DIMITRI

It had been three days since I talked to Rose. Perhaps that didn't seem like a long time, and maybe it made me seem like a controlling boyfriend to be obsessed about something so small, but I had gotten used to speaking to her each day. Ever since I met her, she had been a constant fixture in my day-to-day routine. Maybe the distance made things more noticeable, or perhaps I was simply on edge after she promised to talk to Mazur, but I was worried about her.

Just because I hadn't talked to her didn't mean that we had no contact. She left me a quick voicemail the other day. I had been on shift and missed her call. However, when I tried to call her back, she didn't answer. That was okay. she had most likely been asleep. She also texted me every day, but only to say that she would be busy helping one of the neighbors again.

I tried to fill my time the best way I could. I had probably done more reading in the last three weeks than in the previous six months combined. I had become the go-to person when someone wanted to trade shifts or needed extra coverage. I still spent most of my time in the gym when I wasn't working, but it was always bittersweet. I'd check in with Lissa about once or twice a day, but she was often busy with her own things, and since she didn't need a constant guard yet, I didn't want to hover. She'd be forced to deal with my continual presence in another few months, especially since she was planning on going to Lehigh for university. Still, for now, I could give her a little more privacy.

I was starting to get a little concerned, however. Recently, Lissa had been looking more and more tired. At first, I brushed it off as her prepping for mid-terms or some other school-related stressor, but I was now starting to wonder if it was something more. Perhaps it had something to do with the bond. Rose and Lissa had basically been attached at the hip ever since the day the bond was formed, and there was no way to know how the separation might affect them.

That concerned me more than anything.

I made a mental note to talk to Lissa before starting another set of conditioning. That screeched to a halt as the main doors to the gym burst open with a loud clang, and Eddie stormed in. I had seen him several times in passing, but if he wasn't actively avoiding me, he was glaring at me. It was obvious that he didn't approve of the relationship between Rose and me. As much as that stung, I tried to see it from his perspective. Had our roles been reversed, I probably wouldn't be happy with the situation either.

Which is why I didn't react when he approached me with fire in his eyes.

"Belikov." His greeting lacked the usual friendliness and respect that he used to offer me. Now it held accusation.

I stood tall, noticing his brief hesitation as he checked to make sure we were alone before he started in on me.

"I'm only going to ask this once: did you take advantage of Rose? When she was here, did you use her? Hurt her?"

The immediate urge to rear back and defend both myself and my relationship was strong, but I resisted. Eddie was right to ask. In fact, I was surprised the others hadn't been more worried about that. Perhaps it was because Rose was the one to tell Lissa and assure her that everything was alright, but I gained a little more respect for Eddie for being the one to confront me.

Before I could speak, he continued talking over me. "Because if you did, I swear I'll kill you. I don't care if you're the best fucking guardian here; I will find a way to end you if you hurt Rose."

I put my hands out, moving back as little and trying to placate Eddie as he stepped forward, looking ready to make good on his promise. "I swear I never hurt her."

He still seemed skeptical, but at least he no longer looked ready to murder me right then and there.

"I promise, Eddie. I would die before I did anything to hurt Rose. Talk to her if you don't believe me. If she says anything different, I'll hand you my own stake and let you do the honors." I had no doubt that he'd do just as I suggested. I continued, trying to ease his mind a little more. "Our relationship was mutual and consensual. I'll be the first to admit that the circumstances weren't ideal and probably looked incredibly inappropriate from the outside. Perhaps it was to an extent considering her age and my position. Still, I promise that I treated her with respect and never pushed her towards anything."

I watched as his fist relaxed a little at his side, and he opened his hand to flex his fingers. I wondered if he had been ready to throw a punch from the moment Lissa had shared the news. I should have talked to him sooner. I knew he had been upset, but I had thought that letting him come to me was the better option. Now, I wondered how many horrible scenarios he had concocted in his mind.

"She's like a sister to me," he admitted, his jaw losing some of its tension.

I nodded. "I know."

"And she's been through too much for someone to just take advantage of her."

"I agree."

He took a step closer to me. "She deserves more. She deserves the best."

"She does."

"And you think you're the best?" His eyes narrowed a little. "You think you deserve her?"

At that, I had to laugh a little despite the situation. "Do I deserve Rose? Hardly. But I'm trying to be the type of man who does."

