The ownership of all characters related to and involving the novels of The Vampire Academy and Bloodlines Series remain the sole property of Richelle Mead, the Penguin Group and any affiliates.

No copyrights have been infringed on maliciously.

A/n: This chapter was originally only meant to be five or six pages long, but what do you know, my chronic condition came into play…again. Enjoy, T.

A Conflict of the Soul

Chapter Nineteen

Bracing against the heavy buffer of the gale-force wind sweeping across the tarmac, the howling intensity was almost loud enough to drown out the deafening whine of the jet engine's warming up in preparation for our return trip to Montana.

Shivering, I shrugged deeper into the flapping duster to preserve body heat, but it didn't really make that much of a difference. The unpredictable nature of the weather over the Pocono's had swung during the early hours of the morning; banishing the calm of the night before as a low pressure swept in from the north and brought with it colder conditions. The turbulence it would create was going to make the trip home very unpleasant and far slower, but it wouldn't be enough to cancel the flight, and for that, I was deeply grateful.

It meant I was only hours away from home…hours away from Rose.

Normally I wasn't this impatient; I knew how to bide my time, but the anxiety of looming Trials made me both restless and eager to reach her. Not that I could see her straight away. By the time we landed, it would be after midday, and the rest of the academy would still be asleep. I would have to wait until the school day started, which meant more hours apart from her.

I should have been able to make do with that kind of waiting, but I couldn't, because but we were once again being delayed by Adrian, and the inconvenience of it was scraping along my already tightly-strung nerves. As eager as I was to board the plane, I wasn't looking forward to being in close proximity to him for the next few hours.

Watching him arrive now, he slammed shut the door of the SUV. Shouldering his carry-on, he dug his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat. Eyes hidden by sunglasses, there was a sullen cast to the set of his mouth as the wind whipped through his hair. Glancing around him, his mouth flattened to a thin line when he saw me, but he said nothing as the hostess greeted him and ushered him on board.

"Are you trying to leave without giving me a kiss good-bye, Dimitri?"

Looking over my shoulder, Kon's wide grin turned into a shiver and grimace as an icy gust battered us. Coming to stand beside me, he watched as Adrian stomped up the stairs and disappeared into the plane. He had been one of his escorts to our waiting flight, and looked as relieved as his counterpart to finally be rid of him, although it hadn't escaped his attention that Adrian had avoided me.

"Why is he giving you such a wide berth?"

"We had a little…discussion last night, and came to an understanding."

Raising a brow in curiosity, he didn't ask. He knew me well enough to know that whatever problems I had with the uncle, I would also have with the nephew; I refused to think of them as my father and my cousin. "You know," Kon started casually, but there was a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I'm usually the one that rocks the boat, not you. Maybe you've spent too much time with me?"

"That's going to be unavoidable from next week, Konrad, but I'll try my best to limit our contact."

Grinning again, this time I felt a reluctantly response tug at my own lips as he asked. "So how are you feeling this morning? Still sulking about being assigned to the Queen's Guard?"

Shaking my head at the mirthful expression in his dark-green eyes, he was remembering our conversation from last night. Finding me in guest housing not long after my confrontation with Adrian – who had been right about at least one thing; word of my reassignment had travelled fast around Court – Konrad had been shocked by the rumours, and had all but demanded to know the truth.

Once he had his answers, I had expected the usual ragging to follow, but instead, he had shown concern and asked how I felt about the transfer; assuming, rightly, that my first instinct had been to presume that the reason for the assignment had been because of my newly discovered lineage, and not because it was deserved.

The support had been unexpected from him, but very welcome.

"Sulking?" I questioned now with a raised brow.

"Sorry. Do you strong men prefer the word pouting?"

"We prefer brooding, actually."

Chuckling, Kon tugged the collar of his coat up around his ears. "Seriously, Dimitri. How are you feeling? Any better than last night?"

"It would be stupid to feel anything other than fortunate, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, but this is you, so what you're feeling could range anywhere from acid reflux to cardiac arrest."

Grinning at his flippancy, I sighed; not wanting to revisit our conversation from last night, but I knew him well enough to know that he would keep pressing…and he knew there had been parts of what I really felt that had been left out. "I know how I should feel, and part of me does feel very honoured by this, but the other part of me is still struggling with this feeling of guilt; like I don't deserve this because it's been given to me for the wrong reasons."

I had made as much peace with the transfer as I could during the long hours of last night and this morning; it would give me so much more than I would ever have to give back, but I just couldn't shake the last of my doubts and resentment.

