Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 30 - Rose

Thanatia showed up for practice next day. She walked in without saying anything, her eyes searching. When they landed on Ash, who was standing next to me, her expression went from neutral to furious. Ash, meanwhile, was sulking.

She stood facing us, controlling her expression with some effort, and finally spoke.

'Before we begin today's session, I just wanted to say what an incredible performance that was, at the lake.' Her praising words shocked all of us. She seemed to realise it, and smiled. 'Your new weapons surprised and confused the Strigoi, and we managed that attack with not a single casualty. Not only did we avenge the Szelsky family, but we rid the world of approximately thirty Strigoi. We saved a lot of lives that day.' Pride shone in her eyes. 'I was lying half-passed out on the ground, so there's no way I can take any credit for our success. That was all on you. Great work, guys!'

Cheerful clapping ensued, and every eye in the room was glued on Thanatia. We all knew we wouldn't have succeeded without her sacrifice.

'I've decided that you are ready for some official trials,' she continued. 'Those who pass them will level up in their training. Those who fail will continue to perfect their training.'

'What's at the next level?' someone asked.

'Specialisation,' Thanatia replied, a smug smile tugging at her lips. 'You've tried out different weapons...now it's time to choose an official one. Of course, you will still have your stakes.'

'And the trials?'

'Today's session will be dedicated to building our arena. Back home, we captured Strigoi and used them for the tests' - there was a collective gasp - 'but here we'll just stick to wooden weapons and guardians. It's going to be an obstacle course with several levels; each level assigned with a weapon, and a guardian enemy.'

We were listening so hard we didn't realise she'd stopped speaking. Her eyes twinkled. 'Get going!' she yelled, and we did.

So we dedicated the whole day to building our arena. She wanted it located in the little stretch of forest found within the Court's magic wards. Casimir came and helped out, lifting the heaviest logs with his mind. I realised with some misgiving that it was pretty fortunate Casimir was a good person. I couldn't begin to imagine the destruction he could cause if he was a bad guy. Suddenly, Thanatia's job seemed all the more important.

She chose her "Strigoi" with care. Herself, Casimir, Dimitri, Maxim, and I. She also picked the oldest guardian in the room, a fifty or sixty something man called Roger. After some hesitation, she picked Ash too. Then we had one Strigoi for each level: stake, sword, axe, spear, throwing star, dagger and crossbow.

We finished the arena late, and we were all as exhausted as if we'd had a normal practice session.

Dimitri and I decided to retire for the night, trudging wearily back to our room. I was about ready to collapse into bed, but Dimitri moved his long body over mine, a suggestive smile on his lips.

'Dimitri,' I murmured between his kisses. 'The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.'

He chuckled, his voice hoarse, sending shivers across the skin on my neck.

His lips finally touched the hollow beneath my jaw, trailing kisses down along my neck, nibbling gently. He lifted his head slowly, and his smoldering eyes met mine.

'Let me do the work,' he said, his tone so seductive that it was beyond me to resist.