Last Sacrifice

Chapter 1

After Abe left the rest of the day seemed to pass by in some sort of haze. I didn't know how long ago the hearing was, or why all of this

was happening to me.

Abe's words seemed to keep echoing off the empty cell walls, haunting me every moment of my miserable time in here. 'They execute

traitors.' I could die; they could kill me. I had faced what I was certain would be my death plenty of times, luckily always escaping the brink and continuing to live, but I didn't see a way out of this. Out of all the

ways I could have died, I never would have imagined this. To die a traitors death for something I didn't do? It was insane.

Did I have a sign on my forehead that said 'I'm Rose Hathaway, my life will never be my own and no matter how good my intentions may

seem, someone or something is always out to get me. Please, take a shot yourself.'

I knew that in my eighteen years I had made a lot of enemies, and up until recently I thought Victor was my worst enemy, but here lately it

seemed like I was making more enemies then I was friends. The person that was setting me up now had to be my worst enemy, and the truth

was anyone could have done it. There were plenty of people that could have wanted the queen dead, and I made for an easy person to frame.

The way I made a scene in public, always standing up to her when I thought others were too afraid to, had all been for something, but now

they seemed to be coming back and biting me on the ass.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I jumped when I heard the door leading down to the cells being slammed. I sat straight up on my

bed, looking to see who the new arrival was.

My breath caught as I saw Dimitri walking down the hall, his beautiful face nearly enough to brighten my day, nearly. He was only being

followed by two guardians, who stopped a few cells down from mine. The guardians standing guard at my cell looked surprised to see him,

but they didn't question it.

I was surprised to see him, so much so that I didn't speak until he was standing in front of my cell, his eyes searching my face, drinking me in.

"Hey," I said softly, not knowing what else to say.

"Can we have a moment?" Dimitri asked the guardians outside my cells, they exchanged looks and finally nodded. I recognized the look they exchanged, the look on their faces as the moved down the hall, just out of earshot but close enough to monitor my actions, pity. They pitied me, because they knew I was innocent or because they saw me pleading with Dimitri earlier, our situations reversed, I didn't know, but

either way I was grateful for the privacy.

"Roza." His brown eyes softened as he spoke my nickname aloud, and I allowed myself to feel a sudden burst of warmth at his words.

"How did you get in here?"

"I had a friend or two working that was willing to help me out." Just like Mikhail he had friends among the guardians. No matter past actions,

our kind helped each other, we had to in a world like this.

"Why?"

"I needed to see you." Him being here, down in the cells visiting me after taking out so many guardians just so they couldn't get to me,

spoke volumes of his love for me.

"I didn't do it."

"I know," he said softly, his accent a lovely one that I had missed so, so much. He had said it before, he knew my character. He knew what,

and who, I was capable of killing: the undead. I would never kill another Morio or Dhampir, their lives were too precious. He knew me. He didn't offer any blank words to make me feel better or comfort me,

and I almost wished he did, but him being here was enough.

The note in my pocket seemed burn, reminding me of it's presence. I needed to help Lissa, but could it wait until after the trial, which could

take weeks, or even months? I knew the answer immediately. They come first. It was our mantra, and Lissa had always, and would always,

be the first priority in my life. This cell was just an obstacle, one that would be difficult to overcome, but not impossible. Tatiana herself had

told me not to waste any time fulfilling this, I had to get out of here.

I looked at Dimitri, the person I used to trust with everything. Could I trust him again? That answer came immediately too, of course I could, but would I be selfish enough to involve him and damage everything

he was trying to work for again?

Of course I would.

"Dimitri?" I asked warily, "do you still love me?"

He was silent for several moments, his eyes burning into mine. "I would do anything to protect you," he said, avoiding my question.

That was all I needed, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the note. I looked down the hall, making sure the guardians weren't

watching us, luckily they were respecting my privacy still, so I handed the note to Dimitri.

It is a secret you must share with as few as possible. I idly wondered if Tatiana would respect the person I was deciding to share this secret

with, and suddenly wished that she had told me specifically what to do. Or at least wrote down who killed her so it would make my job easier.

Dimitri silently read the note, his grim expression changing to one of wonder. "She is helping you from her grave," he breathed, in total awe

of the dead queen.

"I need you to help me," I hissed as Dimitri handed me my note back.

"I will." He didn't hesitate.

"No matter how stupid and reckless it may seem?"

This time he did hesitate and I spoke again before he had the chance to answer. "You owe me this."

I hated using that card. This Dimitri didn't owe me anything, except maybe an apology for the horrible words that day in the church, but

the Strigoi Dimitri owed me a lot. Everything. Still this Dimitri couldn't forgive himself, so he would pay the debt for the Strigoi Dimitri. I knew

it.

"No matter how stupid and reckless," he agreed, but his eyes looked weary.

I looked around, before I leaned into the bars. Dimitri leaned in closer too and I placed my lips just above his ear. "Get me the fuck out of

here."

Chapter 2

I expected Dimitri to say something, anything to let me know that he understood what needed to be done. When I pulled back from the bars to look at his face, only to see that perfect face blank of any emotion, I

felt my mood plummeting. I needed Dimitri to do this for me.

He was giving me one of those long measured looks that were so common from him, and again I wondered what he saw when he looked at me. A pathetic guardian locked behind bars for a murder she didn't commit or the fiery, sexy Rose that he used to know, the Rose he used

to love.

I was waiting for him to answer me, and after every moment that passed I realized he wasn't going to give me an answer.

I opened my mouth to speak, but the look he gave me cut me off. A strand of hair fell into his face and he absently tucked it back behind

his ear, only to have it fall in his face again. I felt a smile turning up the corners of my lips, and Dimitri's eyes grew soft.

He turned around and walked down the halls, his guardians falling into step behind him, and my guards came back to my cell.

"What was that about?" One of them asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Nothing," I muttered, my mood dark once again. I was sulking.

He shrugged and went back to looking at the wall in front of him, his face as blank and emotionless as Dimitri's.

When Dimitri reached the end of the hall, he turned around and looked back at me. There was something in his eyes that gave me hope, but it also gave me doubt. I wanted to scream after him to tell me what he

was going to do. If he was going to do anything. He promised me, and Dimitri had always been a man of his word, but I knew how he felt about duty. About doing the right thing at all times, and feeling the

guilt of all the wrong that he has caused. Breaking me out of jail might be too much bad for him, especially after all the hurt and pain he had

been causing innocent people.

I threw myself on the cot, taking some comfort in the fact that Dimitri had laid on this cot not too long ago, and easily slipped into Lissa's head. For just a second I felt guilty about using Lissa as my way to

escape this cell, as a way to keep in touch with reality, but it passed just as quickly as it came on.

She was with Christian, thankfully fully dressed, but what they were doing made my already bad mood even worse.

He was still teaching her how to fight.

They were practicing in Lissa's suite, the furniture pushed to the sides of the room. Reminding me of their Lehigh trip, when they were

learning how to 'stake' pillows. I would much rather Lissa be learning to punch than stake though, so I wasn't too mad.

Especially if I was going to die, then she needed to know how to protect herself.

"Lissa," Christian sighed, his voice exasperated, "don't hold back on me."

"I'm not!" Through the bond I could tell that she was holding back,because she didn't want to hurt him, it just wasn't in her nature.

"Yes, you are." Just like always Christian knew when Lissa was lying, he knew her so well.

She balled her fist up again, just like I showed her that day when trying to save her life, and took a swing at his face. I could tell that she was still holding back, but she put a little more force into the punch. Not

enough to hurt Christian, but enough for him to notice a difference. Her fist made contact with his face, and she felt pain flare up her arm. She

didn't think she was ever going to get used to that.

Christian rolled his eyes, but looked as if the punch didn't cause him pain, but Lissa and I both knew it did. He clasped his hands together,

and said "Okay, Liss. Take another shot."

Lissa had pulled her arm up, when there was suddenly a knock on the door, then it opened to reveal Dimitri. He looked from Lissa's arm, still

pulled back, to Christian, who was obviously bracing himself for the next punch. Lissa dropped her arm, shocked, and Christian smiled a

little.

"This isn't what it looks like," Lissa said, indicating between her and Christian, a little embarrassed. "We aren't fighting…"

"He's teaching you how to fight?" Dimitri guessed, allowing himself a little smile.

Seeing that smile, made me smile.

"Oh, well then it is what it looks like," Lissa said looking up from her feet, her face still a little flushed.

Dimitri cleared his throat and looked around the room, his eyes rested on Lissa and I saw that devotion flash in his eyes. I couldn't help but

feel a stab of jealousy. "I just saw Rose," he announced.

"What?" Lissa exclaimed, "I have been trying to get down there and I can't."

"I told her just to compel them." Christian added, a smirk on his face.

"There are too many guardians around her."

"I just asked," Dimitri said, that small smile still playing on his lips.

"What did she say, is she okay?" Lissa asked, worry radiating through the bond and in her eyes.

"She wants me to do something, and I'm going to need your help," Dimitri said, his voice hesitant.

Lissa didn't hesitate, her voice strong and sure when she answered. "Okay, anything. We're in."

"We need to get her out of jail."

There was a silence in the room, and then Lissa spoke, "Rose, I know you're probably listening. We're coming to get you."

With that I left her head, knowing that her and Dimitri would come up with a sound plan. A plan that was going to get me out of this jail, and

hopefully a step closer to clearing my name. Or at the very least something that would help Lissa in the future, if I was executed.

I felt a sharp pain, radiating from my heart, at just the thought of leaving Lissa. When I went to Russia, I felt like I lost half of myself, and it had felt just as horrible to her. Robert's face flashed before my eyes. The way he lived in fear and paranoia, secluded in a cabin where the only person he was willing to see was his brother. He lost a shadow-

kissed guardian, it made him that way.

And I vowed, in that jail cell surrounded by God knows how many guardians, that I was not going to let that happen to Lissa. I was going

to protect her, no matter what. I had to stay alive, I had to live.

I had to keep her safe, even if it was the last thing I would do.

Chapter 3

It was about two thirty, in the afternoon, when I felt it through the bond, ringing loud and clear: anxiety. It was time. I sat straight up on my cot, I had been laying on the cot all afternoon, looking up at the

ceiling, counting how many cracks were in the surface of the old building. Let's just say there was a lot, and it had occupied my mind for

the last couple of hours.

The door at the end of the hall opened, and in stepped Mikhail, his face perfectly neutral, but I felt like he was in on this plan. He looked up and caught my eye, and only a tiny nod of his head indicated that he was indeed here to help me. I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was

holding, and prepared myself for battle.

Mikhail stopped in front of my cell and nodded to the two guards standing there. "You guys need a break?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," one of my guards replied, he was the tallest of the three, his black hair cut short, probably to keep it out of his face during a fight. He was the strong, muscular type, but that was the only thing

he had going for him.

"She's not going anywhere," Mikhail said, looking at me through the bars, "and you guys have been down here all day. I'll stay down here

while you take a break."

The other guardian, a short, stocky man that was balding on top looked over at his partner. "What do you say Herald," he asked, "a ten minute

break?"

The tall one, Herald, pursed his lips in consideration, and I silently prayed he would just go. After what seemed like hours, Herald finally

answered, "I don't see what it could hurt, Palmer."

"Thanks Mikhail," Palmer said, "it's been miserable down here. No action. I've been itching to know what's been going on up there."

Herald grunted his agreement and they started off down the hall. "No problem guys," Mikhail said after them, just as the door closed behind

them.

Then something, or rather someone, was slammed against the door, making a loud thump. Then there were a series of grunts. As soon the

door had closed behind the other guardians Mikhail started digging in his pockets for his keys, finally he found them and unlocked the cell

door.

I ran out of the cell and started running toward the door, I felt Mikhail right behind me. "Thank you," I breathed, "so much."

Mikhail didn't answer me as we busted through the door, knocking the body slumped against it out onto the floor. We were in a little hallway with another door just beyond it, one that had to be unlocked with a keycard. Dimitri and Herald were in the middle of the little hallway, circling each other with such grace that it would put any dancer to

shame. Dimitri's arm snaked out, heading toward Herald's head, but he barely dodged the punch. I saw his hand heading toward the walkie talkie that was secured at his hip, and I ran forward, knocking the walkie talkie out of it's holder and onto the floor. I dove for it, and

threw it against the wall, watching in grim satisfaction has it fell broken to the ground.

Herald looked back in surprise, apparently having not heard us come through the door, and that was the opening Dimitri needed. He kicked Herald in the stomach, sending him flying toward the wall, beside me. I then grabbed him by the neck, and slammed his head against the door

handle, sending his unconscious body to the ground.

"What now?" I asked Dimitri.

He came over to me and reached into his pocket, bringing out a shiny silver ring and placing it on my finger. As soon as the ring was on my

finger he dropped my hand, as if he didn't want to touch me. I instantly felt my heart breaking, but I pushed it aside. I could fall apart over

Dimitri later, right now I was trying to help change the world.

"Lissa?" I asked.

He nodded.

Through the bond I felt Lissa using her compulsion on the guards that were stationed at the top level, she was waiting for us and all the

Dhampirs had really high resistance to her compulsion, she didn't know how long she could last.

I instantly felt horrible for making her use spirit so much lately. First with getting Victor out of jail, then with Dimitri and the charms, and

finally with me. She might feel fine now, and spirit made her feel alive and wonderful, but that didn't mean it wouldn't affect her later.

Mikhail stepped over the bodies, silent, and opened the door with his keycard. As soon as the door was open I was running down the hall,

trying to escape these cells. Dimitri ran after me, and grabbed me by the wrist, his fingers biting deep into my skin, and turned me around. I was instantly aware of how close we were, my body only inches from

his. I felt my heart stop in my chest, my breathing growing heavy. "Don't run," he hissed, looking down at the ring on my finger, "you'll

look suspicious."

I nodded and he released his hold on me, stepping away as he did so.

As we walked down the twists and turns of the hallway we came to a room that was full of guardians, they turned around at our arrival and

starred at me. There were desks sitting throughout the room, and filing cabinets that lined the room. I held my breath, hoping that they

couldn't see through Lissa's charm.