"Why didn't you turn it down, then?" Kon asked, watching me alertly. "You could have asked for the Council members to reconvene on the decision of the placement and requested something else. I'm glad that you didn't, of course, but it was always your decision. Dimitri."

"Hans said the same thing, but it would mean that I would have to remain at Court for longer and Trials on tomorrow; I have to be back at the Academy for them. Also…I couldn't risk that they would feel I was being ungrateful. They might decide to punish me by reassigning me outside of the States, and you know this is where I want to be. I wasn't about to allow Randall to ruin that for me; justified or not."

I couldn't tell Kon the real reason for my acceptance. Not yet, at any rate. Once Rose and I made our relationship public, he would understand my motives.

"Speaking of the devil…I heard that he was escorted off the property in the early hours of this morning."

"Escorted?"

"Yeah…forcibly."

"For what?"

"Disorderly behaviour."

"Meaning he drank too much, ran his mouth off, and was booted from the property?"

"Basically."

"I'm a little disappointed."

Frowning, Kon's lips twisted. "You're disappointed? Why? I thought you would have been thrilled that he was kicked off the property."

"Oh, I am. What I'm disappointed with is that I wasn't the one personally picking him up by the scruff of his neck and throwing him out."

"Ready to go, Belikov?"

Glancing towards Alberta, Kon didn't have the opportunity to reply to my remark, but he did have the good sense to look a little uneasy at the eager violence in my voice. He might have thought he understood the depths of my loathing towards Randall Ivashkov, but he really had no idea how deep the hatred ran. Watching as he and Alberta exchanged a few words, she began to board as he turned back to me, extending his hand to shake.

"Safe travels, Dimitri."

"Thank you, Konrad."

"Tell Rose good luck for me, will you? Not that I think she needs it. You know that the local bookies are running a pool on her, right?"

"What?"

"Yeah."

"They're placing bets on whether or not she passes Trials?" I managed to keep the outrage from my voice, but only barely. What did they know? Had it somehow circulated around Court that she would receive a more biased obstacle course?

"No." Konrad scoffed. "They all know she's going to pass Trials; what they're all placing bets on is everything else. The stake with the best odds at the moment is on how long she'll take to complete the obstacle course. Most are betting against you on that one, by the way."

"Me?" I asked, confused, but no longer concerned about rumours.

"Yeah. They think she's going to beat your time." Raising a brow at me, it was a less than subtle reminder that I still held the record for the fastest time to have ever completed the course. It was juvenile record to have. The time made no difference to the outcome of Trials; safely delivering the Moroi to the other side was the only thing that mattered…and I hadn't had my course deliberately weighted against me.

"That's ridiculous." I growled incredulously, glancing over to Alberta standing at the top of the stairs as she impatiently beckoned me towards her before slipping into the cabin. Turning to Kon, he frowned at the aggression in my tone and body language. "They're treating this like some kind of game, when it's the most important day of her life. All they will lose if she fails is money; she'll lose everything!"

"Easy, Dimitri. Easy." Holding out his hands, palms first, he meant for the gesture to be calming, but my emotions were in a free fall and I couldn't find the control for any of them. "No one wants that to happen. No one thinks it will. Rose is too good to fail. The bet…it's just idiots being idiots. You can't let them upset you."

Upset, was far too tame a word for what I felt. Shoving my hands deeper into the pockets of the duster, I closed my eyes for a second; hearing the hostess as she called out my name over the wind and drone. Finding Konrad still looking at me strangely, I forced a smile that was anything but convincing. "You're right of course; they're not worth the bother. I'm a little on edge, I guess. Thank you for the well wishes, Kon. I'll pass them on to Rose. See you next week."

"Sure. Looking forward to it." Shaking again, he still looked a little confused, but seemed more at ease with the swing in my behaviour. Calm Dimitri he could handle; deranged Dimitri not so much. Taking the stairs three at a time, I apologized to the frowning stewardess as I passed her before settling into the seat opposite Alberta in the forward compartment. Vaguely aware that Adrian was at the back of the plane, there was no point in paying him any attention, so buckling in, our take-off began.

As predicted, once in the air, the turbulence created a flight so bumpy that no liquids could be served. Blocking out Adrian's incessant whining about not being able to self-anesthetize, Alberta and I spoke very little during the trip. We couldn't here; not with so many ears listening. We had already discussed our strategy for Rose last night, and now that we had a plan in place, I felt marginally better. There was still too much out of our control, but anything was better than nothing, and I would use anything I could.

I was determined not to let the cards win.

