He’s right about that. Rose is surprised by how well Adrian seems to understand her.
When Lissa leaves Adrian, she overhears an argument between Avery and her father. Avery is obviously drunk, and her father is ashamed of her behavior. Despite herself, Lissa finds that she feels sorry for the girl, who obviously isn’t happy about being stuck at the Academy. The next day, Lissa decides to invite her to lunch. Why not be friendly? It’s not going to kill her—and maybe they will become friends after all . . .
SPIRITS VS. STRIGOI
Sydney and Rose reach a house owned by people connected with the Alchemists where they’ll be spending the night and get some rest.
But suddenly Rose feels nauseous . . . and she knows what that means.
There are Strigoi nearby.
She slips out of the house to investigate, stake in hand. A pair of Strigoi ambush her, and she’s hurt badly. Injured and at an extreme disadvantage, she’s about to be killed by Strigoi—when suddenly ghosts appear from everywhere. Since Rose is shadow-kissed, she can see ghosts, which is how she saw Mason back at St. Vladimir’s. She’s worked hard to build up barriers to block her from the spirit world, and her out-of-control emotions must have messed with that. But it turns out, she’s not the ghosts’ target. Instead, they swarm the Strigoi.
It gives her enough of an advantage to stake the two vampires before she puts her barriers back up and the ghosts fade away.
Sydney runs toward her just as Rose succumbs to her injuries and passes out cold.
She has a good dream—one about taking care of one of Dimitri’s injuries back when they were fighting their desire for each other.
My fingertips touching his skin had sent shock waves through me, and he’d felt them too. He caught hold of my hand and pulled it away.
“Enough,” he said, voice husky. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. He hadn’t released my hand. We were so, so close. The small bathroom seemed ready to burst with the electricity building between us. I knew this couldn’t last but hated to let go of him. God, it was hard being responsible sometimes.
“Yes,” he said. His voice was soft, and I knew he wasn’t mad at me. He was afraid, afraid of how little it would take to ignite a fire between us.
—page 96
Later, she’ll learn she said Dimitri’s last name aloud in her sleep and that Sydney used it as a clue to get them where they needed to go. She’ll also learn that a mysterious Moroi named Abe Mazur helped too.
When she wakes up, it takes her some time to realize that she’s exactly where she wanted to be. Dimitri’s hometown. In fact, she’s in Dimitri’s family’s house—and his mother, Olena, is helping to nurse her back to health!
A surprised Rose meets the rest of Dimitri’s family, including Dimitri’s sisters Karolina and Viktoria and his grandmother, Yeva. Later, she’ll also meet the third sister, Sonja, who’s currently pregnant. The Belikovs don’t yet know who Rose is or that she’s connected to Dimitri, only that she’s a dhampir traveling with an Alchemist who needed help. The wise and witchy Yeva believes that Rose has ulterior motives for being in town—and she’s right. But Rose isn’t ready to break the news about Dimitri to his warm and generous family yet—a family who have generously welcomed her into their home without even knowing who she is.
Viktoria takes Rose on a tour of the small town, and she’s surprised to discover that it’s way more normal than she ever would have guessed. It even has a large human population. Rose and Viktoria meet up with a friend of Viktoria’s, a cute dhampir guy who obviously has a big crush on Dimitri’s youngest sister. Too bad it doesn’t seem to be mutual.
The subject of the unpromised comes up—dhampirs who never completed their training but who kill Strigoi. That’s what Rose is now since she’s a St. Vlad’s drop-out.
When Viktoria speaks glowingly of her brother, Rose feels horribly guilty for keeping the truth from his family—the truth about who she really is and what has happened to Dimitri. It’s not fair to anyone. Back at the house, Rose gathers everyone together and breaks the horrible news to them: Dimitri is now a Strigoi.
His family is stunned by the news, but despite their overwhelming grief, it doesn’t take long before they begin to plan his memorial service. Sydney helps Rose understand why this is.
“But he’s not dead—”
“Shh.” She cut me off with a sharp gesture and glanced warily at the others as they hustled around. “Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true,” I hissed back.
