DPOV
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging. - Will Rogers
It wasn't the first time I was grateful to have inherited my father's poker face. I resented it but I made sure to utilise it for more civilised circumstances and not just to put the fear of God into people, although that is useful too and much quicker than having to resort to other means.
Right now my poker face is concealing a reaction at having the Dragomirs trickling into the living room and directing strands of the conversation at the girl Ben is helping up the stairs. Victor is doing his best to direct and contain the conversation to their holiday in Europe. Once he had his daughter's attention the task would be much easier.
Natalie's enthusiasm and excitement could be contagious. Rhea is dragged into it and soon her husband follows. Only the youngest Dragomir girl remains on the outskirts, having paused to look up at Ben making his way back downstairs, Rose safely hidden away.
Logically it's for the best but I still felt uneasy about it.
Suspicion could be curbed by not being addressed, or by not putting it under the magnifying glass. We were trained for that.
Ben doesn't make eye contact with any of us as he stations himself in front of the glass wall. His expression becomes as blank and as unreadable as the wall becomes in daylight. We become living statues, a way of giving this reunion privacy when they can't truly have it. It's easier to become invisible to our charges when they're at ease with us. If they needed or wanted us to join the conversation then they will initiate it.
Spiridon stands almost comically immobile behind the couch Victor, Natalie and Eric occupy. Comically because he has not assumed a desiccating demeanour for a while now which would make me worry he no longer had the ability. Especially his behaviour at the Ozera's but later I learned Victor had requested he be himself there, roughly meaning to show no respect or disposition for them and to make them pretty damn uncomfortable.
It would probably be the only time I'd approve of Spiridon being himself and I still find it hard to believe Victor tolerates him. Not only tolerates him but encourages his abrasive attitude because, at the core of it, he is being honest. Victor prizes that, along with loyalty, and Spiridon has been that to him since we graduated from St. Basil's.
It is a strange set-up here at Victor Dashkov's. Inside his home, we were ordered to treat it as our own and not just a place to hold down for the protection of its owners. Then again, if we thought of it as our home we'd protect it just as or maybe more fiercely on a subconscious level. Another thing I couldn't work out was tactic or... kindness. I'm more inclined to believe the former, partly because it's easier after the years I'd spent in tundra's, packed against a rock mouth to survive a blizzard and creeping through impenetrable darkness with only my fingers against the wet rock wall to guide me through the tunnel, listening for Strigoi.
The Red Zone's had been...another world. The front lines. The true face of everything we are up against and that true face had shown no kindness.
The Dragomir's Guardians have positioned themselves around the ground floor too. One is behind the couch where Rhea, Andre and Vaslissa sat and the other stood by the front door. They had a bigger family than Victor's but had fewer Guardians which is a marker of import. Victor had more influence but he didn't need us three just for protection…he needed a team equipped for his tasks.
"The Lago di Garda…breathtaking." Eric Dragomir exclaims, one hand held up in emphasis. His pronunciation is terrible.
"It was so cool seeing the Academy there. After the Dhampir's are done training they get to have espresso's on the training deck and watch the sunrise." Natalie says, taking her father's hand to literally hold his attention.
"Their classrooms are literal works of history. The paintings, the statues, it's incredible." Vasilisa says, passion colouring her recall.
The distinctions between the two girls had surprised me when I'd first witnessed them together. Where Natalie is loud, energetic, frivolously and enthralled with the social aspects of her world Vaslissa is more reserved, thoughtful, gracious and empathetic. These quieter qualities shone in different measures for Vasilisa and I'd witnessed people easily migrate toward her. Where Natalie was the excitable one Vasilisa was the one they could fall back on to take a readying gulp of fresh air. These girls are fused together by years of childhood, family ties and the innate qualities they possessed could inspire each other. Despite all this, there was something not quite balanced though and I wondered would their closeness last a lifetime as their fathers have.
"I thought you might enjoy it Lissa." Victor says warmly.
"I enjoyed it too." Natalie says, a petulant note in her voice.
"We all did." Rhea Dragomir says, smoothing out what could become a deep crease in this reunion. "We visited as much of what you recommended, Victor. It was a wonderful trip."
"You saved us hiring a tour guide." Eric jokes.
"I envy Italian Academies." Andre states. "All the carb-filled choices on the menu are another reason I resent starting school here."
Laughter resonates with the eldest boy's bitterness. He is like Natalie in the aspect he liked having the spotlight but like his sister, he got it naturally from others. He has a cockiness Spiridon has always embodied. Being a Moroi it came across as more charming than irritating.
"Is that why we lost you? You were gorging in the kitchens?"
"No mother, in the dorms."
"Andre that's disgusting!" Vasilisa exclaims as a mix of laughter and chastising emits from the rest of the party.
"Speaking of the ladies." Andre begins, venturing on with a cocky attitude despite his mother's reprimand. "Who was that Natalie nearly killed earlier?"
I didn't think it was possible for me to become any stiller but somehow I feel every organ in my body trying to cease functioning. A slow inhale ensures things keep working as they should. Across the room, Ben's fingers twitch at his side.
"I didn't – Andre stop being such an asshat!"
"An asshat?" He repeats, sounding close to laughter.
"I'm afraid you are approaching that criteria sweetheart." Rhea says, her gentle voice becoming stern. "Are you sure she's okay, Victor? Should I check on her?"
"Rhea you're concern is touching but it would just embarrass Rose further. She's a sensitive girl, to put it mildly. Dimitri's sister is quite his opposite in temperament."
I only have a moment to come to terms with the announcement of Rose being my sister before six sets of eyes are weighing on me.
"You're sisters visiting?" Eric asks in surprise.
I acknowledge them cooly. "Yes. My mother thought it would be good for her to see a bit of the world."
"No doubt she'll be going back to the East thinking the USSR had the right ideas." Andre laughs.
