Okay, I'm in a good mood so I decided to add another chapter today. Don't get used to it. ;)

Richelle Mead owns the characters in this story.

Rose P.O.V.

When I awoke, I was on my knees, my back resting against a concrete wall. Cool metal encased each of my wrists. I pulled the chains binding me to the wall and they clanged loudly. I stood and studied the hooks on the wall and any hope that I had was shot to hell. They looked pretty sturdy. I lifted my head, groaning at the pain and looked around. Nothing. There were no windows, no furniture, no people. I was surrounded by four bare, concrete walls. Well...apart from the wooden door on the wall to my right. The door looked old and weak and I could easily knock it off it's hinges. If only I wasn't chained to a fucking wall, I thought sarcastically.

The nausea I was feeling made it hard for me to think. Strigoi were around. Somewhere outside that door.

I gasped, the events from yesterday crashing back to me. Is Dimitri okay? Where is he? Is he here? Where am I? Why am I here? What about Lissa? How did she take the news?

With that thought, I slipped into her head. What I saw made my chest ache. She was asleep at the moment, but I had rifled through today's events in her mind.

She was absolutely devastated. More so than I ever would have imagined. She was in her room throwing things and screaming and crying. Christian, Eddie, my mom, and Alberta were there trying to console her but she didn't even notice them. She only faintly knew people were in the room, much less trying to talk to her. She was crying out for me, screaming my name. I had seen enough. I didn't want to get all worked up, not in front of my captors. I put my walls up and looked around in my own body.

"My, my. You're awake." A Strigoi only slightly taller than myself walked into the room, throwing the old wooden door open. I was surprised it didn't fly off it's hinges right there.

"Well, y'know." I tried to sound casual, confident. My voice cracked from sleep and a lack of water. "Can't keep me down for long."

He pursed his lips. "That's true. You made quite the impression on our race with your little show yesterday. Some even retreated. You took down twenty-six of us, alone. Unheard of, really. You'd make a great addition to our ranks."

"I'll never become one of you!" I spat. I tried to lunge forward but I only had about a foot of chain. The links weren't giving in, no matter how much I tried.

He walked toward me, gripping my chin tightly. "Not yet, at least. I want information first."

I yanked my face out of his hold. "I'm a novice." I told him. "What the hell would I know that any other Guardian wouldn't?" I growled.

"Ah, yes. You are a novice. A very talented novice, but a novice nonetheless. "

"Oh stop your damn rambling and tell me why I'm here."

He stepped closer, wrapping his dead hand around my throat, pushing me against the wall.

"You will not speak to me with such disrespect."

I choked, gasping for breath. He let go of me. I still didn't respond to him, instead, I waited for him to answer my question.

"I want to know where the Dragomir girl is. You are her soon-to-be-Guardian are you not?"

Lissa. That bastard wanted Lissa. Well, he can't have her! I had to do all I could to protect my best friend and charge. "I am." I confirmed. "And as her Guardian, there is no way in hell I would tell you. I wouldn't do that to her."

He Laughed. It was nothing like Dimitri's laugh which was warm and silky. The Strigoi's laugh bounced off the walls, cold and evil.

"I thought you'd say that. That's why I brought a little leverage."

Fear struck me to the core. I felt cold. They didn't. They couldn't.

They did. Three Strigoi walked into the room, dragging a man along with them. He wasn't fighting. He was too weak. He could barely keep up with them. His brown hair disheveled. Those brown eyes I loved so much met mine. They widened and his lips parted but he didn't speak. He put his Guardian mask back on as best he could, trying not to show them how scared he was for my life. It was something I should be doing. I couldn't let him get hurt because I failed to hide my emotions.

"So what?" I asked. "You brought a Guardian."

He laughed again. "Oh so now you don't care? You fought tooth and nail to get him back to safety in those caves. You expect me to believe that? I am not a fool, Rosemarie Hathaway."

I flinched as the Strigoi forced Dimitri on his knees.

"Now tell me again, where is the last Dragomir?" He sneered, knowing he had the upper hand.

I looked at Dimitri. He looked up at me, defeated. Love in his eyes. He was trying to say goodbye. A tear rolled down my face. He was alive. I had saved him, but this time? This time I couldn't. It wasn't only about him. Or about Lissa. There was a mixture of love, duty, and loyalty. More tears followed. I didn't know what to do. I was conflicted. So I said nothing, still looking at Dimitri. I tried to tell him how much I loved him, how sorry I was, and how happy I was that he was alive. I tried to tell him that I would make sure he got out of this alive even at the price of my own life.

"I'm growing impatient with your lack of an answer." He growled.

I still couldn't speak, my eyes still trained on Dimitri. I was trying to gauge how badly he was hurt. His health overshadowed everything else.

"Fine. I guess I'll have to make you talk." He grabbed a wooden stake from his pocket and walked over to Dimitri.

"No. No, no, no, no! No!" I yelled unable to stop him. I writhed in my chains, trying to get out, trying to save Dimitri.

"I'm dearly sorry, Rosemarie. Did you want to say something about the whereabouts of Vasilisa Dragomir?" He asked, pausing from behind Dimitri.

My face contorted in pain. I can't say anything. Dimitri wouldn't want me to. We were both going to die anyway. No reason Lissa should die with us. The Strigoi took my silence as an answer.

"Very well then." He ripped Dimitri's shirt from the back. Firmly holding the stake in his hand he raked it down Dimitri's skin.

"NO!" I yelled and I cried, but there was nothing I could do. I thrashed and screamed, Mine and Dimitri's pain-filled shouts ringing in my ears. I yelled until I couldn't breathe and passed out once again. This time, I had no idea if they had left Dimitri alive. He might be beaten and bleeding, but he was Dimitri. My other half. My soul. The man who held my heart. The man I had fought an army of Strigoi for. The man I loved. I couldn't let him die. But I couldn't let Lissa die either. Together, they were my life. Without them, I had nothing to live for. I had to do whatever I possibly could to save them both. They were going to be saved. Even if I wasn't alive to see it.