Author's Note:

Hi all, part two is here! Remember this is from Rose's POV.

Note: When a character is talking in a different language (i.e. Turkish or Russian) I have simply left the words written in English, but they will be in italics. I prefer not to write in a different language's alphabet/characters as I feel it can disrupt a story with trying to figure out the translation. I hope I haven't made it complicated to read.

Disclaimer: There will be a lemon and confronting scenes of injury/death. Please continue reading with caution.

- RCap

He lay tangled in the sheets with one arm behind his head. His biceps were flexed and taut. I had to suppress a moan just at the sight of him. His chest was bare, and the sheet only covered his lower body loosely, almost like an invitation.

"What are you doing awake?" I smiled, closing the door behind me.

I wasn't expecting Dimitri to be awake, I was hoping that he would still be asleep, so I could have pretended I never left, but I was somewhat glad he was awake. I removed my coat and draped it over the small couch that was in my room.

Just coming back from my rendezvous with Alex, I was a little tense. We had been discussing the details of the hit on Tasha and it was silently killing me inside.

I'd attempted to put up a strong face in front of Alex and Baba but deep down I had been doubting the reasoning for Tasha's impending death. I didn't think she deserved to die, but it was my job and I had already agreed to its terms.

It hurt a lot more than I let on. I didn't like showing my true feelings to anyone, not even my own flesh and blood. I had opened up to Dimitri about my deal with Jerome and now I felt like I could let him down.

I had never been afraid of letting people down before him. People were afraid of letting me down. I was their boss. I'd never even been in love until Dimitri came into my life and the feeling had hit me like a ton of bricks. Every time he disapproved of something I did, it was like someone cutting into me with a knife. It brought me physical pain to disappoint him, to let him down.

I settled down on the bed next to him and he sat up so that his face was close with mine.

"Waiting for you to come back," he whispered as he played with the locks of my hair that were falling forward.

I wanted to tell him how much I hated that we were being told to kill Tasha. I wanted to tell him everything that was going through my head. I didn't want to leave him in the dark about anything anymore.

I opened my mouth to reveal every dark thing I held hidden in my mind, all the horrible crimes I had committed and kept stored deep down where I couldn't access them. But he stopped me.

His lips came hard against mine and took all the breath out of me. Everything I had wanted to say disappeared from my mind and left only him remaining. I returned the kiss just as hard as he had begun it. His hands became trapped in my hair and he pulled me closer to him, I didn't resist.

He pulled me down so that I straddled him and skilfully removed my top in a single motion. Unclasping my bra, he threw the fabric far from us and began showering my breasts with kisses.

I threw my head back in pleasure and wrapped my fingers in his hair, holding his head against my chest. The feel of his tongue and teeth under the delicate flesh was like heaven. No one had ever set me this alight as much as he did. I ground my hips into him and felt his chest rumble with a groan of appreciation.

He rolled us over and began working on my jeans. Undoing the button and zipper and pulling them down swiftly, his hands leaving trails of fire against my skin. He returned to my line of slight and his fingers played with the lace of my panties. I had a sudden desire to be in control though.

I hitched my leg around his waist and used my body weight to flip us so that I was straddling him again. Smiling down at his look of shock, I placed my hands on his chest and ground myself into him again, earning another growl from him.

"Is this okay?" I whispered sweetly, feeling him grow underneath me.

"Depends," he growled in Russian as he got a grip on the underside of my panties "Did you need these?"

I didn't know what was hotter. Him talking in Russian or the feel of his fingers at my core. His words rolled off his tongue and gave me shivers. I shook my head, giving him the go ahead and letting him rip the panties off my body. The seams teared under his fingers and he was able to throw them away, so they joined my other clothes on the floor.

He traced his fingers along my core, letting them slip into me occasionally as I moaned in approval. I didn't want to play anymore though.

I shifted my hips so that he was at my entrance and slowly lowered myself onto him until I reached the hilt. He was like a missing piece to a puzzle, a puzzle that was my body. I felt complete with him in me, like he had been made just for me.

Both of us moaned with pleasure. I began slowly moving my hips and he matched my rhythm perfectly. He sat up and used his left arm to support both our weights while also arching his hips forward. His other hand gripped the nape of my neck and pulled me in for a deep kiss. Both of our breathing was ragged as our bodies slammed together and I could feel the heat of his body radiate through my own.

When I looked into his eyes it wasn't lust that I saw, it was love and admiration. He regarded me like he was a loyal servant and I was his master. The love in his eyes made me melt and I could feel my body continue to burn under his touch.

