CHAPTER 8

I heard voices. I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was a white ceiling. I groaned and heard gasps. I tried getting up but I couldn't. "Hey, hon, how are you?" my mother's teary face came into view. I smiled and nodded.  She helped me up and I looked around the room. Everyone I knew was there. At the back of the room was Daniel. He genuinely looked drunk and broken. I smiled at him and turned to look at Lissa.

"What happened to you?" she asked concern showing on her face.

"Robert Doru" I stated. "He wanted revenge for killing his brother"

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, honey" mom said while hugging me tightly.

"Jeez. What is with that family and causing trouble by kidnapping people" Christian asked. I shrugged. "Ow" I winced.

"Relax, kid. You were out for three days and gone for a whole week. Your mother was almost as drunk as I was when she left me" said Adrian.

"Adrian! Stop it!" chastised Sydney. I grinned.

"OMG, are you okay?" Sara asked, cutting the distance between the bed and herself.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked curiously.

"Why?! Why?!" she exclaimed. "You had broken ribs, bruises, concussion, burn marks and the list goes on and on." She exclaimed. I smiled.

"Hey, you guys should go and eat. You look like you haven't eaten in a few days" I suggested cheerfully.

"No. look at you. You've become so skinny" my mom replied.

"Well, at least da-" I cut. "Dimitri's food will be making me put on weight, then" I answered.

"No problem. You name it, you get it" said Dimitri smiling.

"Thanks, Dimi" I grinned.

"Hey! Comrade, make sure you don't make her fat instead" my mom threatened.

"Oh, Roza, I could never do that" he replied smiling at her.

"Ugh!" Christian said.

"Maybe the kids could go first?" suggested Sydney questioningly.

All my friends left except for Daniel, apparently. He just stood there looking at me. Once all my friends were out the door, Christian said "I sense another fire user nearby" I froze. I forgot that if someone who has the same specialization as you is nearby, they can sense you too. "Probably some doctor or nurse" he answered himself.

They started talking about what happened and how happy they were to see me. I was getting restless and annoyed. I blocked out their voices and stared at the flower vase on a table at the end of the room. Then, Robert's voice saying how he wanted me to suffer ringed in my ears. Suddenly, the flower pot burst into flames. Everyone gasped and my mom and Lissa said "Whoa! Christian, what was that for?"  in unison.

"That wasn't me" he put his hands up defending himself. "that was someone el-"

I cut him off. "He's right. It wasn't him" I looked at my hands. "It was me"

They all gawked at me. They genuinely looked like they were about to burst into laughter. I sighed and held up my hand. Then, I concentrated on making a flame appear on it. Instantly, a blue flame lighted and they gasped. "How... how did you do that?" my mom asked softly.

"It happened when I was trying to escape Robert"

"Sofiya, how many strigoi did you kill?" Daniel spoke. Lissa looked at him in confusion. Hell, everyone did.

"What do you mean, Daniel?" my mom asked.

"Surely there has to be henchmen or something right? Strigoi rarely work alone" he explained. "Especially when they are planning revenge like what you said" he pointed at me.

I looked at my hands and started rubbing them against each other as if I was cold. I bit my lip and said "I'm not sure. I lost count" my mom gasped. Dimitri widened his eyes. Lissa and Christian just looked at each other and Daniel stared walking towards me... slowly. Sydney was just as stunned as Adrian. Janine and Abe walked in. Mia, Eddie and Jill just stood there, their mouth slightly open and not moving at all.

"Y.. you mean you actually killed strigoi?" asked Eddie. I nodded.

"Wow! Looks like Rose has to live up to her status now" said Adrian.

"It was a house not far from here. There were a lot of weapons there" I said.

The guardians looked at each other and sighed. "What house"  Dimitri asked. I stared at him trying to remember all the details about that place. I couldn't exactly pin point where it was but I knew it was outside the wards. My thoughts and memories were cut off when the room door opened revealing Mikhail and Sonya.

"Sorry" Mikhail apologized. Both him and Sonya smiled at me. I nodded.

Everyone begun filling Mikhail in all that was going on before he arrived. He listened attentively and carefully absorbing all the details. No matter how small, big or absurd. The part that surprised all was the part where they found out I was a fire user.

"Well, at least there's another fire user in the family" Abe said cheerfully.