Of course, I had no such luck. Nothing could ever go according to plan, could it?

"What is Hathaway doing out of her cell?" Someone asked, their voice loud and shocked.

We instantly went into defense mood, Dimitri and I, back to back, circling and surveying our targets. I quickly counted that there were ten guardians in here, ten of the queens guardians, the best of the

best.

I easily took out the first guardian that tried to get me, sending him flying to the ground. I looked at the desk beside me and took the paper

weight, hitting him across the head and making him pass out.

The guardian standing closest to me tried to grab my arms, but I dodged his attempt and punched him in the face. That made him

stagger and I kicked him, sending him flying into the wall. He landed on one of the filing cabinets, his head snapping back and hitting the edge. Another guardian was on me now, and he was doing good at

dodging my kicks and punches.

Behind me I heard Dimitri taking out several of the guardians, and Mikhail was in the corner, fighting with three guardians.

The guardian in front of me was joined by the guardian that I had just sent flying to the wall. I finally had the opening I need and kicked the second guardian again, this time making him stagger only a little. I

leaped up and kicked him again, sending him into the back of another

guardian. The first guardian charged me, and I went to the ground. He was reaching toward his pocket, probably to cuff me, when someone

flung him off of me.

I looked up and saw Dimitri, having already took care of the four guards that were on him. I shot him a grateful smile, and the last

guardian came rushing toward us again. My arm snaked out, hitting him on the side of the head. He staggered and I kicked his legs out

from under him, sending him to the floor, his head hitting the side of a desk on it's way down.

We ran out of that room, and up several flights of steps. I instantly felt guilty. Those were the good guys, my guys, the guardians. I felt like I

was fighting for the side of evil, again, and I looked over at Dimitri. His face was blank, but in his eyes I saw that it was hurting him to fight those guardians, and I wondered if it brought back memories of him

fighting as a Strigoi.

We finally made it to Lissa, who was compelling four of the guards at the front desk at the same time. She was growing frantic.

"Finally," she grumbled, "I don't know how much longer I can hold them."

"Tell them to fight each other," I commanded, although it sounded more like a suggestion.

"I want you to fight each other," she ordered, her voice loud and commanding. There was a moment of hesitation in them all. "Now,"

she said, her voice firm, "and don't stop until you are all unconscious." They all hesitated again, then finally one lounged himself at the

guardian standing next to him, taking her down to the ground. That started them all fighting. They were so graceful in their moves, so swift

and determined, that it was all I could do not to stare at them.

"Let's go," Dimitri said, his voice soft. I looked over at him, and saw the pain in his eyes.

He's hurting because of you. I thought, feeling so guilty. I wanted to reach out and squeeze his hand, but I knew that he didn't want to

touch me, he didn't want my comfort.

Once we were out on the grounds of the court, I didn't get many suspicious stares, mostly glances from one or two people, but the more

they looked at me, the less they could actually see Rose. They were seeing the person Lissa had charmed me to look like, and for that I was

grateful. The court was still in a frantic state, with guardians and Moroi running around. Some people still had tears running down there

cheeks, while others kept glancing over their shoulders, as if they were afraid to be here. Afraid to be at one of the safest places in the world.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the garage," Dimitri answered, "Christian is waiting for us there."

"Rose?" Mikhail asked, hesitant. "What are you going to do?"

Through the bond I felt Lissa's worry and curiosity. Dimitri hadn't told her why I wanted to get out of jail, just that I simply had something to do, something so huge that it could change our world. Lissa had been

curious as to what I needed to do that could be so important.

I had to decide if I was going to tell Lissa the truth. Her heart would be broken, her heart was broken when she found out what Andre did to

Mia, and she didn't even like Mia then. It hurt her so much because the image that she always held of her brother was of how perfect he was.

He was involved with all the right things, and was so likeable. She viewed her parent's in much of the same way, and I hated to be the one that ruined that image for her. This involved her dad, the person

she loved and adored, cheating on her mom. I didn't know if I could tell her right now, especially after she had been using so much magic.

Dimitri caught my eye, and I decided I was going to protect her heart. I was going to lie to her.

"I have something to do," I said vaguely, earning a hard glare from Mikhail.

"I'm going with you," Lissa hissed, "no matter what, I'm going with you." I could feel how serious she was. She was devoted to me,

committed, and no matter what she wanted to help me. "Christian is too."

"Lissa-" I began, but she cut me off.

"I want to do this. I want to help you. You were willing to lose everything, to lose Dimitri, just to help me." I looked over at Dimitri, his eyes hard and focused straight ahead. "I never get to help you, you're always protecting me, but now it's my turn again. It's my turn to help

you. I need to help you," she pleaded, her eyes bright.

I wanted Lissa to come with me, I needed her to really. I needed to know that she was okay, and that someone was going to protect her.

There was a killer on the lose, and I didn't want to have to constantly worry about if she was okay or if she was just seconds away from her

untimely death. If she was with me I could protect, me and Dimitri, just like old times.

Just like old times.

Maybe if Dimitri and I were protecting her again, getting into our regular routine, it wouldn't be so hard for him to be around me. Maybe

he would remember what it was like when we were together and in love.

"Okay," I sighed.

"Are you sure-" Dimitri began, voicing his concern over Lissa's safety.

"Yes," I snapped, "I know what's best for Lissa. I'm her guardian."

Dimitri was silent for several moments, and I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. I didn't like yelling at him, certainly not pointing out

that I was a guardian and he wasn't, but spirit's side affects where starting to affect my mood. "Okay," he whispered, "you've done a

great job protecting her. I trust you."

Lissa felt horrible for me, but she also felt horrible for Dimitri. She loved us both, and seeing us do this to each other was tearing her up

on the inside.

We walked the rest of the way to the garage in a semi-comfortable silence, thanking our lucky stars that no one seemed to recognize me.

Christian was leaning against one of the cars, and was smirking as we walked in. "What took you so long, Rose? I thought a badass like you would only take a few seconds to break out of jail and beat the shirt

out of some guards."

I snorted. "Trust me, it would have taken you much longer with the way you've been throwing punches."

He smirked and I smiled, I had missed him and he was a good person to have around during crazy plans. I was so lucky that my friends were

on board with a lot of my weird adventures.

Mikhail, who had been silent for pretty much this whole ordeal, threw Dimitri a set of keys. "You're taking the Dodge. Pop the trunk"

"Whoa," I said, holding my hands in the air, "I'm not getting back into the trunk."

Dimitri raised an eyebrow, a slightly amused expression on his face, but popped the trunk like Mikhail had asked.

"You have to, Rose." Mikhail said. "You're charm has worked with a lot of people, but some of the guardians can see past it, we can't take the

risk of them recognizing you."

I knew he was right, but of course it was in my nature to argue with everything. "The whole court is probably on lockdown right now! The

queen died! She was murdered at court! They aren't going to let anyone in or out, Lissa's going to have to use compulsion on the

guards anyway!"

"Rose," Mikhail breathed, "please get in the trunk. We need to get you out of here."

I sighed and opened my mouth to, grudgingly, agree when I heard a shriek.

I turned around to see Mia Rinaldi coming into the garage, her hand thrown over her mouth, her eyes intently glued on me. She stared at me for several seconds before saying anything, probably fighting the

charm to see who I really was. "Rose," she said, her voice shaky, "what the hell are you doing?"

"Great," Mikhail said, "she can see you."

"We have to go," I said. Lissa went and sat in the front seat of the car, while Christian slid into the backseat.

"Go?" Mia asked, raising her eyebrows, "Go where?"

We all stayed silent, none of us actually knew where we were going. We just knew we were leaving. When it was evident we weren't going

to answer her question she opened the car door and slid into the backseat. "I'm going," she announced. I opened my mouth to object,

but she put her finger up, today must have been I'm-going-to-interrupt-everything-Rose-has-to-say-day. I sighed and crossed my arms over

my chest, waiting for her to continue. "The last time I helped out with some crazy plan of yours this happened," she gestured toward Dimitri, "and I'm not missing it this time. I'm coming. Plus, it's got to be more

fun than eating damn popsicles all day."

"She could help us," Christian pointed out, "she's done this kind of thing before, in high school."

"She's pretty good at compulsion," Lissa added, "for a water user."

"I'm pretty good at compulsion for anyone."

"I don't like the idea of getting too many Moroi involved," Dimitri said, speaking up for the first time in a while.

"I can take care of myself," Mia insisted, "I've been training for months. I can help protect Lissa and Christian in the 'real world'"

She had a point, she could prove valuable, and Lissa was right, her compulsion was good for a water user. If Lissa felt too weak to keep a

hold on anyone, Mia could help.

"Okay, Mia, you can come."

"Rose, you have to go before someone realizes your gone, those guys aren't going to stay unconscious forever." Mikhail was glancing back and forth anxiously, keeping a look out for any guardians that could

hold up our plans.

"Thank you for your help Mikhail," I sighed. I slid into the trunk, not too happy about the seating arrangements. "I hope this doesn't become a weekly occurrence." I also hoped breaking in and out of jail wouldn't

become a weekly occurrence, but I didn't voice that out loud.

"How many times have you been in the back of the trunk?" Christian asked.

"And why?" Mia asked, her eyebrows still raised.

"Only once," Lissa muttered, rolling her eyes, "and it's a long story."

Dimitri grunted and got into the drivers seat, everyone closed their doors and Mikhail came over to close the trunk. "Rose," he said,

looking down at me, his eyes wide with wonder, "I don't know what you're doing, and I don't want to know, but be careful."

With that he slammed the trunk shut, and Dimitri started the car. At least I have the trunk to myself this time, I thought as the car started

to make it's way toward the gates. After these gates opened the rest of our lives were going to change, our whole world could possibly change,

and it all rested on this second Dragomir.

Chapter 4

Dimitri was driving faster than Mikhail did the day he helped sneak us out of court, and I decided to watch what was happening through Lissa,

which would be a lot better than seeing the blackness of the trunk. I didn't like being confined to this trunk, it reminded me of my jail cell,

and although I didn't spend a lot of time in there, I could end up in one for a long time, until my death even.

I easily went into Lissa's head, watching what she was seeing. We were speeding through court, fast enough to get away in a hurry but not fast

enough to attract too much attention. We were passing the royal housing when we saw him. Adrian.

Lissa spotted his aura just as we passed his house. He was sitting outside on a wooden bench, with a pair of designer sunglasses on. He had a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and an almost empty

bottle of vodka sitting beside him.

Adrian had spotted the car before Lissa had seen him, and he was already taking his sunglasses off to get a better look at the people

inside. His eyes briefly rested on Lissa, before they turned to glare at Dimitri. I had never seen him looking at anyone with that amount of

hatred before in my life.

He can't see you, he can't see you. He can't possibly know what I'm doing. I panicked. I knew that he would eventually find out, but I was

hoping he find out with the rest of court, hopefully when we were hundreds of miles away. I didn't want him to follow us. Judging by the

way he just kept sitting there, staring at the car as it passed by, getting further and further away, he wasn't going to. I let out a quick

sigh of relief.

I instantly felt like shit. Here I was escaping from the court with my ex-boyfriend and best friends, while my boyfriend sat outside trying to ease the pain that the past couple of days had caused him. The pain

that I caused him.

I didn't deserve him. Ever since Dimitri returned I had caused Adrian pain, and when his aunt got murdered, that caused him even more pain. I knew there was only so much that I could do before Adrian

stopped forgiving me for all the pain. He said that he could never hate me, and I did pick him, but that was because Dimitri had said he didn't

love me anymore.

Love fades.

But if Dimitri ever gave me the chance to be with him again, I don't t know what I would do. I needed Adrian in my life, and I thought I loved him, but I did love Dimitri. Every part of me loved Dimitri, and every

part of me needed him.

Adrian looks so sad. Lissa said, speaking to me through the bond. I wish there was something we could do to help him.

Me too. I thought, hating the one sided bond.

We finally made it to the front gate, when Dimitri spoke. He was the first to break the silence since locking me in the trunk, and everyone was nervous about what was about to come. If they found me in the

trunk, it was most likely lead to a fight.

"Lissa," Dimitri said, "let's try talking to the guard first and if that doesn't work you can use your compulsion on him."

Lissa nodded, after the ordeal she went through earlier she was still feeling tired and worn out, but was fairly sure she could compel the

guard to open the gate, if not she knew Mia could help.

Dimitri rolled down his window as the guardian came running up to the car. "What are you doing?" He shouted. "No one can go in or out!"

Dimitri, using his instructor voice, stayed calm. "It's an emergency. We need to get out."

"I don't care," the man said, his voice rising even more, "not only is the queen dead but that Hathaway girl is missing!" The man then seemed

to realize who he was talking to, and register everyone in the car. "Wait a minute…you're her best friend and you…" his eyes were flicking between Dimitri and Lissa "you were, are, her instructor."

I couldn't believe that I had only been out of my cell for thirty minutes and they already realized that I was missing! These guys worked fast, and if we didn't get out of here soon there was a good chance that we

were going to get caught. I didn't even want to think about all the trouble everyone was going to be in because of me.

"Lissa," Dimitri said his voice barely above a whisper.

When the guy locked eyes with Lissa she used every ounce of her energy to compel him. "We need you to open the gate, now."

The man just looked at her, neither obeying nor moving to obey. "Didn't you hear me-"before he finished his sentence the compulsion

started to work its magic, and his eyes glazed over.

"Just do it! Now! Then forget you ever saw us."

Finally, after several moments of hesitation, the man moved to open the gate. Dimitri floored the gas, speeding away from court as fast as

the car would move. He didn't stop until the gates were well out of sight, then he pulled over roughly. He popped the trunk, and then he

came to help me out, even going as far as lending me a hand. My heart started to swell, I was so thankful for him and everyone in the car.

They were risking a lot, and they didn't even know why. They had so much faith in me.

"Roza," he breathed, "were you okay back there."

I nodded, and he let go of my hand. Roza. He called me Roza! My heart was practically singing.

I slid into the backseat, taking Mia's seat and forcing her into the middle seat. "I hate being in the middle," she complained, "especially

on long car rides."

