Chapter 1

Dimitri. He was all I could think about. Dimitri.

I slammed on his door. And when he didn't answer, I slammed on it harder.

"Rose?" He exclaimed as he pulled the door opened. I looked at him and he was gorgeous. He had just taken a shower so his hair curled slightly around his neck. He didn't have a shirt on, just some cotton pajama pants. His chest… it was golden and well muscled. If I could just feel them…

"Let me in. It's Lissa," I said, but I couldn't remember what it was Lissa needed.

"What's wrong?" He asked strangely. I couldn't stop staring at his chest and his face. I couldn't resist; I reached for him. "Rose!" He yelled, stepping back. His face was extremely disapproving and… something else. Pleased? Longing? I couldn't tell. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" I said before I could stop myself. I smiled despite myself.

"Are you drunk?" He asked, almost as if he wanted me to be.

"Don't I wish," I said. I reached for him again. He dodged me again. But I could see he didn't want to. It was like he was trying to resist me. I stared at him sadly.

"Don't you want to- don't you think I'm pretty?" I wanted him to answer truthfully. I wanted to know if he felt the same way about me as I did him. He swallowed almost painfully.

"Rose, I don't know what's going on right now, but you need to go back to your room." He was lying through his teeth. He knew what was going on. He wanted me just as much as I wanted him. But he couldn't. I could, though. I moved forward once again. He caught my wrists before I could trail my fingers along his muscles. An electric shock ran through both of us and he pulled me close to him. My chest was against his and he ran his hands up my arms, leaving me cold where his warm hands touched me. He ran a hand up my back, braiding his fingers into my hair and tilted my head back with his other hand. His lips barely touched mine but an electric current ran through my body.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" I repeated nervously.

"I think you're beautiful," he admitted.

"Beautiful?" I asked.

He looked like he was admitting to murder. He probably was if anyone found out about this. "You're so beautiful that it hurts me sometimes." He smiled almost shyly. Then he brought his lips down on mine, heavier this time. We were both hungry for each other. He gripped my waist and he broke down, pressing his lips down on mine emotionally. He gathered up the fabric from my dress in his hands and lifted it over my head. I didn't struggle. I didn't do anything. I wanted this to happen. I wasn't wearing a bra so it made it that much easier for him. He was kissing me again but I broke the kiss.

"You… you got rid of that dress fast," I said, breathing heavy. "I thought you liked it."

"I do like it," he said, breathing just as heavily. "I love it." Then he took me to the bed.

I'd never been fully naked in bed with a guy before. When he shimmied off my underwear, I felt seriously exposed; and I loved it. Especially around him. He kept kissing me and kissing me. Occasionally, he would whisper, "Roza… Roza."

I could see he wanted to go further. I was fine with that. But I kept noticing the little things about him. Like the six little lightning bolts engraved on the back of his neck. "You really killed six strigoi?" I asked. He nodded. "Wow." I sighed.

He slid his mouth down to my neck. He skimmed his teeth against the skin on my throat and my breathing sped up.

"Don't worry. You'll have a lot more than me one day," he promised.

He didn't give me a chance to ask my next question. He pressed his lips down on mine, and shimmied his own pants off. He twisted me so I was under him and I realized that he was tired of waiting. His teeth bit my hair as we really started.

When we were done, we huddled up to each other and kissed some more. A few times, I swore I heard him whisper that he loved me but I might have been imagining it.

After I while, we had been talking and I fell into a soft sleep, my body feeling amazing. And that's when I felt it.

A hole ripped through me, tearing me in two. I felt myself drained, dying I thought. Half the feelings in my mind faded out of me. I felt Dimitri tugging at me, asking me what was wrong. I couldn't answer because I was screaming too loud. Somebody was going to hear but I couldn't stop. I knew what was happening somewhere in the back of my mind but I couldn't quite get a hold of it. I wasn't sure I wanted to.

Dimitri kept pushing on my thrashing body, trying to keep my down and quiet. When the pain had stopped, I resided to whimpering, amazed that nobody had heard me. Dimitri kept trying to calm me and was apologizing. I tried to bring him nearer to me but he backed away each time, as if afraid that he would hurt me.

