Chapter 1

I lay in my bed, it was night time for us but for humans it was still daylight. The card that I had received from Dimitri sat on my chest, I was deep in thought.

You forgot another lesson: Never turn your back until you know your enemy is dead. Looks like we'll have to go over the lesson again the next time I see you – which will be soon.

Love, D.

Shivering, I pulled the blankets up to my chest and snuggled down deeper in the sheets. I thought I had killed him, hadn't I driven the stake in hard enough? Didn't I get past the ribs? The events of the night on the bridge flooded through my memory regardless on how hard I tried to block them out, everything had happened so fast and his last minute dodge echoed in my mind. Crap. I thought and brought the blankets up past my head, stupid idiot! I saw him fall off the bridge, I saw him collapse and vanish into the rushing river below us.

Now, he was coming after me again and it put everyone I cared about in danger. Again. Mentally slapping myself, I pulled the blankets off my head and looked at the ceiling. I had to form a plan, a plan that allowed me to stay at the Academy and defend it at the same time if the need arose. The conversation I had with Lissa echoed in my head, I asked her if she believed in fairy tales and I came to the conclusion that the only thing I could do to save my beloved Dimitri was to break Victor out of jail.

Feeling sleep evade me, I decided to boot up my laptop and browse the internet for a little bit. I opened my emails to find one from an unknown sender, curious I opened it up.

I hear you have a couple of problems on your hands; I can help change that if you wish for it to happen. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

~ M.G.

I read those two sentences again, who was this and how did they know about my situations? They had Mason's initials. Was it possible? No, I had seen him vanish when he was finally at peace. What could this person possibly do? Were they bluffing? Thinking about the danger possibly behind it, I typed out a reply.

First off, how do you know about my problems and who are you?

~ R.H.

I closed my emails, seeing nothing else was important and was about to go sneak into the cafeteria when my computer beeped at me signalling another email. Frowning, I went back to her computer to look. If it was the Mystery person, I was going to scream. Who'd reply that quickly?

Opening the email, she sighed instead of the scream.

I'm sorry I freaked you out; let's just say I have a vibe for these things.

I paused, could this person be a spirit user? I looked at my window to see the curtains open, feeling self conscious I jumped up and closed them. I might have been an almost graduated guardian but I could still feel skittish about some creepy person with a vibe emailing me.

I know everything that goes on at the Academy, I'm sorry you lost your love. If I was around I could've stopped it but since I wasn't needed, I didn't show up.

Creepy person say what? I mentally screamed, terrified yet eager to read the rest of the email. I quickly stood and turned on the light, pulling on a hoodie and a pair of jeans because I had a cold flush.

I know you want him back, and fear not young one. All will be right.

~ M.G.

My head swam, who in the world was it? Only those important knew about me and Dimitri, it couldn't have been my father and it couldn't have been the others. Frowning, I glanced at the box that was hidden under my dirty laundry pile where the silver stake resided.

"This is so creepy," I muttered and ran a hand through my long hair. I use to say I don't believe in ghosts but since knowing I'm shadow-kissed and connected to the underworld… well my opinion has been more open minded. Maybe there was a force out there that thought Dimitri and I were supposed to be together?

I will admit, I'm really creeped out. When are you going to appear? I need to know if you're an enemy or a friend.

~ R.H.

I switched off my computer, eyed the box under the laundry pile and left the room. I snuck past the night guard and snuck across the campus to the cafeteria kitchens, I had a craving for some French fries and a burger. I ducked threw a doorway and ran up the stairs, I stooped low in the shadows around the back way and came to the locked door. Kneeling, I pulled a bobby pin out from my fringe and stuck it in the lock. Jiggling and twisting the doorknob, it opened with a click and I slipped inside.

"Well that was…" I started to say to myself as I realized I wasn't the only one in the kitchens, instantly going on the defence. A shadow was leaning against the counter, a girl if the silhouette was correct. I felt my body tense up but the nausea hadn't appeared so they were not a threat to me or the academy.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" I asked, attack moves going through my head as I circled around them as I searched for the lights.

"Why, I'm here because you need me to be." The voice said, it was soft and harmonious. I stopped short, could this be the creeper? I thought, very much scared. I made sure there was at least a bit of furniture between us as my fingers closed around the light switch. I flicked on the light and wondered if my eyes were playing pranks on me again from the lack of sleep.

"What the?" I started, "Looking for me?" the voice came again, and I jumped out of my skin. I moved away as quick as lightning, they were standing directly next to me.

I turned around to find a girl, about sixteen standing in front of me. She had long dark hair, deep brown eyes and tanned skin. She was not a Moroi girl, she had curves in places they didn't. Dhampir girl perhaps? I thought, putting the kitchen's counters between us again.

"Who are you and what do you want?" I demanded, wondering if the headmistress knew about this person being in the school… how I could alert the Guardians while keeping an eye on this person was proving to be difficult.

"You're obviously not a human, Dhampir, Guardian or Moroi and Strigoi is definitely out of the question." I said, my eyes hard and my Guardian mask clearly plastered on my face.

"Well, I'm here because you needed me to be. Rosemarie Hathaway."