"I hate being in the trunk," I said and Mia rolled her eyes, "next time you can ride back there."

"What now?" Christian asked.

That was a really good question. When I talked to Sydney she said that the bank accounts were sat up in Las Vegas, and the man at the casino

had told us as much. Las Vegas sounded like a reasonable place to start but…there were records with the alchemist. Even though the

paper copies were stolen, they had everything stored digitally. Getting access to those records could help us get closer to Lissa's half sibling. I had asked Sydney if I could know the details, and she had said no, but maybe if I was down there, begging her or forcing her, she would give them to me. After all she wanted to please Abe, and even if she didn't hand them over there were other ways to get a copy, like breaking in

which I seemed to be doing a lot of lately.

"We need to get on a flight to New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" Christian asked, a smirk coming over his face, "We already missed Mardi Gras, Rose."

"You forgot, Fire boy, the party follows us, we don't follow the party."

A few hours later we were in the air flying to New Orleans. I was careful not to use my card to pay for anything; I didn't want to leave a trail for Adrian to follow. Christian, Mia and Lissa sat in front of Dimitri and I. I

was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I sat down, and as soon as my eyes drifted shut, Adrian was with me.

He didn't bring me anywhere fancy, and he didn't dress me. We were sitting on the bench in front of his house at court, and it was nighttime. The night sky was twinkling with a million burning stars; the moon was full and glowing. You would think that since we lived at night we would get tired of the majestic beauty of the night, and I did miss the sun, but

the night never lost its magic.

"Little Dhampir." Adrian's voice was soft and gentle against the night breeze. "What have you done?"

"I'm doing something that will help Lissa, something that will give her the power she deserves!"

"Did that mean you had to break out of jail while you are on trial for killing my aunt?" This time Adrian's voice wasn't gentle, it was harsh

and accusing.

"Something's can't wait! I have to do this for Lissa!" I started playing with the Nazar around my neck, my eyes falling to the ground.

"You're with him aren't you." It didn't sound like a question, it was more accusatory, but I felt the need to answer it anyway.

"Yes but-" I began, but he cut me off.

"But what? Why didn't you come to me? Don't you think I want to help you?" His voice was harsher, his words cutting deep into my skin.

"He came to me." I whispered.

"Of course he did, Belikov to the rescue!" Adrian said.

"Stop that! He's just trying to help!"

"Don't you know that I need you right now Rose? My aunt was just murdered, and you're the prime suspect! I need you!" Adrian was right, he needed me. I knew he was hurting, and I just left, not even thinking

about how that would hurt him too.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, standing up and going to him. I threw my arms around his neck, and drew him closer to me. His kissed my neck, then brought his lips up to mine, kissing me gently. I pulled back and looked

at him, "but Lissa needs me too."

"I know." Adrian whispered, kissing me on the forehead. "I just wish you were here, with me."

"I wouldn't technically be with you," I teased, "I'd be locked in a jail cell."

"I'd still feel better if you were near."

"I know," I whispered, "I miss you too."

"I love you little Dhampir." His eyes were so sincere, so devoted and loving. The more time I spent with Dimitri, the more I realized that I

really didn't deserve Adrian, and I knew that in the end I was going to hurt him so bad that our relationship would be damaged forever, and

the thought made me sad.

With that Adrian left my dream, allowing me to return back to my own dreams. When I woke up I was leaning against Dimitri's shoulder, his

duster thrown over me to keep me warm. Almost the same way I woke up on the day of the mall trip, when we were falling in love. The plane

was descending into New Orleans, and I was feeling more confused than ever.

"Lissa," I said, leaning over the seat and whispering into her ear, "I need you to make another charm for me.'

"What kind?" She asked, already reaching into her bag to bring out some silver.

"One that won't allow Adrian into my dreams."

She nodded and got to work charming another little ring. I hated doing that, especially when I knew how bad it was going to make him feel,

but I needed time to think.

I realized that I was still wrapped up in Dimitri's coat, and brought it up to my nose, breathing in his wonderful scent. I missed a lot of things

when Dimitri was a Strigoi, but one of the things I missed the most was his scent. I looked up and saw Dimitri looking at me, his eyes shinning

with an emotion that hadn't been in them in a long, long time.

"Thank you, comrade." I said, handing him back his coat.

"You're welcome," he whispered, his accent lovely and deep.

When the plane landed we checked into a hotel. We had to get two rooms, Dimitri took one room and we took the other. As soon as we

were in the room I made a call to the only person I knew in New Orleans.

"Sydney, I'm in New Orleans and I need your help."

Chapter 5

To say Sydney wasn't exactly happy to hear from me was an understatement. She, like everyone else in the vampire world, had

already heard about the murder of the queen and the prime suspect of said murder. After she calmed down enough to carry on a

conversation, and after she kept muttering that the evil creatures of the night would be the death of her, we sat plans to meet up the follow

morning at the restaurant down stairs.

"Rose," she said, her voice exasperated, "I wish the circumstances were different but I am happy I get to see you."

"See? I'm not too bad to be an evil creature of the night, right?"

She snorted and hung up. After I told Lissa our plans she and Christian immediately fell asleep, neither of them having slept on the plane,

leaving me and Mia to do as we pleased. It came as no surprise to me that she wanted to practice fighting.

We were outside our rooms, practicing in the grass by the pool, which was tempting me to jump in despite the fact that the pool was closed.

Unlike the court the night here was angry, the dark grey clouds threatening to pour rain down on us any moment. The humidity was

thick in the air, making me sweat before we even began.

"Show me what you got, little girl," I teased, and I so wasn't expecting her to bring it.

Her fist reached out, knocking me from the side of my face and sending my head back. To say I was shocked was to say the least. Her fist then made contact with my stomach, forcing me to double over. It

wasn't so much that it hurt, but the fact that it came from Mia. I couldn't believe it.

I was able to dodge her punches after that, even landing a lot of my own. Finally, after many blows and kicks, I got the opening I needed. I ran into her, sending her flying to the ground, and I was holding her

shoulders down. I leaned down and brushed my teeth against her neck, "Got cha," I whispered in her ear, laughter exploding between the two

of us.

"That was a good fight though," I added, rolling onto the grass beside her, "for a Moroi." It was starting to sprinkle now, and the rain felt good

against my heated skin

"You learned from the best though," Mia pointed out, her breathing heavy.

"Yeah," I whispered, my words disappearing into the night air, "he's pretty badass."

"Rose?" A voice asked from the shadows of the bushes, the lovely Russian accent music to my ears. Speaking of the devil. He stepped

forward, the shadows falling behind him and his face coming into view. "Can I talk to you?"

Mia looked between the two of us, and raised her eyebrows. I nodded and she rose, walking back towards our room. "I'm going to be in the

room!" She shouted as she made her way up the stairs.

After she left Dimitri and I sat in silence. "Do you want to take a walk with me?" he asked, walking over to me and offering me his hand.

Once again I eagerly took it, and he helped me get back on my feet. We started walking on the stone trail that lead from the pool to a small

garden filled with blooming flowers. He led us to a small bench that was snuggled beside two large rose bushes, we sat down and I plucked

a rose, tearing the petals off the flower one by one. I watched as the petals fell, making a red pool around my feet.

He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not.

"Rose," Dimitri said, shifting his eyes, I could tell that he was uncomfortable. I couldn't tell if it was because he was so close to me, or the subject he was about to bring up, but I silently sat and listened.

"My mother said hello."

Out of everything I expected Dimitri to say, that wasn't anywhere close. I met his mother, Olena Belikova, while I was hunting Dimitri in Russia. I had also meet his sisters and his grandmother, and I even

stayed with them for a while. His youngest sister, Viktoria, and I

became real good friends during my stay, only to have everything destroyed the night before I left. Although that was a horrible time in

my life that I didn't like to think of, hunting my lover and slaying Strigoi, I did miss Dimitri's family.

"She also said," Dimitri continued, a small smile turning up the corners of his lips, "that she sends her love, so does Viktoria."

I smiled in return, it seemed like Viktoria's hatred of me had diminished a little over time. "When did you talk to them?"

"They heard about what happened and contacted me at court a couple of days ago. I would have told you sooner but it didn't seem important

at the time." Dimitri's eyes grew soft, and I could tell that he was thinking about his family and his home. He missed them, I realized. I

missed them, so I couldn't imagine how Dimitri was feeling.

"They miss you." I finished plucking all the petals off the rose and reached for another.

"They miss you too." His voice was so quiet, so unsure, that I wondered if he meant for me to hear him.

"I miss them too."

"They love you."

I smiled, my memories of them bittersweet, but I was certain of one thing. I loved them. "I love them too."

We sat there in silence for a couple of moments, and I continued to pick the petals off my rose.

He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not.

"Roza." I looked up from picking my petals. His voice was so intense, so lovely and accented, so full of emotion, that it shocked me. He

almost sounded like the old Dimitri. The Dimitri I knew and loved. The Dimitri that loved me. "I am so, so sorry."

"I've already forgiven you." I said immediately, no hesitation on my part. It was true. I had forgiven him a long time ago, I realized that what Dimitri did while he was a Strigoi didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was that he was normal again. He could go back to

being the old Dimitri. I knew that it would take time, but I was willing to wait for him as long as he needed me to wait. Love is patient.

"Why?" He asked, his voice was still intense, but there was a fire in his eyes. I glint that I hadn't seen for far too long. It almost looked like love and passion, and it was directed at me. My heart was fluttering in my

chest. His eyes didn't look dead, he looked alive. Alive and happy. Alive and loving.

"Because I love you." The answer was out of my lips before I had time to consider my wording, but it was that simple. I loved him. I always had, and I always would. Right there, sitting in that garden with the night sky surrounding us and my love by my side, I knew without a doubt that he would always be the person that I loved. I could try to

move on, I could date other people and I could love them, but my love for Dimitri would never fade, even if his did.

"You shouldn't." His voice was harsh, cutting into my skin far deeper than Adrian's words ever would. "I did horrible things to you, and not

just to you, to a lot of people."

My hand reached for his before my mind could tell me not too. I let my finger trail down his hand, and I gave his hand a soft squeeze. "That wasn't you," I said, my voice firm and unwavering, "you are not that

person."

"I was that person," Dimitri said, the fire gone from his eyes, "I did harm to people. I didn't protect anyone and I killed everyone in my

path; all to get to you."

"It doesn't matter," I whispered, my voice sounding fragile, "not anymore. You are not that person anymore. You changed back!"

His hand was still so warm in mine, so real. "A lot of things have to change."

Those words shattered my heart all over again. "What things?"

"Me and you," he whispered, "we have to change."

"No," my voice quavered, "we don't have to. Nothing has to change."

"Everything already has."

"No it hasn't," I insisted, my voice rising again, "you still read your corny old western books and wear that cowboy duster! You threw

yourself in front of the queens guardians to keep me safe. You helped me escape from jail! Nothing has changed, and nothing has too!"

"What do you want me to say?" He asked, his voice matching mine. "That I love you? Because I can't say that," he withdrew his hand from mine, and my heart sunk, "I can't say that yet, Rose! I don't know if I

can ever say that to you again!"

"I just want to hear you say you will try."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but I cut him off. "I just want you to give me hope," I whispered. "When you fell that day in the cave, my soul shattered. I lost apart of myself! I felt like I couldn't be alive without you, but I figured out how to get you back. How to get a piece my soul back! I just need you to give me hope! Hope that my

soul will one day be complete again."

His words from the church suddenly came back to me, echoing in my head. Love fades.

"Don't you dare say love fades either! It doesn't! If you love someone you always will, forever. No amount of time will make that love fade. Mine didn't fade! You just learn to live without that person, but you

love them all the same!"

He sat there looking at me, his eyes shinning and I couldn't tell if it was from tears or love. The rain was starting to come down more

consistently, in silent watery streaks. He didn't answer me for a long time, and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I raised my head to the

watery tears falling from the sky, letting the rain wash away my own tears.

I got up and started to walk back to my room, my world crumbling around me again. I threw my unfinished rose down on the ground. He

loves me not.

He really didn't love me. He really didn't care anything about me. Was any of it real? The kisses, the warm gestures, the cabin? Did he ever

really love me?

"Rose," his voice was soft and gentle, coming from behind me. I stood still and didn't turn around. He walked up to me and grabbed my wrist, turning me around and pulling me closer to him. The rain was falling even more, making the world a grey haze. I was so close to him that I could feel his heat, and my breathing hitched. I took my other hand in his, now holding both of my hands close to his chest. "I'm going to try." The words were barely more than a whisper, caressing around me and

seeming to make the world right again.

"You will?" I whispered, shocked and happy not even beginning to explain how I felt.

He nodded, and that wonderful golden magic wrapped around us: love. It felt almost as beautiful and exciting as Lissa's magic.

"Let's get you inside," Dimitri said, the rain falling down his face and dripping off of his hair.

To my extreme surprise and happiness Dimitri held my hand in his until we reached my door. "Goodnight, Rose. Sweet dreams."

Dreams. I wasn't going to see Adrian in my dreams tonight; I was blocking him. I instantly felt like shit again, I was really screwing over Adrian and now that Dimitri said he was going to try, how was I going

to face Adrian?

I said goodnight to Dimitri and walked into the room, leaning against the door. Mia was looking at me intently, a smile on her face. She

picked up the pillow lying next to her and threw it at me. "Look at that smile!" She squeaked, her eyes glowing.

"Shhh," I hissed, looking at Lissa and Christian sleeping on the bed beside her.

Mia rolled her eyes, that silly smile still glued to her face. I layed down on the bed beside her, exhaustion setting in. I was almost asleep when Mia spoke again. "Not to sound corny or anything, but after all that you

two have been through, you deserve to be happy."

I fell asleep that night feeling more hope that night then I had since finding out I could save Dimitri, and guilt at the thought of breaking

Adrian's heart.

Chapter 6

It's summer," I crooned, throwing my arms up and into the air, the breeze whipping my strawberry blonde hair around me as it made its way through the convertible. We rented the car from the airport and

we let the top down as soon as we got on the road, it made us feel free and spirited. "It's time to party, party, party!" Which, ironically, was all we had been doing the past couple of weeks. Before we came home for

the summer Alina and I drove up to Laguna Beach where we partied nonstop all night, every night with the humans. But, in all seriousness,

we had been partying all school year.