She shook her head. “Not to them. Out here . . . out in these villages . . . there’s no in-between state. You’re alive or you’re dead. They aren’t going to acknowledge him being one of... those.” She couldn’t keep the disgust out of her voice. “For all intents and purposes, he is dead to them. They’ll mourn him and move on. So should you.”
—page 117
But Rose is far from ready to move on.
Sydney wonders if Rose has had the chance to meet Abe Mazur yet, a guy who helped get her here to Baia in the first place. He’s a Moroi with a lot of influence and power but not a royal. His nickname is Zmey, which is Russian for “serpent.” He sounds like trouble to Rose, especially when she learns that he’s been specifically searching for her on behalf of someone. Who’s he working for? A friend or a foe?
IN MEMORIAM
Dimitri’s memorial service comes together quickly. The service is held at the Belikovs’ house, and from the turnout, it’s clear that Dimitri was well loved by all in the village. The emotion is overwhelming for Rose, and she needs to get some fresh air. Outside, she finally meets Abe. He’s flamboyant and dangerous . . . the kind of guy who might break kneecaps for a living. She assumes whoever hired him wants her to go back home.
“Did you think you could just come here and drag me back to the U.S.?”
That secretive smile of Abe’s returned. “Do you think I could just drag you back?”
“Well,” I scoffed, again without thinking, “you couldn’t. Your guys here could. Well, maybe. I might be able to take them.”
Abe laughed out loud for the first time, a rich, deep sound filled with sincere amusement. “You live up to your brash reputation. Delightful.”
—page 132
Abe presses for the real reason she’s in Russia, but she’s not talking. This isn’t the last conversation the two will have, to say the least. Her connection to Zmey runs much deeper than she realizes.
Back at the memorial service, Rose is asked to tell some stories about Dimitri from his time at the Academy. Even though her heart is breaking, she does her best, relating the story of how brave and strong he was when he fought off the Strigoi in the attack that turned him. Though she doesn’t admit it, it’s clear to everyone that they were in love—and to her surprise, nobody has a problem with that.
Later, after too much strong vodka, Rose visits Lissa through the bond, hoping it will take her mind off the pain and grief of losing Dimitri. Lissa too was drinking heavily the night before and has a hangover to prove it, making it difficult to concentrate in class. But then there’s a fire alarm—Avery pulled it so she and Lissa can ditch class and hang out. The girl’s a complete rebel, and Lissa totally approves.
Rose isn’t sure how she feels about that.
Anyway, the next morning she has her own hangover to deal with. Yeva wakes her, suggesting that the two take a long walk to meet a married couple named Mark and Oksana. It soon becomes clear that Mark’s a dhampir and Oksana is a Moroi. Not just that, but Oksana is a spirit user and Mark is shadow-kissed. It’s just like Rose and Lissa . . . well, without the “being married” part.
Oksana is talented with her magic and soon reads that Rose is out for vengeance. This discovery worries them all, especially when it also becomes clear that she helps absorb Lissa’s spirit darkness. They give her a silver ring that Oksana has charmed with spirit to help her moods. This is the first time Rose has heard of silver items charmed with he
aling magic—but it won’t be the last.
When they return to the Belikov house, Rose is disappointed to learn that Sydney has departed on Alchemist business, leaving nothing more than a note and a cell phone number. Rose is surprised to find she’ll miss the tough, brainy Alchemist.
Rose settles into a routine with the Belikovs over the next few days. Being with them feels like being with the family she never had. They know she was such an important part of Dimitri’s life and welcome her into their home.
Besides, she can tell through her bond with Lissa that no one really seems to miss her at St. Vlad’s. As Adrian and Lissa continue practicing spirit, Christian introduces them to Jill Mastrano, the fourteen-year-old Moroi who told Rose she’s interested in learning to fight using her water magic. Rose had eventually pointed her in Christian’s direction, since he’s always been in favor of Moroi using their power for self-defense. Jill’s awestruck by the chance to spend time with these upperclassmen—especially the gorgeous Adrian, who quickly nicknames her “Jailbait.”