The seemingly charming attitude is close to becoming ignorant and typical of Royal brats. His parent's expressions mirror each other showing signs of embarrassment but it's his sister that mutters something in his ear that I make out as, 'extremely offensive'. His smug expression sobers a little.
"About us Americans being idiots, that is." He adds.
"She wouldn't be far wrong." Eric says, a hard look fixed on his son.
The Dragomirs, like most Royal's I'd encountered, prided themselves on being good-mannered and respectful but unlike most royals, it isn't just for show.
"No offence taken." I say quietly, sparing the boy further humiliation.
Rhea Dragomir offers a gracious smile and it's like looking at the future in thirty years and seeing her daughter. Both her children had inherited her emerald eyes and soft blonde curls. Andre's is a darker blonde, more golden and from what I'd seen the most attention he paid to it was to run his hands through it every ten minutes. His inherited Moroi beauty made the minimal effort necessary. His sister resembled him but where he embodied his mother's qualities in a masculine fashion, Lissa had every trait in a softer, feminine glow. Her pale blonde hair is pulled up in a modest ponytail that only made her green eyes seem bigger and her cheekbones more defined. Their father by contrast had light brown hair and hazel eyes that sometimes seemed green. Despite Eric's colouring the Dragomirs' are often referred to as the golden dragons. A nickname derived from their Royal symbol, a dragon, and their hair colour. It seemed a fitting name as all sat together Rhea, Andre and Lissa gave the illusion of sunlight being present in the room.
"Most amiable of you, Dimitri." Eric obliges and I nod.
The irony being showing any regard for my feeling is a gracious thing.
They come first.
"And if there's any way in which we can enhance Rose's visit then we'd be glad to. I'm sure the girls wouldn't mind spending the day with her and we'd absolutely love to have her over for dinner. Perhaps we can all arrange an outing?"
"She has to go to the mall. There is nothing like an American mall." Natalie pipes up, her fists held up and shaking in excitement.
"We'll see what we can organise." Victor says, trying to brush away the topic. I nod in thanks to Eric. "So you must tell me what you thought of The Prado-"
"I thought you only had three sisters." Lissa suddenly asks, her soft voice somehow commandeering the attention of the room. "Viktoria, Sonja and Karolina."
Hearing her recite my sibling's name effortlessly is not just what stuns me but the look of assuredness in her eyes. Somehow I knew that there was no arguing with this girl or correcting her, somehow I knew she'd know I was lying. The emerald is studying me closely as if seeing in and around me as if the essence of me is telling her the truth.
Behind Victor, Spiridon swallows. A small movement of muscle in his throat but a tell.
"Lissa, you must have misheard." Eric begins but Rhea looks thoughtful. It suddenly comes to me that I shared this information with them in May, before their departure. I had no idea Lissa had been listening.
Another thing about Dragomir's is they are not fools.
"Half-sister." Victor says, trying to gain control through intimidation by proposing an unsettling explanation.
It isn't uncommon for Moroi men to take Dhampir women as mistresses and ignore the offspring in which they produce. In regards to my family, this is a close truth and the infidelity and dishonour associated with it make it an uncomfortable subject - for everyone.
As expected Rhea looks taken back and Eric looks down at his clasped hands between his knees.
"You're lying." Lissa says plainly, looking at the man she fondly calls Uncle.
There's a stunned silence.
The young Dragomir turns to me. "He is lying isn't he?"
"Lissa." Eric manages to say now, peddling past his surprise.
"No." I answer. "Rose is my half-sister. Her mother passed away and she has been put in my mother's care."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Rhea says, trying to make amends.
Andre is regarding his sister bizarrely and Natalie is looking at each face before settling on Spiridon. He ignores her and stares ahead. Another strange thing about this household, one thing I would never have expected or believed, is how close Spiridon and his Moroi charge are. Something in the neighbourhood of the affection siblings have for one and other.
"You're lying." Lisa repeats, harder this time.
"Lissa stop." Eric demands. "You're being unforgivable rude."
She does not remove her gaze. "You said before you had three sisters, a nephew and Sonja was trying for another. Forgive me but you sounded very proud of your family despite the stigma. You never mentioned another sister."
A hot prickle runs up my spine.
"We didn't know." I answer. My voice is like wrinkled silk.
"You're lying." Lissa repeats. Her voice and eyes flat with conviction.
"Jesus Liss." Andre utters.
"What has gotten into you?" Rhea demands in a strained, hushed voice. "These outbursts have to stop."
"Dimitri, I am so sorry." Eric expresses looking full of sincerity and embarrassment. Beside him, Victor is watching Lissa carefully.
"No apology necessary." I return. "Rose's existence has only been a fairly recent discovery."
Vasilisa Dragomir stands up, glaring at me with a force that could melt glass.
"I want to speak to Rose." She says.
"Lissa sit down." Rhea orders, her frustration climbing.
"No, I shan't. I'm going to go ask Rose exactly who she is because they are lying and I want to know why. I want to know why Ben rushed to get a girl upstairs and out of sight."
Across the room, anxiety is on Ben's face.
"Vasilisa you are way out of line and you will sit down this instant." Eric says through his teeth.
My jaw is locked and I inhale.
Lissa's intensity dissipates a little under the strain of her father's orders but she remains standing.
"She's right." Victor says suddenly, making everyone turn to him.
"What?" Eric asks, looking completely baffled.
Lissa glances back at me and then around her as if only becoming aware she's at the centre of a scene. She slowly sits down. Andre mouths 'are you okay' and she nods. I straighten my back and retake my stance at the wall. Across the room, Ben gives me a look that says 'oh shit'.
"Rose is not Dimitri's relative." He takes a deep breath. "She was a slave that we rescued."
The silence is deafening.
"What?" Natalie says in a manner that conveys she hasn't heard him right.
Victor sits up straighter. "A recent business trip had us stumble across her in the possession of a Moroi and I felt more than obliged to bring her back here."
"That young girl…that young girl is a slave?" Rhea states, looking unnerved. Beside her, Lissa has gone pale.