"Abe!" Janine chastised.

"We need to have a meeting with the school guardians now" Mikhail suggested.

"We should. We need to keep her out of the public's eyes" Dimitri said.

"Should I continue training her?" questioned Daniel.

"Yes but you'll guard her for field duty" Mikhail said.

"She should attend the meeting since it's about her" Eddie stated.

"Okay but I don't want her to be the talk of the moroi world." My mom replied.

They kept on babbling and babbling about what's going to happen. I couldn't stop myself so I shouted "Enough!" They stared at me quizzically. "Stop babbling. You're all giving me a head ache" I answered, rubbing my temples. They muttered a "sorry" and walked out to continue their conversation. Daniel just stood his ground and stared at the door. "Wait. Don't go yet" I said nervously.

"I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry" he gave a small smile which I returned.

"You look terrible" I joked.

"Yeah? You too" he replied softly grinning.

"Thanks..?" I grinned. "Did you tell them?"

"About?" he asked.

"Jeez... my dad..?" I said. "Ring a bell?"

"Oh... that... was I supposed to?" asked Daniel grinning innocently.

"Noo no. Just wondering"

He took a seat beside the bed and asked about everything that happened. I replied back "Why should I trust you?" of course, he just had to lecture me about him being my mentor and if I don't tell my parents, I should at least tell him which  I did. Hesitantly of course. During our chat, he would clench and unclench his fists. He kinda looked hotter when he was angry.

"He drank from you... he tortured you. How dare he?" he asked and I just shrugged.

"He's strigoi. If he weren't, it wouldn't have been that bad.. I think"

"Yes. It would have" he said. "... I'm sorry"

"Huh. Oh. I'm sorry too" I replied frowning.

"You shouldn't be" He got up and walked out of the room. I tilted my head back to the bed frame and sighed. I think I just realized something. I'm in love with my mentor.. Just like my mother was in love with.. I really am a lot like her.

                                           *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A week passed since I was at the hospital at court. Now, we were heading back to St. Vlads. Thanks to my escaping, they decided to have me show them where the house was this weekend. It means that I have to come back to court. Again. Matters of me being moroi will be discussed at school. Eddie and Jill stayed back at court. Eddie was a substitute head guardian at court until Mikhail came back this week or weekend. I was also sitting beside Daniel. I kind of feel sympathy towards him because now everywhere I go, he has to follow. Especially if it is out of school grounds.

We finally reached the school and as usual, Dimitri drove us there. Lissa insisted she'd come since she knew me and she was Queen. The other guardians at school took our bags and sent us a message from Alberta, telling us to meet her and the other teachers at one of the meeting rooms.

On  our way there, everyone stopped whatever they were doing and stared at us. Specifically me. I gulped but held my head high and just continued walking. At the door, Dimitri knocked once and the door opened. All of us took our seats and I had to sit in between my mom and Dimitri. Opposite of me was Daniel. I sighed and looked at Guardian Petrov who looked relieved to see me safe and well. I smiled at her and she nodded.

"Guardians, teachers, Your Majesty, Queen Vasilisa, Miss Hathaway, Lord Ivashkov, Mrs. Ivashkov, Prince Ozera." She introduced. Everyone nodded. I just stared at her. "Today, we are here to discuss matters regarding Miss Hathaway. First of all, we need proof"

I inhaled a deep breath and stood up. I help my palm out and concentrated but nothing happened. After a while of concentrating harder (well, thinking of Daniel in danger), there was a flame. More gasps filled the room. I looked up from my hand to everyone and the flame disappeared.  I smiled and sat down. "How is that possible?" Stan asked.

"We don't know but,..... that means she's moroi.." my mom replied.

"Guardian Petrov, Rose and I would like to pull Sophie from her field experience" said Dimitri.

I stood up. "Wait! What?!!" I exclaimed. "You can't do that!"

"Actually,.., Miss Hathaway, they can" Alberta answered.

"Hold on! I should be the one to choose. It's my life, after all" I challenged. "And I'm legally eighteen"

"Guardian Petrov, what if she graduates a dhampir and her classes remain the same but I'm sure we can teach her about being a moroi..? No need to get another novice to guard her. Daniel will" Lissa suggested.

