Part 1
RPOV
His throat! a tiny voice screams at me, and my body instantly reacts on instinct. My lips rest on his jugular, and my breathing hitches as the feel of his pulsing blood under my lips slowly lights a new lust within me, wholly different from the charm placed upon us months prior. His scent intensifies to the point of causing my throat to ache in pain, in agony, in need. His throat! the voice screams again, insistent. I slowly inhale again and shudder at the very new pull to him I feel. Just a little, it moans in need. Just a little taste! He's so close... it moans again, becoming louder and clearer with each inhale of his scent and each second my lips linger, my awareness and senses intensifying. My heart is pounding, my body is tensed, highly strung, ready to snap just as it already has tonight because of him. So long without! Far too long without! it whinges and whines.
"Oh come on!" I mutter under my breath, so quietly Dimitri—the love of my life whose blood I suddenly crave and apparently need like air—doesn't notice. Dhampir do not need blood! It was one of many traits that allowed us to blend in the human world when we need to. It was one of our basic rules... well, maybe more of a basic, inherent, absolute truth. But apparently my body does not agree, yet again, with our world's basic, absolute truths. Because I needed Dimitri's right now or I swear I would scream in primal need. Had I not been through enough torture tonight already?! Had my emotions not rollecoastered enough! Apparently not, according to my body. A low keening noise escapes my lips as my canines sharpen and elongate in my mouth... not quite becoming fangs, but far too closely resembling them for my liking. In absolute agony now, I pull away from Dimitri's mouthwatering life-giving juice's scent. Our eyes meet and I register curiosity and adoration burning brightly from his deep brown windows to his soul. I'm not sure if he reads my new lust, but he certainly notices the struggle just ignited within me.
"Save me!" I moan in need. "Please," I plead desperately. "I need you—all of you!"
"You have all of me... absolutely all of me, Roza." He's understandably confused. His eyes stare into mine long and hard, searching... and finding. He gapes a little as he realises something I don't. "Oh my precious love," he whispers, gently returning my head to its previous place, offering the last thing he has left to give me, taunting me in the process. The low keen escapes my lips again. I need to know what he does that I don't about this development. "Drink up, my dear—start the bond," he murmurs lovingly, assuredly. He seems to know what he's letting us get ourselves into. It's not until the ambrosia, the utter heavenly gift of his blood passes through my aching lips and slides down my parched throat that I realise, that I remember. There is one bond more rare than that of a Shadow Kissed Guardian and their Spirit-wielding charge. The bond between two Guardians, so synchronised it appears to the outsider that they've rehearsed their whole life to become two parts of one whole, and absolutely lethal to Strigoi. No one really understood what created them, how they were formed or why. The last very definite case noted was over one thousand years old. And being second class citizens even back then, there was little proof of the reality. But in the minor speculation caused at the time, there was a hint of a theory that they were vital to the other's genetic coding (not quite worded exactly that way, but that's how it read in modern terms). Implying blood may be involved. Dimitri's breaths became worryingly shallow as my distraction and understanding prevented me from controlling how much or how little blood I consumed. I licked the tiny wound and kissed it lightly, multiple times. One last lick of my lips and I felt a tingling in my mind... close to where Lissa's thoughts and emotions hummed.
I curled up into his chest, quickly and quietly apologising for my loss of control and assuring him of my love for him. As forbidden as it was.
A light chuckle rumbled through him and into me. "I'm not going to complain, Roza," he breathed into my hair far too seductively for either of our own good. "It feels... almost as good as making love to you just did... I want you to feel that."
I choked on my own breath. No. Absolutely not. I could not let him feel as though I expect him to... close or complete the bond, as it were, right now. We were skating on thin ice already having slept together tonight just before my depraved craving took control of my... well, everything. I told him as much.
"I want to!" he whined softly... desperately, even. "I need you too, Roza, my sweetheart."
My eyes rolled into the back of my head. Dimitri was the goddamn God Of Sweet-talking as well as everything else. With how hot and bothered I was right now, I gave in. My whole body trembled with need and anticipation.
Dimitri smiled against my jugular and I found myself highly alert to the fact he'd sat us up in the bed. He teased me relentlessly, kissing and grazing all over my neck, but never breaking the skin.
"Just do it," I whined desperately. His semi-solid member simultaneously teasing my swollen, aching, needy entrance. "Please Dimitri!" I begged, absolute putty in his hands. He said nothing and I gasped before moaning in ecstasy as he broke the skin finally and swallowed. A very needy and seductive groan escaped his lips just before his sharpened, extended canines exited the wounds they'd created. He licked the wound clean and kissed it lightly; I attacked his lips before he could lick them clean. The taste of my own blood on his lips sent me into a frenzy.