Landing without incident after a long and uncomfortable flight, the weather in Montana was as warm as when we had left yesterday. Shucking the duster as we disembarked, Alberta deliberately put herself between Adrian and I, clearly still concerned by the animosity between us, but she shouldn't have worried. Neither of us wanted anything to do with the other, but there was something that I wanted to say to him before we got back to the campus. At least he was sober and could fully appreciate and understand it.

"Adrian?"

Pausing with his hand on the handle of one of the two SUV's waiting for us, he didn't turn to face me, but he did take the tone of my voice seriously enough to not ignore me.

"Belikov…" Alberta began softly, warningly, but the reassuring look I gave her made her sigh and climb into our car without saying another word. She was worried that this would turn into some sort of confrontation, and after last night, I couldn't honestly say that I blamed her, but this needed to be said.

"I know that eventually what's happened at Court over the last twenty-four hours will filter back here, and once it does, I'll deal with whatever fallout it creates, but until then, I don't want you telling anyone that I've been assigned to the Queens Guard…or of my connection to the Ivashkov's. Is that clear?"

"I could care less about your assignment, Belikov," he muttered nastily over his shoulder. "And why would I ever want anyone to know we're related?" Wrenching open the door, he slide in and slammed it shut. Watching as the vehicle sped away, I joined Alberta in ours. She didn't say anything to me, but then, she didn't have to. Her expression said enough.

Leaning back against the headrest, I watched as the scenery sped past us, relaxing more with every mile that brought us closer to the campus. It wasn't just that it was closing the distance between Rose and I; it was also bringing me closer to home. I had only been in Montana for two years, but I realised now how much I was going to miss it when I left next week. It shouldn't have mattered as much; as a guardian, you knew that you could be transferred at a moment's notice, and that taught you to never put roots down, but so many monumental moments in my life had occurred here…how could it not mean something to me?

Arriving at the upper campus a few minutes later, Alberta and I collected our gear and made our way through to the administration building. Passing by dhampir housing, I tried to control the urge to look up at Rose's closed window, but failed miserably as my eyes were automatically drawn to it. She would be sleeping behind those curtains; safe and unaware of what she would wake up to, and it made me aware that I couldn't wait until the school day started.

"You can't wait, can you?"

"For what?" I asked, feigning ignorance; a little startled at Alberta's intuitiveness

The withering look she gave me said I was wasting my time denying anything. "To see Rose."

When I wisely chose not to answer, she shook her head in resigned exasperation. "You really should let her sleep, you know, and you should get some sleep as well, but one look at your face tells me that you won't be able to until you've seen her. Normally I would just order you to bed, but as you play as important a part in our plan as Rose does, I'm going to make a one-time exception. I need you at your sharpest, Belikov. Come with me to the office."

Wondering what she was up to, I didn't have to wonder for long as went into her office. Walking to the wall of hanging bunches, Alberta unhooked the ring that held the keys to dhampir housing; including the key that opened up the emergency exit doors at the back. Throwing them to me, I caught them deftly, despite my surprise. Glaring at me, Alberta nodded at the bunch. "Keep it short, and don't tell her anything about her altered course until later. If you do it now, neither one of you is going to get any sleep, and that's going to affect her training. You know that she has to be completely focused for the training tonight." Placing the flat of her palms on the table, she leaned menacingly towards me. "And if you are caught, I will deny everything," she stressed.

Nodding in understanding and silent thanks as I left, I dropped off my overnight bag in housing and slipped out through the back. I had already decided not to tell Rose about Trials until we were on our run tonight, before the first training session for the seniors started. Alberta was right; if I told her now, she would too angry to go back to sleep. Also, I needed her away from the campus when she had her…well, tantrum. That was the only way I could describe what her reaction would be.

Checking that no one was around as I unlocked one of the three exit doors, I checked the time. I could stay with Rose for a while, but not too long. I wouldn't be on regular duty until after trials; left alone to prepare and train my student, so no one would look for me until later, but I still couldn't chance being caught here. Quickly and quietly bounding up the stairwell closest to Rose's room, I silently opened the connecting door at the top and looked around the hallway for any of the monitors.

Hesitating for a second, I looked at the keys in my hand and began to doubt myself. I shouldn't being doing this; we both needed to sleep, but right now, I needed the reassurance of seeing her as much as we needed rest and that thought superseded any others. Finding it clear, I made my way to her door, and testing that it wasn't locked, opened it before noiselessly slipped into the room and locking it behind me. Dim inside because of the heavily-lined curtains, it wasn't dark enough to prevent me from seeing her.

Feeling hot during the midday heat, Rose had thrown off most her bedding. Covered to the waist by only a thin sheet, she was on her back, her arms thrown over her head; her hair in a messy braid. Wearing a black tank-top, her full breasts pressed tightly against the material. Swallowing roughly at the surge of lust flooding my blood-steam, just the sight of her set my nerve-endings alight.