He finally seemed to calm a little, perhaps not quite satisfied, but at least placated for the moment. I knew he needed something more, though.

I passed him, heading over to my bag resting by the bench outside the training center office. He looked confused for a moment as I dug through the bag, eventually finding what I was looking for and tossing him a set of black hand wraps. He caught them reflexively.

"Here. Put those on," I said, grabbing another roll for myself.

"Why?" Despite his question, he did what I suggested, wrapping the strip of fabric in a well-practiced pattern across his wrist and knuckles.

"Because I think you have been holding this aggression inside of you for a while, and you deserve to let it out. Even if you trust what I'm saying, I can tell that you still want to defend Rose. I respect that. I understand." I attached the velcro across my first wrist before switching to the other hand. "So, let's spar."

His smile quirked up one side. "You want me to hit you?"

"I want you to try," I replied, mirroring his expression.

That earned me a small, somewhat eager chuckle. "You're on, Belikov."

I felt a little relief that the earlier malice in his voice had melted. Leading the way to the practice ring and getting into position, I held out my fists for him to touch before starting the match. We eyed one another up for a moment. I wasn't sure if he had ever seen me spar before, and while I had seen him plenty of times in his combat classes, this was my first chance to actually go toe-to-toe with him. I noted a few things right off the bat, including the fact that he put a bit more weight on his back leg than others might.

He favored kicks.

Testing my theory, I stepped into range only to be met with an attempted side kick. I blocked it, brushing it to the side. Without faltering, Eiddie turned and used the momentum to twist it into a back kick that landed with impressive strength.

"Good! Nice follow through."

He looked at me confused for a moment before I sent a hook flying towards his head. He immediately focused once more, stepping back to avoid contact before throwing a jab and cross in quick succession.

"Make sure you keep that guard tight." Our fight continued like that for a while, with me praising his technique when he landed or almost landed a good hit and offering corrections when I was able to get through his guard. There was a reason why Eddie was in the top five of his year. I couldn't remember his exact placement, but it was either first or second now that Rose was gone. He was talented.

I managed a sweep to his leg as he shifted his weight backward—an easy tell that he was ready to throw another kick, most likely a roundhouse. He hit the mat hard, and I could hear a slight wheeze as the wind was knocked out of him.

I let him catch his breath before offering him a hand up. I had lost track of time, and both of us were sweating a little after our match.

"You're good," I told him truthfully, making sure that he could hear my approval.

He cocked his head to the side, letting his neck and shoulder crack a little as he got back into position to restart our match. "Yeah, but obviously not quite good enough."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You can hold your own quite well." I kept my relaxed pose, and after realizing that I had no intention to continue sparring, he stood.

"Then why am I third? I mean, second now I guess." His face fell for a moment at the unintentional reminder that he had gone up in the standings, even if it wasn't in the way he preferred.

I nodded down to his right leg. "You shift your weight too early when you kick. It gives you away."

"Is that it?" He seemed surprised that I had seen something so small that might make the difference between him being top of the class rather than the runner-up.

I gave a little shrug. There was more, but they were all small details that couldn't be fixed simply by pointing them out. They would take time and repetition to fix. Possible, but not without effort.

He stepped back, crossing his arms across his chest and looking away. I could sense something brewing, but I waited patiently for him to build up the courage to say what was on his mind. I only had to wait a moment before he did.

"Train me." I could see the effort in those two words. It was hard for him to ask, and while I probably shouldn't have been surprised by his request, I still was.

Noticing my hesitation, he took a deep breath and asked again. "I mean, will you please train me? I know I'm not Rose, and you have no real reason to even consider it but… you're the best."

I wanted to say yes. I should've said yes right away. Eddie was all but a brother to Rose. He had been the one to come to her defense and even challenge me, knowing that it would have been a difficult—if not impossible—fight for him. That was impressive and showed dedication and a fire that couldn't be taught. And even if he had a few things to improve on, he was still talented.

Yet I hesitated.

I had never wanted to be a mentor for anyone. In fact, the only reason I had started training Rose was because I felt a certain responsibility after bringing her back to the Academy. If her education at the school hadn't been so dependent on me working with her, I would never have volunteered for the position.

Sure, I was grateful every day that fate had stepped in and forced us together, but was I really ready to accept that position again? Could I?

For anyone else? Probably not.

But for Eddie?

