With or Without You

Chapter 4

That Dimitri had heard the news about Rose was obvious as soon as Lissa and Christian approached his allocated room in Guardian Quarters. Instead of the usual two Guardians flanking his door, there were six gathered—and when Lissa entered his room, she could see why.

The usually pristine space had been trashed. Books, CDs, furniture, and clothing flung in every direction. The only thing that seemed to have escaped the former Guardian's wrath was a photo of his family which lay, the glass and frame miraculously unbroken, on top of a pile of clothing on the floor. Every other pane of glass was shattered; his window and the mirror in his bathroom reduced to jagged shards on the floor. But the saddest thing in this destroyed space was the man who had caused the destruction.

Lying on his back on the bed, wearing the casual clothes and duster he'd worn to Her Majesty's funeral, Dimitri's hands were cuffed in front of him. Even in his sleep, he was twitching and grimacing in pain.

"I'm sorry, Princess Dragomir," one Guardian said. "He just went berserk. When Perkins arrived on shift and confirmed the rumor Hathaway junior was dead, Belikov knocked him clean out. Browning tried to subdue him and ended up with a broken nose for his troubles. Belikov was breaking everything in sight and a danger to himself. In the end, it took six of us to hold him down until they could get a doctor up here to sedate him."

Tears pooled in Lissa's eyes as she observed the pain etched across Dimitri's face. The man had already experienced so much loss. To now lose Rose—particularly with things the way they had been between them—must be unbearable.

Stepping through the debris to Dimitri's bedside, Lissa ran her hand over his forehead, sending a blast of soothing spirit. She wasn't sure how effective it would be, but his twitching was less severe, and his face looked perhaps a little less strained afterward.

"We might as well clean up," Christian said, appreciating there was little else they could do to aid Lissa's former Guardian. Since they couldn't, in good conscience, leave two Moroi alone in a room with a violent and emotionally unstable Dhampir, even if he was sedated, the Guardians helped them sort the space—removing the broken furniture and returning the chest of drawers to its usual place. Sadly, falling Guardian numbers meant there were plenty of empty rooms to raid for identical furniture to replace what had been broken, which is what they did.

Recognizing Dimitri might not appreciate her touching his undergarments, Lissa focussed on gathering up his books and placing them one by one on the small bookshelf brought in to replace the one he'd obliterated. A few of the books had separated from their spines, no doubt thanks to being flung against the wall, but mostly, they could be salvaged. Looking at the covers, it seemed that the former Guardian favored Westerns. It seemed such an unlikely genre for a Dhampir raised in rural Siberia, but really what did she know of Dimitri and his life? He had been tasked with knowing everything about and protecting her, not the other way around. It was a sobering realization of how little she knew about the man who had once pledged his life for hers.

Christian was slowly folding and placing Dimitri's clothing back in the chest of drawers. With no idea how Belikov liked his belongings sorted, he went with briefs and socks in the top drawer, tanks and T-shirts in the next, and anything else in the bottom drawer. Despite the wreckage in the room, it took no time at all to right it—a testament to just how little the guy owned.

"How long is he likely to be out?" Christian asked, wondering whether they should leave. The Guardians had already contacted a glazier to fix the window and medicine cabinet, so there was nothing left to do.

"At least another two or three hours," the Guardian who'd spoken with Lissa replied. "But the doctor will come by again before then. They want to bring him up slowly, so they'll sedate him again, but at a lower dose. The guy is stronger than anyone I've ever met. Can't risk him going postal again."