There was something obviously different about Dimitri that drew me towards him. I had only ever been with two other men in my life; Adrian was the only Moroi out of now three men. Dimitri's touch was different than the others. I never got tired of the feel of his lips or his fingertips on my body nor did I feel bored or neglected while with him.

I was coming to my climax fast and hard, I could feel him throb inside me as he too was giving in, but even though it seemed as he was close, I had a feeling he wasn't done with me quite yet. After a few more hard strokes I found my entire body begin to shake and convulse with my orgasm.

"Dimitri" I cried out as he didn't let up, he still pounded into me with the same force and low growls emitted from deep in his throat. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me as I rode out my orgasm. His arm must have given out under our weight, because we were soon hitting the mattress, I didn't have a chance to catch my breath before he was rolling us over so that he was on top of me again.

I flashed him my most seductive smile before feeling him against my inner thighs again. He slammed back into me and I couldn't stop the cry of pleasure that came from within me. I was already rubbed raw from our earlier encounter, but the line between pleasure and pain was beginning to blur once again.

I was taken by surprise when he grasped the ankle of my leg that was wrapped around his waist and placed it over his shoulder. I'd been in a similar position before but it hadn't done much for my level of pleasure, with Dimitri however is was very different, with a single stroke I was blinded with pleasure.

Dimitri was getting deeper and deeper and his speed meant a second orgasm for me was defiantly on the cards. My moans escaped from me involuntary and they filled the room along with the sounds of our skin connecting and his low grunting.

"Oh, fuck Dimitri" I managed to yell as my second orgasm began racking my entire body. I felt waves of energy from the top of my body all the way down to my toes, and as my body came back down to earth, I felt Dimitri tense up and climax himself.

"You are amazing Rose" he whispered in my ear again in Russian as he collapsed on top of me.

After a few moments, he rolled off me and we laid on our backs side by side.

"That was different" I finally murmured once I had full control of my breathing.

I saw him face me with his brows furrowed and a confused look on his face. He must have thought from my comment that I didn't enjoy myself.

I quickly fixed my sentence, "Earlier it was like making love, it was passionate" I said, remembering how careful he had been with me for our first time together and how loving he was. I felt a shiver go through me as I remembered the feel of him inside me for the first time.

"It was passionate. This though..." I paused slightly and chuckled under my breath "This was fucking" I turned to face him fully and smiled winningly.

He kissed my temple and huskily murmured in my ear "Sleep milaya. You've had a big night"

The huskiness of his voice made my skin shiver and brought a smile to my face. He pulled the soft duvet over us and brought me closer to him.

I loved this man, and I was about to kill his friend tonight.

I didn't want to ruin this moment so I laughed softly and kept the smile on my face as he hugged me tightly against his warm body.

I woke up a few hours later to the faint sound of my phone buzzing on the floor. I peeked my head up and looked to where Dimitri had discarded my clothes earlier, finding my phone screen alight with a message. I knew it would be Alex texting me that he was waiting for me, I didn't want to leave Dimitri like this though. I didn't want to leave in the middle of the night while he was sleeping and then return later. But I had to get this done. One last job, and then no more. I was done after this.

I slipped out of his hold and pulled on a fresh pair of panties as well as my discarded jeans and bra that had been on the floor. I squinted and looked over the floor in the near complete darkness attempting to find my top, tripping over one of my heels in the process.

"Fuck" I muttered while kicking the shoe out of the way.

"Where are you going Roza?" I heard Dimitri ask in a low voice.

I sighed and closed my eyes, admitting defeat. The whole room lit up with the orange glow of the bedside lamp. I stood up to see Dimitri sitting up in the bed, the sheet covering his lower body.

"Where are you going?" he asked again. I looked down to avoid his eyes and found my shirt from before. I leant down, scooping it off the ground and pulled it quickly over my head and fanned my hair out behind me.

"I'm sorry Dimitri," I mumbled.

He knew what I was talking about; I didn't need to tell him where I was going or what I was doing because he knew exactly what it was. The horrified look in his eyes was enough to tell me how he was feeling, and it broke me in half.

I had to look away, if I continued looking at the expression on his face I would probably break down. So, I looked away and resumed dressing. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail and slipped my heels on, as I grabbed my coat from the couch I dared one final look at the man in my bed before leaving. I shouldn't have, it only broke me into more pieces than before.

I looked down as I closed the door behind me, taking a deep breath before heading for Alex and Vasili's room. I looked down the hallway to find them both waiting a few doors down from my own room. I internally cursed when I saw the look in Alexei's eyes, this wasn't going to be pretty.

