Dimitri's POV in Vampire Academy (Fanfic)

Chapter 18

I was in motion before Rose could even finish. Moving faster than I ever had before, I yanked on some clothes and tossed something over for Rose to wear. 'Get dressed,' I ordered, already moving along the hallway. I flew down the stairs, taking four steps at a time, then stormed toward the guardian headquarters. Rose couldn't keep up, but I couldn't slow down for her now. Lissa was my charge, and now she needed me.

As soon as I relayed the warning, the guardians started making calls and shouting orders. Rose caught up, her chest heaving beneath her borrowed shirt. Standing to the side, she was practically jumping on the spot as we waited for the headmistress and others to arrive. When they did, things didn't move along nearly as fast as they should have.

'Hurry up!' Rose yelled, her frustration spilling over. She was frantic with worry. 'You need to do something!'

As more guardians spilled in, I relayed Rose's tale to Kirova. 'The princess has been taken. And Ozera is hurt. The abductors—'

The look the headmistress gave me then was infuriating. She didn't believe Rose's story. Looking at the other guardians' faces, it was clear they didn't either. Their prejudice against Rose was one thing, but their ignorance over the bond was beyond gall. For such a powerful connection to be ignored and discarded...

Still, Ozera was a royal, and the moment his name left my lips, guardians were dispatched to retrieve him. When he came stumbling in, supported by Stevens and Lazar, at least one part of Rose's story could be corroborated. As Dr. Olendzki treated his injury, Christian relayed what he could recall of the attackers. Unfortunately, it was precious little.

'How many Strigoi were there?' Stevens asked Rose instead, finally realising she was their only source of information.

'How in the world did they get in?' added Lazar.

Rose looked at them both as if they were stupid. 'Wh—? There weren't any Strigoi.'

There was a moment of silence as we all stared at her. All guardians were nonplussed. But my head was spinning. If not Strigoi, then...who? Whoever had been stalking Lissa, sending her those animals?

'Who else would have taken her?' asked Ms. Kirova primly. 'You must have seen it wrong through the...vision.'

Rose shook her head. She was still out of breath with fear, but the next words were resolute. 'No. I'm positive. It was...they were...guardians.'

All guardians looked at each other, until Christian added, 'She's right.' He nodded to himself, remembering. 'Guardians.'

'That's impossible.'

'They weren't school guardians,' Rose explained, rubbing her head. Her hands seemed to vibrate with tension, and her next words were more irate. 'Will you guys get moving? She's getting farther away!'

Kirova was still not having it. 'You're saying a group of privately retained guardians came in and kidnapped her?'

'Yes,' Rose replied through gritted teeth, still clutching her head. 'They...'

And her eyes faded, the way they always did when her mind went to Lissa. Kirova and the others didn't understand what had happened, so I quickly filled them in. 'She's having another vision.' Kirova looked as if she were approaching her last nerve with this, but I gave her a firm look. She had to take this seriously. I saw her visibly rein in her impatience.

'They work for Victor Dashkov,' Rose gasped out at last, refocusing on Kirova. 'They're his.'

'Prince Victor Dashkov?' asked another guardian with a snort. I shot them a sharp look too, but they didn't notice it.