This is set five years after The Ruby Circle, so there are many spoilers!
Chapter 1
Rose POV
"I"M SO EXCITED!" exclaimed Lissa.
I broke the news to my best friend that after being engaged for five years, I was finally planning on getting married.
"Calm down, Liss. This is actually so stressful," I explained.
"Sorry, Rose. I just can't believe that you made poor Dimitri wait so long," she laughed at me.
"He knew what was coming for him before he proposed," I smirked.
I hadn't realized how anxious I was about the entire thing. My stomach started feeling woozy and nauseated.
"That's very true. Okay, so let's start making lists," she said, as she attempted to get me to comply with her organized, Type-A manner.
While she rambled about the various nits and bits about planning, I felt the nausea getting worse. I ignored it and tried to concentrate on Lissa.
"Before, we choose the venue or anything else. We have to get your dress - " Lissa stopped talking when she saw me rushing to the bathroom.
I sat down next to the toilet and vomited into the bowl. I felt Lissa's hands take the hair away from my face and put it into a ponytail.
"Oh Rose, not you too," Lissa said in a worried tone.
"What do you mean?" I answered once I was finished and flushed.
"Tanya was telling me how her stomach felt uneasy just a while back. She thinks it's cause of the food that was specially served for the guardians last night at the Badica's event," she explained.
Tanya was also a part of Lissa's fleet of royal guardians and had quickly become friends with Liss and I. So, I agreed with what she said for the moment being and shrugged of any gut feeling of if it being anything else. I knew that the Moroi blood inside of me would fight it off within minutes. I healed remarkably fast and wasn't susceptible to getting any normal human sicknesses. Sometimes, I just felt the symptoms for a little bit. I covered my shift and escorted Lissa to the dinning hall for lunch, so she could discuss political happenings with her advisors. Even then, I still had the weird feeling.
Later that day, I walked back to my penthouse that was a part of the royal housing at Court. Liss had given the place to Dimitri and I as an engagement gift and as a birthday gift, because I had recently turned 20. I felt dizzy on my entire walk over and struggled to stay straight. I wasn't gonna give up easy though, so I used my strength to walk inside my house and into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. But, I couldn't even manage to do that... the world was spinning and i felt the pain of falling onto the concrete tiles.. and blacking out...