No one except my mom could say anything to what Lissa said since she was Queen. So, everyone agreed. They decided to make me a 'temporary moroi'. Of course, if I was going to graduate as a dhampir, they'd have to tattoo a promise mark along with molnija marks. The guardians planned to have all my tattoos tattooed on my neck first but they started arguing about it. In the end, it was still going to be on my neck.

And after a long debate on bringing me back to court for the weekend, they finally let me go. Some guardians were already working on it but they still couldn't find it. Ideal and typical spot for strigoi. My parents walked me back to my room and it was awkward. I still had to have trainings with Daniel since trials are in a few months. My parents and their friends decided to start doing research on all of this especially me being moroi .

They were heading for court earlier since Lissa had some Queeenly duties to and stares from everyone I saw. I kept my head held high and continued walking until I came to a stop.

Ben.

He was standing in front of me smirking. "What now?" I whined annoyingly.

"Wow! Looks like you're no dhampir novice after all" he teased.

I froze. "What?"

"Jeez, we know you are moroi. Clearly Rose isn't your mother" he smirked evilly.

"Dude, if I were to set your ass on fire right now, what would you think about it?" I asked.

"You'll either get expelled or detention" he threatened.

think about it?" I asked.

"Yada, yada, yada. Blah, blah, blah. I don't care about detention but getting expelled.. I can just move to St. Basil or something" I said putting my hands on my hips- Hathaway style.

"Ah but your record would be bad. Just like your mother's"

"And yet, she ended up as a royal guardian" I said boredly.

"How unfortunate you had to come along. I'm sure she would have been happier" he smiled.

"To hell with you!" I exclaimed.

"Make me!" he replied.

I sprang forward and pinned him down. I punched him. There was a crack. He probably broke his nose. There was blood on his face and shirt. I got up and walked away. Smiling, I nodded at everyone who was staring at me. God, how happy I was feeling.

                                                  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I was the first one to reach class which surprised a few of my teachers. Normally, I would either be late or barely on time. I was getting better and better at training. I was finally going to learn how to use a stake properly. They think I don't know how to use it and I've never used it in my life but I have and they are going to find out today.

A punch to my jaw made me stop thinking. I fell backwards, sprawled on the mat in the gym. "You should pay attention when you are in a fight" said Daniel. He gave me his hand to pull me up. Oooh. I just got a great idea. I took it and pulled him down instead.

Sadly, he knew what I was going to do because I was pinned down instead. I grunted. My head hurt. He looked into my eyes. All I saw was his green ones. They were not even pure green. There were a few small streaks of amber. They looked magical and illusive. Suddenly, his lips met mine. I pulled him closer. Our lips moving in perfect synchronization until he pulled away. "I'm sorry" he apologized. I blushed slightly.

He got up and left. I sighed. I didn't know what happened but when we kissed, the world didn't exist. There was no time and no one else but us. I learned to block out all the tingles and warmth his touch gave me but today, it was completely useless. The tingles overpowered me sending electric shocks throughout my body.

I got up, grabbed my water bottle and ran out of the gym and to my room. I locked the door and stripped my clothes off. I jumped into the shower and made the temperature warm. Before I knew it, my thoughts traveled to the stolen kiss today. All sorts of questions popped up in my mind. Was that me? was that him? If so, did he like me? was that real? Or was that just a very nice and beautiful dream?

Once I finished, my brain couldn't function well. All I wanted to do was run to him and ask him all my questions. Too late, I guess. There was a knock at my door. I put my clothes on quickly and opened it. Dimitri stood there. He smiled when he saw me. "Hey" I said.

"Hi. May I come in?" he asked.

"Yeah" I moved to let him in.

"How was practice today?"

"Not so great. I got punched....." I said awkwardly.

He chuckled. "Always complaining. Just like your mother" I grinned.

He was in his uniform apparently. My mom also made him not tie his hair today which made him look like a real Russian God in the 1800's or early 1900's. fit to be a king, probably. "Let's go to Dr. Olendzki to take a look at your...." I pointed at my face, pouting. "Jaw. I'm sure she'll be proud to... see you.. again" I sighed.

Of course on our walk, he asked questions like a normal dad would which was kind of nice. You know, to talk to someone about school and stuff. Worst person would probably be my mom. He really related me to my mom a lot which in his words, I really saw the similarity and differences between us two.

