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"And keep you up all night?" Tasha shook her head. "I wouldn't do that to you, Dimka."
"He doesn't mind," I said quickly, excited about this solution.
Dimitri seemed amused by me speaking for him, but he didn't contradict me. "I really don't."
She hesitated. "All right. But we should probably go soon."
Our illicit party dispersed. The Moroi went one direction; Dimitri and I went another. He and
Tasha made plans to meet up in a half hour.
"So what do you think of her?" he asked when we were alone.
"I like her. She's cool." I thought about her for a moment. "And I get what you mean about the
marks."
"Oh?"
I nodded, watching my footing as we walked along the paths. Even when salted and shoveled,
they could still collect hidden patches of ice.
"She didn't do what she did for glory. She did it because she had to. Just like…just like my
mom did." I hated to admit it, but it was true. Janine Hathaway might be the worst mother ever,
but she was a great guardian. "The marks don't matter. Molnijas or scars."
"You're a fast learner," he said with approval.
I swelled under his praise. "Why does she call you Dimka?"
He laughed softly. I'd heard a lot of his laughter tonight and decided I'd like to hear more of it.
"It's a nickname for Dimitri."
"That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't sound anything like Dimitri. You should be called, I
don't know, Dimi or something."
"That's not how it works in Russian," he said.