Tasha's POV

I watched in disgust and fascination as Randall finished off his prey. She stopped whimpering a long time ago, and I'm sure that her pulse had stopped, too. I studied her pale face. The victim had brown hair and brown eyes, just like Randall's last meal. In fact, all of his victims have had brown hair. Most of them also had brown eyes. Randall played with them, and often hurt them before he ate. To him, they were all a warmup for Rose.

Randall and his Moroi helpers, whose names were still a secret to me, bribed Rufus Tarus into breaking me out of prison. I asked him to get Ethan out too, but Rufus refused, saying Randall only wanted me. I never cared too much for Ethan, but I felt guilty for leaving him there. I cried myself to sleep the night he was executed for conspiring against the throne. A crime I was even more guilty of, but here I stood.

For the past few months Randall has kept me close to him, stashing me away in a hotel room during the day and bringing me along when he hunted at night. I never got why he wanted me to watch him feed on his victims, but I wasn't about to argue something stupid like that with someone as explosive as Randall.

On these hunts, Randall would tell me news from court that he got from his Moroi sources. Mostly about Rose. I only feigned interest in her daily activities because Dimitri would be with her for all of it. But Randall was different. He seemed obsessed with Rose, at times he appeared to be in awe of her. Court gossip is that Princess Hathaway and Guardian Belikov are secretly engaged, and they will announce the engagement at the annual Royal Ball held by the queen. I knew better than to listen to gossip like that, but if rumors were spreading like that it meant that they were very serious together. The urge to go back and get Dimitri into my arms was an itch that I hadn't been able to scratch for years.

The moon basked down on us. Randall told me that the moon was as bright as the sun to a Strigoi. The more time I spent with him, plotting and sharing our mutual desire to end Rose, the more I thought of doing what Lucas and Moira had done. Maybe they had the right idea.

I knew that Randall was only keeping me alive and relatively happy because I was the easiest, if not only, chance he had to get his hands on the princess.

I didn't care that I was only a tool to him, because I was treating him the same way. Randall was the only one I trusted to bring Rose to a slow, painful and satisfying death. At first, my motive was purely to kill the queen and get Dimitri alone, but now it's gone much deeper. The sly little bitch was going to get me executed. If I'm going to leave Christian with anything before I die, it's the lesson I learned when my brother bit into my face; the Ozeras don't go out without a fight.

Randall made a slurping noise against the young human's neck. He lifted his face to the moon and licked his lips, concluding his meal for the night. "Rose tasted better," he stated bluntly. I scoffed at him, "Of course she did, she's a dhampir."

"Not for much longer, she isn't."

I took a hesitant step toward him, "What?" Randall kept his gaze on the moon, apparently not concerned that I could do any damage to him. "You heard me. She would make an amazing ally. I'm not wasting skill like that. Rose is special… she has a bloodlust that she keeps repressing, but I can show her how to open up and accept that part of her." I shook my head in bewilderment, too astonished to really be angry by his new plan.

Then something happened that I wouldn't have dreamed of doing in a million years; I laughed at Randall's face. He snapped his head down from stargazing in a rush of rage. His hand moved across my face so quickly that I barely registered the pain. A smirk replaced his earlier glare. "Are you an idiot? No wonder your family hates you," I seethed as I clasped a hand to my now throbbing cheek.

I held up my other hand before he could do or say anything else. "Listen, Randall. Rose absolutely hates your guts. If she doesn't hate you because of the kidnapping and torture, then she hates you for what you did to Dimitri and his family, and I guarantee you he's told her about that by now." I paused to see if any of this was making sense to Randall. By the blank look on his face, it wasn't. I sighed and dropped the hand from my cheek.

"She won't obey you. Once she's a strigoi she'll kill you. Strigoi aren't brethren and you know it." The smirk grew on his face, he shook his head and clucked his tongue at me. "Oh Tasha, you don't get it. Do you? It's not just her that I want. I will turn Dimitri first. Rose will follow, and he will control her for me."

I blinked in confusion, the idea of Dimitri being turned again was enough to make me walk away from this plan, but I had the feeling that I couldn't walk away anymore. I owed Randall a blood debt, ever since he arranged for Rufus Tarus to get me out of prison. I took a steadying breath, "You honestly think Dimitri won't kill you either?"

The grin that crawled over his face would give me nightmares till the end of my days. "I know that he won't kill me. He can't, not if he wants his sisters to live."

"What are you doing?" I grunted as a Strigoi named Julian tied a piece of black fabric around my eyes. Julian was a dhampir before he was turned, and although he had a lot of muscle, he was pretty dumb. That made him a great henchman for Randall. I didn't dare push him or resist the blindfold; my alliance with Randall only went so far. He sees me as an ally now, but if I become too troublesome, he wouldn't see it worth his time to keep me alive.

