Chapter 14
The three of us stayed in the same room. I stayed in a double bed with Dimitri, I was so exhausted that I collapsed on the nearest bed. I also think that Sydney was quite happy not having to share with one of us 'evil creatures of the night'. I woke up pressed against him and his hand covering my lower abdomen. It was like he subconsciously knew to protect his baby.
I slid out of the bed and turned to see Sydney holding a cup of coffee, looking at me pointedly. She had tried to talk to me since the gas station, but I didn't want Dimitri to hear with his superior dhampir hearing. She kept getting a lot of "Later" and "Not now" from me. We had decided to rest in favour of confronting Sonya with plenty of daylight to support us.
We checked out of the hotel and packed our supplies in the rental car. We made a short shopping trip for a heavy duty and some clothes as I was running out of durable clothing for battles.
We arrived in Paris, Kentucky at noon, circling the lake and tried to map the area for escape routes. We didn't know if other Strigoi lived with Sonya, but we hoped that she was the sole occupant.
When we found the blue house, Dimitri and I scouted around the property. We could see black out curtains on the windows and doors covered. Dimitri boosted me over the fence to the garden.
The garden was beautiful, full of vibrant colours of plants and flowers, meticulously cultivated and every inch thriving. It was a luscious paradise with vibrant reds, pinks, purples and oranges peppered thought the luscious greens in the garden.
It was intriguing to think of the differences between people and their strigoi personalities.
Sonya had an abundance of plants in her classroom back at St Vlads, she had healed one right in front of me. Dimitri had read his western books and wore his duster as a strigoi. He even protected me as a strigoi, the protective instinct is so deeply ingrained into his person.
He was always a force of strength, which is why he was so strong and commanding as a strigoi. But his actions as a dhampir, being gentle, thoughtful and kind, were all from his heart.
We returned to the car and developed a plan for attack. We would infiltrate from the garden and try to subdue Sonya, once the situation was under control, we would signal to Sydney to bring the chain to help restrain her for questioning.
As we stepped onto the patio, the familiar nausea sensation crept over me. We used a shovel to break the patio door, there was no point to being quiet as she was bound to hear us trying to pick the locks. We crept through the kitchen, we barely needed hand signals, I knew where he would be and what area he would sweep next.
As we made it to the living room I was grabbed and flung into the wall, smacking the side of my head. My head started spinning on impact, but I could see that Dimitri was already on the attack. I shook off the dizziness, but the sight of my former teacher with her chalky face and red ringed eyes, was a shock. I tried to compose myself and step into the fight.
Dimitri had his stake out and I decided to remind him. "Remember we need her"
He grunted in response to show he listened and he swiped her with the stake. I raked my stake across her face and she roared in pain.
We continued out attack like we were in synch, throwing hits to her knees and ribs. Eventually I pinned her to the ground and Dimitri lent in with the shovel as a lever and snapped her neck to immobilise her.
"Go get Sydney" He called out holding her down with his stake at her neck in case she woke up. I ran out the front door and signalled to Sydney to bring the chains. We placed her on a chair and quickly wrapped the chain around her until she was bound securely. Well, as secure as one can be with a strigoi.
"Now what?" Sydney asked us, still panting and looking wild eyed.
I felt dizzy but I fought through it, knowing our task was far from over. "Now we question her"
The questioning did not go as planned. At one point I stabbed her in the thigh with my stake and all that did was produce a lot of swearing and death threats. I could see her making subtle movements probing the chains, eyes calculating and looking for an opening.
"What happened to your head, Rosa?" asked Dimitri, suddenly catching a glimpse of my temple. I'd been tuning out a little and just realised he was talking to me.
"Huh?" I brushed aside hair that had been obscuring part of my forehead. My fingers came away sticky with blood, triggering vague memories of crashing into the table. I shrugged, ignoring the dizziness I'd been feeling. "I'm fine."
