What?" Christian asked her.
"You'll see," Was all she said before starting to read again.
"With three kinds of meat?" "Why eat something called meatloaf if you aren't actually going to get some meat out of it?" I shook my head. "I can't believe this is only the first day with you."
Everyone chuckled at that.
He glanced down, focusing on kneading his tri-meat creation together. "You sure are making a big deal out of this. Do you really hate me that much? I heard you were screaming at the top of your lungs back in the gym."
"She didn't," Mason defended Rose.
"I know that," Christian pointed at himself before pointing at the book, "but book me does not,"
"No, I wasn't. And … I don't hate you at all," I admitted. "You're just taking it out on me because you didn't get paired with Lissa." I didn't answer. He wasn't that far off. "You know," he continued, "it might actually be a good idea for you to practice with someone different." "I know. That's what Dimitri says too." Christian put the meat into a bowl and started adding some other ingredients. "Then why question it? Belikov knows what he's doing. I'd trust anything he says. It sucks that they're going to lose him after we graduate, but I'd rather see him with Lissa."
"Thank you," Dimitri smiled at Christian who blushed and looked away.
"Me too." He paused and looked up, meeting my eyes. We both smiled, amused at how shocked we were to have agreed with each other.
"The world is coming to an end," Mason and Eddie said at the same time, very dramatically I might add.
A moment later, he returned to his work. "You're good too," he said, not too grudgingly. "The way you handled yourself…" He didn't finish the thought, but I knew what he was talking about. Spokane. Christian hadn't been around when I killed the Strigoi, but he'd been instrumental in helping with the escape.
"Thank god for that," Christian didn't want to see what Rose had done. Hearing about it was enough for him.
He and I had teamed up, using his fire magic as a means of letting me subdue our captors. We'd worked well together, all of our animosity put aside. "I guess you and I have better things to do than fight all the time," I mused.
"You know the world is not ready for whatever type of team you two would make, right?" Eddie asked Christian who nodded with a smug smile.
Like worry about Victor Dashkov's trial, I realized. For a moment, I considered telling Christian what I'd learned. He'd been around the night it had all gone down with Victor last fall, but I decided not to mention the news just yet. Lissa needed to hear it first.
"Defiantly," Christian agreed.
"Yup," Christian said, unaware of my thoughts. "Brace yourself, but we aren't that different. I mean, I'm smarter and a lot funnier, but at the end of the day, we both want to keep her safe." He hesitated. "You know…I'm not going to take her away from you. I can't. No one can, not as long as you guys have that bond."
"Even without that bond, you wouldn't be able to keep them apart," Alberta said thinking about how close Rose and Lissa had bees since to moment they met.
I was surprised he'd brought this up. I honestly suspected that there were two reasons he and I argued a lot. One was that we both had personalities that liked to argue. The other reason—the big one—was that we were each envious of the other's relationship with Lissa.
"And you two are basically the same person just in different fonts," Ivan added,
But, as he'd said, we really had the same motives. We cared about her. "And don't think the bond will keep you guys apart," I said. I knew the link bothered him. How could you ever get romantically close to someone when they had that kind of connection with another person, even if that other person was just a friend?
"Rather easily it would seem," Adrian patted Christian on the back.
"Just because I don't know that Rose is sucked into her head most of the time," Christian glared at Adrian.
"She cares about you. …" I couldn't bring myself to say "loves." "She has a whole separate place for you in her heart." Christian put his dish in the oven. "You did not just say that. I have a feeling we're on the verge of hugging and coming up with cute nicknames for each other."
"Now that would have been a sight to see," Abe and Mark chuckled.
He was trying to look disgusted at my sentiment, but I could tell he liked being told that Lissa cared about him. "I already have a nickname for you, but I'll get in trouble if I say it in class." "Ah," he said happily. "That's the Rose I know." He went off to talk to another friend while his meatloaf cooked, which was probably just as well. My door was a vulnerable position, and I shouldn't have been chatting away, even if the rest of the class was.
The guardians nodded.
Across the room, I saw Jesse and Ralf working together.
