We were each handed a pistol on arrival at Guardian HQ, accompanied by a clip of bullets to reload with. We would be fighting within close quarters inside the manor house so hopefully no one would actually have to use their gun, they weren't as precise as stakes and we didn't want any stray bullets hitting one of our own team members.

Hans called everyone into the largest meeting room we had for one last brief before we would head out. The atmosphere was tense as we faced our head Guardian, solemnly waiting for our orders.

Our objective was clear.

One group of Guardians would surround the manor and make sure that no Strigoi made a run for it; if they did it would be their job to eliminate them. Then the larger group will raid the manor, exterminating any Strigoi and detaining any Moroi, humans or Dhampir we may come across.

"Hathaway and Belikov along with myself will head straight to the attic where we believe Viktor Dashkov and Robert Doru will be hiding." A few whispers broke out through the group as the Moroi were named; it was rare if not unheard of for Moroi, especially Royals, to be detained by Guardians.

Though I was slightly deterred by the fact that I wouldn't be in the midst of the bloodshed, I understood why Croft wanted Dimitri and I to deal with the Moroi brothers.

"Any questions?" Croft's voice boomed, silencing any noise. The crowd remained silent.

"Very well. We leave now." And that was that.

We filed out of the meeting room and through HQ, every guardian in the building that was not joining us stopped what they were doing to see us off, wishing us luck and providing words of encouragement. We all knew it was likely that lives would be lost today.

When we made it to the garage owned by HQ, we were met with row after row of sleek black SUV's, which we started hastily piling into.

Dimitri and I found a car with two spare seats right at the back and climbed in, greeting the guardians who were already seated.

Once every last guardian was inside an SUV we filed out of the garage and through Court. I watched through the window as Moroi went about their business, completely oblivious to the risk we were about to take in order to protect them. I hadn't even had time to tell Lissa where I was going. I'd never forgive myself if I died without getting to say goodbye to her.

I closed my eyes once we were through Court's main gate, I didn't visit Lissa though, I stayed in my own mind. I tried focussing my mind, taking deep breaths in and out. I sensed these would be the last minutes of peace we would have for a while.

I was drawn from my thoughts when I felt Dimitri's large warm hand take hold of mine. I turned to look at him, taking in his strong features. To anyone else he would look calm and composed, but I could see the fear and worry in his eyes as he kept his faze focussed on our joined hands.

I gave his hand a comforting squeeze and he responded with a small smile, the kind that was reserved only for me.

We remained like that, hand in hand, for the duration of the journey. It felt like hours.

The sun was high in the sky when the cars finally slowed to a halt. We would leave the cars on the road outside the long driveway leading to the house, and we would march forward from there.

We chose daytime to attack so that the strigoi would have no opportunity to flee. Yes, they would hear us coming; there was no doubt about that. But they will be trapped inside with no escape and it would give us the upper hand in battle despite lacking the element of surprise. We would use the sunlight as a weapon against our enemy.

We silently exited the cars and formed rows; we would walk down the driveway in lines, matching our footfalls in an attempt to make the enemy think that there were far fewer of us than there actually were. Dimitri and I were towards the back of the group, ready to storm through the house once the fighting had begun.

Our large group walked tensely down the tree-lined driveway, the gravel crunching beneath our boots and the wind rustling the leaves the only sound. Some guardians already had their stakes clenched tightly in their hands.

Collectively, we came to a halt some way from the gate. Two guardians jogged towards the gate, carrying a crate of dynamite between them. We had spent quite some time considering how we would get through the gate; it was locked and needed a long numeric password in order to be opened. We could have sent someone to learn the code, alternatively we could have scaled the wall, hell, and we could have torn the wall down completely. But this seemed to be the most promising way.

We all watched with held breaths as the explosive specialists attached the dynamite to the thick iron gate and lit the fuse before sprinting back to join our ranks.

Everything went still as we watched the fuse become smaller and smaller, before the loud BOOM sounded and we ducked out of instinct, covering our heads.

It took only seconds to recover before, as a unified group, we charged through the gate which was now laying in smoking pieces, straight for the manor house. It looked exactly the same as the last time we had been here, but we had never come so close before. The house seemed to loom above us; it was really more like a mansion. I hated to think how many Strigoi were laying in wait inside.

Guardians started to peel off, ready to stand guard and create a perimeter around the house. Dimitri, Hans and I waited for only a minute once the rest of the guardians were inside the house.

It was the longest minute of my life.

We could hear the fighting very clearly, screams, shouts and grunts of pain as well as gunshots. Guardian Croft was counting down the seconds on his watch, his guardian mask firmly in place, I couldn't imagine how he might feel, sending his people into the fight while he had to wait outside, even if it was only for a minute.

"It's time." The Head Guardian stated as he pulled his stake free, Dimitri and I did the same. "Remember, straight upstairs no matter what. The brothers are our priority." And with that, we sprinted up the steps and straight into the fray.

The sight of the fight shocked me for only an instance, it was complete and utter chaos. I blocked out the sounds of the bloodshed and followed Croft through the house; I could feel Dimitri close behind me.

We charged up the first flight of stairs with no problem, most of the fighting was still contained within the ground floor.

The house was in complete disrepair, blood was splattered on the walls and floor, but I could tell it was a mess before we had arrived, lots of the blood had turned flaky and brown, and it was there long before we came along. I gritted my teeth and carried on, taking the stairs three at a time.

