Dimitri's POV in Blood Promise Vampire Academy

Chapter 21

My gaze circled the perimeter of the maze. I wasn't sure which way to go. It's been so long since I had relied on instincts, other than my sense of smell, to hunt someone down. Tracking Rose by her scent would be useless to me now. The maze consisted of many night blooming flowers, with extremely overwhelming fragrances that irritably masked her scent perfectly well. I wanted to destroy the maze and awaken Rose now, but the damage would cost a lot of money. And a lot of time to fix.

Things like this in life don't heal as fast as a Strigoi does, it's very unnerving.

I felt like I could hear Rose's breaths, frustrated sighs, gasps of hopelessness, but the sound seemed to come from all directions. I have to concentrate, I was born a hunter and I clearly possess the right skills of a predator. My hearing can be an asset to me, to track Roza before the sun sets. I randomly took the closest entrance to me, and glanced at the familiar surroundings.

"Roza!" I taunted, a smirk planted on my face. "Roza, I know you're out there, I can smell you." I knew a small lie like that was enough to stir something within her, and make her realise she had no chance of ever leaving.

As expected, there was no response. I could sense her fear and uncertainty in the air, it would be so much easier if she gave herself up and we end this quickly. The sudden events have changed a lot, and left the estate in a mess. I, as the new owner and one in power, have to sort this out and deal of with the damage. It's not very pleasant to do so, but with this much power, it's worth every second.

I continued moving in an almost straight line horizontally, so that I eventually would have passed (but not go out of) every exit. This method meant that I would be able to detect which part of the maze she was at. The strong fragrance of the flowers didn't entirely make my sense of smell useless. Once I'm close enough, I'll be able to catch her scent and track her down.

She's smart enough to work out that I was lying, but I still hoped otherwise. If she had stopped trying to escape, I would have caught her scent by now. I remained persistent in my attempts to convince her. "I won't kill you, not if you give yourself up. I owe you. You took out Galina for me and now I'm in charge. Replacing her happened a little ahead of schedule, but that's not a problem. Of course, there aren't many people to control now that Nathan and the others are dead. But that can be fixed."

I continued forward, alert. She's dangerous, and that's also what makes her a valuable asset. Everything Rose did and caused was quite troublesome, but reasonable in a way. I truly do forgive her for it, knowing that she can make up for it when she awakens. Her will and determination to even attempt to leave, even when it was clearly against all odds, makes her a badass. I was proud to have taught her, and even more delighted to awaken her. I taught her well. Too well. Here, I have no option but convince her to give up. I'll be able to turn her once she's out of the maze, and she'll soon figure that out way.

"I'm not upset about you attacking me, either. I would have done it in your place. It's just one more reason why we should be together." I tried to sound romantic, to lure her. A small part of me knew that my efforts were fruitless, but I refused to believe it. I followed the rustle of leaves, my only trail to finding her.

"You're still dangerous, though. If I find you, I'm probably going to have to kill you. I don't want to, but I'm starting to think there's no way we can both live in this world. Come to me by choice, and I'll awaken you. We'll control Galina's empire together." That wasn't entirely true, I was going to awaken her regardless of whether it's by choice or forcibly. I also don't want to kill her, I'll regret it later. Letting go of someone with as much potential of becoming a perfect Strigoi as I have, wouldn't be the smartest move on my behalf.

I used the threat of killing her to scare her, a different approach to 'persuade'. She must already know that there's no way I'll let her leave here a dhampir. But she must fear death too. Everyone does, even those who take their own life. Her inner fear of death will make her turn to the only option she has left. And if not, it may at least make her consider what she is throwing away if she refuses.