"Just shut up. Randall is trusting you to see this, but he's not stupid enough to let you know where it is. He told me you were smart enough to not take the blindfold off, so I won't need to handcuff you." A shiver ran through me at the threat presented to me as a gift. I slumped back in my seat in the back of the van and resigned myself to being obedient. Ever since Randall gave me that cryptic message the anxiety has been eating me up about the Belikova girls. I wanted Rose to get what she deserved at whatever price, but I never wanted any harm to come to the ones innocent in this mess.

The van started moving, the two Strigoi accompanying me were silent the entire drive. I felt the car moving at high speeds, so at least I know that we were on the highway at some point. I started sweating when the van slowed down, creeping through residential streets and pausing at stop signs. I tried to keep track of the turns the van took, but I lost track. I could tell that we would be at the destination soon, where Randall was waiting to show me "proof".

The only thing Randall could want to show me after last night's discussion would be the girls. Dimitri's sisters, tied up and weak. Daughters of Olena, two of them mothers, one of them still just a kid in many ways. My hands were shaking as the van came to a permanent stop and the front doors opened. I heard the sliding door open for the backseats at the same time as two hands gripped my arms and ripped me out of my seat.

The Strigoi handling me set me roughly on my feet and tore the fabric away from my eyes. We were inside of a parking garage, the van was the only vehicle in sight. Right above my head, a fluorescent light flickered eerily. Julian's nameless friend stepped behind me and grabbed my shoulders to hold me in place. From behind me I could hear a door opening, but the Strigoi's grip kept me looking forward.

My heart was pounding at least ten times faster than the steps approaching me. Randall appeared in front of me, his pressed suit and cutting gaze reminded me of Abe Mazur. Maybe Rose and Dimitri have more in common than I'd thought. Randall reached out and brushed away a strand of hair sticking to my forehead, letting his hand slowly travel down my face until he was cupping my cheek. "Tasha, I'm so glad we're working together. I would like to show you how we have the upper hand here. Come," he turned on his heels and walked away at a leisurely pace.

The other Strigoi pushed me forward as a way of release. I followed Randall, with both Julian and the other Strigoi behind me. Randall led me back through the door he came in, then down an elevator to the basement. When the elevator opened I could already hear a female scream. Thankfully, the scream was full of fury and not pain.

There were a lot of plastic tarps hanging from the ceiling that blocked my view. Randall walked through the maze of tarps with a practiced grace. How long has he had these girls? I thought. They must have heard us approaching, and the screams became louder. The girls were shouting in Russian, a language I didn't know very well, but I could detect things like, "You're a bastard!" and "Let us go!" I couldn't see them yet, but I could make out their figures through layers of translucent tarp.

Randall chuckled, "They're so energetic. Do you think they get that from their mother?" My earlier anxiety was replaced by an anger I didn't know existed in me. I have never been this enraged or upset with someone in my entire life. Not Moira nor Lucas, not even Rose Hathaway. "I never agreed to this! I wanted her dead. I never wanted you to kidnap your own daughters so that you could turn Rose into a Strigoi."

Randall clasped his stomach and boomed with laughter, but the girls had heard what I said. "Tasha? You're working with Randall! You won't touch Rose! We won't let you!" I think that was Viktoria. I flinched at the harsh tone she was throwing my way. Randall shook his head in amusement and held a hand out in the direction of the girls. I straightened out my shoulders and walked over to face Dimitri's sisters.

I saw Karolina first, the eldest. She was sitting on the ground with her legs out in front of her and her arms tied above her head to the wall. She kept her head back against the wall in a facade of calmness, but I knew Karolina had a dangerous spark in her. Her eyes raked over me and I had never felt more disgusted with myself. I did this to them, I thought. Sonja was sitting in the same position, but she was moving around a lot more, continuously rubbing her wrists against the handcuffs holding her to the wall. She spat at the ground when she saw me.

Viktoria was in a chair in the corner, both of her arms tied to the arms of the chair. She jerked forward when she saw me, as if she were going to lunge at me, but the chair didn't even budge from its spot. I ran my eyes over all three of them, grateful to notice that none of them had open wounds or bite marks. They were a little bruised and scratched up, but that was expected of dhampirs who put up a fight when being kidnapped. "Traitor! How could you?" Viktoria screamed at me. I spared a glance for Randall out of the corner of my eye, and noticed that he was watching me, waiting to see what I would do next. He raised his eyebrows in question.

I then realized that this was a test of my loyalty to him.

