There was no way of knowing how long it had been since Belikov had thrown him into the dank, dark cell—but if he had to hazard a guess, Adrian would say at least twenty-four hours. He'd crawled around and eventually located a metal frame with thick interwoven fabric straps that served as a bed and passed out for some time. It was still dark when he woke, the only light a dim line emanating from beneath the holding cell door some distance away. It took Adrian time to crawl around the cell, finally discovering the only way to activate the motion-censored lights was to wedge himself in the front corner of the bars, passing an arm through the metal and waving vigorously. If he did that, it guaranteed him ninety seconds of illumination, but the exertion hardly seemed worth it.

They wouldn't let him starve, of that Adrian was certain. Nothing was likely to enrage his family and their political cohorts more than a young Royal Lord arrested, then imprisoned without nourishment. That said, he was certain when food came it would be in the form of a blood bag and not a feeder. But hey—at this stage he'd suck on anything if it gave him sustenance!

He closed his eyes and prepared for another hour of hunger pains and the unfortunate side-effects of spirit when he heard the mechanical bolt to the door open.

"You're here to release me?" Adrian joked, his eyes closed as he got used to the sudden illumination. Appreciating he'd be at the very bottom of any Moroi plan of extrication, he understood whoever was visiting would not be an ally. In fact, he would bet that other than his mother, and possibly his father, no one else would concern themselves he'd been arrested and was currently detained against his will!

"I'm afraid not," a languorous Russian accent drawled. As a potential target to be reclaimed during the rally, Dimitri had volunteered to oversee Adrian. He stepped into the space carrying a soft plastic tray with a single plastic bottle of water, a pouch of blood, and a small plate of sautéed veal and greens. A better-quality meal than the average working Guardian could expect, Dimitri saw the irony. Even imprisoned in a dungeon, Moroi were treated better than hard-working Dhampir!

"You can't expect me to eat this?!" Adrian growled, looking at the food in front of him in disgust. Blood in a pouch was disgusting! And the other food looked like it was only lukewarm. Despite his earlier hunger pains, Adrian considered not eating it.

"You have two options, cousin… Take it, or leave it!" Dimitri smirked as he placed the meager offering on the ground in front of his cousin's cell and used his foot to nudge it beneath the bars. "Either way, I'll activate three light sequences. Assuming my addition is correct, that gives you four and a half minutes to enjoy it."

Not waiting for Adrian to say anything more, Dimitri let himself out of the holding room, locking the main door behind him. The rally should take a few hours. In the meantime, Dimitri was content to guard Ivashkov's cell door. He wasn't expecting trouble, which left him free to tune in to his wife's current mood. Of all of them, she had the most important role, today.


"They seem receptive?" Janine said to Art Schoenberg and Galina Kuznetsov. Standing behind a canvass tent at the rally, waiting to be introduced, the colleagues chatted as they listened to Abe and Croft address the crowd. Despite the severity of the situation, the three were comfortable enough in one another's presence. They'd worked together many times over the years. As well as colleagues, they also considered one another friends.

"So, your girl is still with Belikov?" Galina asked Janine. She'd been Dimitri's mentor at St. Basil's and still held a certain professional interest in the young Alpha.

"Yes. They're mated," Janine admitted. Not initially thrilled, Janine had come to recognize and respect their connection over the years. "They're so in love, it's almost sickening to be around them, sometimes!"

"Good for them!" Galina replied with a grin. Some Guardians, like Janine, found a partner and somehow made it work. But they were the minority. Most, like Galina, weren't lucky in that regard. While she might wish for what he had, she couldn't begrudge her former student the joy of love.

"Indeed!" Guardian Schoenberg said, eyeing Guardian Kuznetsov. He'd always thought her a stunning woman, and an outstanding Guardian. They only saw each other only a few times a year, and he would love to start something with her, yet he was unsure. However, sometimes he imagined she reciprocated his interest. Something in her eyes suggested Galina might be receptive to his advances. The arrival of Erskine, Sokolov, and Petrov—the trio joining their group - interrupted Schoenberg's musings.

"I wasn't expecting you?!" Janine said, grinning at Alberta Petrov.

"Like I'd let you all meet up without me," she said with a smile, letting Janine introduce her to Galina who she knew by reputation but had never met in person. "How's it going?"

"The rally seems to be going well. Belikov is guarding Adrian Ivashkov, and Rose is with Ariana and Vasilisa," Janine revealed.

"How is that going to go?" Alberta asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine!" Janine sighed.


"Since you seem to be in the thick of it, perhaps you can tell me what's going on?" Lissa said, gesturing for Rose to join Ariana and her for lunch. Her voice wasn't unfriendly, yet it lacked some of its usual warmth.

