Dimitri's Point of View in Frostbite (Vampire Academy) (Book 2)

Part 17

I had learned that Rose and the other’s were barely hurt. Eddie had a lot of blood loss from the Strigoi. But we were positive that aside from the girl in the tunnels. The two Strigoi she beheaded were the only ones involved.

Rose’s burns were from Christian freeing her. Although I got most of the information out of the other three, since Rose refused to talk to anyone.

I canceled our trainings, although I knew telling Rose wasn’t necessary. She knew that it was the right thing to do.

The ceremony took place in the guardians’ building, in a large room we used for meetings and banquets. It wsa nothing at all like the great dining room at the resort. It was efficient and practical, like  the guardians were. The carpet was a bluish gray shade, low and tightly woven. The bare white walls held framed black-and-white photos of St Vladimir’s though the years. There were no other decorations or fanfare, yet the solemnity and power of the moment were palpable. All the guardians on campus---but no novices---attended. They milled around in the building’s main meeting room, hanging out in clusters but not talking. When the ceremony started, we fell into orderly ranks without being told and watched Rose.

She sat on a stool in the corner of the room, leaning forward with her hair hanging over the front of her face. Behind her a guardian named Lionel held a tattooist’s needle to the back of her neck. He did all the tattoo’s at the school.

Before he started, he had a conversation with Janine and Alberta.

After a few minutes he started doing her tattoo. Rose bit her lip, refusing to show how much pain the tattoo caused her. I smiled at that, she was one of the bravest and strongest novice I had ever met.

After it was done he allowed her to see it before bandaging it up. After that all the gathered guardians came up to her one by one. They each gave Rose some sort of sign of affection.

Alberta pulled Rose into a tight embrace saying something to her that I couldn’t make out.

I was next in line. Although I didn’t say anything when my turn came. But as always her eyes understood everything mine were saying. I was proud of her for pulling through and keeping the other three safe, even Mason who was dead, she had refused to leave his side. I was also hurt that she had to experience all this at a young age. She swallowed back tears as I rested one hand on her cheek, nodded, and walked away.

A couple of days later I was reading a Western novel in the gym. I hadn’t seen Tasha at all, and assumed she was off moping somewhere at my decline to be her guardian. She had asked again right after Rose’s ceremony. Although I had told her no once more. After seeing Rose’s face in that house when we found her. I knew I couldn’t leave her. She had so much to learn.

I wasn’t surprised to hear the gym door open and see Rose standing there. “I thought you might come by.”

“It’s time for practice.”

I shook my head. “No. No practice today. You still need to recover.”

“I’ve got a clean bill of health I’m good to go.” She said trying to sound like her old self.

I gestured to the chair beside me, “sit down, Rose.”

She hesitated before complying. I moved my own chair close to hers so that we sat directly across from each other. My heart fluttered as I looked into those dark eyes.

I had done a lot of thinking over the past few days and wanted her to know a few things.

“No one gets over their first kill…kills…easily. Even with Strigoi…well, it’s still technically taking a life. That’s hard to come to terms with. And after everything else you went through…” I sighed and reached out and caught her hand in mine. “When I saw your face…when we found you in that house…you can’t imagine how I felt.”