"Up you get. You're being moved."

Adrian opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the light in the previously unlit cell. Standing in the doorway were two Guardians he'd never seen before. He rolled off the uncomfortable stretcher bed he'd been lying on, stepping over the tray Belikov had left him hours before. In the end, he had consumed the blood, food, and water his Alpha cousin had brought for him, so now it was filled with empty plastic.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked as one unbolted the cell door, fairly certain he already knew the answer.

"You're going to Guardian Headquarters," the Guardian said, cuffing Adrian's hands before placing a rough hessian bag over his head. With a loose enough weave to see where he was going, it would not allow him to make eye contact and compel his guards.

"Is that really necessary?" Adrian asked. Sure, he'd tried it on Abe in a moment of not quite sober stupidity, which is what got him here, but he wasn't likely to do it again.

"Orders," one Guardian barked. "Now hurry up—this is our last job before we come off shift."

Adrian knew there were many passages and rooms in the Palace basement. In fact, it was possible to travel from the Palace to Guardian Headquarters completely underground if you knew the route. So they surprised him when, after a few twists and turns, the Guardians guided him into an elevator. Sumptuously decorated, Adrian recognized it as one that serviced the Palace foyer and upper-level public areas. Assholes! They intended to walk him through the foyer and through the street to Guardian Headquarters!

Through his hood, Adrian could see that it was dark. Moroi daytime. And sure enough, the Palace vestibule was packed.

"Stand back, please… We're transporting Lord Ivashkov across to headquarters," one Guardian announced to a group of Moroi gathered nearby. He hadn't shouted it, but it was loud enough to be heard from some distance. They wanted everyone to know who was beneath the face bag. The tittering was instant. Bad enough people knew they had arrested him, but the cloth bag over his head announced he was accused of using compulsion without authorization. It would have raised less attention if they'd put him in a bright orange jumpsuit!

People had a lot to say about the incarcerated Ivashkov, the conversations continuing as the Guardians escorted him out onto the street.

"… I always thought he'd end up on the wrong side of the law. Look at how he treats the women he sees…" one snooty Royal matron declared to a friend as they passed him. Lady Patricia Tarus, Adrian suspected. No wonder she was shitty; she had three hideous spinster daughters he wouldn't fuck with someone else's dick, even if they paid him!

Taking the stairs from the pavement up to the entry to Guardian Headquarters, they quickly led Adrian down a series of long, sparse corridors until traveling down a set of concrete stairs and into the basement. Like the Palace basement it had solid concrete walls, but here was better kept—the walls painted in a sickly but clean glossy lemon-curd yellow, the hard floor covered with frayed but functional carpet squares.

"Got one for you," the taller Guardian escorting Adrian announced. "Another Ivashkov."

"They'll need their own wing at this rate," the processing officer announced, accepting some paperwork before lifting the sack from Adrian's head. "Bring him through, fellas."

Opening a heavy steel door, the Guardians walked Adrian through a corridor decorated much like the one outside. On each side were four rooms with solid metal doors and a glass panel at head height. Most were dark and apparently empty, although he could see 'Rufus Ivashkov' written on one.

"What's my uncle doing down here?" Adrian asked as they passed two open areas. On one side was a small lounge area with a television, opposite it was a table with six chairs. Both spaces were empty. "I thought the Royal Council were detained in suites in the Palace?"

"That's right," the warden agreed. "Your family tried to bust him out, earning them and him a stay down here." Sure enough, as they moved past the open area and further down the corridor, they passed a few other cells where Adrian saw the names of two distant cousins and another uncle written on the cell doors. "This is you here," the warden continued, stopping in front of a cell. Opening the door, he led Adrian into a well-lit room with a metal bed, a vinyl-covered mattress and pillow, a metal table and stool - both bolted to the floor - and finally a metal toilet and handbasin. There was also a television recessed into the wall behind what Adrian could only assume was shatterproof glass. Utilitarian, it was still a damned sight better than the Palace holding cells, and that was something, he supposed.

Undoing the shackles on Adrian's hands, the warden said, "We'll leave you to get settled in. Your mother will be here to visit in an hour. She will bring you a fresh set of clothing."


