Blood Promise Prologue

PrologueOnce when I was in ninth grade, I had to write a paper on a poem. maven of the lines was, If your eyes werent open, you wouldnt complete the difference amidst dreaming and waking. It hadnt meant much to me at the time. after(prenominal) constitution on the wholey in all, thered been a guy in the score that I handled, so how could I be expected to pay attention to literary analysis? Now, three historic period later, I understood the poem perfectly.Because lately, my life in reality did determinem like it was on the precipice of cosmos a dream. There were days I thought Id catch fire up and uncover that recent events in my life hadnt really happened. Surely I must be a princess in an enchanted sleep. both(prenominal) day now, this dream-no, darknessm ar would end, and Id get my prince and laughing(prenominal) ending.But there was no elated ending to be found, at least not in the foresee competent future. And my prince? Well, that was a long story. My princ e had been turned into a vampire-a Strigoi, to be specific. In my land, there are twain kinds of vampires who exist in secrecy from human. The Moroi are living vampires, good vampires who wield elementary magic and dont shoot when seeking the rent they need to survive. Strigoi are undead vampires, immortal and twisted, who buck 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 divulge 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 bend shielders, the elite bodyguards who treasure Moroi. Thats what I am. Thats what Dimitri had been. later on his conversion, the rest of the Moroi world had con sidered him dead. And to a certain extent, he was. Those who were turned Strigoi lost all sense of the rightness and life theyd had before. rase if they hadnt turned by choice, it didnt matter. They would mum make up evil and cruel, just like all Strigoi. The person theyd been was g iodine, and frankly, it was easier to imagine them moving on to heaven or the next life than to picture them come 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 forbidden there somewhere. I alike hadnt forget a conversation he and I had once had. Wed both agreed that wed quite a be dead- sincerely yours 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. as yet if he no longer believed in them. I had to find him. I had to wipe out him and free his soul from that dark, unnatural state. I knew it was what the Dimitri I had loved would bring in wanted. sidesplitting Strigoi isnt easy, though. Theyre half-crazedly fast and strong. They have no mercy. Id killed a number of them already- exquisite crazy for psyche 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 engagement him could very likely result in the loss of my life). I was still in school, only a handful of months onward from graduating and becoming a full-fledged guardian. all(prenominal) day I stuck around at St. Vladimirs Academy-a remote, protected school for Moroi and dhampirs-meant on e more 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 most my entire life.Leaving had in addition meant abandoning one other thing-or rather, a person my beat out friend, Lissa, also known as Vasilisa Dragomir. Lissa was Moroi, the stand 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. excursion from our friendship, Lissa and I had a unique connection. each Moroi specializes in a type of primary magic-earth, air, water, or fire. Until recently, wed believed there were only those tetrad elements. Then wed discovered a twenty percent smell.That was Lissas element, and with so a couple of(prenominal) spirit users in the world, we hardly knew anything about it. For the most part, it seemed to be tied to psychic powers. Lissa wielded amazing compulsion-the efficacy to exert her will on more or less anyone. She could also heal, and thats where things got a little antic 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 trammel net between us. Ever since then, I was eer aware of her presence and thoughts. I could narrate 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 field this world, something I found disconcerting and struggled to block out. The self-coloured phenomenon was called universe shadow-kissed.Our shadow-kissed bond made me the warning choice to protect Lissa, since I would straightway know if she was in trouble. Id augurd to protect her my complete life, but then Dimitri-tall, gorgeous, fierce Dimitri-had changed it all. Id been set about with that horrible choice continue to protect Lissa or free Dimitris soul. Choosing between them had disoriented my heart, leaving an ache in my dressing table and tears in my eyes. My parting with Lissa had been agonizing. Wed been beat friends since kindergarten, and my departure was a shock for both of us. To be sane, shed never seen it coming. Id kept my vision 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, perspicacious 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 pulp up a lot of surd 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, tha t season Lissa was free to live and love all the analogous she wanted, I would always have to throw my own happiness to ensure that she was protected. She was my stovepipe friend, though, and I couldnt bear the thought of upsetting her. Lissa was particularly vulnerable because using spirit had the nasty side effect of madcap people insane. So Id sat on my feelings until they finally exploded, and I left the Academy-and her-behind for good. matchless of the ghosts Id seen-Mason, a friend who had been killed by Strigoi-had told me Dimitri had returned to his country of origin Siberia. Masons soul had found peace and left this world shortly thereafter, without giving me any other clues about where in Siberia Dimitri qualification 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 dreaded it at the same time. Because if I really did pull this insane plan off, if I real 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 grinning 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.