Thank you again for all of your lovely reviews! Alena, I can't believe you read my story all in one go! That's amazing.

The final chapter of the mission is here!

Without further ado, here it is :)


"All units go!" Hans' voice barrelled through the radio.

I stood in mute horror as the van came to life around me, screeching ahead at full speed as the guardians readied their weapons.

The shrill sound of my phone ringing brought me out of my daze.

I answered quickly.

"What the hell is going on?" Abe's voice demanded through the chaos. "We lost transmission of the tracker."

My hand flew to my hair in frustration. "They found it," I cried, squeezing my eyes shut.

A string of foreign curse words came flying through the phone.

"What do you mean, they found it?" he yelled.

I steadied myself as the van flew around a sharp corner.

"All units ready," Hans' voice again came booming through the speaker. "ETA three minutes."

Adrenaline coursed through my body. Three minutes. All units were three minutes away.

Rose didn't have three minutes.

"Just get to her!" I finally yelled through the chaos around me. "Now!"

I hung up the phone and grabbed my stake and gun. Lehner and Stevens appeared before me, their faces grave as they stood with their stakes poised for battle. Our Moroi, Raya, stood slightly off to the side, watching us with hawk-like intensity as she waited for her instructions.

"As soon as the van stops we're out of here, Belikov," Lehner promised, his hand clamping down on my shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly.

I nodded, my thumb running over the little rose etched near the base of my stake.

"We need to find Rose as quickly as possible," I said, taking a deep breath and forcing myself to try to think clearly.

"The estate's pretty big based off the aerials we were able to get," Stevens warned. "It may take us a while to check everywhere."

I swore under my breath as he showed me the images on a tablet. It was a fucking estate. It could take us up to twenty minutes to find her in there.

As my thumb continued to trace the pattern at the base of my stake I suddenly had an idea.

"I know how we can find her," I said, watching as the guardians raised their eyebrows in question. I ignored their questioning glances, twisting the stake in my hand. "Just cover me."


The van doors burst open and I was out, rushing towards the house. I made it to the door first, kicking it down effortlessly before the other guardians came streaming in behind me.

There was the sound of enraged roars as sunlight came pouring into the foyer. I watched in shock as a wave of Strigoi scattered back into the shadows.

"Jesus Christ," Stevens gasped under his breath as the Strigoi began to fill the room, snarling as they formed a circle around us from the shadows. For a moment we all came to a standstill, staring around us in shock. There had to be hundreds of them, emerging from every room in the estate and descending towards us with inhuman speed.

An army of Strigoi.

Adrenaline pumped through my body as hundreds of red, glowing eyes watched us closely from the shadows, snarling in anticipation.

Suddenly, flames began to burst through the darkness and the guardians sprung into action, leaping into the shadows and staking the Strigoi with ease. I didn't waste another second. I lunged forward, slamming into the first Strigoi I saw and trapping his body beneath mine.

He roared, snapping at me with his fangs while I pressed the tip of my stake against his neck. All around me there was the sound of fighting and bursts of light and heat as Lehner, Stevens and Raya covered me, holding off any other attacks. I pushed the stake down harder, watching as the Strigoi recoiled beneath me.

"Where's Rose?" I demanded, pushing the tip of the stake a little harder as he snarled underneath me.

He smirked, baring his fangs at me. "You're too late," he taunted. "Gabriel will have long killed her by now."

I roared, lifting his head by his collar and slamming it back against the floor.

He laughed coldly before letting out a low hiss when I dragged the stake across his throat.

"Maybe he's turned her already," he choked, spit flying through his teeth as he gave another cold laugh.

"Where's Rose?" I growled again, moving my stake down to rake slowly across the Strigoi's chest. He bucked under me in agony, yelling out in garbled cries. When he didn't respond I pushed harder.

"Where is she?" I yelled again, pushing my stake between his ribs at an excruciatingly slow pace.

"Argh!" he yelled out, writhing under me.

I only pushed the stake further, holding it still as I felt it touch his heart.

"Upstairs," he panted between cries.

I immediately thrust my stake through his heart, pulling it out just as quickly before I turned to the others.

"Upstairs!" I yelled.