Calmed instantly by knowing she was safe, the dull glint of the silver medallion around her neck was a reassuring sign. Crossing silently to the bed, I knelt beside it, gently brushing aside damp strands of hair sticking to her cheek and neck. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips softly to the supply, hot flesh of her cheek; kissing my way down until I found her lips and slowly deepened the pressure. Moaning sleepily, Rose was slow to wake, but I felt the change in her in the exact moment that she realised that she wasn't dreaming, and that I was actually there. Sighing into my mouth, Rose reached up to clasp my face and pulled me closer to her as her tongue found and tangled with mine.

Before I could get carried away, I broke the contact with a deep shudder; moving away a little as Rose made a soft sound of protest. Blinking quickly as her eyes adjusted to the shadows that hid us, she sat up abruptly in bed. Quickly cupping my hand over her mouth, I shook my head and pointed towards the door in warning. Both of us could hear the muffled footsteps along the carpets on the other end of the hallway as the monitor concluded his rounds. Nodding, she covered my hand with her own and kissed the palm whilst we waited.

Hearing the footsteps fade as they descended the stairs, I rose to sit on the narrow bed beside her; curving my hands around her waist as Rose looped her arms around my neck and climbed nimbly onto my lap. Pulling her tightly against my chest, I buried my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply.

This was what I had wanted since last night…comfort.

"What are you doing here?" Rose whispered into my ear, stroking her hand over the top of my head and down my neck; hugging me just as tightly. She knew this was dangerous, for both of us, and was probably wondering why I was taking such a risk when I had never done it before.

"I wanted to see you. We landed a few minutes ago."

Looking over her shoulder at the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock, Rose frowned. "You're later than I thought you would be."

"I know. There was a lot of turbulence, which made everything slower. I'm sorry I couldn't call you last night to tell you that we wouldn't be back until today."

"It's okay. I figured you wouldn't be when you were a no show after dinner."

"So you were looking for me, were you? Did you miss me?"

"Are you fishing, comrade?"

"I am."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I barely thought of you at all."

"Liar." Tugging playfully at her braid, I felt her smile she nuzzled against my jaw. Kissing along her collar bone, I shifted her weight more comfortably on my lap; shivering when she deliberately rubbed over my erection. "Were you good whilst I was away?" I forced myself to ask hoarsely, knowing that sex here was out of the question.

"I promised you I would be, didn't I?" Squirming a little, I clamped my hands over her hips and held her still.

"Yes," I said, clearing my throat as I forced myself to concentrate. We didn't have a lot of time. "But what you say and what you do are not always mutually inclusive. Did you destroy any more of the training dummies?"

"No, I went easy on them."

"Good." Finding her lips again, the contact was hungrier than before and laden with latent desire and love. Groaning, I ended it to press our foreheads together. Breathing deeply, Rose sighed.

"How did it go at Court?"

"Alberta was cleared of all wrongdoing."

"Of course she was," Rose agreed readily, still sounding annoyed on her behalf. "Because she did nothing wrong. If it wasn't for her, we would have lost so many more in the caves. Is she relieved that they ruled in her favour?"

"She is…but also angry."

"I get that. She probably feels betrayed by a failing system. What about you? What did they say about your request for transfer?"

Hearing the apprehension in her voice, I rubbed gently up and down her back in long, soothing strokes. "They've approved it."

Slumping forward in relief, Rose nuzzled against my jawline. "Oh, that's great. Did you get the training centre?"

"No…not the training centre."

"Where then?" Rearing backwards, her eyes widened in panic and she forgot to modulate her voice. "Oh, God. They didn't assign to someone on the other side of the world, did they?" It had been her greatest fear; that I would be punished for asking for a reassignment and sent away. It was why she had tried to get me to change my mind before we had left.

"Shhhh." Clamping my hand around her mouth again, I glared in warning. "No, don't panic, Roza. They haven't assigned me abroad. I have been assigned to Court, just not the training centre."

Blowing out a quiet breathe behind my hand, she pulled it away to ask. "If not the training centre, then where?"

"The Queen's Guard."

Feeling her settle into utter stillness on my lap, it only took Rose a few seconds to digest what I had said to her. Eyes and mouth widening in shock, I raised my hand to clamp it over her mouth again, but she swatted it away with a black glare. Grinning, I kissed her chin in apology, and waited for her to respond.

