Get ready for one intense chapter!

Chapter 21 - Back To Court

"Alberta? What is it?"

"We aren't the only attack."

My eyes widened. "Where?"

She gave me a grim look. "Royal Court."

Han's told me what was going on. "The Guardian's that gathered the intel on this attack, just found out about another. If we thought 80 was a large number it's nothing on the 200 they have getting ready." My jaw dropped and Dimitri stiffened beside me. I could feel my hands start to shake as I thought about Lissa at Court while it was attacked. Sparky better be taking good care of her.

"When are they attacking?" Dimitri asked him.

"As soon as the sun goes down today."

"Shit" I cursed "We need to leave now!"

"Agreed" Han's said.

We grabbed whoever could still fight and headed for the plane. I grabbed my phone out before take-off and called Lissa. "Rose?"

"Lissa, did you hear about the attack?"

"Yeah, they're telling us all to be prepared. Are you ok Rose? I heard about St Vlad's."

"I'm fine Lissa. I need you to listen to me very carefully ok?"

"Ok"

"Before the sun goes down tomorrow I need you to get your mum, dad, Mia and Christian and drive to my house. Break a window to get in. Once your inside head straight for my parents old room. There's a trap door under the bed. It's a panic room. Their won't be enough room for anyone else. Stay there until I come and get you or after sunrise. Whatever comes first. Can you do that for me Liss?"

"Yes Rose"

"Thanks Lissa."

"Will you be ok?"

"I'll be fine, as long as I know your safe. I've got to go, were about to fly to Court. I love you Lissa."

"I love you too Rose."

I sighed and relaxed back into my seat just as the plane took off. "She'll be ok, love." Dimitri whispered in my ear.

"I hope so." With two hours before landing Han's called for everyone's attention. "I know everyone is already tired and sore. But we need to hold out for a while longer. We will have cars ready at the airport for us. Just like at the academy, stay in pairs. Moroi have been split up and are being guarded in large areas. The first car" he point to four people in front of him. "you are to head for Moroi Quarters. The second" he pointed to another four "go to Headquarters." This went on while he assigned each group an area where the Moroi were hiding until he finished on Dimitri, Mason, Eddie and I. You're the last car and are going to Parliament. You know the building better than the rest of us." I nodded. "Be careful out there." With that he sat back down.

When we came into landing the sun had just gone done. I reached across Dimitri and pulled him in for a kiss. He held me tight against him. "I love you Roza."

"I love you too Dimitri. Stay safe."

"You too, my love."

We filed out of the plane and ran straight for the vehicles. The streets of Court were eerily quiet. Guardians were running in different directions but we could see no Strigoi. Our row of cars split off one by one as they made their way towards their posts. "Be careful out there Rosie" Mason said grabbing onto my hand that was shaking in my lap.

"You too Mase." Mason held my hand tightly in his until we all caught site of Parliament over the buildings in front of us. My stake was clutched tightly in my hand as Dimitri pulled over about 50 meters away and we all got out.

We could all hear fighting off in the distance, but there wasn't a person in sight around Parliament. "Where are they all?" Mason asked.

"Maybe they haven't got passed the Court Guardians." Eddie suggested.

"Guys be quiet for a minute." I told them and listened to hushed voices. I had slightly better hearing the Dhampir's.

"Roza, what is it?" I could hear the voices and started following the sounds, the guys followed me glancing around.

We made it to the front steps of Parliament before I stopped. "Everyone's inside." I whispered to them. We walked up the stairs close together and through the doors.

The usually busy building was completely empty. We made our way through the halls, I followed the soft whispers I could hear. Until we ended up at the entrance to the ballroom. Guardian's stood by the door, they tensed when they spotted us then relaxed. "Princess Mazur" One of them stepped forward.

"Hey, how is everyone?"

"Good, Princess. We have most of the royal families inside. No Strigoi have got through this far yet. You should head inside."

I turned to the guys. "What do you want to do? Wait it out in here or go help out?" Dimitri looked like he would be happy with whatever I decided while Mason and Eddie were giving me looks that said 'what do you think' with a lot of sarcasm.

I chuckled before turning back to the Guardian. "Thanks for the offer, but we'd prefer it out here." We turned back around and headed for the exit. "What's the plan?" I asked Dimitri.