They were still fighting Strigoi, a pile of bodies surrounding them on the floor. Lehner and Stevens quickly staked their kills, turning to run with me towards the huge marble staircase.

I pushed forward, Strigoi setting ablaze in front of me as I easily staked them, moving on to the next one without a second thought. I reached the staircase and glanced behind me. Raya was struggling, panting heavily as Lehner and Stevens formed a protective circle around her.

I looked between the staircase and Raya in frustration. We didn't have time to stop!

"Go on," she yelled when my gaze met hers. "We'll catch up."

"Belikov, go!" Lehner yelled when I hesitated for a brief second.

I nodded, leaving her with Lehner and Stevens as I pushed forward. My lungs screamed in protest as I ascended the winding staircase, but I barely noticed a thing. All I could think of was Roza. She's not dead. I told myself over and over as I pushed up the stairs, staking a Strigoi that leapt at me from above. I would know if she was dead.

That Strigoi was lying.

He was lying.

I rounded the corner and let out a sigh of relief. One more flight. I was almost at the top and I could see the thick wooden doors getting closer and closer with every passing leap I took up the stairs. My Roza was behind them. Just a few more steps –

Suddenly, I was slammed into from behind, my body flew forwards onto the hard marble steps as my stake clattered to the landing above.

I rolled over, moving my neck just in time as the Strigoi lunged for me. I grunted under the weight of him as he continued to come at me, fangs bared.

For a moment we struggled, but without my stake, my options were limited.

I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed his head, forcing my thumbs deep into his eyes. He roared as blood began to pour out from under my fingers. I pushed harder, wrapping my legs around his torso until I twisted us so I lay on top of him, pinning his arms beneath my knees.

I glanced up. My stake was so close. I lunged for it, kicking my boot over his head to stop his fangs as I grabbed the stake and thrust it through his chest.

I didn't take a moment to catch my breath before I was up again, racing towards the doors. I burst through the heavy mahogany, my body freezing at the sight that lay before me.

Rose was at the other end of the room, tied to a chair with her head lolling to the side. Her clothes were ripped and bloodied, her shirt hanging open. She was pale, blood pouring out of her head and neck. Her neck. She'd been bitten.

A Strigoi stood over her, regarding me with his cold, calculating gaze. He smiled at me across the room, continuing to watch me as he bit into his wrist and lifted it slowly towards Rose's slack mouth.

"No!" I yelled out, my eyes locked on the scene in front of me in horror.

"There's nothing quite like it, is there Belikov?" he asked with a dark smirk as I stood, frozen in dread. "Eternal life..."

The world slowed around me; my vision stayed locked on the droplets of blood on his wrist as they inched closer and closer to destroying me.

"You were too weak to show her," he continued, laughing coldly. "Let's show your girl what she's been missing."

As his wrist moved that final, fatal inch I yelled out, lunging forward helplessly.

Suddenly the Strigoi dropped to the ground, screaming in agony as flames engulfed his body. I looked behind me to see Raya standing in the doorway, her eyes blazing as they stayed locked on the Strigoi. Lehner and Stevens stood behind her, holding off a wall of Strigoi that were fighting their way up the stairs.

I snapped back into action, rushing forwards to stake the Strigoi where he lay, his body contorting into ugly shapes on the floor.

I formed a protective barrier in front of Roza as Raya turned towards the door. The Strigoi immediately began to catch alight and I watched in amazement as the scene before me shifted. Lehner and Stevens were on the attack now, staking each Strigoi that appeared before them in a mere matter of seconds as small bursts of fire continued to distract them.

In a matter of minutes, the army swarming up the stairs was reduced to a pile of bodies beneath their feet.

"Can she walk?" Lehner asked, wiping the sweat off his brow as he tried to peer past me to look at Rose.

I shook my head, turning to untie her where she sat limply on the chair. She was so pale. If it weren't for the ragged sound of her breathing I would be terrified that I was too late. That she was...

I shook the thought from my head.

"She's lost a lot of blood," I called over my shoulder as I worked to quickly untie the knots binding her wrists. "We need to get her down to Nina. Now."

I lifted Rose from her chair effortlessly, turning to face the others. Stevens nodded, disappearing for a moment to peer down the staircase.