I soon fell back to sleep, not sure what else to do. Dimitri was looking extremely nervous when I woke up. "What did I do wrong?" He asked immediately.

I couldn't talk. Half of me was missing and I couldn't find it. I grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer to me. "Lissa. She's dead."

"What?" He asked, astonished.

Tears started falling down my face. "She's dead. She was in trouble and that's why I came to you last night. We obviously got distracted and…" I saw Victor's necklace on the carper across the room. It was broken. "What happened?"

"You were tugging on it last night. The latch was broken so I had to break it off. I'm sorry." I shook my head.

"I just... How did she die? I feel like a part of me is missing… I…" I was crying hysterical.

"We need to tell Alberta. The thing will be explaining how you know she's dead… because I don't even know."

"You know… my bond… lets me feel her feelings. I can also know if she hurt… or dead." I was crying again. Not that I ever stopped.

"No… we can't be sure… she could be knocked out…"

"I would know," I whispered. "No. She's dead."

"Roza. We need to get you to Alberta. Maybe even Kirova. How about both?"

I shook my head. "I… can't…"

He ran to his wardrobe. He grabbed a sweatshirt and sweatpants and threw them next to me. "Put them on."

After he got his own on, he turned around to see that I hadn't moved. He sighed and walked over to me. He sat me upright gently and pulled the sweatshirt over my head. He did the same with the sweatpants which were way to big for me. When I told him I didn't think I could walk, he lifted me up, bridal-style, and carried me through the dorm. I closed my eyes so I didn't have to see everybody staring.

"Rose?" Mason's voice said.

Dimitri kept walking.

"Rose! What's wrong with her?" Mason demanded.

What was he even doing here? This wasn't his dorm.

"There's nothing wrong with me, Mason. Go away."

He sighed but followed us anyway.

"If you're fine, then why is Dimitri carrying you?"

"It's… a long story." Tears fell from my closed eyes and Dimitri kissed them away somehow without Mason seeing.

"You're not fine. You would be walking if you were fine."

"Okay, maybe I'm not fine. Just leave me alone." I heard his footsteps stop and I almost regretted what I said. Almost.

Dimitri stopped a few minutes later. I had closed my eyes again and I had heard whispers along the entire way. He set me down on my feet, keeping me supported by holding me to his chest. He knocked on a door that I had no doubt was Alberta's office.

"Dimitri?" She sounded surprised. I heard her gasp when she looked at me.

"Can we come in?"

I didn't know if she said yes or not but a few seconds later, I was sitting on Dimitri's lap on a couch across from Alberta's desk. I couldn't see her because my face was still buried in Dimitri's chest.

"What happened?" She asked hesitantly as if she didn't want to know the answer.

"Rose is convinced that Princess Dragomir is dead."

Alberta gasped once again. I heard her pick up her phone and talk in Russian for a few seconds before slamming the phone down.

"How does she know this?"

This is where the subject got touchy. If I could barely walk now, how could I have walked all the way to Dimitri's dorm while almost dying myself?

Russian quietly said a string of Russian profanities. "Um… Well…" I had never seen him this way. He took a deep breath. "Rose came to my bedroom last night at around midnight. She came to me, telling me something was wrong with Lissa when something went wrong. It wasn't natural. She kind of… I think she might have had a lust charm put on her. It infected me when I tried to stop her from coming any closer. We kind of uh…" He said the last few things in Russian, probably including me going insane.

"But… she's your student. That's… you know… illegal."

"As I understand. But it was neither of our faults." Dimitri was very sure of himself.

"But… I've studied charms. They can't be done without the original feelings there. Have you slept with her before?"

"No. Although, I'll admit, I do have some feelings for her. But it's only natural. She's so…" He trailed off.

She ignored the obvious liking in his voice. I didn't. "So she thinks that she could feel Lissa dying through the bond? I… see how that is possible but very unlikely."

At that moment, Stan burst through her office door, a nervous look on his face. "The Princess is not in her room. Why? What's going on?"