"Thank you," Rose said, trying to get a read on Lissa's mood. Sitting between the two women, Rose unfolded her napkin and accepted a small glass of wine. Two loyal Guardians were standing outside guarding the suite—besides which, the Szelsky family would not be attempting to retrieve Ariana given they had known this was the likely outcome if Her Majesty was arrested. Christian was another story, but in a call to Mason earlier, Rose asked him to pass on the message for Sparky to calm his farm, that she would see Lissa at lunchtime, and would stop by the Dragomir house later to talk to him.

Lissa raised an eyebrow, showing to Rose she should start. So taking a quick sip of her wine, she did.

"As you know, Abe lives and operates mostly in the human world. Yeah, he does a bit of loan-sharking in the Moroi world, but most of his interests are outside of Court and the Moroi world. All that changed when I was brought to Court. I knew nothing about him, and he hadn't seen me since before I came to the Academy, but as soon as Mom called him, he was willing to help.

"When Baba learned what being Omega would mean for me, he helped get me out of Court and out of the country. He facilitated my wedding to Dimitri and then stood up for me against Her Majesty when we were ordered back to Court. Even though Dimitri and I had to leave the Moroi world, Abe worried Her Majesty would come after us in the future. He was also concerned about how Tatiana was manipulating the Royal Council to pass decrees that were more and more detrimental to average Moroi, Dhampir, and Guardians.

"Initially, he intended to overthrow the Royal Council, and Tatiana, in the hope a more progressive Royal Council would be voted in. However, that left the same families ultimately in control, and past actions had shown their decisions were largely motivated by self-interest."

"Not all of us voted that way!" Lissa argued defensively. She had tried to use her position on the Royal Council for the good of everyone.

"No, not all," Ariana agreed. "But in your three years on the Council, surely you have noticed many of the decisions were not impartial or considering the needs of all Moroi and Dhampir society?"

Lissa stopped to think about it. Despite her opposition, there had been many Council decisions that unfairly benefited Royal Moroi at the expense of others.

"In the end, Abe started work on a new constitution. The idea is there'll be a Council of thirteen, all elected representatives, with at least six Dhampir and six Moroi. I know it is shitty timing given your wedding, but the age decree had the opportunity to damage so many. It's also something people could rally around," Rose almost pleaded.

"And all the senior members of each Royal family were at Court for it," Lissa concluded.

"I'm sorry, Liss," Rose mumbled. "It's just the way it happened…"

"I understand," Vasilisa replied with quiet dignity. "Yes, I'm disappointed with the timing, but this is more important than my wedding or honeymoon."

"I'm glad to hear you feel that way," Ariana replied with a grin, moving closer to where the last Dragomir sat, "because we were hoping you'd consider running for a place on the Representative Council!"


"What the fuck is going on? Where is Lissa, and why have you ruined our honeymoon?!" Christian exploded as soon as Rose, followed by Dimitri, entered the Dragomir sitting room in the early Moroi evening. The full complement of the Dragomir/Ozera Guardians surrounded him, and it hurt Rose to see reproach in Mason, Meredith and Eddie's eyes.

"First of all, Lissa is fine! She is sharing a suite in the palace with Ariana Szelsky. She is content and has asked for the following items." Rose dropped a hand-written note onto the coffee table, taking a seat on the only unoccupied sofa. Dimitri sat beside her, eyeing the other occupants of the room uneasily. Christian's eyes flicked to the paper, recognizing his wife's handwriting. "As for what's going on, did you attend the rally?"

"We did," Celeste replied on behalf of the group. "We all did."

"Then you know that there is a plan to replace Her Majesty and the Royal Council with a council of elected Moroi and Dhampir representatives," Rose replied.

"You don't get your way, so you overthrow the entire government?!" Christian snapped, glaring at his wife's best friend.

"That's enough," Dimitri said in a calm, firm voice. "That's not what happened."

Rose smiled at her man. An Alpha through and through, everyone stopped to listen when he said his piece—even Damon!

"Her Majesty had the Royal Council rigged so the more progressive members didn't get a look in. With her faction of conservatives, every vote disadvantaged normal Moroi, Dhampir, and Guardians. The age decree vote was the final straw! She wanted to graduate Novices when they were sixteen!"

The Guardians in the room looked at one another with unease. New Guardians were poorly prepared for service as it was. At sixteen, they would be little more than cannon fodder for their charges.

"It's horrible timing, but we could not allow Tatiana and the Council to pass that decree," Rose explained.

"Lissa didn't even vote in favor! She was against it!" Christian argued, having heard about his wife's stance on the controversial vote.

"Which is why she is in a comfortable double suite with Ariana Szelsky!" Rose snapped. "We all know Liss is not a self-serving asshole like a lot of the Royal Council, but they could not allow her to go free when the rest of the Council was apprehended!"

"So why is she detained?" Christian asked, becoming more and more exasperated.