"Ready?" he glared me while screwed the silencer onto the gun in his palms.

"Can you not do that out here" I whispered hastily as he rolled his eyes,

"It's the middle of the night, no one is out"

I rolled my eyes as I felt my own gun hidden in the inside of my coat. I always carried a gun since Sofia died, I didn't want to risk anything like that night happening again.

"Did you really have to wear your heels to this?" he scoffed, while pointing downwards with his gun

"I'm not the bloodhound in this job" I shot back at him glaring, he only chuckled under his breath at the slur.

We were used to getting under each other's skin, but then again didn't most siblings aim to torment each other. We would fight like cats and dogs but within five minutes we would be back to normal. We would insult each other trying to cause the most damage possible, and there were times that we were able to acknowledge that we took it too far. We would comment on each other's personal lives and target respective partners. We would do anything to piss each other off.

Turning to Vasili I made another request, "Can you keep an eye on him while we are gone?" I nodded towards the door that I had just left from, "I doubt he won't go wandering"

"Of course, Rosie" he smiled as I visibly recoiled at the nickname he had bestowed upon me long ago.

It felt like we were in a movie as we seemingly stalked through Court. The roads were dead and there were no Guardians currently stationed in front of Royal housing. Baba had sorted that out so that we would have a clear run. We stepped into the elevator and I watched as the number ticked over from G to 5. Stepping into the corridor you could head two ways, left was the Conta Wing and right was the Ozera wing.

We knew we wouldn't be disrupted in the Ozera wing under any circumstances. Tasha was the only one staying in the wing. Christian had moved out last year and now lived in a townhouse with Lissa, the wing was deserted.

Once we reached the door, Alex didn't bother knocking. He simply took the master key that Baba had god-knows-how acquired and slipped it into the lock. It silently opened, we hoped that Tasha would be sleeping so we could get the job done as quickly and painlessly as possible, but what we found was significantly more interesting.

She was packing. We slipped into the room without making a sound and watched for a second as she furiously shoved her clothes and other personal items into a black suitcase on the kitchen table. It looked at though she was taking Dimitri's advice and warning. Sadly, it didn't change anything to my brother. He was done watching and cleared his throat to gain her attention.

Tasha spun around to face us and I felt like I could see the life drain out of her just by staring at us. She knew her time as up.

I sighed and let the door close behind me as Alex stepped further into the room. He was all brute strength my younger brother and he lunged merciless for Tasha, picking her up by her shoulders and throwing her against the wall opposite us. She clipped the table and clothes that had been waiting to be packed toppled over and all over the floor. I sighed and removed my coat, throwing it on the couch. I could hear her moan from the impact and could make out his footsteps moving further away from me and closer to her on the floor.

I had already informed Alex of Tasha's use of fire magic as well as her ability to use it offensively. I also told him about her that she was trained to defend herself in combat; however, I knew that she wouldn't be a match for Alex. But he wouldn't take the chance at her possibly hurting him. So, I let him do his bidding, fighting the urge to throw up with how disgusted I was in myself. We were too far in now. Or were we?

His gun cocking brought my attention back to the room. This was it; this was the last chance I had to make something right instead of watching it go horribly wrong. I could stop this.

We didn't have to go through with this. We could walk out of here and leave Tasha alive.

When I looked at Tasha huddled on the floor underneath the barrel of Alex's gun I couldn't help but see Dimitri. I couldn't help but see his face when I'd told him I'd have to kill his friend; the way his face had contorted with emotion had killed something inside of me, and then again when I had left him in my bed to complete the job I had been given.

Her blood didn't need to be on my hands, I already had enough of that. I could let her do whatever her plan entailed and then watch as she was sentenced and executed by the monarchy for high treason. I didn't need to be the executioner this time.

"Brother stop" I whispered in our native tongue.

This could be a turning point for me. In the month that I had known Dimitri he had taught me so much about myself and the mistakes I had made that I now saw I could be a better person and that I already was a good person despite my crimes.

Dimitri believed in me. He saw good in me that I had never seen before, I should be able to materialize that goodness he sees by sparing Tasha's life, no matter the consequences of my father or Tatiana.

"We are leaving," I continued in Turkish.

"Rose, we have a job to finish" he hissed back, his Turkish was thick and demanding rather then my soft version and it scared me slightly. He seemed to be refusing to look away from Tasha and gripped the hilt of the gun tighter until his knuckles became white, his facial features showing true frustration with my words.

