“James couldn’t have staked Tatiana,’ I said. “He had an injured hand. It takes both hands for a Moroi to stake someone. I’ve seen it happen twice now. And I bet if you can get a straight answer out of Ethan Moore …’ I glanced over at the guardian who had gone pale. He could probably jump into a fight and kill without hesitation. But this kind of scrutiny? And eventual interrogation by his peers? I didn’t think he’d hold up. It was probably the reason Tasha had been able to manipulate him. “James wasn’t there the night Tatiana died, was he? And I don’t think Daniella Ivashkov was either, despite what Princess Dragomir was told earlier. But Tasha was. She was in the queen’s chambers–and you didn’t report it.’
Ethan looked like he wanted to bolt, but his odds of escape were about as good as mine and Dimitri’s. He slowly shook his head. “Tasha wouldn’t kill anyone.’ Not exactly the confirmation of her location I wanted–but close. The guardians would get more out of him later.
“Rose!’ Christian was pissed off now. Seeing him look at me with such outrage hurt even more than Tasha’s expression. “Stop it!’
Lissa took a few hesitant steps forward. I could feel in her mind that she didn’t want to believe what I was saying either … yet she still trusted me. She thought of a controversial solution. “I know it’s wrong … but if we used compulsion on the suspects …’
“Don’t even suggest that!’ exclaimed Tasha, turning her sharp eyes on Lissa. “Stay out of this. Your future’s on the line here. A future that could make you great and achieve the things our people need.’
“A future you could manipulate,’ I realized. “Lissa believes in a lot of the reforms you do … and you think you could convince her of ones she doesn’t. Especially if she’s with your nephew. That’s why you’ve fought so hard to change the quorum law. You wanted her to be queen.’
Christian started to step forward, but Tasha laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. It didn’t stop him from speaking. “That’s idiotic. If she wanted Lissa to be queen, why make that James guy attack her?’
That was a mystery for me too, one of the holes I hadn’t quite figured out. But Dimitri had. Conscious of his two guards, he shifted closer to me.
“Because no one was supposed to die.’ Dimitri’s low, resonant voice sounded wonderful with the room’s acoustics. He needed no microphone as he directed his words to Tasha. “You didn’t expect a guardian to be with her.’ He was right, I realized. Eddie had been drafted that night under weird circumstances and only barely made it back in time to see Ambrose with Lissa. “James was probably going to fake an attack and run … enough to generate sympathy and more support for Vasilisa. Which it certainly did–just a little more severely.’
The outrage on Tasha’s face transformed to something I couldn’t entirely gauge right away. She’d seemed offended at my accusations, but from Dimitri–it was more. She looked legitimately hurt. Crushed. I knew that look. I’d seen it on Adrian’s face a couple hours ago.
“Dimka, not you too,’ she said.
Through Lissa’s eyes, I watched the colors of Tasha’s aura shift, burn a little brighter as she gazed at Dimitri. I could see exactly what Sonya had explained to me, how the aura showed affection.
“And that’s why I took the fall,’ I murmured softly. No one but Dimitri and our guardians heard me.
“Hmm?’ Dimitri asked.
I just shook my head. All this time, Tasha had still loved Dimitri. I knew she had last year, when she’d made him an offer to hook up and have kids–not something a lot of dhampir men had the chance to get. He’d refused, and I thought she had accepted simply being friends with him. She hadn’t. She’d still loved him. When Lissa had revealed my relationship with Dimitri to Hans, Tasha had already known. But for how long? I wasn’t sure. She’d obviously known about the relationship before killing Tatiana, and putting the murder on me left Tasha free and clear and opened back up her chances with Dimitri.
There was no point in bringing up her personal motives for blaming me. Tatiana’s murder was the real issue at stake. I just looked at Hans. “You can take me into custody, I meant it. But don’t you think you’ve got enough to take her–and Ethan–in too?’
Hans’s face was unreadable. His feelings toward me had always gone back and forth, since the day we met. Sometimes I was a troublemaker without a future. Other times I had the potential to be a leader. He’d believed I was a murderer, yet he’d still allowed me to address the crowd. He didn’t really like my friends either. What would he do now?
He lifted his eyes from my face and looked to where several guardians were stationed in the audience, ready for any action. He gave a curt nod. “Take Lady Ozera. And Moore. We’ll question them.’
Seeing as Tasha was seated amidst other people, there was a bit of fear and panic when four guardians moved toward her. They avoided injuring other audience members as much as possible, but there was still plenty of pushing and shoving. What came as a total surprise was how fiercely Tasha fought back. She was trained, I remembered. Not in the same way guardians were, but enough to make it hard to get a hold of her. She could kick and punch–and stake queens–and even managed to knock one guardian down.
