Chapter 1

Rose Pov

I was on my way back to St. Vladimir's Academy after three years hunting Strigoi in Russia. I was a Goddess. I was as fast and strong as any of the undead. I had put myself through training that probably would have killed anyone else. I worked on my own. No way was I putting anyone else in that kind of danger. I didn't mind. I would never kill myself. That was cowardly, but if I was taken out by a bunch of Strigoi, I wouldn't have a problem. After all, you can't be scared of death if you have nothing to live for.

I had kept in touch with Lissa and Adrian. I never told them why I left or where I was, but I took all the darkness from Lissa and let them know I was alive. I saw Abe occasionally and I was glad. But to ruin my self-imposed isolation, the last group of Strigoi I took out gave me some information before I killed them. Under torture of course. They had no souls, though, so I didn't feel guilty. Especially when the information they gave was that their boss, some big bad Strigoi, was planning on attacking the Academy when the queen arrived for her annual visit. That was when I showed emotion for the first time since I left America. I was furious. Unfortunately, I killed the last member of that particular group. There went my informant. But I had enough to know that I had to get my ass to the States. Now.

So there I was, on my dad's private jet, headed to Montana. I used my cell phone to contact the main desk at the Academy. Someone picked up. "Hello? This is St. Vladimir's Academy. Can I help you?" The voice was female.

"This is Rachel Mazur. I will be landing at the airstrip in two hours. The sun should have risen by then, so you won't have to worry about me being a Strigoi. I believe you were informed of my arrival?" My voice was formal and icy. Inflectionless. Emotionless.

The person on the other end of the phone line answered excitedly "We were told that there would be another Guardian coming, but not that it was Rachel Mazur! You're a legend!"

"Thank you," my voice didn't sound grateful. It showed no feeling, just like I had sounded since I had my heart broken, "I will be at the gates at six thirty." I hung up. It was rude, but I simply didn't care. I wasn't angry at Dimitri anymore. I just didn't feel anything towards him. There were very few people I trusted with my heart, and he had lost his chance long ago. I still loved a few people, but I didn't wear my heart on my sleeve. I wasn't a naïve seventeen year old girl any more. I was a legend, the best fighter our world had ever seen. I could take on groups of up to twenty Strigoi at once. My neck had so many Molnija tattoos that it had run out of space. They also covered my shoulders and upper back. I had more than a thousand. I was an ice-cold killer on the outside, and it took a lot to make me feel anything, let alone show it.

Dimitri Pov

The Academy was in a frenzy. They were excited about the Queen being here, but this was unwarranted. I stopped a Guardian who was rushing past. It happened to be Stan Alto. "What's happened? Why is everyone so….. excited?"

"You know that we were expecting another Guardian to arrive? Well, she just phoned to say she'll be here at six thirty. And she let slip that she's Rachel Mazur! The girl is a killing machine. They say her marks are on her back as well as her neck, because she has so many. You're badass, but she makes you look like a kid playing. They say she's as fast as any Strigoi. And I have to go. It's half five and I need to finish something. I want to be there when she arrives!"

With that, he walked off. He was practically skipping. If only Rose could see it. Rose. I don't know what I was thinking that day. I lied to her face. As if I could ever not love her. Then she disappeared without a trace. She left notes for Lissa, Christian, Adrian (I ground my teeth), Eddie and Guardian Hathaway. They never knew why she left. Lissa and Adrian told us all that she was alright, but they didn't know where she was. She would have loved to see Rachel Mazur. She would have idolized her.

I needed to get my thoughts off Rose, so I went to the gym. I spent half an hour in there, then went to shower and get dressed to meet my new colleague. I put on jeans and a T-shirt, the grabbed my duster on my way out the door. I headed down and got to the car park five minutes early. I had never seen the area so full of people. They were whispering to each other in anticipation. It wasn't just the Guardians who were here. There were all the novices and Moroi students, as well as most of the Moroi teachers and even the Royals who were here with Lissa. I made my way to the front of the crowd. The mob parted for me. Those who didn't know me were probably intimidated by my height, whereas those who did know me knew my height was my least frightening feature. As Stan had said, I was a badass and had the reputation that goes with.

At six thirty exactly, the gates opened and a black limo came slowly up the drive. At least she was punctual. When the limo stopped, the door opened and out stepped Abe Mazur. I was shocked and it takes a lot to catch me off guard. Everyone else fell silent. As Mr Mazur held their attention, a young woman slid out gracefully. She had long dark hair, drawn back brutally into a ponytail, tanned skin and brown eyes. She was about 5ft 5" and had an emotionless face. She stood there, blending in the way only the best Guardians know how to. But Guardians also notice everything. "Roza…." I whispered, my voice rough from the pain in my chest. I didn't spare a thought for the absent Rachel Mazur. I just stood there frozen.

Then another, female, voice shouted, "Rose! Is that really you? Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in ages! I can't believe you're really here!"

It was Lissa, of course. Her shout broke the eerie silence of the rest of the crowd. They started murmuring while she ran forward to hug her best friend. Rose hugged her back and I could see the emotion in her eyes.

Stan had to ruin the moment, of course. "Hathaway! What are you doing here? Where's Rachel Mazur?"

Instead of the sarcastic comment I was expecting, she simply replied with, "You're looking at her." She really had changed. The Rose I knew would have made a witty quip, making Stan lose his temper. This one answered questions calmly and emotionlessly. I wondered what had made her this way, before I realised. Oh. This was my fault. I broke her heart and she did this to protect it. I felt my already much abused heart splinter once again. And it was all my fault.

Stan's eyes bugged at that. The student he had always cared about, but pushed harder than the others because of it, was now the Guardian he idolized. "Prove it." He commanded.

She shrugged and turned around, taking off her jacket. She was wearing a vest with thin spaghetti straps that showed her neck….. and back. Both were covered with Molnijas. There had to be more than a thousand there. Stan was right; she made me look like a little kid. She was seven years younger than me, but she had ten times more kills than I could ever hope to make. I couldn't reconcile my image of Rose, with her volatile temper and passion for everything she did, with this emotionless woman in front of me.

The whole crowd gasped at her back. She turned around again, put her jacket back on and said that she was going to the gym. "I missed my training today, seeing as I was on a jet." With that, she grabbed her bags out of the limo and declined Abe's offer to carry them. I was surprised that he had offered. He seemed to slightly less ruthless than his reputation made him out to be. Or he could be polite when he wanted to. I was going to go with the last one

Rose walked up to her room after saying 'hi' to all the people she knew before she left. Me included. She didn't treat me any different to everyone else. I was glad she didn't seem to be angry at me, but it was unnerving. It was like she didn't feel anything.

When we arrived at the gym (I was in the throng of people anxious to see her train) she started to stretch. Most of the people watching were boys; even emotionless, she was stunning, and the workout clothes showed all her curves. She ignored all of us and started running, like we used to do every morning before classes; only now, instead of stopping at twelve laps, she carried on, never out of breath, until she hit sixty. Everyone was gaping at her. That was more than I had ever seen anyone run and she ran it fast without her heart rate changing. Then she started doing two hundred push ups and another two hundred sit ups.

When she was done, she walked over to where the dummies were placed against the wall. She pulled out her stake and attacked them with a vengeance. Damn, she was fast. Her movements blurred and the rumours were true. She was as fast as any Strigoi I've ever seen.

Rose put her stake away and selected a punching bag. She hit it repeatedly, so hard that the chain that held it to the ceiling broke after about half an hour. She moved onto another one, going at them for two hours. Finally she turned to see us staring at her in awe. Her breathing still hadn't changed one bit. "Who wants to spar?"