"No, we don't. This is a job we won't be completing"

Alex finally turned to face me; his brown eyes were dark with the desire he had to pull that trigger. It would be an understatement to call my younger brother trigger-happy. His gun was still pointed at Tasha on the floor and she looked between us panicked at the unfamiliar language being spoken around her.

"We never leave a job unfinished" he said through gritted teeth, his jaw was so tight that it looks as though his teeth would shatter under the pressure.

I walked towards him, so I was standing beside him. I placed my palm on the barrel of the gun and forced it downwards until it faced the floor, surprisingly he let me.

Tasha looked surprised at the move I had made, and she tried to regain some sort of dignity by straightening up her back and sitting higher in her position. Her black hair was messy from being thrown around by Alex and her shirt was slightly ripped on the shoulder.

I shouldn't have let this get so out of control. I should have dealt with it humanely instead of following Tatiana's orders so blindly. She may be the Queen and done marvellous things to help my family but that didn't mean that she was being ethical. She had been pre-empting a scenario that hadn't even played out fully yet and we were going to execute on those ground.

No.

Not again. I will not allow myself to be used as an executioner for hire any more. Jerome and his superiors had done it since our deal was made and used me to their bidding, so had Tatiana, but I would no longer be someone's puppet.

Switching back to English I addressed Tasha, "Go Tasha"

Her blue eyes widened with shock at my statement, "Wh-what?" she stumbled

"You heard me. Go, run. Leave before someone else finishes what we started" I said softly.

I wanted her to run far away so that she could continue living her life. She had committed a crime, but it wasn't worthy of death. I knew that even if Dimitri thought I didn't. I had no reason to kill or even hate the woman sitting before me. She deserved a second chance. Everyone deserved a second chance.

She leapt to her feet, but something wasn't right. She didn't look frightened anymore, she looked smug. Her lips curled into a cruel smile and her blue eyes danced with hatred.

I stood frozen and everything around me seemed to play out in slow motion.

Her palms turned outwards at her side as the spots of flames started to appear. Alex also saw the glowing coming from her palms and reacted instantly. His hand holding his gun shot back up so that it was line back up with her chest, but he also moved towards me. What was he doing?

That's when I realised the balls of fire were directed to me. I'd just spared Tasha's life and she was going to repay me by taking mine.

Tasha suddenly disappeared from my field of vision and her figure was masked from my sight by Alex's large one. I couldn't see anything past him, but I soon felt the force of his heavy body collapsing into mine.

No.

Please no.

Alex's body fell onto me and sent both of us crashing to the ground. He was hot; his body too warm to touch. She hadn't-

But she had. I scrambled to move out from underneath my brother and saw what she had done. His shirt was alight with orange flames and I could smell his skin burning.

"Stop it!" I cried to Tasha who was beginning to loom over the top of us. But she didn't, the flames only increased, moving towards his neck and face.

As the flames licked the surface of his neck, Alex's face contorted with pain and I saw him struggle to release any sound of pain.

I had gone to Jerome with the intention of giving up my life to save his once before and I was going to do it again without a second thought. I was willing to become any kind of creature of Hell in order for Alex to be spared and forgotten by his captors. I wasn't going to lose any more family. We had lost mom, Pavel, and Sofia. But no more.

Before tonight Tasha had only pissed me off by trying to poach Dimitri from me and even her cruel words at Lissa's engagement but I'm a big girl and I've heard words worse than that being directed at me. They didn't faze me as much as she thought they did. I wanted to let Tasha go but I couldn't anymore.

It was either her or Alex that was dying tonight and I sure as hell wasn't going to watch my younger brother burn to death, not after everything I had done in order to keep him alive.

Without thinking, I reached and grabbed the handgun from Alex's hands and faced it towards her.

"Last chance Tasha!" I screamed, "Drop the flames!"

But she didn't relent, her smirk only became all out grin, it was almost like I expected a maniacal laugh to erupt from her as well. I grimaced when I felt the metal of the gun heat up under my palm; she was trying to make me drop it. But I didn't care if the gun got too hot to hold, I didn't care if it burnt my skin to a point of permanent scarring. It would only be another badge of bravery to me. There wasn't a chance in the world that I was going to drop this gun.

So I pulled the trigger.

The shot was almost silent in the room because of the silencer but the tiny sound of the bullet leaving the gun echoed and bounced off the walls in the apartment. I didn't like using guns, but sometimes you are left with no choice. Tasha was dead before the echo even had a chance to reach my own ears.

The hilt of the gun cooled down as well as the flames disappearing from my brother's body. Tasha slumped to the floor, the shot hitting her in her chest. She wasn't going to get up from that.

