POV: Adrian

I remember the pain. I never expected it to hurt so much. I guess I always thought the endorphins would numb it down. Maybe they usually did. Perhaps my experience was different because he wanted me to suffer.

I remember my last thoughts. People usually say your entire life plays out in front of your eyes as you are about to die, but that wasn't the case for me. I only thought of her. Her crystal-like violet eyes, her soft pinkish lips, that cute little smile of hers that would rise up so much it would sometimes make small dimples in her cheeks, the sound of her laugh, the silky strands of her black hair, her intoxicating smell. I thought about how much I loved her and it was agonizing to me that I'll never get to tell her that again.

What were the last words I said to her? I could hardly remember now, but I was sure they weren't right, they wouldn't give her peace, wouldn't make her feel, this one last time, the love I had for her. I won't get to kiss her or hold her in my arms, comfort her. Who will do it? How is going to chase the shadows away when they come? How much pain will my death cause her?

I remember closing my eyes, her face the last thing on my mind and her name the last word on my lips. I remember feeling like I was falling through darkness. I was cold, scared, lonely and lost. And the last thing I remember was opening my eyes again, only one thing, one thought, one word, one desire burning through me, consuming me. Blood.

50 minutes earlier

My heart skipped a beat when the first ring cracked through the silent night. It was loud enough to make everyone in the room cringe at the sound. The loudness, however, was not what made me jerk back like I got hit by raw electricity. It was the familiarity of it, the thing I remembered from my childhood, the thing that sometimes haunted me while I was sleeping. I remember how many times my aunt told me to memories the meaning of the sound, the number of the rings that were more significant than anything. So I listened as everyone around me looked at each other in confusion. It's because they didn't know.

One.

"What the hell is that?", Rose cried out against the noise.

"I have no idea. I know one ring is to announce an important gathering that all the residents of the Court need to go to. I didn't even know they still used the alarm, it's rather annoying", Emma supplied, twitching when the second ring came.

Two.

I was painfully aware of the slow draining of color out of my face. My lips dried up and I felt like something was clogging my throat, stopping me from uttering any words. While I fought to speak Lissa announced: "Two marks the crowning of the new ruler."

Three.

"So what does three stand for?", Rose asked as she closed the window, a sigh of relief escaping her as the noise got muffled slightly.

I swallowed hard, trying to push the words out of my mouth as Emma turned to me. Her face was swimming in worry since I probably looked like I've seen a ghost right about now. One long breath and I finally stammered out: "Attack."

This is it. This is the big plan. Alexei and his Strigoi were coming. Silence fell among us as the ringing continued, joined by the voices, screams and cries outside. The panic was already starting since I was definitely not the only one who knew the meaning of this.

"I guess now we know when", Eddie muttered in shock as soon as the alarm began another loop of its deafening three wails.

"We need to stick together and get out of here as soon as possible", Dimitri announced getting up, instantly followed by Rose's determined: "Right."

I heard a quick thud as something dropped on the floor next to me. Glancing up, I saw Emilia's terrified expression, her eyes still glued to the thing on the floor. I realize it was her phone as I approached and asked: "What is it?"

She didn't respond, she just stared at me, her eyes traveling around my face in a strange way, like she was seeing it for the first time. She grasped my hand and I felt her fingers tightening around mine as she tugged me closer. I closed my eyes instinctively when she kissed me, but frowned upon sensing how different her lips felt against mine. There was something alarming about her stillness and gentleness. She pulled back just a little before she whispered: "I love you."

I opened my eyes when her hand dropped mine and was met by her hair flicking around as she turned towards the door and ran. I was shocked enough to lose one second before I ran after her. One second. That was enough to give her a head start. I shouted her name as I raced down the stairs, hearing her footsteps echo bellow me. The echoes disappeared mere moments before I jumped off the last step and slammed against the door of the building. I franticly ran my hand over it, until I reached the handle and swung it open. I tripped over the threshold, catapulting into the street, immediately getting engulfed by a crowd running and pushing their way towards what I figured was the evacuation point. With so many people around me, I basically had to fight my way out of the commotion, stopping when I reached a streetlight so that I could wrap my arm around the poll and step onto the platform below to prompt myself up.

