Rose's Point of View.

Breathe, Rose, breathe. You're under compulsion, so God-damn act like it. I kept my face expressionless; I let every emotion fade from my heart and mind.

Desmond still had his arm wrapped tightly around my waist; I gave a lifeless smile at the action. I've seen plenty of people under compulsion at the hand of Lissa before, I'm sure I could act similarly for just a little while longer, I had to wait until I had my opening.

Thinking of Lissa sent a lick of pain and longing through my heart, I missed her, but I was also glad she wasn't here to see this, to see me like this.

I avoided looking at Dimitri, I chose to either look at the ground or gaze into Desmond's eyes like a dog waiting for its next command.

"Roza. Look at me, please Rose." Dimitri was pleading with me. My eyes flickered to his face and the pain I saw in his eyes almost made my knees buckle. I wanted to run to him and forget any of this had happened.

"She can't hear you, you stupid boy." Dimitri's fists clenched at his side.

I hadn't even thought about how Dimitri would react when he found me again, I hadn't expected to walk out of this warehouse alive, so I hadn't bothered to worry about if he would hate me if we were ever reunited again. I went behind his back and lied to him again. I wouldn't blame him if he never spoke to me again.

"Now that I've got you here, old friend, why don't you hand yourself over to me?" Desmond said to Abe. I hoped and prayed that Abe wouldn't do anything stupid.

"No thanks, I think I'll take my daughter and the rest of my people and leave, I'll even let you live if you don't piss me off any more, old friend." The anger in Abe's eyes could scare any man half to death, he wasn't messing around.

"It's funny actually; your daughter denied even knowing you." He said as he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. I tried my best not to cringe away from the touch. "That's how she got all these horrible injuries." He said as he brushed my hair behind my ears, revealing the bite marks on either side of my neck. I tried not to sway on my feet as the light-headedness rolled through me again.

Dimitri's face turned murderous as he took a step closer, ready to kill Desmond by the look on his face. I almost screamed at him to stop, he would only get hurt.

I almost broke, I almost told Dimitri to stay back. When Desmond put the barrel of a gun to my temple, Dimitri stopped dead in his tracks.

My heartbeat sped up, and I forced my breathing to remain even, unaffected. I would not give myself away now. The ring on my finger kept on throbbing, reminding me who I really am, keeping me stable.

"You know, I almost had beautiful Rosemarie here kill you herself. Just as you stormed in we were about to turn her. I still think I like that idea." He turned to me, looking into my eyes once more. "Rosemarie, kill your father, and the others if they try to stop you."

The stake was still in my hand. Dimitri and Abe's guardians got into a defensive position; they had been trained to eliminate any threat to their charge, even if it was his own daughter.

I took a step forward and raised the stake. I prayed they wouldn't attack me before I had the chance to do what I needed to do. I'm not sure I would survive even a simple attack manoeuvre from Dimitri or one of the guardians, I felt weak, like my bones were brittle and like my blood couldn't pump through my body quick enough.

My eyes flickered to Dimitri's once more, I kept my face blank and emotionless, and I wished he would understand.

I got into a defensive stance, mirroring that of my mentors. I attacked, but instead of aiming for Abe or one of his many defenders, I turned and thrust the stake into Desmond's chest, right into his heart.

I watched as every ounce of life drained from his eyes, and he laughed, he laughed as he died. He fell to the floor, and dragged me down with him. My knees buckled and I couldn't hold myself up any longer. His blood covered my shaking hand.

Dimitri was by my side within a heartbeat, pulling me into his arms and away from the body whose life I just ended. I felt his duster wrap around me before I realised I was shaking.

"It's ok Roza, I've got you, you're safe now." He murmured into my ear. My breaths came out in ragged gasps. I blinked through the tears forming in my eyes.

One of Abe's guardians had his gun pointed to the Dhampir that helped me, he was injured but alive, and by the looks of things the guardian was about to finish him off.

I acted before I could think about what I was doing. I scrambled out of Dimitri's protective grasp, even as he tried to hold me back. I threw myself in front of the boy, between him and the gun which was previously pointed at his head.

"Stop! Don't shoot!" I screamed, I held my hands up in a submissive gesture. The guardian lowered the gun ever so slightly, but still held it firmly in his hand. "Please, he helped me; I would be dead if it weren't for him. I promised I would get him out of here." I said, pleading with Abe and his guardians.

The guardians looked to Abe for confirmation of what they actions should be. He thought about it for a moment, I didn't move from my position in front of the boy. My head swayed and tears stained my cheeks, but I didn't move.

Abe simply nodded but that was all I needed to see. I turned and dropped to my knees beside the boy. Blood was leaking from a bullet hole in his chest, but he was conscious. "Hey, you did it, you helped me, we're both going to be okay, I promise." I said as I covered the wound with my hands, applying as much pressure as I could to stop the bleeding.

His green eyes sparkled and he gave me a half-hearted smile. "I'm so sorry I let it go on for so long. I hope you can forgive me." A tear rolled down his cheek. I felt the eyes of everyone in the room on us, and ignored them completely.

"Of course I forgive you, you saved me. I would be dead, or worse, without you." He smiled once more, soon followed by a painful sounding cough, blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

"What's your name?" I asked, if only to keep him talking, to distract him.

"Michael." He rasped. His Russian accent was becoming stronger the more life slipped through his fingers. I swallowed the lump in my throat; I would be strong for him like he was for me.

"Thank you Michael, what you did for me was so brave, I will never forget what you did, and you are a true Guardian." I knew the words would be important to him if he felt as passionate about being a guardian as I did.

He smiled once more as his eyes slid shut. "Thank you, for freeing me from those people." I could just about make out the words.

He let out a long breath, his chest moving as the air left his lungs. He didn't take another breath.

The rest was a blur, I felt myself being lifted into strong arms, Dimitri's smell wrapped around me and I knew I was safe. I was safe to close my eyes and let the world pass me by for a moment or two.

There we have Chapter 25! I'm really sorry its short but I'm going on holiday tomorrow and haven't had time to write as I've been packing! Thanks so much to everyone who has followed, favourited and reviewed, and thanks to everyone for reading and sticking with me! I won't to update for at least another two weeks I'm afraid, as I'll be on holiday and won't have my laptop, so hopefully this chapter will keep you going! Once again I'm really sorry it's short, and thanks again for reading, please let me know what you think!