𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 ▸ Dimitri and Rose share a hopeless love. Knowing they shouldn't care for each other doesn't make holding back any easier. When a Strigoi threat abroad sees Dimitri reallocated on a suicide mission, will he make it out ali...
I got up and headed to the cafeteria for dinner, thinking I'd stop by Alberta's office on the way. We'd never outright spoken about Dimitri and me, but we needed to. It was cold out – we were, after all, only a few days before Christmas – so I grabbed a coat and headed across the commons. As luck would have it, Alberta was in her office.
"Rose," she greeted looking up from a mountain of papers. "You here to go through the paperwork for your kills?"
"Yes. But I also wanted to let you know something... About Dimitri." It was embarrassing to talk directly about my love, but it's not like she didn't already know.
"Yes?" Alberta looked at me tentatively. She was equally unused to me talking to her about my personal life.
"Well, you know how Christian's aunt Tasha Ozera is staying on campus at the moment? She knows Dimitri and has a crush on him. Christian confided in me that she was planning on using her visit to ask him to be her 'Guardian with benefits,'" I said, raising my eyebrows meaningfully.
"Oh," Alberta said, clearly surprised and a little out of her depth.
"She wants him to guard her and for them to also start a family together," I added so there was no misunderstanding what I meant. "I've spoken with Dimitri's family who also know her, and they said there's never been anything between him and Tasha. I know Dimitri loves only me, but they warned me that were she to find out about he and I she might get nasty. They said she's been a bit unstable about relationships in the past."
"I see," Alberta said slowly. "So who knows about you and Belikov?"
"You, Celeste, Guardian Schoenberg, and Dimitri's family. Stan might have an inkling because he walked into the gym when I was sitting on Dimitri's lap and crying just after he told me about his reallocation."
"You haven't told any of your friends?" She sounded surprised.
"No. Dimitri and I only had those few days, and then he was gone. It wasn't like they could help me with it because I couldn't tell them where he'd gone and why I was so upset, so it was easier just to say nothing. But I thought I should tell you about Tasha."
"Thank you, I'm glad you have. I suggest you let Celeste know about this, although I trust her not to say anything. Let me know if Tasha becomes an issue," she said thoughtfully. "Now - let me introduce you to the joy that is Guardian paperwork," she said with a chuckle, but not before she gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze.
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It was Friday morning, and I dragged myself out of bed. I'd actually fallen asleep at a reasonable hour last night, but I was still exhausted. However I knew Celeste would be waiting for me in the gym, and I needed to bring her up to date on the Tasha situation.
I threw my hair up, brushed my teeth and dressed in sweats, racing to the gym only a few minutes late. I opened the inner door, and two things happened at once – first I saw Celeste and Tasha standing awkwardly next to one another, and then I started dry retching from the smell in the gym. The gym had high vaulted ceilings and upper windows that were opened in summer to air out the space. But being December, the windows hadn't been opened in months, and more of the combat classes were being held indoors. Consequently the space stank.