I felt frozen again. The whole altercation hasn't stretched for longer than a couple of minutes, but it had felt like hours. I'd shot her. I killed Tasha after I told myself I wouldn't do it. I felt the same coldness that I had felt when I took my first life all those years ago, I felt like I had betrayed Dimitri and now myself. But she was killing Alex.

Alex!

I crawled over to my brother's singed body; his pain-filled groans the only indication that he was still alive.

I gasped as the sight of his body. His shirt had been completely burned through and his skin was black with burnt skin and blood was pooling in the crevices the burns had made. It didn't get better though; the burns continued up to both of his shoulders and collarbones and then halfway up his right side of his neck. I ripped away whatever remaining clothing was on his chest so that it wouldn't become stuck in his wounds. My hand became red with his blood and I cupped his cheeks, tears springing to my eyes as I saw tears escape his own.

"You're going to be okay little brother" I cried in Turkish, "You're going to be fine"

I reached for my coat that I had discarded on the couch and dug through the pockets until I found my phone and redialled my most recent contact.

It rang only once before he picked up.

"Roza?" He asked with worry.

"Dimitri" I cried, "He's hurt! Please, I need your help" my sobs were beginning to butcher my speech and it was getting harder to speak clearly.

"Who's hurt milaya? Where are you?"

"Tasha's room. Please hurry"

The line went dead, and I threw my phone beside me and crawled back to Alex, his breathing was becoming more ragged and hoarse as he fought to stay alive. He was slipping and if he slipped I was going to as well. He was my rock, I needed him, and I couldn't lose him.

"Just hang on," I sobbed, my tears mixing with the blood on his chest as I tried to keep him somewhat stable.

Not even two minutes had passed before Dimitri broke through the door. I looked up at him to find his normally tanned face looking extremely pale. He was looking at Tasha's body behind me.

I'd momentarily forgotten about Tasha lying dead not even a couple of meters from me. It must have been an ugly sight.

Vasili then barged through the doorway and looked around the room at eye level before letting his eyes fall to Alex and I on the floor.

"Fuck!" He yelled, which seemed to pull Dimitri attention from Tasha's body.

Vasili crouched down beside me and stroked back Alex's sweat drenched hair that had stuck to his face.

"We need a healer!" He screamed as Alex began coughing. Small splatters of blood following and hitting my arm.

"Fuck this" he muttered as he leant over Alex and picked him up. Alex cried out in pain and I involuntarily screamed as well. He was hurting him, and I needed to save him.

I had learnt to contain my rage over the years. I had learnt to use instead of fear the fire that burned within me to my advantage rather than let it make me its slave. But I had never felt as much rage as I was feeling now looking at Vasili.

My vision blurred and red spots appeared in my vision as I let the feeling surface. Vasili was hurting my brother…his best friend. He needed to let go!

I made a jump for Vasili, but somebody stopped me. Strong arms clamped down my sides and picked me up off the floor, pulling me away from the boys. I thrashed wildly with my legs and screamed in anger, trying to kick my captor or even Vasili if I could reach him.

"Let me go! He's hurting him!" I screamed while I thrashed.

"He's not Roza" Dimitri's voice whispered in my ear as I watched Vasili tear out of the room with Alex cradled in his arms.

"He is-he's-" I couldn't finish my sentence though; my sobs were getting too intense.

"He isn't," he whispered again, and just like that my rage dissipated so fast I was like I had thrown a bucket of cold water on the fire in me. My body went cold and al warmth from me seeped away. I slumped in Dimitri's grip and he relaxed his hold on me so that he was cradling instead of restraining me.

I turned to face him and shoved my face into his shirt, I gripped the white fabric and cried into it until it was wet with my tears and stained with the blood that was on my hands.

"I can't lose him Dimitri," I managed to choke out as I continued crying into his chest.

He wrapped one arm around my waist and crouched down to get his other one under my knees. Picking me up and holding me close to his body, I let my arms wrap around his neck and placed my head in the crook of his neck.

"You won't," he whispered to me in Russian.

His voice already made me heave with his accent when he spoke in English but hearing him speaking in his natural tongue created a sense of comfort. It was different when he spoke it earlier; it was thick with lust and passion where this time it was loving. My grip on him tightened and I let my tears fall freely, even as my sobs became quieter.

I felt him begin to leave the room and the harsh voice of Baba, "Take her too her room Belikov. I'll finish here".

Author's Note:

I hope this chapter from Rose's POV helps you understand what is going through Rose's mind during this story.

I've quite enjoyed writing from Rose's POV so I may include a few chapters here and there from her POV later in the story.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

-RCap