Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday break. Its lemon time, which I am always very nervous to post.
L POV
I entered the council chambers to see an old woman sitting at a table holding a small pitcher of water for the second trial.
"Hello," I said, trying to keep my voice strong. "I'm Vasilisa Dragomir."
The woman's small smile grew, showing her yellowed teeth. One of her fangs was missing.
"Always such manners in your family," she croaked. "Most people come in here and demand we get down to business. But I remember your grandfather. He was polite during his test as well."
I was flummoxed, my grandfather ran for the throne, I didn't know.
She produced a chalice or goblet, silver adorned with rubies, it glittered in the light. She poured water from the pitcher into the cup and then handed it to me.
"Drink from it. And when you want to stop, say stop.'"
"This is charmed," she old woman nodded. "Infused with all four elements and a spell long since forgotten."
I could feel spirit magic within the cup, so it was actually all 5 elements. The combination of 5 elements could break wards or restore strigoi, this was likely to be very unpredictable. Water very likely activated the spell.
I wondered if people died from this test, surely not, otherwise it would have been mentioned.
What the hell. I picked up the cup and started to drink.
I was standing beside a headstone bearing the name 'Rose Hathaway' and a coffin. We were at her funeral.
I stood there in shock, hit with grief and feeling the loss of the bond, an emptiness in my chest. The ache boring into my soul, the thought of losing Rose was unbearable.
Christian tells me that he is leaving me, that I need to be with someone better than him in order to create a respectable family to carry on the Dragomir name. The two people I considered family member, gone. It felt like my family dying all over again.
I knew I could end it by saying stop, but this is spirit dream, and it eventually would become a fading nightmare.
I realised that I had never been alone before in my life. I didn't know if I could carry on on my own, no family, no Rose, no Christian. I could easily end the trial and go back to Christian, but there is no magical stop in real life and I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this.
The fog changed and now I was in a council session and I froze after being asked a question. I couldn't remember my political ideas that I had discussed and refined at length with Tasha. I felt that I was disappointing my lineage. When the dream council members removed my family crest, I stood up and challenged the council over it.
The pressure of maintaining my family legacy lay solely on my shoulders. Maybe I shouldn't care what others thought about me living up to my legacy.
The room shifted to a familiar location, the clinic at St Vladimirs. Dr Olendski, the school therapist Deidre and Rose. They were explaining to me that I had been restrained for harming others, they were sending me to Tarasov.
Dream-Rose offered to take the darkness affecting me. It was tempting and so easy to do, but I could never condemn Rose to such a fate.
I blocked Rose from taking the darkness and demanded to be escorted to Tarasov. I realised that I couldn't rely on others to take my burdens away, Rose had been shouldering my burdens for too long. I know that I have to be resilient, especially as a spirit user.
The world resumed back to the room, with the old lady and the silver chalice. I didn't know how long I had been gone, but my mouth was dry and the chalice was empty.
"What was that?" I asked
"All your fears laid out in front of you"
"It was awful, I believed it was real".
"But you didn't stop it."
I frowned, whilst I had been close to end the barrage of images, I never did. "No."
The old woman smiled and said nothing.
"Am I … am I done?" I asked, confused whether that was all of the test. "Can I go?"
The old lady directed her towards a different door to exit.
I waved as I left the room, and walked through the door into a crowd cheering for the Dragon. It was overwhelming.
R POV
I woke up feeling happier, both my parents supported me Adrian apologised to me. Now all I needed was to tell Dimitri that he is the father of my baby. To make myself feel better I put on a green cotton sundress, it made me feel girly and pretty.
We assembled for a buffet breakfast, Dimitri sat with Sonya, giving advice about eating food again. He suggested certain foods that would be easier to swallow as she adjusted. Sonya had fed under supervision last night, she looked better and clearer mentally. I sat across from them next to Mikhail who was looking at her longingly.
"Rose?" I looked up to see Sonya addressing me.
"Hi Sonya, It's good to see you again." I chose not to add, "Now that you're not trying to suck the life out of me."
"I have heard that you played a part in the discovery of restoration."
I blushed in response, I caught eyes with Dimitri and saw him looking at me tenderly. "You could say that"
"And how is Vasilisa?"
"She has been flourishing, she just completed the second trial for queen and our bond keeps her stable." I had discovered this information while sifting through her memories while she slept.
"You carry darkness in your aura but it's getting larger and larger." I could see Dimitri stiffen in response to this.
I shivered. "Lissa. It's the darkness I'm taking from her, isn't it?"
"Yes. I don't know much about bonds, but what you're doing—even if it's helping her—is very dangerous. Spirit tears us apart, no question, but in some ways … I think we spirit users are built for it a little better. Not that it's always obvious," she added wryly. "But you? No. And if you take too much, I don't know what'll happen. I'm afraid of it building and building. I'm afraid it's just going to take one spark—one catalyst—to make it explode inside you."
"What happens then?" I whispered.
She shook her head slowly. "I don't know."