We were both panting and gasping as I laid on his chest, his now semi-flaccid member still in my precious folds.
Wow, his voice echoed in my head—the first coherent word out of him apart from my name. The tingling in my mind snapped a solid wall or door or partition of sorts in my mind, muting Lissa's constant hum in my head.
Wow's right, I return, the images of the animalistic way we'd just practically consumed each other's bodies racing through my mind. Received clear-as-day by Dimitri. As were the accompanying emotions the memories stirred within me.
No words were needed from him for me to understand the impact on him what we'd just done had. It was very cerebral; the feeling of our minds, bodies, souls melting into a single unit, each of the both of us a limb to a higher being.
"We have to go," Dimitri practically whined, entirely as unwilling to part and dress as I was, our hands still exploring one another. Someone will come investigate if we don't leave soon. My better half winced at the mere thought.
I groaned, almost in physical pain just with the thought of needing to put the barrier of clothes between us, never mind the distance and time apart that would come with returning to the heart of campus. I wasn't sure how we'd keep up any semblance of a façade now.
All too soon we were wandering back to the heart of campus when Mason appeared, and Dimitri's mental gasp and silent understanding rang loudly in my brain and soul. I knew he saw Mason through my eyes.
With a sad face, my late friend's ghost pointed, seemingly between Dimitri's head and my own.
"Beyond? Beyond us?" I gestured wildly between Dimitri and myself and pointing in the same direction he had. His presence alone was hammering and scratching away at the wall just built in my mind, starting to give me a headache.
Slowly, he nodded.
"What is it!" I demanded, panicked; if he was warning us we were in danger, I needed to know and get Dimitri away and into safety as soon as possible.
Dimitri's hands came up to gently caress each of my upper arms through my jacket, trying to settle me. I could never be settled unless Dimitri—my Dimitri, the other voice snarled possessively—was safe. Gone were the days of accepting my soulmate was in the path of danger always, because it was what happened when you're so badass at being a protector, at doing our job. They'd never return.
"They're... coming..." Mason's voice fought to escape his throat and reach my ears.
Dimitri and I simultaneously felt the nausea that I would come to learn accompanied Strigoi. It took seconds for us to be surrounded by five of the single worst creature to exist on the face of this planet. In milliseconds, Dimitri hands me a stake, and I know instantly that he'd started carrying a secondary one for my protection after Spokane. We go back-to-back to face our adversaries.
Once we'd neutralised the immediate threat, Dimitri pleaded with me desperately to return to the heart of campus and raise the alarm. He needed me safe and I would be as safe as I could get under lockdown as I was still a student. But he also understood implicitly that every step away from him I was forced to take was one which left us both open to danger without backup, and with our bond now in place, we were each other's best chance of survival, the best backup we could get, and being separated just put us much more at risk than staying together ever could.
They come first, echoed in our minds simultaneously.
We couldn't be selfish. We have too many vulnerable, defenceless innocents in our care.
"Run, Rose. And don't forget—Buria." My Dimitri's face and voice were grim but full of the authority of my instructor, my teacher, my superior. He hated using that tone with me, particularly now, but right now was when I needed it most—when he too needed it most, to convince himself to let me do the job he had trained me so thoroughly and intensely for. He had to trust in the training he'd given me, trust in me and my skills.
And so, I did the one thing I absolutely did not want to do, the one thing that almost killed me in all the ways that matter most though you somehow still exist.
I ran.
As I did, I opened the door to Lissa's mind and saw she was getting ready to meet Christian in their little love shack. Fuck! Unfortunately, I could not afford to detour, and Dimitri reminded me of this when I slammed the door closed on Lissa's mind. I saw through his eyes that right now, he was single-handedly protecting the school against yet another wave of Strigoi. His kill count as of right now for tonight alone was double the number he'd taken out since he'd graduated.
He'd told me to run to the dorms, but my feet led me to Alberta's office. My body responding to the threat my mate was exposed to, sending me straight to the top of the command chain.
Panting, I burst into Alberta's office, not caring for a moment that I may have just broken the lock on her closed door.
Buria, Roza—NOW!
"Buria!" My voice was frantic and fully exuded my desperation and panic. "Strigoi on campus—Dimitri!" While I'm gasping for air I can't seem to find I continued trying to get Alberta to understand. "Dimitri's at the wards! All alone. He," I'm still gasping, air still not being found, as my panic continues to rise. Rapidly. Alberta has to understand. "He's near the old watch-post cabin—the one Tasha Ozera stayed in. We need to hurry, Alberta!"
