Disclamer: I DO NOT own any of the Vampire Academy books or characters. They belong to talented and wonderful Richelle Mead. Most of the plot and storyline is mine.

Heres a sneek peak of my next installment Shadow Kiss in Dimitri's Point of View! (:

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Chapter 1:

Cold wind hit me in the face as I walked around the campus’ grounds. Leafless tree branches swayed in the wind, clawing at the sides of the stone dorms like fingernails. The sun peeped at me from between lead-colored clouds. It was like any miserable winter day in Montana.

The sun’s warmth was no match for the drifting snow in the air. I pulled my duster closer to my frame, trying to keep the icy air from seeping into my skin. Unfortunately it only worked a little, and I shivered as a blast of snow melted as it made contact with my skin.

I was on watch. It was night time for the Moroi, which was one of the easiest posts a guardian could get. Hardly anyone left their dorms. Well, except for the novices. Every single one of them appeared to have some form of insomnia. Luckily for me I hadn’t ran into any sleep deprived students…yet.

Shifts of school guardians always patrolled the grounds while everyone else slept. Strigoi, the undead vampires who stalked living Moroi vampires like Lissa, didn’t come out in sunlight, but students breaking rules---sneaking out of their dorms---were a problem night and day.

I walked on the newly lain snow; the only sound was the howling wind and the crunching snow beneath my feet. I tilted my head back, letting my human genes take in the sun’s rays as I continued my patrol around the school’s grounds. My head shot forward when I heard the faint footsteps of another person.

I was the only one who was assigned to patrol the novice’s side of the campus. Other guardians were guarding the Moroi dorms and the front gate as well as the back gate. No one should be walking around my part of the area.

Tensing I realized it was a novice sneaking out, my first catch of the day. Quickly and silently I rounded a corner, towards the sounds of the footsteps and stopped short. I’d recognized that dark brown hair and stance anywhere.

Rose.

My heart quickened as I took her in. I had finally accepted our love for each other. That was after almost having an affair with Tasha Ozera. I had promised Rose after everything that happened in Spokane that I would never hurt her again. But that didn’t mean we could start a relationship that wasn’t strictly educational.

I sighed, wishing life weren’t so damn complicated.

Rose continued to walk away from me, oblivious of my presence. A hint of a smile spread across my lips. Rose, always breaking the rules, when will you ever learn?

“Are you sleepwalking?” I asked.

She spun around, startled. I stood there watching her amused and curious as to why she was out here so late in the night. Plus it was kind of amusing to see her caught off by surprise. Hastily she ran a hand through her long hair, which was matted and sticking up everywhere from sleep.

“I was testing dorm security,” she said. “It sucks.”

A small smile played on my lips at the sound of that. I was about to reply when I noticed ha small shiver go through her. Her eyes weren’t on me anymore; they were now clearly focused on my jacket. Which was doing a lot better job at keeping me warm.

I took in her attire then. Her blue robe draped around her, down to her fuzzy slippers that were now drenched from her walk in the snow. I may not be able to have a relationship with her, but that didn’t stop me from worrying about her safety.

“You must be freezing. Do you want my coat?” I asked ready to take it off at her command.

She shook her head. “I’m fine. What are you doing out here. Are you testing security too?”

“I am security. This is my watch.” I said.

“Well, good work.” She said. “I’m glad I was able to help test your awesome skills. I should be going now.”

She turned to walk back the way she came. Her eyes hurt and betrayed, and looking into them brought me back to the day in Spokane. When I and too many guardians to count went in search for her and four other students from St. Vladimirs. Mason, Mia and Eddie had ran from the ski resort in search for Stirgoi. They were revengeful for what the vampires did to the two royal families in the past and planned to kill them all.

Rose had heard about it and took off, not bothering to tell me about it. And in the process she wound up taking Christian with her as well. I thought at first it was to get her boyfriend Mason back saftly. But really it was about saving all of their lives; she had realized how stupid they were being and wanted to put some sense into them.

On their trip back the five of them ran into humans who had helped the Strigoi. Rose and the other novices had put up a good fight, but in the end they had lost and were held captive in a basement under a house. There the Strigoi had tortured Eddie and teased the Moroi.

Eventually after two days of their captivation Rose had the idea of using offensive magic. This was strictly prohibited and looked down upon. But that didn’t stop Christian from using fire to free them. When Rose and Mason had thought the cost was clear they left the basement. Only to run into the two Strigoi that lived there.

Rose had got everyone out into the sunlight, leaving herself to die. She had put up a very good fight, but not good enough for Mason who in the end got killed because of his love for Rose. We had found them shortly after that.

Mason’s actions was the exact reason why I didn’t want my love for Rose to get in the way. I didn’t want a risk like that to happen where we lost Lissa because of some romance between Rose and I.

