Dimitri's POV
"I didn't kill the queen!" Rose screams from inside her cell, hands clutching the bars, to Zara and myself. She sits with crossed legs directly in front of the gate. Zara has the typical nerd glasses, long, shiny, black hair, freckles and is small height wise for a dhampir. A dhampir is half human and half Moroi and a Moroi is another name for a vampire. Zara is 22, but looks 16 and met Rose after she, meaning Rose, got arrested for apparently killing Queen Tatiana. Rose's brunette hair is all over the place with the stress she's going through.
"Roza. We know you didn't," I comfort her as I realised I called her Roza, the Russian for Rose. The name I call her to show I care for her and I'm trying to convince her I don't have any feelings for her and I'm hoping Rose doesn't notice my slip up. Zara elbows me in the side, so I know she noticed my slip up.
"Don't have feelings for me?" Rose asks, but she quickly changes subject to the Queens death. "Do you know who did kill her then?"
"We have a suspicion of whom she is," Zara smiles as she sits in front of the cell. Rose looks at her with a spill the beans look, so I'm guessing Rose neither noticed Zara's slip up of whom when it's meant to be who.
"We think it's Tasha who killed the Queen," I tell Rose as I join her and Zara on the floor.
"Why ?" Rose asks, lowering her hands. Zara and I look at each other, she nods and I sigh.
I already screwed up, and so I decide to tell Rose the truth, even though some isn't fully the truth, "She's jealous of what's gone on between us, of me loving you, not her. When you first met her and said that she and I should be together, it made her feel like she should try to actually get with me. When I told her I loved another, she got angry and threatened to hurt you, leading to me threatening to kill her if she lays a finger on you. Guard, let us into the cell!"
A guard walks up to the cell and unlocks it, after he has to step over Zara and myself, and steps back over us. I get up and help Zara up, before pulling the gate open. I let Zara walk in first and I follow her, closing the gate behind me. The guard leaves us to talk to Rose in the cell alone.
"You're telling me that Tasha was jealous of us, of me?" Rose squeaks as we sit behind her and she spins to face us. I nod, grabbing hold of Roza's hand. She jumps forward and wraps her arms around my shoulders, catching me by surprise. I wrap my arms around her and I hear Zara making gagging noises. "We're not doing anything bad, we're just hugging."
"Oh, but we are not, young Roza. We are not just hugging my sweet girl," I quickly say before I kiss her lips. I've missed being able to do this. I've missed her and I want her. I want her badly and I can't lie to her anymore.
"Get a room you two; I'm not here to see you two make out. You two never did this before."
"Okay if you want to talk say it. Just at least let us hug," Roza tries and successfully compromises between each kiss. I let her sit between my legs and I slither my arms down, around her waist.
"Rose can't stay in here. She didn't kill the Queen so she shouldn't be given the punishment for it. We need to do something about it."
"Whatever the plan is I'm all good," Rose says as she starts falling asleep in my arms. Obviously she doesn't care how she'll get out. She kind of looks like she just wants to stay and sleep, but I can't blame her, it is midnight and she keeps getting woken up by Zara wanting to talk to her or by Abe trying to sort out the alibi for the Queens death even though she didn't do it or even by some new guard wanting to know if she really killed the Queen. Zara doesn't have many friends other than Rose and I, and the likely chance of being able to talk to Rose alone is during the middle of the night, so that is the same for Abe, her Moroi father.
"What exactly are we meant to do?" I ask the stupid question to break the silence. I expected Rose to complain at me for talking and not letting her sleep, however she says absolutely nothing. We sit in silence for a few more long moments as we think on how to escape.
"We should take the limit on guard numbers and the fact that there isn't any around here to our advantage," Rose wearily says and this information makes something click in both Zara and myself. We need to run with Rose out of the prison all together.
"We have to get you out of here, Rose," Zara blurts out stunning both Rose and myself, making Rose wake up fully and stay awake. Even though I had been thinking on the same lines, I have never heard this kind of thing leave Zara's mouth before.
She's normally all innocent and stays quiet when I'm around. Yet, it's not really a bad idea, so I whisper, "We get her out of the cell and we make a run for it." Zara nods as I pick Rose up in my arms and Zara opens the gate. We slide out and I start to run as Zara closes the gate and tags along quickly. We get up the stairs as we hear guards shout about how Rose is missing.