I gasped for air, sitting up in my bed with beads of sweat over my forehead. The flimsey white blouse I had worn to bed was nearly see-through and stuck to my back like a second skin. It wasn't the first time I had woken up like this in the middle of the night. I told myself I would eventually get used to it; I was wrong.

I really didn't know what burned my skin more: his look of betrayal when I staked him or the hopelessness that came afterwards. Whatever it was, it still stung. His dark brown eyes still haunted me.

The gentle sound of rain drops hitting the window drew my attention. The weather was as gloomy as I felt on the inside. I ran my fingers through my sticky long brown hair as I swung my legs out of bed. I put on my slippers and slipped my arms through the sleeves of a sweater I just picked off the floor.

Nights like these were absolutely the worst; I was too tired to do something productive and too haunted to go back to sleep. I stepped out of my room into the dimmly-lit hallway of the Royal Court. Ribbons and flags of green and gold were decorated everywhere, signifying who the current ruler was. I closed my eyes and searched for Lissa through the bond.

The woman was asleep.

I opened my eyes with a sigh. Life was perfect, or it looked like it was perfect. Nevertheless I wasn't satisfied with what I had in my life. There was always that empty void in me. Perhaps it came with being twenty-four, and single, and very much in love with a dead person.

Walking to the end of the hallway to where the balcony was, I took my sweet time to get there. My hands pushed the doors open and the smell of Pennsylvanian rain blew in. It smelled of wet dirt and fresh grass with an icy prick to it. My tensed muscles eased at the soothing scent. Call me melodramatic years ago and I would have punched you in the face. Funny how little things become more important as you get older.

Morning came a lot sooner and I found myself groaning in my bed with heavy eyelids. Somehow during the night, sleep hit me like a bulldozer and knocked me out completely. I'll have to thank all of my sleepless nights for working such wonders on me. I got out of bed and once I was all dressed and ready, I went to tackle my first task of the day.

"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?" I asked, catching up with Christian as he was walking to Tasha's little training school. It turned out that my curiosity got the better of me and I simply had to find out.

He groaned, "Sweet mercy, it's you again." His annoyance only made me grin wider.

"Well? Are you gonna tell me?" 

"Not now, Rose. I'm on my way to see my aunt."

I halted. "You mean Lady Tasha Ozera?"

"The very one," he confirmed to me. "She invited me to watch her teach one of her classes and give her feedback."

Checking my watch, I smiled and said, "I have two hours before I head over to see Lissa. Hope you don't mind me tagging along."

The school was a brick townhouse with a few posters advertising moroi self-defense classes. I had heard that the royal families were still against this idea and saw it as an unnecessary risk. I followed Christian in and an inaudible gasp escaped my lips as the sight before my eyes.

Moroi children and adults were wielding their powers on dummies as a black-haired woman with familiar piercing blue eyes attended to each one of them. It was like a dhampir training facility, but moroi style.

"Wow," I breathed out in astonishment. "I never imagined it like this."

"She's done everything she could to build this place. She's sacrificed so much for this," Christian explained with a shrug, a glossy look in his eyes.

As impressed as I was, I didn't know how the royal families were going to accept this and allow it into the curriculum. This meant putting moroi to the battle front with dhampir, and as far as I knew, too many of them enjoyed the luxury of hiding behind guarded walls and personal protectors who were more than willing to sacrifice all that they had.

Tasha Ozera caught my eyes and I instantly gave her smile and a wave. She grinned and came over to us. I watched her wrap her arms around her nephew and accepted her warm embrace when it was my turn.

"Rose, I'm so glad you could come! I didn't expect you'd be here," she beamed, letting her arm rest on my shoulder. Even with her age and scar, the woman still looked as beautiful as the first day I met her.

"Christian told me he was coming to oversee your class. I couldn't miss out on a chance to see you in action," I winked at her.

She threw her head back laughed. "You are always welcome here. Tell me, what do you think?" Her blue eyes twinkled like stars as she waited for my response.

"I think it's amazing. How did you get so many people to sign up?"

"That's the easy part," she looped her arm with mine and started around on the outter circle of the room, watching people practice. "People want to fight, Rose. The world is changing and we must accept it. I don't believe we were given these powers just so we could hide behind someone's back while the enemy is at our doorstep. I have spent years designing and testing theories for self-defense. When danger comes, these people will stand with me ready to protect what is rightfully theirs."