I scanned my surroundings, my eyes quickly shifting over the countless faces passing me by. I searched for the fiery violet gems, for the pitch black sea, for any sign of her really, but she was gone. I grabbed my hair with my free hand, tempted to rip it off my head, turning my eyes in circles helplessly, praying I would spot her after all, as I shouted her name at the top of my lungs. A hand on my shoulder jerked me down, almost making me lose my balance as my feet slipped from the platform and back onto the ground. For a moment, just a tiny moment, I allowed myself to hope it was Emilia, though I knew her touch would feel quite different. I looked back, facing Dimitri's panic filled eyes with a sinking feeling in my chest.

"Adrian, where is she?"

"I don't", I stammered out, "I don't know. She was-, I-."

"Don't worry", he instantly reassured me, gripping my shoulder tightly as his face turned into a hard and determined mask, "We'll find her."

Why would she run off like this? What was she thinking? What got her so upset? My mind bombarded me with questions until one single thought took over and I froze. Her phone. I wrenched out of Dimitri's hold before I ran past him and back into the building wordlessly, taking two steps at a time to get back to the apartment as fast as I could. Rose and Lissa said something to me when I burst through the door, but I didn't listen. I threw myself to the ground, snatching the phone and unlocking it. The screen was a bit cracked, but the content was still visible. The last thing opened on it was a message. Honey, I'm home! My eyes ran over it and in that moment my lungs finally collapsed under the pressure, making me start gasping for air.

"Adrian?", Lissa exclaimed dropping down next to me and shaking my shoulder, "My God, Adrian are you okay? What's happening? Rose what's wrong with him?"

I peered up at Rose's shocked face and tried again to inhale, but it was like somebody shoved a cloth down my airways and there was no way anything was passing through. I felt the muscles of my hands twitching uncontrollably, the ones on my face cringing, probably morphing my expression into a strange grimace, as I fell back straight on my ass. Dimitri arrived shortly, pushing everyone away and grabbing me. He shook me so hard I felt like my eyes might start rolling around my scull.

"What's wrong with him?", Lissa repeated, watching Dimitri fail to help me.

"He is having a panic attack, a really strong one", he responded without taking his eyes off me, "Adrian, I need you to try to calm down."

I wanted to tell him I'd love nothing more than to calm down, but it was out of my hands. However, no words were coming out so I just gripped his shoulder leaning forward as another gasp escaped me. Before I knew what was what, his palm collided with my cheek causing my head to spin to the side. Just as I felt the impact, the imaginary cloth disappeared and I coughed, my eyes filling with tears from the pain of the air scratching my throat on its way down to my lungs that almost burst as they filled up again.

"Are you good?", Dimitri asked while I blinked up at him.

I continued coughing as I nodded and allowed him to get me back on my feet. I shook my head like that might help me clear my thoughts before I pointed towards the phone and mumbled incoherently: "Need to go-, she needs me-, danger."

Dimitri crouched, picking up the phone before turning to Rose and ordering: "Get them out of here!"

She nodded motioning Eddie to get moving. Dimitri turned to leave and I followed him before he stopped me with a firm statement: "You are going with them."

"The hell-, the hell I am", I stammered out.

"It's not safe for you out there", Dimitri argued.

"It's not safe for me, or anyone else, anywhere around the Court right now", I contradicted, finally getting my voice back to normal, "That's why we need to find Emma and get the hell out of dodge."

"I'll find her. Go with Rose", he urged and upon seeing the protest forming on my lips added, "You'll only slow me down. If you want her to be safe and back by your side as fast as possible, you need to, for once, listen to me."

I wanted to fight him more on it, but it would just be a waste of time. Time we didn't have. So I nodded and whispered: "Get her back to me."

"I will, I promise. I'll protect her."

With that he was gone in a blink of an eye. I didn't move until I felt Rose's hand on my back pushing be towards the door. Once we hit the street, we huddled together trying to stop the chaos around us from tearing us apart. The hysteria was getting contagious, enough to make people rabid and violent as they tried to save themselves and their families. They shoved and pulled at each other, screamed and fought. I had a feeling they would stomp over anyone standing in their way. None of them even noticed who we were and one guy went as far as to curse at Lissa when she bumped into him.

