I lay in my bed, tossing and turning, my mind racing at 100 miles per hour trying to understand the tonight's events. Georgie and Lacey were asleep on the blow up mattress, Georgie happily snoring away. I sighed and propped myself up on my elbows, debating whether or not I should actually get out of bed or just lay there until sleep claimed me.

I decided the former was a better plan and got out of bed, taking care to avoid stepping on Georgie as I grabbed the sweatshirt that was laying on my vanity chair and put on my fuzzy slippers Carol got me from her trip in Australia. I slowly walked out and closed the door silently behind me. I walked downstairs and unset the alarm and walked outside to sit on the porch. It was then that I noticed Dimitri watching my house. I took a breath and walked over to him. He looked startled, as if he had thought he was undetectable.

"Why are you here? You should be asleep." He told me, his voice soft and almost concerned, once I stood in front of him.

"What are you doing watching me?" I countered, crossing my arms over my chest. The wind blew and I shivered, I was only in shorts and even though I had a sweatshirt on, I was still chilled.

"I am charged with watching you and protecting you." He said, like it was the most obvious thing.

I rolled my eyes, "yes, I know that. I mean, why are you watching me?" His eyes hardened and his jaw tightened. Clearly, he really didn't want to go into this now. "I'm not leaving until you tell me." I told him, straightening my posture to (hopefully) look more determined to get answers.

He sighed, "wouldn't you rather wait until the morning for Gasha and Lisaveta to explain?" He asked, his voice hopeful, but the look in his eyes told me he realized it was close to useless.

"Nope. Tell me now. Please?" I added as an afterthought. I bit my lip and looked up at him, my bangs falling over my eye. The light hit his face and illuminated his already handsome features, turning them breathtaking. I felt my face flush, which caused me to blush even more. I hoped he wouldn't notice, but I swear I saw him raise his eyebrows a fraction.

"Come, we will talk at your house." He said, grabbing my elbow, half-dragging and half-guiding me across the street and up the stairs to my house. I unlocked the door and walked back in, still shivering even though it was mid-June. I had always had a low body temperature but this was unusual. I led him into the living room and sat down on the couch, Dimitri taking the chair next to me. I grabbed the throw and threw it around my shoulders. "You never knew your parents, did you?" He asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable (uncomfortable for me anyways) silence. I shook my head 'no'. "You were born to an incredibly powerful couple, Elizabeth and Ivan. Elizabeth had magical ability that hadn't been seen in hundreds of years. Ivan was a powerful guardian, acclaimed for his fighting ability- both magically and physically. He was assigned to protect your mother, and they ended up falling in love." He put a bit of disgust on the word love. I raised an eyebrow, but nodded, hoping he would continue. "We believed her to be the one, but then she and your father were killed in an ambush. They were betrayed by one of their own, and went down fighting.

"Their union created you, putting into affect a prophecy foreseen for many years. You were to be the only girl to be trained as a guardian as well as a sorceress. You would be the one to stop the rising of the Scourge. I'm here to ensure that you do not meet the same end your mother did. Gasha and Lisaveta were assigned to be your guidance and protect you until I was finished with my training and first assignment. I was the earliest graduate." He added with a hint of pride.

"How old were you? When you graduated, I mean." I was curious. How could a little boy go through what I assumed to be brutal training?

"I was eighteen when I graduated. Twenty-three when I finished my first assignment." He said, a proud look coming across his face, but then mingled with a sad twinge.

My brows crinkled. "But you… You're supposed to be in high school!" I exclaimed shocked, and embarrassed about feeling attracted to him in the slightest way.

"It's the glamour. I placed it on myself to appear closer to your age." He said as if that explained everything.

"What's a glamour?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"It changes the appearance of the wearer. Since it takes a lot of power to maintain a glamour for as long as I would need in order to protect you, we placed it into an amulet." He grabbed a leather band and pulled it up from off of his neck.

"Can I see you without the glamour on?" I asked, my heart pounding with what I had just been told.

He frowned but pulled his amulet off. His appearance immediately changed. His face became more defined, as did his muscles, and he grew about two inches raising his height to about 6'8. My mouth dropped a little bit and I struggled to control myself. He looked amazing, if I thought he looked god-like before, I was completely unaware of what godliness looked like.

I stared for a few more minutes before he coughed, bringing me out of my reverie. "Sorry…" I mumbled, my cheeks turning red. I looked into his face and saw him with a smirk. "So, can you tell me more about my parents?" I asked, hope ballooning in my chest.

"Ivan was my mentor I looked up to him more than any other person. I was seven when he was sent on a mission with your mother. It turned out to be an ambush and they were killed. Someone in our inner circle had betrayed them, and to this day, we still don't know who it was. You were put in an orphanage, and we had someone lined up to take you in, but some things fell through and you were sent to an orphanage in Alabama, where your parents found you." He explained. Throughout the explanation, I became more and more tired. My eyes drooped closed as he continued to talk, but I heard none of it.