Rose's POV

"I tried to fight her at first, but then Ethan restrained my arms. Soon enough the endorphins took over and I… just stopped resisting. She drank until I was almost unconscious and compelled me to write the letter to Lissa. Ethan… he bashed my head against the wall and I blacked out." I shrugged, there wasn't much else to say.

Hans moved his arm in a circular motion, urging me to go on.

"What happened when you woke up?" Hans asked, tapping his pen on the table. I could tell that my recounting of events was making him anxious, maybe even a little upset. I wonder how my friends and family were holding up behind the trap mirror.

"They weren't there. Her and Ethan took off. I woke up in a car with a group of humans working for Strigoi. As soon as I woke up they injected me with something to keep my muscles limp and weak. The Strigoi sent me back two weeks later. I was compelled to forget everything after the church service."

I felt cold, though the room was a comfortable temperature.

Hans didn't seem pleased with my summary, "What did the Strigoi do to you?" He asked.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "That's not important. All you need to know is that Tasha planned my disappearance. Strigoi told me that Tasha asked them to kill me, but they didn't want to be controlled by a Moroi. They wanted me alive." My tone grew cold, chilling the air even more.

Hans shook his head, "I find that hard to believe. I'm sorry, Princess, but do you expect me to buy that your friend plotted to murder you?" I clenched my fist, hoping my voice didn't shake, "She tried to kill me." I bit down on my tongue to keep back from shouting obscenities about her.

Hans raised an eyebrow, "Why would she do that?"

I tasted rust in my mouth. I unclenched my teeth to release my tongue. I had to take two slow breaths before I could speak. Just say it, Rose. "Because Dimitri and I were together... Before. Tasha found out about it and held a grudge against me. She didn't know that Dimitri had pushed me away after his transformation, he told me that he didn't want to be with me. She thought that he still loved me. As long as I was around she couldn't be with him."

Hans leaned back in his seat, his lips flattened into a tight line as he processed the bomb I just dropped. I had just called out mine and Dimitri's student-teacher relationship. Fear coursed through me, Hans could come down hard on Dimitri and punish him. What have I done? Stupid, Rose.

Hans glanced at the mirror as if he could see Dimitri through it, "Well I guess it's too late to do anything about that now. You've already graduated and there's no proof." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. We were being let off the hook. A fresh respect for Hans grew in me.

I offered Hans a small smile. Hans returned the small smile, he had pity in his eyes. I changed my mind, I wasn't grateful for being off the hook if it was only because Hans pitied me. That seemed pathetic, weak.

"Well then. We'll talk to Tasha and Ethan, if they plead guilty or if any more evidence shows up they will be charged with high treason for the assault and kidnapping of a Princess." Hans clapped his hand on the table and stood up. He moved to the door.

"No." I spluttered.

Hans turned to face me, "Excuse me? I thought that's what you wanted."

I shook my head, my shoulders sagging even further. I just wanted to get some rest. Probably alone, too. Dimitri wouldn't want to talk to me after this.

"I do want them punished... But I was still just a guardian at the time. Punish them for the kidnapping of Guardian Hathaway, not Princess Hathaway." As much as I hated Tasha, I couldn't stand the idea of having her executed. I asked myself why I was protecting her, was it for her? For Dimitri, or Christian? Surely not for me, right?

Hans looked at me for a long time. He thought he was doing me a favor by sentencing Tasha and Ethan to death, but it would only mean I would have their blood on my hands.

Hans pressed a little red button on the wall before he moved back to the table, taking a seat. He nodded to the mirror, "They won't be able to hear this part of our conversation. Are you aware that Matthew Drozdov was taken into custody? He was considered a suspect in the queen's murder."

I furrowed my eyebrows, not understanding how Lord Drozdov had anything to do with this. I nodded, trying to piece the puzzle together.

"Clare was bitten until she was near unconsciousness, then compelled to kill the queen... And to kill you."

"Yes I know all of this. What does any of that have to do with Tasha and Ethan?" I answered my own question as the words slipped out of my mouth. Clare was bitten then compelled, the assailants goal was to kill me. Tasha had everything to do with this.

Hans broke me out of my reverie, "Lord Drozdov is being released, he has an alibi. He was with Princess Ava and many other Drozdovs at a family event that night. He couldn't have compelled Clare, security footage shows him in the ballroom at all times. Clare wasn't even there with him."