My best friend, Alina, let out a scream, her voice fading in with the darkness around us. "This is going to be the best summer ever! Next year we're going to be juniors!" Her black hair was flying behind her, her bright blue eyes shinning in the night. She threw her arms up into

the air, the convertible crossing into the lane beside us. I quickly reached over and caught the wheel, pulling the car back into the right

lane, laughter exploding between the two of us.

The lights of the city were surrounding us as we made our way home. Las Vegas, The Big Easy, Sin City, The Entertainment Capital of the

World, whatever you wanted to call it, we just called it home. We had to stay at school for most of the year and we only got to come home

during the summer and for Christmas. I went to school in the desert of California and it was only the most boring place in the world,

surrounded by nothing but cacti and sand. The sprawling Gothic style school looked out of place in the middle of nowhere but it gave us the

one thing we needed the most: privacy.

"Where to first?" Alina asked, looking at me from her drivers seat. "That bar that lets us in without having to use compulsion or are we

going to go and crash Abby Ivashkov's bonfire?"

At the mention of Abby Ivashkov I felt my good mood vanish. Abby was a major royal, her cousins great aunt was the queen, and Abby didn't even try to act normal. She was a bitch, in a major way, and a royal pain in my ass. She liked to make fun of me and Alina because we

didn't get into the social politics of the school. We tried to lay as low as we could, hanging out mostly with Dhampirs. Even though Alina and I

were Moroi we both believed that we should learn to fight because leaving it all to the Dhampirs was unfair, not to mention cruel and

cowardly. I was proud that I was a air user and of the fact that I could kick ass.

"Too many royals," I muttered, rolling my eyes at the stupid suggestion.

"What's wrong with royals?" Alina asked, glaring at me. Alina was an Ozera, which was one of the twelve royal families, and she was cool to hang out with mainly because she didn't act royal. Most royal's thought that they were better than everyone else and they didn't socialize with non-royal Moroi, especially ones that came from poor families. Like me.

"Nothing's wrong with royals," I said, giving her a tiny smile, "just the Dragomir line."

Alina went from glaring at me to looking sorry for me. "Don't say that."

"Why? It's true."

"No, it's not. You don't even know her." She had a point, but I wasn't going to give in.

"I know of her. It's basically the same thing."

Alina shook her head, a tiny smile forming on her lips. "No, be nice. Besides, my distant cousin dates her or he used to."

I had to bite my lips to keep from laughing. The distant cousin she was talking about was Christian Ozera, and her side of the family didn't socialize with Christian or his aunt, Tasha. Christian's parents had

turned Strigoi, by choice, which was something that our kind didn't take lightly. They all but shunned Christian and Tasha even though

they were victims as well. Alina felt sorry for him and wished that she could help him, at least talk to him, but her parents strictly forbade it.

"Can we just drop it?" I snapped.

"Okay," she muttered, staring straight ahead. I instantly felt bad, I was already ruining summer vacation.

Suddenly I didn't want to go out anymore. I don't want to go and party. I'd been partying enough the past couple of weeks, I was ready to go

home. To sleep in my bed. "I don't want to party tonight. I want to sleep." I said, answering her earlier question.

"What?" She cried. Me not wanting to party was one thing, but me wanting to skip partying for sleep was unheard of. "It's the middle of the day." Again, she had a point but I was too stubborn to admit it.

"I didn't sleep on the plane."

I saw Alina's face go from doubt to speculation. "Yes you did."

"I didn't get enough sleep on the plane," I corrected, tilting my head to look at the dimly glowing stars. That was something that I missed about the desert, the stars. They always glowed so brightly. To me they seemed like tear drops frozen in outer space, their beauty so

majestic and otherworldly that I felt lucky to live at night. Some people had to live during the day and face the horrible sun, but we got the night. The sky was already turning a dark blue as opposed to the normal jet black, indicting the sun would be rising in a few hours.

"Whatever," Alina breathed, rolling her eyes.

"Keep your eyes on the road." I chastised. I already lost one person to a car wreck, I didn't want to lose another and certainly not myself.

We finally made it to my house, the sky turning a bright pink as we pulled into the driveway. My house was small but pretty. It was a two

bedroom, little, gray house nestled on the corner of a nice neighborhood. The front yard had a blooming garden full of all different kinds of flowers: roses, lilies, orchids, daisy's, on and on the list went. A

little bench sat in the middle of the garden, and there was a hanging swing on the wrap around porch. Alina and I had spent many the night sitting on that porch, listening to the cars pass by on the nearby road and the owls hooting in the woods that surrounded our house. It might not have been much, but it was home and it was sure nice to be back.

My mom came out of the house, a tight smile on her face. I took one look at her and knew something was wrong, that something happened. "Hi girls," she said, that tight smile still plastered to her face. Her light brown hair was pulled up into a ponytail, showing off her heart shaped face. Her brown eyes looked cautious, reminding me that this women was not my mother, this women was a wreck. My mother had a free

spirit, her eyes always twinkling and she was always in the party mood. She had calmed down a lot after she got married, and sometimes I

missed it being just the two of us, but I was away at school all the time so it was selfish for me to wish away her happiness.

Alina and I exchanged glances and looked back at my mother. "Mom," I asked, my voice hesitant, "what's wrong?" My thoughts suddenly went to my little brother, Jordan. He was the three year old son of my mom

and her husband, Dave, and I loved him more than anything in the world. Dave dropped out of his Guardian duties to marry my mom,

something that was also frowned upon in our world; another reason for Abby to make fun of me. "Is Jordan okay?"

My mom nodded. "It's the queen."

I rolled my eyes. "What did she do this time? Lower the graduation age to freshman?" While I was at the beach I heard about the queens

ridiculous plan to lower graduation age to sophomore, something that was still being fought about despite the majority of the vote passing it. It scared the hell out of me, I was a sophomore and most of my friends

were, they could be released into the world at any moment.

"She's dead."

"Whoa." Alina breathed, her eyes going huge.

"How?" I asked, too shocked to think of anything else to ask. It seemed like the most logical question.

My mom shook her head. "They say it was Vasilisa Dragomir's friend Rose Hathaway."

I cringed at the mention of Lissa, but awed when I heard Rose's name. She was a legend, and I strive to be like her despite the fact that I am a

weak Moroi and could never have her experience. I didn't, I couldn't, believe that someone who committed their live to killing the evil killed

the queen.

"She didn't do it," I whispered, even though I had no facts to support the claim. Obviously they did or they wouldn't be blaming her.

"It doesn't matter," my mom said, her voice hoarse, "she's gone."

Gone? My mind jumped from gone to dead in two seconds. "They killed her?" I shrieked, tears forming in my eyes for the girl I didn't even

know.

My mom shook her head, her fake smile fading all together from her face. "No, she broke out of her cell."

I opened my mouth to object to that too but my mother cut me off. "It's rumored that Vasilisa helped her, and that if they get caught, when

they get caught, they all could be facing jail time or worse."

Any objections I wanted to voice got stuck in my throat. I might make fun of Lissa and at times say I hated her but the truth was I didn't know

her. I loved her with all of my heart, but hated that I didn't know her; that she didn't know me. I felt tears coming to my eyes and suddenly they were falling. Alina wrapped her arm around my waist while my mother wrapped her arms around the both of us. "I'm so sorry," she murmured against my hair, "but she'll get her way out of this. They both will." Even as she said the words I knew they were empty, their

only purpose to make me feel better.

I felt a piece of my heart break off and disappear into a pool of blackness. "I have to help her. I have to help them."

My mom quickly shook her head. "No. It's not your battle to fight." Her voice was sharp and cold, like frozen tears in the night sky.

"I have to," I whispered. "I have to help my sister."

Chapter 7

We sat at a small, round table that was in the back corner of the restaurant. We might have been in the human world, but that didn't mean that the vampires couldn't find us here. You never knew where they could be, lurking in the corners and waiting for their chance to

prowl. I was still wearing Lissa's charm, the one that altered my appearance and made me look human. I knew it was working on

humans, they had absolutely no resistance to compulsion but it wasn't the humans we were worried about.

"When is this Sydney chick going to be here?" Mia asked, eyeing the food on the buffet table a couple of rows away. "I'm starving."

I looked at her normally pale features, and found them even more washed out. She wasn't just hungry for food, she needed her blood too.

"When's the last time you fed, Mia?"

Her cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I didn't have time to feed yesterday, or the day before."

I let out a laugh and gave her a small smile. "Let me guess, you were too busy fighting?"

She nodded and Dimitri spoke up. "When is Sydney going to be here, Rose? We've been waiting for over an hour."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Why, comrade? You getting hungry too?" I teased.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have you or the Moroi out in a public human space like this."

Leave it to Dimitri to be concerned over safety after we escaped the Court together with the Moroi.

"We're surrounded by humans, nothing is going to happen." I said, my voice laced with a harshness.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"He has a point, Rose." Lissa said, her eyes resting on her hands. "Don't forget Vegas."

I looked at Dimitri and watched as his eyes hardened. "Lissa." I snapped, glaring at her.

"I mean that was the last time you took us out of Court for one of your missions. Which, by the way, are you ever going to tell us what we're

doing?"

Luckily I didn't have to answer her question, or come up with a carefully crafted response that didn't give anything away. Not that it

would be a secret for much longer because at that moment I saw Sydney walk through the door, her blonde hair swept up into an

elegant bun and a small business brief case in her hand. She saw me and glared at me. I shot a smile at her, happy to see her. Her glare

softened and she gave me a smile in return, and not a tight lip I-don't-want-to-be-here-but-I-have-to-be smile. It was a real smile that

radiated warmth and happiness.

"Rose," she said, her voice tired, "I don't suppose you've killed anyone while you've been here?"

She sat in the chair next to mine, and put her brief case in the floor between us. She unfolded her napkin and sat it across her lap, she

then crossed her hands across her lap and looked around the table at my friends.

"That was not my kill," I confirmed, "is that what took you so long?"

She nodded. "You must be Princess Vasilisa," her gaze slid from Lissa to Christian, "and her boyfriend Christian Ozera."

"Nice to meet you." They chimed together, their voices as intertwined as their hands resting on the table.

She looked at Mia, a blank expression on her face, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not familiar with your file. What's your name?"

"I'm Mia." Her voice was firm, and she locked eyes with Sydney. Sydney, who was trying to be nice, squirmed in her seat.

"Nice to meet you," she muttered, and turned her gaze to Dimitri.

He was sitting on the other side of me, his brown hair pulled back into a little ponytail, with a strand tucked behind his ear. His brown eyes were focused on the wall ahead, and his face was expressionless. He

looked and meet Sydney's gaze, his face never changing.

"You must be the Dimitri Belikov," she breathed, sounding astonished. "I've heard the rumors…so they are true? Rose went all the way to Siberia to hunt for you before finally bringing you back to life in the

States. It's impressive, all that she went through to save you."

"I'm very grateful for everything that Rose has done for me." Dimitri said, his voice neutral.

I saw his mask slip just a little as he looked over at me, revealing some hidden emotion. Gratitude.

Sydney snorted. "Grateful doesn't even begin to cover what you should be feeling, you-"

"Sydney, now that you've meet everyone can we move on? I'm not exactly supposed to be here, you know." I interrupted, and Dimitri shot

me a grateful look.

She looked at me and the smile that she had worn since walking through the door faltered. "Rose, your father told me to tell you that he knows where you are. That he can find out wherever you're going and that you can't hide from him. Also, your mother is furious." She said the words in a rush, running them together. She looked down at her

hands, so she didn't see the glare that I shot her.

"You. Told. Abe." I said, my voice somewhere between a hiss and a shout. "You. Ratted. Me. Out." I noticed that my jaw was tight, my

teeth clenched together.

"I had to, Rose," she explained. "He's my boss. I couldn't hide it from him, think about what would happen if he found out and I didn't tell

him about it. I could have to go back to Siberia." She cringed at the last part and looked at Dimitri. "And you're a criminal, a suspected wanted

in the murder of your queen. I couldn't just hide it."

My anger was boiling and I wanted to scream at her. I felt that horrible blackness in me, the result of Lissa using her magic so much the last couple of days. I took a deep breath and counted to ten. "Did he say

anything else?"

"To be careful." She looked uncertain, like he said something else but she didn't want to tell me what. "And not to get caught. They could kill

you."

Well that was just a perfect way to start the morning, talking about my untimely death for something that wasn't my fault. I pushed my

worries to the back of my head. This meeting was about Lissa. Running away was for Lissa. My life was devoted to Lissa and if I got caught, if I

died, it would be for something. It would be for Lissa.

"I need those papers." I said bluntly, knowing she would know what papers I was talking about.

"With everything going on your still worried about that? You want files on Lissa's father?"

"Wait. What?" Lissa exclaimed, shock radiating through the bond. "Why do you want files on my father?"

"Some of your fathers files went missing from the Alchemists, and we need to get them." I turned my attention back to Sydney. "So will you

give them to me or not?"

"No, Rose." Lissa said, her voice rising. "Tell me what's in those files." "I don't know, okay." That wasn't technically a lie, I didn't know

everything on those files or I wouldn't be wasting my time here getting them.

"Rose."

"They went missing and I thought it was strange."

"Your lying." To speak the words scared her. I broke out of jail to get files on her dad, there had to be something huge in them. Something that could change the world, or at the very least her world. She was

nervous and scared, and betrayed.

"Can I just explain later, please?" I didn't want to get into all of this in front of everyone. I wanted to explain to her when it was just the two

of us, in private.

A tear rolled down her cheek and Christian squeezed her hand. "Lissa, it's okay. We'll all talk about this later."

"Is it really bad?"

"I don't know."

We all feel silent, and looked at each other. "Excuse me," Lissa said, standing up and walking away.

"Sorry," Christian said, following her out of the room.

I wanted to go after her, to comfort her, but I had business to take care of here.

"I'm sorry too, but I'm starving." Mia said, getting up and going to get her food.