"Follow the noise." I smiled and we did exactly that.

We ran down a couple of streets towards the fence when we came across a fight. Three Guardians were fighting 5 Strigoi. Dimitri ran up silently towards the closest one and staked him while he was fighting one of the Guardians. I set the other Strigoi on fire and everyone was quick in killing them before we were off again. We killed about 30 Strigoi within the next half hour before I stopped running.

"Rose, what is it?" Mason asked looking around like I was. "This isn't right." I muttered looking around at the fence.

Dimitri's eye caught mine. "Something's wrong." He said, you could hear the shock and worry in his voice. He realised the same thing I had. Without a second glance we both took off at a sprint in the opposite direction.

Eddie and Mason ran after us. We managed to make it back into the centre of Court within 5 minutes to find chaos. Strigoi were everywhere. Guardians were in a serious battle but they were outnumbered at least 2 to 1. We jumped into the fight without a second thought.

The next time I looked up to get my barring's we were fighting on the steps of Parliament. We must have fought for around 40 minutes when I noticed Strigoi were escaping inside quickly. "Eddie, Mason. You stay here!" I got a quick nod from them both before Dimitri and I ran in the direction of the ballroom.

The Guardian that I had spoken to earlier lay on the floor dead in between the open doors of the ballroom. All I could think about was all the people inside that room, if the Guardians were down they were like sitting ducks. I held onto the magic bubbling under the surface as we ran inside. It was like a horror scene in a movie people were screaming, blood and bodies lay on the floor. The air around me swirled and the dash of heat from my palms swept through me. I was seeing red. I let the magic consume me for the second time ever. Air whipped around throwing Strigoi back away from their victim's. "Everyone get back!" Dimitri yelled.

We managed to create a barrier between the group of Strigoi, I'd say there was about 30 of them in the room and everyone inside at least a hundred of us, with just Dimitri and I on the front lines. "Well well well, what do we have here?" A cold familiar voice said through the middle of the Strigoi. They Strigoi paused their fight and let the man through and out walked Prince Victor Dashkov and Natalie Dashkov both Strigoi.

I gasped along with many people behind me. Victor's disease had taken a toll on him but it seemed Immortality had given him back his youth. He's usual fraying body now stood tall and deadly bright red rings around his eyes. "Rosemarie, how lovely to see you again." My eyes narrowed into slits, the magic still had a hold of me but I managed to keep it still, for now.

"The feeling's not mutual Victor." Apparently either something went terribly wrong at the hospital they were at or they were not the people I thought they were.

He chuckled a deadly laugh. "I would say you haven't changed, but you clearly have Rosemarie. Natalie told me about the changes in the last few months of school."

"Cut the chit chat, you're clearly not here to find out how I've been lately." I tried to keep the horror off my face as Natalie hissed at me. I had never seen a Strigoi I knew before, let alone one that I had been friends with for years.

"Argh, that is only half true." What? He must of seen my shocked face because he continued. "I know about you Rosemarie. I know all about you. Did you really think no one would find out sooner or later?" I had a strong feeling I knew exactly what he was talking about but I chose not to acknowledge it.

"Find what out?"

"Don't play dumb!" he yelled making a few people behind me cower. "Rosemarie, you are talented. You have a gift to heal. I wanted to use your gift to heal my disease, but you proved hard to capture. Thanks to your magic and Belikov here." He pointed to Dimitri, who was standing still but looking lethal as he watched for any sudden movements on their side. "I should have been King! If I wasn't ill, I would have been but then Tatiana announced you as her successor and my plan was thrown out the window before I could get to you."

"The Psi Hounds" I whispered but his Strigoi hearing picked up on my words.

"That's correct, the Psi Hounds had orders to attack and bring you back to me. That was when I found out that Spirit wasn't the only magic you specialised in. I kept a close eye on you after that, do you know why you can do all of that magic Rosemarie?" My lips were set in a thin line and I refused to reply to him so he continued instead.

"I searched high and low for answers but didn't find anything conclusive myself, until after the Strigoi attacked you just outside of Baia. I may have given her your location and she kept an eye on you. I had one of my Guardians test your blood from the scene. It's in your genetics Rosemarie, both of your parents were gifted when it came to magic. Your father was one of the best fire users ever seen and your mother specialized in both air and earth. It was not widely known but I found out from her records after their deaths. They passed on their gifts to you Rose, and then some. You are the first Moroi in history to specialize in all 5 elements. Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit." It was a shock to my system to find out about my mother like that.