I nodded again, already knowing what he was about to say. "Well, he's not responsible, but another Moroi is. A Moroi that bites and compels her victims. A Moroi that wants you dead. A Moroi that we both know hated the queen."

Unwelcome tears streamed down my face, "You think Tasha killed the queen." Betrayal and disgust threatened to consume me.

The idea shocked me, yes, but it also made sense.

Hans shrugged, "Based on what you told me in this room, the parallels can't be a coincidence. I want to question her. The only problem is, even if we have no doubt to believe she compelled Clare to kill the queen, there isn't enough evidence. All we have is your word that Natasha Ozera and Ethan Moore attacked a Princess and valuable asset to the dhampir community," his eyes begged me to understand what he was saying.

My mind felt like pudding, I could barely form the words I had to say. It didn't feel real, "You want me to charge Tasha and Ethan with high treason for my assault and kidnapping... Because you can't charge them with high treason for murdering the queen?"

Hans smiled grimly, "Take some time to think about it. I hope we can come to an agreement, Princess."

Hans left the table and held the door open for me. The door next to it opened and all of my friends and family filed into the hallway wearing similar looks of pain and disgust.

Dimitri approached me first, taking my hand in his, "What did Hans want? Why did he turn off the microphone?"

I shook my head, "I'll tell you later. Not here." Dimitri pressed his lips to my forehead. He smoothed down my hair, "Are you okay?" I knew that he wasn't talking about the interrogation. I couldn't believe it, even after everything I had just said about his friend he was worrying about me.

I squeezed his hand, "Yes. Are you?" I could tell Dimitri was about to brush it off but he saw the imploring look in my eyes. He took a deep breath, "I just can't believe she would do that... I don't want to talk about it. Not here at least."

Everyone stayed silent as we walked over to my suite. Mikhail and Sonya broke off to go to his room, I'm glad Hans took faith in my word when I called him to explain Sonya's condition. I feared she would be under attack like Dimitri was, but Hans left her alone.

Adrian walked away, too. He lit a cigarette as he moved toward the building that housed several of the Court's bars.

"Where's Lissa?" I asked. I didn't even notice her absence in the hallway. "She left earlier, she's at the third monarch trial right now," my mom explained. I glanced over at Jill and winked at her. Nobody's asked about her presence yet, there was just too much going on. Jill kept her eyes glued to the ground as we walked. Guilt racked through me. I felt responsible for her world being turned upside down.

"Can't you tell where Lissa is through the bond?" Viktoria asked curiously. She took my arm in hers as we walked, I'm glad I had someone as positive as Viktoria around, we would need her positive attitude around here.

"Yeah I guess I can," I sighed. "I just haven't been able to concentrate that well lately." Dimitri squeezed my hand to comfort me.

We reached my suite, walking in I felt like a stranger in my own home. So much has happened since the last time I was here. I looked around my gloom companions.

"I don't know about you guys, but I could go for some alcohol right now," I joked. My mom glared at me, "That's not funny, Rose. You're not old enough to drink."

Olena eyed my mom, I remember how Dimitri's mother let me get absolutely hammered at her home in Russia. I mean, Dimitri had just died, but still. Looking at Olena I thought of Randall, I remembered him telling me how he would torture Olena, and how he wanted to torture me. I pushed the thought out of my head.

I shrugged, "Maybe just some soda then, do you guys want anything?" I offered as I made my way to the kitchen. I heard voices coming from the kitchen.

I walked in to see Yeva sitting with Paul, Zoya and Katya, Sonja's newborn daughter. Paul jumped up when he saw me, "Rose!" Paul embraced me, he buried his face into my stomach. "Hey there! I missed you!" I felt guilty for forgetting about the rest of Dimitri's family. Yeva must have babysat when the others left to see me.

"Yeva said you're my aunt now. Can I call you Aunty Rose?" Paul looked up at me hopefully. I stood there frozen, barely processing his words. So the scheming grandma is tying the knot for Dimitri and I? I would have to talk to her later about the terms of my relationship with Dimitri. Actually, I would have to talk to Dimitri about that too.