Avery, who also has her sights set on Adrian, swings by with a big plan—they’re going to Court for Easter. Christian immediately bails on this. He doesn’t feel welcome there because of his family history, but he suggests Lissa take Jill so she can meet Mia, another water-magic user. Maybe the overenthusiastic young Moroi can pick up some pointers.
Through the bond, Rose can feel there’s something seriously off about Lissa—a rising dark anger. She resolves to check in with her friend more often to keep an eye on things.
On a shopping trip in town, Rose runs into Mark—and can’t help asking another shadow-kissed person about the ghosts she sometimes sees. Turns out that he sees them too. The shadow-kissed are able to summon ghosts, but it’s dangerous and easy to lose control. Rose thinks if ghosts hate Strigoi, they might make a good weapon. Mark, however, cautions her against deliberately summoning ghosts and fighting Strigoi. Instead, she should make a safe life for herself with the Belikovs here in Baia.
The tense talk with Mark only succeeds in reinforcing her desire to find Dimitri. Rose runs into Abe again. He’s losing patience with her and wants her to go back to the States. He leaves her with a warning: he can be a very good friend or a very bad enemy. His words succeed in striking fear in Rose.
That night, during a troubled sleep, Adrian pulls her into a spirit dream. It starts pleasantly enough but gets bad fast. She tells him a little about the spirit user she met and he wants to know more— interested in anything to do with his mysterious power. But Rose pushes back. She doesn’t want to reveal anything about her location, which makes him mad. The two of them can’t seem to sync up. When he talks glowingly about Avery, Rose even feels a bit jealous—of how the Moroi has befriended Lissa and worked her way into Adrian’s affections so easily. Adrian’s seemingly endless patience is finally reaching a tipping point with Rose.
“Avery would never act like a little brat,” he said. “She wouldn’t get so offended that someone actually cares enough to check on her. She wouldn’t deny me the chance to learn more about my magic because she was paranoid someone would ruin her crazy attempt to get over her boyfriend’s death.”
“Don’t talk to me about being a brat,” I shot back. “You’re as selfish and self-centered as usual. It’s always about you—even this dream is. You hold me against my will, whether I want it or not, because it amuses you.”
“Fine,” he said, voice cold. “I’ll end this. And I’ll end everything between us. I won’t be coming back.”
“Good. I hope you mean it this time.”
—pages 198-199
However, despite her insistence otherwise, Rose knows he was right—she was being a brat. She’d lashed out at him when he didn’t deserve it. And now it’s very possible she’s ruined things with him.
For Easter, Rose goes to church with the Belikovs, which only reminds her more of Dimitri. After the service, a group of dhampirs approach her. They’ve heard she’s unpromised and has Strigoi kills under her belt—and the molnija marks to prove it. They’re leaving for a hunt at a nearby city tomorrow at sunrise and invite Rose to join them. But she doesn’t want to leave Dimitri’s family to spend time with these cocky guys, who seem like they’re only interested in hunting Strigoi for the glory. Now that Rose is looking at it objectively, it seems like a suicide mission. To her, there’s a big difference between dying uselessly and dying for a cause. She lets them know she’s not interested in joining them.
At least, not yet.
That night, Rose goes with Viktoria to meet up with the guy she’s crazy about at a club in an abandoned part of downtown. Rose quickly clues in to the fact that this is no normal nightclub—this is a blood-whore den. Dimitri’s youngest sister is in love with a Moroi named Rolan, and it’s clear to Rose that he wants to use her and discard her.
And gee, who else happens to be at a scummy place like this? Zmey himself. Seems fitting, actually.
But Abe has lots of info when it comes to Viktoria’s situation. The Moroi guy she wants to hook up with? He’s also the father of her sister Sonja’s unborn child. He’s bad news. And Viktoria’s headed down the same road, which worries Rose. She knows Dimitri would hate knowing his sister was willingly becoming a blood whore.
Abe has ammunition now—he can use Rose’s affection for Dimitri and his sister to bend her to his will. He promises to fix this situation, to scare off the Moroi jerk once and for all, if Rose promises to leave Baia.
