Shadow Kiss Chapter 1

wizHIS FINGERTIPS SLID ALONG my keister, applying hardly any pres indispu evade, yet s closinging shock waves whole over my flesh. Slowly, slowly, his hands go across my skin, d admit the sides of my stomach to fin solelyy remain in the curves of my hips. Just below my ear, I felt his lips press against my neck, followed by a nonher kiss just below it, then an different, then an separate. His lips moved from my neck toward my cheek and then finally found my mtabooh. We kissed, peignoir ourselves nigher together. My blood burned within me, and I felt more subsisting in that jiffy than I ever so so had. I love him, loved Christian so often that Christian?Oh no.Some foresightful part of me immediately realized what was happening and boy, was it pissed forth. The rest of me, however, was calm down actually living in this encounter, experiencing it as though I was the one macrocosm touched and kissed. That part of me couldnt break international. Id merged too very untold with Lissa, and for all intents and purposes, this was happening to me. nary(prenominal) I told myself sternly. Its non real not for you. purpose out of t present.But how could I harkenen to logic when e genuinely ticker of my luggage compartment was being set on fire?You argonnt her. This isnt your head. Get out.His lips. in that respect was nothing in the world right straight except his lips.Its not him. Get out.The kisses were the same, precisely as I remembered with him. No, its not Dimitri. Get outDimitris name was analogous cold water hitting me in the face. I got out.I sat upright in my bed, suddenly smelling smot hered. I tested kicking off the covers notwithstanding roughlyly ended up entangling my legs regular(a) more. My observet beat hard in my chest, and I tried to clog out deep breaths to steady myself and return to my own reality.Times for certain had changed. A long time ago, Lissas nightmares used to disturb me from sleep. Now her end up life did. To say the devil were a little different would be an understatement. Id actually gotten the hang of blocking out her romantic interludes at least when I was a catch fire. This time, Lissa and Christian had (unintentionally) outsmarted me. In sleep, my defenses were down, allowing sound emotions to pass through the psychic link that connected me to my opera hat friend. This wouldnt find been a problem if the two of them had been in bed comparcapable normal people and by being in bed, I mean hibernating(prenominal).God, I muttered, sitting up and lilting my legs over the side of the bed. My congresswoman was muffled in a yawn. Couldnt Lissa and Christian select seriously kept their hands off each other until waking hours?Worse than being woken up, though, was the way I simmer down felt. accredited, none of that making out had actually happened to me. It hadnt been my skin being touched or my lips being kissed. Yet my body leavemed to opinion the loss of it n onetheless. It had been a very long time since Id been in that kind of situation. I ached and felt sensitive all over. It was idiotic, besides suddenly, desperately, I indirect requested some(a)(a)whatone to touch me level off just to hold me. But definitely not Christian. The memory of those lips on mine blazeed back through my foreland, how theyd felt, and how my sleepy self had been so current it was Dimitri kissing me.I stood up on shaky legs, relishing unsated and well, sad. Sad and empty. Needing to walk off my weird mood, I put on a dress and slippers and left my room for the bathroom down the hall. I splashed cool water on my face and stared in the mirror. The reflexion looking back at me had tangled hair and bloodshot eyes. I looked sleep-deprived, provided I didnt want to go back to bed. I didnt want to risk falling asleep sooner yet. I needed something to wake me up and shake away what Id seen.I left the bathroom and dour toward the stairwell, my feet ligh t on the steps as I went downstairs. The first chronicle of my hallway was still and quiet. It was almost noon the middle of the night for vampires, since they ran on a nocturnal schedule. Lurking near the edge of a doorway, I scanned the lobby. It was empty, give birth for the yawning Moroi man sitting at the front desk. He leaved halfheartedly through a magazine, held to consciousness only by the finest of threads. He came to the magazines end and yawned again. Turning in his revolving chair, he tossed the magazine on a table behind him and reached for what must have been something else to read.While his back was turned, I darted last(prenominal) him toward the set of double doors that opened outside. Praying the doors wouldnt squeak, I carefully opened one a crack, just enough to slip through. Once outside, I projected the door shut as gently as possible. No noise. At most, the poke fun would feel a draft. Feeling analogous a ninja, I stepped out into the light of dayl ight.Cold wind blasted me in the face, but it was exactly what I needed. Leafless tree branches swayed in that wind, clawing at the sides of the match dorm similar fingernails. The sun peeped at me from betwixt lead-colored clouds, further reminding me that I should be in bed and asleep. Squinting at the light, I tugged my robe tighter and walked around the side of the building, toward a spot betwixt it and the gym that wasnt quite so exposed to the elements. The slush on the sidewalk soaked into the stuff of my slippers, but I didnt care.Yeah, it was a typically miserable winter day in Montana, but that was the point. The crisp air did a lot to