"Goodness me.... did you punch your father now?" Dr. Olendzki asked. I looked at her terrified and actually burst out laughing. Dimitri chuckled along with me. I shook my head and Dimitri actually had to pretend to hit me to make me stop. Which worked.... After about the... fifth time.

"Young Sofiya here has gotten herself punched.. on the jaw" he said.

"By whom? I would salute them" she joked.

"My mentor" I replied flatly.

"Oh. Why didn't he bring you then? Or at least help you?" she asked curiously.

I bit my lip. Oh god. This is NOT good. At all. "I told him it wasn't painful" I lied. Dimitri raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "I'm not lying" I lied. Again. Dr. Olendzki did a few tests on my jaw and said it wasn't broken but there would be a pinkinsh- purplish mark by evening. Ugh! The perfect trip on the day of the trip to court. Just great!

Soon, we got breakfast and made our way to the school's parking lot to take off. I had to sit in between Sara and Daniel. How unfortunate. Sara kept on talking about how many strigoi I killed and blah, blah, blah. I looked at the front but I would take a peek at Daniel. Sometimes, I swore he glanced back at me.

We were boarding the plane and I was stuck beside Daniel. Yes! I was happy but nervous at the same time. Once we were in the air, I said "Hey"

"I know what you are going to talk about" he said.

"You.. you do?" I asked innocently.

"Yes. The... kiss" he finished.

"Yes. I was. About that... what happened?"

"Nothing. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry" he apologized.

Since he didn't want to talk, I shut my mouth and turned to the other side. My eyelids felt heavy and I closed my eyes. Next thing I know, I was being woken up by someone but I wanted to sleep and stay in the blackness longer. But then, I felt a cold liquid so cold, it made me shiver. I darted my eyes open and saw Sara with one hand on her hip and another with a bucket.

Beside me, annoyed looking Daniel was reading his now soaking book. He looked away from the book and at Sara and me. he closed the book with irritatedly and told Sara "You could have just left her here on the plane again since I'm right here"

"sorry, guys. But, since you are awake now, I should go" she scurried off noticing I was flushed with anger.

"Relax" said Daniel.

"Ugh! She could have used some other method!"

"Such as..? Lighting you on fire? Taking away your oxygen?" he suggested.

I glared at him. "Aren't you angry at all? I mean she ruined your clothes. And book"

"I know but I never really liked this book" he handed me the book.

"Hey! This is quite a good book" I exclaimed.

"Have you ever read it?" he asked, grabbing his duffel bag.

"Nope" I said softly, popping the 'p'.

"Then you shouldn't. It's awful" he said and just walked off the plane, leaving me stunned and frozen. Sulking, I walked down. I didn't really need anything this time since we were going to stay at my house. While trying to hurry to catch up, I almost slipped on the stairs on the plane. Twice! Because of the water dripping from my soaked clothes. "What happened to you?" my mother asked.

"Don't ask" I replied flatly.

"And you?" she asked, pointing at the half- drenched Daniel who still looked slightly annoyed.

"Sarafina Dragomir" was all he said. And it was enough apparently. My mother smirked mischievously.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" I groaned. She shrugged with a deceiving grin.

 "You knew ?" I asked Daniel, narrowing my eyes and glaring at him. He smiled and shrugged. Another groan escaped. It was so awkward- being pranked by your own mother. "Lord, save me from my mother!" I prayed lazily while looking at the sky. Of course, since me and Daniel were both drenched, we had to walk instead.

No matter how much I sulked, pouted, complained and groaned, he never got impatient, stopped or even talked to me which made me think he was either in La La Land or in his own little world. We stayed silent the whole walk but it was tolerable... nice even. For once, it wasn't awkward.

When we reached, everyone stared at us probably wondering what the hell did the both of us do. I got irritated and just told them off before dragging Daniel with me to my house. I actually heard someone say "OMG! What did she do? I knew he is her guardian but... seriously?" I sighed, exasperated.

At the house, the first thing I noticed was the open door, indicating that everyone was already there and waiting for us. I told Daniel to ask my parents where his luggage was while I ran up to my room. Everything was still there. My purple walls were still fresh and my books were in the arrangement I left them in last summer. My photos were still framed up on my walls, on tables and some posters still hung on the wall behind my bed frame. I took some clothes from the drawer and slipped it on after stripping out of my drenched and uncomfortable clothes. I chucked the clothes in the washing machine and walked over to the living room.