Dimitri looked very concerned by this, he shot me a look which suggested that we would talk, probably after breakfast.
"Can we do anything about it?" I asked, and subconsciously patted my stomach, thinking about the effects of darkness on my baby.
"I could charm some silver for you, and teach lissa to do it."
I smiled gratefully, I needed to get this under control, for my child.
Sonya turned to Mikhail "Mike, would you like to take a walk with me?"
His eyebrows shot up and he had a big grin on his face. "Of course." I gave his forearm an encouraging squeeze and he shot out of his chair to lend his arm to Sonya. She slowly took his arm and they started walking off together.
"Roza, can I talk to you?" His voice and my nickname made my heart squeeze with delight.
"Of course Comrade, lets go to my room." I wondered what he wanted to talk about, my heart was practically leaping out of my chest.
We walked together side by side, hands almost touching. I sat down on the edge of my bed and he sat next to me and placed my hand in his.
"I just want to make sure that you're okay. That you're happy."
Was I happy? My heart ached for him all the time, but I was growing a little miracle, our miracle.
"I have few regrets in my life, most are a result of any time that I caused you pain. I pushed you away at St Vladimirs for a long time in order to protect your reputation. My biggest regret is how I spoke to you the morning after… Well.. the day that you were accused of treason."
"Do you regret the words that you said?" My heart was pounding in my chest, had his feelings changed?
"Things have been changing, it's making me reconsider so much. Ever since Donovan … and then Sonya's restoration … it's strange. I thought it all changed the night Lissa saved me. But it didn't. There's been so much more, more to the healing than I realized." He started to slip into pensive mode but caught himself. "Every day I figure out something new. Some new emotion I'd forgotten to feel. Some revelation I totally missed. Some beauty I didn't see."
"Hey, my hair in the alley does not go on that list, okay?" I teased. "You were in shock."
The forced smile grew natural. "No, Roza. It was beautiful then, and it's beautiful now."
I felt dizzy under his gaze, so I threw out a joke to diffuse the tension. "Well it certainly is beautiful when it is washed"
Those dark, dark eyes looked at me—really looked at me, I think, for the first time since he'd entered the room.
"What?" I asked uneasily. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
He shook his head, the smile rueful now. "Because sometimes, a person can get so caught up in the details that they miss the whole. It's not just the dress or the hair. It's you. You're beautiful. So beautiful, it hurts me."
I felt a strange sensation in my chest, I didn't know whether I had butterflies or was going into cardiac arrest. The last time he said that to me was in the cabin, the first time that we had sex. The feelings that I had stuffed down in my chest suddenly burst open and I leaned in towards him.
"I love you Roza, I don't think I could ever stop loving you. I'm sorry for what I said that day, I didn't think you could still love me after everything that I did to you."
My hand caressed his cheek. "I love you and I will always love you Comrade."
I pressed my lips to his, parting my lips for his tongue. He pulled me into his lap, one hand snaked under my hair to the back of my neck and the other wrapped around my torso to pull me closer.
He seemed content to continue kissing me until I started pulling his shirt over his head. I needed him more than ever before, maybe it was hormones. I seemed to be blaming my hormones for a lot of things lately.
He trailed kisses down my neck and moved his hands to my waist. I took this opportunity to run my hands over his broad naked chest. He started pulling my dress over my head and I stood up to allow him access. I was wearing a black lacey bra with very sheer, see-through cups and light, flimsy panties.
He grunted at the site of me in my lingerie and I climbed onto his lap, his tumescence becoming more prominent against my centre. I ground against his length, we let out a collective moan.
"Tell me again Comrade" I pushed down, into his lap and circled my hips.
"I love you, Rozaaaa" I pushed my core against his cock as he said my name. I bent my head back, pushing out my breasts, once again pressing myself firm against his lap. My crotch was soaked with my desire. His arm steadying me from my mid back, the other hand roughly grasped my right breast.
He pulled me forward for his mouth to find my nipple through the sheer material. He bit down hard causing a sharp pain, I raked my nails down his bare back in response. He moved his mouth to the other breast while his hand deftly unhooked my bra, he bit down on the nipple and I bucked against his length.
I removed my bra from around my shoulders and he looked at my breasts greedily. "Mmmm, they are bigger" I momentarily panicked until all coherent thoughts were lost when he slipped his hand down to my panties and started to rub my centre using the fabric for friction.
My panties were sodden in response to him and his ministrations. "You have a very moist little pussy Rozzza." He moved my panties aside and placed a large, course finger inside my channel. I ground against his finger and moaned loudly.
"And you have too much in the way of clothing, you've only got me in my soaked panties."
I sat on the bed and made him get up and take off his jeans. His erection springing forward, tenting his boxers. I slid his boxers down his hips, leaving me face to face with his impressive length. I could see some lubrication leaking from the tip of his penis and moved my mouth over the tip. I looked up at him, maintaining eye contact as I licked the precum.
I looked up to see a very turned on Russian, he gently moved me onto my back and pulled my underwear down. He ran his tongue along the margin of my slit and started on my clit at a punishing pace. I didn't last long and my centre was spasming with pleasure.