"Why can't she just have a break from them?" Victoria asked annoyed. She and her family were over it, they didn't want to hear anything more about those two boys.
Like Christian, they'd chosen a blow-off class too. No attacks occurred, but a guardian named Dustin did come in to make notes on us novices as we held our positions. He was standing near me right when Jesse chose to stroll by.
"He better not," Ivan warned.
At first, I thought it was a coincidence—until Jesse spoke. "I take back what I said earlier, Rose. I figured it out. You aren't upset because of Lissa or Christian. You're upset because the rules say you have to be with a student,
"No fucking way," Abe was up. He was most defiantly going to kill that boy now.
and Adrian Ivashkov's too old.
"On that's not so bad," Abe relaxed back into his seat. Ivan and Dimitri also relaxed, yes they didn't like the implication of Adrian and Rose together but those rumours were a lot less damaging than rumours about Rose and Dimitri.
The way I hear it, you guys have already had a lot of practice watching each other's bodies."
"Well he is only half wrong," Adrian frowned.
"Shut up," Abe and Dimitri said at the same time.
That joke could have been so much funnier, but I'd learned not to expect too much from Jesse. I knew for a fact that he didn't care about Adrian and me. I also suspected he didn't even believe we had anything going on. But Jesse was still bitter about me threatening him earlier, and here was his chance to get back at me. Dustin, standing within earshot, had no interest in Jesse's idiotic teasing. Dustin would probably have an interest, however, if I slammed Jesse's face into the wall.
"Please do," Ivan and Abe said at the same time.
That didn't mean I had to be silent, though. Guardians talked to Moroi all the time; they just tended to be respectful and still keep an eye on their surroundings. So I gave Jesse a small smile and simply said, "Your wit is always such a delight, Mr. Zeklos. I can barely contain myself around it."
That got a few chuckled out of the room.
I then turned away and surveyed the rest of the room. When Jesse realized I wasn't going to do anything else, he laughed and walked away, apparently thinking he'd won some great victory.
"Idiot," All the girls said at the same time.
"It's pronounced asshole," Christina corrected her.
Dustin left shortly thereafter. "Asshole," muttered Christian, returning to his station. Class had about five minutes left. My eyes followed Jesse across the room. "You know something, Christian? I'm pretty happy to be guarding you."
"Why did she have to compare me to him," Christian moaned.
"Well, she can't make your life too easy,"
"If you're comparing me to Zeklos, I don't really take that as much of a compliment. But here, try this. Then you'll really be glad you're with me." His masterpiece was finished, and he gave me a piece.
"We have lost her and the world will burn for it," Eddie and Mason hugged looking terrified at Christian.
I hadn't realized it, but just before the meatloaf had gone in, he'd wrapped it in bacon. "Good God," I said. "This is the most stereotypical vampire food ever." "Only if it was raw. What do you think?" "It's good," I said reluctantly. Who knew that bacon would make all the difference?
Bacon makes everything better," Paul smiled wishing he had some of the meatloaf now.
"It does," Karolina smiled down at her baby boy.
"Really good. I think you have a promising future as a housewife while Lissa works and makes millions of dollars." "Funny, that's exactly my dream."
"Called it," Adrian yelled out happily.
We left the class in lighter moods. Things had grown more friendly between us, and I decided that I could handle the next six weeks protecting him. He and Lissa were going to meet in the library to study— or pretend to study—but he had to stop by his dorm first. So I followed him across the quad, back into the winter air that had grown chillier since sunset seven hours ago. The snow on the paths, which had turned slushy in the sun, had now frozen up and made walking treacherous. Along the way, we were joined by Brandon Lazar, a Moroi who lived in Christian's hall. Brandon could barely contain himself, recapping a fight he'd witnessed in his math class. We listened to his rendition, all of us laughing at the thought of Alberta sneaking in through the window.
"Don't," was all Alberta said, not even looking at Mason and Eddie.
"Hey, she might be old, but she could take on almost any of us," I told them.
"Thank you, Rose," Alberta smiled.