Alberta explained everything - well, hopefully not everything - in Russian to Stan. He didn't look at us weirdly or anything so I assumed he didn't know everything.

"I'll go check in the cafeteria and see if anyone has seen her. Dimitri, you should check-" He stopped when I started whimpering. Dimitri put his arms around me and shook his head. Stan shrugged and Alberta went instead, leaving Dimitri and I alone in Alberta's office.

DPOV

I hadn't realized how much she meant to me. I mean, I realized I had a little crush on her, but this… this was something new. Something I hadn't expected. As I saw her cringing into my shirt, I thought to myself that I might actually… love her. I know she loved me. That was way too clear.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hair. She released her arms from around her waist and wrapped them around mine. I could feel her breasts against my chest and I shivered slightly. She hadn't worn a bra last night but her dress had supported her. Not now. My sweatshirt had no support whatsoever and I bet that wasn't extremely comfortable for her. And my pants were way to big on her. They were slipping off her now and I released one of my hands to pull it up. She shivered a little and looked up at me.

"What am I going to do without her, Dimitri? She was half of my life. I wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for her. And now she's dead. What am I going to do?" She asked again.

I stroked her hair and rested my cheek on her head. "You have me, Roza," I whispered. "I won't leave you."

"Really? But… what about being a guardian? Isn't that important to you?" There were dried tears on her face and grief showed in her eyes.

"Yes, it is. But I can still be with you and be a guardian. I become a guardian the same year you graduate so we could get assigned to people who live near each other… It will work out, I promise." I meant it. How could she be concerned about me when her best friend had just been killed? Now I knew I loved her, more than I would have expected.

"Really? You would do that for me?"

"I would do anything for you, Roza. I love you." The words came out of my mouth by accident. I had just been thinking about how I really did love her and I meant to say the last part in my head. It hadn't worked out that way.

Her eyes were red and swollen. She looked straight at me and I looked at her beautiful brown eyes, taking them in.

"I-I love you too," she responded, a little shaky but not as bad as before.

I tipped her head up and I meant to just give her a little peck but I caught her off guard and she kissed me back hard.

I kissed her back without meaning to, breaking apart just before Alberta and Stan walked back into the room.

"She's not anywhere on campus. But we kind of realized that when we got a call from a moroi who said he heard screaming across the street last night. I think we're going to check there. You two… well, I think Rose should go to the infirmary and Dimitri, I think you should come with us," Alberta announced.

"No," Rose said. "I need him here. I don't have… anyone…" I sighed with relief. I knew she was right and I was glad she was. They did too. I didn't want to go with them now.

"Alright, but if anything goes on… You won't be alive next time." Stan looked extremely confused and Alberta looked extremely angry. Rose looked extremely annoyed and I probably looked extremely protective. Very extreme.

A few hours later, we were sitting in Roza's dorm room and she sat in my arms on her bed, looking at a picture of her and Lissa in Portland. Right now, I was almost wishing I had never found them and they were living without fear or sadness with their friends. Almost. I was way to selfish to give her up.

"What do you think would have happened if we hadn't… done it last night?" She asked hesitantly.

"Truthfully, I don't thing it would have mattered. It happened so soon after we had finished, I don't think we would have had time, even if we knew where she was," I said as kindly as I could.

"It just seems like… living without her will be too hard. How will I live? I have always depended on her and-"

I cut her off with a kiss. We held it for just a little longer than necessary. "It'll be okay. I promise," I murmured around her lips.

We broke apart. "I need to go," I told her just as my shirt pocket buzzed. I knew who it was.

I picked it up. "Belikov. It was Dashkov. He killed her. I don't think it was on purpose though and that's the weird thing. He was using her for something and… the rest is all just guesswork. I'll tell you later. Meet me in my office without Rose in ten minutes." She hung up then.

I sighed. "Alberta?" She guessed.

I nodded. She sighed too. "I'll be back in an hour. Do you think you can hold up till then?" It was meant to be a joke but she nodded soberly. I sighed once again before kissing her forehead and leaving.