"Dimitri, I need your big, thick cock now" I was more than ready for him, my juices dripping down my legs. He plunged inside me, filling my cleft with his girth and he started with a commanding pace. I moved my hips to meet his, shifting the angle for him to plunge deeper and deeper.
I could feel his balls slapping my arse, providing extra stimulation. He pulled my right leg up and over his shoulder, plunging deeper and deeper into my channel. If that is why he made me do so much stretching, I was a happy girl. I snaked my hand between us and worked on my throbbing pearl.
"Dimitri, i'm close"
"Cum for me Roza"
Just like it was a command, I did.
I couldn't keep stimulating myself, I was too lost in our pleasure. He took over my clit and my walls clenched tightly as he plunged in and out of me, never slowing his pace. Once my euphoria subsided, he flipped me over and told me to get on my hands and knees at the edge of the bed.
I complied, waiting for him and then I felt a large slap on my backside. I turned my head to see him in all his glory, fully erect with my juices dripping off him looking at my slit with desire. He lined himself with my channel and grabbed the front of my thighs.
He thrust inside me deeper and deeper, and moved his hands to fondle my breasts. He paused deep inside me after a particularly exuberant thrust to kiss me on the side of my neck. Another deep thrust and he whispered "moy lyubimyy"
He then lifted my legs towards his hips, holding them in place and I kept my hands on the bed, supporting part of my weight. He moved in a crushing pace, I had never been penetrated so deeply and I was starting to reach my zenith again.
I could feel his movements start to become erratic as he pounded faster and faster into me. My elbows buckled as I felt a tidal wave of pleasure as Dimitri shuddered, spilling his hot seed into my cleft. He lowered my legs to the floor and collapsed on top of me.
I could barely move, my core still throbbing with pleasure, my top half bent over the bed. Dimitri picked me up, cleaned us off in the shower and moved me under the covers.
This sweet man held me in his arms while tried to figure out how to tell him about my pregnancy, so I did it in Rose Hathaway fashion.
"I'm pregnant"
"I know Roza" I whipped my head towards him, utterly shocked.
"How did you know?"
"I'm a pretty good guardian, if you recall, I'm the one who found where you had been hiding Lissa and captured you both. I think I have the deductive reasoning skills to have read the clues."
He's not wrong.
"What do you think about that?" I said as I twisted my hair around my fingers, worrying if he will leave me.
"I love anything that is a part of you" He kissed me on the forehead and stroked my belly lovingly.
"Can I tell you something else" He nodded and looked deep into my eyes. "I've never been with anyone else."
"What?"
"So, the baby is either yours or a result of an immaculate conception, but i'm pretty sure our excessive carnal activities and your restoration have something to do with it"
"Are you serious?" He grabbed my face and he started peppering me with kisses. "I would have loved any child of yours like my own, but this is something I never believed possible"
He pulled me into a big full body hug and I could feel him grow between my thighs. He raised his eyebrow in question 'Again', I could feel myself getting slicker as I slipped his length inside me.
"It's not like you can get me more pregnant" I said as I flipped him onto his back and milked his cock for all he was worth. He reached his climax first, no doubt excited by the news that he was going to be a father. He stroked my sensitive pearl until I came apart.
Abe POV
Janine and I quickly left our room as we could hear the sounds of my daughter reconnecting with Belikov. Janine and I were simultaneously delighted and disgusted. I put a reminder on my schedule to threaten Belikov, although I didn't think they had the same impact anymore. I added to the reminder to look up methods to disintegrate bodies and a slide show of me touring the facility capable of doing it. I think visual aids would help Belikov to a healthy level of fear of me and my retribution if he even thinks of hurting my daughter again.
"I told you we shouldn't have gone for adjoining rooms, but you wanted to be closer to our baby girl. Now we have to hear them reenact our grandchild's conception" She said to me.
"Lets look at it this way, with Belikov occupied, we can finally question Sonya Karp without him butting in." I replied. We landed at Sydney's door, she could be useful in this discussion. Adrian appeared in the hallway, wanting to join in.
"Come Sydney, we need to get information" She paled in response. Perfect, she could be the needle and I could be the hammer if needed.
I caught Sonya and Tanner entering the hotel hand in hand. She looked at us and figured out something was up, Mikhail stepped in front of her.
"Now, now Tanner, relax. We just have to a have a little chat about Sonya's family.
It turned out that Sydney was the key to success. Sonya initially refused to tell us anything, not who the mother or the child were, where to find them etc. Sydney, who lives her life in rules, carefully navigated around the wording of her promises until Sonya agreed to lead us there. Maybe I should have made Sydney be Rose's lawyer... If I could get that girl into college and then law school there would be no limit to what I could achieve.
Translation: moy lyubimyy = My beloved (according to Google translate)
AN: I love writing Abe! Let me know what you thought of the chapter. i'm very close to 100 reviews, hoping we can tip it over.