Four

It took all of Lissa’s strength and determination not to blurt her news to Christian as they made their way back to the car. As it turned out, Lissa had forgotten all about the phone and any other forms of entertainment in exchange for the excitement of clothing. However, Dimitri had somehow managed to slip away while still keeping a perfect eye on the two of them. Not only did Lissa now have something to do for the remainder of the trip, but so did the other students of the group.

            After the initial setup period, before which she made sure to use the bond to tell Rose to do at the same time, Lissa had a fully functioning way to communicate with her best friend to ease her boredom.

            L: These are prepaid, not contract, right?

            R: As far as I know.

            L: This is weird, right?

            R: Having phones? Or having D buy them?

            L: All of the above.

            L: How did he do it, anyway? Is the academy paying for this?

            R: Doubt it.

            L: He definitely didn’t.

            While waiting for Rose to respond, Lissa leaned back against the seat. Christian had lasted roughly half an hour longer than Lissa before he too started into the setup of his phone. Even though she had essentially just woken up, there was very little to do in the car aside from sleep. Lissa found herself drifting off into naps, cradled against Christian’s side.

            About three hours into Emil’s drive, when it was roughly the middle of the vampiric day, Lissa woke with a start. She could not sense Rose through the bond, but she did feel something. It was somewhat similar to the way she tried to block Rose out of her head. She was still very new to it, and admittedly not very good, but this was something different from even that.

            Rose, I know I normally don’t ask, but will you…? Her phone screen lit up, the vibration startlingly loud in the otherwise silent car. Evangeline would listen to soft music, but Emil drove in silence. She picked it up, and opened the Messenger app.

            R: What’s wrong?

            L: I don’t know. I felt…something.

            R: I felt it too. I thought maybe you would know.

            L: You’re in my head, right?

          R: I wasn’t. But then you pulled me in.

            L: I didn’t pull you in!

            She dropped her phone onto the seat next to her and rubbed a hand over her face. She knew she had not pulled Rose into her head, and Rose would do what she could to avoid being in Lissa’s head when she was alone with Christian. Granted, this was not truly alone, nor could they get up to “alone time” things, but she knew she could count on some good-natured teasing once they finally reached Court.

            Suddenly, Emil stepped on the brakes. Having moved the shoulder strap of her seat belt to the side so she could lay down comfortably, she was held in place only by the strap over her lap and by Christian’s arms. Evangeline was awake, and her seat was back into place before the car was even stopped. Lissa quickly put her shoulder lap back in place, her posture returned to ramrod straight.  

            To her side, the default ringtone of her phone played while the screen lit up as Rose called. Paralyzed with the fear, Lissa barely registered, until Christian leaned over her and picked it up. “It’s Rose.”

            “Rose?” Lissa put the phone to her ear quickly, her words hurried and more than a little squeaky.

            “Dimitri thinks he saw something.” There was an obvious note of panic in the dhampir’s voice, but like she was trying not to show it. “Put me on speaker.” Lissa fumbled with the phone until her thumb finally found its target. “Emil?”

            “What is it, Hathaway?” Emil turned away from the wheel to face the backseat, while Evangeline was quick to follow suit.

            “I’m handing you to Dimitri.” Christian scooted closer to Lissa as the guardians began speaking rapidly. Filled with fear of the unknown, the Moroi sat stock still in the back seat, waiting for instruction. After a few minutes, Rose clicked off, and a beep filled the air before the screen went dark.

            “Belikov is worried there are Strigoi in the area,” Emil said.

            “So, why did we stop?” Lissa asked. “If there’s a threat, wouldn’t it make sense to get as far out of the way as possible? Rose kept telling me about how Dimitri wouldn’t let her do anything other than run when they first started training.”

            “Would you rather be faced with an accident that will kill everyone involved, or have a team of six guardians dispatch Strigoi?”

            “That depends, are you going to be utilizing your use of a fire magic Moroi?” This came from Christian, finally finding his voice amidst all that happened.

            “Of course not!” Evangeline said fiercely. “Why would we put you in danger like that?”

            “Because fire is the most useful element when battling Strigoi?” Christian suggested sarcastically. “It wouldn’t get me any molnija, but it will make everything a lot safer.”

            “You’re suggesting that we, promised guardians who’ve dedicated our lives to protecting Moroi, purposefully expose you, a royal Moroi from a relatively small family, to Strigoi?” It was plain to Lissa how Evangeline had managed her way onto the queen’s guard, she was fierce in protecting her charges, and she could only imagine how that would translate to her fighting.

            “So, let me get this straight,” Lissa said, jumping diplomatically into the conversation. “We have a team of six guardians. Three of them would just be waking up, and therefore not as alert as they might be. In the same way, you have three who have been driving nonstop, and depending on the driving shift they’ve been on, will be dealing with highway hypnosis, and therefore not as alert as they might be. You also have three of the top novices in the senior class. Granted, one of them already has two molnija, but one of them has never seen a Strigoi in his life. They would want to help, but I highly doubt they would be truly effective. Finally, you have a fire using Moroi, who is more than willing to assist in any way he can, a spirit user who can heal injuries after a fight, and…” She trailed off, unsure of what the third Moroi’s specialty was.

            “This discussion is over,” Emil said. Turning the key in the ignition, he pulled the car back onto the road following Dimitri’s, and they set off to Court once again.