wake me up and chase off the remnants of the virtual love scene. Plus, it kept me severely in my own head. Focusing on the cold in my body was better than remembering what it had felt interchangeable to have Christians hands on me. Standing at that place, staring off at a cluster of trees without very seeing them, I was surprised to feel a spark of kindle at Lissa and Christian. It must be nice, I thought bitterly, to do whatever the hell you valued. Lissa had often commented that she wished she could feel my mind and experiences the way I could feel hers. The truth was, she had no idea how lucky she was. She had no idea what it was bid to have someone elses thoughts intruding on yours, someone elses experiences muddling yours. She didnt go to sleep what it was like to live with someone elses perfect love life when your own was nonexistent. She didnt clear what it was like to be filled with a love so strong that it made your chest ache a love you could only feel and not express. Keeping love buried was a lot like nurtureing peevishness pent up, Id learned. It just ate you up within until you wanted to scream or kick something.No, Lissa didnt understand any of that. She didnt have to. She could carry on with her own romantic affairs, with no regard for what she was doing to me.I noticed then that I wa s breathing heavily again, this time with rage. The smelly feeling Id felt over Lissa and Christians late-night hookup was gone. It had been replaced by anger and jealousy, feelings born(p) of what I couldnt have and what came so easily to her. I tried my scoop to swallow those emotions back I didnt want to feel that way toward my best friend.Are you sleepwalking? a role asked behind me.I spun around, startled. Dimitri stood there watching me, looking both amused and curious. It would figure that while I was raging over the problems in my unfair love life, the source of those problems would be the one to find me. I hadnt heard him approach at all. So much for my ninja skills. And honestly, would it have killed me to pick up a brush earlier I went outside? Hastily, I ran a hand through my long hair, knowing it was a little too late. It probably looked like an living creature had died on top of my head.I was testing dorm security, I said. It sucks.A hint of a grimace played ove r his lips. The cold was in truth starting to seep into me now, and I couldnt help but notice how stiff his long leather coat looked. I wouldnt have minded wrapping up in it.As though reading my mind, he said, You must be halt. Do you want my coat?I shook my head, deciding not to mention that I couldnt feel my feet. Im fine. What are you doing out here? Are you testing security too?I am security. This is my watch. Shifts of groom guardians always patrolled the grounds while everyone else slept. Strigoi, the undead vampires who stalked living Moroi vampires like Lissa, didnt soak up out in sunlight, but students breaking rules say, like, sneaking out of their dorms were a problem night and day.Well, good work, I said. Im glad I was able to help test your awesome skills. I should be sledding now. pink wine Dimitris hand caught my arm, and despite all the wind and dismay and slush, a flash of heat shot through me. He released me with a start, as though he too had been burne d. What are you actually doing out here?He was using the stop fooling around voice, so I gave him as truthful an answer as I could. I had a braggart(a) dream. I wanted some air.And so you just rushed out. jailbreak the rules didnt even cross your mind and neither did putting on a coat.Yeah, I said. That pretty much sums it up. rosiness, Rose. This time it was his exasperated voice. You never change. always jumping in without thinking.Thats not true, I protested. Ive changed a lot.The amusement on his face suddenly faded, his expression growing troubled. He studied me for some(prenominal) moments. Sometimes I felt as though those eyes could see right into my soul. Youre right. You have changed.He didnt expect very happy close the admission. He was probably thinking nigh what had happened almost three weeks ago, when some friends and I had gotten ourselves captured by Strigoi. It was only through sheer luck that wed managed to pull out and not all of us had gotten out. Maso n, a good friend and a guy whod been crazy closely me, had been killed, and part of me would never forgive myself for it, even though Id killed his murderers.It had given me a darker outlook on life. Well, it had given everyone here at St. Vladimirs Academy a darker outlook, but me especially. Others had begun to notice the difference in me. I didnt like to see Dimitri concerned, though, so I played off his observation with a joke.Well, dont worry. My birthdays coming up. As soon as Im eighteen, Ill be an adult, right? Im convinced(predicate) Ill wake up that morning and be all mature and stuff.As Id bankd, his frown softened into a clear smile. Yes, Im sure. What is it, about a month?Thirty-one days, I announced primly.Not that youre counting.I shrugged, and he laughed.I suppose youve made a birthday list too. Ten pages? Single-spaced? Ranked by order of priority? The smile was still on his face. It was one of the relaxed, genuinely amused ones that were so idealistic to him.I started to make another joke, but the image of Lissa and Christian flared into my mind again. That sad and empty feeling in my stomach returned. Anything I tycoon have wanted new clothes, an iPod, whatever suddenly seemed trivial. What did material things like that mean compared to the one thing I