"This is insane", Rose shouted as she dragged Lissa away and nudged her to walk in the middle of our little group.

"Fear is a very powerful poison", Eddie commented, blocking somebody's hand before it could collide with my face.

Claustrophobia was not something I've ever really experienced, so I was surprised to feel the air around us becoming very tin all of a sudden. Maybe I was having another panic attack. I glanced around trying to assess how far we've gotten when I felt gentle fingers intertwining with mine. I looked over at Jill, who was beyond terrified. I realize she has barely said a word all night and for a good reason too. She almost died once and I was fairly certain the idea of something like that happening again was tormenting her ever since. I squeezed her hand and pulled her closer to me so that I could wrap her in my embrace.

"It's okay Jailbait, you're going to be alright", I reassured her as she pushed her head against my chest making herself even smaller than she already was, "We are all going to be just fine."

I was scared my words were a lie. I was scared to the bones. I opened my mouth to say something else with the intention of soothing her further before somebody knocked into us, sending us both to the ground. My arm softened the blow for her, but I wasn't so lucky. I hit my head hard enough to see stars dancing before my eyes. Eddie quickly helped us up while the man who ran into us fought against the hold of a guardian who was trying to push him back in the direction we were all moving towards.

"No, no, I'm not leaving without her", the man shouted, digging his feet into the ground in order to maintain his formerly made progress, "I'm not leaving without my wife."

His shouts were painted with agony and I understood him perfectly. Rose grabbed my sleeve, trying to get me to move again, but I kept staring at the guy waiting to see what will happen next. His guardian was stubborn, I had to give him that.

"Jackie will get her out", he persisted, "We need to keep moving George."

"No, what if Jackie can't get to her, can't find her, what if she can't save her?"

I was transfixed by the words the other man cried out. They got me thinking: What if Dimitri can't get to Emma, what if he doesn't reach her in time, what if she is already hurt, what if she needs me? I felt Rose's fingers slip away. She was forced to let go of me because the crowd jolted her forward. I heard her shouting: "Adrian, come on!"

I managed to look away. I managed to turn around, fixing on Rose. I stared into her dark and wild eyes, I watched them round in fear as they fell onto my lips while I mouthed I'm sorry. I backed away while she desperately fought to reach me again, screaming my name in a warning and a plea.

"Adrian, don't", was the last thing I heard before I plunged into the mob.

I couldn't even see where I was going until I slammed head first into something. I was pushed against a hard surface and it took me a moment to realize it was a fence. I glanced down, noticing a crack on the bottom of the plank that I hit. I grabbed the top of the fence for support and kicked at the wood until a big chunk chipped off. Ducking down, I crawled through the opening emerging in the yard on the other side. I hurriedly crossed the lawn, finding my way to a lot less crowded road. I raced towards Emma's house,the streets I passed emptying completely until I was the only one moving through them. Left, right, run straight, another left-. Figures. I came to a halt, my heart skipping as I peered at the two silhouettes. Strigoi? A few more steps towards them and a standard guardian outfit crystallized before my eyes. One of the guys was wearing it and the other one had black pants and a red shirt. My gaze traveled to their faces. Dhampir.

"Hey, hey", I yelled, speeding up to reach them.

The red shirt guy peered over his shoulder before he tugged his companion to stop. When I was close enough to hear them, he spoke up in a formal voice: "My Lord you should be heading to the evacuation point. If you'll follow us we'll-."

"No", I cut in, pointing down the street as I tried to catch my breath, "You came from that direction, right?"

"Yes", the other one confirmed as they exchanged confused looks.

"Any Moroi left? Are all the houses empty?"

"Not a living soul, we checked all of them", red shirt supplied.

"How about nonliving souls, did you see any of them?"

"We wouldn't be standing here if we did. Now please, Lord, you really need to-."

"One more question", I broke in, praying for a good answer, "Have you seen guardian Dimitri Belikov anywhere along the way by any chance?"