RPOV

I stared at his back before he closed the door. My forehead was warm but my eyes were cold. I stared at the door for a good ten minutes before bursting into tears and laying back on my bed. I almost fell asleep when there was a knock at my door.

Mason entered without me caring whether I answered or not. "Now tell me. What. Is. Wrong," he demanded.

"When I tell you, I will burst into tears and you will be sorry you ever asked," I warned.

"Then go ahead." Wow, so much for a good friend.

"Lissa is… dead. She was killed last night around midnight." And as I promised, I started crying and he had guilt written all over his face. "Get out. Get out before I make you get out."

He backed away towards the door and left, closing it behind him. I laid back again, half hoping to die myself. But now I had Dimitri, loving me. I don't think he would have said that if I hadn't stayed with him last night.

But I would still have my best friend if I hadn't gone to him. I hated life. Too many choices. Why couldn't we have someone make all our decisions for us? Oh yeah, 'cause they already did. I was destined to be a guardian and I would be. Just not now.

I don't know how long I laid there, doing nothing. It felt like a year when Dimitri finally came back. He didn't say anything as he curled up next to me.

"What did they say at the meeting?" I asked.

"I'm not supposed to tell you," he responded sadly.

"She was my best friend Dimitri. I don't think it would kill you if you told me."

He hesitated for a long moment. "It was Victor. You know, Dashkov."

"What?" I asked. I hadn't heard right. Victor Dashkov had done this. I had been expecting some strigoi or possibly even some special Mia forces. Not this. Nothing like this.

"Victor Dashkov was apparently trying to get her to heal him. What do you know about this?"

"Spirit," I whispered. Oh, how much I hated life.

Chapter 2

Never trust your friends. Or rather, never trust the people who buy you really nice things for you for no reason to pretend their your friends. Victor had put the lust spell on Dimitri and I. There were two things I wanted to do to that man. First, I wanted to cut off his head, destroy every limb of his body and put it through a paper shredder. Second, I wanted to shake his hand fiercely and thank him for Dimitri and I. Those two emotions conflicted deep. Actually, there was a third. I wanted to never see him again in my life.

As I waited for sleep to come, Dimitri's hands tightened around me. The stars outside promised good weather for tomorrow. It was her funeral today. I didn't go. I couldn't. I hadn't expected to go to a funeral for her for another ninety or so years. Dimitri decided to stay with me. I was supposed to have this stupid test thing soon but they canceled it to my great relief but the ski trip was still on. I sighed. It was not a trip I was eager to go on. My room was with all the others while Dimitri's was surrounded with other guardians. We were barely going to see anything of each other. This thought made me really depressed.

I had seen Christian wandering campus grounds with a retarded sad look on his face. But seriously, they hadn't even been that involved. Sort of. But I still felt kind of bad for him. He had a really big thing for Lissa. When I saw him, I seriously thought he might willingly turn strigoi or something insane like that.

I put all this past me though. I was going to have a nice peaceful last day with Dimitri tomorrow before going on the trip. It had been a month since… that night and Dimitri was still taking it extremely slow.

When I woke up in the morning, Dimitri was still asleep so I decided to take a shower. The hot water was nice and rejuvenating so when I got out, a smile was on my face and- I forgot a towel. I heard Dimitri shuffling around in there. He was awake; not good. He hadn't seen me naked since, well, you know, and I didn't know what reaction he would have.

"Dimitri?" I said, peeking my head out of the door to the bathroom.

He turned around. "Yes?"

I frowned. "Could you, um, turn around for a sec?"

He stared for a second before shrugging and turning around. I ran to the closet on the other side of the room and grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. "Okay," I said.

He turned around, gave me a quick overlook and rolled his eyes. "You could have asked me to give you a towel, you know."

I hadn't thought of that. I frowned again. "Whatever." I walked to my drawers but got caught around the waist by Dimitri first.