"Paul, you should call her Princess Rose, that's her official title now," Sonja said from the doorway, a content smile on her face. Dimitri joined her, watching me carefully to see what I would say. I couldn't help the grin that took over my face, "No, don't call me that. Call me Aunty Rose, I like the sound of that."

I closed the door on our guests, having finally convinced them I needed to get some rest. Jill fell asleep in my bedroom over an hour ago, she had a big day ahead of her tomorrow. I checked in with Lissa through the bond and saw her with Christian, comforting him. I understood that he didn't want to see me, but I still felt the pang of hurt that I was causing everyone around me pain. I was only the messenger in this situation, but history has proved that people don't feel too kindly toward messengers of bad news.

Dimitri went straight into the kitchen instead of his bedroom. I followed him just in time to see him pull a bottle of Russian vodka out from behind the flour. "Hide it behind the cooking ingredients. Good idea, Comrade, I would have never looked there, unless Lissa was here of course."

He simply nodded as he poured the drink, filling the glass to the brim. I let out a sigh, "I'll take some of that." Dimitri grabbed another glass without a word. Once that one was only halfway full he brought both glasses and the bottle to the breakfast bar. I gingerly sat on the stool next to Dimitri's, he took a large gulp of the vile drink.

"Are you okay?" I whispered, realizing how stupid the question was, of course he wasn't okay. Dimitri looked sideways at me for a fraction of a second before staring at the wall in front of him. "You're seriously asking me that? You, of all people?" he snapped. His jaw remained clenched as if he were biting back more words. He took another swig of the vodka. I copied him, holding back the gag of disgust that came with the bitter taste.

"I'm sorr-"

"Don't," he cut me off, "Do not say you're sorry." Silence. I almost thought I could hear Jill breathing through the walls. "You have nothing to apologize for," he whispered in an agonized voice. I took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. Dimitri finished off his glass in one final gulp and reached for the bottle of vodka.

"You're angry," I stated as if he didn't know exactly how he felt. "Yes. But I'm not angry at you. I just… It's all too much. I trusted her." Dimitri poured a new glass, to the brim again.

"I'm still the reason you're upset," I pleaded, letting my own petty emotions take over. I rested my hand on his arm. Dimitri tensed under my touch, or from the words I just said. He swiveled in his chair to face me, I could see the misery clear as day on his face. "Roza, no. Tasha is the reason I could kill someone right now. I would kill her, probably." He brushed the hair from my face before wrapping his fingers around my wrist.

"Don't say that, you don't mean it. Dimitri…"

He tugged me forward, making me stand between his legs. He wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. "I love you so much, Roza. I don't even think you know how much I love you. As much as I loved Tasha's friendship, I will never be able to forgive her for what she did to you, for what she planned to do to you. I've told you that I would do anything to keep you safe before, and I mean it more than ever now," he tightened his hold, "I can't live without knowing you're safe, preferably in my arms. Tasha's dead to me."

I closed my eyes, concentrating on his voice. His words both comforted me and stung like a wasp. I couldn't help the guilt that I made him lose a friend, and that I was possibly sentencing that friend to death. "Dimitri, I love you. I know how much you cared for Tasha, I liked her a lot, too. I'm here for you, you don't have to write her off and act strong for me. I know this is hurting you, let me comfort you."

I wrapped my arms around Dimitri's neck, our bodies pressed fairly close together. Dimitri ran his hand up and down my back, "You are comforting me. By being here, at home. With me." Dimitri brought his face close to mine, his lips touched mine briefly, softer than feathers. I started to relax in his arms, thinking we could sleep this off and momentarily pretend it was all some sick joke.

Suddenly, the muscles in Dimitri's back tensed and he pulled away to look at me.

"Rose, you didn't have to tell Hans what happened to you with the Strigoi, but you have to tell me," he demanded. I'd expected this, Dimitri wasn't going to let it go. I twisted in Dimitri's arms to grab my drink and tip it back all the way. I downed the glass in two gulps. I backed up against Dimitri and rested my head on his chest, Dimitri tightened his grip around my waist, waiting for me to start talking.

I closed my eyes and mentally mapped out the conversation. I thought of the best way to explain things to him in the least upsetting way. Dimitri kissed the top of my head then moved his head to the side and lay his cheek on my head. "It's all a big daze," I began. "I was high most of the time. They kept feeding from me."