"No. He's probably with his charge at the evacuation point."

No he is not. My mind was racing as I tried to decide what to do and where to go next. One place left to check. I peered over my shoulder before I turned to add: "Thanks fellas!"

When I took off, for a minute I thought they might try to follow me, stop me, drag me with them, but since I didn't hear any noises behind me, I knew they probably decided not to die for a fool that was running head first into possible was probably a bit more than five minutes, felt like an eternity to me as I tumbled towards the little house that I called home. I didn't see anyone on my way there which had me pondering on whether I should be relieved or even more petrified. I was on the verge of collapsing when I reached the entrance, pushing the door open, surprised it was unlocked. I walked inside, my legs shaking as I glanced around and breathed out: "Emma?"

The lights were off, it was quiet, nothing seemed to be out of place and there was apparently no one there, but I made my way upstairs just to be certain. I thought about the best and the worst possibility. Maybe Dimitri found her and took her back, back to the place I was supposed to be at. Or maybe they were both already dead and I just didn't run into their bodies yet.

Something tumbled downstairs breaking the silence and, before I could even think about stopping myself, I shouted: "Emilia?"

No response came as I rushed back to the living room. It was a painting, the easel with my painting was on the ground, but there was no one present who could have knocked it down. Or at least that's what I thought. The front door screeched as somebody pushed it shut. I swung around peering into the darkness at the figure that stood in the hallway. He was buff, tall and pretty badass looking so for a moment I wondered if, perhaps, I was lucky enough to see Dimitri step out of the shadows. I wasn't. The guy approached me, his blond hair and sharp face lines coming into my view. His red-ringed eyes studied me carefully, his nose wrinkling slightly, like he was disgusted by the mere sight of me. His voice was cold when he leisurely commented: "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Let me guess", I found myself saying, despite my mind warning me to keep my mouth shut, "Alexei?"

"It's nice to finally meet you Adrian", he responded, grinning in a way that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand uncomfortably straight.

"I highly doubt that", I remarked taking a step back as he neared me further, "Where is Emilia?"

"Away", he sang, his eyes traveling around the room as if to underline how irritatingly obvious it was that she was not here, "I made sure she got, held up."

"Why? I thought you were waiting for her. Or was your love message sent to the wrong number?", I challenged, as I prayed that whoever was keeping her occupied wasn't going to kill her in the process.

"Oh no, not at all", he chuckled humorlessly, "It was the right number, but it wasn't meant for her."

"Who was it meant for?"

"You", he stated, fixing his eyes back on me with the intensity that made my breathing more unsteady than I'd like to admit, "And you walked right into my trap. The plan is playing itself out perfectly."

Why the hell would he want me? I watched him dumbstruck, trying to connect the dots while he used my silence to continue: "I thought it'd be pretty obvious. I mean, I basically cleared the path for you. Didn't you find it strange that this place is already crawling with my people and you didn't run into any of them? Not a single one. Come on Adrian, I thought you were supposed to be smart."

He's mockery was followed by a pitiful look, but my eyes didn't linger on his expression long. I was too busy searching for something, anything that I could use for protection or at least distraction as he took a few more steps towards me. I froze when my eyes landed on the boxes Emma hauled over from her house. They contained some of the materials and tools left after the renovation works were done. They've been sitting in the corner of the living room for days, waiting for either of us to move them to the basement. We kept avoiding it and now I couldn't be happier about our tardiness when a metal tip sticking out of one of them came into my view. I discretely moved to the side so I wouldn't tip him off, distracting him by asking a question: "Alright, you have me here, what now?"

"Now I keep one of the promises I made to Emilia."

I didn't know what he meant by that, but I wasn't planning on sticking around long enough to find out.

"It's a bit chilly in here, wouldn't you agree?", I exclaimed before I threw myself in the direction of the boxes and grabbed the blowtorch stuck in the box on the top. I flipped the valve open and clicked the button underneath it, lighting it up before I threw it at him, scrambling to my feet as fast as I could and running towards the window since he was blocking the front door. I managed to get one foot out before his fingers closed around my arm. I tried holding on to pretty much anything as he tugged me towards him, causing all of the contents of the shelf I grabbed to tumble on top of me along with my paints that sprayed into my eyes blinding me temporarily.