Dimitri was reading one of his famous westerns and my mom was cuddled up beside him, watching the television. As I sat down on the comfy sofa, she turned off the television and Dimitri closed the book. I cocked my head to the side wondering why they did what they did. Daniel chose the right time to come down and sat opposite of me on the one seater and said nothing. He had to come stay with me since he was my guardian and ever since the kidnapping, my parents or Daniel never left me alone unless I was in the bathroom. And I mean ever!

"This is nice.." my mother complimented.

"Yes, Roza. It is." Replied Dimitri. I sighed.

"I'm boreddd" I said honestly

"Why don't you give Daniel a tour around the house" Dimitri suggested.

"Good idea. Go on, Sophia" my mother agreed.

"Thanks" Daniel whispered to me as we walked away. While walking up the stairs, I got curious and asked "Thanks for what?"

"They were getting all lovey dovey in there" he said awkwardly.

"Oh. That. yeah..." I chuckled. "Come on. I'll show you to my room"

I pulled his hand and dragged him up to my room. Boy, was he heavy. As I opened my door and let him in, an amazed expression was plastered on his face. I bit my lip nervously. "Wow. You have so much books" he commented, eyeing each and every book on the shelf.

"Yeah. Well, I guess I get it from Dimitri..." I grinned. All my earlier nervousness washed away.

"They are all fantasy and romance novels.." he whispered, eyes still locked on the books. I got curious at how he knew and asked "How did you know?"

"Their names..." he answered, trailing the tip of his fingers on the side cover of the books.

"Oh." Now I felt dumb. "Do you read this genre?"

"Maybe" he said secretively. I couldn't tell if that was a yes or a no. "Sometimes... when I feel like it but I stick with westerns" he smiled.

I scoffed at him. "Seriously? I think you and Dimitri should make a club." I suggested.

"It's not such a bad idea." He grinned.

"Great..." I said, annoyed at myself for saying that. "Why do you like these books?" questioned Daniel.

"I want to know what humans think about us... I mean the vampiric world." I explained.

"Wow." He gazed into my eyes. I smiled sheepishly and blushed. Oh. I blushed?! Crap. "I should go" he said looking away. I just managed a nod. Just when he left, my phone beeped. I hesitantly walked over to it and noticed a text with Sara's name on the screen. I sighed and read the text.

Hey, there are rumours at court that you're a fire user. What should I say?

The truth, Sara. If they want it, they can have it.

You sure? L know you don't really want them to know...

I'm sure. Absolutely positive. If it gets out of hand, you'll know.

Oh, come on. Cut me some slack okay? I knew the prank was too much but it was your mother's idea.

I know. But you still agreed to it.

Hey, it was kinda funny...

Haha, Sara. Haha. Very funny. (sarcastically)

Got to go. See you when you get back from your... hunt?

Sure. Take care. Bye. :D

Will do. And you too. J

I loved Sara but sometimes, she could really be annoying. Okay, what could be worst than your brother dating your best friend..?  yes, I used to date Andre when I was sixteen but I broke it off. He just wasn't the right type and, he found himself a new girlfriend.

                                   *~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*

We were in groups heading towards the abandoned house. I was leading but there was a protective circle around me. Inside was me and Daniel in case anything happened to the others, he was supposed to take care of me. We were almost reaching the destination and I was getting nervous. It wasn't everyday that a novice killed her first strigoi. Make that strigois. It was pretty nerve- racking and exciting. We traveled while the sun was at its peak to prevent running into any strigoi. I may have power like a Moroi but I didn't get weak in the sun or didn't need to drink blood. Which was weird. In fact, a lot of things about me is weird.

1.     I can control the fire element.

2.     My genes show that I'm a dhampir but with more Moroi cells.

3.     I don't need to drink blood.

4.     I don't get weak or uncomfortable in the sun.

5.     I was not pale like Moroi.

6.     I don't have fangs.

The list could go on and on. The group stopped, making me walk right into my mother. "Damn!" I swore. She closed my mouth with her hand and I kept protesting but it wasn't helping. All I could hear was my muffled voice. I sighed and gave up. Two guardians walked into the house and scouted the perimeter.

