Now that Dimitri was back, I knew that there would be some hardships that he had to face. For one, he had to prove he really was a dhampir again...which was ridiculous according to me and Rose, but clearly, they couldn't be too careful, especially at the Royal Court.
When we returned to the Royal Court, I returned straight to Adrian.
"Well, what happened? You're not going to keep me in the dark are you?" asked Adrian curiously.
"My brother's back. Lissa turned him back..." I explained, keeping my words to a minimum.
"Then it's true..." said Adrian thoughtfully.
"Hmm?" I responded without thinking.
"That's two people that we know of who have been turned back," whispered Adrian in my ear.
I spun so fast to look at him; I whipped him in the face with my hair.
"Ouch," he laughed.
"Sorry," I apologized, "But never mention that again."
"Don't worry, my pretty little dhampir, I won't tell," grinned Adrian.
"I want to go visit him...but I can't leave you," I frowned, changing the subject to Dimitri's imprisonment, "And I can't take you along either."
Adrian shrugged, "Go for it. I'll just be in my room drinking."
"Do you promise not to leave?" I said eying him.
"Even if I left, I'd be fine. Consider how many guardians are at the Royal Court, I'll be fine!" laughed Adrian.
"Fine," I sighed, giving in to him.
I left to go find Mikhail to go visit Dimitri with me.
***************************************************************************
"Dimka," I called timidly through the bars of his cell.
He looked up, dishevelled, his long hair falling into his face and traces of his tears still remained.
"Mira..." Dimitri started, unsure what to say next.
"It's not your fault. NONE of it!" I whispered fiercely in Russian.
"I'll wait here," said Mikhail taking a few steps back.
I nodded and stared straight into Dimitri's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I took away your only chance to be happy."
"It never would have worked out. It would have been impossible to turn both Alexander and I back. It would have been too taxing on the Spirit user," I said shaking my head.
"But you loved him!" urged Dimitri.
"Stop beating yourself up. I've stopped a long time ago. Moved on. It's time you did too," I said coldly.
Dimitri looked shocked. Only a few months ago, he was the one who had told me to move on, to stop thinking about the past and lingering on my mistakes and my pain and now I was the one telling him that.
"All the things that I've done," started Dimitri, combing his fingers through his hair.
"And think of all the things I could have done. All these years, keeping it inside and fighting so hard. It's not worth it," I interrupted.
"I didn't know your pain then. I was wrong to preach about something I didn't understand," said Dimitri quietly.
"I'm not saying that you should completely forget the things you've done; I'm saying, don't let them ruin your life. Don't let it keep you from being your sweet darling self. You're my brother and I know how strong you are. I know that you hurt Rose, but she still loves you. I'm sure I've hurt a lot of people, but I've hurt myself more than anyone else. If you don't stop thinking about it, you'll only destroy yourself," I sighed.
"I can't-I just can't face her...not after all I've done. I loved her, but–" shuddered Dimitri.
"But what?" I snapped, "She's strong and so are you. Get a grip, Dimka."
He just shook his head sadly and shut right up.
I was so frustrated. It was like talking to a wall.
"I accepted you...you and Rose being together. Do you know how hard it was to come to terms with that? I still hate it, but I only wanted you to be happy as I want you to be happy now. Think about what I said Dimka and think about how you're acting. I love you because you are my brother, nothing you do or say will ever change my love! Don't let my acceptance go to waste!" I said before I turned away.
I walked back up to Adrian's room absolutely furious with Dimitri. I couldn't bear to look back at the pitiful excuse that my brother was now.