"You missed boy", he growled above me and I used the sound of his voice to orient, kicking up and managing to hit him.

By the sound of it, he smashed into the window while I slid back, wiping my eyes with my sleeve and grabbing all the tubes of pain I could reach, throwing them at him. With his eyes on me he laughed: "Is that all you got?"

"Not at all", I spat out, letting the Spirit flow through my body. The energy built up in a flash, before I forced it out, watching in shock as it blasted him away. Up until this point levitating and moving things was something that I only managed to do a few times. I've never told anyone I could do it, Lissa and Rose were the only people who saw it once in a council meeting and I never gave it much thought with all that's been going on. But with the adrenaline pumping through my veins I realized I might be capable of more than I thought I was.

As he clawed his way out of the fireplace I concentrated hard, sending the knocked over easel flying his way. The wood broke as it hit his body and he let out an angry cry. I grabbed the edge of the coffee table in an attempt to stand up since the world around me spun wickedly before I felt a piercing pain on my shoulder. Alexei pulled at me as his fangs sunk further into my skin and I screamed trying desperately to shake him off. I fell across the table and the glass broke, digging into my clothes and my face when we tumbled to the ground.

As soon as his weight disappeared I rolled over, twitching as the glass cracked under my back. He stood above me, an ominous look on his face, blood dripping from his chin. My blood. He reached down, picking me up like I was as light as a feather and swinging me into a wall. I felt like somebody sucked the air out of my lungs upon the impact and I crumpled down like a house of cards. He reached up and pulled out a big shard of glass from his shoulder throwing it in front of my feet while he studied the smear of blood left behind me on the wall.

"I admire your resistance. It's futile, but I still admire it", he announced as I peered up through the smoke.

Smoke? One look at the hallway and I could see it was lighter than the rest of the house and the source of the smoke. Blowtorch, shit! As Alexei strolled over to me I tried and failed to stand back up. He kicked me and I curled up, blinking the tears out of my eyes. Every single part of my body was hurting.

"Sadly, as fun as this was, I believe our time together has reached its end", he chuckled coldly as something sharp plunged into my stomach.

An incoherent cry escaped me while I fought to stop the shard of the glass he stabbed me with to cause any more damage, but he jerked it up sending a shockwave of pain through me. I started bleeding heavily and he didn't waste any time. His feet shifted through the fast forming pool of blood on the floor so he could grab me by the collar, after which he dragged me across the ground as I scraped my fingers over the floor desperately, like that might help stop him. He dropped me on the kitchen floor and thrust his fingers into my wound before straightening back up and splashing them on the closest wall. He moved them sharply across it, forming some letters my mind couldn't even register while I fought to stay conscious. I couldn't feel my legs, couldn't lift a damn finger and I felt more and more pain as he kept digging into my stomach.

At some point he leaned over me and pushed something against my lips. I felt some kind of a liquid dripping down my throat before the pain on my neck started again. The last thing I heard before everything faded away was him whispering: "Nighty, night."

Chapter song: Falling inside the black - Skillet

Hey guys, so I decided to give you all a little surprise and finally post the first chapter of the sequel story! Yay! However, you might have to wait for the next update a little longer since I'm way in over my head with studying for my never-ending exams! But they should be all done with by the end of the next week so that's when I'll get back to writing and posting! This chapter was thankfully almost complete so I only had to fix it up a little (during the tiny free time I sometimes have on my hands)!

Also, I'm going to be a part of the VA10thanniversaryproject (because some wonderful people gave me a chance to participate) so that might slow down my update rate here as well, but as soon as I finish my pieces I'll be back to this baby.

Finally, I'd like to state here that this story will be a bit more graphic, if you haven't already noticed, when it comes to blood and gore, and I will continue writing lemons (which will always be additionally marked) so consider yourself warned!

I hope you liked the beginning, thanks for reading and please do review it really means a lot to me! Until the next time,

T!