"You don't have to be afraid. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what." It was hard to concentrate on what he was saying, though, because we were so close. His lips were only centimeters away from mine. When I pushed myself up to him, he released me but I continued to move towards him. His lips turned into mine, unexpectedly. He kissed me for a moment, his hands sliding up my back… then he broke the kiss and turned away. I was sad and confused for a moment before I realized that my towel had fallen off. I chuckled a little and after I put the towel back on, I touched his arm.

"You don't have to be afraid," I said mockingly but somehow sincerely at the same time.

"I'm just… worried about you, that's all," he replied. "You're always so nervous and jittery. I don't want to force you into anything."

"You wouldn't be forcing me, I would be willing. Plus, I'll be eighteen soon. I'll be the boss of myself then." He smiled at that but did not make any other move towards me.

I sighed and continued my way towards the dresser. After picking out just a t-shirt and jeans, I made my way into the bathroom to brush my hair and teeth. After about ten minutes of deciding what to do with it, I just let it down, not caring much anymore. Then I sat back down with Dimitri.

~Later~

I grabbed the bag that I had packed last night and slung it over my shoulder. "What time do the buses leave?" I asked Dimitri.

"Three thirty." He looked at his watch. "We have about ten minutes."

I sighed. Three hours until boredom twenty-four seven for a month.

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "It'll be okay. We'll find time." He sighed too though as if he didn't truly believe his own words.

I twisted around and stretched up on my toes to kiss him. He kissed me back but it wasn't like what we usually had. It was more like a goodbye kiss. Sweet and sad at the same time.

He walked back a few steps until the back of his legs touched the bed and he sat down, me still in his arms. I closed my eyes he kissed the top of my head.

"I love you, my beautiful Rose."

"Love you too, Comrade." He chuckled.

We sat there for a minute, thinking about different things.

"We have to go," he said after a while.

We both sighed and then laughed. We got up and he released me, knowing that we couldn't walk like that in the hallway without anyone noticing. The only person who knew about us right now was Alberta and Kirova and neither of them liked it.

So we got up and I grabbed my bag which I dropped and left my room, locking the door behind us. He took my hand when we reached a really deserted place on campus but released it any time we passed someone. When we finally saw the buses, we separated about a foot. I hated the space between us. I wanted to reach out and wrap myself around him. But I couldn't do that, not now. Stan and Alberta were piling students onto buses and guardians onto another.

We were the last to board the buses so he sneaked me a quick kiss before Alberta shot us a look.

"I'll see you in a couple hours," he said sadly.

I nodded and got on my bus. The only open seat I saw was next to Mason. I sighed. I was doing a lot of sighing today.

I sat down next to him and asked, "Where's Eddie?"

"Sitting with Camille," he replied. I scowled slightly. Count on Eddie to go with her everywhere she went.

We sat there in silence for about an hour. I sighed a lot and kept my cheek up against the cold window. A few times, Mason tried to talk to me but I always ignored him.

"Rose," he finally said. What's wrong with you? All you've been doing lately is sitting in your room. You don't come to meals, you only ever go outside for practice with Dimitri-" He paused and I cursed whoever was out there. "It's Dimitri, isn't it? Your in love with Dimitri!"

"Shut up!" I said quietly. Nobody seemed to have heard him. "So what if I am? Does it make a difference?"

"Yes! It does!" He took my hand in his. "I like you, Rose! I do! And you don't like me back! It does make a difference!"

I wrenched my hand from his. "I have the right to love anyone I want to!"

"This wouldn't have happened if Lissa hadn't died," he mumbled.

I choked up for a second but I regained myself. "You have no right. I bet it would have!" I didn't believe myself.

He mumbled something about overreacting but went back to talking to Rafe, the kid across from us.

The next to hours passed extremely slowly. Mason stopped trying to talk to me and I tried to remember everything about Lissa. Her blonde hair, her jade green eyes, her plump lips, her perfect figure… but her personality… that was something else. Always caring and loving even when angry, responsible at the worst of times, and of course, her healing. But I wasn't so sure that was a personality trait.

When we finally got there, snow had started to fall but the mountains were already covered. I looked for bus number two… and I spotted it. They hadn't unloaded yet.