"No you aren't" He said to me gently. "Sydney, take her upstairs to clean her up and rest. Keep her on her side and let me know if she vomits"
Back at St Vlads, Dimitri had taught me signs to watch of head injury, pupil changes, confusion and reduced level of consciousness. A common misconception was that you had to keep them awake, when in fact all you achieve is pissing someone off. They were going to pass out no matter how many times you slapped them to stay awake.
Sydney cleaned me up and gave me a stern lecture about my "Condition".
"Do you want this child?" she asked me.
My head was still spinning, but I knew the answer. "Yes, of course I do"
"Then you better start acting like it and take care of yourself. You can't keep putting yourself in these situations, you are looking for danger, not merely having it find you."
I knew she was right and I was being an idiot. Sooner or later I was going to have to deal with this, but I wasn't ready. If I told Dimitri and he actually believed me, if he wanted to be with me, I would feel like it was for the situation and not that he truely loved me.
"I need a little more time Sydney, but I will try to be more careful."
She looked at me sceptically "Somehow I doubt that. Please rest and try not to overexert yourself"
"I will"
"It doesn't look like you have made much progress with the interrogation."
"It's early yet, wait and see how she goes after a few days without blood"
"Sydney blanched. "A few days?"
"Well, whatever it takes to—" I froze as I felt lissa stir through the bond.
"I have to check on Lissa" I said and then jumped into her head without hearing an answer from Sydney.
Lissa was in a van with 5 other people, which I noticed were royal candidates. They were explaining the first trial. Each participant was to be given a set of instructions with a map and a compass. They were tasked to reach a specific location before dusk.
Marcus Lazar was being rude to Lissa, complaining that she had an unfair advantage with her age. The guardian informed him that the king or queen must possess a certain amount of stamina and if the candidate was not capable of this task, they wouldn't be up for the job.
She scratched a bandage on her arm and I scanned her memories to see that they had injected her with a small tattoo with blood and compulsion to prevent candidates from disclosing the details of the trials.
"Can we use our magic?" asked Ariana Szelsky. She wasn't young either, but she looked tough and ready to accept a challenge of endurance.
"Yes you can"
"Are we in Danger" The Ozera prince asked.
The guardian pulled out a phone "That is something you will discover for yourselves, but if at any time you want to stop, you just call the programmed number and we will come to collect you"
"Rose?" A voice summoned me out of Lissa's wilderness survival. "Rose, wake up or … whatever."
I blinked, focusing on Sydney's face, which was a few inches from mine. "What?" I demanded. "Why are you bothering me?"
She flinched and jerked away, momentarily speechless. Pulling away Lissa's darkness while joined with her hadn't affected me at the time, but now, conscious in my own body, I felt anger and irritation flood me.
It's not you, it's not Sydney, I told myself. It's hormones. Calm down. I took a deep breath. I looked back at Sydney, who still seemed afraid of me.
"I'm sorry … I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just startled."
She hesitated a few moments and then nodded, accepting my apology. She checked my pupils and vision and cleaned up the gash on my head. I could see that something else was bothering her.
"What's wrong?" I asked. Sydney stepped back and crossed her arms.
"Your father and some other people are here."
I got up and walked down the stairs to see Abe with my mother, Mikhail and Adrian. I took a deep breath, I hadn't seen him since he ripped me a new one at my room back at court.
"I hear that cradle robbers powers of persuasion is limited to underage students, I came to provide spirit support" Adrian said. My mother and father grimaced at his comment and I sighed and fixed him with a glare.
He then he then looked down at my stomach for a long pause. "So… What's new with you?"
I stood there stunned with my mouth open and Dimitri turned to look at me puzzled. There's no way-
Then we heard a crash, Sonya started to make her move. Dimitri and I jumped in to pin her from either side. Janine stepped forward to push her back into the chair. She moved behind sonya and pulled her stake against her neck.
Sonya stopped thrashing. "I'll kill you, you bitch" She growled at my mother.