"She needed to be seen to be apprehended," Rose explained slowly, "so the process had validity! I promise you, she'll be one of the first to be released! She didn't vote in favor of the age decree; people know that. It will be a day or two, then she'll be back here with you."

"What if I want to be with her in the interim?" Christian asked. He was, after all, a bridegroom!

"You can visit and stay with her, if you choose," Rose replied, explaining to Christian the stance about the Royal Council members' partners. She also told him that unlike the other Royal Council detainees, they would allow Lissa her cell phone so she could communicate with him that way.

"She should be out in a day or two and we can still go on our honeymoon?" Christian checked.

Rose shrugged, deliberately not meeting his eyes. "You'll need to talk about that with Liss."


"Who will try for a spot on the new Council?" Janine asked Abe over dinner. The rally had been a success, almost all the Dhampir, and a surprising number of Moroi supporting a change to the way they were governed. Still early days, it was fair to say that the initial outlook was positive.

"Ariana intends to, and I know she is hoping to convince Vasilisa to run, too. Most of the Royal families will probably try to have a candidate, though I doubt they'll have the numbers to get more than one in. If they're to have any chance of getting a councilor, the more conservative Royal families will need to choose one candidate and get behind them. As for the Dhampir? Schoenberg intends to run, and with his history, I'd say he's a shoo-in. Kuznetsov said she'd consider running, too. And a few people have suggested you might be interested," Abe replied, eyeing the mother of his child.

Over the last few years, they'd become closer and were now openly a couple. That they cared for one another was not in doubt, yet they'd never discussed their future together. Abe had made it clear he intended to go back to his life in the human world after the coup which would mean a long-distance relationship if Janine stayed at Court.

"Me?" Janine said in surprise. She could honestly say throughout this entire process, she never considered serving on the new Council. In fact, she saw her future in rather a different direction.

"Why not? You're well known, have an unblemished reputation, plus Dhampir, Guardians, and even Moroi respect you…"

"I'm not sure policy is where my skills lie," Janine said distractedly, trying to work out how to put her next thoughts into words. "I was actually thinking I might take some time off from Court. My visits to you in the human world have been enjoyable, and it's been wonderful spending time with Rosemarie. I've got some savings, and I'm not getting any younger, you know. Maybe it's time I step away from being a Guardian?"

It was as far as Janine was willing to go. If Ibrahim wanted more of a full-time relationship with her, this was his chance to say so.

"You'll always have a home with me, Jeanie," Abe said, reaching across the table and taking one of Janine's hands in his own, "and what's mine is yours. You could stay with me in Turkey? Or we could travel? I have business interests all over the globe; the world could be our oyster!"

Janine pretended to consider. "I'd need to give six-weeks' notice... It wouldn't be fair to give Lord Szelsky any less."

"Realistically, I'm probably stuck at Court for the next two or three months," Abe added, his eyes twinkling, "but after that, I have no firm commitments. Perhaps we could start by visiting Scotland?" he suggested, knowing Janine had always wanted to revisit her homeland. Like most Dhampir, Janine had grown up poor. He'd like to take her back to familiar places, but with no expense spared. His chain had hotels in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. He'd have to check, but he probably owned other property there, too. He'd give his hotel CEO Davenport a call later to organize the top suites to be reserved for them.


"What do you mean delay our honeymoon?" Christian shouted in the study, loud enough to be heard downstairs in the kitchen. Celeste lifted her eyebrows at Laura, while Tasha furrowed her brow. None of them had ever heard Christian so irate.

"Our whole world is in the midst of change, Christian," Lissa replied calmly over the phone. "Of course, I am disappointed to delay our trip, but our society is changing. It's exciting and I feel I should be part of it!"

"What does that mean?"

"I've talked to Rose and Ariana Szelsky, and I intend to run for a position on the Representative Council."

"You what?!"

"You heard me, Christian. I think I can do this. I am young, progressive, but still Royal. There will be six or seven Moroi positions on the Council—I think I have a good shot at being one of them."

"Why would you want to?" Christian replied, perplexed.

"I studied politics and public policy," Lissa retorted. "As the last Dragomir, I had an obligation to be on the Royal Council, so I made sure I skilled myself in those areas. Even if the Royal Council ceases to exist, I have something to offer. I feel like I should be part of this."

"Is that you or Rose talking?" Christian asked, furious that Lissa was willing to blow off their honeymoon to campaign for a political position. It was different when Lissa had no choice but to serve—but now she could step down from a Council position, he couldn't understand why she'd want to be a part of it all.

"It's me!" Lissa snapped. "I want to do this! I can't sit around and not help when I have the skills to make a difference!"

"You open your mouth, and Rose's voice comes out!" Christian shouted, furious that his wife had made such a fundamental decision without even consulting him.

"Fuck you, Christian!" Lissa shouted back, swearing at him for the first time. Hanging up the phone, she was seething! She would do this—with or without him.