It was on the second flight of stairs that our path was obstructed by a strigoi with his fangs sunk deep into the carotid artery of a guardian whose fight was swiftly draining out of her. Hans didn't hesitate when he pulled the monster off her and spun him so he was facing me. He didn't even see me coming; my stake was deep in his lifeless heart before he could swallow his last mouthful of blood, I knew because when he screamed in pain, the warm blood splattered all down my front.

Dimitri caught the guardian before she fell and gently sat her against the wall; he gave me a nod to confirm she was still breathing. We had no time to do more than that as we carried on up the stairs and finally came to the attic. Dimitri and I pulled out our guns as Hans broke through the door.

The attic was the complete opposite to the rest of the house. It was spotlessly clean and seemed fit for a King; I suppose that's exactly what Viktor thought he was. The ceilings were high with spotless marble floors, all the furnishings seemed antique, and I was sure it must have cost a fortune. The only shocking thing was that it was completely deserted. The brothers were not there. "How could this happen?!" I couldn't help but shout, angrily shoving my gun back in its holster.

"Calm down." Croft ordered, slightly out of breath. "They must have known we were coming."

Just then our earpieces crackled to life and a Guardians laboured voice sounded in our ears. "Guardian Croft! The basement- in the basement, there's a tunnel!" I was out of the door before he finished speaking. Croft was shouting at his guardians to stand down in the basement, they were to focus on the fighting in the house.

It took us half the time to get to descend to the ground floor and then through to the basement.

The basement was exactly what I expected from a strigoi hideout. There were no windows and only one door leading in and out. Several chairs could be found throughout the sparse area, all of them with ropes hanging down and blood dried on and around them.

The only thing out of place was the gaping hole in one of the walls; a tunnel leading Vlad knows where.

The tunnel was around 7 foot tall and must have been just as wide. The guardian who alerted us stood at the entrance, shining his torch into the darkness within.

"Report." Croft ordered, his eyes flickering around the room.

"A few of us came down here to see if there were any strigoi hiding, it was empty but we saw this tunnel and called it in. The others have gone upstairs to carry on fighting." The guardian responded without missing a beat.

We each pulled our torches out and glanced down the seemingly endless tunnel. There was nothing to be seen.

Hans faced the guardian once more. "Stay here and guard the tunnel, make sure nobody but us comes in or out. Bring down two other guardians to assist you. Radio us immediately if there are any problems." He demanded before facing the tunnel once more.

"Hathaway, you're up front. I'll bring up the rear." He stated, leaving no room for argument.

I tried not to think too much about what we might be heading towards and stepped into the tunnel. The air was cold and damp as we carefully walked through the enclosed space. I could only see where our torches shone, and the only sound was our quiet footfalls and short breaths. We didn't dare speak as we made our way through the seemingly endless tunnel.

The immeasurable passage curved round to the right, and eventually when I thought the walls were beginning to close in around us, there was a slight incline and then sunlight could be seen far in the distance.

I couldn't help but pick up the pace as the end was in sight, Dimitri and Guardian Croft had no choice but to follow me as I jogged towards the opening.

And there, finally we made it. The cool air was welcome as it hit me and blew back the strands of hair which had escaped from the knot that was tied at the top of my head.

The tunnel opened up to a clearing in the woods. At first sight there was nothing out of the ordinary in the clearing. The leaves rustled with the wind, and birds sang to one another somewhere in the distance, enjoying the sunshine and the warmth.

How far from the mansion had we travelled through that tunnel? It must have been a mile if not more, surely. I knew because we could hear nothing of the fighting and destruction from the manor, it was like we were in another world completely.

I was about to lose my shit. The brother's weren't here. Aware that Guardian Croft was probably gauging my reaction; I smothered my frustration and instead scanned the trees lining the clearing.

But there! Movement within the trees across the expanse of grass. "There!" I whisper yelled, alerting my companions to their presence.

"Let's go." Dimitri said as we began jogging across the grass.

I saw from the corner of my eye as Dimitri unsheathed his gun from its holster at his hip and held it by his side. "Remember," Hans said between breaths. "We're taking them alive."

The situation became clear the closer we got to the brothers. Victor was holding his brother up, Robert looked weak and unstable. They were resting under the shade of a tree when they saw us coming. I saw the panic spread across their features.

Robert started to turn as if to run in the opposite direction, but Victor stopped him and faced us head on. He was a smart man, he must have known it would be futile to try running from three fully trained guardians.

Victor Dashkov looked similar to he did when I last saw him. His hair had turned a salt and pepper colour where the black was turning gray, but his eyes were the same, jade green, but now this wrinkles around them seemed deeper and more prominent. The same menacing look still showed in his features, and he plastered a confident smile on his face revealing straight but yellowing teeth.

We stopped about 20 feet from the brothers. "Rosemarie, so lovely to see you again." Victor shouted across the space between us.

"I can't say the same about you. Enough with the pleasantries, you're both going to have to come with us." I explained, keeping my voice steady and strong, leaving no room for argument.

"Oh Rosemarie my dear, I'm afraid that won't be happening."

And then the ground fell from beneath our feet.

There we have Chapter 31! I am again so sorry for how long it takes me to update my stories, but I think it's safe to say none of you expect regular chapters, but I'm always so pleased to see that you still read and review my story. Thank you all so much for putting up with me, I really appreciate it more than you know! No promises when the next chapter will be, but it'll be a dramatic one I'm sure! Thanks again.