“Rose---“ I caught her arm, and despite all the wind and chill and slush, a flash of heat shot through me. I released her with a start, she looked up at me shocked. As though she’d felt it too. “What are you really doing out here?” I used my strict voice then, wanting a clear answer out of her.

“I had a bad dream. I wanted some air.”

For a moment my mind flashed back to my earlier thought of Spokane. I quickly pushed it away. “And so you just rushed out. Breaking the rules didn’t even cross your mind---and neither did putting on a coat.”

“Yeah,” she said. “That pretty much sums it up.”

“Rose, Rose. You never change. Always jumping in without thinking.”

She furrowed her brow, a frown spread on her lips. “That’s not true,” she protested. “I’ve changed a lot.”

Blood…Rose screaming…dead bodies…Spokane…flashed through my mind all at once. And it was then that I realized never before had I been so scared in my life. Scared for Rose’s safety, afraid that she will never be the same. And the death of her best friend would scar her forever.

And as I had predicted it has given her a darker outlook on life. As well as everyone here at St. Vladimir’s Academy, but Rose especially.

She noticed my frown as my face shifted unpleasantly at the thoughts of what happened three weeks ago. “Well, don’t worry. My birthday’s coming up. As soon as I’m eighteen, I’ll be an adult, right? I’m sure I’ll wake up that morning and be all mature and stuff.”

I softened into a smile at her attempts of making a joke to cheer me up. “Yes, I’m sure. What is  it, about a month?”

“Thirty-one days.” She announced primly.

“Not that you’re counting.”

She shrugged, which made me laugh.

“I suppose you’ve made a birthday list too. Ten pages? Single-spaced?” Ranked by order of priority?” I was still smiling. It was one of my relaxed and amused ones that rarely came out.

She smiled and opened her mouth to reply but then quickly shut is as her face turned from happy to sad and hurt.

“No.” She said in a small voice. “No list.”

I tilted my head to get a better look at her, making some of my shoulder-length hair blow into my face. My hair was brown, like Roses’, but not nearly as dark. Hers looked black at times. I brushed the unruly strands aside, only to have them immediately blow back into my face. “I can’t believe you don’t want anything. It’s going to be a boring birthday.”

“It doesn’t matter.” She said.

“What do you---“ I stopped, I understood then. From the look in her eyes I could tell exactly what she meant. She wanted freedom. Being eighteen meant we could be together, it meant we could be seen as a couple in public and not be questioned. It was something she and I both wanted more than anything in the world. Yet we couldn’t have.

I understood. I always did. It was part of why we connected like we did, in spite of the seven-year gap in our ages. We’d fallen for each other last fall when I’d been her combat instructor. As things heated up between us, we’d found we had more things to worry about than just age. We were both going to be protecting Lissa when she graduated, and we couldn’t let our feelings for each other distract us when she was our priority.

I didn’t think our feelings for each other were ever really going to go away. We’d both had moments of weakness, moments that led to stolen kisses or saying things we really shouldn’t have. After she had escaped the Strigoi, I had told her that I loved her and admitted I could never be with anyone else because of that. But we still couldn’t be together either and we had both slipped back into our old roles of keeping away from each other and pretending that our relationship was strictly professional.

Looking down at Rose I could see her shiver, pulling her robe closer to her. I wanted to change the subject, wanted to stop thinking about our love life and start taking action on the now. “You can deny it all you want, but I know you’re freezing. Let’s go inside. I’ll take you through the back.”

Astonishment flashed in her eyes. And I knew it was at my abrupt change in subject rather than me sneaking her around the campus. “I think you’re the one who’s cold.” She teased, as we walked around the side of the dorm where the novice guardians lived. “Shouldn’t you be all tough and stuff, since you’re from Siberia?”

“I don’t think Siberia’s exactly what you imagine.”

“I imagine it as an arctic wasteland.” She said truthfully.

“Then it’s definitely not what you imagine.”

“Do you miss it?” she asked glancing back at me as I walked behind her.

“All the time.” I said my heart aching for my hometown. “Sometimes I wish---“

“Belikov!”

A voice was carried on the wind from behind us. “I knew this was going to happen.” I muttered, too low for Rose to hear. I shoved her further around the corner she’d just rounded. “Stay out of sight.”

She ducked down behind a bank of holly trees that flanked the building. They didn’t have any berries. I turned from her then, putting on my mask as I walked up to Alberta, who was standing in the middle of the courtyard. She was dressed in all black: black jeans, black shirt and a black leather jacket.

“You’re not on watch.” I said trying to keep the surprise out of my voice as I stopped a few feet from her.

“No, but I need to talk to you. It’ll just take a minute. We need to shuffle some of the watches while you’re at the trial.”

“I figured.” I said trying to keep Victor’s trial secret from a eavesdropping Rose. “It’s going to put a strain on everyone else---bad timing.”

“Yes, well, the queen runs on her own schedule.” Alberta said frustrated as she ran a hand through her short hair. “Celeste will take your watches, and she and Emil will divide up your training times.”