His face fell slightly, my silence suggesting my refusal. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"Are you willing to work on my schedule and take this seriously? That means waking up early and giving up your weekends." I saw a spark of hope return as I laid out my conditions. "If we do this, then I need to know that you are committed. Ask Rose; I'm not easy to please in the gym and I won't take it easy on you. You'll be sore. You'll be tired. However, if you work hard and do what I say, then I can get you to the top of the leaderboard."

"Are you serious?" Even though he had been the one to ask, he still seemed surprised. "Hell yeah. I mean, yes! Anything you want."

"We start tomorrow, then," I said as my gut twisted. It felt wrong to be taking Eddie on as a student. Dishonest. Like I was betraying Rose somehow. I knew she probably would have supported the idea, but I felt like I should have talked to her first. Maybe gotten permission or something. Logically, I knew that was ridiculous. But it still didn't feel quite right. Still, I had already accepted and would hold true to my word. "4:30. Meet me at the track."

"4:30?" He reeled back a little, perhaps shocked at what I was already asking of him. True, it was a little earlier than what I had required from Rose, but I now had daily shifts starting before classes at 6 and I wasn't planning on adjusting that quite yet. So if he wanted to get sufficient time in, he would have to come in earlier. Plus, if this was enough to have him second-guessing, he wouldn't last a week.

"Is that a problem?" I raised a brow, waiting for him to challenge me.

He schooled his features before shaking his head. "No. I'll be there. 4:30."

"Good. We'll talk about setting a proper schedule tomorrow."

Eddie reached out and shook my hand, offering his thanks again before leaving in a much different mood than he had entered. While I knew I had done the right thing, all I could think about was how I would tell Rose.

Five days now. Whichever neighbor my grandmother had loaned Rose out to must be working her to the bone. We'd exchanged a few texts here and there, and she even answered her phone last night. However, she looked so exhausted, practically falling asleep in front of me, that I insisted that she rest instead.

Even tired beyond belief, the first thing she had asked was how Lissa was doing. It didn't surprise me that she was concerned with her best friend, but it did make me feel somewhat guilty that I didn't have a clear answer to give her. I resolved to check on Lissa today, for Rose's sake.

It was past dinner by the time I managed to find Lissa. Between work, training with Eddie and Yuri, and trying to track her down, I had been close to giving up and trying again tomorrow. Maybe I'd ring Rose again. Perhaps I could actually have more than a two-minute conversation with her.

Right before I called off my search, one of the girls in the Moroi dorm lounge mentioned she had seen Lissa earlier and that she was visiting Adrian. That alone set off alarm bells. There was one reason I could think of as to why she would be there.

Picking up the pace a little, I turned towards guest housing, trying to ignore the memories that now haunted that building. All I could think about was the pure exhaustion in Rose's eyes yesterday. What if hard work wasn't the reason—or at least not the only reason—that Rose was so exhausted? What if this was an effect of Spirit? Lissa has been looking fairly haggard recently, too.

I spotted her through the window of the guest housing lounge, along with Christian and Adrian. Adrian was the first to see me as I entered and raised a hand in greeting, sparking a chain reaction of the others in turn.

"Hey Gua—Dimitri." Christian still looked hesitant to address me by name rather than title, but it didn't seem right to be so formal with them now that they were privy to my relationship with their friend.

Lissa, however, had no such qualms.

"Dimitri!" She rushed to me, grabbing my forearms in excitement as she practically bounced on her toes. "I did it! I saw Rose! I really saw her!"

I turned towards Adrian with what I'm sure was a baffled expression as I sought some sort of explanation for Lissa's claim. He refused to meet my eyes, instead looking suddenly very interested in whatever was in the mug he was holding.

"What do you mean 'you saw Rose,' Princess?"

"Lissa. We're friends now, remember?" Her gentle scolding immediately gave way again to her earlier excitement. "I mean, I was finally able to dream walk! I've been trying for over a week now. I was able to get a hazy image one time, and I think she could hear me a few days ago, but yesterday I actually saw her and gave her a hug. Can you believe it?"

I knew what she was expecting from me. She wanted me to tell her 'good job' and be happy for her. But all I felt was anger.

"You've been using Spirit? Every day?" Her eyes went wide in shock at the low growl not-so-hidden under the calm facade I was struggling to keep in place. I turned my ire at Adrian. "You said you'd talk to her about this."

Lissa looked between Adrian and me. "About what?"

