Moving Objects

Chapter 1

Dimitri didn't say anything but simply twisted his hand into my curls and rested his cheek against my forehead, his other hand moving down to the small of my back. I smiled to myself gently as his fingers brushed against the sliver of skin exposed between my shirt and jeans. It made me think of what happened only a few hours ago.

I tilted my head up to look at him, our faces only inches apart. "Crazy enough for you yet?" I joked half-heartedly, giving him a meek smile. A smirk crossed his face as he stroked my cheek affectionately.

"Oh, Roza. If seeing ghosts didn't make me run, not much could. Anything else I should know about?"

I shrugged my shoulders and pulled away from him slightly. It had been weeks since I had willingly used my abilities, so it took me a moment to channel it. I watched Dimitri carefully as I pulled the large squat rack towards us, wincing at the loud scraping noise.

Dimitri had an awed look on his face, and it was something I enjoyed seeing. It made me feel like less of a freak. Dimitri scratched his face and walked towards the rack. "Is it only objects that you can move?" he asked as he ran his hand over the metal. I chuckled quietly to myself and gave a mental tug, making him stumble back towards me.

"I'm not used to moving people, but I have made a car move a few inches while the parking brake was on," I snickered at the expression on his face. He shook his head at me and came closer, but the sound of the gym door opening stopped us.

Alberta popped her head into the gym and gave both of us a flat smile. "I thought I would find the two of you here. We are heading out now," Alberta said before slipping back out of the gym as quickly as she came. I met Dimitri's gaze and like a gravitational pull, we met halfway and held each other tightly. I breathed in his scent deeply and tried to commit it to memory in case before tilting my head up and catching his lips in a kiss.

"I love you."

Dimitri rested his head against mine before pecking my lips again. "I love you too, Roza."

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I gave Dimitri a subtle nod as he went with the first wave into the caves, feeling my heart falter for a moment as he disappeared into the darkness. It felt like hours as we waited for the call for our wave to go in. I took a deep breath and ventured in, listening quietly and waiting for my stomach to roll again.

Eventually, we made it far enough in that we regrouped with the others and I caught Dimitri's eyes instantly, breathing a sigh of relief to see that he was unharmed aside from a blossoming bruise on his cheekbone. I quickly made my way over to him, giving him a tight smile but I could see the relief in his eyes as well.

"You're ok?" Dimitri whispered quickly, his eyes darting all over me to check for injury. I smiled when his hand brushed against mine, a small glimpse at what he wanted to do right now. I lifted my fingers to let them glide against his quickly before we both turned back into what my mom and Alberta were saying.

I could feel the hair on my neck stand up just moments before my stomach rolled and I called out to Mom, alerting her of our unwanted advancers. While at this moment we were all Guardians, a part of me was touched and angered when Dimitri placed himself between me and the Strigoi, but I also knew that he only did it because he loved me.

I came face to face with my first Strigoi quickly and squared up to him. Previously a Moroi, he towered over me but he wasn't as tall as Dimitri. I ducked under his arm and laid a kick to his knee but he spun around quickly and backhanded me. My feet came off the ground as I sailed backwards into someone behind me, knocking them down as well. The wind was knocked out of me as I hit the body cushioning my blow and I gasped for air greedily.