Her focused eyes bore into me as I come to realise her hands are on my shoulders and she has been trying to coach me out of my frantic state, calm me down. "Rose," she asserted gently, "breathe. I sent the Academy into lockdown the second you said the code only Belikov would tell you."
Listen to her, Roza. Calm down, love. I've already got Yuri with me at the wards, though we'll be heading to the elementary campus very soon. I love you. I need you to stay safe for me.
With a resigned, exhausted sigh, I find myself calmed without effort. My eyes find Alberta's and upon literally seeing myself reflected in her eyes, I notice I've been crying without having been aware of the tears leaking from my eyes without my permission or notice. She studied me for a moment she can not really spare.
"Are you armed?"
I nodded automatically.
A hint of a grim smile twitches up one corner of her mouth but it disappeared so quickly I wasn't sure if it had been there at all. "Of course," she whispered quietly, taking her hands off my shoulders; now certain I was finally calm.
My heart definitely wasn't and won't be for hours to come... maybe days... but my mind and the rest of my body were settled enough for me to focus on the bigger picture and task at hand. "Go to the Moroi dorm; the rest of you Senior Novices are there."
My frown could not be wiped off my face before it even took residence. "I can help—you know I can!"
"You have, Rose. Now let us do what we need to. Alto is in charge of the dorm you have to go to. Tell him I told you to tell him you can stay in the lobby, but you are not to leave. Clear?"
Reluctantly, I nod. "Clear."
Her eyes and face are severely pained as she leaves me with nearly the same command Dimitri did. "Go, Rose. Run." However, I understood from her expression that she wasn't telling me to run to the dorm, but to do what I do best. Defy her. Protect the most vulnerable on Academy grounds—and that isn't the Moroi students with a fleet of Senior novices on Field Experience right by their side. One last look and with it she told me she knew that she would be better off with me by Dimitri's side rather than anywhere else but policy was forcing her to command me otherwise.
I ran. But before I headed to elementary campus to meet with Dimitri, I found myself hunting down my best friend's boyfriend and my pain-in-the-ass charge at the church. He's exposed when I find him. I want to knock some sense into him, but my duty to him is more important right now.
"Strigoi have breached campus," I scowled at him. "I need to get you back to the dorms; we're under lockdown."
"So why are you out—shouldn't you be there too?" His ice blue eyes danced daringly with fire, taunting me to retaliate.
"I'm who raised the alarm, and now I'm busy getting there myself after finding your pain-in-the-butt self and returning you to Lissa so she stops irritating me with her panic. She's seconds away from coming to get you herself!"
"Rose!" He nodded behind me, his face now grave in a way I've never seen before.
Turning, I saw my worst nightmare. I was capable of taking out two or three Strigoi on my own. I'd just taken down three of the first five Dimitri and I had been confronted by. But now I was alone and facing down six at once.
You know what to do, Roza. Go on auto-pilot—let your training do what it's supposed to. I'm on my way.
With a deep breath, I took up my guard in front of Christian and let my trained instincts dictate my actions. Dimitri had trained me well and I had to place my trust in it just as he had when telling me to run when all he'd wanted was to make me stay. So I did.
The first Strigoi to come too close was a female. Sloppy in her attack at best. A year or so older than I was when turned. So obviously a human before being added to the ranks. And one who was clearly more of a risk to the band attacking us now than an asset, at least when faced with true opposition. She lacked even the most basic instinct to keep her chest out of my reach. She practically threw herself onto my stake.
One down but far too many to go. Why six were out here, I couldn't fathom. But six were now five, and hopefully that counted for something. The energy spared by taking out my first opponent in under a minute while not being faced with a true fight would, I hope, aid me with the remaining five—at least one appearing to be a very strong, very definite threat; he appeared to be a guardian before and was rather openly cocky.
Two ex-Moroi engaged me next. Both male and much taller than me. However, they were clearly unused to their new bodies and weren't good at fighting as a pair. At. All. They were harder to take out than the first girl, but not by much. They distracted each other more than aided each other. That was how I found my opening to get my stake in their hearts in quick succession. The more inexperienced one was still trying to argue with his very definitely dead cellmate when I took my stake to his heart seconds after pulling it out of aforementioned cellmate's.
The remaining trio attacked in such a way I knew that they were all ex-Guardians and had years of experience fighting together; likely in both their past and present lives. It became clear immediately that they'd been using the other three as tests for whoever they crossed, and they weren't happy to realise a lone Novice had killed the three weakest members of their cluster in under ten minutes... I suspected it was more like approximately five minutes given the way I physically felt, though mentally it had felt longer. I was very lucky with the irony that my pop-quiz (which felt like months ago now) was executed in a similar fashion. I was unlucky, however, that I still had no backup.