"So how do you see this working?" Lissa, Ariana, and Abe were seated in the Dragomir dining room, sipping from Rhea Dragomir's 'good' china tea set. While she was the youngest, and one of the most progressive of the former Royal Council, Vasilisa was still a Princess, and at times like this, it showed.

"Yes. Enlighten us," Christian added only just this side of civil as he brought in some fresh scones, jam, and cream and seated himself beside his wife. While they had not invited him to be part of this discussion, Lissa hadn't asked him to stay away. The two had barely said a word since Lissa, Ariana and several other Council members had been released hours ago, Croft deciding they were no danger.

"You're already well-regarded by regular Moroi," Ariana stated, "and it's well known you voted against the age decree. However, if they're going to vote for you, we need to get your name and face out there among Guardians and Dhampir."

"Do you think they would vote for me?" Lissa asked.

"They will if they know you understand and support their needs," Abe replied.

"And how am I supposed to find out what their needs are?" she asked.

Christian shrugged, then pointed to the adjacent living room where Celeste, Meredith, Mason, and Eddie sat talking quietly amongst themselves. "I don't know, Liss—how about you ask them?!"

An hour later, Lissa had a notepad filled with issues she'd previously had no idea about. At first reticent to open up about their issues and grievances, small and large, in the end, the Dragomir/Ozera guarding team had been forthcoming, painting a picture of systematic and systemic problems disadvantaging Guardians and Dhampir. Some could easily be alleviated through policy or procedural shifts; however, the vast majority were issues that would require years and an entire rethink of Moroi/Dhampir social and fiscal policy to address.

"I had no idea," Christian said apologetically to Eddie and Mason, absentmindedly passing each a coffee. "We went to school together—how come I don't know all this?"

"There's plenty I don't know about being Royal," Eddie said with a shrug. "I'm sure that's got its downsides, too."

Christian disagreed but didn't think it was the time to argue.

"How would you suggest raising Vasilisa's profile amongst Dhampir?" Abe asked, walking into the living room. He and Ariana had strategized in the dining room while Lissa and Christian had talked turkey with their Guardians.

Celeste looked up from where she was sitting on the sofa. "It would help if they saw her out with Dhampir treating them as equals. Not her Guardians," she quickly added, "that would not go down well. But if people saw her out shopping with a Dhampir friend, or having lunch, it would show them she didn't look down on us."

"Rose," Christian said, coming to the logical conclusion before his wife did. Throughout all this… "It always comes back to Rose."

"She is my best friend!" Lissa snapped.

"But do you want to do this, or is it because of her?" he posed.

"It's what I want. I want to be more than a Royal with a place on the Council because I'm the only Dragomir! This is what I trained for," Lissa almost begged. "I can make a difference in our world. You know I can."

Christian sighed. "I guess that means you, me, Belikov and Rose are going out for lunch?"

"Guess so," Lissa replied, giving her new husband a lingering kiss on the cheek. "Hey—you always said Moroi should learn offensive magic and fight alongside their Guardians… Maybe this is your chance to push that?"

"That's a point," Christian murmured.


Four days in and Tatiana's supporters had finally got a message to her. Frustratingly, the Guardians allocated to her had proven impervious to bribes, refusing to give her any assistance contacting the outside world. Similarly, the domestic, Nadia, was of no help. However, at the start of her fourth day of incarceration, the former Monarch discovered an envelope taped to the bottom of her breakfast tray.

Not wanting to give anything away, she sedately ate her way through the contents of the tray, removing the sealed envelope and concealing it within her gown before knocking on the inside of the door to her suite, indicating she had finished her meal.

Of course, today would be the day Nadia was scheduled to change her sheets and freshen up the suite—so Tatiana used the opportunity to retire to the bathroom, opening the envelope and pulling out three folded sheets, noting yesterday's date at the top.

Your Majesty,

We have been attempting to contact you since the rebel Guardians seized you and the rest of the Royal Council. In the days since they have detained you, Croft and his allies have held two public rallies at Court, and have also written to every Moroi and Dhampir outside of Court and overseas. Their intention is an entirely new system of Government for Moroi and Dhampir, comprising a Chief Councilor and a twelve-person Representative Council of elected Moroi and Dhampir.

Tatiana skimmed the next two paragraphs which outlined, in detail, the proposed composition, term and jurisdiction of the new governing body, tuning back in further down where those suspected to run for Council were listed.