I turned my head to check on the others. Abe was watching from afar with interest and Mikhail was rooted to the spot, staring at Sonya. Adrian held a stake raised above his head, he ran across the room and staked Sonya in the chest.
Sonja screamed as a bright light threw Dimitri, my mother and I backwards. I threw my hands out towards the dining table to steady myself. It was so strange to watch without feeling the bond, but just as incredible as it had been with Dimitri.
As the light faded, I could see Sonya slumped in the chair and tangled in the chains. The charmed stake clattered to the ground as Adrian cradled her head to his stomach.
"Unbelievable." My mother said as she was getting to her feet behind me. Sonya turned to look at me, her eyes widened with wonder—eyes that were a rich, azure blue.
Sonya was no longer strigoi.
Sydney and Abe stood there, utterly gob-smacked, I thought she was going to pass out. "I read the reports, but…. WOW!"
Dimitri unwrapped the chain from Sonya, her arms grabbing Adrian tightly as she sobbed. Adrian looked exhausted and the rest of us just stared.
Sonya had the same pale moroi features, admittedly a little paler than usual. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery, but the lacked the coldness and cruelty that they had as a strigoi. She looked confused and terrified.
She started to scream, initially a whimper which escalated to a loud pitched scream. Dimitri gently moved Adrian aside, as he looked as though he was going to collapse. My mother grabbed Adrian to support him as he swayed dangerously and guided him to the couch.
Sonya tried to push Dimitri away from her, reeling from his touch, but she lacked her strigoi strength to do so. He pulled her into his arms, and stroked her hair while whispering reassurances to her. Mikhail had recovered himself by this point and he came over to console her. She became manic at that point, her screams got louder and she positioned herself behind Dimitri.
"Just give her time, I'm going to take her upstairs". Dimitri said as he carried her in his arms up the stairs.
Mikhail looked crushed, my heart ached for him. "Just give her time" I said as I gave him a hug. I could see Abe looking at me, taking in the whole scene.
I walked mikhail into the garden, he walked up to the blue morning glories. "She used to plant these for me"
"It's weird what parts of them stay when they turn. Dimitri still read his westerns and he was somewhat protective of me… in a weird twisted way."
He looked at his feet. "Are things better with you two?"
"That's not a simple answer, we have a lot more road blocks than you two. Dhampir-Dhampir relationships are even less favourable than Moroi-Dhampir relationships, and he was my teacher. His transition was during a battle, whereas Sonya won't be locked up and she has Dimitri to help guide her. She has so many advantages in this situation."
Mikhail looked at me in the eyes. "Is he back to normal?" I could tell he wanted the truth, not to give him some sugar-coated bullshit.
"Sometimes I think he is, sometimes he is too weighed down by his guilt." I took a deep breath, I had skimmed the details of my captivity with Lissa but hadn't talked to anyone else about this. "But she didn't keep you captive and feed on you for weeks."
Mikhail had schooled his features under his guardian mask, but I could see a slight clench of his fists and protectiveness in his eyes that could only be described as brotherly. We were two miserable souls who had lost and now regained our lovers… Had I?
"I don't blame him, after getting him back I know the difference, it wasn't him without his soul. The strigoi version may look like them and have some similar attributes, but its not really them. He hasn't forgiven himself. Do not even mention this to him, you'll make him regress and I don't have time for that." I realised my slip too late.
"What does that mean?"
"Nothing… Just be patient with Sonya. I'm going to check on Lissa." I hurried over to the lawn chair. With the bed and the couch taken, I didn't have anywhere else to lie down. I could see his face, he knew I was lying, but he knew pushing me would be futile.
I skimmed Lissa's mind to see her progress. She had used clues to collect various items: water, a bunch of sticks tied together, sunscreen and a tarp. The heat of the sun was starting to wear her down. She started to take more frequent breaks and reapply her sunscreen. She had two more clues to go.
