You guys have been asking about Adrian so here he is! :) I hope you like it!

If you love something, set it free; if it comes back it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was.
-Richard Bach

Dimitri was driving faster than Mikhail did the day he helped sneak us out of court, and I decided to watch what was happening through Lissa, which would be a lot better than seeing the blackness of the trunk. I didn't like being confined to this trunk, it reminded me of my jail cell, and although I didn't spend a lot of time in there, I could end up in one for a long time, until my death even.

I easily went into Lissa's head, watching what she was seeing. We were speeding through court, fast enough to get away in a hurry but not fast enough to attract too much attention. We were passing the royal housing when we saw him. Adrian.

Lissa spotted his aura just as we passed his house. He was sitting outside on a wooden bench, with a pair of designer sunglasses on. He had a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and an almost empty bottle of vodka sitting beside him.

Adrian had spotted the car before Lissa had seen him, and he was already taking his sunglasses off to get a better look at the people inside. His eyes briefly rested on Lissa, before they turned to glare at Dimitri. I had never seen him looking at anyone with that amount of hatred before in my life.

He can't see you, he can't see you. He can't possibly know what I'm doing. I panicked. I knew that he would eventually find out, but I was hoping he find out with the rest of court, hopefully when we were hundreds of miles away. I didn't want him to follow us. Judging by the way he just kept sitting there, staring at the car as it passed by, getting further and further away, he wasn't going to. I let out a quick sigh of relief.

I instantly felt like shit. Here I was escaping from the court with my ex-boyfriend and best friends, while my boyfriend sat outside trying to ease the pain that the past couple of days had caused him. The pain that I caused him.

I didn't deserve him. Ever since Dimitri returned I had caused Adrian pain, and when his aunt got murdered, that caused him even more pain. I knew there was only so much that I could do before Adrian stopped forgiving me for all the pain. He said that he could never hate me, and I did pick him, but that was because Dimitri had said he didn't love me anymore.

Love fades.

But if Dimitri ever gave me the chance to be with him again, I don't t know what I would do. I needed Adrian in my life, and I thought I loved him, but I did love Dimitri. Every part of me loved Dimitri, and every part of me needed him.

Adrian looks so sad. Lissa said, speaking to me through the bond. I wish there was something we could do to help him.

Me too. I thought, hating the one sided bond.

We finally made it to the front gate, when Dimitri spoke. He was the first to break the silence since locking me in the trunk, and everyone was nervous about what was about to come. If they found me in the trunk, it was most likely lead to a fight.

"Lissa," Dimitri said, "let's try talking to the guard first and if that doesn't work you can use your compulsion on him."

Lissa nodded, after the ordeal she went through earlier she was still feeling tired and worn out, but was fairly sure she could compel the guard to open the gate, if not she knew Mia could help.

Dimitri rolled down his window as the guardian came running up to the car. "What are you doing?" He shouted. "No one can go in or out!"

Dimitri, using his instructor voice, stayed calm. "It's an emergency. We need to get out."

"I don't care," the man said, his voice rising even more, "not only is the queen dead but that Hathaway girl is missing!" The man then seemed to realize who he was talking to, and register everyone in the car. "Wait a minute…you're her best friend and you…" his eyes were flicking between Dimitri and Lissa "you were, are, her instructor."

I couldn't believe that I had only been out of my cell for thirty minutes and they already realized that I was missing! These guys worked fast, and if we didn't get out of here soon there was a good chance that we were going to get caught. I didn't even want to think about all the trouble everyone was going to be in because of me.

"Lissa," Dimitri said his voice barely above a whisper.

When the guy locked eyes with Lissa she used every ounce of her energy to compel him. "We need you to open the gate, now."

The man just looked at her, neither obeying nor moving to obey. "Didn't you hear me-"before he finished his sentence the compulsion started to work its magic, and his eyes glazed over.

"Just do it! Now! Then forget you ever saw us."

Finally, after several moments of hesitation, the man moved to open the gate. Dimitri floored the gas, speeding away from court as fast as the car would move. He didn't stop until the gates were well out of sight, then he pulled over roughly. He popped the trunk, and then he came to help me out, even going as far as lending me a hand. My heart started to swell, I was so thankful for him and everyone in the car. They were risking a lot, and they didn't even know why. They had so much faith in me.

"Roza," he breathed, "were you okay back there."

I nodded, and he let go of my hand. Roza. He called me Roza! My heart was practically singing.

I slid into the backseat, taking Mia's seat and forcing her into the middle seat. "I hate being in the middle," she complained, "especially on long car rides."