I've forgotten myself. I look fixedly ahead.
"Was, Rhea. Was." Victor says softly.
"But…what age is she?" Eric demands.
"She is eighteen years old."
I hear a short intake of breath.
"H-how? I mean where did they get her? Was she taken? Has it been one of the raids? I can't recall –"
"No, no." Victor says, his voice trying to soothe this burning topic. "Rose was born to it."
"Oh my God." Rhea says, sounding like the air has been taken from her.
"Born there? Was her mother taken or was she born there to? This is...but to be…slave breeding." My bones lock, the stone and steel I learned to become over the past few years taking hold as Eric's disbelief leaves him grasping for words. "Victor, this is unspeakable. Eighteen? That would mean she was born a few short times after The Fall, that someone moved that quickly...to...I can't even imagine what she's endured."
"She has been medically examined by an Alchemist and prescribed a nutrition plan. She's timid, frightened and overwhelmed but she is a strong girl." Victor says, a soothing balm to their fresh horror. "She'll be staying here for the foreseeable future."
"Staying here?" Rhea repeats, watching her friend steadily. "To do what exactly?"
"Well for now I have explained to her that she'll be in my employment which is for her own safety until-"
"Employment?" Rhea repeats, anger rearing. "You've taken her from hell to a new one but under a different pretence?"
A hot prickle runs up my spine.
"Rhea, listen –"
"Victor, what are you thinking? She needs help. She needs the care of professionals. You can't keep her like a pet that knows how to do chores." Eric says, sounding just as enraged as his wife.
"Daddy wouldn't do that!"
"It's okay darling. Eric, Rhea as my oldest friends, I am hurt you think this of me but if you would be quiet for three minutes I will explain."
And so he does. He explains to them about Rose, how she is a key witness to a Royal's debaucheries, how he has had her examined by medical professionals, that his goal is to help her find a way into mainstream society and he will provide whatever help is needed to close the gap between what she knows from a life of deprivation and what she needs to be equipped with to survive on her own.
He doesn't provide the Royal Moroi family name for several reasons. One is that it would undermine Victor's goal to get all the families on some sort of equal footing. It was enough to mention it was a royal to inspire shock and to enforce how far the nobility has fallen but to be specific would create hostility between the Dragomir's and the Ozeras which would undo what Victor had managed to do in the last few days, to get Lucas Ozera back into political action after years of being stagnant. The Dragomirs would not let the abominable actions of their 'cousins' go quietly.
It's a hard thing to admit, to say out loud but Dhampir slavery had become a very real thing in our world, a very disturbing reality. It isn't flaunted, it isn't something we are desensitized to amidst the chaos and attacks and plummeting numbers in our population. It's a hushed and hidden crime, for the most part, perpetrators never making it obvious and not because they'd face a trial but because they'd be branded with ultimate disgrace and suffer the indignity of our world. They'd be seen as no better than the Nazis or the human slaveholders. The inhumanity is unforgivable, the crime that had no fitting punishment and all amplified by the belief we were the superior civilisation. One's who had felt just as horrified by the humans' crimes against each other, so much so that Dhampir's had served in their wars and campaigned in disguise all for the sake of justice. We'd believed we were better because we only became our worst when physically forced to. When we lost our souls. But the Ozera's and many like them had shown that magical ability, heightened senses and evolutionary development did not make us wiser about humanity.
Arizona had shown me that there are worse places than the Red Zones. There you know what danger lurks outside the walls, what bloodthirsty creatures stalk the wards and the nearby communities and towns. You knew the familiar face on the bunk opposite might not be there the next morning. The blood, sweat and tears you poured into training for years, to be better, to become something worthy had brought you there - to fight and to die with honour.
But Arizona...those Guardians who had held those Dhampirs, who witnessed the cruelty their Masters were willing to wage. That was a place devoid of honour. A place is devoid of what our Promise mark meant.
The Dragomirs would march them to the social and political noose. As much as I'd like to do this and as much as Victor would agree they deserve it, we could not let that happen,yet. We needed the unification of the Royals. We also couldn't let the actions of the two debase a whole lineage. I had my reasons for that. Tasha had shared her suspicions with me and permitted me to share them with Victor. She didn't deserve punishment for her brother's crimes and I believed her when she said her nephew didn't either. He would have to leave school, either by demand or because, and this was just my own thought because of recent developments, Lissa Dragomir would force him out.
Victor's explanation leaves the room quiet and I become aware of the anger brushing up against the steel, trying to find a way in. I force it back. Anger is useless to me right now, I had no way to utilize it but for all my reasoning I'm only able to compress it down to embers.
"But who…who could reap so many Dhampirs? And keep them subdued?" Rhea asks, sounding dazed.
"Enough violence, pathological, physical, mental and emotional can wear down even the best-trained soldier until they break." Victor says gravely. "Dhampirs can endure for longer but they are not invincible."
No, we certainly are not.
"And like Rose, it may be all they have ever known."
"This is an atrocity." Rhea Dragomir's voice breaks, a mix of outrage and pain. She puts a hand to her throat. "Those poor souls. How can we help?"
Eric demands to know the Moroi responsible and have them brought to Court for a trial. Victor curbs this by emphasising that they had been dealt with and the Dhampirs left behind are being treated better. This doesn't appease them and it's not really surprising. Victor explains it's too late to mainstream them into society, that there weren't resources available to house them and take care of them and he regretfully did not have the time to put something together. He told them about the turnover of Guardians and receiving daily reports. He makes it clear, with no concrete details, that the tyrants responsible are under his thumb and he is not making life easy for them.
"I can't give you their names. I have…things in place that we cannot afford to lose. Believe me, I am doing what I know is best."
"For who? Victor, we love you but we know you. Your self-interest cannot take precedence." Rhea Dragomir says.
