Chapter 1: Death
Rose's POV
I was so drained of blood that I could barely think straight. Dimitri was getting so nervous in his desperation that he'd taken just a little too much blood this time.
"Roza, tell me you want me to awaken you." Dimitri begged.
Dimitri didn't seem to realize that he'd put a little compulsion into that statement. I'd never get out of Galina's Hotel Hell now—because I was weak enough to fall prey to his compulsion.
"Yes, awaken me." I said.
Dimitri smiled in a way that reminded me of his excited smile, except it was tainted by the fact that Strigoi didn't really feel anything. He sank his teeth into me and proceeded to suck me dry. I wouldn't be awake for the part when he fed it back to me. The world started to go black around me.
Lissa's POV
"NO!" I screamed.
"What?!" Christian immediately ignored the fact that we were in class and ran to my side. "What, Lissa?!"
"No, no, no..." I kept repeating.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Ellsworth was substituting for our teacher. "Ms. Dragomir? Mr. Ozera?"
"What's wrong, Lissa?" Christian asked.
"The bond... I could always vaguely feel it..." I mumbled. "It's gone... I can't feel her anymore... Rose is dead."
Christian's eyes widened and the rest of the class' followed. "Liss... Rose can't be dead. She might not succeed on her mission, but she isn't capable of dying. It's not something she'd let happen."
I grabbed Christian's shirt collar. "The only other time I haven't been able to feel the bond was when she was drunk, and even then I knew she was drunk. This time is different... I can't feel her at all."
"Ms. Dragomir... perhaps you should see Headmistress Kirova. She and Rose's mother might want to know about this." Mr. Ellsworth suggested.
He liked Rose. Everyone secretly or not-so-secretly liked Rose. And now she was dead... I started to sob as Christian led me to Kirova's office.