I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter. I think we're all pretty smart here. And since we all have the same purpose here, to partake in excellent fandoms and exchange harmless stories about our favorite characters, I hate putting disclaimers because you'd have to be stupid to think someone would be profiting from this or is doing this for a bad reason. With that said, I think it's pretty sad we still have to put them on for legal issues. It makes no sense since the owners of these contents haven't said "no, you guys can't do this" or "we're going to sue". So in conclusion, this is your disclaimer. Make out of it what you will.

Rose POV

The plane ride to Court was a bitch. As soon as the plane took off I was surrounded by ghosts. It wouldn't have been so bad if they were just random ghosts. No. They had to be ghosts from my past. Literally.

The normal faces appeared: Lissa's family and, of course, Mason. But there were others I knew. People I met at the academy. Some were my friends. Others were my teachers. And they all wanted revenge because I couldn't save them.

Okay, so maybe they didn't want revenge. They couldn't hurt me if they wanted to. All they could really do was freak me out and give me the worst fucking migraine ever, but it still felt like they wanted revenge. They all looked so sad… Mason being the worst. He still wore the clothes from that night, blood still everywhere and his eyes had the same scared expression.

The ghosts swirled above me, tormenting me in every way they could. This is one of the few things I hate about being shadowkissed. The other is being pulled into Lissa's head at very inappropriate times. But when that happens I just have to deal with it, just like I have to deal with this. It might be crazy as hell and it might feel like they're trying to kill me, but it happens. Welcome to life.

I look over at Vlad, who is sitting right beside me in the window seat, and am surprised to find him staring right back at me. We haven't flown much. There wasn't a real reason for us to. Even though he hasn't seen this, he knew what was going on. I've never had the courage to ask him, but I think he inherited some of the side effects from being shadowkissed. I know he can't sense Lissa or anything, but maybe some of the smaller things. I can't be sure, but I think he can see them, too. The ghosts. But before I could even ask him he grabs my hand and begins to comfort me with soothing words.

My son. What would I do without him?

Our plane lands not a moment too soon. Those damn ghosts could finally leave me alone.

"You okay?" Vlad asks quietly as we walk into the airport.

"Yeah. I'm fine," is my great lame reply. I knew my son was scanning the area just like I was and in that moment I couldn't be prouder. He's going to be the best guardian one day. Even better than me or Dimitri. I can't help but smile at that. Dimitri would be so proud if he knew. The thought makes me want to cry. But I don't. Not here. "We've been up for over 24 hours. I don't know about you, but I need some coffee." Vlad's grin grows two sizes. His love of coffee is almost stronger than mine. Almost.

I hand him some cash and tell him to go buy us some from a nearby coffee shop while I get our bags. On my way back with the bags I find the guardian sent from Court to get us.

This is going to be fun.

Not.

"Hathaway," he says in his serious, deadpan guardian voice.

I reply in the same way. "Stan." He shoots me a look of mock hurt and I just smirk back. "Why did they send you? What could you have done that was so bad you got stuck with airport duty?"

"Nothing. They just thought you might run."

"Me? Run? Never!" I give him my famous Hathaway smile and he actually laughs.

"I've got better things to do with my time, Hathaway. Let's go."

"Wait. I'm forgetting something." I pat my pockets. Phone: check. Wallet: check. Bags: Check. What am I forgetting?

"I don't have time for this."

Vlad. That's what I'm missing. "A sixteen year old." Stan looks at me like I'm crazy. "I'm missing my sixteen year old." As if on cue, Vlad walks over and hands me my coffee. "I'm ready."

Stan just looks at Vlad. "Belikov? What are you doing here?"

"I'm not Belikov," my son replies. Poor boy. He's going to get called that a lot.

"Vlad, this is Guardian Alto," I introduced. "Stan, this is Vladimir." Stan looks between me and Vlad for a few moments. He doesn't ask any questions. We finally leave.

This is going to be a long day.

The car ride back to Court wasn't too bad. Vlad asked Stan a bunch of questions about guardian procedures at Court and Stan helpfully and happily answered them. Looks like he finally found a Hathaway that would listen to his dull instruction.

When we finally got to Court Vlad got out of the car first. My hand was on the door handle when I ask, "Is he here?"

Stan looks at me, contemplating his answer. I'm pretty sure he was wondering if I would punch him if he told me the truth. Finally, he responds, "Yes. Belikov's here somewhere. Probably on duty right now." I nod, not knowing what I should think. My hand was on the door handle again when I heard him ask the question I've been dreading the most. "Does he know?"

"Not yet."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"It's going to be a bit hard to hide it from him, don't you think? They're bound to run into each other at some point. But I will tell him as soon as I can." Stan nods in what I think is approval before we get out of the car.

The next chapter will have Lissa's reaction. Stay tuned.