He considered his words, and his expression softened. He always looked amazing, but I liked him best like this. "I've said a few things...the other day and today...that I shouldn't have. Things that insulted your age. You're seventeen...but you're capable of handling and processing the same things those much older than you do."
My chest grew light and fluttery. "Really?"
He nodded. "You're still really young in a lot of ways- and act young- but the only way to really change that is to treat you like an adult. I need to do that more. I know you'll take this information and understand how important it is and keep it to yourself."
I didn't love being told I acted young, but I liked the idea that he would talk to me like an equal.
"Dimka," came a voice. Tasha Ozera walked up to us. She smiled when she saw me. "Hello, Rose."
There went my mood. "Hey," I said flatly.
She placed a hand on Dimitri's forearm, sliding her fingers over the leather of his coat. I eyed those fingers angrily. How dare they touch him?
"You've got that look," she told him.
"What look?" he asked. The stern look he'd worn with me vanished. There was a small, knowing smile on his lips. Almost a playful one.
"That look that says you're going to be on duty all day."
"Really? I have a look like that?" There was a teasing, mocking tone to his voice.
She nodded. "When does your shift technically end?"
Dimitri actually looked- I swear- sheepish. "An hour ago."
"You can't keep doing this," she groaned. "You need a break."
"Well ... if you consider that I'm always Lissa's guardian..."
"For now," she said knowingly. I felt sicker than I had last night. "There's a big pool tournament going on upstairs."
"I can't," he said, but the smile was still on his face. "Even though I haven't played in a long time ..."
What the- ? Dimitri played pool?
Suddenly, it didn't matter that we'd just had a discussion about him treating me like an adult. Some small part of me did know what a compliment that was- but the rest of me wanted him to treat me like he did Tasha. Playful. Teasing. Casual. They were so familiar with each other, so completely at ease.
"Come on, then," she begged. "Just one round! We could take them all."
"I can't," he repeated. He sounded regretful. "Not with everything going on."
She sobered a little. "No. I suppose not." Glancing at me, she said teasingly, "I hope you realize what a hard-core role model you have here. He's never off duty."
"Well," I said, copying her lilting tone from earlier, "for now, at least."
Tasha looked puzzled. I don't think it occurred to her I'd be making fun of her. Dimitri's dark look told me he knew exactly what I was doing. I immediately realized I'd just killed whatever progress I'd made as an adult.
"We're finished here, Rose. Remember what I said."
"Yeah," I said, turning away. I suddenly wanted to go to my room and veg for a while. This day was making me tired already. "Definitely."
I hadn't gotten far when I ran into Mason. Good God. Men everywhere.
"You're mad," he said as soon as he looked at my face. He had a knack for discovering my moods. "What happened?"
"Some ... authority problems. It's been a weird morning."
I sighed, unable to get Dimitri off the brain. Looking at Mason, I remembered how I'd been convinced I wanted to get serious with him last night. I was a head case. I couldn't make up my mind about anyone. Deciding the best way to banish one guy was to pay attention to another, I grabbed Mason's hand and steered him away.
"Come on. Wasn't the deal to go somewhere...um, private today?"
"I figured you weren't drunk anymore," he joked. But his eyes looked very, very serious. And interested. "I assumed it was all off."
"Hey, I stand by my claims, no matter what." Opening my mind, I searched for Lissa. She was no longer in our room. She'd gone off to some other royal event, no doubt still practicing for Priscilla Voda's big dinner. "Come on," I told Mason. "We'll go to my room."
Aside from when Dimitri inconveniently happened to be passing by someone's room, nobody was really enforcing the mixed-gender rule. It was practically like being back in my Academy dorms. As Mason and I went upstairs, I related to him what Dimitri had told me about the Strigoi in Spokane. Dimitri had told me to keep it to myself, but I was mad at him again, and I didn't see any harm in telling Mason. I knew he'd be interested in this.
I was right. Mason got really worked up.
"What?" he exclaimed as we walked into my room. "They're not doing anything?"
I shrugged and sat on my bed. "Dimitri said- "
"I know, I know ... I heard you. About being careful and all that." Mason paced around my room angrily. "But if those Strigoi go after another Moroi...another family...damn it! They're going to wish they weren't so careful then."
"Forget about it," I said. I felt kind of miffed that me on a bed wasn't enough to deter him from crazy battle plans. "There's nothing we can do."
He stopped walking. "We could go."
"Go where?" I asked stupidly.
"To Spokane. There are buses you can catch in town."
"I ... wait. You want us to go to Spokane and take on Strigoi?"
"Sure. Eddie'd do it too ... we could go to that mall. They wouldn't be organized or anything, so we could wait and pick them off one by one ..."
I could only stare. "When did you get so dumb?"
"Oh, I see. Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"It's not about confidence," I argued, standing up and approaching him. "You kick major ass. I've seen it. But this ... this isn't the way. We can't go get Eddie and take on Strigoi. We need more people. More planning. More information."
I rested my hands on his chest. He placed his over them and smiled. The fire of battle was still in his eyes, but I could tell his mind was shifting to more immediate concerns. Like me.
"I didn't mean to call you dumb," I told him. "I'm sorry."
"You're just saying that now because you want to have your way with me."
"Of course I am," I laughed, happy to see him relax. The nature of this conversation reminded me a little of the one Christian and Lissa had had in the chapel.
"Well," he said, "I don't think I'm going to be too hard to take advantage of."