"They?"

"Yes. Vladimir Ivashkov and… and… and Randall," my voice broke on the last word. I hated saying this to Dimitri, I wish I was brave enough to look him in the eyes as I said it. Dimitri's whole body tensed, his voice came out shaky and nervous, "Randall Ivashkov?"

"Yes," I whispered, my arms gripped his, trying to comfort him in any small way I could. "Rose… Do you know who-"

"I know that he's your father, Dimitri. He told me." Dimitri started shaking, I made him release his grip on me so that I could turn around and look at him. Tears pooled in his eyes, some escaped and streamed down his face. His hands were visibly shaking, they looked blurry, and I don't think that's from the alcohol.

I used my thumbs to wipe the tears from his face, "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have told you." Dimitri didn't even hear me, he stared off into space as more tears danced across his cheeks. I'm a terrible person, I thought. I never should have mentioned Randall. I grabbed Dimitri's shaking hand and pulled him away from the breakfast bar.

Dimitri let me lead him to his room, which had become more like our room. I walked over to the bed and pushed him down into a sitting position before letting his hand go. Dimitri had stopped crying and shaking, he now just stared blankly at nothing in front of him. I went over to his dresser and pulled out a large T-shirt and sweatpants. I started stripping off my clothes.

"Rose, what has he done to you?" Dimitri asked in a hoarse voice. I got all of my clothes off and put on Dimitri's T-shirt. I went over to the bed and started unbuttoning Dimitri's shirt. "He fed from me. He liked to get inside my head. That's how he knew about us," I spoke in a calm, controlled voice as I worked to undress Dimitri. He sat there, frozen like a statue as I worked the clothes off of him.

"He didn't do anything to me physically, until I started trying to escape. I thought I was strong enough to make it out of the house and I was stupid enough to think he would leave me alone. He heard me leave the room I was kept in and he was there in front of me like lightning. I still tried to fight my way past him, he won both times."

"Both times?"

"Yeah. I tried to escape twice. After that he compelled me to stay put and I did, for a week. Then I was released." I got Dimitri's shirt off and threw it on the floor. I unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down. "Stand up," I ordered. He did, his movements were robot like. I yanked his jeans down and handed him the sweat pants. He stepped out of the jeans, "Randall did some pretty awful things to my mom as a Moroi. I know him, Rose. He didn't just play mind games with you, tell me what he did."

Once the sweatpants were on Dimitri I pushed him back down onto the bed and crawled into his lap. "Actually, Randall thought that you're still a Strigoi. He heard that you'd been turned but word hasn't spread about your transformation. I told him that you wanted to turn me yourself. He was smart enough to keep away from something that belonged to you. He didn't touch me, Dimitri. I promise. You still scare the shit out of him," I grinned just to see if I could lighten the mood. Dimitri was looking at my face though, he was concentrating on the pink lines on my neck.

"You don't belong to me, Rose. I don't own you," he said absentmindedly. My fake grin turned into a genuine smile, "I know that, but Randall doesn't. He thought of me as someone else's property, and that protected me from him, so I never bothered to correct him."

Dimitri tentatively traced the tip of his index finger along the scar on my neck, "The Strigoi at the hotel… Were they the same Strigoi who took you?"

"I killed Vladimir there," I said bluntly, "He had other Strigoi I didn't recognize with him," I searched Dimitri's face, there was no emotion in his eyes. I could usually figure what Dimitri was feeling when he went all deadpan, but not this time. "Randall wasn't there," I said.

Dimitri closed his eyes for a long time. I watched his face, looking for even the slightest of movements. Nothing. "Randall is still out there," Dimitri stated. He opened his eyes to look at me for a confirmation. I nodded slowly, wondering how much heartache Dimitri could take in one night. He fell back on the bed, pulling me on top of him.

Dimitri's hands roamed my arms and back, my head lay on his chest. "What do we do now?" he asked in a shaky breath. I craned my head up and reached over his head to the lamp, twisting the little knob and encasing us in comfortable darkness. The first signs of sunset played with the curtains.

I kissed Dimitri lightly on the lips before resting my head back on his chest, feeling relief and warmth for the first time in the last three days. "Now we get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."