"Are you giving me the files or not?" I asked Sydney again.

"Rose I already told you-"

"If you don't hand them over I will break into your office, I will steal those files, I will get everything I need to help me." I felt a little bad

about threatening her, but it faded. I didn't have time to waste breaking into her office and stealing those files. It would be so much

easier if she would just hand over the files.

Sydney pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Rose, calm down." Dimitri said, then he did something incredible. He reached under the table and gently took my hand, almost as if he was

forcing himself to touch me. But it was a start, and it distracted me from my anger for a moment. His long fingers ran over mine, grasping

them.

I suddenly flashed back to the night in the cabin. Me going out of control and Dimitri being there to calm me down. I could feel how his lips felt against mine, his lips traveling down my neck and kissing the exposed skin of my shoulder. Suddenly I was anything but calm, I was nostalgic. I wanted to go back in time and stop Dimitri from falling in that cave. None of this would be happening and we would both be

together at court guarding people and being with each other.

"Please," I whispered.

She gave me a long measured look before reaching into her brief case and handing me a folder of papers. "You owe me, Rose."

Chapter 8

"Lissa," I called softly, opening the door to the hotel with the folder under my arm. It was the folder full of secrets, the one that could

potentially make or break Lissa in the Moroi politics.

"She's asleep," Christian said, cradling her sleeping form against his chest. He was rubbing circles in her back, and she looked very relaxed against him. "What the hell are you doing, Rose? You can't just drag

her out of Court and drop a bombshell that big on her. You could have given her some warning, something to let her know what was coming.

"I was hoping to keep it from her," I walked over and sat at the foot of the bed, dropping the folder beside me. I hadn't looked at the file yet, I

wanted to wait until I was with Lissa, so she would know the whole truth from here on out. "To protect her, after all the magic…"

"I worry about her too." He looked down at her sleeping form, love shining in his icy blue eyes. "Everything that's been happening isn't

good for her and I'm worried what will happen when," He paused and glanced at me, "if you go to trial. What will happen if something goes

wrong?"

"You mean if I die and she's left without her shadow-kissed guardian. If I broke our bond allowing her to live in fear and paranoia, always

surrounded by blackness?"

"If she starts to go crazy…" Christian trailed off.

"We're going to fix that," I said optimistically, but I didn't even sound sure of myself. I was the leader, this was my crazy plan, but I wasn't even sure of what was coming tomorrow. The only thing I was sure of was Lissa. She needed to be protected and safe; I couldn't do that if I

was dead. "She could always bond with someone else."

The thought hurt me to the core. If Lissa bonded with another person she would be okay, someone would always be there to suck away the darkness and guide her through her darkest moments. That would be the person to brighten up her day, the person she always counted on to keep her safe. A replacement Rose, someone that she would love

just as much as she loved me; and they would be one hundred percent dedicated to her. They wouldn't drag her across the world all the while

risking her life. They wouldn't leave her to go on a hunting spree in Siberia, or to track down their undead lover.

I then had a horrible thought, this person, some fictional, perfect person, would be better for her then me. "I could be replaced."

I didn't realize that I'd uttered the words out loud until I heard them echoing around the room. "She doesn't need me."

"She would never replace you, Rose." Christian said his voice gentle. "You cannot be replaced in Lissa's life. She needs you."

I shook my head, realization setting in. "She just needs someone to guard her, to always protect her. She can replace me and be okay."

"Rose-"

"I have to go." I interrupted, feeling so small and tiny in the grand schemes of things. If I died the world would keep spinning. Life

wouldn't stop to mourn the death of Rose Hathaway, the death of a traitor. Lissa would move on, she would be happy again. She would start a family, probably with Christian, and fill the world full of little

Dragomir's. She didn't need me.

I walked to the room next to mine, and paused before knocking on the door. I felt like I was making a mistake, but it was something that I

needed to hear, and I needed to hear it immediately, and from Dimitri. He opened the door, and I could see a paperback book lying on the

bed. "Rose," he looked at my face and raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Yes. No. Maybe, look, can I just come in?"

He opened the door further and let me into the room, locking the door behind me. "Is Lissa okay?"

"She will be," I exclaimed, and I could tell I looked like a crazy woman. My hair was wild, my eyes bright, and my voice on the verge of total

excitement. "If I die, she'll be okay."

"You're not dying." His voice was cold as ice, but I ignored him.

"She can bond with someone else. She's young; it won't faze her too much losing me. She brought a raven back to life; I think I told you

about that. It's bonded to her too; she can bond with another person after I die; a person that will keep her safe."

"Rose," Dimitri reached out and grabbed my shoulders, his fingers digging deep. "You are not going to die."

"I heard you the first time, but I could."

"You won't." I could smell his intoxicating scent while he was standing so close to me.

"You don't know that." My voice was flat and emotionless, as if talking about my own death didn't bother me. But, it did. It shocked every

nerve, every cell in my body. I could cease to exist at any moment and it was a scary thought. "I need you to promise me something."

"What?" Dimitri asked warily. The last time I asked him to do something for me it involved illegal activities with a wanted fugitive

and discarding of any guardians that got in our way, I didn't play when it came to favors.

"When I die-"

"You won't die." His voice sounded panicked, almost like he thought he was already losing me.

"If I die-" I amended.

"You. Will. Not. Die." He was using his instructor tone, his voice all business and no emotion. "You can't die."

"Shut up," I snapped, "and listen. When I die, if I die, I need you to do something for me; bond with Lissa. Don't let her go without a shadow-

kissed guardian."

I knew how crazy I must have looked to him, blabbering about my death and asking him to die so Lissa could bring him back shadowed-kissed. "This isn't for me, it's for Lissa." I added. He might not have done it just for me, but he would do anything in his power to protect

her and keep her safe. I had heard that so many damn times since he came back, saw the devotion in his eyes and heard it in his voice. He might have been able to deny me but he wouldn't deny her, not since

she was his savior.

I was feeling a hurricane of emotions, all hitting me at the same time. Envy. Sad. Empowered. Helpless. Frightened. Loneliness. Nostalgic. On

and on they hit, battering me and tearing me up on the inside; breaking me, piece by piece. I was losing control over the blackness

from the magic. When they put me in jail they took all my charms, so I didn't have anything to drain it out of me. It was stuck, bouncing

around on the inside ready to explode.

"Do you know what you're asking of me?" Dimitri asked confusion on his face.

"To die," I said simply, I didn't see why it was a big deal, I had done it before…I was about to do it again. "Then to let Lissa help you live

again."

"I would see ghost." He cringed at the side affect, something that I was living with but so easily forgot.

"You can block them; I'll teach you everything before I die." I said the words so fast and calm that it shocked even me. On the inside I was an

emotional storm, but on the outside I was a façade of calm.

"You are not going to die." He pleaded his voice full of emotion this time. He let go of my shoulders and turned his back to me. We stood there in silence for a moment and when he turned back around his

face was blank once again.

"Promise me." I whispered, hoping he would say yes. I didn't know who else I could ask to be there. Eddie was the only other person I trusted to take care of her, but he was living a life of his own. I didn't want to interfere anymore than I already had, but I would if that was what it

took.

That's when the blackness really took over. I felt it tugging at my corners, battering against my insides, fighting to get out. I gave into it, the final piece of myself falling off. I walked up to Dimitri and flung my hand against his chest, furious. "You have to do this for Lissa. I don't

give a shit about myself right now, and you should forget I'm one asking you. You have to do this. So what? You'll live with ghost. Big

deal, you'll get over it. You'll feel everything she feels and be able to protect her better. You will be the one that gets to watch her love life

unfold and be envious because you can't be with the person you want. It doesn't matter. They come first. At least you'll be alive. I'll be dead.

Protect her from herself."

"I won't do it." He said, eyeing me. "You really need to calm down Rose."

"What do you mean you won't do it?" I snapped, anger seeping out of me. I jabbed my finger into his chest, hard. "Are you that selfish that you can't do anything for anyone else? What else do I have to say to

get you to understand? She'll go crazy if she doesn't have anyone there to suck the darkness out of her, it will stay with her, killing her

slowly. She needs you."

Dimitri shook his head, grabbing my finger and pulling it away. "She needs you."

I gave a harsh laugh.

"Rose, calm down, let's talk about this. You aren't acting like yourself."

At that moment I wanted to do anything but talk about this anymore. I lunged at him, and at first I think he thought I was attacking him, until

my lips reached his. I kissed him with the passion and desire I had been feeling since he came home. His arms snaked around my waist

and pulled me closer to him. The kiss was hungry and deep, and in that moment I was carefree. My emotions were still bouncing all over the place, but at least I could feel his lips moving against mine. Focus on

something other than the storm raging inside of me.

For a moment I forgot everything. Adrian. The queen's death and me being blamed for her murder. The fight that was sure to ensue

between Lissa and me when she found out the reason I escaped court. I forgot about Strigoi lurking in corners and Victor out in the world

again.

The world seemed to stop spinning to celebrate this occasion. Everything seemed strangely quiet and clear. Slowly my emotions started to settle, and the kiss deepened. One by one my emotions

returned to normal, just a quiet worry at the back of my mind.

Dimitri led us to the bed and loomed over me. Kissing my neck and traveling down to my exposed collar bone, scattering a bunch of kisses there. They traveled back up to my lips, so firm and unwavering, until

he pulled back. "We can't," he breathed, and I could tell how much those words hurt him. Knowing that they hurt him I felt some kind of

sick satisfaction. It meant that he wanted me too, as much as I wanted him.

I nodded. "We can."

I expected him to argue that he wasn't ready, that he couldn't be this close to me so soon, but I was shocked. "Adrian."

That was all he said, all the explanation he thought I needed to change my mind, but it wasn't. One emotion that hadn't faded while we kissed was desire; it seemed to grow stronger still, every second. I wanted his hands to touch every inch of my skin, his kisses to burn every exposed

part of me. I wanted him.

"I don't care," I insisted. It was a lie, but I didn't want to dwell on how I was breaking Adrian's heart into a million pieces. I loved Adrian, but sometimes loving people just wasn't enough. I loved two people and

their love alone wasn't going to make my decision any easier. He would find someone that loved him the way he needed, someone that

was devoted only to him. I just wasn't that person.

He kissed me again, but it was shorter this time. It was still full of intense heat and passion, don't get me wrong, and I was grateful for

everything he was willing to give me. My heart was singing, leaping in my chest. He's kissing me. He's kissing me. He's kissing me.

My heart kept singing the same song and my hands traveled up Dimitri shirt, past his toned abs to rest over his heart. It was beating hard and

heavy, so warm against my hands, so alive. I could almost imagine that his heart was singing a song that only mine could understand. That's what love was. It didn't feel real, like I could wake up at any

moment and realize that this was all a dream. Alas a perfect dream, but false nonetheless. We were intertwined in a dream surrounded by

raging storms and nightmares. Life was scary, but love was too, at times.

It ended too soon, his lips pulled away from mine and I reached up again, putting my arms around his neck and pulling him back down to me. "I can't, Roza." His breathing was heavy, the words forced from his

mouth. "I care."

I didn't want to leave right now. I didn't want the emotions to come back. I didn't want to leave his eager and accepting arms. "Hold me,

then." I whispered, strangely that was enough for me; him just holding me.

He obeyed silently, snuggling behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me closer than I already was. "You lost

control earlier, didn't you?"

"I always lose control when I'm around you, Comrade," I teased, a goofy grin spreading across my face.

"That's not what I mean…with all the magic Lissa has been using, it's affecting you isn't it? You lost control," I tensed and he squeezed me,

"and it's okay, Roza, I'm here."

"But you haven't always been."

"I will be now." His voice left no doubt in my mind, but I didn't feel like I could completely trust him again. I thought at any moment he could go back into his shell, not touching and not kissing, leaving me all alone to deal with everything and that was what scared me the most; having to

deal with everything by myself.

I turned around to face him, my arms now resting around his neck. "I need you to promise me."

"I can't."

"Why?" I asked, trying to keep my voice gentle when I was starting to grow frantic again.

"Because, I don't want to think about losing you. I don't want to think about my life continuing and my heart beating when you will be gone. I

don't want to lose you, and I simply cannot think about it. I would rather die myself, the right way this time, then go on living without

you."

"I wouldn't want to live without you either; hell I couldn't live without you. Even when you were gone you were always around. Especially in my memories, I spent a lot of time in my head after you were gone,

thinking about the old you, but I need you to do this. I need you to live for me." My voice was pleading, my eyes begging, and I hoped it was

enough to convince him.

His fingers played with my long, brown hair as he gazed into my eyes. We were silent for several moments, just feeling each other's heart thumping in their chest. "Okay," he whispered, pain in his eyes and

voice.

"Okay?"

He nodded. "Okay, I promise."

We were in comfortable silence for a few moments, one that he broke. "What's going to happen now?"

"We find Lissa's sibling and go home." The words sent a shiver down my spine, 'home' no longer applied a safe haven and a good place to

sleep, it was the place I was going to die.

"What happens if we do go home?" He asked. He knew the answer to the question; he just wanted to hear it out loud. Maybe that would

make it more real for him, leave no doubt in his mind that my death was coming, and soon.

"I die." It was so final, the end of my tragic eighteen years to come in one day.

"Then let's not go home."

"Where would we go?" I whispered. I wasn't really considering running away, that was out of the question, I was just curious as to what was

running through his mind.

"Siberia, we could live with my family." We can live with his family. He wouldn't leave me. That life sounded perfect, surrounded by his family and my friends. I would be alive and happy with the love of my life, but that wasn't fair to anyone. Not to Christian, Lissa and Mia who wouldn't have a choice. If they went back I would have to go back, and I couldn't

let them take the blame for something I did. I wouldn't allow it. It wasn't fair to Adrian either; he needed to know the truth.

"I wish we could," I whispered, and it was the truth, "but you know we can't."

"I wish you could see them again."

"Me too," tears were starting to come to my eyes, my throat constricting.

The rest of the day I spent in his arms, just looking at his face. Sometimes I would kiss him, and he would kiss me back, but he always

pulled back. We didn't talk much; we just lay there, tangled in each other, until Lissa woke up.

