Shadow Rider (Vampire Academy Fanfic)

Chapter 51 - Thanatia

On our third day together, the inevitable happened. I got a feeling. The wards, coupled with my enhanced jewellery, kept the ghosts firmly out. Casimir wasn't doing any exhaustive magic, so there was no darkness seeping into me, either. Still, I got a feeling. It was an eerie calm, the kind of calm before a storm erupts.

Everything felt tender. I felt tender. I felt especially tender towards my friends, towards Ash.

When Rose called with news of Casimir's and Vasilisa's final agreement, I could only shut my eyes with regret. Casimir had cautioned against this kind of defensive stance, but the Queen had chosen to overrule it. She had the backing of her people and her royal circle, and Casimir had no chance against a united power like that. Unity at the very least, had been achieved.

We were to wait, they ruled. We would prepare our defenses and wait for the moment of attack. Scouts were sent out to patrol the grounds; the Court was heightened with several more wards, so that the Strigoi would have to waste time staking several of them, instead of one. During daylight hours, the Queen had a group of experts install traps in the ground.

Guardians made up the bulk of our "army," so to speak. Naturally, this bulk would be lined with the most skilled magical Moroi, and whoever else volunteered to take part in what was bound to be a brutal battle. We rehearsed this group formation several times, ensuring that we all knew what we were doing. I was still not at peak condition, but had improved fast over the days. I couldn't risk opening myself to the ghosts, not anymore, and this was something I knew with a crystal clear certainty. Next time I do it, I will be lost. Without access to my private intel, I had to guess at the worst.

What was Andrey Tarus doing? He couldn't compromise with the Strigoi; he couldn't keep the deal. What then, was there left for him to do, except sacrificing us all? He would be left to rule the ones who wouldn't be participating in the war. The weak ones; the manipulable ones. I suppose it would be a sufficient victory for him.

I conveyed as much to Rose, who forwarded the information to any relevant recipient, but other than that, I didn't concern myself overmuch with preparations.

Most people at Court were muted with worry and concern, fearful of what lay ahead. Ash and I, in huge contrast, were having the time of our lives. We tried out new exotic food for every meal, we went on walks, we sat by the garden, we went to the museum, we went to the spa again, and we even went to a drawing class, where Ash and I quickly discovered that neither of us had any skill in the line of art.

Casimir went out of his way to ignore us, which was just as well. He had been acting weird and irritable the few times we had accidentally crossed paths, but I refused to venture into his head. If he didn't want to talk to me, then I wouldn't force my company on him. Besides, time was short.

It was on the third day that I got a bad feeling, but it wasn't until the day after that the scouts reported sightings of several Strigoi - no doubt themselves scouting out our perimeters. This sent a palpable shockwave through the Court - it was really going to happen. The war. And it was happening any day now.

The Queen had an emergency meeting with her closest advisors, and Rose later told me that military grade weapons had been considered; rifles, grenades, even manned vehicles. God knows the Court could afford it. But Vasilisa later dismissed it. That kind of warfare would inevitably attract human attention, and the threat posed to us by humans by far superseded that of the Strigoi. Humans, we knew, had the uncanny ability of wiping out everything in their path.

So people were preparing themselves again, more anxiously this time. I even I made a move to show some commitment. I ventured into the gym with Ash, testing my muscles and endurance, though not pushing myself too hard. Mostly I stretched, and Ash did too. He was silent beside me, so I tried to meditate, not that it worked much.