ROSE POV

Though I had pushed the thought aside in the moment, it came back to my throughout the day-what if Tasha killed the queen? What if she framed me for it?

I hadn't thought at the time that she genuinely loved Dimitri. I had thought her proposal was a marriage of convenience. But the more I thought about them together, the more I questioned it. I remembered her laughing at his every joke. I remembered her voice when she called him Dimka. I remembered the affection on her face when she mentioned him. I decided I was wrong.

Did she know it was me he was pining after? Did she know how I felt about him? Everyone else seemed to, at least after he had turned.. If she really loved him, how hard would it be for her to see the same feelings on my face? For that matter, how hard would it be to recognize them on his, when she'd known him for years?

I kept these feelings to myself for hours, requiring a self control I hadn't known I possessed. I was afraid to mention it to Dimitri. She was his friend, after all.

But I couldn't shake it. When I glimpsed my stake, I thought of her planting it. When Dimitri and I lay in bed, I thought of how she'd like to be in my place.

Finally, it was time for bed. As Dimitri was brushing his teeth, my stomach was in knots. It was a valid theory, I decided, so I had to tell him. And he would probably be mad.

He came back into the room and climbed into bed with a smile, the lamplight illuminating his face. His hair fell over his shoulders as he lay on his side, propped up by his elbow. I turned to face him and mirrored his position.

I had expected a playful smile, but he looked serious.

"Talk to me, Roza," he said softly. "Tell me what's bothering you."

I sighed. Of course he knew. I wondered for how long. There was no point in denial.

"Ok," I started, not sure where to begin. I ended up babbling, getting my theory out in a rush, trying to praise her where I could to soften the blow.

"Rose-"

Uh-oh. No pet name for me.

"I have known Tasha for many years," he said firmly, his voice cautioning me.

"I know. I'm not saying this lightly. I've thought about it all day," I said, trying to pacify him. It didn't work.

"A day?" he asked, incredulously. "You found my friend guilty of regicide in the span of one day?"

As if I'd put her on trial! Not fair.

"Whoa! I didn't say she was guilty, just that it would make sense."

"To you. It doesn't make sense to me," he said.

Ok. Clearly he was stuck on the friend part.

"Dimitri, just think about it. What would you think if you didn't know her?"

"Irrelevant! It's because I know her that I know she would never do such a thing! Murdering someone over politics… it's beneath her. And she knows I love you. She wouldn't want to cause me pain."

"People do some selfish things when they're in love," I mumbled, aware I was losing this argument. But not because I was wrong. Because he was blind.

"Rose, drop it."

I huffed. "Just think about it...please."

"Goodnight, Rose." His tone was final as he rolled over and cut off the light.

The next day

I was getting that cooped up feeling. I had to get out of this house, had to do something. We were at a dead end. I called Abe to see if he got the name of the witch Valentine said created the portal in the queen's room. The answer was no. I thought, if there was any way to tell who did what, maybe Magnus would know. I suppose I could have found his number somewhere, but I really wanted an excuse to get out of the house.

I thought about telling Dimitri that I wanted to portal myself to see Magnus. I figured he wouldn't approve. It's an unnecessary risk, he'd say. I could just leave him a note. It's not like he could follow me. He would be made, but then again, he already was. It wasn't likely to be a fruitful trip anyway. I doubted Magnus had a way of telling who did it, especially given that he couldn't even get to the location.

So that's what I did. I killed as much time as I could waiting for the bar to open. While Dimitri was in the shower, I scribbled a note on a napkin and left it on his pillow. My faerie ring caught my eye, and I slipped it on my finger. It would be worthless given that Alex had the other one, but it was pretty. I spared a thought for my outfit-a black tshirt, leather jacket, and jeans- so not club material, but neither was anything else I had with me. I checked my pockets for my phone and my stake, then I created a portal on the bedroom wall, focusing on the image of Pandemonium, and hurtled through it toward the smell of New York.

I tumbled into an alley reeking of garbage. I scrambled to the sidewalk to get my bearings. There it was-right across the street. I turned my head left and right, checking the traffic. They were stopped. I jogged between the few cars waiting at the red light and right into the building.

The bar was a totally different place in the evening, compared to night. It was sparsely populated. Magnus should be easy to find. I walked up to the bar and sat on a stool. A faerie with short, electric blue hair glided up to me, his face covered in boredom.

"What will you drink?" he asked.

I started to order a straight shot of vodka, remembered the night at Dimitri's childhood home, and decided against it. "Rum and coke?" It was only after I'd ordered that I spared a thought for not being ID'd. Oh well, if he wasn't going to ask for it, I wasn't going to bring it up. Legally, I shouldn't have even be there.

When he brought the drink, I told him I was there to see Magnus.

"He is not here," he said.

"Ok...well could you call him? It's pretty important."

I learned two things that evening: always watch your drink, and never trust a faerie.

DIMITRI POV

I stood in the shower longer than necessary, letting the water run over me. Now that I'd had time to cool off, I thought about what I'd say to Rose. I wasn't mad at her anymore, and now that I wasn't, I had to admit she had a valid point. That didn't mean I suspected Tasha, just that I could understand how she came to the conclusion. I hated arguing with Rose. In my better mood, the silence between us created a dull ache and I longed to hold her, as if I'd lose her. Excited at the prospect of bringing her to bed and losing ourselves in the sheets, I hurried out of the shower. I wrapped the towel around my waist, not even bothering to get dressed; it was just us here.

She wasn't in the living room.

"Roza!" I called out, using the Russian form of her name to let her know I wasn't angry with her.

She didn't respond, and I assumed she must have had the volume up on the television, as she wasn't in the kitchen, either. Surely, should would have heard me from the kitchen. I opened the door to the bedroom to find it empty. And I really started to panic. I glanced out the window. The car was still here. But what did that mean when she could create a portal? My eyes scanning the room, I saw a napkin on my pillow.

Going to Pandemonium. Abe doesn't know who the witch was, and I figured Magnus might have a way to find out. Be back soon.

-Rose

XOXO

She went alone?! The dead Strigoi from the alley's voice played in my head, again, unbidden, "You think you can keep her safe? Everyone wants your girl…" I stopped myself. She was probably fine. I should call her. I did. Her phone went straight to voicemail. I tried again and again, all with the same result.

I dug out a slip of paper from my wallet with Magnus' number on it, thankful I had thought to write it down.

He answered after the fifth ring. "Yes?"

"This is Dimitri."

"So I hear. To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked in a lazy, teasing voice.

"Have you seen Rose? She left to find you, and she isn't answering her phone."

SIlence on the other end. Then, "Did she say where she was going to find me, specifically?"

"Your club."

"I see…" he said. After a pause, he added, "I'll call you back."

I started to protest, but he'd already hung up.

Clearly, he hadn't been told she was there. I tried not to panic over the fact. I paced the floor, phone in hand, waiting for the return call.

I picked it up on the first ring. "What did you hear?" I asked immediately, not bothering to preface it with niceties. He must have understood, because he didn't comment.

"No one here says I was asked for," he said.

"Well, did they see her?" I asked, impatiently.

He sighed, as if he was annoyed, as if he didn't realize or care what kind of trouble she could be in. "What was she wearing?"

"I don't know! You know what she looks like!"

"Moment," he said. I could hear him speaking in the background, then he came back on the line. "No one recalls seeing her."

I panicked. This was Spokane all over again. Except now she was alone. Now she was hundreds of miles away. Now I had no backup.