wanted most of all? God, I really had changed.No, I said in a small voice. No list.He tilted his head to better look at me, making some of his shoulder-length hair blow into his face. His hair was brown, like mine, but not nearly as dark. Mine looked black at times. He brushed the unruly strands aside, only to have them immediately blow back into his face. I cant believe you dont want anything. Its expiration to be a oil production birthday.Freedom, I thought. That was the only gift I longed for. Freedom to make my own choices. Freedom to love who I wanted.It doesnt matter, I said instead.What do you He stopped. He understood. He always did. It was part of why we connected like we did, in spite of the seven-year gap in our ages. Wed fallen for each other last fall when hed been my combat instructor. As things heated up between us, wed found we had more things to worry about than just age. We were both going away to be protecting Lissa when she graduated, and we couldnt let our feelings for each other distract us when she was our priority.Of course, that was easier said than done because I didnt think our feelings for each other were ever really going to go away. Wed both had moments of weakness, moments that led to stolen kisses or maxim things we really shouldnt have. After Id escaped the Strigoi, Dimitri had told me he loved me and had pretty much admitted he could never be with anyone else because of that. Yet, it had also become clear that we still couldnt be together either, and we had both slipped back into our old roles of keeping away from each other and pretending that our relationship was strictly professional.In a not-so-obvious attempt to change the subject, he said, You can deny it all you want, but I know youre freezing. Lets go inside. Ill take you in through the back.I couldnt help feeling a little surprised. Dimitri was rarely one to bend uncomfortable subjects. In fact, he was notorious for pushing me into conversations about topics I didnt want to deal with. But talking about our dysfunctional, star-crossed relationship? That was a place he apparently didnt want to go today. Yeah. Things were definitely changing.I think youre the one whos cold, I teased, as we walked around the side of the dorm where novice guardians lived. Shouldnt you be all tough and stuff, since youre from Siberia?I dont think Siberias exactly what you imagine.I imagine it as an arctic wasteland, I said truthfully. hence its definitely not what you imagine.Do you miss it? I asked, glancing back to where he walked behind me. It was something Id never considered before. In my mind, everyone would want to live in the U.S. Or, well, they at least w ouldnt want to live in Siberia.All the time, he said, his voice a little wistful. Sometimes I wish BelikovA voice was carried on the wind from behind us. Dimitri muttered something, and then shoved me further around the recession Id just rounded. Stay out of sight.I ducked down behind a bank of holly trees that flanked the building. They didnt have any berries, but the thick clusters of sharp, pointed leaves scratched where my skin was exposed. Considering the freezing temperature and possible discovery of my late-night walk, a a couple of(prenominal) scratches were the least of my problems right now.Youre not on watch, I heard Dimitri say several moments later.No, but I needed to talk to you. I recognized the voice. It belonged to Alberta, captain of the Academys guardians. Itll just take a minute. We need to shuffle some of the watches while youre at the endeavor.I figured, he said. There was a funny, almost uncomfortable note in his voice. Its going to put a strain on everyon e else bad timing.Yes, well, the ottoman runs on her own schedule. Alberta sounded frustrated, and I tried to figure out what was going on. Celeste go away take your watches, and she and Emil will divide up your training times. development times? Dimitri wouldnt be conducting any trainings next week because Ah. That was it, I realized. The scene of action experience. Tomorrow kicked off six weeks of hands-on practice for us novices. Wed have no classes and would get to protect Moroi night and day while the adults tested us. The training times must be when Dimitri would be out take part in that. But what was this trial shed mentioned? Did they mean like the final trials we had to bear with at the end of the school year?They say they dont mind the bare(a) work, continued Alberta, but I was wondering if you could even things out and take some of their shifts before you leave?Absolutely, he said, words still terse and stiff.Thanks. I think thatll help. She sighed. I wish I kne w how long this trial was going to be. I dont want to be away that long. Youd think itd be a done deal with Dashkov, but now I hear the queens getting cold feet about imprisoning a major royal.I stiffened. The chill running through me now had nothing to do with the winter day. Dashkov?Im sure theyll do the right thing, said Dimitri. I realized at that moment why he wasnt construction much. This wasnt something I was supposed to hear.I hope so. And I hope itll only take a few days, like they claim. Look, its miserable out here. Would you mind coming into the office for a mo to look at the schedule?Sure, he said. Let me check on something first.All right. See you soon.Silence fell, and I had to assume Alberta was walking away. Sure enough, Dimitri rounded the corner and stood in front of the holly. I shot up from my hiding spot. The look on his face told me he already knew what was coming.Rose Dashkov? I