She might actually try to fight her way out of here, I realized–though I didn’t believe for an instant she could. It was too crowded and chaotic. Guardians were heading toward the fray. Terrified Moroi were trying to get away from the fight. Everybody seemed to be getting in everyone else’s way. Suddenly, a loudcrack echoed through the room. A gunshot. Most of the Moroi dropped to the floor, though guardians kept coming. Holding a handgun she must have seized from the guardian she’d knocked over, Tasha grabbed the first Moroi she could with her free hand. So help me, it was Mia Rinaldi. She’d been sitting near Christian. I didn’t think Tasha even noticed her hostage choice. “Don’t move!’ Tasha yelled at the encroaching guardians. The gun was at Mia’s head, and I felt my heart stop. How had things escalated to this point? I’d never foreseen this. My task was supposed to be neat and tidy. Reveal Tasha. Put her away. Done.
The guardians froze, less because of her command and more because they were sizing up how to deal with the total threat. Meanwhile, Tasha began to slowly–very slowly–make her way toward the exit, dragging Mia along. Her progress was slow and unwieldy, thanks to all the chairs and people in the way. The delay gave the guardians time to solve this ugly dilemma. They come first. Mia’s life–a Moroi life–was on the line. The guardians didn’t want Mia killed, but a gun-toting warrior Moroi also couldn’t be allowed to go free.
The thing was, Tasha wasn’t the only warrior Moroi in the room. She had probably picked the worst hostage possible, and I could tell by the glint in Mia’s eyes that she was not going to go quietly. Lissa realized this too. One or both of them were going to get killed, and Lissa couldn’t let that happen. If she could get Tasha to look at her, she could compel her into submission.
No, no, no, I thought. I didn’t need another friend involved.
Both Lissa and I saw Mia tensing to break her way out of Tasha’s hold. Lissa realized she had to act now. I could feel it through the bond. I could feel her thoughts, the decision, even the way her body’s muscles and nerves moved forward to get Tasha’s attention. I felt it all so clearly, as if we shared the same body. I knew where Lissa would move before she even did.
“Tasha, please don’t–‘
Lissa sprang forward, her plaintive cry interrupted as Mia kicked back at Tasha and broke away, slipping down out of the gun’s reach. Tasha, startled on two fronts, still had her gun pointed out. With Mia out of her grasp and everything happening so fast, Tasha frantically fired off a couple shots at the first threat moving toward her–which wasn’t the rapidly approaching guardians. It was a slim figure in white who had shouted at Tasha.
Or, well, it would have been. Like I said, I’d known exactly where Lissa would step and what she would do. And in those precious seconds before she acted, I broke out of my captors’ hold and threw myself before Lissa. Someone leapt after me, but they were too late. That was when Tasha’s gun had gone off. I felt a biting and burning in my chest, and then there was nothing but pain–a pain so complete and so intense it was almost beyond comprehension.
I felt myself falling, felt Lissa catching me and yelling something–maybe to me, maybe to someone else. There was so much commotion in the room that I didn’t know what had happened with Tasha. There was just me and the pain that my mind was trying to block out. The world seemed to grow quieter and quieter. I saw Lissa looking down on me, shouting something I couldn’t hear. She was beautiful. Brilliant. Crowned in light … but there was darkness closing in around her. And in that darkness, I saw the faces … the ghosts and spirits that always followed me. Thicker they grew, closing in. Beckoning.
A gun. I had been brought down by a gun. It was practically comical. Cheaters, I thought. I’d spent my life focusing on hand-to-hand combat, learning to dodge fangs and powerful hands that could snap my neck. A gun? It was so … well, easy. Should I be insulted? I didn’t know. Did it matter? I didn’t know that either. All I knew in that moment was that I was going to die, regardless.
My vision was growing dimmer, the blackness and ghosts closing in, and I swore, it was like I could hear Robert whispering in my ear: The world of the dead won’t give you up a second time.
Just before the light completely vanished, I saw Dimitri’s face join Lissa’s. I wanted to smile. I decided then that if the two people I loved most were safe, I could leave this world. The dead could finally have me. And I’d fulfilled my purpose, right? To protect? I’d done it. I’d saved Lissa, just like I’d sworn I’d always do. I was dying in battle. No appointment books for me.
Lissa’s face shone with tears, and I hoped that mine conveyed how much I loved her. With the last spark of life I had left, I tried to speak, tried to let Dimitri know I loved him too and that he had to protect her now. I don’t think he understood, but the words of the guardian mantra were my last conscious thought.