"They're still fighting down there," he said when he returned a moment later.

Lehner leaned over in curiosity, following where Stevens' gaze had been a moment before. He let out a surprised laugh. "The bastards are lighting up like the Fourth of July."

Raya smirked, her arms folding over her chest in satisfaction.

"Get her out of here, Belikov," she said, indicating with her head towards the stairs. "We'll cover you."

I nodded, descending the stairs with Lehner at the front and Stevens covering the back. Raya stayed with me in the middle, her eyes peeled for the slightest sign of danger.

I stumbled slightly as the sight of the battle came into view.

Strigoi were falling everywhere. There had to be more than a hundred bodies littering the floor, and with every second a sharp burst of light was accompanied with another Strigoi falling to the floor, a stake thrust through their chest. But what astounded me the most was that I couldn't see a single one of our bodies down there.

How different this situation would have looked in any other fight, the bodies of slain guardians littering the ground. And they would be the lucky ones. The ones taken would suffer a fate worse than death.

"You were right, Rose," I whispered in awe as we hurried down the staircase. "You did it."

My grip on her body tightened as a Strigoi lunged at us from the side. Before Lehner or Stevens could even react, he was ablaze, his body crippling to the floor as fire flared around him. Stevens leapt forward, staking him with ease as we continued to move through the chaos.

A few more Strigoi leapt at us as we made our escape. They went down just as easily as the first.

I was surprised to see just how quickly their numbers were dwindling. The battle would be over before it had barely begun.

Within a few short minutes, we burst back into the light of the foyer. Raya, Lehner and Stevens turned back towards the battle, waving me on. I nodded my thanks before I broke into a sprint towards the waiting van.

"Nina!" I yelled as I approached. She appeared at the mouth of the back of the van, her eyes peeled for any sight of danger. She nodded as she took in the sight of Rose, unconscious in my arms.

"Move," she demanded as I gently placed Rose in the back of the van. She crouched down over her, her hands placed over the worst of the damage to her head and neck.

I watched intently as the wounds began to close and the colour returned to Roza's features.

"Give her a minute," Nina instructed as she moved away to sit down, pale and exhausted.

I nodded, giving my thanks as I took my seat next to Roza. I watched her closely, lifting her hand and gripping it tightly in my own.

After a few excruciating minutes, Roza's eyes finally began to flutter open. I reached forward, gently grabbing her face in my hands.

She winced slightly, her head rolling around in panic before he eyes adjusted to find mine.

"Dimitri?" she asked, her body finally relaxing as she broke out of her confused haze.

"It's over, Roza," I said, kissing her forehead softly.

"Gabriel?" she asked, her voice raising an octave. My stomach twisted at the memory.

"Dead," I said firmly, gripping her hand even tighter in mine. "You're safe. He'll never hurt you, or anyone else, ever again."

"Where are the others?" she asked, glancing around the empty van in confusion.

"They're okay," I reassured her, gently stroking her matted hair off her face. "The battle is almost over."

"Battle?" she asked, rising up onto her elbows to look past me.

I gently pushed back on her shoulders, forcing her to relax. "The army was there Roza. Hundreds of them."

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Hundreds? How bad is it? We should get back in there. We have to help!"

I stared at her in amazement, unable to stop the smile as it spread over my features. "They're fine without us. We've almost won."

She continued to stare at me in confusion as I grinned at her.

"You should have seen it in there, Roza!" I continued in excitement, leaning forward to pepper her face with kisses. "It was incredible. Hundreds of Strigoi dropping like flies without a single guardian falling. Hundreds dead in less than thirty minutes!"

She stared at me for a long moment, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Not a single guardian lost?" she asked in amazement.

I shook my head. "None that I could see," I told her, lifting her hand to kiss it gently. "You did it, Roza. It was incredible. You are incredible."

She stared at me for a long moment, her eyes wide as she struggled to find words.

Finally, she smiled, a single tear rolling down her cheek as her eyes fell shut in exhaustion.

"Well how about that," she whispered.


What do you think? I've never written a battle action sequence like this before and I hope that I managed to do it justice.

We will now get to see some more happy moments (and babies) for our lovebirds, I promise.

Please don't forget to review :)