richellemead-vampireacademy01-vampireacademy-110824015328-phpapp02
"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then.” "You didn't join any teams?” "Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here.” He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking.” "I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely. "You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience or after you graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor. "No one wants to waste the bond— but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will.” "Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname. He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore. By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me. "Rose?” Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance. "Mr. Dash—er, Your Highness. Hi.” I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families.
The eldest in the family got the title of "prince" or "princess." Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line. "How was your first day?" he asked. "Not over yet." I tried to think of something conversational. "Are you visiting here for a while?” "I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa—and you—had returned, I simply had to come see you.” I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine. "I wanted to tell you…" He spoke hesitantly. "I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You did keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive.” "Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything," I said. "But you faced down some things?” "Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once.” "Remarkable.” "Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy.” He laughed. "I've hunted with them before. They aren't that easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence." It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey—as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. "Did you face anything else?” I shrugged. "Little things here and there.” "Remarkable," he repeated.
- Page 2 and 3: One I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard
- Page 4 and 5: Then, regretfully, it was over. It
- Page 6 and 7: He looked back and forth between us
- Page 8 and 9: It took every ounce of my willpower
- Page 10 and 11: Two MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING, I HA
- Page 12 and 13: and there. After living on a colleg
- Page 14 and 15: "Vasilisa.” Startled, I realized
- Page 16 and 17: My cockiness dried up. "I…what?
- Page 18 and 19: he might very well keep me here wit
- Page 20 and 21: Three SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS
- Page 22 and 23: "Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well,
- Page 24 and 25: Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom
- Page 26 and 27: He walked back up to me and leaned
- Page 30 and 31: "Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm r
- Page 32 and 33: She didn't see me, though. Neither
- Page 34 and 35: "Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, re
- Page 36 and 37: "No—it's fine." The emotions comi
- Page 38 and 39: Natalie's friends eyed us with a qu
- Page 40 and 41: "Yes," I said, smiling. "It certain
- Page 42 and 43: "Huh? Nothing. Just thinking." I si
- Page 44 and 45: She nodded. "Rose?” We both looke
- Page 46 and 47: Five OR RATHER, THEY HAD BEEN Strig
- Page 48 and 49: "Sure," he said. "Why else go? For
- Page 50 and 51: dark side. But the feelings humming
- Page 52 and 53: "Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to
- Page 54 and 55: She laughed. "Mia would claw my eye
- Page 56 and 57: I'd been climbing out of my dorm wi
- Page 58 and 59: Six AS MUCH AS LISSA AND Christian'
- Page 60 and 61: "Yeah…you too," I said. "I heard
- Page 62 and 63: although those guys usually went on
- Page 64 and 65: "Nothing to me. But Ms. Kirova will
- Page 66 and 67: "I'm sick of it too. We missed you
- Page 68 and 69: She wandered off, still eyeing us.
- Page 70 and 71: Mason had noticed my startled react
- Page 72 and 73: Three weeks after my return to the
- Page 74 and 75: Something about that bothered me; I
- Page 76 and 77: stared upward, glazed, over with a
"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then.”<br />
"You didn't join any teams?”<br />
"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here.”<br />
He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't<br />
hone your skills. You'll always be lacking.”<br />
"I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely.<br />
"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience or after<br />
you graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and<br />
fuzzy mentor. "No one wants to waste the bond— but no one's going to give her an inadequate<br />
guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons.<br />
You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both<br />
graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will.”<br />
"Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized<br />
nickname.<br />
He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore.<br />
By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted<br />
inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back<br />
there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me.<br />
"Rose?”<br />
Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as<br />
he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite<br />
distance.<br />
"Mr. Dash—er, Your Highness. Hi.”<br />
I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them<br />
while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families.