She was furious. She wanted to see me, she wanted to know what was going on with her father and she wanted to know now. Come here. She

demanded through the bond and it was all I could do not to roll my eyes.

"Lissa's awake," I said, breaking the last of our silences, "she wants me."

He nodded and let go of me. As soon as his arms left me I missed them, like some part of me was being removed. "Go," he said, "I'll still

be here tomorrow."

"I'm coming back tonight." I promised, and he laughed.

"Go to Lissa."

I nodded, then I left the room.

Chapter 9

"Lissa," I called softly as I opened the door to our room. I saw her sitting on the corner of the bed, her hands clasped together in her lap.

"Where's Christian?"

"He's practicing with Mia," Lissa said, looking over my head. She looked over at the door, the walls and down to the floor, but never

once would she look at me. "We need to talk."

The folder was in my hands and I noticed how it trembled when I held it out for Lissa to take. "This is it, the folder I asked Sydney for. She

gave it to me, but she wasn't too happy about it."

Lissa snatched the folder and opened it, skimming each page with careful eyes. "This doesn't make any sense, it's just information. Why would anyone take it, and what do we want with it? I could have told

you all the stuff in this file."

I figured I might as well show her the note Tatiana wrote to me before she was murdered. I knew she would be furious, especially at me for keeping the secret from her, but she needed to know. "Lissa, there's

more." I reached into my pocket, my fingers securing around the little note, and pulled it out. I handed it to Lissa and cringed when my hand

touched hers.

"What's this?" She asked, turning the note over in her hand, trying to find who it was for and who wrote it. Finally, she opened it slowly and

read each word. I watched her read it once, then again and again. Through the bond I felt all of her emotions. Shock. Anger. Sad.

Betrayed. Denial.

Finally, she looked at me, her eyes burning with anger. "This isn't true. It can't be."

I nodded. "I think it is, and that's what we're doing here. This is the reason we ran away from Court." My voice was gentle and kind, I didn't

want to overwhelm her.

"My father would never cheat on my mother, he loved her too much! You knew them! Anyone could see that my father simply adored my mother, and he would never hurt her." She was growing angry, her

voice rising with each word.

"I didn't want to believe it either," I admitted.

"It's not that I don't want to believe it, Rose. I just don't believe it. It's not true, Tatiana is a lying bitch." She didn't believe that, not really.

She didn't admire Tatiana but she used to trust her. This note from her confused Lissa, she had so many conflicting emotions raging inside of her. She wanted to believe Tatiana was a great Queen and that she

would always help Lissa, that she was doing this beyond her grave to give her an advantage in the Moroi politics. But, then there was her father. He was charming and handsome, much like her brother, and she loved him so much, missed him every day. She didn't want to believe that her father was capable of doing something so hurtful.

"Lissa I know how mad you are-"

"Of course you do," she snapped, interrupting me, "you are bonded to me. I brought you back to life after the crash that killed my parents

and I've never once regretted it, but my parents are dead. We should just let my father's secrets die with him."

I shook my head, shocked by her words. For a moment I was speechless, did she really look at it that way? Finally I said the first words that came to my mind. "No, we can't. You need this Lissa."

I walked over to where she was sitting and sat down beside her. I put my arms around her shoulders and hugged her to me, and I smoothed

her hair. Silent tears where streaming down her face, they were caused by anger and sadness, and I wished I could do something to make her feel better. I could only take away the darkness, not every bad emotion, but I wished I could take them away. I would happily

have those emotions trapped in me if it meant Lissa would never hurt again.

"I don't want it," she said softly, "if it means ruining my father's reputation just so I can vote, I don't want to do it." She didn't mean it, I

could tell. She was willingly to go and find the other member of her family; she wanted to know them, to love them. Still she was too upset

with her father to be happy knowing she wasn't all alone anymore.

"We're going."

"You can't force me. I want to go back to Court, now."

"I can't go back until I find your sibling. When I go back Lissa they are going to kill me, and I'm doing this last thing for you. It's my turn,

again." She pulled away from me and looked at my face.

"How can you say that? You won't die, I won't let it happen." She was frantic, imagining her life without me. She imagined spending the rest

of her life drowning in a sea of darkness, always in over her head

without her best friend to protect her. She would resort back to cutting herself, and no amount of happiness could ever amount to the sadness

enclosing her.

"You don't have a vote, unless we find your sibling," I pointed out, feeling triumph, she knew I was right.

"Can't you just leave it alone?" She yelled, standing up and pacing around the room. "I don't want to find this person! I don't want to see

what my father did behind my mother's back!"

"Lissa," I snapped, feeling bad as I watched her cringe from my tone. "I don't care what you want to do. What I say goes, and I say that we're

going to find your sibling. You can run back to Court if you want to, but that doesn't mean the problem just goes away. I'm still going to find

them."

"Please don't," she sobbed, her voice catching at the end. "I can't do this, I'm not strong enough."

I walked up to her and hugged her again, this time she clung to me, like she was leaning on me for support, and I guess she was. That's what best friends were for, and she needed me. I didn't want to die, and I was going to do everything in my power to stay alive. The truth

is, I need Lissa just as much as she needs me. She's like a sister to me, and I love her. "It's okay," I murmured, "I'm strong enough, and I'll help

you be strong too."

"How could you keep this from me?" There it was the question I knew she would ask.

"It's my job to protect you."

"How is this protecting me? You were going to have to tell me sometime," she was angry. The more she thought about me lying to

her, the worse it got.

"I was protecting you from yourself Lissa. This isn't your fault." Lissa had a way of making everything seem like her fault. Her father

cheated, and she thought there was something she could have done to stop it. Something that would have made her father love only his wife and children. I lied to protect her, and she thought that was her fault too. Maybe if she were stronger I would trust her with more secrets, instead of hiding them in the shadows and keeping her in the dark.

"This isn't your fault, Lissa." I repeated, wanting a response from her.

"I know." That was a lie.

"You could at least act like you mean it," I sighed, rubbing a big circle in her back.

"I do," she snapped, "It's his fault." Another lie, she blamed herself the most, then her mother, then Andre, she even blamed her sibling a little, even though she didn't know them. She didn't want to lay the

blame with her father, where it was most deserved.

"It was his fault," I agreed, "He made a mistake. He cheated on your mom, and that sucks, but it's in the past. Right now, we have to focus on your sibling. We have to find them and bring them back to Court.

Then, we have to keep me alive." She felt oddly calm, and I was waiting for her to snap. With everything that had been going on lately her emotions were all over the place, but I expected a bigger reaction from her. More of a bitch fest, I guess, but she was just upset. "Are you

okay?"

"No." At least she was being honest.

"Do you want to help me go through the file?"

She shook her head but sat down with the file anyway. I went and sat next to her, looking through the papers. There were a lot of them, it

was his whole life spelled out on paper. I pulled out his bank statements, surprised to see segments highlighted in yellow.

"Liss, look at this," I showed her the paper, but her eyes drifted to the comforter.

I looked at the bank statements for the following months, seeing a pattern. These were the latest documents, having taken place just a week before he died. The highlighted parts showed that every month there was one thousand dollars wired to a bank account in Las Vegas.

"Look at this," I shoved the paper in Lissa's face, and saw her eyes widened.

"It doesn't mean anything," she insisted, "my father loved to gamble, he was probably just paying off some gambling debts."

"I doubt that," I said, going farther back into the files. I saw the same thing in all of those files, for sixteen years there was one thousand dollars wired to the same bank account in Las Vegas. "See, Lissa." I

showed her the papers, and felt bad as I watched her face drop.

"What's the name on the account?"

I looked back at the paper. "It doesn't have a name, just the account number and that it's a local bank in Vegas."

"So is that where we are going next?"

I nodded and Lissa bit her lip. "I'm tired, Rose. Can we call it a night?" I shot her a glare. It was just now sundown; the moon had just started ascending in the sky. It was the beginning of our day, not to mention

she just woke up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she tried giving me a small smile, but it looked more like a grimace. "I just need to think, to sleep on it, I guess."

"Okay," I got up; I was going to watch the sunset and hopefully with Dimitri.

"Rose?"

"Yeah," I put the folder on the table beside the door, and turned around to look at her.

"Can you go and get Christian for me?"

I nodded, feeling a flare of jealousy. She wanted Christian to comfort her but not me? I was her best friend, her Guardian. It was my job to be there for her. I stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind me. I stalked down to the grassy area where Mia and Christian were busy throwing clumsy punches, at least Christian was. Mia's punches

were graceful and skilled, like she had been practicing for years rather than months.

"Yo, fire boy, Lissa wants-" I didn't get to finish my sentence, I was sucked into Lissa's head, her emotions taking me by surprise.

It had been a long time since any emotion Lissa felt was so strong that I was involuntary sucked into her head, living out whatever she was doing. It was something that we both hated about the bond, even

though it proved useful sometimes. Like when she was getting kidnapped or I wanted to escape the boredom of my jail cell and it

might just prove useful now.

She was blind with rage, stumbling around the room. First she locked the door, she didn't want anyone walking in on her doing what she was about to do. Then she stumbled over to the sink, which was outside the bathroom in our room. She searched the drawers, trying to find a razor blade. She couldn't find one so she went over to the little night stand between the two beds, and found what she was looking for. Scissors

laying on top of the Bible every room had. She jerked them out, hesitating above her wrist.

She had kept her emotions in line for me, because she didn't want me to comfort her. She didn't even want me to see her like this. Everything was her fault. Her father cheated and that was her fault. I was going to die, and that was her fault too. She had a brother or a sister, and that was her fault. She didn't know how to deal with thinking these things so she was doing the one thing she knew would take the pain away.

I quickly pulled out of her head, and started running up the stairs to our room. I pounded on the door, and Dimitri opened the door to his

room and stepped out in the humid summer air. He shot me a look but I ignored him, still pounding on the door.

"Go away!" I heard Lissa yell from the inside. My pounding had made her drop the scissors and she was searching for them under the bed.

"Lissa open the fucking door!" I pulled on the door, cursing the lock on the inside.

"Lissa, open up," Christian shouted from beside me. I hadn't even realized that he and Mia had followed me up the stairs.

We could hear her sobbing from the inside, and I felt the joy she felt as her hand closed around the handle of the scissors. I started kicking at the door, happy that this motel was so cheap. The locks on the inside were flimsy at best, and no match for my half vampire strength. After

the second kick the lock let up and I stumbled into the room, and walked right up to Lissa.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, tears streaming down her face. We had made it just in time, she didn't cut herself and I was so grateful. How

come I didn't see through her act? If I wasn't so worried about the folder and her trusting Christian more than me, maybe none of this

would have happened.

She handed the scissors to me, which I instantly placed in Dimitri's hand. They had all followed me into the room and were clustered in a

small semi-circle around us. "Shhhh," I patted her back, hugging her closer to me.

This is what I was afraid of. The darkness in her all the time and her having to resort to cutting herself to deal with it. She was using too

much spirit and it was driving her crazy again. That scared the hell out of me, because I thought I was doing everything I could to protect her

from. Since we left Court I hadn't been doing a very good job, I realized. The only darkness I took was earlier today, which led to the scene in Dimitri's room. On top of everything she hadn't fed in two

days and she was feeling fragile.

"Lissa," I handed her to Christian, who instantly put both arms around her waist. She snuggled against his neck, her arms around his waist

too. "I need you to make me another charm fused with Spirit."

She nodded but made no move to start the charm. Dimitri, Mia and I left Christian to comfort Lissa. We started walking around outside, I

was leading them around the darkest corners of our cheap little place, and they followed without question.

"So," Mia asked, trying to be nonchalant, "does she do this a lot?"

"No. Not anymore."

"She used to do it a lot, right? I mean, I remember at school that I found out she cut herself, but I didn't think it was anything major."

"She used to do it a lot before, especially when she was really upset. I mean, it wasn't for fun or anything and she's not one of those emo freaks, but it used to be the only way she knew how to deal with

everything."

"What did she find out today?" Mia asked. She was half curious and half afraid of what it could mean.

I handed her the note that I had just let Lissa read, and watched as she read it twice. "Wow. That sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"Where are we going?" Dimitri asked, pulling a piece of stray hair back behind his ear.

I walked out into the parking lot, finally finding what I was looking for. There was a drunk man stumbling around his car, tripping on rocks and

cracks. He was really wasted, and I think that was the norm for him. He reached for his keys and started to get in his car, which was really just

a beat up pile of shit. "You about to drink and drive?" I shouted, catching him off guard.

"I-I'm n-not drink-drinking," he slurred, his breath reeked of cheap liquor.

"I hear that's how you humans die." I wasn't trying to say that vampires were perfect or anything, but most of the time the Moroi would drink and their guardians would drive them home. We also

handled our alcohol a lot better.

The man got out of his car and came to stand in front of me. He looked me over, stopping to ogle at my chest, and finally spoke again. "Well, aren't you a f-fine piece of a-as-ass," he gave a harsh laugh, and put

his fingers behind my belt loop, pulling me closer.

"Don't touch her," Dimitri growled, stepping between me and the man. "Rose, what are you doing?"

The man looked from me to Dimitri. "This you're old m-man?" He looked at Mia, checking her out like he did me. "I guess you'll have to

do, y-you are f-fine as hell too."

"We aren't here to give your drunk ass a booty call," I laughed as he stumbled backwards. He was seriously about to pass out. "How about

you come up to our room and give my friend some blood, you see she's into that kind of thing."

His glazed eyes widened, and he nodded excitedly. "Sh-she's a f-freak!"

"I bet you like that," I muttered and Dimitri laughed.

We took him up to our room. "Lissa, I have a present for you."

"She-she's banging!" The man said excitedly.

"Shut up," I threw the man down on the chair. "I would let you fed from me, but I need all my strength in case I need to fight."

She nodded.

"Dimitri and I will go outside," I said, "we'll give you guys some privacy."

We walked down to the grass where Mia and Christian had just finished practicing. "That was very nice, what you did." Dimitri commented. He was lying on the ground, propped up by his elbows. I laid down beside him, watching as the first stars appeared in the night sky. I could smell the flowers from the garden beside us, sweet and fragrant in the still

night.

