The Untold Story of Adrian's Heart
Category: Vampire Academy
Rating: T
Description: The Vampire Academy Series from Adrian's perspective
Adrian Ivashkov leaned against the wall taking in the cold, winter scenery as he took a long drag from his cigarette. He was alone and peaceful as he allowed the drugs to calm his system. He had felt a bit funny lately and the cure was booze or cigarettes. He exhaled watching the shapes the smoke made. He saw it in perfect clarity. In fact, he saw everything with clarity. All thanks to his Moroi senses.
He heard footsteps coming in the distance. As it came into view he realised it was only a girl, a dhampir. She was worried about something. He could tell from how she was stomping the snow off her boots onto the porch as she made her way to the door next to him.
“Hey, little dhampir” Adrian said curiously. She stopped startled. Adrian took one last drag before dropping the cigarette onto the floor and stomping it out. She crossed her arms and looked at him. She was curious as well. That’s how they all start out.
“Yeah?” she asked. Adrian’s eyes swept over her body. She was obviously beautiful besides the fact that she was completely covered up in winter clothes and she had bruising around her eye. She watched him as he watched her. She was obviously use to this type of attention.
Adrian shrugged. “Just saying hi, that’s all.” She obviously wanted more out of him but instead he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets. Realising she wasn’t going to get anymore out of him she shrugged and took a couple of steps towards the door. “You smell good, you know,” he suddenly said. She stopped completely puzzled, which caused Adrian to grin.
“I ...um, what?”
“You smell good,” he repeated.
“Are you joking? I’ve been sweating all day. I’m disgusting.” She obviously needed to be somewhere but the look in her eye said that she wanted to stay with him.
“Sweat isn’t a bad thing,” he said, leaning against the wall and looking upward thoughtfully. “Some of the best things in life happen while sweating. Yeah, if you get too much of it and it gets old and stale, it turns pretty gross. But on a beautiful woman? Intoxicating. If you could smell things like a vampire does, you’d know what I’m talking about. Most people mess it all up and drown themselves in perfume. Perfume can be good ... especially if you get one that goes with your chemistry. But you only need a hint. Mix about 20 percent of that with 80 percent of your own perspiration...mmm.” he tilted his head to the side and looked at her. “Dead sexy.”
The look in her eye told him she agreed with him but wouldn’t admit it. There was even a sparkle in her eye and Adrian was curious about who was the lucky guy that she was thinking about. “Well thanks for the hygiene lesson,” she said. “But I don’t own any perfume, and I’m going to go shower all this hot sweaty action off me. Sorry.”
Adrian pulled out the pack of cigarettes and offered it to her. She frowned when she smelt the booze and cigarettes on him. She shook her head at the cigarettes, and he tapped one out for himself. “Bad habit,” she said, watching him light it.
“One of many,” he replied. He inhaled deeply. “You here with St. Vlad’s?” St Vladmir’s Academy was a school for young Moroi and Dhampirs.
“Yup.”
“So you’re going to be a guardian when you grow up?”
“Obviously.” She wouldn’t be bad to be my guardian, and cater to my other needs. He thought this as he exhaled smoke. She watched it drift away into the night.
“How long until you grow up?” he asked. “I might need a guardian.”
“I graduate in the spring. But I’m already spoken for. Sorry.” She seemed a little smug about this detail and Adrian wondered who the guy was. It was also surprising that she already was assigned to someone since most dhampirs were only assigned after their graduation.
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “Yeah? Who is he?”
“She’s Vasilisa Dragomir.”
He recognised the name instantly. “Ah.” His face split into a huge grin. “I knew you were trouble as soon as I saw you. You’re Janine Hathaway’s daughter.”
“I’m Rose Hathaway,” she corrected. She, like himself, didn’t like to be defined by her family name.
“Nice to meet you, Rose Hathaway.” He extended a gloved hand to her that she hesitantly took. “Adrian Ivashkov.”
She also recognised the name instantly. “And you think I’m trouble,” he heard her mutter. He could see she was judging him but he didn’t care.
He laughed. “Handy, huh? Each of our reputations precedes us.”
She shook her head. “You don’t know anything about me. And I only know about your family. I don’t know anything about you.”
“Want to?” he asked tauntingly.
“Sorry. I’m not into older guys.” Playing hard to get.
“I’m twenty-one. Not that much older.”
“I have a boyfriend.”
