ROSE's POV

I felt weird when I woke up. It took me a minute to figure out why. I tried to think back to the last thing I remembered. I got a brief flash of Lissa's taillights disappearing around the bend while I fought off a pack of Strigoi. I wondered if she'd made it back to Court.

And that's when it hit me. That's what was weird. I was just kind of mildly curious about what had happened to Lissa. No panic, no overwhelming desire to rush to her side and make sure she was okay. Just sort of wondering what had happened.

I started to sit up carefully, expecting to be bruised and sore from my fight. But as I moved I realized that nothing hurt. Not even a little. I bounded across the room to a mirror. Even seeing the pale skin and red eyes, it still took me a minute to realize that I was Strigoi. Huh. I bared my teeth to study my new fangs. They felt a little weird in my mouth. I guess newly awakened Moroi didn't have that problem.

I could kind of remember how much I hated the thought of being turned, back when I was a dhampir. It was a little like trying to remember a dream. I knew my old self would consider my new self a monster, but I wasn't disgusted. I wasn't scared or sad either. Instead I was...irritated, I realized. I had lost. I understood now the huge favor that Dimitri had tried to do me by giving me the time to be awakened voluntarily. It was insulting to have been overpowered and forced into this new form.

I waited for that pang of longing for Dimitri to hit me, but it didn't come. I knew that he'd be devastated when he heard the news, but I just didn't care. He'd probably come try to put me out of my misery. I'd have to kill him. I didn't look forward to that fight, but I wasn't dreading it either. It was more like an unpleasant chore that I knew I'd have to do sooner or later.

My thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and a Strigoi entering. I recognized him as the one who had awakened me. "Ah, good, you're up." He smiled at me, a cold smile without a trace of warmth in it. It matched his dead eyes. "How are you feeling?"

I considered his question for a minute. "Hungry," I decided.

His smile widened. "Then you'll like what I brought you." With a wave of his hand he brought another Strigoi into the room who was leading a human.

My eyes instantly fastened on the human's neck. I could smell the blood in his veins. If I'd thought I was hungry before, it was nothing compared to the raging thirst that burned in me now. I barely even heard the Strigoi chuckling as I dove across the room and buried my fangs in the human's neck.

The most wonderful taste I'd ever known exploded onto my tongue. I gulped his blood down greedily. After a few minutes, the second Strigoi tried to pull me back, but the first one stopped him. "Let her enjoy herself," he said. "We can always find more humans."

And I did enjoy myself. I drained that human dry, tilting my head back to savor the last few drops of his blood rolling down my throat. With a long sigh of satisfaction I looked back to the first Strigoi. "Who are you?" I asked.

He was smiling proudly at me. "Oh, you are magnificent. You can call me Master."

Okay, that was going to get old real fast. I cocked my head as I studied my "master." He was taller than me, and slender, obviously a Moroi before his awakening. I was used to being stronger than any Moroi, but that didn't count for anything now. He was old, very old, and I knew he could tear me apart without even trying. But that wouldn't last forever. Someday I'd be ready to challenge him. For now, I could play along.

"So what now, Master?"

"Now we awaken the queen. She's just lost her most valuable protector."

Despite the huge amount of blood I'd just drank, the thought made me feel hungry again. "I want to do it," I said.

He chuckled. "Maybe. If you've learned some control by then." He indicated the body at our feet.

The other Strigoi stirred impatiently. "She's brand new," he grumbled.

"You're right, Derek," Master agreed, "she has not yet earned that privilege. We'll see who's worthy. In two weeks we take the queen. Whoever has the most kills between now and then gets the honor of awakening her."

I grinned at the prospect. "Perfect," I breathed.

"Two weeks is awfully soon," Derek worried. "The queen will have extra protection after this last attack."

"Twice we've tried and twice we've failed," Master said. "Because of her." He pointed at me. "But now that she's on our side, we're guaranteed to win."

"It's still not going to be that easy," Derek protested. "She's a good fighter, but not good enough to make that much of a difference."

"Yes I am," I told him. "Besides, it's not just about how I fight, it's what I know. I know Lissa and her guardians. I know their plans. I know their backup plans. I know their emergency plans for when their backup plans fail. They can't stay ahead of me for long."

In fact, as I thought about killing my best friend, I was almost disappointed how easy it would be. Poor Lissa didn't stand a chance.