"They needed to feed," I said, playing with the grass surrounding me.

"It was still very nice," his fingers were pulling up grass too, occasionally bumping into mine.

"Thanks." We sat there in silence, watching the stars appear one by one.

I know it's silly, and that it wouldn't really matter, but I made a wish on the first star I saw. I wished that everything would go back to being

semi-normal after this. That Dimitri and I could be together, guarding Lissa or someone else at Court. I wished I could stay alive and happy.

"Dimitri, do you believe in fate?"

"I'm not sure," he turned his head to look at me, hair falling into his face. I reached out and tucked it behind his ears, happy when it

obeyed instead of falling back into place. "Why?"

"Because I do," my voice was soft, "I think the night you came to get us it was fate, like we were destined to be together ever since that

night."

"I think that too," he was about to say something else, but then we heard a twig snap. I heard footsteps approaching fast and skilled, light

on their feet and graceful.

They were Guardians, and they were surrounding us.

Dimitri and I instantly sprung to action, standing up back to back, rotating in a circle. I could hear them getting closer to us, and I could make out shapes against the blackness. There were maybe fifteen of

them in all, more than the Queen had ever traveled with, and maybe if they focused on protecting her like this she would still be alive, and I

wouldn't be going through hell.

Dimitri and I were badass, but I knew we couldn't take all fifteen of the Guardians down by ourselves, so I called the one person I knew would

be able to help. "Mia!"

She ran out of the room, looking more refreshed after having fed. Her eyes scanned the darkness, seeing what we were seeing. She closed

the door behind her and started running down the stairs. She was able to run over to us, joining our rotating back-to-back circle. "Shit," she

muttered.

"Funny, that's just what I was thinking," I muttered, and I braced myself for a battle.

Chapter 10

They were on us in a moment, swarming around us like a bunch of angry bees, searching for the best place to sting. We kept rotating in our circle, waiting for them to make the first strike. Not surprisingly,

the Guardian closest to me tried to wrap her hand around my wrist, but Mia kicked it away. The Guardian gave her a stunned look and lunged

at her, and that set everyone fighting.

I had a tall, muscular Guardian lunge at me, and I recognized him to be Herald, one of the main Guardians that guarded my cell. His face was cold and angry. "You're not going anywhere this time, bitch." He spat, spraying me with spit. "You think you're smart enough to escape your death? You're fucking crazy. You have another thing coming to you."

His words terrified me, because at the moment I wasn't sure we were going to be able to take them, to get away. I, of course, was horrified by the thought of my death, especially at their hand. I wouldn't admit that to him, not in a million years. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," I

hissed. While he'd been talking to me, he left his right side unprotected and he said I was fucking crazy? I kicked him, hard enough to send him tumbling into the man behind him. He straightened himself up, starting

to advance on me again.

I looked around, trying to find something that would help me in battle, when I finally spotted it. We were in front of the garden, and there was

a little tool shed sitting to the side. A tool shed that I was sure to be filled with sharp gardening tools. It wouldn't kill them, I didn't want

that, but it would be enough to injure them. I started running, Herald right on my heels. When I finally made it, Heralds hands tugged at my hair, yanking me backwards. I grabbed a potted plant and smashed it

against the side of his head. Broken bits of clay were shattering around us, soil and flowers were showering down. Herald took his hand away

from my hair and pulled it up to his head, and started to stumble. "Sorry Herald," I muttered, picking up another potted plant and

smashing it against the back of his head. He fell to the ground, and I looked around, seeing he wasn't the only one.

Mia had taken down two of her guardians, still struggling with one as Dimitri fought with three of his own, one unconscious on the ground by

his feet. There were four left downstairs and I saw three of others climbing the stairs, probably looking for Lissa and Christian. The four

that were left all started to advance on me, closing in around me, leaving me trapped. I reached for the shovel, swinging it around me, knocking one of them down. I brought the shovel down hard against

the top of his head, and he didn't move again. I swung my shovel into the stomach of a female Guardian, and she doubled over, wheezing. Her head was close to my feet, so I kicked her temple, thanking my

lucky stars that it knocked her out.

I saw the Guardians upstairs, looking into open windows, trying to find the Dragomir Princess. They were still several doors away from where

we were staying. Through the bond I could feel Lissa's shock and worry. She was watching through one of the blinds, getting a very

limited view of what was happening. The drunk man was passed out in the chair, and Christian was getting ready to make an escape, or come

and help fight if things got too bad. Mia had gotten rid of the last Guardian and was helping Dimitri with his three. I only had two left,

then we had to take care of the three upstairs. People were starting to gather around, watching us fight. A couple of them were shouting for me and Mia to kick their ass, while others wanted the 'ninjas' to win.

"Forget them," I heard one Guardian grunt, "get the girl and hurry!"

I watched in horrible disbelief as the remaining Guardians started to advance on me, adding on to my two. The three upstairs stopped

looking for Lissa, and came to join the five surrounding me. Of course, that didn't stop Mia and Dimitri from fighting their way through them, coming to stand by me. Mia grabbed a pair of garden sheers from the

shed and a shovel, grasping one in each of her hands, and Dimitri started to throw potted plants at the Guardians. It caused a couple of

them to stumble, and Mia hit them against the side of the head. I seriously hoped she knew the difference between killing someone and knocking them unconscious, and from the look of her blows she was

doing a good job.

Mia stopped swinging her shovel, dropping it to the ground, still clutching the garden sheers in her other hand. She looked at Dimitri

and me. "I have a plan, follow my lead." She grabbed onto a fence and we copied her movement.

When we had each grabbed onto the gate surrounding the pool the Guardians started running towards us. Nothing happened for a

moment, and then when they were an arm length away, water started to form a protective wall around us. The Guardians stopped moving for a moment, then tried reaching for us through the water. Then, water

started rising from the swimming pool, gathering above us. It towered over us, and then dropped fast. Suddenly, water was surrounding us from all sides, trying to break our hold on the fence. Mia was causing waves around the Guardians, making them fall flat on their backs. It

swept the Guardians into its watery embrace, and dragged them back into the pool.

"I hope they know how to swim," Mia said between deep, heavy breaths. We were soaking wet and the crowd started clapping. The

manager was making her way down by the pool and we quickly went up the stairs. Christian and Lissa met us outside, the folder clasped

tightly in her grasp.

"Let's go," Dimitri said, throwing his duster around his shoulder. He had quickly gone into his room, gathering all of his things. The

Guardians were starting to get out of the water, helping each other out and coughing crazily.

"Don't you get hot?" I asked.

He arched an eyebrow.

"I mean with the duster on all the time?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Then why do you wear it?"

"Because you never know when you're going to need it." As he said this, he draped the duster over my head, covering my hair and body. Lissa handed me a pair of sunglasses. Christian, Lissa and Mia were wearing hats and sunglasses, trying to disguise themselves easily. I thought we probably looked like a bunch of shady drug dealers, but

that seemed to be the norm for the people here.

"There are more Guardians here," Dimitri said. "Keep your heads down and quickly get to the car."

We walked silently and quickly to the car, a big black SUV we rented from the airport. It was parked as close to the room as we could get

and we quickly piled into the car. "There they are!" Someone shouted,

and suddenly Guardians were swarming the car. Dimitri locked the doors and cranked the car, shifting it into reverse.

"What are you going to do?" I hissed, shrinking against my seat. I had stupidly climbed into the front seat, allowing Lissa, Christian and Mia to

take the back. "Run over them?"

"Of course not," he said, "they'll move."

"Rose-" Lissa started. Her feelings through the bond shocked.

"He won't run them over," I said, cringing as Dimitri started to back the car up. He was right. They started to back up as well. One Guardian was climbing the windshield and hanging on to the top of the car.

"Shit."

Dimitri put the car into drive and floored the gas, sending us shooting out of the parking lot. The Guardian was still hanging on to the car,

right in front of Dimitri, and Dimitri was swerving in the road. "Can you see?" I hoped he was driving like that to try and lose the Guardian but I

wasn't sure.

"Not really." He muttered as he ran off the side of the road, the car bouncing over rocks and tree roots.

"Rose-" Mia said.

"Hang on," I interrupted again.

Dimitri jerked the car back onto the road, then started crossing into the yellow line. I yanked the steering wheel back over, allowing us to stay on the right side of the road. It would be horrible to die in a car crash

after coming all this way. As the car started gaining speed the Guardian flew off, finally, and landed on the side of the road. "We need to head back to the airport and fast. They're probably piling into their

cars so they can follow us."

"Rose," Christian said, "you really need to see this."

"What?" I snapped, turning around at last.

Sitting there in the backseat between Mia and Lissa was my father. He was wearing a grey and gold fedora and grey suit, with a matching

gold tie. He didn't have his Guardians with him. He smirked at me, and I couldn't help but smirk back.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked. Dimitri looked into the review mirror, seeing who I was talking about, and he gripped the

steering wheel tighter, turning his knuckles white.

"That's a question for me to ask you, Rose." My father said, looking around the car. "That's a question I should ask all of you." His gaze

stopped on Dimitri and flicked back to me. "Your mother is furious not to mention poor Adrian. Half the Guardians in the world are looking for

you."

I shrugged. "I'm going back, as soon as I finish what I'm doing." At the mention of Adrian my heart shattered a little, but I didn't allow myself to think about my heart or Adrian's. I didn't have time right now. Not

with everything else going on.

My father's eyes narrowed. "To the world it looks like you're trying to escape prosecution."

"I'm not," I said quickly, although I was starting to wonder if I was doing all of this to delay my death. It was a good plan in theory, until I either got captured or turned myself in, resulting in my death all the

same.

"Then what are you doing?"

I looked at Lissa and she gave me a tiny nod. I took a deep breath and started to explain everything to Abe. Starting with the note Ambrose

gave me that day in court and ending at the fight that had just happened. "How did you get here, anyway?"

He smiled at me. "I was called away on business when the Guardians got a phone call telling them of your location. It was Sydney, on my

command, so don't blame her. In her defense she didn't want to call at all, it wasn't until I threatened to send her back to Russia that she

finally caved. To everyone I'm in Russia with my Guardians, on official business. I even had someone check in under my name at a hotel. I

have an alibi so no one suspects me of anything."

"Why would they?" I asked, my eyebrows rising. "You haven't done anything. You're just sitting in our car after you had fifteen Guardians

sent to capture us."

"Oh Rose, I'm here to help you."

"How could you help me?"

"By giving you and your friends," he sneered the last word, his gaze focused on Dimitri, "a place to stay. A safe place to stay at, where the

Guardians can't find you."

He explained how he had houses throughout the country under different names, bought from the humans and surrounded by human houses. He said it was a great place to go while he was on 'business', and I still didn't know what his 'business' was. He said they were large

and well protected by Guardians but not the ones we were running from. His private Guardians that he paid, he assured us that they were

trustworthy and use to these kind of things. He had feeders for Mia, Lissa and Christian so they could feed everyday while we were there.

"What do you think?" He asked brightly. He wanted to help so badly, and he was my father. I knew I should let him, he always had my best

interest at heart, but it seemed too easy.

"What's in it for you?"

"What do you mean?" His sunny disposition faltered and I saw concern buried deep on his face. "Can't a father help his daughter?"

I looked around the car at my friends. They had been with me so far and they would be with me no matter what I chose. "What do you guys

think?"

"I think it's great," Mia said.

"I do too, Rose, it sounds…safe." Lissa agreed, nodding her head.

"I agree with them, Rose, sorry." Christian said, looking out the window.

I looked at Dimitri. What he had to say meant more to me than what anyone else had to say, it was his approval I was waiting for.

"Dimitri?" I asked hesitantly, my eyes going to him. He turned his head and met my gaze, holding it with his brown hues.

"I think it's a good idea."

Abe was beaming at all of the approval. He gave me a blinding smile and I gave a small smile in return. I nodded at him, giving him my

approval as well.

"So it's settled then? We fly to Las Vegas and you stay with me while you're trying to find Lissa sibling? Then you return back to court and

plead your innocence?"

I nodded, not knowing how true his last words were.

We finally made it to the airport, buying tickets with a credit card Abe had in a different name. He said he bought it in the human world;

apparently you could get that kind of stuff almost anywhere, along with fake papers to get out of the country, which could come in handy if our

search led us out of the country.

We turned in the car and the man wanted to know what the hell happened. There were scratches on the side of the car from Dimitri

running off the road, and muddy footprints on the hood. We paid him an extra five hundred dollars, just to get him to shut up.

Finally, we were able to board the plane after waiting two hours at the airport, still in our disguises, still looking like shady drug dealers. After

more waiting the plane finally lifted off, taking us to Vegas.

We were one step closer to find Lissa's sibling, one step closer to giving Lissa her fair chance at voting. We were one step closer to

changing the world as we knew it, and we were also one step closer to my death.

Chapter 11

I wasn't dreaming of anything. The blackness was an easy welcome from the hell I had been through the last couple of days, and I very

much enjoyed the dreamless sleep I was having. That is until it wasn't a dreamless sleep anymore.

The blackness took on the shape of the court, taking me into a small private garden. I was sitting on a small wooden bench, wearing my

nazar around my neck and the dress I went to meet Adrian's parents in. I knew at once the dream was a product of dream walking, and I

prayed that it was Lissa who had penetrated her charm and not Adrian, because I didn't think I could bear another visit from him. This was a hopeless wish because Lissa didn't know how to dream walk and I

knew that she had fallen fast asleep as soon as we went to our rooms, a quick check of the bond before I had fallen asleep told me as much.

Adrian materialized beside me, a cigarette in his hand. I had to admit, he didn't look good, it was probably the worse I had ever seen him

look. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping well, and smelt strongly of liquor. He turned to look at me and I noticed

with a pang of guilt that his normally lively eyes were void of any emotion, and I couldn't help but think that I was the cause for

everything I saw before me.

I narrowed my eyes at his cigarette but he didn't seem to notice, or maybe he noticed but didn't care. "You were doing so good," I

snapped, "not smoking. Now you're just puffing away."