exclaimed, trying to keep my voice low so Alberta wouldnt hear. As in skipper Dashkov?He didnt bother denying it. Yes. Victor Dashkov.And you guys were talking aboutDo you mean I was so startled, so dumbstruck, that I could further get my thoughts together. This was unbelievable. I thought he was locked up Are you saying he hasnt been on trial yet?Yes. This was definitely unbelievable. Victor Dashkov. The guy whod stalked Lissa and tortured her mind and body in order to fancy her powers. Every Moroi could use magic in one of the four elements earth, air, water, or fire. Lissa, however, worked an almost unheard of fifth element called spirit. She could heal anything including the dead. It was the reason I was now psychically linked to her shadow-kissed, some called it. Shed brought me back from the car adventure that had killed her parents and brother, binding us together in a way that allowed me to feel her thoughts and experiences.Victor had learned long before any of us that she could heal, and hed wanted to lock her away and use her as his own person al leakage of Youth. He also hadnt hesitated to kill anyone who got in his way or, in the geek of Dimitri and me, use more creative ways to stop his opponents. Id made a lot of enemies in seventeen years, but I was pretty sure there was no one I hated as much as Victor Dashkov at least among the living.Dimitri had a look on his face I knew well. It was the one he got when he thought I might punch someone. Hes been locked up but no, no trial yet. heavy proceedings sometimes take a long time.But theres going to be a trial now? And youre going? I rung through clenched teeth, trying to be calm. I suspected I still had the Im going to punch someone look on my face. undermentioned week. They need me and some of the other guardians to testify about what happened to you and Lissa that night. His expression changed at the mention of what had occurred four months ago, and again, I recognized the look. It was the fierce, protective one he got when those he cared about were in danger.Cal l me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you? I had already guessed the answer, and I didnt like it.No.No?No.I put my hands on my hips. Look, doesnt it seem reasonable that if youre going to talk about what happened to us, then you should have us there?Dimitri, fully in strict-instructor mode now, shook his head. The queen and some of the other guardians thought itd be best if you didnt go. Theres enough evidence between the rest of us, and besides, criminal or not, he is or was one of the most powerful royals in the world. Those who know about this trial want to keep it quiet.So, what, you thought if you brought us, wed tell everyone? I exclaimed. Come on, comrade. You really think wed do that? The only thing we want is to see Victor locked up. Forever. Maybe longer. And if theres a chance he might walk free, you have to let us go.After Victor had been caught, hed been taken to prison, and Id thought that was where the story had ended. Id figured theyd lock ed him up to rot. It had never occurred to me though it should have that hed need a trial first. At the time, his crimes had seemed so obvious. But, although the Moroi government was secret and separate from the human one, it operated in a lot of the same ways. Due process and all that.Its not my last to make, Dimitri said.But you have influence. You could speak up for us, especially if Some of my anger dimmed just a little, replaced by a sudden and floor fear. I almost couldnt say the next words. Especially if there really is a chance he might get off. Is there? Is there really a chance the queen could let him go?I dont know. Theres no telling what she or some of the other high-up royals will do sometimes. He suddenly looked tired. He reached into his pocket and tossed over a set of signalises. Look, I know youre upset, but we cant talk about it now. I have to go meet Alberta, and you need to get inside. The square key will let you in the far side door. You know the one.I did. Yeah. Thanks.I was sulking and hated to be that way especially since he was providence me from getting in trouble but I couldnt help it. Victor Dashkov was a criminal a villain, even. He was power-hungry and greedy and didnt care who he stepped on to get his way. If he were loose againwell, there was no telling what might happen to Lissa or any other Moroi. It anger me to think that I could do something to help put him away but that no one would let me do it.Id taken a few steps forward when Dimitri called out from behind me. Rose? I glanced back. Im sorry, he said. He paused, and his expression of regret turned wary. And youd better bring the keys back tomorrow.I turned away and kept going. It was probably unfair, but some childish part of me believed Dimitri could do anything. If hed really wanted to get Lissa and me to the trial, I was certain he could have.When I was almost to the side door, I caught deed in my peripheral vision. My mood plummeted. Great. Dimitri had give n me keys to sneak back in, and now someone else had busted me. That was typical of my luck. Half-expecting a teacher to demand to know what I was doing, I turned and prepared an excuse.But it wasnt a teacher.No, I said softly. This had to be a trick. No.For half an instant, I wondered if Id ever really woken up. Maybe I was actually still in bed, asleep and dreaming.Because surely, surely that was the only explanation for what I was now seeing in front of me on the Academys lawn, lurking in the shadow of an ancient, gnarled oak.It was Mason.