"My interests are not self-involved. My interests have the full weight of our world on them, our children's lives, our futures, and our legacies. I am punishing the culprits, they have in no way gotten off lightly but if I take a course of action you want…they will. These people will not burn in their shame and you know better than to believe they will be prosecuted. They will disappear, comfortably and I implore you to understand this will be worse."
Victor's argument, to those without all the details and in this case his audience, would be hard to buy. It would sound self-interested and craven. But he is right, the Ozera's would disappear east and God knows what would become of them or what would happen to Tasha and Christian. And no matter their crimes I knew that Victor was trying to save them from themselves as well as using them to serve a purpose.
A few moments tick by in heavy silence.
I don't dare to glance and calculate their responses based on facial readings or body language. This wasn't just a discussion regarding our business, if it had been perhaps I'd be more worried, but it was a discussion between people who were family and that meant a lot here.
"You've never given us a reason to doubt you." Eric Dragomir says solemnly. "I trust your judgement."
"Yes, of course, we do." Rhea agrees softly. "Forgive me, I just-"
"There's nothing to forgive." Victor responds airily but I suspected on some level there is some injury. "Your reactions show how much you care when most people would turn the other way."
"So…Rose, was it? Do we pretend she isn't here or can we talk to her?" Andre ventures.
I catch Ben's eye, a secondary lapse of control but it confirms the eldest Dragomir boy's question had affected him too. After yesterday's negligence, we are going to have be a lot more cautious with whom we brought into this house and who we let Rose interact with. She is vulnerable and more likely to be even more afraid of men, especially Moroi. Her reaction to Victor's feeding sessions rears up in my mind, how frightened she was that she'd be conducted into being part of it. It was some relief to discover that she was ignorant of the experience personally but it was something she'd seen before and it didn't take a lot to figure out between whom.
Victor had mentioned getting a DNA test run, on the basis of Spiridon's lurid blunder on the plane. Keith would have a sample of Rose's and it wouldn't be hard to get hold of Lucas'…or Christians. It could be Tasha's niece upstairs and even though Rose was adamant she wasn't Lucas' daughter, her word isn't substantial evidence. Spiridon could be tactless but he had a point. Victor could have far more leverage than he bargained for.
"Well, I had planned to introduce her to Natalie in the hopes that being around another girl would help her settle and to adjust to this way of life. Perhaps interacting with two other peers would be good for her. You would just have to be mindful, in some ways she's like a child but in others, she's more mature for her age."
"She would have to be, considering everything she has been through." Rhea says fiercely as if there was a need to defend Rose.
I could picture her expression at being referred to as a child. Someone would probably get a fist flung at them.
I press my lips together.
Victor makes a noise of agreement. "Exactly. Be simple and concise with her but don't be patronising. Spiridon's been on the receiving end of her response to that."
I can't help but glance at him as the others do and it's more than amusing to see his jaw tense. I could only imagine what he was holding back and how it killed him to do so.
I avert my gaze back to the other side of the room but not before glimpsing Vasilisa watching me studiously.
I school my face and look at the flowers beyond the glass wall and Ben's head.
"Whatever we can do to help we will." Rhea promises.
"Absolutely." Her husband agrees.
"Can we go talk to her?" Vasilisa asks.
There is a pause in which half the occupants of the room tense.
"I don't see why not." Victor says. "Natalie why don't you go too. Introduce yourselves, be patient and not that your girls aren't but try to be considerate in all instances. She needs clothes too and if there is anything else you can think of…I'm at a bit of a loss. "
The girls remove themselves from the couches and make their way upstairs, whispering in low voices.
It nettled me to leave them unsupervised but I had to be reasonable. I hear the faint knock on Rose's bedroom door.
"Do you think I should go up in a little bit?" Rhea asks. It was nice to hear the concern in her voice, a maternal concern.
"I think it might be better not to overwhelm her even more…and I think meeting you would be too raw after only a few days away from her mother." Victor responds softly.
Good decision.
"Is there anything else we can do? Anything she needs?" Eric asks.
"Your discretion is enough. You know how problematic this could be if the other Royals found out. If anyone else finds out."
The end of Victor's sentence weighs down heavily and I cast a look at the Dragomir's Guardian who's stationed at the front door. He catches my eye and nods curtly.
"Of course." Eric Dragomir says. "This is safe with us."
"I can't take it in." Rhea says, rubbing her forehead. "How…far we've fallen. It scares me to think we could live in a world where this could be normal. We used to be a community. We had so much pride in one and other. It overwhelms me to think our choices have caused this…that four people voting for another set this future in motion. We were all wrong to not support you."
How would the world be different if Victor Dashkov had succeeded the throne instead of Marius Badica? I knew it would not be like it is. There would still be a Royal court instead of the remnants of one. There would be a Guard made up of the most highly skilled Dhampirs, graduates of the best Academies in the world. I would have been offered a position in the Royal Guard, Spiridon also...and I know that would mean more to him than it would to me. Family history considered. But there is no Royal Guard and three of those Academies now stood as empty tombs.
The Strigoi's numbers wouldn't so alarming that we now installed panic rooms in our Moroi's homes and worry that something is coming, a tsunami of blood we couldn't see but could feel the ripples under our feet.
There wouldn't be so few of us left to defend our world and there would be no room for us to be so vulnerable that we're reduced to slavery, ignorant of our rights, our power.
We wouldn't have contracts binding us to private service.
There wouldn't be so much fear.
We wouldn't be putting hopes into rumours and gossip of a cult.
There would be twelve royal families instead of eleven.
All if the mad king hadn't thrown gasoline over his people and danced as they burned, then killed himself on the ashes.
The 'what ifs' are a nice realm to visit but they couldn't help us. I believed the only thing that could is to follow the man that should have been leading us years ago.
"Don't do that." Victor says. "What's done is done and we concern ourselves with now. It's the only way to go on."
"It's so weird to think you could have been Uncle King Victor." Andre says, restoring some lightness to the room.
"I like that 'Uncle' takes precedence to 'King' in that sentence."
"It means you'd let me get away with more."