"About your reckless use of magic," I supplied when Adrian stayed silent on the matter. "About your blatant disregard of both your health and Rose's."

She took a step back, and it took everything in me to keep from following her. "I didn't mean—"

"But you are." Everyone looked at me like I was overreacting, and maybe I was, but Lissa needed to know the consequences of her actions. If nobody else was going to speak up, then I would. "Every time you look at someone's aura or heal so much as a paper cut, you are hurting you both."

"Don't you think you're being a little hard on her?" Adrian's attempt to diffuse the situation was too little, too late. He knew the costs of Spirit. He should have been the one to stop this days ago.

"Lissa's Spirit use is the reason why darkness overcame Rose and nearly drove her to insanity. What you guys saw by the lake was just the tip of the iceberg. It hurt her. Physically, emotionally, and mentally. It broke her." The memories of that night would haunt me forever, especially now that I felt powerless to help if she ever needed me again. "Spirit could have killed her and it's the reason why Rose isn't here now."

"Hey!" Christian, who had looked somewhat wary before, now stood and tucked Lissa into his arms, effectively putting himself between his girlfriend and me. I'd never physically hurt Lissa, which I'm sure he knew just as well as anyone else, but I understood trying to save the person you loved from emotional pain just as much as any other pain. "You can't blame Lissa for all that! None of us knew what would happen. It's not her fault."

Even as he stood up for his girlfriend, I could see that he didn't fully believe what he said. We had all been dancing around the fact that Spirit, and specifically Lissa's use of Spirit, was the root cause of Rose's expulsion. While yes, Rose had attacked Jesse, we all knew why. We all knew that Rose wouldn't have done so without that influence. I don't think any of us wanted to lay the blame on Lissa but it was hard to hold my tongue at the moment.

It was only the look of regret in Lissa's eyes and the knowledge that Rose would be furious that made me take a step back and regather my composure. I counted slowly to ten, breathing in and out until I could think clearly again.

"Adrian tells me that Spirit is…" I didn't want to call it an addiction, but I couldn't think of a better word. "He tells me that it's hard to stay away from, but I need you to try, Lissa. If not for your own sake, then for Rose's."

"Maybe I could talk to her. Tell her to stop taking the darkness. And maybe the distance will help." She seemed hesitant. I wasn't sure if it was lingering wariness about my earlier outburst or if she actually doubted her ability to reign her magic in for the good of others. One honestly worried me more than the other.

"Maybe, but you know Rose. She may not be your guardian, but she is still your best friend and will stop at nothing to protect you. Even if it kills her." Lissa tried to look away for a moment, but I shifted to recapture her attention and made sure she understood exactly what I was telling her. "And I know it's hard to hear, Princess, but if you keep this up, it will kill her. Nobody can save her from that fate but you. So, I need you to put your own whims aside, as much as you are able to, and do whatever you need to do to protect you both. Can you do that?"

The air hung heavy between us as my question lingered unanswered. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth, a familiar habit that I had seen from Rose more than once, but on Lissa, it looked more uncertain. Rose would be searching for a way to do what needed to be done. Lissa…well, she seemed to be looking for a way out. I got the sense that Lissa was reaching for an excuse as to why it would all be okay, and she could continue just as she was now. That Rose was strong, and she'd be able to handle things, no matter the cost. There was no avoiding the inevitable, however, and I could see the moment that reality hit her. It would be Rose or Spirit. She had to choose what mattered most to her.

"I can do that. I'll be more careful," she eventually agreed. It was slow coming, but there was a small sense of relief when I saw a hint of resolve build in her. All I could hope was that it would be enough to keep them both safe.

Without any other option than to trust that Lissa would keep her word, I gave her a little nod and decided to call it a night. There didn't seem to be any other reason to stay, especially when I was still practically vibrating with nervous energy. I'd hardly be good company. Plus, I had done what I had come to do; I had seen more than enough to assure Rose that her friend was doing alright. Now, I needed to assure myself that Rose was okay, too.

Author's Note

Well, we still don't quite know what Rose is up to, but it seems like Dimitri isn't quite handling the radio silence very well. What do you think about this new partnership with Eddie?

Question of the Week: I'm heading to Las Vegas in a couple of months. If you could spend one weekend there, what would you do?

Just FYI, there will be no update next week. I'm spending a weekend with family and won't have my computer on me. Updates will resume the week after.