I knew she was referring to the field experience starting tomorrow. Six weeks of hands-on-practice for the novices. They’d have no classes and would get to protect Moroi night and day while the guardians tested them. “Training times” meant my participation in that.

“They say they don’t mind the extra work,” she continued, “but I was wondering if you could even things out and take some of their shifts before you leave?”

“Absolutely.” I said words short and stiff. I was trying to keep Alberta from saying anything that would tip Rose off. She didn’t need to know about Victor’s trial. It would worry her even more. And knowing her, she would be angrier at the fact that she and Lissa can’t go rather than him being proved innocent. This wouldn’t happen.

“Thanks I think that’ll help.” She sighed. Her face thoughtful. “I wish I knew how long this trial was going to be. I don’t want to be away that long. You’d think it’d be a done deal with Dashkov, but now I hear the queen’s getting cold feet about imprisoning a major royal.”

I had to repress the urge to scream at Alberta then. I would have been fine if she didn’t say Dashkov so loudly. It was as if she knew I was hiding Rose a few feet away. Like she was mocking me about trying to keep it secret from her.

“I’m sure they’ll do the right thing.” I said.

“I hope so. And I hope it’ll only take a few days, like they claim. Look, it’s miserable out here. Would you mind coming into the office for a second to look at the schedule?”

“Sure,” I said as threw my head back in the direction where Rose was hiding. “Let me check on something first.”

She nodded, not bothering to ask what. “All right. See you soon.”

I nodded and waited till she was out of ear shot. I rounded the corner and stood in front of the holly. Rose shot up from her hiding spot. And from the rage on her face I knew exactly what was coming.

“Rose---“

“Dashkov?” She exclaimed her voice raising. “As in Victor Dashkov?”

I didn’t bother to deny it. “Yes. Victor Dashkov.”

“And you guys were talking about…Do you mean…” She was too startled to think correctly. “I thought he was locked up! Are you saying he hasn’t been on trial yet?”

Victor Dashkov was the guy who had stalked Lissa and tortured her mind and body in order to control her powers. Every Moroi could use magic in one of the four elements: earth, air, water, or fire. Lissa, however, worked and almost unheard of fifth element called spirit. She could heal anything---including the dead. It was the reason Rose was psychically linked to Lissa. She had brought Rose back from a car accident that had killed her parents and brother, binding them together in a way that allowed Rose to feel her thoughts and experiences.

Victor had learned long before any of us that she could heal, and he’d wanted to lock her way and use her as his own personal Fountain of Youth. He also hadn’t hesitated to kill anyone who got in his way---or, in the case of Rose and me, use more creative ways to stop his opponents---at least among the living.

Rose face turned from rage to something that said she was about to punch someone. “He’s been locked up---but no, no trial yet. Legal proceedings sometimes take a long time.” I said.

“But there’s going to be a trial now? And you’re going?” She spoke through clenched teeth, her face still had the look of wanting to punch someone.

“Next week. They need me and some of the other guardians to testify about what happened to you and Lissa that night.” My mind briefly flashed back to the night of the charm. Going through the part where Lissa had almost got hurt, and Christian laying in pieces on the forest floor.

“Call me crazy for asking this, but, um, are Lissa and I going with you?”

I knew she wouldn’t like my answer, but I had no choice.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

She put her hands on her hips. “Look, doesn’t it seem reasonable that if you’re going to talk about what happen to us, then you should have us there?”

I shook my head. “The queen and some of the other guardians thought it’d be best if you didn’t go. There’s enough evidence between the rest of us, and besides, criminal or not, he is---or was---one of the most powerful royals in the world. Those who know about this trial want to keep it quiet.”

“So, what, you thought if you brought us, we’d tell everyone?” She exclaimed. “Come on, comrade. You really think we’d do that? The only thing we want is to see Victor locked up. Forever. Maybe longer. And if there’s a chance he might walk free, you have to let us go.”

“It’s not my decision to make,” I said.

“But you have influence. You could speak up for us, especially if…” Some of her anger dimmed a little, replaced by fear. “Especially if there really is a chance he might get off. Is there? Is there really a chance the queen could let him go?” She was referring to Alberta’s earlier statement of the queen considering locking up a big royal.

I considered this for a moment. “I don’t know. There’s no telling what she or some of the other high-up royals will do sometimes.” I was tired of this conversation. So in answer I reached into my coat pocket and tossed over a set of keys. “Look, I know you’re upset, but we can’t talk about it now. I have to go meet Alberta, and you need to get inside. The square key will let you in the far side door. You know the one.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

She walked away from me, and I stood in the snow watching her. I sighed and called out to her. I didn’t want her to think I was some mean teacher. “Rose?” She glanced back. “I’m sorry,” I said and then paused. My regret fading as I apologized. “And you’d better bring the keys back tomorrow.”

She turned away and kept going.