I gave Brandon a puzzled look. He had bruises and red splotches on his face. He also had a few weird welts near his ear.
"What?" everyone thought at the same time.
"What happened to you? Have you been fighting guardians too?" His smile promptly disappeared, and he looked away from me. "Nah, just fell."
"Bad Liar," Adrian said.
"Great now something is going on between the Moroi as well?" Ivan asked wishing just for one chill book.
"Many he got in a fight we never know," Abe said but he didn't sound too sure.
"Come on," I said. Moroi might not train to fight like dhampirs did, but they got in brawls with each other just as often as anyone else. I tried to think of any Moroi he might have a conflict with. For the most part, Brandon was pretty likeable. "That's the lamest, most unoriginal excuse in the world." "It's true," he said, still avoiding my eyes. "If someone's screwing with you, I can give you a few pointers." He turned back to me, locking eyes. "Just let it go." He wasn't hostile or anything, but there was a firm note in his voice. It was almost like he believed saying the words alone would make me obey him.
"Is he trying to compel her?" Ivan asked worriedly.
"No he's not brave enough to do something like that," Christian was worried.
I chuckled. "What are you trying to do? Compel me—" Suddenly, I saw movement on my left. A slight shadow blending in with the dark shapes of a cluster of snowy pine trees—but moving just enough to catch my attention. Stan's face emerged from the darkness as he sprang toward us.
"Rose's turn to kick their asses," Mason cheered.
Finally, my first test. Adrenaline shot through me just as strongly as if a real Strigoi were approaching. I reacted instantly, reaching out to grab both Brandon and Christian. That was always the first move, to throw my own life before theirs. I jerked the two guys to a halt and turned toward my attacker, reaching for my stake in order to defend the Moroi— And that's when he appeared. Mason.
"No, shit," Everyone said at the same time. Dimitri, Janine and Alberta were hoping that Rose would not freeze. While everyone lees prepared for the shit to hit the fan.
He stood several feet in front of me, off to Stan's right, looking just as he had last night. Translucent. Shimmering. Sad. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. I froze, unable to move or finish going for my stake. I forgot about what I'd been doing and completely lost track of the people and commotion around me. The world slowed down, everything fading around me. There was only Mason—that ghostly, shimmering Mason who glowed in the dark and seemed like he so badly wanted to tell me something.
"She had to snap out of it," Eddie was worried, not for her grade but what the guardians were going to say or think or do to her.
The same feeling of helplessness I'd experienced in Spokane returned to me. I hadn't been able to help him then. I couldn't help him now. My stomach turned cold and hollow. I could do nothing except stand there, wondering what he was trying to say. He lifted one translucent hand and pointed off toward the other side of campus,
"Not good," All the guardians said at the same time. Mark and Oksana were also worried, hopefully the ward wasn't too damaged.
but I didn't know what it meant. There was so much over there, and it wasn't clear what he was pointing at. I shook my head, not understanding but desperately wishing I could. The sorrow on his face seemed to grow. Suddenly, something slammed into my shoulder, and I stumbled forward. The world suddenly started up again, snapping me out of the dreamy state I'd just been in.
"Too late," Dimitri said worried. If something like this happened outside of the school Roza would have been dead.
I only barely managed to throw out my hands in time to stop myself from hitting the ground. I looked up and saw Stan standing over me. "Hathaway!" he barked. "What are you doing?" I blinked, still trying to shake off the weirdness of seeing Mason again. I felt sluggish and dazed. I looked into Stan's angry face
"Why did it have to be Stan?" Mason asked. Couldn't Rose get one peaceful day?
and then glanced over at where Mason had been. He was gone. I turned my attention back to Stan and realized what had happened. In my distraction, I'd completely spaced while he'd staged his attack. He now had one arm around Christian's neck and one around Brandon's. He wasn't hurting them, but his point was made. "If I had been a Strigoi," he growled, "these two would be dead."
Everyone looked at Christian waiting to see if he would be mad.
"She saw a ghost and froze if that would have been me I would be running. So I'm not mad that I just died," Christian rolled his eyes at everyone.
"Done who's next," Karolina asked.