Building the Tension | ✔ | 18+

Chapter 9 - Compulsive Liar

Author's Notes:

First:  So I'm less than a quarter of the way through the book and my happy ass is already getting ridiculously tired of separating out the long chapters.  As a result, congratulations, you get less breaks.  Yeah ... I'm not doing that anymore.  You're welcome.😂

Second:  This story is about to take a hella dark turn.  Please forgive me for what you are about to read, but I absolutely promise you that it will all work out happily ever after for Rose, Dimitri, and Lissa - and still potentially leave a setup there for Bloodlines to happen.

-=o0&0o=-

After I finally 'got my head in the game' that morning, I won three out of our four matches, so I was already feeling pretty good about that, but the few minutes we spent in the storage room had me feeling extremely good. It was so freeing to be able to just say, "I love you," and kiss each other. Dimitri and I hated to leave each other for breakfast, but we knew that I'd have to separate from him before we drew too much attention and, as much as we both wanted to, it just seemed like we couldn't stay there loving each other forever. I tried to take comfort in the fact that it seemed at least as hard for him to part as it was for me.

Though it was technically Moroi morning, several people weren't quite back on the normal schedule yet. Due to the shift in schedule, the cafeteria was relatively deserted for breakfast when I arrived at eight forty-five, but I had also arrived fairly late after taking the time to shower away my sweaty workout. I quickly grabbed some sausage and some awful scrambled eggs, which were watery and clearly made from reconstituted powdered eggs. No bacon or donuts today, but I did get myself a glass of chocolate milk. The food was horrible, but I had worked hard that morning and was too hungry to avoid it, so I downed it without really enjoying it.

After I finished my food and prepared to pack things up, I remembered that I had told Adrian I would meet him at the library. I looked at the clock. We had never specified a time, but it was already almost nine twenty. Breakfast would be over in less than fifteen minutes and he would be expecting me. I had a little less than two hours until my next training time and I really needed to get more rest, so I'd have to hope that Adrian was there and that it would be quick. Even if I wasn't longing to see Dimitri again, I couldn't afford to be late to my next training session. I shelved my lunch tray and jogged across campus to the library.

When I got there, there was no sign of Adrian on the ground floor, but I was hoping he'd be there with Lissa. I opened my mind to the bond, but she had skipped breakfast and was in bed sleeping. I walked up the stairs to the second floor and saw Adrian through the glass windows in one of the few study rooms off the edge of the library. He motioned me over, so I walked into the study room.

"Shut the door," he said. I closed the door behind me, surprised at his curt, demanding tone.

"Hi, Rose," I said, sarcastically, "So nice to see you. Could you please shut the door?"

"Sorry," he said, "I'm just a little tense with how much work I've put into this charm." He held out the necklace with the cross he had been working on with Lissa, showing it to me. He flinched a little as he said, "Sorry it's a cross. I know it's not your favorite thing. I tried with a ring and that just didn't work out the way that I'd hoped. Why don't you have a seat?"

I eyed the necklace speculatively. "Is it ready? Will it work?" I asked, as I sat across from Adrian.

He nodded, unclasping the necklace and holding the two ends out to me. "It is ready. I'm sure of it. Can you slip it on and see how well it works?"

I put the necklace on and fastened it around my neck. I immediately started to hear a voice in my head, You're starting to have feelings for Adrian. He's not such a bad guy, is he? You're reconsidering how you feel about Dimitri. He's too old for you and he only wants you for your body. My eyes went wide as I realized what was going on - this was a compulsion charm! "Adrian!" I said, outraged, "You can't compel me like this! You know this isn't right!"