"The Queen's Guard?" She whispered, shaking her head in wonder before she grinned broadly. "That's amazing, comrade. Congratulations." Head-butting me gently, she laughed softly. "Wow…the Queen's Guard. What does that mean, anyway?"

"Basically the same rotational duty as now, but with more time off, because she has so many guardians. I'll obviously have to travel with her, whenever she does, but that's so infrequent, it shouldn't be a problem. When there are visiting Royals or dignitaries, I'll be on duty during those times, but apart from that, I'll have far more free time…a lot more free time."

"Free time is good," Rose breathed, stringing little kisses along my jaw. "Free time is what we wanted." Sighing happily, Rose hugged me tightly again, but seemed to understand by the tension in my body that there was something wrong. Looking at me quizzically, she asked. "You don't seem very happy about it, Dimitri."

"I am. Of course, I am, it's just…."

"Just what?"

"I found out something at Court that I think influenced the Council's decision and its weighing on my mind."

"What?"

Sighing, I decided to start with the worst of it. "Do you remember me telling you about my father?"

"Your father? Yeah, but what's he go to do with this?"

"I'll get to that later. What do you remember about what I told you?"

Playing with the loose hair at my nape, Rose thought back. "He's an American Moroi. You and the rest of your family have never known all that much about him, except that his name is Rand. He was physically abusive to your mother when you were little and once you were old enough…I think you said that you were thirteen…you decided to hit him back and you haven't seen him since."

"That's right."

"Okay…and?"

"It turns out that he isn't just any Moroi. He's a Royal and he was at Court yesterday."

"Your father is a Royal?" Rose croaked in disbelief. "Which family?"

"Ivashkov. Randall Ivashkov is his name."

Stunned by the revelation, Rose said nothing for a long minute as her agile mind made all the family connections that I wanted no part of. Slipping her fingers between the buttons of my shirt, she stared at the pattern on the material for another long minute before she found her voice. "Randall Ivashkov is your father. Randall Ivashkov is a nephew of the Queen; our Queen, who is also your great-aunt. Your uncle is Nathan Ivashkov, and your cousin…is Adrian Ivashkov."

"Yes."

"You and Adrian are first cousins."

"Yes."

"Fuck!"

"Roza!" Admonishing her as loudly as I could; her voice had been an octave below a screech, this time she clamped her own hand over her mouth. Listening hard for anything that sounded like approaching footsteps, when we both felt it was safe to speak again, Rose removed her hand.

"Sorry. Sorry," she whispered. "I'm in shock." Wrapping her arms around my neck again, Rose squeezed tightly and rested her chin on my shoulder.

"Imagine how I felt."

Groaning quietly, Rose rubbed her nose against the skin of my neck exposed by the open collar before kissing it. "I'm so sorry, comrade. You're right. Here I am thinking only about myself and this must have poleaxed you."

"Poleaxed? Hmmm. I like that word. It's actually a fairly apt description of how I felt when I found out."

"How did you find out?"

"After the Council saw me the first time, Konrad found me and we spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening together in the lounge, killing time before we went in for dinner. That was where we were when he found me and came towards me like nothing had happened; calling me his son, Dimka…as if it was something I wanted to be." Frowning as I heard the old, familiar resentment flare up, Rose must have heard it too, because her palm began to gently massage the tight muscles in my neck.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Dimitri. Was Adrian with him?"

"Yes."

"Must have been a shock for him to find out, too."

"As nasty a shock as my own."

"I wish I had been there," Rose sighed, tenderly cupping my face. Nuzzling against it, I closed my eyes at the palpable feel of her love and support.

"I wish you had been there, too. I hadn't seen my father in 12 years, but I felt like a thirteen-year old boy again. Not helpless to fend him off anymore, but helpless to the feelings he provoked. I hate the way he makes me feel. I hate the way he makes me act and think. Everyone in that dining room kept looking at me when he was behaving badly…as if they expected me to act just as badly merely because I was his…"

"Son?" Rose filled in when I didn't. "Like you weren't your own person, but someone who was a part of someone else."

"Exactly. You understand it perfectly, Roza."

"Because I understand you. And I understand what it feels like, too. I'm looked at like I'm another Janine. Everyone's expectations of that are mine to either live up to or fail, whether I wanted them in the first place or not. I know that it's easy for me to say, because I don't have the same history with Janine that you do with Randall, but you can't let what any of them think affect you, comrade. You are not your father; just like I'm not my mother."

"You make it sound very simple."

"Because it is. I've had eighteen years of this crap to live down. I'm a pro. Stick with me, comrade. I'll get you through it."

Tightening my arms around her, I murmured against her lips. "Always."

"How did he provoke you, by the way? And more importantly, what did you do about it?"