When they gave the all clear, the other guardians broke into groups to find out how many strigoi bodies were there. When I stepped in, followed by Daniel, my parents and Mikhail, they stopped in their tracks with stunned faces. So stunned until my mom actually had her mouth hung wide open. A guardian came forwards to Mikhail and reported "Guardian Tanner, there are more upstairs". Mikhail just nodded.

We slowly headed up. Halfway up, I stopped, took a deep breath and continued walking. I looked at the scene before me. memories flashed into my mind. How this got here and how that got there. Everything was the same. Nothing untouched except for a few bodies rotting and turning to ash slowly. "Oh. My. God." My mother breathed.

"Sophia... how?" Mikhail asked. I shrugged.

We continued walking in and out of rooms. When we finally came to a halt in front of the room I was held in, I stopped. I wanted to face it but I couldn't. How? How could I? After how many times I felt like dying. I took off. Running down  and out of that god- forsaken abandoned house. Tears were streaming down my face. I could hear footsteps behind me and I knew it was surely Daniel. I stopped and stood frozen where I was with the tears still flowing. He stopped running and stood in front of me, holding onto my shoulders. "How.. I can't... I can't face it" I said shakily. My breath was coming out in gasps and I was panting.

"You don't have to do it alone" he replied.

 "I know you and everyone else is there but... I just feel so stupid. You don't know how many times I wanted to die instead of staying alive" I replied.

"You can't die. And you won't" he said firmly.

"I'm no strigoi, Daniel. I'm not immortal. And even then, I could die" I said flatly.

"I know. And I will always be there for you. No matter what. I will protect you and if you are in danger, I will gladly give my life saving yours" he said. I tensed. What did he mean? I know the guardian mantra- They Come First was drilled into our heads but.. this... this was too much.

"Why..?" I asked. "You're just my mentor..." I whispered. ".. and my guardian" I added softly.

"I am.. but you're more than my student or charge to me" he declared, staring straight into my eyes.

I was dumb founded. But then, his words sank in and I realized what he meant. I'd put together the puzzle. The kiss..... the staring.. and everything. He was in love with me. Just as I was with him. "Daniel.." I started. "Do you love me?" I whispered very softly that I thought he didn't hear me. I stared at the suddenly intriguing ground. I wasn't usually this shy but... oh well, this was really getting to me.

Instead of answering me, he pulled me closer and hugged me tightly. "Yes, Sofiya. I love you" he rested his chin on my head and kissed my head. I hugged him back tightly then tried to let go but he was gripping me too tightly. "Relax" he sighed.

"How..? I just killed strigoi few weeks back."

"First kills are never so easy to get over" he looked away.

"Will you tell me? What happened to you that made you change?" I questioned.

"I don't want to talk about it" he looked around at our surroundings.

"Danil.., you are the one who told me you are there for me. Now, I am here for you" I said. "But if you really don't want to ta-"

"You shouldn't keep talking too much." He smiled a sexy smile. I bit my lip, blushing. "I'll tell you. But, we should at least go to court" I nodded. "Let's go. There's no reception here" he complained. I giggled. "Did you just giggle?" he asked, amused at me.

"You're making me too happy... sorry. I don't know what's wrong.." I answered.

At court, he called my mother. Luckily, there was reception at the abandoned house. He walked me back to my house and followed me into my room where he stood at the doorway and I sat on my bed. I patted my bed. "Come on. I won't bite" I joked. He hesitated at first but gave in eventually.

"Okay. Here it goes. I was sixteen. My friends and I went camping in the woods. It was late night and we... we were drinking. Like my father, drinking helped me tune everything out. We were having so much fun. We were a group of ten. My best friend and I were talking. Suddenly, there was strigoi everywhere. There was supposed to be a ward protecting us but they broke it. Many of the moroi with us died..." he stopped, looking blankly ahead. "Including my best friend's girlfriend. He fought so hard to keep me safe. He told me that without her, he was just an empty shell. That and that I was an Ivashkov. He knew.." he continued. I had tears in my eyes. I swallowed and continued to listen. I actually pictured everything in my mind. "Only three of us escaped. Since then, I was more careful. I never spent holidays with my parents because I always thought my father was to blame.. and I was scared.... Scared that I would become like him again. I spent time with the Belikovas. In Russia, people knew me as Daniel Ivashkov and ever since that accident, rumours spread that I was like my father.. and so, I changed. I wanted to excel like my mother so, Viktoria Belikova brought me home to Baia during the holidays. They were so kind to me. and I never ever wanted to make them hate me."