I squinted and looked into the bus. It was tinted so I couldn't see so clearly but it looked like they were getting ready to get off. When the doors opened and the guardians started coming I kept my eyes open for Dimitri. When he didn't come out, I started to get nervous. But I let out a sigh of relief when I saw him still on the bus… with Alberta. She looked like she was lecturing him. I almost laughed before I realized that it was probably about me. I swallowed.

When he got off the bus, he didn't look at me, just walked away. A felt a tear escape my eye when he turned his head around look at me. He wore a sad smile and he winked at me. Then he turned away again and another tear escaped.

I had never been this emotional before. I was about to race after him when I realized that I shouldn't. This is probably what Alberta warned him about; stay away from me.

I walked towards the door of the lodge. I signed in and they gave me my room key. They told me that dinner was at eight but I should be there an hour early. It was a feast and party. That wasn't expected. So when I got to my room… wow. That was something else I hadn't been expecting.

Everything was red. The bed covers were red with cherry wood as the headboard and footboard. That was against the far wall by the window. The table was also cherry wood with glass for the top which was to the right of the doorway with three chairs. Next to it was a dark red leather couch. Lets just say every piece of wood including the dresser which was to the left was made of cherry wood. The walls were a dark red-pink and the carpet was the only exception of red with a cream color. There was a desk with a computer next to the dresser and there was a vase full of roses with a note. I dropped my bag and walked over to it. I took out one of the roses and smelled it while reading the note.

My Rose,

I told you I could make this work. I talked to Alberta and she agreed, surprisingly. This room is half mine. See you in a couple hours after my meeting. I'll save you a seat in the dining hall. Dress nice.

Love Guardian Dimitri Belikov

I smiled to myself. Dimitri wasn't talking to Alberta about staying away from me. He was talking to her about staying with me. I inhaled the scent of the rose and put it back in the vase.

I sat on the couch for a second, smelling the leather, before I spotted a door near the bed. A bathroom.

I walked in. It was just like a normal bathroom, bath-shower, sink, toilet, and medicine cabinet. I went back into the main room and grabbed a hair dryer and hair brush from my bag then rushed back. I turned on the sink and wet my hair then blew it dry and pulled it into a beautiful hairdo that Lissa taught me. A bun on top and the rest of the hair falls down on my shoulders. I went back into the room and pulled out a long red dress made out of satin that fell down to my ankles and a pair of stripy shoes to match. I pulled it on over my head, making sure not to mess up my hair and put on the shoes. I put on a ruby (fake, of course) necklace and was looking at myself in the mirror. The dress fit my curves naturally and I pulled my hair over shoulders. Beautiful, as Dimitri said.

I think the worst part of being strigoi (besides the evilness of course) would be doing my hair. Strigoi can't see themselves in reflections. Suckish much.

After wandering the halls for a while, I finally found the entrance to the dining hall. It was a wooden door (cherry, of course) with gold door knobs. Overdone, much.

When I entered, everything was covered in gold, probably not real but still. It was beautiful but I couldn't see much considering the amount of people in the room. I couldn't see two people in front of me. But apparently Dimitri could.

"Roza!" He called. I looked for him but couldn't see, well, anything. He suddenly came through the crowd with a suit on and his hair gelled back. I giggled. He looked down. "It was necessary. Come on, there are two people I want you to meet."

He took my hand and led me through the crowd. Eventually, we got to a food table and there were two guys standing there. Dimitri gestured to the first one. He looked only a little older than me, with dirty blonde hair and jade green eyes that reminded me slightly of Lissa. He held out his hand.

I took it. "My name is Adrian Ivashkov."

"Rose," I said, holding back a grimace. His breathe smelled like alcohol and clove cigarettes.

The other guy walked over to me. He was almost exactly like Adrian except his eyes were blue and he was taller. "Marcus Ivashkov," he said. There was another difference; he didn't smell drunk and high.

"Lord Adrian Ivashkov is my assignment when we leave the academy. Lord Marcus Ivashkov is yours," Dimitri said.

I looked at him, silently thanking him for taking the smellier one.

"Brothers?" I guessed.