"The usual way he provokes me…talking about my mother. And although I would have dearly loved to teach him another lesson, because he obviously has forgotten the first one I taught him, I didn't do anything. I couldn't; not at Court."

"What did he say about your mom?" Listening to her low, tight growl, I smiled at the protectiveness that Rose already felt for a woman she had only ever spoken on the phone to. I only hoped that one day I could actually get her to Baia to meet Olena, my grandmother and my sisters.

"The usual, which would have been more than enough to set me off, but he also told me that that she had known who he really was when she chose him to father her children, and she had chosen to lie about it to protect us. And so had my grandmother."

"He could have lied." Rose tried to reason, rubbing her hands over the muscles bunching in my shoulders.

"He didn't. I phoned her after I left dinner."

"For confirmation?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"He was telling the truth, Roza. They've both always known."

"Wow." Laying her cheek against mine, the steady beat of her heart against my chest echoed in the beat of my own and calmed the corresponding ache. "I…I don't know what to say. She must have had a good reason for lying the way she did. I mean…she's a good mom, not like my own. She just wanted to protect her children. Are you angry with her?"

"No. I was angry with what he said, and shocked by what she said, but never angry with her. She said exactly what you did. She was protecting her children, especially after she realised that she had made a mistake by choosing him. She says hello, by the way."

Smiling widely, she nuzzled against me, well aware that she was the more popular choice to talk to when we did phone each other. "We should phone her this week, or over the weekend. The last time we talked was ages ago. Then I can say hello to your sisters and Paul. I wonder if he's started to eat peas yet?"

Shuddering in distaste at the thought of the tiny, green spheres that I ate only for the sake of a balanced diet, it was something that I had in common with my young nephew. "That sounds like a good idea. We'll do it this weekend, then I can tell them about our assignments so that they'll know where we are."

"Good idea. She's not going to be happy with you if you leave Montana for Pennsylvania and not tell her. Speaking of which…do you think that because the Council found out that you're an Ivashkov, that it swayed favour in your direction?"

"Firstly, I'm not an Ivashkov. I'm a Belikov, and secondly, wouldn't you think the same thing?

"Granted, the timing is suspicious," Rose agreed, rubbing again at the bunching of muscles. "But I don't think it has anything to do with the newly discovered connection to the Ivashkov's. Your skill, your ability and your dedication are what they would have chosen you for, comrade. You know that. Don't let suspicion ruin this moment. This is huge. I am so proud of you."

Feeling the bloom of her love and pride unfurl in my chest, it chased away the last of the cold doubts still lingering in my heart. "Thank you, moye serdtse. Hans said the same thing, as did Alberta and Konrad when I told him last night, but it's you who makes me believe it. You who can convince me when no one else could, because I know your belief in me is absolute."

"So is my love, Dimitri. Don't you ever forget that." Nibbling on my bottom lip, her tongue slipped between it and the upper to kiss me with enough heat to set my blood boiling. It was almost enough to make me forget where we were, to forget that if we were caught, it would mean the end even before we had begun…almost.

Pressing one last lingering kiss to her soft lips before setting her away, she laughed a little unsteadily. "Ok, ok…I'll be good. How did Alberta react when you told her about your assignment?"

"She was shocked naturally, but very happy for me."

"She took a huge risk vouching for you."

"She did. It's something that I'll be eternally grateful for."

"Did she give you the keys for the exit doors to dhampir housing?"

"She did, and warned me not to get caught."

"I think we've corrupted her, comrade."

"I'm afraid you might be right." Laughing softly with her, Rose tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and played with the end.

"About what you said earlier. I understand why you don't consider yourself an Ivashkov, but if you did, it would mean that you have a larger family, and I know that you already have one," she rushed to say as she saw my expression. "But just consider it. Not right now, but in the future. I don't have any family, aside from Lissa and I suppose, Janine, so any family would be better family than no family, Dimitri."

"Not this family, Roza. And you do have a family…mine."

"An honouree Belikov?"

"An honouree Belikova." I confirmed and corrected softly, tugging teasingly at her earlobe.

"How did Adrian react to all of this?"

"Not well."

"What do you mean, not well?"

"You know he's already resentful of me; mainly because I have you and he doesn't. Now add in what he thinks will be the loss of his position as the Queen's only great-nephew…a position that he covets more than anything else. How do you think he would have reacted?"

Grimacing, Rose nodded. "Badly. Okay. Did he say anything? Do anything?"

"He almost said your name in front of Court guardians when we fought, potentially exposing you, and he tried to take a swing at me…twice."

"He tried to hit you?!"