"Like you don't already." Rhea says and reaches out to ruffle her son's hair.
"We should get going." Eric announces. "The plan was to stay for dinner but obviously that might not be the best idea. Too many people at once and we have a lot to unpack."
"I dread to think about what Natalie's got hidden in her suitcase." Victor says, shaking his head.
Rhea makes an amused sound, trying to support this fragile air of ease.
"She did bring home an extra two." Andre adds.
"I noticed."
Eric nods to his son. "Will you go and get Lissa? And be nice."
"I'm always nice."
Andre makes his way upstairs and I make myself stay put.
They chat a little more about the Dragomir's vacation and the difficulty of arranging to have more Dhampir escorts as they travelled. Thank God for the Alchemists who had resources and connections everywhere guaranteed to make things happen. Ten years ago most of us didn't know about their existence but as more Moroi dropped and more strigoi attacks emerged so did the Alchemists, only choosing to communicate to the highest ranks of Moroi and The Guard. We had one shared goal - protect humankind.
Keeping the Royal Moroi protected was the height of their favours, well, the ones they kept records anyway.
"Dimitri will accompany you home." Victor says, bringing me to attention.
"Of course."
They all turn to the sound of Andre descending the stairs, the girls following him seconds later. They begin negotiating for Vasilisa to stay and I cross the room to ask Ben about the phones. He assures me they're functioning perfectly and it's safe to turn them back on. It's clear he's embarrassed and I wanted to reassure him but incompetence like this can't be comforted. It wasn't acceptable and frankly, he needed to step up.
Outside I get onto the Dragomir's Guardians headset frequency as Victor says his goodbyes. I tail the car eight miles to their home without any hiccups and come back to find all three girls in the living room.
Natalie and Rose peer at me over the sofa and Lissa pops up from where she must be on the floor. I do a quick sweep over Rose as I tell Vasilisa her parents are home safe.
Rose seems okay, not too overwhelmed by Natalie's energy or by being around the girls in general. Her posture is tight but her chin stayed raised and she didn't avert her eyes to the floor as usual. She engaged instead of shying away when Natalie asked her questions. She was also openly watching mine and Vasilisa's exchange about Cupola del Brunelleschi. Vasilisa feels her gaze and looks over. Rose becomes an animal caught in the headlights but instead of looking away or shrinking herself further, she forces a smile. A small one but the effort spoke volumes. Her dark eyes flick to me and the smile disappears. She turns back to Natalie, leaning toward her to look at the laptop.
Vasilisa asks me a question and we return to the topic of Roman history.
The light sheen of blue and redness under Rose's eye is significantly better than yesterday, thanks to our accelerated healing. It would most likely be cleared up in a week's time, sooner if her remedial genes speed up with her metabolism. Another reason she needed to eat more.
Suddenly Rose is on her feet, a spring wound up too tight and released.
"Rose?"
I scan the room for some source for change but there isn't one.
Natalie's wide eyes look from Rose to the screen in her lap, a sheepish expression starting to cloud her face. The one she got when she realised she'd done or said something brash. It was a rare look and usually inspired when Victor was around.
Rose asks me if I want a coffee in a rush of breath. I decline and she makes some ineligible excuse to scurry to the kitchen.
"What did you say to her?" Vasilisa asks lowly.
Natalie opens her mouth but her explanation halts as she glances at me.
"Excuse me." I stand.
I'd ask Rose myself and I'd do what I can to soothe her.
Her back is to me, her dark hair lying in a thick rope to her hips where her hands are shaking. I say her name which provokes a reaction but she ignored my question and yanks open the fridge door.
She turns to me and her face is deadpan. A lie. It bothers me more than I'm comfortable with.
"I'm fine." She says.
"Don't lie to me."
It is an outspoken reaction and not a rational request. It sounded harsh so I try to amend it by saying please. For a moment she looks like she might tell me, for a moment it looks like the wall constructed behind her eyes might come down.
She whirls around and opens the fridge. She snatches out the milk carton and shuts the door so forcefully the whole thing shakes.
I take a deep breath and mentally count to three. Why did this press upon my patience like pressing upon a fresh bruise? I had earned my control… it was mine so why was it resisting me.
Rose starts fussing by the sink and turns on the coffee machine.
I knew why it bothered me. Her quick, panicky movements, the tenseness in her shoulders, the lowered eyes… it was like being in my childhood home.
"If you tell me what's bothering you then we can deal with it."
"I can't"
Yes you can. You can tell me and I'll fix it.
I've moved closer but kept enough distance to not crowd her.
"You can Rose but you can choose to not want to. That's different."
Her head is bent over the sink. A portion of her hair has fallen out of her braid and is hiding her face. Her thin fingers cling to the countertop.
Her chin jerks up and she fixes me with an impenetrable look. "I don't want to talk about it. Not with you."
We stare at each other as this sinks in.
"Okay." I say and make myself walk away.
Vasilisa passes me in the entry. Maybe she'd have more luck. She was considerate, tactful and probably, most importantly in this instance, female.
I retreat upstairs to my room.
I don't bother with the light and sit down on the bay seat overlooking the back of the house. I hadn't noticed how clear the sky is tonight, the tree tops silhouetted against the navy which is speckled with diamonds. It would be easy to pretend I'm home from this perspective.
I pull my phone out and dial the house line. They're eight hours ahead but someone could still pick up. I hadn't called a mobile just encase they had been sleeping and I didn't want to disturb them. God knows how Viktoria could be when she was tired.
The dial tone stops and the automated voice picks up. So they were asleep or pretending to be.
I let the hand holding my phone drop to my lap and look out at the sky.
Did it make it harder I wonder, for them to forgive me when I was so far away? I wasn't there to show I was sorry for how it turned out and I had left so quickly, turning them over to a new way of life. Was their last memory of me clouded in anger that they couldn't see past it?
It would be comical if it weren't so…sad.