The Dhampir list was unsurprising. The former head of the Guardian Council, Art Schoenberg, a senior teacher from St. Basil's Galina Kuznetsov, two successful unpromised Dhampir merchants along with several other names she did not immediately recognize. Given Abe Mazur was so intimately involved with this coup, she'd half expected to see his daughter or son-in-law's name listed amongst the potential candidates, yet neither were named.

Moving down, Tatiana noticed the Moroi list of candidates was considerably longer. She cursed under her breath. Mazur was a clever man - he'd recognized numerous Moroi, Royal and otherwise, would want the glory or power that would come with a seat on any newly established Council. As he'd no doubt expected, plenty of Moroi had signaled their intention to run. All this would do is dilute the vote, meaning they could end up with anyone representing Moroi and their interests. Better a small pool of quality applicants than a cast of thousands where a single vote could make all the difference!

Many of those listed she immediately disregarded, appreciating they had neither the skill nor connections to garner enough support to pose any realistic threat, however, her eyes paused when she saw Ariana Szelsky's name listed, and beside it Vasilisa Dragomir's. These two were undoubtedly the most progressive Royal Council members and had both publicly voted no to the age decree. Ariana would be popular among non-Royal Moroi, but Vasilisa was the dark horse. Representing a family of one—well, two now, although one by marriage—her position on the Royal Council had always been a foregone conclusion. Given she had no family council to answer to, Tatiana had never bothered trying to get her onside in any significant Council vote.

It was interesting that she might now intend to run for a position in the new regime. She'd long been a friend to Mazur's Omega daughter, although Tatiana was unsure how close they were these days. It seemed significant the Dragomir Princess was the only one close to Mazur that was running, yet it was hard to determine what part Abe played in her potential nomination.

The letter outlined various matters of little consequence before declaring the Ivashkov family's commitment to Tatiana, her reign, and her sovereignty. Signed by her nephew Nathan, Tatiana was at least cautiously optimistic she'd be rescued soon. Despite the adequate treatment from the Guardians and domestic staff, Tatiana was a Queen, and refused to be treated as anything less!


"Lissa asked us to lunch today," Rose murmured, splayed across her mate's chest and stroking his stubbled chin. She knew better than to mention anything about Lissa and Christian before a lengthy and thorough session of lovemaking… So she'd waited until after her fifth orgasm, Dimitri's third, when they were lying replete against one another. "Christian will be there, too. We haven't caught up the four of us in ages…"

Dimitri groaned. He wasn't an idiot; he'd seen this coming. Still—it wasn't yet 10:00pm. He wanted at least another hour or two before he had to think about catching up with his mate's best friend and new husband.

"Fine. As long as we go somewhere where they have Alpha sized meals," Dimitri growled. Dhampir ate a lot more than Moroi. Guardians even more than Dhampir. As an Alpha, Dimitri was a veritable eating machine - his large mass and extensive training schedule necessitating a much larger intake of calories than Dhampir or even regular Guardians. If he had to meet up with Rose's Royal Moroi mates in a public setting, they'd better make sure his meal was enough to satisfy!

"You're cranky," Rose observed, running her hand across her husband's heavily muscled chest.

"I am," Dimitri admitted, rubbing his nose against the column of Rose's neck. "I want this all to be over! I want to move on."

"Move on? What does that mean?" Rose asked, languidly stroking her mate's chest hair. Long familiar with one another's naked bodies, she still loved stroking the coarse strands of hair adorning his chest.

"Leaving this world," Dimitri replied without delay. "Going back to our life away from Court. We were so happy there," he argued, twisting his body and resting his head on his hand, his elbow braced against the mattress. "We've been married years, now. It's time we move out of your father's home and make a home of our own. We could start with that."

"We have everything we need at Baba's," Rose said, her heart not really in the argument. She'd also thought about moving out, especially after a chat with her mother the day before. It looked as though Janine intended to return to Turkey with Abe when they left Court. Despite the size of Abe's house, Rose thought her parents might want the place to themselves.

"Yes… But would you choose to raise a child in your father's house?"

"A child?" Rose gasped, her eyes wide as she regarded her husband and mate. This was the first time he'd voiced anything like this!

"At least consider it," Dimitri begged, pulling his wife close against him. "I love you, and I want us to start a family."