"Twice." I repeated, relishing the outrage she felt. I had thought that she might have felt a little sympathy for him, and though I couldn't fault her on it, I certainly wasn't going to encourage or nourish it.

"Shit. Tell me everything."

Replaying exactly what had happened; word for word, from the time I had found him outside of housing last night, to our parting words on the tarmac this morning, Rose became angrier with every word I told her, especially when I got to the part about him insulting Alberta.

"Idiot." She muttered in disgust. "What was he thinking?"

"He wasn't, Roza. He was reacting to his pain and resentment."

"That's not an excuse, Dimitri. I'm going to have a word with him."

"No. I have dealt with Adrian. There's no need for any further action against him. You need to concentrate on Trials tomorrow. There is nothing more important than that, do you understand me?" Stressing it, the importance of what I was saying was lost on her. She had heard the same speech from me for months now, and didn't yet realise that was something different in what I was telling her.

"Are you sure? About Adrian, I mean?"

"I am. He won't be a problem in the future."

Eyeing me suspiciously, Rose tugged a little roughly at my collar as my fingers dipped beneath the waistband of her sleep shorts and my thumbs rubbed against her hipbone. "You really scared him, didn't you?"

"He insulted Alberta, and risked you…yes, I scared him. It's not something I'm proud of, but it had to be done, and done in a way that he couldn't mistake how serious I was about it. He won't say anything to anyone about us being cousins either. Neither of us wants that made public knowledge."

"You know that it's going to spread like wildfire. Court isn't exactly known for keeping its secrets. By the end of the week, the whole Academy will know."

"I know. I just don't want it interfering with anything tomorrow. I'll deal with it when it happens." Being associated with the Ivashkov's would be a shock to everyone here, who would all ask questions of me that I couldn't, and didn't want to answer. It brought to mind a question of my own…one that I had been putting off asking Rose. Something that Adrian had said during our argument.

"Does it make you feel any differently about me…knowing that I'm an Ivashkov?"

Feeling the vibrations of laughter from Rose travel from her skin to mine, I looked up at her questioningly. "You idiot; of course not. I don't care if you're an Ivashkov, a Zeklos or a Drozdov. I don't care what your surname is, or what family you belong to. That's never made any difference to me, Dimitri. I love you…you. Not your name."

Laughing weakly, I hugged her tighter than I should have and not nearly tight enough. "I love you."

"Of course you do. Where else are you going to find a girlfriend that tolerates you?"

Smiling at the smile I could hear in her voice, I breathed deeply and held her tightly for what seemed like only minutes, but I knew from the shadows beginning to lengthen beneath the curtains that it was getting later and that I couldn't stay with her for much longer.

"Did you see Konrad whilst you were there?" Rose asked, still playing with my hair.

"Yes. He wanted me to give you his best for Trials." I made no mention of the bets placed against her.

"Thanks. That was nice of him. How are you feeling about being based with him from next week?"

"Much like I feel about being based with Emil; they're very similar."

"Don't pretend that you're not going to miss, Emil, comrade."

"I'm not. There are many things that I'm going to miss about St Vlad's, including the campus."

"Really? I can't wait to be out of here."

"You don't mean that. Once you're packed and ready to leave, it will hit you that you're no longer going to call this home."

Scoffing, Rose's expression said I was expecting far too much from her. "Don't hold your breath on it, comrade. I might have been here since I was four, but I've never truly considered it my home. Lissa was always my home, and now, so are you. By the way, she's been asking about where you went. I've been evading, but we need to tell her about your reassignment."

"I agree. It's only a matter of time before that information circulates back here, and I would like to tell her myself, instead of her hearing it from someone else. Do you think she'll be disappointed?"

Kissing my temple as she heard the uncertainty in my voice, Rose sighed. A little, I think. You adores you; considers you a brother, one who she is even closer to than she was with Anton, but once she knows about the assignment to the Queen's Guard, and that you're permanently assigned to Court, she'll be thrilled for you. Don't worry about Lissa."

"You're sure?"

Tapping her temple; a silent reminder of the bond they shared, Rose nodded. "Positive."

"Good. Now there's something else that we need to talk about."

Looking a little wary at my tone, Rose frowned. "There's more? I'm not sure I'm up for it, comrade."

"It's nothing bad, but it does mean we have to change our plans a little."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I was talking to Hans, after he revealed my assignment, he mentioned you. Nothing specific, but he made suggestions to the suspicions surrounding our relationship, because of what Victor said. I spoke to Alberta about it, and we both think that it would be far wiser…and safer, if we hold off revealing it until at least a few months after graduation. Remember, we both lied under oath, and they'll know that we started our relationship when you were still my underage student. As Alberta put it…your reputation will be in shreds and I'll be crucified." Waiting for her response, I held my breath and hoped that it wasn't too loud.