I was anxious for Lissa, physical exercise or outdoor activities wasn't her usual thing, but I was proud of her for sticking it out. I knew I would have been able to reach the destination in under an hour, but I didn't think I would have figured out the clues that she did. Her logic and reasoning skills were impressive, which is why we made such a good pair on the run.
At the next clue location, she had collected a wide-brimmed hat and another bottle of water. She had realised that the map was not to scale, so the final distance that she had to travel was unknown.
When she reached the final clue, she was more interested in reaching the end rather than checking what the guardians left as her final clue.
The last reward was flint and steel, but a check of the bond revealed Lissa didn't have a clue what it was. She placed it into her bag and headed to the final checkpoint.
The temperature started to drop, then it started to drizzle and then progressed into heavy rain. The sun was still shining, but it offered no warmth, but continued to drain her energy. She realised that the rain was magical.
I could feel lissa's spirits start to sink, she didn't know whether it was 200 meters or 20 kilometers to the final location. The phone laid in her bag, all she had to do was give up and they would pick her up and it could all end.
Determination burned within her, this wasn't about the throne or Tatianas murder. This was about her, she carried the pride of the Dragomir family and she wanted to prove to herself how strong she was. Everyone thought she was a weak little princess who hid behind me and Christian, but she knew better. This was a test that she was going to pass.
Lissa made it to a clearing marked on her map as the end point. Watching her puzzle out the flint and the map was agonising, but she figured it out and eventually had a good fire going. She used her aura vision to see that she wasn't alone, quite pleased that she had that knowledge that her competitors did not.
My mother shook my shoulder and I pulled out of Lissa's head. "Rosemarie, are you okay?"
I nodded and got up. My head was still throbbing and I could feel a few bruises and aching joints. "I'll live, Lissa has almost finished the first test"
My mother smiled. "We have booked accommodation at a hotel, Mikhail and I don't want to stay at a known strigoi house, its not strategically sound with charges present."
"Speaking of charges, who is looking after Lissa if you and Mikhail are here?"
"Pavel has stayed to help Eddie with shifts." I raised my eyebrows, Abe lending his primary guardian was a big deal. "It took a lot of convincing, but I wanted to see you".
Coming from my mother, this was the equivalent of peppering me with kisses and hugs, declaring her undying love for me. Naturally, I burst into tears… Damn hormones
My mother looked bewildered, then she pulled me into a hug. "What's wrong"
"I'm just dealing with a lot and I was overwhelmed that you wanted to see me."
She wiped the hair from my face and looked at the bruise over my temple. "Okay.." I could tell that she didn't believe me, but she wasn't going to push.
We could hear raised voices, Dimitri and Adrian, I quickly got up to investigate, my mum a footstep behind. Abe was standing between them, Mikhail was sitting at the dining table staring at his hands.
"You must be the black sheep in the family" Dimitri muttered, yet all of us heard him.
Adrian was lying on the couch resting but turned his head to him. "Actually, I'll have you know that my uncle Rand takes that honour. The nicest thing my mum said to my dad was 'I wasn't as bad as his brother'." He used air quotes to emphasise his point.
"By rights he should be the Ivashkov Prince, but the family deemed that he was too unsuitable."
"Dimitri doesn't like mention of his father, he tends to not like people that raise a hand to women." Abe said casually. All heads swivelled to look at Abe
The mention of Dimitri's mother and Adrian's uncle suddenly triggered the most astonishing revelation of all. Adrian's jaw dropped as understanding hit him as well.
"Are we . . . does that mean . . . are we cousins?" he exclaimed, turning toward Dimitri.
I could hear a hysterical laugh, then I realised it was coming from me. My ex-boyfriend is related to my baby.
Thanks for reading
Who do you think Rose will tell first?
Just a warning, I have barely started chapter 15… i'm trying to stay ahead and keep to a weekly schedule… we shall see… Sorry