Rose's expression as she had her first taste of pizza mirrored that of someone who'd just been proposed to or found out they'd passed their finals with exceptional grades. Vasilisa saw the flip side of it, of how it was wonderful to see Rose try new things and Natalie proposes making a list. It was a good idea but I couldn't quite shake the darkness of the situation. Things like this shouldn't be firsts they should be ordinary. They should be a part of an ordinary night with her friends.
The reality of it was like a black stain in my mind.
It seemed everyone else had become desensitised to Rose's condition and background. That wasn't a bad thing but I wished it warranted to think before throwing things at her. I'd caught the dip in a fluke and when I handed it to her she'd looked at me with something that resembled apprehension…like being civil toward her had taken her by surprise again.
Her fingers had been cold which I'd noticed every time I'd made contact with her hands, circulation issues.
A vibration from my pocket pulls my mind away from the train of thought and I reach for it at the same time Ben and Spiridon do. The somewhat private alert to us three didn't go unnoticed.
My gut tightens as the screen is lit with an email from Guardian headquarters. Without hesitation, I open it and read the short and precise message.
My gut twists.
"Shit." Spiridon mutters.
It begins clawing at me, starting in my stomach and then travelling through my limbs. The need to act, to do something but... there was nothing I could do. It was already too late, another instance in which it was too late.
"What is it?" Victor asks.
I look up and try to dissect the centre of the whirlwind in my head.
"There's been another raid."
"Where?"
"Lahemaa." Ben answers.
His disposition had altered and closed off, in what Tasha described as going from human to machine. Being a machine is a lot simpler.
"Girls, why don't you take your dinner upstairs? I'm sure there are a few other things Rose needs that you haven't thought of yet." Victor says, looking pointedly at Natalie and Lissa.
"Sure." Natalie agrees, standing up hastily.
Vasilisa reaches for one of the pizza boxes. Rose clumsily gets to her feet and tries to take it from her. I inwardly cringe. Vasilisa gently shakes her head and murmurs to her, nodding toward the stairs.
Victor watches the girls until they're out of sight.
"Details." He says curtly, averting his eyes from the stairs.
"The College." Ben begins, assuming the bearer of bad news. "Four Guardians dead, two missing. Three Moroi are dead, six are missing. All children. Five novices missing. Three Strigoi dead."
Silence descends in which we all try to accept these facts or in my case, stomach them.
"How long ago?" Victor asks.
"Nearly an hour." Spiridon says, his face completely clear of anything sardonic.
"Court will know soon, everyone will." Victor murmurs. "Lehemma…that's a spike westward."
"It's a bigger school." I utter words not willing to be pried off my tongue. "All those dead can only mean the offensive was too great."
"It means." Victor says, taking a deep breath. "They are working together."
Spiridon is shaking his head and I'm not sure he's aware of it.
"But what is giving them enough incentive? Strigoi aren't communal creatures, they're nature just simply doesn't make it able. They turn on each other, the biggest nest ever discovered was of fourteen and that was astonishing, and even then they were spaced out. An attack of this size means…"
Nobody wants to say what it means.
It means they've evolved. They had worked in a bigger pack and they had… oh my god.
"There was more taken than dead." I think aloud. "They're building their number."
And where better than to select recruits? They'd killed what Guardians they couldn't overcome, taken the novices and instead of killing the Moroi, a preferred blood source, they'd opted to take them too.
To awaken them.
"Did it specify if any of the Moroi children were royal?" Victor asks.
"No." Ben answers.
"Well, find out. " Victor says.
Ben's fingers move quick and soundlessly over his phone. Spiridon and I await our orders.
"Dimitri, take Lissa home. I need to talk to Keith and see if Alchemists have intel. Then I have to get in touch with the council's representatives. This can't make a fracture, not now."
Ben's head snaps up. "Two were Royal."
"Get me on the phone to the Guardian director of the area." Victor says, standing up.
"The Ozera's." Spiridon suddenly says, halting us all in our tracks. His eyes dart between Victor and I. "They might know something about this. Lucas has been making trips to Old Country. If it's to do with Donovan he may know something."
Victor considers this for two seconds. "I'll see what I can find out from the Guardian director and then I'll talk to Lucas. Spiridon, send a message ahead to alert them, the last thing we need is them to feign an early night and then call Keith."
We all file toward the stairs.
I didn't like being assigned the job of a chauffeur but I'm a better choice than Ben. Vasilisa might ask questions and I'll be better at deflecting them. Hopefully, being less familiar with me might put her off but after tonight's display that isn't likely. She's outspoken and passionate...and she might not just ask me about the message received but about Rose.
I knock lightly on Rose's door before stepping inside.
Jade, emerald and chocolate eyes all look up at me from the floor. They were sitting cross-legged with a book spread open in front of them, the world map marked out in colours across its pages. Rose is parked between the other two and it struck me how all three girls were similar in size. All of them slim and delicate but how it complimented two it hurt the other.
"I'm to take you home now, Vasilisa."
It was almost funny how all three of them frown in unison.
"Oh, okay." Vasilisa says, uncurling her legs to stand.
Sitting down she had been concealing three other books.
"You've picked out some reading material then?" I say to Rose, unable to help it.
She looks startled at being addressed and then glances at the books. She nods but doesn't lift her eyes, drawing her knees up to her chest.
What warranted that?
"We're starting with non-fiction." Natalie pipes up. "A world atlas and an encyclopaedia… it's pretty old. My old world history book, our history. We should just show her how to use my laptop, everything is easier to access" Natalie directs at Lissa, pushing herself up off the floor.
Realizing she'd been left on the ground Rose scrambles up too, tucking the Atlas against her chest. My old shirt looked like a misshapen dress on her.
"Books are better." I say, accidentally cutting off Vasilisa's reply.
"I agree." Vasilisa grins triumphantly.
"So do I." Rose murmurs so quietly the other two don't hear. The lean muscle in her forearms flexes around the book she holds.