The determination in her eyes gleamed so dangerously that I had to suck in a sharp breath and wipe a sweaty palm on my slacks. Her opinion was full of self-confidence and pure ambition.

"That's very brave," I decided to say after a few seconds of silence. "Have any royal moroi joined your class?"

She let out a bitter and sarcastic chuckle. "They wouldn't dare. That would cost too much of their pride to admit that we are all equal. Their self-centered ways will be the death of us all unless someone does something."

She turned to me, her eyes meeting mine. "I intend to be that someone. After nearly losing my entire family to strigoi, I am hell-bent on protecting what is close to my heart. I will do whatever it takes to make certain that history does not repeat itself. I believe that's what we have in common, you and I."

Flashes of going after the love of my life played in my mind like a broken screen. She knew about Dimitri and I. I bet everybody did no matter how hard I had tried to brush it under my rug. I swallowed thickly and looked away, focusing on a young boy firing at the dummy.

"I miss him," Tasha's calm voice infiltrated my ears. My gaze averted to her. "Dimitri, I mean. It's been years. You must miss him terribly."

Not wanting to insinuate anything more, I cleared my throat and asked, "How long do they train?"

"As long as they want to. See that man over there?" I followed to where her finger was pointing. A tall man with a good mass of muscle, for a moroi, I mean, attacked the dummy like there was no tomorrow. Any strigoi would hate to be that dummy. "That's Hunter Witkowski. We've known each other for almost ten years. He's been my trainee for the past five years. Look at him now. Strong and magnificent."

Strong and magnificent didn't even begin to cover what that beast of a man was. As if sensing eyes on him, he whipped his head and gave the two of us a curt nod of acknowledgement. For a moroi, he was built very much like a dhampir which was a good bonus for him as a man. But one look at him I knew he was more than rough around the edges.

"Hunter has a sparring match scheduled for next week."

"A sparring match?" I questioned. It was completely unheard of among moroi society.

Tasha smirked, "Yes, I know what you're thinking, Rose. Not very sophisticated, but you'll be quite surprised. I want you to be there and see it for yourself."

"Does Christian know about this?"

"No, he doesn't. He's not ready yet. You, on the other hand, are like me. We have a lot in common, Rose. We're strong-willed, ambitious, determined, and prioritze our loved ones above all else. If anyone is to truly understand me, it'd be you."

She slipped a card into my hand and closed my fingers around it. With a smile, she sighed, "The details are on the card. I hope you can make it."

After spending time watching Tasha teach her class, I quickly made my way to Lissa wanting to clear my head with something a little more familiar to my senses. I walked down the hallway, nodding at guardians as I passed them by.

"Guardian Hathaway!"

I whirled around only to meet with the mail man. He handed a thick brown package and said, "This came in for you from the alchemists."

"Right. Thank you," I bid and tore the envelope open. It was the report that I had personally requested on Emma Sullivan. I wanted to keep tabs on her.

Emma Sullivan is showing signs of improvement. She is still very cautious but is becoming more willing to experience new things. We are carefully introducing her to new things such as toys and foods. She is more responsive but refuses to speak of her family and her past. She has not mentioned anything further regarding you or strigoi. We have attached her medical records and test results along with video recordings.

I noticed the USB at the bottom of the envelope and decided to wait a little later before checking it out. From the note, Emma was normal, perhaps a bit sheltered, but nothing too strange. It was just that one time that freaked the wits out of me.

I shoved the papers back inside and sped to Lissa's office. I opened the door and she looked up from her computer screen, sighing.

"I feel like I'm losing a piece of my sanity every single time I get one of these reports," she confessed, massaging the back of her neck.

"What kind of reports are we talking about?" I inquired, walking around to see her screen.

"Another strigoi attack happened last night."

"Deaths?"

"Zero."

I furrowed my eyebrows at her. "Are they... safe?"

She shook her head.

"Undead," I whispered, the word bitter and uninviting on my tongue.

"The whole family. Whatever is going on, somebody is planning this. They're building an army, Rose."

My blood ran cold instantly. Somehow Tasha's self-defense class didn't sound too crazy now. I considered the odds of having Lissa attend a session or two just in case. I sat down on the chair across from her desk, biting my lower lip.

"What do you have there?" She asked, jerking her head at the package in my hands.

"It's...documents," I answered, not sure if it was wise to let her know that I was still investigating something that was supposed to be solved. "Just reports. You know how boring they are."

She scowled, "Don't remind me. With all of these frequent attacks, I will need to give a few speeches to calm everyone before all hell breaks loose."