Clearly disappointed, Rose grumbled a little and then surprised me by agreeing. "Yeah. You're right; both of you are. It makes sense to wait a little longer, just to be on the safe side. The last thing we need is some sort of inquiry. Also, we need to get settled once we get to Court, so it's not like there's going to be lots of free time for us in the weeks following that, is there? We'll have time for that later…lots and lots of time."

Smiling radiantly in anticipation, I felt a sickening response in the pit of my stomach. She was so certain that she would pass, that she would be paired with Lissa, that the utter confidence it gave her made me feel like a fraud for not telling her that it could all be for nothing.

Seeing the uneasiness in me, Rose incorrectly interpreted it as anxiety. "Is there anything else that you need to tell me?"

So much, Roza. So much, I wanted to say, but instead I answered. "No. Nothing else."

"Good." Leaning in to give me a slow, loving kiss, Rose murmured against my lips. "You know what you need, comrade?"

"Yes, but we make too much noise, and we'll get caught."

Laughing softly, Rose shook her head. "No, that's not what I'm talking about, although it's what I want too. I'm talking about clearing your head. That's what you need right now and you do it best when you're running. So go run. I'll see you at sundown."

She was right. Running usually cleared my head, but I knew that it wouldn't do a damn thing for me now. Not wanting her to become suspicious about my reluctance, I nodded in agreement. Lifting her from my lap, I put her back into bed and covered her with the sheet; kissing her softly before promising to meet her in the woods later that afternoon, then left as quietly as I had arrived.

Heading for housing, I changed almost automatically into running gear; still feeling nauseated by what was to come and how she would react to it. Dropping off the keys in Alberta's office, I took a familiar route, one that didn't require me to pay any careful attention to where I was going. Two hours later, I finished with run, no closer to clearing my head then when I had started. If anything, the tension in my body seemed to thrum with life.

Feeling my adrenaline flagging, I knew that it was sleep that I needed the most, and I was tired enough to actually find it. Slowing my walk as the construction site came into view, the arena was mostly complete, but there were still a few workers milling around; working on last minute changes.

Changes that were meant for Rose.

Grinding my teeth together at the injustice, I found Stan and Dustin not far from the entrance. They both looked more than a little confused by the changes that were going on; pointing to various additions and arguing with each other over them. They didn't understand them, but I did.

"Dimitri, son." Calling me over as he saw my approach, Dustin clapped me on my shoulder. "Welcome back. How was Court?"

"It was Court." They would both understand why I said it that way. Telling them that my request had been approved, but that I didn't know where I would be assigned until next week, they were both genuinely please and congratulated me. It was a lie of course, but I didn't want anything detracting or distracting from tomorrow. Alberta would announce it on Friday, after the graduation ceremony for the seniors.

"Emil is looking for you, by the way. He just got back from Missoula. He said he picked up something for you."

Nodding, I had almost forgotten about the parcel I had asked him to pick up for me. "Thanks. I'll find him when I get back."

"Do you know anything about the modifications they're making to the obstacle course?" Stan asked, still frowning.

"No," I lied with a bitter taste in my mouth. "Maybe Alberta does." She didn't of course; it had been why she had been deliberately called to Court two days before Trials, so that she couldn't interfere in whatever the Council had wanted set up for Rose. We were all in the dark.

"Maybe. It's weird. It looks like they're sectioning off an area and increasing the difficulty level. Also, Court guardians arrived yesterday. They're here overseeing the arena. Since when do they do that?" Dustin snorted, shaking his greying head.

Alberta had been right, I realised with a fast burning anger that threatened to turn my control to ash. There would be no usurping the Council's will.

"How's Hathaway?" Stan enquired.

"I haven't seen her since returning, but I know she's ready…she's prepared." The lies were coming more readily and easily to my tongue. It wasn't something that I was proud of.

"It's Hathaway. She'll pass with flying colours." Dustin commented nonchalantly, walking around the side of the arena to get a better view, but he was blocked by the Court guardians he had spoken about. Frowning at them, he turned to us and shrugged, starting to make his way back up to housing.

Following after them, Stan and Dustin continued to comment on it whilst I fell behind in silence. I had told Stan that Rose was ready, but was she really? Once she heard about the harder obstacle course; about the deliberate difficulties set for her to once again prove herself, how would it impact her? Would it undermine her determination or make her determination stronger than ever?

Either way, it was something that I would find out at sundown.