Blood Promise Prologue

PrologueOnce when I was in ninth grade, I had to write a paper on a poem. ane of the lines was, If your eyes werent open, you wouldnt make do the difference surrounded by dreaming and waking. It hadnt meant much to me at the time. afterward every, thered been a guy in the level that I ilkd, so how could I be expected to pay attention to literary analysis? Now, three age later, I understood the poem perfectly.Because lately, my invigoration rattling did guessm like it was on the precipice of cosmos a dream. There were days I thought Id instigate up and take note that recent events in my life hadnt rattling happened. Surely I must be a princess in an enchanted sleep. some(prenominal) day now, this dream-no, shadowm atomic number 18 would end, and Id get my prince and quick ending.But there was no golden ending to be found, at least(prenominal) not in the foresee equal future. And my prince? Well, that was a long story. My prince had been turned into a vampire-a Stri goi, to be specific. In my domain, there are two kinds of vampires who exist in secrecy from existence. The Moroi are living vampires, good vampires who wield primary(a) magic and dont putting to death when seeking the relationship they need to survive. Strigoi are undead vampires, immortal and twisted, who devour when they feed. Moroi are born. Strigoi are do-forcibly or by choice-through evil means.And Dimitri, the guy I love, had been make a Strigoi against his will. Hed been turned during a battle, an big rescue mission that Id been part of as well. Strigoi had kidnapped Moroi and dhampirs from the school I attended, and wed set protrude with others to save them. Dhampirs are half vampire and half-human-gifted with human strength and hardiness, and Moroi reflexes and senses. Dhampirs train to bring withstanders, the elite bodyguards who cherish Moroi. Thats what I am. Thats what Dimitri had been. after(prenominal) his conversion, the rest of the Moroi world had consid ered him dead. And to a authoritative extent, he was. Those who were turned Strigoi lost both sense of the worthiness and life theyd had before. even so if they hadnt turned by choice, it didnt matter. They would shut up fix evil and cruel, just like all Strigoi. The person theyd been was g iodin, and aboveboard, it was easier to imagine them moving on to heaven or the next life than to picture them go forth stalking the night and taking victims. But I hadnt been able to forget Dimitri, or accept that he was essentially dead. He was the man I loved, the man with whom Id been so perfectly in sync that it was hard to know where I ended and he began. My heart refused to permit him go even if he was technically a monster, he was still bulge out there somewhere. I in any case hadnt forgotten a conversation he and I had once had. Wed twain agreed that wed quite be dead- sincerely dead-than walk the world as Strigoi.And once Id had my mourning time for the goodness hed lost, Id decided I had to honor his wishes. plain if he no longer believed in them. I had to find him. I had to vote out him and free his soul from that dark, unnatural state. I knew it was what the Dimitri I had loved would make up wanted. killing Strigoi isnt easy, though. Theyre maniacally fast and strong. They have no mercy. Id killed a number of them already- comely crazy for person who was freshly eighteen. And I knew taking on Dimitri would be my greatest challenge, both physically and emotionally. In fact, the emotional consequences had kicked in as soon as I do my decision. Going after Dimitri had meant doing a some life-altering things (and that wasnt even counting the fact that scrap him could very likely result in the loss of my life). I was still in school, only a handful of months forth from graduating and becoming a full-fledged guardian. any day I stuck around at St. Vladimirs Academy-a remote, protected school for Moroi and dhampirs-meant one more(prenominal) day was going by in which Dimitri was still out there, living in the state hed never wanted. I loved him too much to allow that. So Id had to leave school early and go out among humans, abandoning the world Id lived in about my complete life.Leaving had overly meant abandoning one other thing-or rather, a person my beaver friend, Lissa, also known as Vasilisa Dragomir. Lissa was Moroi, the hold in a royal line. Id been slated to be her guardian when we graduated, and my decision to hunt Dimitri had pretty much destroyed that future with her. Id had no choice but to leave her. out from our friendship, Lissa and I had a unique connection. to each one Moroi specializes in a type of elemental magic-earth, air, water, or fire. Until recently, wed believed there were only those cardinal elements. Then wed discovered a ordinal design.That was Lissas element, and with so few spirit users in the world, we hardly knew anything about it. For the most part, it seemed to be tied to psy chic powers. Lissa wielded amazing compulsion-the dexterity to exert her will on close to anyone. She could also heal, and thats where things got a little peculiar between us. You see, I technically died in the car accident that killed her family. Lissa had brought me back from the world of the dead without realizing it, creating a psychic join between us. Ever since then, I was ever so aware of her presence and thoughts. I could attest what she was thinking and feel when she was in trouble. We had also recently discovered I could see ghosts and spirits who hadnt yet left(a) this world, something I found disconcerting and struggled to block out. The integral phenomenon was called organism shadow-kissed.Our shadow-kissed bond made me the precedent choice to protect Lissa, since I would nowadays know if she was in trouble. Id call ind to protect her my consentaneous life, but then Dimitri-tall, gorgeous, fierce Dimitri-had changed it all. Id been approach with that horrib le choice continue to protect Lissa or free Dimitris soul. Choosing between them had downhearted my heart, leaving an ache in my titty and tears in my eyes. My parting with Lissa had been agonizing. Wed been trump out friends since kindergarten, and my departure was a shock for both of us. To be sporting, shed never seen it coming. Id kept my reverie with Dimitri a secret. He was my instructor, seven years older than me, and had been assigned to be her guardian as well. As such, he and I had tried hard to fight our attraction, astute we had to focus on Lissa more than anything else and that wed also get in a fair amount of trouble for our student-teacher relationship.But being kept from Dimitri-even though Id agreed to it-had caused me to fabricate up a lot of tongueless resentment toward Lissa. I probably should have talked to her about it and explained my frustration over having my entire life planned out. It didnt seem fair, somehow, that fleck Lissa was free to live and love even so she wanted, I would always have to forfeiture my own happiness to ensure that she was protected. She was my crush friend, though, and I couldnt bear the thought of disturb her. Lissa was particularly vulnerable because using spirit had the nasty side effect of hotheaded people insane. So Id sat on my feelings until they finally exploded, and I left the Academy-and her-behind for good. bingle of the ghosts Id seen-Mason, a friend who had been killed by Strigoi-had told me Dimitri had returned to his fatherland Siberia. Masons soul had found peace and left this world shortly thereafter, without giving me any other clues about where in Siberia Dimitri expertness have gone. So Id had to set out there blindly, braving a world of humans and a language I didnt know in order to fulfill the promise Id made to myself.After a few weeks on my own, I had finally made it to Saint Petersburg. I was still looking, still floundering-but determined to find him, even though I drea ded it at the analogous time. Because if I really did pull this insane plan off, if I genuinely managed to kill the man I loved, it would mean Dimitri would truly be gone from the world. And I honestly wasnt sure I could go on in a world like that.None of it seems real. Who knows? Maybe it isnt. Maybe its actually happening to someone else. Maybe its something I imagined. Maybe soon Im going to wake up and find everything fixed with Lissa and Dimitri. Well all be together, and hell be there to smiling and hold me and tell me everythings going to be okay. Maybe all of this really has been a dream.But I dont think so.