"Whatever." Natalie sighs loudly
"We will show you that later." Vasilisa says to Rose and I felt a spark of gratitude that she was including her in the conversation, instead of talking about her like she wasn't there. "How to use computers and a phone, promise."
"I like books." Rose says louder but still quietly, her brown eyes lifting to mine.
I hold her gaze for a beat too long and then look away.
"Vasilisa." I urge gently, holding the door wider.
"Yes, sorry." She says, shouldering her small handbag. "Natalie don't forget to give Rose the other thing. I already asked Uncle Victor, just remind him."
"I will." The other girl sing songs.
Give her what?
Natalie follows us into the hall and Rose stands in the doorway.
"I'll try to come over tomorrow." Vasilisa says. She descends one step and then stops, looking back at Rose. "I'm very glad we've met. Goodnight Rose, bye Nat."
"Glad to be getting rid of you." Natalie grins.
"Goodnight." Rose returns quietly.
We descend the stairs, behind us Natalie tells Rose she's going to go up to her bedroom to unpack and would she like to see everything she'd brought back with her.
"I hope she doesn't exhaust her." Vasilisa says as we cross the foyer.
I type in the code and hold open the door for her.
"She's not as passive as she seems." I murmur.
Lissa looks surprised I'd replied.
I lead the way to the car, opening the passenger door for her. When I start the engine she speaks.
"What did you mean?"
"She's told Spiridon she doesn't like him and served him what he deemed as 'prison rations'." I recall, concentrating on reversing and pulling out. "That and she's punched me a few times. Not intentionally I should add."
Lissa laughs, a warm, affectionate laugh that made me want to talk about Rose more.
"I thought I'd imagined it you know." She says. "That…spark in her eyes."
"No it's there." I reply as deadpan as I can manage. "It just needs tempered."
The small smile on her lips slips away. The silence ticks by as I keep my eyes on the dark road. We'd passed the ward boundary half a mile back and every nerve in my body is alert.
Her voice carries quietly in the dark confines of the car. "How bad was this raid?"
I say nothing and glance at the GPS. It was an advanced version, thanks to Ben's touch, that scanned the perimeter of the car as well as being equipped to locate the household's other cars.
"That bad?"
"It's something you should discuss with your parents."
Three more miles to go until the Dragomir's ward boundaries.
"They won't tell me how it really is." She mutters, looking out at the dark shadows passing by the window.
If it weren't for our heightened sight she would be seeing utter darkness and I would have wrapped the car around a tree by now.
I don't comment on her reply. Who was I to comment on her family or her parent's decisions? Rhea and Eric would no doubt know all the facts soon if not already, from Victor or from their Guardians, Eric's seat on the council ensured he would be fully aware and that he would have to act.
"It's only going to get worse isn't it" She murmurs and out of the corner of my eye, I see her turn to me. "Lehemma college, it's one the biggest schools in Europe…how could it be raided? How did they get in?"
These questions had been tumbling around my mind, like rocks in a washing machine. Lehemma College is situated in a national park in Estonia, obviously protected by and surrounded by extensive ward boundaries. Any humans hiking or exploring the park would simply get the notion to turn back.
I'd been there before, escorting children from the airport. In spite of Guardian numbers, the college had more than satisfactory security. Its large grounds were patrolled and protected. Places usually subjected to raids were smaller schools or communities, sometimes just homes. But a school of this size, of this importance… its unnerving.
How did they get in?
"I deserve to know." Vasilisa says, anger now flaring in her voice.
We pass the boundaries and the GPS screen turns blue instead of green.
The tension is building in the quiet. I didn't want my silence to be misconstrued.
"I agree but isn't my place to discuss this with you. Your parents should know as much as I do by now, if not more."
We glide around a bend to the left and the ground begins to climb into a mild slope.
The top of the Dragomir's grand house comes into view and the further up the hill we travel more of it becomes revealed. The windows and porch are lit up in white and gold against the navy sky and dark forest. The ground evens out as we approach the drive, changing from dirt to gravel. The grit crunches under the tires as we pull to a stop.
The front door opens and one of the Dragomir's Guardians steps out onto the porch.
Vasilisa undoes her seatbelt. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
She opens the door and hops down. She turns back instead of closing the door she leans in.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"No need to apologise. I was lying after all."
She smiles graciously.
"Uncle Victor meant it didn't he? When he said he was going to help, Rose?"
That was a topic I wouldn't withhold on, not now and not when it was apparent she genuinely cared about Rose's wellbeing and as it stood, Rose needed as much support as she could get.
"Yes."
He'd meant it but it didn't mean she would be a priority. It would be naïve to think otherwise.
Vasilisa's green eyes pulsed, her pale gold curls brushing her shoulder.
"I want to help her too. If she needs anything don't hesitate to ask me, please. I've given Rose my number and I've asked Uncle Victor if it's okay for her to use one of Natalie's old cells. I know there are things going on and you're all busy but if I don't make it over tomorrow could you see she gets it set up or remind Natalie, she can be… forgetful."
"I'll see to it." I say after a moment.
"Lissa." A woman calls.
Rhea has come out onto the porch.
Vasilisa shoots me a small smile and shuts the door, hurrying toward her home. Rhea holds up her hand in thanks and pushes her daughter inside.
When I return home Rose is in the kitchen preparing coffee. Wordlessly she pulls another mug out of the cupboard when I come in.
"Thank you." I say and she replies by nodding at the counter.
It was a little awkward and I could only guess it was down to our encounter earlier. I didn't want it to be awkward, I wanted her to at least be comfortable around me, well as comfortable as she could be.
I'd made it clear she could tell me things. I'd enforced it since I met her but I hadn't specified that she could choose not to tell me things either. She is entitled to privacy and I don't think she knew that. I think she's feeling guilty at having withheld when it was perfectly within her right. And now she's being cagey.
I couldn't let that go on.
I resist the pull to go upstairs and dive into work.
"Did Natalie show you her new things?"
