Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 29 - Thanatia

With Rose and Casimir gone, Ash and I were left to stare awkwardly at each other. Or, I don't know, maybe that feeling was only on my part. Ash grinned, like he had no care in the world.

'So, what was your favourite subject in school?' he asked.

'You have to ask?'

He considered for a moment. 'Something combat related, I guess?'

'Yes.'

'Ummm...okay so what was your favourite subject out of the theory ones?'

I shrugged. 'All of them.'

Ash shot me an exasperated look. 'Oh come on, that's no answer.'

'No, really. I enjoy learning. Any knowledge is good knowledge to have. You never know when you might need it.'

He gazed at me intently. 'I guess that's an answer in itself.'

With the bond being kind of numb, and me having nothing else to do, I considered for the first time to entertain myself by directing Ash's questions back at him.

'What was yours?' I asked, and I could see the surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected me to care.

'I liked psychology,' he answered, eyes lingering on mine.

'What were you taught?'

'How scared and delicate Moroi are in a dangerous situation, and how to cope with that.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Figures.'

'Are all the Moroi in your country like Casimir?'

'No. Not even close.'

'What was his job back there?'

'He was the King's right-hand, the War Chief. But Casimir never liked our King,' I said. 'He is...selfish, not so compassionate and intelligent. He kept saying how, when the world burns, we would rise alone out of the ashes. He doesn't care if the Strigoi slaughter all the Moroi in the world, as long as they're not killing in our region. It's a stupid way of thinking.'

'Yikes.' Ash grimaced. 'He makes Tatiana seem downright nice.'

'Tatiana?' I inquired.

'Our former Queen. It was she who decided to lower the graduation age to sixteen.' He frowned. 'She was murdered.'

'By whom?'

'By Rose.' I gasped. 'Just kidding,' Ash said, seeing my shock. 'But she was framed for it. She was imprisoned, but her gang broke her out, and she escaped with Dimitri. They brought back a girl, who turned out to be Lissa's illegitimate sister, and pang boom, Lissa was crowned Queen.'

'So...who killed Tatiana?'

'Christian Ozera's aunt.'

I waited, thinking he was kidding again.

'I'm not kidding,' he said, serious.

'So, a royal Moroi killed the Queen?'

'Yeah. Tasha hated her for the new age thing. And she wanted Lissa to be crowned, but thought that wouldn't happen, since she didn't know about Lissa's sister.'

'So why did she frame Rose?'

Ash shrugged. 'I guess she wanted Rose out of the way so she could better control the Queen. I also heard she had a thing for Dimitri.'

'You Americans aren't as tame as I thought,' I admitted.

Ash chuckled. 'Definitely not.'

'How's Liana managing without you?'

He sighed. 'She never "manages." She's supposed to be here on an internship, trying to get into politics, but all she does is party and drink.'

'She's spoilt,' I said. What did he expect?

'She even made a pass at me, once.'

I stiffened.

'She tried to order me into her bed,' he said, amused by the memory. 'When I refused, she threatened to have me fired. I told her, "Sure, I'll let your dad know that your next guardian should look like your grandpa." That shut her up.'

'That's illegal,' I said, voice wooden.

He sighed, and grabbed my hand. I jerked at the contact, alarmed, but his head was bowed, and he didn't seem to realise he'd done it. 'We don't really have laws like that here,' he said. 'And I couldn't afford to get fired.'

I stared at his hand on mine. It was warm and rough. I had big hands for a woman, but his were bigger still. I willed myself to feel nothing, but my body betrayed me.

'In my country, it's almost a given that guardians and their Moroi fall in love,' I said, voice soft. 'You live together, you protect each other...you spend every waking moment together. Either you're best friends, or lovers.'

Ash's eyes bore into mine. 'If I could pledge myself to you, I would.'

I stared at him, unsure that I'd heard him correctly. 'You don't mean that.'

A rueful smile tugged at his lips. 'I do.' He ran a hand through his hair, but it was a mess that couldn't be tamed. 'I could leave the Zeklos family. The only thing that's stopping me, is Casimir.'

Anger flared up in my chest. If he thought I would leave Casimir for this...this, fling, or whatever it was, he was very, very wrong. 'It will be stopping you a long time,' I said stiffly.

Ash's grey eyes burned with emotion. 'I can wait.'

'You'll wait a lifetime.'

'I doubt it.'

'What? Are you threatening us?'

'Not at all. But what's gonna happen to you when Casimir finds someone he wants, more than you? What will you do, if say, he gets married and has kids?'

His words stung, but I let anger trump my hurt. 'I'm not his girlfriend. I'm his guardian. I'll guard him no matter what. Nothing, and I mean nothing, can stop me.'

'I know that. But he'll want alone time. And you know that he can protect himself. He won't need you.'

Ash looked dead serious, and in that moment, I hated him.

'You don't understand,' I argued. 'He'll always need me.'

'To take care of his little madness?' He sneered. 'You don't need to be around him to do that.'

'How do you even know this?' I hissed.

'I talked to Rose about it.'

'Oh? Anything else you've been doing with Rose?'

His eyebrows flew up. 'What, you think - for god's sake, I never even...I never liked her.'

'I don't care who you like!' I fixed him with a challenging glare. 'Did you come here only to tell me that Casimir will never love me? I know that - I don't expect that!'

His expression turned from furious to placating in the blink of an eye. 'Look I...I just wanted you to know-'

'That you'll be there to replace him? What's wrong with you?'

'No! I didn't mean it like that. I'll always be here for you, no matter what.'

'Get out, Ash.'

'No,' he said stubbornly.

'Go, or I'll call the nurse.'

His mouth pressed into a thin line. He left without another word.