He glared at me, and took a long, dramatic puff. "What gives you the right to say anything about my unhealthy habits?"

"What does that mean?"

"I figured you wouldn't care anymore, seeing as you don't care about me." His face was emotionless but his voice carried the pain of his

words, and I felt my heart shatter.

"Why would you say something like that?" I whispered, my hand reaching out to caress the side of his face.

It wasn't true. I cared about Adrian deeply but he wasn't Dimitri. I could still care and love someone, but that didn't mean we had to be

romantically involved. Adrian was one of my best friends, and it hurt me to see him go through pain. It hurt me even more knowing that I

was the reason he was hurting.

"I haven't been allowed to visit your dreams since the last time I talked to you! I know you're asleep, I can feel it, but your dreams are blocked

from me. It's a charm isn't it?"

I quickly looked away from his eyes, not wanting to see the hurt that was know shinning in them. "Yes, I had Lissa infuse a charm to keep

you out of my dreams."

"I knew it," he breathed, sounding very hurt.

"It's not what you think-" I began quickly, but he didn't let me finish before he started yelling at me.

"You know what they say here?" He yelled, his eyes flashing. He leaned away from my outstretched hand, and I dropped it back into my lap.

"They say that you're just escaping your death. That you took

everyone that meant anything to you and got the hell out of here. At first I didn't believe them because you love me, and I know you do. Then, it became clear, you have Belikov with you. It's him that you

would have took, not me. I was always just your second choice, it's him that you've always loved."

"Adrian-" I started, but he interrupted me again before I could explain.

"I don't blame you," he said softly, "I always knew it was him but I risked my heart anyway. When he turned I was happy, I knew it was selfish because you were hurting but I thought I had a chance. A real chance with the girl of my dreams. Then he came back and I knew it

was a matter of time before you broke my heart."

"Adrian, I'm not escaping my death. I'm coming back." The words seemed to hang in the humid summer air. It was only in the quiet

following the words that I realized I said the wrong thing. That wasn't what he wanted to hear, he didn't want promises of my return, he wanted promises of my love. Neither of us said anything for a long time and it was Adrian who finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"That's all you have to say?"

I knew he wanted me to deny that I still loved Dimitri, but I couldn't bring myself to lie to him. I loved him too much. I didn't want to keep hurting him, over and over again, and that was all I was doing. The sooner I let him go, the faster he could heal. And he would heal, he

would fall in love with someone that was made just for him. Someone that could love him unconditionally no matter who came back into her

life.

I took a deep breath and said the only words that would let Adrian began to heal. "I'm sorry."

Adrian automatically knew what I was apologizing for, just like I knew he would. He nodded and looked away from me. Suddenly, it started to

rain. Thunder was crackling in the sky and lightening blazed lighting the night with its bolts. Adrian got up from the bench and turned his back on me, the dream slowly starting to disappear the farther away

he got.

"Adrian!" I shouted, running after him. The closer I got to him the clearer the dream became again. He stopped walking and I quickly

caught up with him, the rain soaking every part of me. He didn't turn around when I tapped on his shoulder. "Look at me."

Slowly he turned around, and I noticed that there was a tear falling slowly down his face. I took his face in my hands and kissed his lips

softly. My hand caressed the side of his face, wiping away the tear that had fallen. His hands played with my hair, twirling it around his fingers.

We both knew this was a goodbye kiss. It was soft, tender and sweet but it held no promises of a future. It was final, the end, and it was the most perfect goodbye kiss. I finally pulled away from him, trying not to notice the hurt in his eyes. Somehow, whenever I looked into his eyes, my heart always melted. "I will always love you," I whispered in his ear,

my voice tender, "but sometimes love just isn't enough."

"I understand," he breathed. His breath was warm against my neck, hot compared to the rain falling around us. His arms closed around my waist, holding me in his embrace. "Just like loving him will always be

apart of you, loving me will always be apart of your heart."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said softly, stepping out of his hug. I held onto his hand and he gazed into my eyes.

The dream disappeared, returning me to my dreamless sleep. I instantly woke with a start, breathing heavy. I looked down at my

hand, noticing for the first time I wasn't wearing my charmed ring, the one that prevented Adrian from accessing my dreams. It must have fallen off during the battle but I could not bring myself to regret the

dream.

I felt a million times lighter after breaking up with Adrian, like I could suddenly sprout wings and fly away. It wasn't that I was happy we

were over, I was happy I could love Dimitri without feeling guilty. We could love each other without feeling guilty.

I tried to go back to sleep but after much tossing and turning I finally got up and walked to the wing of the house opposite of mine. I walked quietly through the marble floored halls, not wanting to wake anyone

in the middle of the night.

Ostentatious.

That's the only word that could accurately describe Abe's house, if you could even call it that, mansion would be a better world. The house, or mansion, sat on several acres of land with a swimming pool in back. The mansion was made of expensive looking stones, all the color of white sand on some exotic beach. It was four stories with big bay windows at random places that overlooked the yard. Not that you

could see anything with the big black curtains the covered the

windows, keeping out all of the sunlight. The yard was easily the prettiest lawn I had ever seen, but maybe it only seemed that way

because it was so unique. Instead of lush, green grass the ground was dirt filled with stones in different shades of green. Abe vaguely

mentioned the stones were imported from different places around the world and that it cost a fortune to fill the entire yard.

I gently knocked on the door in front of me. To my great surprise Christian answered it, his black hair sticking out in all directions and his blue eyes still partially closed. I could see Lissa's blonde hair sprawled out across a pillow, still sound asleep. "What the hell are you doing?"

He hissed, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry," I whispered, "wrong room."

Christian raised his eyebrows, staring at me in disbelief. "It's the middle of the night, who the hell are you going to see?" Then his eyes widened as he realized the only person I would be going to see. "Oh."

"Just go back to sleep," I muttered.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Rose." I heard him say as he closed the door to his room.

So did I.

I was about to just go back to my room when the door beside Christian's opened, revealing a fully alert Guardian. "Rose?" Dimitri

asked, stepping into the hall. "Is everything okay?" His hair was ruffled and flat on one side, and he looked incredibly cute. It was amazing to

me that something so deadly could be so attractive.

I nodded. "I just couldn't sleep. Nightmare."

"Neither can I," he said, holding up a small paperback book. "I was just about to go outside and read but we could do something else if you

want…"

"No," I said, surprising myself, "I'll come outside with you."

He gave me a small smile and we started down the hall. There were huge pictures hanging in all the hallways and I was startled to see that my father had great taste in art. Well, it looked like great taste to me,

but I knew very little about art. Still, they were all beautiful to me.

"Is there a lot on your mind?" Dimitri asked, his voice soft.

"There's always a lot on my mind, Comrade." I teased, but it came out sounding more serious than I intended.

Dimitri caught my hand and pulled me to a stop. He twirled me around to face him, his brown orbs staring into my own. "You're not going to

die." He growled, "I won't let you. We'll figure something out."

"That's not worrying me," I murmured. "Well, it doesn't worry me until someone mentions it."

"Sorry," he whispered, letting go of my hand with a gentle squeeze. "It's just yesterday you sounded so resigned, like you don't even want to fight for your life. I can't help keep you alive if you've already given

up on living."

Again I noticed how lovely his accent was, it was like music to my ears. Something about his words sounded incredibly sweet, and it made my

heart leap inside my chest.

We finally made it to the yard and sat down on a wicker love seat with a bright red cushion. "You're going to be very bored out here," Dimitri

laughed, "we can do something else if you want."

I shook my head. "Read it to me."

He laughed and looked at me for a moment before reading from his book. I wasn't listening to the words, I was watching him. His brown eyes were bright, and I realized just how much I missed them when they were ringed with red. His eyes were one of his most beautiful

features and nothing would ever be as beautiful to me. I stared at his lips while he read the words and I had a sudden urge to kiss him.

"I can't think when you look at me like that," Dimitri said, dropping his book and turning to look at me.

"Then don't think," I said, reaching out and wrapping my arms around his neck. I kissed him. At first it started out soft and gentle, but soon

enough it was deep and passionate. Every time I kissed him it was like the first, it made every cell in my body burn with its fire, and I never

felt more alive then while kissing him.

"I love you," I whispered as I pulled away from him. "You are my reason for living."

I kissed him again. He pulled me closer to him, deepening our kiss. He didn't tell me he loved me back, and he didn't shower me with

compliments and sweet nothings, but at that moment I didn't care. The kiss was all I cared about, his mouth on mine, making a beautiful song

that only my heart could understand and I was slowly realizing that was the meaning of love.

Chapter 12

"No," Dimitri said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. I ignored him and turned my attention back to Abe.

"Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," I shot a glare at Dimitri, "we are going to the bank as soon as it opens, trying to figure

out a name for this bank account."

"No-" Dimitri began again, but my father cut him off smoothly, not even glancing in Dimitri's direction.

Dimitri, Abe and I were sitting at a huge dinner table, waiting for Lissa, Christian and Mia to join us before we began eating breakfast. I stifled

a yawn and looked out the window, where the curtains were pulled back so you could see the sun making it's descent below the horizon, thinking about the night I had spent with Dimitri. There had been a lot

of making out and a lot of pulling away, the kissing was mostly my doing while Dimitri pulled away each time. Even after I told him I broke up with Adrian he did nothing but stroke my hair and give me a small kiss on the forehead saying that was the best news he heard all day. I

kept telling myself to be patient with Dimitri, he had been through hard times and he was still facing them, but it was hard not to feel hurt.

"I see nothing wrong with that," Abe said, a small, mischievous smile turning up the corners of his lips, "but Mr. Belikov seems to."

I saw Dimitri's face fall when my father used the title "Mr." instead of "Guardian" and felt a twinge of sadness for him too, but it quickly

passed, my anger on the subject finally reaching the surface.

"He's being overly paranoid," I said, shooting Dimitri another glare. "He doesn't want me to go with them."

"Rose," Dimitri sighed, his voice sounding very exasperated, we'd been having this argument for the past two hours. "It's not that I don't want

you to come with us, I just don't think it's the smartest idea."

My father finally looked a Dimitri, something that he had been avoiding since entering the room, and raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Continue."

"If Rose comes with us we have a much bigger chance of getting recognized," Dimitri began, turning his attention from my father and

not looking at me. "People are most afraid of the Queen's murder, not the people that helped her escape. They'll most likely be looking out

for her and not us."

"They're humans, they aren't looking for us at all!" I shouted, burring my head in my hands.

"What about the Alchemists. They are human and they are looking for you-they will recognize you." Dimitri countered, and I had to admit he

made a point.

"I agree with Dimitri," my father said.

"But Lissa can charm another ring to change my appearance and I can wear sunglasses and a hat if that makes Guardian Belikov happy," I

said suddenly, shooting Dimitri a smile, hoping to win my fathers approval.

"If what makes Guardian Belikov happy, Rose?" Christian asked as he came down the long, marble stair case, Mia and Lissa following behind

him. He has a smirk plastered on his face and my hand twitched, wanting to knock that look off of his face.

"Dimitri is being paranoid about me going to the bank with you guys later today, so I said that I would disguise myself it that makes him

happy." I snapped.

"Oh, what else makes Guardian Belikov happy?" Christian smirked. Lissa was looking on at the conversation clearly amused, Christian had obviously told her about my late night disturbance, but Mia was looking

utterly confused.

"I don't know what makes him happy, but I know what would make me happy right now," I said, my hand twitching again. I gave them my

most badass look, and it worked.

"Chill, Rose," Lissa said laying a hand on Christian's arm as they sat down around the table. "Leave her alone, Christian."

"Sorry," he said, "I had a early morning, more like a late night."

Abe furrowed his eyebrows, looking between Christian and me. "Why did you have a late night? Rose, what did you do?"

I glared at Christian and he smirked at me, but none of us answered Abe's question. We sat there in uncomfortable silence until Mia cleared

her throat. "Good morning," she said, looking around the table. "Is it okay if Rose goes?"

I was glad she asked Abe the question and not Dimitri because I knew I had a better chance with Abe agreeing to my crazy plans then Dimitri.

Abe came to my rescue, and I decided I owed him big time. He had helped me ever since the first day I met him, and I kind of liked it.

"Rose can go but-"

"No 'buts' about it," I said. I decided I did not owe Abe anything, not anymore.

"Rose," he said, his voice calm although I could tell I was irritating him, "will you let me finish?"

"Probably not," I muttered.

He shot me a look and I smiled at him. "At least I'm honest."

"As I was saying, I don't think all of you should go. Two, maybe three, of you at the most." Abe said.

I pointed at myself saying "My crazy plan, I'm going."

"I'm going," Lissa said softly, "this is my family we're finding."

I nodded and took a bite of my bacon.

"I'm going as protection for the Princess," Dimitri said.

Of course you are, a nasty voice in my head whispered, going to protect your savior. Keep her safe because Rose can't do a good job.

"No," I said suddenly, a little too loud, causing Mia to knock some orange juice out of her glass.

Dimitri looked at me and I nibbled on my bacon some more. He raised an eyebrow. "No?" He questioned.

"No."

"Why?"

I nibbled on my bacon again before answering. "I'm going to protect her, I don't need you coming for that."

"I'm not questioning your ability, Rose." Dimitri said softly, his brown eyes gazing intently into mine.

I turned away and stared out the window again, eating my bacon. "I know." I honestly knew he wasn't questioning my ability, but it seemed that way. I knew how to take care of Lissa, I've been doing it all of my life. She was always my first priority, I would never do anything to put

her in danger, not intentionally anyway. "I can protect her," I muttered, mostly to myself.

"I'll go," Mia said, "I want to help."

I shot her a glare.

"Not to protect her or anything," she said quickly, her eyes focused on something on her plate, "just to help. I can carry a purse or

something."

I laughed at her and she looked up, smiling softly at me.

"I want to go," Christian said, looking at Lissa. "I'm her boyfriend."

"Sorry," I said, looking at Christian, "Mia said it first."

Christian opened his mouth to say something but I got up abruptly and started storming up the stairs.

"You're excused," my father shouted behind me, and I could almost imagine the smirk on his face.

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