She picks up the coffee pot, the tendons in her hand too distinct.
"Yes." She says quietly. "Some of them. They were pretty."
"You'll have new things tomorrow."
She starts depositing sugar into the separate mugs.
"I have everything I need." She utters so quietly that if I hadn't seen her lips move I would believe I imagined it.
"No, you don't."
She looks up, her dark eyes flashing. It takes me by surprise and something resembling adrenaline spikes within me.
But when she speaks her tone is mild.
"You have all been so generous to me. I have everything I could need."
"You need new clothes." I respond and plough on despite seeing that fierceness in her eyes was near being utilized verbally. That would be something. "You're growing and you need more whether you believe it or not. Your life before, you said, didn't allow for wanting. You can't tell me there weren't times you wished you had a fresh shirt or socks. You can want now, you can want pretty things. This is coming out fairly obnoxious – that means-"
"I know what it means." She snaps, surprising me again.
"Right. Well, what I meant is that I don't want to sound like I understand what you have lived through or push you to accept things. The girls are used to having…well to having, so they may do things in excess but the core of it is essential."
God, this is tricky. Usually, body language, facts, and some calculating were enough to know how to communicate with others but she threw me as if the operation I'd been functioning under had started malfunctioning. This must be how Ben felt with his computer didn't comply.
But why?
I was too close perhaps. My first thought when I saw her had been Viktoria. My thoughts when I saw her flinch were my mother.
There's a silence in which she stares fixedly past my shoulder.
There are strands of gold in her hair.
"I'll take two of these." I say, picking up two mugs.
"It scares me." She says suddenly and I end up looking over my shoulder, expecting to find a threat. I turn back and find her brown eyes wide and open.
"What does?"
She swallows but doesn't break eye contact.
"That I want. That I might…have. It scares me that I can go get food when I want it or change." Her voice has dipped lower so I have to lean in. "I'm scared because…it might go away and I don't think I could handle it."
Her dark eyes are shining.
I set the mugs down with a thud, regretfully making her jump and maybe it wasn't the most considerate move but I gently take her thin shoulders in my hands.
"That's something that is never going to happen. Do you understand me?"
"But-"
"Rose, we look after you now. We care about you. Victor, Ben, even Spiridon. The two girls. That's not going to change easily."
I could see she didn't believe me. I'm not sure I would either. I wasn't great at emotionally connecting or offering empathetic advice. I could only stress the truth.
Maybe I should let her go. Christ, I was invading personal space.
"You haven't known me that long." She says.
I make myself release her and stand back.
"Natalie, Vasilisa. Did you like them?"
"Yes."
"Would you care if they came to any harm?"
A dent forms between her eyebrows. "Yes."
"You haven't known them long."
That was my brilliant counterargument. Well done Dimitri.
I wanted to tease this out and neutralize all her worries but duty was weighing down my head and the faint noises from above were straining my nerves.
It was a good thing I think that she seems to be considering what I've said.
"But it's different." She murmurs as I pick the mugs back up. "I've never had…known girls like them before. It means more to me."
"And they have countless friends. It would be easy for them to ignore you and pretend you weren't here but instead - Vasilisa fought for you, and argued with her family. And Natalie is putting thought into making sure you have everything she herself would want. It's okay to be scared Rose, it means you have something you value but know we value it too. We won't let your new life be taken from you."
She takes a deep breath through parted lips. The expression she'd worn earlier when she'd eaten pizza on her face again.
I didn't know how to respond to that.
I wanted to stay here and talk but I can't.
"Let's take these up before they get cold."
That snaps her back to her normal composure and I feel a stab of regret.
I lead the way upstairs, anxiety plucking at my ribcage and driving the need to act, to do something useful. I'm vaguely aware I'm going too fast for Rose to comfortably keep up but it was a faraway concern, one I didn't have the resources for right now. On the landing music can be heard from Natalie's suite on the floor above, along with her singing in unison with the singer.
I tap the door with my boot, not risking trying to balance two mugs in one hand. Spiridon pulls ot open, his other hand holding a phone to his ear. He jerks his head toward the room. I pass him his drink as I walk inside. Ben is out on the deck and I can faintly hear him speaking German. Victor's at his desk and on the phone also. One finger is curled over his lip as he listens to whoever is on the other end. He'd looked up as I'd come in and nodded in greeting. I set his mug down on the available coaster.
Rose is standing in the doorway. I cross back to her and take mine and Ben's drinks from her cool fingers.
"We shouldn't need anything else tonight. Thank you, Rose."
It felt slightly wrong to dismiss her like this but at this point, I think it's the only way she'd understand that now would be her free time. At least I hope that's what she understood.
She nods timidly and steps back as I close the door.
The glass door to the deck opens and Ben steps into the office. I pass him the drink.
"What's going on?"
He exhales. "A council meeting is being set up. Every representative is on their way to Court. It wasn't easy but Victor managed to get Lucas to confess he'd known rumours that attacks like these were in the works. Schools, residents, communities, the big ones are all supposedly targeted."
St. Vladimir's. It's the biggest in the US and if the attacks were to migrate westward then they'd be the third hit, theoretically.
"When's the meeting?"
"Sunday." Victor answers, putting the phone down.
"When do we leave?" I ask.
"Tomorrow." He answers and then something crosses his face. "But the thing is Dimitri, I need you to stay here."
Updated: 14/04/2022
Original note:
This was supposed to be 5,000 words long …and up last week. Idk.
I should admit guys that I'm having some issues with writing atm. I feel like I'm grappling with it and I'm so worried about letting you all down. I think a big part of it is that this story has been marinating in my head for months and so some of it eels bland to me because it's not fresh. If it starts to read that way then please let me know.
Otherwise your reviews are amazing! AND some of you have found me on tumblr :D
The next chapter will jump two weeks ahead. Gotta get the timeline moving, get things in motion, plot points and what not. Personally I'm excited to get to Christmas.
THANKS for STICKING AROUND XX