They shook their heads simultaneously. "Cousins," Marcus answered.

"They will be roommates when we leave, when Marcus sorts out his house and job. Adrian is now currently living a few miles away from Court. He lives in a half mansion and Marcus will move in there, as will we."

I finally got what he was saying. He promised he would make it work, and he did it even before it became a problem. Oh, how I loved him.

Dimitri took my hand. "Well, it was wonderful meeting you both but we must get back to the party," Marcus announced. "We will see both of you at the end of this year."

Adrian winked at me. "Good bye, Little Dhampir."

I half smiled, half grimaced. I didn't know why I did either of those things. Sort of confused, I turned to Dimitri. "How did you get us Ivashkov's?" I asked in awe.

He smiled. "A while back, I had known Marcus. When I saw him tonight, we sort got into the topic of guardians and how he and his cousin had none. So I offered. I can fill out the forms sometime while were here."

"Well, it's good to know that I have someone who needs me. I didn't think… that they would want me anymore." I smiled.

"Of course they would want you, even if you weren't going to guard Marcus. Don't ever think that," he said, but he was smiling too.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, me always staying by Dimitri's side. I sat with him at the gigantic dinner table, not really tasting my food. At around midnight, everyone started departing from the giant hall. Dimitri and I were some of the last to leave, me half drunk and him mingling with some of the guests.

When, finally, there were only a few people left (and by a few, I mean about fifty) we left. He basically dragged me up to our room. When he opened the door, I flopped down onto the couch and he sat in the desk chair.

"You really shouldn't have had that third drink, Roza," he said.

"Well, it was only wine, Comrade. I didn't think it could have been that strong."

He walked over to me and sat down next to me, putting an arm around my shoulder. "Go to sleep. You need it."

"You could come to sleep with me," I suggested.

He grimaced and then sighed. "I would Rose. I really would. But you're too drunk. I couldn't take advantage of you like that."

"I asked, Dimitri," I argued.

"Yes, but you're still underage and you are drunk. It's already illegal." He kissed me lightly. "Maybe tomorrow. If you're better."

"No. Please. I want you," I said, trying to be seductive. I don't think it worked.

"I'm not saying no. Just not now," he said, pushing me back down onto the couch while he got up.

I moaned. "Please. It's all I'm asking. Please." I tried to get up again but I stumbled and fell. He caught me just when I was about to hit the floor. One arm around my waist and the other on my shoulder, my heart started pounding. I think, just maybe, I could get my way.

DPOV

My heart started beating faster. I wanted her so badly but I knew how wrong it was. But then again, it had been wrong on the first night too. She asked, I reminded myself. I shook my head, trying to clear it. How many drinks did I have? One? Right. One kiss couldn't hurt.

I pulled her upright and looked into her eyes. They were watery and sad. I kissed her eyelids to get the unshed tears away. My lips trailed down the tip of her nose. They stayed there for a moment before she tipped her head back, taking them off her nose and putting them on hers. I didn't kiss her back for a moment, but then I couldn't resist. I snaked my hand up her back and into her hair. The other slid up to her face and cupped her cheek.

"I thought you said you didn't want to," she whispered.

"I never said I didn't want to, I said that it wasn't a good idea. It still isn't. But I want you now. I need you." She closed her eyes as I put my lips to hers once more. Electricity shot through both of us. She shivered and I pulled her closer to me. A few steps back and we were falling onto the bed. I grabbed her waist and pushed her against the headboard, keeping her there, my prisoner, forever.

When we were finished, I held her in my arms. "You'll always be mine, Roza. I'll never leave you."

She didn't say anything for a moment. Then she looked at me. "How do I know? How do I know you're not just saying that?"

"Do you remember how we met?"

She nodded. "Of course."

"When I saw Lissa feed off you, I didn't think, 'Oh, what a blood whore.' I thought, 'What a good friend, letting her feed off her like that.' I searched for you for two years, now that I have you, I'm not letting you go." I skimmed my lips along her throat, letting my tongue glide with it. She shivered and yawned at the same time.

"Good night, my fragile Rose. Sleep well…"