I was.. shocked and fascinated. I couldn't say a damn thing. I never knew Dimitri's family. Sure I've met them but not as much. And I didn't have a passport so that pretty much summed up everything. "Wow. I'm really sorry. I really don't know what to say" I answered truthfully, awkwardly.

"Don't be. And you don't have to say anything" he smiled but it was a sad one. His eyes betrayed him. No matter how much training he had, it wasn't enough to hide his sadness.

"Daniel... when you found out I was missing, what happened?" he looked at me. He frowned and dropped his head down. He raked his hand through his hair and met my eyes again.

"I started drinking. I felt as if I died. I wanted to run off sometimes but Sonya kept me staying put. Even your mother started drinking. Dimitri was pretty much broken too" he said in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry. I really am"

"It wasn't your fault" he whispered.

"Yes it was. If I didn't run the wrong side I wou-"

"Shhh. It's okay. Do you still have those dreams?" asked Daniel. "still the same?" I nodded.

"They're not in order though" I added.

The front door opened and I heard people talking and arguing. I heard my mom argue about something. Daniel got up and grabbed my hand. We walked down the stairs together. Halfway, he let my hand go. "What's going on?" I asked. All eyes turned to look at me.

My mom walked to me and Dimitri frowned. "Oh my god, Sophia. I'm so proud of you. Do you know how many strigoi you killed?" she asked concerned.

"Why are you acting all lovey?" I asked accusingly.

"Sophia, you broke the novice record for most first kills. Do you know how famous you are?" Dimitri added.

"What? I don't want to be a superstar! I want to be myself!" I exclaimed.

"Sophia, you'll have to go through a tattooing ceremony to tattoo your molnija marks" Lissa said calmly.

"How many did I kill?" I asked. No answer. "How many?!" I shouted.

"Fifteen" Mikhail answered.

Everyone gasped. I froze. My vision blurred and the scenes replayed itself before me again. The torture..., the fire, the bullets..., the staking... and the fights. No one had helped me that day. I was all alone. And I was very powerful. Too powerful. I felt tears streaming down. They were warm. It wasn't tears of happiness but tears of sadness. I remembered all their faces. How angry or how cocky or whatever expressions they showed. But worst of all, I killed them. When I could've just subdued them and let spirit users return them to their original self.

Someone was shaking me. I snapped back and looked at that person. It was Lissa. "Sophia, you are going to tell me exactly what happened that day" she said, her green eyes hypnotizing. I blinked. I heard more gasps. I told her everything I knew. From A to Z. except for what had happened between me and Daniel and the trip to Sonya's house. "What the hell! You compelled me!" I shouted. I looked at everyone. Sara and Andre weren't there. I guessed that they were told it was an urgent matter. Daniel's eyes were fuelled with anger. I backed away a few steps and came to a halt. "Sophia, her compulsion didn't work on you" Sonya said .

"But I ju-"

"Yeah. You told us but not everything... remember?" Christian said.

I did remember. I missed out a few scenes I told them before. "Why did you... compel me?"

"I had a hunch"  said Lissa.

"Hunch?" my mom questioned.

"Her aura's gold" Sonya answered.

"What? But she's a fire user" Dimitri cut in.

"Daniel, get her out of here. Now!" Sydney instructed.

"No." I said softly. "No! this is about me and I deserve to know about it"

"Rose, I do sense a fire user... and a strong and powerful and also experienced one" said Christian.

"How can she be a spirit and a fire user?" Sydney asked.

"How about we perform tests" suggested Adrian who was quiet until now.

"I'm not a fucking lab rat!" I shouted. "I'm a dhampir." I defended.

Everyone sighed and some sat down while others rubbed their temple. Daniel looked at me with his eyes deep in thought. "What if... what if we do research about her... you know... books and history... that sort of stuff" he suggested with his eyes still locked onto mine.

"Maybe... maybe we could do that" my mom agreed.