"Speaking of the devil, what's going on with Queen Tatiana's case?"

I wasn't completely allowed to interfere or stick my nose into it because I was the throne's successor's best friend. In other words, I could very well be one of the suspects because I could likely have a hidden motive.

"I was able to get a small info out. A piece of evidence is missing," she revealed, leaning closer to her desk. "A necklace. Queen Tatiana was wearing a necklace when she was murdered."

"You know what I don't understand?" I began, plopping my hand under my chin and staring ahead. "Why are they keeping so many things hidden from us? From the people as well! I get the whole thing with not wanting to cause a scene, but every corner there seems to be a secret."

"I'm the Queen, and everyday I feel like I could be thrown into prison anyday. It's been like this for years, like there's so much more than what they're letting us see, Rose. I know you've noticed it. I also know you've been brushing it off all these years because, admit it, you actually want some peace."

Ouch. That was quite a blow to my sweet dreams. She knew me too well. I ran my fingers through my hair and shrugged, "Too many mysteries to solve."

●●●

"I offer my sincerest condolences to the Bartolome family for their tragic losses. Alma, Stacie, Lukas, and Francesca Bartolome will always be remembered for their charitable causes. They were brave and good people. Remember them as what they once were," Lissa spoke, looking regal, refined, and every bit queenly on the podium. Her neutral conservative outfit matched the funeral and the chilly overcast weather.

A good amount of guardians stood around, watching every movement. Nearly a hundred people came to the funeral with flowers and pictures of the family who had now joined the undead strigoi. They were all seated in rows and rows of foldable chairs. The relatives were up front as the ladies daintly dabbed their handkerchiefs to the corner of their eyes. The grandmother was the only one sobbing hysterically. I felt a pang of sympathy for her.

Nothing was worse than knowing that your loved ones were undead and the opposite of everything they once were. That was the real tragedy. The sadness did not lie in lowering empty caskets into the ground.

After Lissa said her closing to her speech, everyone took turns bowing and placing flowers inside the four empty caskets. One by one. Until a certain familiar woman came up to us.

"Lady Ozera," Lissa acknowledged her with a polite smile.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your comforting speech. I've known the Bartolome family for quite some time. They were an excellent family. I hope you are well?" Her smile remained on her face.

"Yes, of course. My heart goes out the Bartolome family, and all the others. It is truly tragic."

"Perhaps what they need is a queen who empowers them. A loss as severe as this is not to be taken lightly, Your Majesty."

I sensed Lissa's discomfort through the bond. Tasha slid her gaze to me and touched my shoulder lightly, "Will you make it tonight?"

Lissa's eyes narrowed at me in confusion. I swallowed the lump in my throat and replied, "I'm not quite sure yet." I could literally see question marks all over my best friend's face. I hadn't told her about visiting Tasha's school and her invitation to the ungodly sparring match out of nowhere.

"Very well, then. I'll see you if you do come," she concluded, and curtsied to Lissa before walking off.

"What was that?!" Lissa seethed, her eyes accusing me. "Why did she treat you like you've known each other for a lifetime? And what was she talking about?"

I touched her arm and whispered, "We're out in public, Liss. The jealous best friend trope doesn't suit you."

She blinked away the frustration in her eyes as she regained her composure once more, straightening her shoulders and looking ahead.

"What's happening tonight?" She asked, her voice firm and almost stoic.

I dug my nails into the palm of my hands, keeping an eye on the people as they walked past us. "She invited me to a sparring match," I replied. A moroi sparring match.

"Oh. So the usual sparring match, then?"

As usual as it could get with moroi fist fighting each other.

"Yeah."

"So you're going?"

"I've been considering."

"You are going."

And this was the story of how one thing led to another. Night fell on us like a blanket and here I was slipping on my sturdy boots and black jacket. I was actually going out. Although the activity was slightly different than the ones I engaged in when I was in my teenage years.

The invitation was in my pocket and often felt like a golden ticket. It was the andrenaline kicking in. The excitement that rushed through me in my veins. I hadn't felt like that in years. It almost felt as good as breaking a school rule and labeling it as an achievement.

I drove to the address and it took me to a warehouse where a few cars were parked outside. I could hear people chattering loudly and I had to refrain myself from cursing them out. For all I knew, strigoi could be lurking around here.

"Here for a lesson?"

I froze and slowly turned my head.

Author's Note

I apologize for the long wait. I was having some trouble writing it. Not my best chapter. But we're about to see some action soon.

Iris