“Funny you didn’t mention that right away,” Adrian mused. “He didn’t give you that black eye, did he?”
He watched her blush and saw that she was annoyed that he pointed her black eye out. “He wouldn’t be alive if he did. I got it during...practise. I mean, I’m training to be a guardian. Our classes are always rough.”
Sexual fantasies erupted in his brain the moment she said it. “That’s pretty hot,” he said. He dropped this second cigarette to the ground and put it out with his foot.
“Punching me in the eye?”
“Well, no. Of course not. I meant that the idea of getting rough with you is hot. I’m a big fan of full-contact sports.”
“I’m sure you are,” she said dryly. She was getting annoyed yet she still didn’t make an effort to leave.
The sound of footsteps behind her made her turn. A small Moroi with blond curls came around the path and walked up the steps. When she saw them she stopped suddenly.
“Hey, Mia.” She was saying it out of politeness but there was a certain edge to her voice that showed they have history.
Mia glanced between Adrian and Rose.
“Another guy?” she asked.
Adrian gave Rose a questioning, amused look. She gritted her teeth. Yep, they have history, this should be interesting.
“Mia, this is Adrian Ivashkov.”
He shook her hand. “Always a pleasure to meet a friend of Rose’s, especially a pretty one.” Honestly, he was not interested in her at all. She looked like a child and he preferred brunettes.
“We aren’t friends,” Rose said.
“Rose only hangs out with guys and psychopaths,” said Mia. She was clearly interested in him and was extremely competitive with Rose.
“Well,” he said cheerfully, “since I’m both a psychopath and a guy, that would explain why we’re such good friends.”
“You and I aren’t friends either,” she said.
He laughed. “Always playing hard to get, huh?”
“She’s not that hard to get,” said Mia, clearly upset that Adrian was paying more attention to Rose. “Just ask half the guys in our school.”
“Yeah,” she retorted, “and you can ask the other half about Mia. If you can do a favour for her, she’ll do lots of favours for you.”
A flicker of embarrassment passed over her face, but she held her ground.
“Well,” she said, “at least I don’t do them for free.”
Adrian made some cat noises.
“Are you done?” Rose asked. “It’s past your bedtime, and the grown-ups would like to talk now.” Her youthful looks were obviously a sour spot for her which Rose got satisfaction for exploiting.
“Sure,” she said crisply. Her cheeks turned pink. “I have better things to do anyway.” She turned toward the door, then paused with her hand resting on it. She glanced toward Adrian. “Her mom gave her that black eye, you know.” She went inside. The glass doors swung shut behind her.
Adrian and Rose stood there in silence. Finally, he took out the cigarettes again and lit another: “Your mom?”
“Shut up.”
“You’re one of those people who either has soul mates or mortal enemies, aren’t you? No in-between. You and Vasilisa are probably like sisters, huh?”
“I guess”
“How is she?” Adrian honestly wanted to know about Vasilisa, there were rumours about her including some about magic that couldn’t be explained. Maybe, if they were true, it could explain some things about himself.
The question confused her. “Huh? What do you mean?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, I know you guys ran away...and there was that stuff with her family and Victor Daskov...”
She stiffened at the reference to Victor Dashkov. “So?”
“Dunno. Just figured it might be a lot for her to, you know, handle.”
She studied him carefully. “I’ve got to go.” She decided.
“Are you sure?” Adrian sounded only mildly disappointed. Mostly he seemed as cocky and amused as before. “I thought it was time for the grown-ups to talk. Lots of grown-up things I’d like to talk about.”
“It’s late, I’m tired, and your cigarettes are giving me a headache,” she growled.
“I suppose that’s fair.” He drew in on the cigarette and let out the smoke. “Some women think they make me look sexy.”
“I think you smoke them so you have something to do while thinking up your next witty line.”
He choked on the smoke, caught between inhaling and laughing. “Rose Hathaway, I can’t wait to see you again. If you’re this charming while tired and annoyed and this gorgeous while bruised and in ski clothes, you must be devastating at your peak.”
“If by ‘devastating’ you mean that you should fear for your life, then yeah. You’re right.” She jerked open the door. “Good night, Adrian.”
“I’ll see you soon.” As he said it he promised it to himself as well, he had to know her.
“Not likely. I told you, I’m not into older guys.”
She walked into the lodge. As the door closed, he called behind her, “Sure, you aren’t.”