I guess it wouldn't be that unusual for two talented Moroi to have a talented child in magic. A small part of me sighed in relief that I was in love with a Dhampir rather than a Moroi. I had struggled a lot these last few years because of my gifts, I wasn't sure that was something I wanted to pass onto my children. But if Dimitri and I decided to have children one day they would be Dhampir like Dimitri.

"Anyway, after you started your training I had no other choice, if I was still to lead I would have to take drastic measure's so Natalie and I became Strigoi. Now I plan on simply taking the throne, instead of waiting for it to be given to me. I'll rule or world and when the times right, I'll rule over the humans too."

"You're insane" I laughed not being able to keep my mouth shut any longer. "Seriously, did all that medication the doctor's have you on have bad side efforts? Maybe something like mental breakdown, insanity, hallucinations or just plain stupidity?"

He snarled at me. "Watch it Rosemarie. Don't make me angry."

"You managed to get all these Strigoi in here without having to go through all of the Guardian's didn't you? You're responsible for the attack at St Vladimir's. It was a distraction."

He gave me a wicked smile. "Very smart Rosemarie. When you're as observant as I am you pick up things, like underground escape routes that lead outside of the wards." I was getting seriously over him saying my full name. I was ready to end all conversation.

The magic around me started swirling again waiting for my command. "I might have been hard to catch before but that has nothing on what I can do now. It's a shame you've been away all this time, because it looks like you forgot to be so observant. You made a serious mistake in underestimating my abilities Viktor. This conversation is over!" My voice was menacing. I raised my arms and fire flew out from my hand creating a line behind Dimitri and I that went from wall to wall but stayed perfectly under my control. The Moroi behind me leapt away in surprise. The doors to the ballroom behind the Strigoi slammed shut with the wind I blew in.

"Ready Comrade?"

"When you are love." I smiled I knew without a doubt if any other person stood beside me right now they would be terrified. Not Dimitri though, he had complete faith in me and I in him. We were deadly apart, but together… There was no stopping us.

All at once every Strigoi in the room were thrown together and held that way with the amount of air I was sending their way. Their bodies lit up with fire, a huge orange blaze engulfed the room. Dimitri and I ran forward staking left and right. I refused to look into the faces in case one of them was Natalie, I knew I would hesitate to kill her. We staked one after the other after the other. Dimitri and I kept a close eye on one another the whole time, I didn't want to burn him on accident and neither of us wanted any Strigoi escaping my hold.

With my magic keeping them in place and burning simultaneously they were no match for either of us. When they were all dead, I let the fire and air go. I stumbled slightly. My magic was wearing out once again. We surveyed the room, Moroi were staring wide eyed at what happened. I could still hear the fighting happening outside. I knew if I stopped now I wouldn't be able to do much else, my body was weak and so was my magic. But I had just enough for one more fight.

"If any of you have any hope of making it through the night, then I suggest you get off your asses and help those Guardian's outside that are dying trying to protect you while you cower away in here!" I yelled, anger boiled as I thought about all the Guardian's I had seen die before my eyes today. I hoped that Eddie and Mason were still going strong.

A man stepped forward that I recognised as Prince Nathan Ivashkov, Adrian's father. "We cannot fight! What do you suppose we do, huh?" He scowled at me. It took everything in me to resist from setting him on that fire in that moment.

"Magic you idiot! You can all do it, Dhampir and Moroi used to fight alongside each other once, until Moroi started to cower and hide behind them. Ever wonder why Strigoi attacks are so much more common than ever before? Get off your stuck up Royal asses!" Nathan glared at me he opened his mouth to retort when a voice rang through the room from the back.

"Enough!" Tatiana walked forward. Nathan looked happy as he gave me a smug look. "The Princess is right!" His smug look dropped. "I am going out there to fight, if anyone else has the balls to join us. Please do!" I cannot believe the queen just said 'balls'. She turned to me and gave me a smile that said she knew exactly what I was thinking. "After you Rose."