She finally agrees, willing to make sacrifices to save Viktoria from making some really bad choices.
Viktoria, however, isn’t too pleased Rose has chased off the man she loves.
“If you were my friend, you wouldn’t be acting like this. You wouldn’t try to stand in my way. You act like you loved my brother, but there’s no way you could have—no way you really understand love!”
Didn’t understand love? Was she crazy? If she only knew what I’d sacrificed for Dimitri, what I’d done to be where I was now . . . all for love. She was the one who couldn’t understand. Love wasn’t a fling in a back room at a party. It was something you lived and died for.
—page 233
BACK ON TARGET
The fight with Viktoria and her deal with Abe have been harsh reminders of Rose’s goal in Russia. She heads back to the Belikov house, packs her things, and slips out without saying goodbye. She’s never felt so alone and uncertain and wishes she had the two people she loves the most—Dimitri and Lissa—with her.
If nothing else, at least she can visit Lissa through the bond. Her friend went with Avery—and Adrian and Jill—to Court. Lissa resents having Jill tag along and wants to ditch her at the first opportunity. This selfishness doesn’t feel like Lissa to Rose. Something’s definitely wrong with her.
Mia meets up with them and takes Jill off her hands, but not before asking why Lissa didn’t go with Rose on her quest. After all, they’re best friends who support each other, right? The question troubles Lissa, and she can’t help but feel angry. After all, Rose was the one to abandon her, not the other way around. Lissa fights her increasingly dark mood by looking forward to partying hard with Avery.
While Rose is visiting Lissa’s thoughts through the bond, she doesn’t notice that Yeva has approached her. Dimitri’s grandmother has grown more disappointed in Rose the longer she’s stayed with the family. Gee, thanks. The old woman had a dream that Rose was a warrior, but she’s done nothing since she arrived. Yeva urges Rose to do what she came here to do—find the monster her grandson’s become and kill him.
It’s the final kick in the butt Rose needs to get going. She wasn’t sure what direction she’ll take, but she knows now. She’s going to meet the other dhampirs at sunrise for their Strigoi-hunting trip.
The group heads to Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia, and trolls the local clubs normally frequented by Strigoi. Rose makes it clear that they don’t kill any of the undead vamps until she gets a chance to question them first. Fair enough.<
br />
The first few Strigoi they take down know nothing about Dimitri. But then they find one who has seen Dimitri—and he speaks English.
“You’re lying,” I said. “You’ve never seen him.”
“I see him all the time. I’ve killed with him.”
My stomach twisted, and it had nothing to do with the Strigoi’s proximity. Don’t think about Dimitri killing people. Don’t think about Dimitri killing people. I said the words over and over in my head, forcing myself to stay calm.
“If it’s true,” I hissed back, “then I’ve got a message for you to deliver to him. Tell him Rose Hathaway is looking for him.”
—page 263
She lets the Strigoi go so he can deliver the message. And then she waits.
All she can think about is what the results of this message will be. To take her mind off it, she hunts Strigoi at night with the others and mentally visits Lissa. Her best friend is still at Court and drinking hard with Avery. On the surface she seems to be having fun, but her emotions keep getting darker and darker.
At a party, Lissa drunkenly falls off a table and into the arms of Aaron, her ex-boyfriend. He’s just as hot as she remembers. One thing leads to another and they kiss. But Jill witnesses the act, and she doesn’t approve of Lissa “cheating” on Christian. Lissa tells her, fairly harshly, to forget about it. Things escalate to the point where Adrian needs to step in to defend Jill.
What the hell is up with Lissa? It has to be spirit darkness—maybe it’s affecting both her and Rose, even while they’re so far apart.
DARK REUNION
Rose wanders away from the rest of the dhampir group to help assist an old, homeless lady who seems to be in distress—but it turns out she’s just a little out of her mind. Then she feels the nausea that indicates a Strigoi is nearby. She pulls her stake out and spins around . . .
Vampire Academy: The Ultimate Guide Page 11