"A baby?" Rose replied, raising her head to look into Dimitri's hopeful eyes. "Soon?"

"As soon as you're ready," he replied, leaning down to kiss his wife tenderly.


"What do you think I should wear?" Lissa asked, climbing out of bed at 11:30pm. They were due to meet Rose and Dimitri at 12:15, and in an attempt to put Christian in a pleasant mood, she'd spent the morning in bed with her husband, engaged in typical 'newlywed' activities. He still hadn't forgiven her for postponing their honeymoon, but Christian was coming around to Liss running for the new Representative Council.

"Something casual. You're meant to be showing people you're approachable and down to earth."

Lissa humphed, moving into their walk-in closet. It would be cold out, so she'd need something warm. After ten minutes she settled on a dark pair of skinny jeans, a long-sleeved top, and a cardigan. Teamed with ankle boots and her hair out, she'd look casual but chic.

"What do you want me to wear?" Christian asked, knowing there was no point him choosing his own clothing since Lissa would second guess any of his choices.

"Cargos and a sweater?" Lissa said, phrasing it as though it was a question. "Your blue one is nice," she added, pointing to a cobalt blue sweater she'd bought him for their engagement photos. It worked well with his bright blue eyes but was dark enough that it still appealed to Christian's tenebrous fashion sense. Stopping only to shower, Christian dressed as per Lissa's instructions. By twelve, they were dressed and ready.

"Mason and Eddie are with us today," Lissa said. She tried to alternate who was with them when they went out and about at Court, but really they had more Guardians than they needed. It was only a matter of time before at least half were reallocated.

The four set out to walk the six blocks to the restaurant where they'd meet Dimitri and Rose. Not popular with Royals, it was one of only a few establishments at Court that catered to a mixed Moroi and Dhampir clientele—making it the perfect place for Lissa to see and be seen. Walking in, it surprised the Royal couple to see Rose and her husband already there.

"I thought you might be weirded out waiting if I was late," Rose said, referring to her habit of being at least fifteen minutes late anywhere while hugging her best friend and tentatively smiling at Christian.

"That's thoughtful of you," Lissa replied, taking the seat next to Rose and gesturing for Eddie and Mason to join them at the table. The six of them were already attracting attention, but they pretended not to notice. "I haven't been here, before—what can you suggest?" Rose and Dimitri had been here several times, so they rattled off a list of dishes they could recommend. Unsure whether they should order, despite sitting at the table, Eddie and Mason did not look at the menu.

"Please order whatever you'd like," Lissa said. "It's on me. I know it's not standard protocol, but we're in no danger here."

Eddie looked at Mason, who shrugged. A meal out was an uncommon treat. In no time they'd ordered, Christian, Eddie, Mason, and Dimitri settling in to talk baseball. A topic that interested all of them, it left Rose and Lissa free to chat about the latter's campaign ideas and gossip about how the other Royal families had reacted to the dissolution of the Royal Council.

"I can't believe the Ivashkovs tried to break out Rufus," Lissa said with a giggle.

"Dimitri was guarding Adrian that day, and they did not try to get to him," Rose added with a smirk.

"He doesn't really have any friends… I suppose I should drop by and see him," Lissa said, not looking forward to the prospect. Still—as a fellow Spirit user, he'd helped her a lot learning how to manage her element. It would be unkind to abandon him in his time of need. Recognizing Rose still carried a lot of resentment toward Adrian, Lissa hastened the conversation along. "What do you have planned after all this is over? You said you didn't intend to stay at Court."

"My sister-in-law Karolina is on holiday and has been raving about the place she's visiting. Dimitri and I thought we might vacation there for a week or two. Then when we get back to Turkey, we're thinking of getting our own place."

"You live with Abe at the moment, don't you?" Lissa asked.

"Yes. But we're thinking about starting a family, so we want a place of our own."


Hi guys - thanks SO MUCH for your patience waiting for this chapter. I am working from home, home schooling, trying to keep my husband busy and have also started a major spring clean since we're all stuck self-isolating. Writing time has been scarce :( But I am here, still writing, and will deliver you chapters as soon as I can! Appreciate your reviews, comments and your kind words on my FB Page: www facebook com / swimmingthesamedeepwaters

Wishing you all safe and well in these challenging times!