"I hate being in the trunk," I said and Mia rolled her eyes, "next time you can ride back there."

"What now?" Christian asked.

That was a really good question. When I talked to Sydney she said that the bank accounts were sat up in Las Vegas, and the man at the casino had told us as much. Las Vegas sounded like a reasonable place to start but…there were records with the alchemist. Even though the paper copies were stolen, they had everything stored digitally. Getting access to those records could help us get closer to Lissa's half sibling. I had asked Sydney if I could know the details, and she had said no, but maybe if I was down there, begging her or forcing her, she would give them to me. After all she wanted to please Abe, and even if she didn't hand them over there were other ways to get a copy, like breaking in which I seemed to be doing a lot of lately.

"We need to get on a flight to New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" Christian asked, a smirk coming over his face, "We already missed Mardi Gras, Rose."

"You forgot, Fire boy, the party follows us, we don't follow the party."

A few hours later we were in the air flying to New Orleans. I was careful not to use my card to pay for anything; I didn't want to leave a trail for Adrian to follow. Christian, Mia and Lissa sat in front of Dimitri and I. I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I sat down, and as soon as my eyes drifted shut, Adrian was with me.

He didn't bring me anywhere fancy, and he didn't dress me. We were sitting on the bench in front of his house at court, and it was nighttime. The night sky was twinkling with a million burning stars; the moon was full and glowing. You would think that since we lived at night we would get tired of the majestic beauty of the night, and I did miss the sun, but the night never lost its magic.

"Little Dhampir." Adrian's voice was soft and gentle against the night breeze. "What have you done?"

"I'm doing something that will help Lissa, something that will give her the power she deserves!"

"Did that mean you had to break out of jail while you are on trial for killing my aunt?" This time Adrian's voice wasn't gentle, it was harsh and accusing.

"Something's can't wait! I have to do this for Lissa!" I started playing with the Nazar around my neck, my eyes falling to the ground.

"You're with him aren't you." It didn't sound like a question, it was more accusatory, but I felt the need to answer it anyway.

"Yes but-" I began, but he cut me off.

"But what? Why didn't you come to me? Don't you think I want to help you?" His voice was harsher, his words cutting deep into my skin.

"He came to me." I whispered.

"Of course he did, Belikov to the rescue!" Adrian said.

"Stop that! He's just trying to help!"

"Don't you know that I need you right now Rose? My aunt was just murdered, and you're the prime suspect! I need you!" Adrian was right, he needed me. I knew he was hurting, and I just left, not even thinking about how that would hurt him too.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, standing up and going to him. I threw my arms around his neck, and drew him closer to me. His kissed my neck, then brought his lips up to mine, kissing me gently. I pulled back and looked at him, "but Lissa needs me too."

"I know." Adrian whispered, kissing me on the forehead. "I just wish you were here, with me."

"I wouldn't technically be with you," I teased, "I'd be locked in a jail cell."

"I'd still feel better if you were near."

"I know," I whispered, "I miss you too."

"I love you little Dhampir." His eyes were so sincere, so devoted and loving. The more time I spent with Dimitri, the more I realized that I really didn't deserve Adrian, and I knew that in the end I was going to hurt him so bad that our relationship would be damaged forever, and the thought made me sad.

With that Adrian left my dream, allowing me to return back to my own dreams. When I woke up I was leaning against Dimitri's shoulder, his duster thrown over me to keep me warm. Almost the same way I woke up on the day of the mall trip, when we were falling in love. The plane was descending into New Orleans, and I was feeling more confused than ever.

"Lissa," I said, leaning over the seat and whispering into her ear, "I need you to make another charm for me.'

"What kind?" She asked, already reaching into her bag to bring out some silver.

"One that won't allow Adrian into my dreams."

She nodded and got to work charming another little ring. I hated doing that, especially when I knew how bad it was going to make him feel, but I needed time to think.

I realized that I was still wrapped up in Dimitri's coat, and brought it up to my nose, breathing in his wonderful scent. I missed a lot of things when Dimitri was a Strigoi, but one of the things I missed the most was his scent. I looked up and saw Dimitri looking at me, his eyes shinning with an emotion that hadn't been in them in a long, long time.

"Thank you, comrade." I said, handing him back his coat.

"You're welcome," he whispered, his accent lovely and deep.

When the plane landed we checked into a hotel. We had to get two rooms, Dimitri took one room and we took the other. As soon as we were in the room I made a call to the only person I knew in New Orleans.

"Sydney, I'm in New Orleans and I need your help."

Please review! Pretty please with a sexy russian on top ;)
-Tay