Free Frostbite: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

by the Guardian Council. It was kind of an unfair system, considering the ratio of guardians to Moroi. Non-royals tended to get them by a lottery system. Royals always got them. High-ranking royals often got more than one, but even the lowest-ranking member of royalty wouldn't have been without one.
    "The Ozeras aren't exactly first in line when guardians get assigned," said Christian bitterly. "Ever since…my parents died…there's kind of been a shortage."
    My anger flared up. "But that's not fair. They can't punish you for what your parents did."
    "It's not punishment, Rose." Tasha didn't seem nearly as enraged as she should have been, in my opinion. "It's just…a rearranging of priorities."
    "They're leaving you defenseless. You can't go out there by yourself!"
    "I'm not defenseless, Rose. I've told you that. And if I really wanted a guardian, I could make a nuisance of myself, but it's a lot of hassle. I'm fine for now."
    Dimitri glanced over at her. "You want me to go with you?"
    "And keep you up all night?" Tasha shook her head. "I wouldn't do that to you, Dimka."
    "He doesn't mind," I said quickly, excited about this solution.
    Dimitri seemed amused by me speaking for him, but he didn't contradict me. "I really don't."
    She hesitated. "All right. But we should probably go soon."
    Our illicit party dispersed. The Moroi went one direction; Dimitri and I went another. He and Tasha made plans to meet up in a half hour.
    "So what do you think of her?" he asked when we were alone.
    "I like her. She's cool." I thought about her for a moment. "And I get what you mean about the marks."
    "Oh?"
    I nodded, watching my footing as we walked along the paths. Even when salted and shoveled, they could still collect hidden patches of ice.
    "She didn't do what she did for glory. She did it because she had to. Just like…just like my mom did." I hated to admit it, but it was true. Janine Hathaway might be the worst mother ever, but she was a great guardian. "The marks don't matter. Molnijas or scars."
    "You're a fast learner," he said with approval.
    I swelled under his praise. "Why does she call you Dimka?"
    He laughed softly. I'd heard a lot of his laughter tonight and decided I'd like to hear more of it.
    "It's a nickname for Dimitri."
    "That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't sound anything like Dimitri. You should be called, I don't know, Dimi or something."
    "That's not how it works in Russian," he said.
    "Russian's weird," In Russian, the nickname for Vasilisa was Vasya, which made no sense to me.
    "So is English."
    I gave him a sly look. "If you'd teach me to swear in Russian, I might have a new appreciation for it."
    "You swear too much already."
    "I just want to express myself."
    "Oh, Roza…" He sighed, and I felt a thrill tickle me. «Roza» was my name in Russian. He rarely used it. "You express yourself more than anyone else I know."
    I smiled and walked on a bit without saying anything else. My heart skipped a beat, I was so happy to be around him. There was something warm and right about us being together.
    Even as I floated along, my mind churned over something else that I'd been thinking about. "You know, there's something funny about Tasha's scars."
    "What's that?" he asked.
    "The scars…they mess up her face," I began slowly. I was having trouble putting my thoughts into words. "I mean, it's obvious she used to be really pretty. But even with the scars now … I don't know. She's pretty in a different way. It's like…like they're part of her. They complete her." It sounded silly, but it was true.
    Dimitri didn't say anything, but he gave me a sidelong glance. I returned it, and as our eyes met, I saw the briefest glimpse of the old attraction. It was fleeting and gone too soon, but I'd seen it. Pride and approval replaced it, and they were almost as good.
    When he spoke, it was to echo his earlier thoughts. "You're a fast learner, Roza."

CHAPTER 6
    I was feeling pretty good about life when I headed to my