They come first.
I DIDN’T WAKE UP IN the world of the dead.
I didn’t even wake up in a hospital or some other type of medical center–which, believe me, I’d done plenty of times. No, I woke up in luxury, in a huge bedroom with gilded furniture. Heaven? Probably not with my behaviors. My canopied bed had a red- and-gold velvet comforter, thick enough to be a mattress itself. Candles flickered on a small table against the far wall and filled the room with the scent of jasmine. I had no clue where I was or how I’d gotten here, but as my last memories of pain and darkness played out in my mind, I decided the fact that I was actually breathing was good enough.
“Sleeping Beauty awakens.’
That voice … that wonderful, honey-like voice with its soft accent. It enveloped me, and with it came the impossible truth and its full impact: I was alive. I was alive. And Dimitri was here.
I couldn’t see him but felt a smile come to my lips. “Are you my nurse?’
I heard him get up from a chair and walk over. Seeing him stand over me like that reminded me of just how tall he truly was. He looked down at me with a smile of his own–one of those full and rare smiles. He had cleaned up since last I’d seen him, his brown hair tied neatly back behind his neck, though he hadn’t shaved for a couple days. I tried to sit up, but he tsked me back.
“No, no, you need to lie down.’ Soreness in my chest told me he was right. My mind might be awake, but the rest of me was exhausted. I had no idea how much time had passed, but something told me my body had been fighting a battle–not with a Strigoi or anything like one, but with itself. A battle to stay alive.
“Then come closer,’ I told him. “I want to see you.’ He considered this a moment and then kicked off his shoes. Turning on my side– which made me wince–I managed to wiggle over a little to make room near the bed’s edge. He curled up beside me. Our faces rested on the same pillow, only a couple of inches apart as we gazed at each other.
“Is this better?’ he asked.
“Much.’
With his long, graceful fingers, he reached out and brushed hair from my face before tracing the edge of my cheekbone. “How are you?’
“Hungry.’
He laughed softly and cautiously slid his hand down to rest on my lower back, in a sort of half-embrace. “Of course you are. I think they’ve only managed to get broth into you so far. Well, that and IV fluids early on. You’re probably in sugar withdrawal.’
I cringed. I didn’t like needles or tubes and was glad I hadn’t been awake to see them. (Tattoo needles were a different matter.) “How long have I been out?’
“A few days.’
“A few days …’ I shivered, and he tugged the covers higher on me, thinking I was cold. “I shouldn’t be alive,’ I whispered. Gunshots like that … they were too fast, too close to my heart. Or in my heart? I put my hand to my chest. I didn’t know precisely where I’d been hit. It all ached. “Oh Lord. Lissa healed me, didn’t she?’ It would have taken so much spirit. She shouldn’t have done that. She couldn’t afford to. Except … why would I still feel pain? If she’d healed me, she would have gone all the way.
“No, she didn’t heal you.’
“No?’ I frowned, unable to process that. How else would I have survived? A surprising answer came to mind. “Then … Adrian? He’d never … after how I treated him … no. He couldn’t have …’
“What, you think he’d let you die?’
I didn’t answer. The bullets might be long gone, but thinking of Adrian still made my heart–figuratively–ache.
“No matter how he feels …’ Dimitri hesitated. This was a delicate topic, after all. “Well, he wouldn’t have let you die. He wanted to heal you. But he didn’t either.’
I felt bad for thinking so little of Adrian. Dimitri was right. Adrian never would have abandoned me out of spite, but I was rapidly running out of options here. “Then who? Sonya?’
“No one,’ he said simply. “Well, you, I suppose.’
“I … what?’
“People can heal without magic now and then, Rose.’ There was amusement in his voice, though his face stayed sober. “And your wounds … they were bad. No one thought you’d survive. You went into surgery, and then we all just waited.’
“But why …’ I felt very arrogant, asking the next question. “Why didn’t Adrian or Lissa heal me?’
“Oh, they wanted to, believe me. But in the aftermath, in the chaos … the Court went under lockdown. They were both taken away and put under heavy protection before they could act. No one would let them near you, not when they still thought you might be a murderer. They had to be certain about Tasha first, even though her own actions were pretty damning.’ It took me a moment to get past the idea that modern medicine and my body’s own stamina had healed me. I’d grown too used to spirit. This didn’t seem possible. As I tried to wrap my mind around the concept, the rest of Dimitri’s meaning hit me. “Is Tasha … still alive?’
His face fell even more. “Yes. They caught her right after she shot you–before anyone else got hurt. She’s detained, and more evidence has been coming in.’