Adrian surprisingly stepped forward next and stood beside his Aunt. He gave me a nod. I didn't have the time to be surprised but by the look he was giving me, he knew. This whole time he had known my secrets. He was just waiting for this moment. With that we ran from the room, at first I could only hear Dimitri, Tatiana and Adrian behind me but than other footsteps joined in.

The chaos outside hadn't changed much other than our numbers had dropped. I lit up the heads of a bunch and started fighting others. Everything was taking a toll on my body. I just kept pushing myself Dimitri's voice replayed over and over again in my head. Keep fighting Rose. If you let exhaustion take over your mind, your body will give out. It was something he had drilled into me since we started my magic training. I fought more without the use of magic to stay conscious for as long as possible. I could see Tatiana from the corner of my eye. Pushing air into the Strigoi suffocating them while a Guardian staked them. Soon more Moroi came outside and joined in following Tatiana's lead and getting into pairs to fight.

I was stupid… I made a stupid move… I watched the Moroi fighting without watching my back.

A fist slammed into the side of my head, harder than anything I had ever felt before. I held in a scream as the pain radiated through my body and I took another hit to the stomach making me drop to the ground in a heap. Hands grabbed my shoulders and lifted me into the air. I could feel the breath of the Strigoi that had hold on me over my neck as his fangs sunk into my neck.

I screamed at the pain before the endorphin's took over and I was in pure bliss. I was in a peaceful place, I watched the world around me. Everyone's quick movements slowed down as my blood drained. There was a man in front of me he looked worried. Like really worried. His face seemed familiar but I couldn't remember where I'd seen him before. "Roza!" He was yelling in my direction. Was that my name? He was making his way toward me, his eyes never left mine as two hands gripped either side of his brown hair. Brown hair and brown eyes. Dimitri? I gasped as I realised what was happening. A Strigoi was drinking from me. Dimitri shoved his stake forward and into the Strigoi that was drinking for me. I was released at the same moment the hands around Dimitri's head twisted and I heard a sickening crack before Dimitri fell to the ground lifeless.

I screamed, louder than I ever had as I watched the love of my life die before my eyes. My vision blurred and I started shaking, I think it was me. No the ground was shaking. Air whipped around my face. Fire and surprisingly water emerged from each of my hands. I didn't think about what I did next, it was instinct I just sent all of my magic out. I was still screaming as the magic pulsed out from me. All of a sudden it was deadly quiet apart from my screams. I crawled over to my love.

"Dimitri!" I screamed shaking him. "Wake up! Please, please, please don't leave me Comrade." Tears poured out from my eyes as I cradled his head in my hands. So many thoughts were going through my head. All our kisses, the times we fought beside one another, how happy he was when his family welcomed me with open arms, the night Dimitri told me he loved me, the first night we made love together all those glances across the room when our eyes would meet and he'd tell me something with only his eyes speaking. I can't let him, die. I wouldn't. He was going to live. Please don't fail me, please. I held him in my lap while I sent everything I had into him. I fuelled the magic with all my memories of us together, all the love I had for him. A blinding light emerged from my palms that were against Dimitri's cheeks. I had to close my eyes but I just kept sending him everything I had.

My body started to slump. Not yet Rose! Hang in there a bit longer. I felt the magic drain, all of it, there was nothing left. The light dimed and slowly faded from my hands. My eyelids closed over but I forced them to open again. I wasn't going to let the darkness take hold of me. The light disappeared until all that was left was Dimitri in my hands. He hadn't moved. My heart sunk and tore in two. I had failed. Just like with my parents, I failed. "Dimitri" My voice was barely a whisper. "I love you." I knew I was about to pass out. My eyes ran over his handsome face and I tried to remember every inch of it. "I love you Comrade." I leaned down and kissed him with all the strength I had left. I felt movement but I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I pulled back and watched closely as Dimitri's brown eyes fluttered and then he focused at me.

I gasped.

"Roza?"

His voice, his sweet calming voice wrapped around the word. I tried to say something back, tell him I love him, anything, but no words came out of my mouth. My eyes held his for as long as possible before my eyes fluttered closed and there was nothing but darkness.

God I hate Viktor. He's always so calm and cocky. It's really annoying.

What did you guys think about that? I know a few of you guessed that Dimitri was going to die.

-Skye (FeminineHeroes)