Where the FUCK was Dimitri!
Almost there, Roza. You've got this.
Humph! It didn't feel like it. I hadn't had a single opening yet to any of their chests never mind the heart within. I barely felt like I was strong enough to ward them off.
Christian, clearly noticing that I was taking more hits than I was dishing out, took action only he would do. Not only had he not left my side this whole time, he was backing me up instead of leaving me to fight by myself. My charge proactively helped protect his protector.
I felt rather than saw when he lit up the cocky bastard's head... and the head of the only other female out of the six who'd dare approach us. It distracted and annoyed them just enough for me to focus on the most recently turned member of the trio to finally finish him—and without a fight as he'd been stunned into stillness at the sight of a Moroi aiding their guardian.
"I've got it now, Christian!"
The magic was released and I learned that the fire hadn't touched them. Damn!
They recovered quickly, more angry than before. It made them more dangerous, more of a threat.
And just as I finished plunging my stake into the female's heart, my grip on my stake slipped as I was yanked to the ground and pinned face-down in the almost-slush by the cocky bastard of an ex-Guardian.
I knew Dimitri was finally here when I felt his presence and distress almost overwhelm me.
Roza, no!
He went to snatch my opponent off my back before the asshole could sink his fangs into me—literally—but Christian beat him to the kill. It showed Christian's mastery of his specialisation when the Strigoi above me was reduced to cinders and ashes around me yet I barely felt a thing—I most certainly was unharmed. Emotionally shaken by the close call, but physically unharmed by Christian's magical save.
It took everything Dimitri had not to wrap me up in his arms and never let me go. He was more shaken than I was. After telling Christian off for the magic use and disobeying lockdown, he thanked him for saving me, pulled my stake out of my last kill, and helped me to sit up. I was physically and emotionally drained, and I didn't realise until Dimitri was supporting me while standing me up.
"You both need to get to safety."
Christian and I simultaneously narrowed our eyes at Dimitri, both of us defiant with different yet matching intents.
"You saw how much I can help, Belikov."
"You know how much I need to help, Dimitri!"
Resigned amusement flowed through Dimitri. But he was hyperaware as to my exhaustion. You're going nowhere without a feed, Rose.
The mere mention of feeding caused the flames in my throat to make themselves known, my canines sharpened and extended.
If I am, so are you. Tonight's battle had just begun, but fighting separately had taken its toll on us already.
"I'll give you two a moment," Christian muttered diplomatically before turning around; still where we could see and hear him but he couldn't see us.
Dimitri lifted me up onto his waist and offering me access to his throat. Whimpering softly and using all the control I had to ignore the visceral sexual response, I took the bare minimum of Dimitri's blood I needed—just enough to re-energise to face the remaining battle.
I licked the wound clean, tipped my head back for Dimitri to have access to my throat, and licked my lips clean as my lover and mate suckled gently with a barely-audible moan. After licking my wound and his lips clean, Dimitri pecked my lips and set my down.
I love you, sweetheart. Let's go.
With a mutual nod, we grabbed Christian and ran to elementary campus.
Just as we approached the middle school dorms, Yuri met our gazes and glared. Mainly at Dimitri. Who, shockingly, just shrugged his shoulders, blowing off his colleague's concern and anger as though it were nothing.
"We need help in the little ones' dorm!" Yuri stormed off, expecting us to follow. Which we did.
But we were met halfway there by another three Strigoi. Thankfully, Christian immediately lit their heads up, giving both Dimitri and me an easy, clean, direct kill. A fourth Strigoi suffered the same fate when we reached the door of the dorm most in need of aid and defense.
The lobby was a mess, Guardians fighting Strigoi everywhere you looked, and the floor was already littered with bodies—not all of them Strigoi. Without discussion, Dimitri and I fell into place on either side of Christian, keeping him in one position while we circled around him, protecting him yet simultaneously picking fights.
As Strigoi fell and piled up at our feet, understanding dawned on me and Dimitri just why our new bond was so powerful and the stuff of barely talked about legends. When paired with Christian's fire magic, we were unstoppable. Christian provided the distraction and Dimitri and I struck without hesitation or mercy. Our speed and strength rivalled that of our opponent. We knew without thinking if, when, and how to help each other with an opponent, or if it was better to stay out of it. We didn't get in one another's way. We didn't leave Christian vulnerable to attack. And we didn't stop until there were no more Strigoi coming at us.