I puffed my chest up a little so that I could look down on the girls, "How could I? I'm the only one seeing reason here. Rose needs to go. She isn't good for the dhampirs, she isn't good for Dimitri. I'm going to get rid of her like I should have done the moment Randall returned her to court. He is helping me with that, and so will you." Sonja gasped and Karolina's mouth twitched, but Viktoria just looked at me like I had just slit her throat. For all its worth, leaving her with Randall is just as bad. There's no telling what he would do to them.

I spun on my heel and walked away from them as quickly as I could. I needed to be away from them and Randall before I fell apart and gave my entire act away. Vika screamed at me as I stalked through the tarps to get out of the room, "You're fucking crazy! I'll kill you myself! You'll never be her, you can't replace her! He loves her and you're just a traitor to him!"

I let myself into the small room with the elevator and staircase, where Julian was waiting for me. I silently cursed. With the company, I had to hold my forced composure all that much longer. Viktoria's words rattled through me. You're just a traitor to him. If I let Randall do this, then she's right about me. It only took a few moments before Randall followed me. He clasped a hand on my shoulder, "That went very well, I think. We should be able to get Dimitri and Rose here within the next two days."

I took a step back, and Randall's hand fell from my shoulder. "Where's Olena and Yeva? And… and the children?" I couldn't even imagine little Paul and the two infants being held captive the way the girls were. Randall shrugged, "Probably gathering the people of Baia to look for the girls. I didn't fetch them, I sent my men. I couldn't leave a trail back to me, you know. But, Julian here tells me that Olena gave up her girls pretty quickly when he got his hands on the little one. What's her name, Zoya?"

I stared at him, my mouth agape. It took all of my self control not to punch Julian. "You…" I seethed, my voice barely above a whisper, "you threatened an infant?" Images of Christian in Moyra's cold and pale arms flashed through my mind. I looked at Randall and saw the worst time in my life being repeated. If he was willing to do this to his own family, I couldn't bear to let him near mine.

Randall smiled condescendingly, "Natasha, I thought we had an understanding. We do whatever it takes, correct?" I couldn't say anything to that, because those were my words to him. We'll do whatever it takes to get our hands on Rose. I had never regretted words so much in my life. I should have thought it through, I should have been more careful. Strigoi don't negotiate. They dominate and kill.

This, I realized, is how Strigoi worked. I was foolish to think that I could work alongside one without him letting his own animalistic desires take over. I did, however, know that pleading for the girls' freedom wouldn't help. As the pain subsided the guilt came crashing onto me. I created this mess out of my own jealousy and greed, and now it's my job to fix it.

I swallowed any more awful things I could say to Randall. I still needed to be close to him for now. Blinking back tears, I asked Julian to take me back to my hotel room. Once we reached the van he blindfolded me once more, making the severity of the situation that much more terrifying. I wiped my hands on my jeans, but they were still clammy from seeing the girls.

Julian left as soon as I was back at the hotel I was currently living in. I went to my room with nothing in it but a suitcase and an empty bag of chips on the floor. I paced the worn rug of the room as I tried to think of anything I could do to fix my mistakes here. I tugged at my hair in frustration. Any chance of saving them meant giving up myself. I thought of Olena, taking care of her grandchildren, not knowing where her daughters are. I thought of Dimitri, frantically trying to find them and plan a rescue.

After an hour I gave up on ways to save the girls without putting myself at risk. I had allowed things to go too far, and now I had to pay the price. I picked up the hotel room's phone and dialed from memory. There were two people who could help me. I just hoped Dimitri hadn't gotten a new cell phone. The phone rang three times before there was a soft click and his voice came in through the receiver.

"Hello?" His voice was as warm and soft as I had remembered. All those nights in the bar playing pool with Ivan and Simone. All those sunrises watched from behind beer bottles, listening to country music. All of the nights I spent alone wishing I was with him. When he told me he wanted to have kids one day, and after that all of my dreams consisted of his baby inside of me.

I lost that.

I ruined it.

All because I couldn't let him be happy without me.

I took a steadying breath to calm my nerves. No more cowardice, no more letting others fall for me. I was going to set this right. "Dimitri, it's me." I heard him suck in a sharp breath and the click of a door closing. "What do you want," I could hear how the words were coming through gritted teeth.

"It's about your sisters, Dimitri-"

"You leave them alone!" He whisper-shouted. I could hear muffled laughter through the phone. I expected the hostility, but his words baffled me. "You don't know?" I asked. There was a pause, "Know what?" I bit my lip, hating that I was going to be the one to make him suffer again. "I don't know what, Tasha?" he asked impatiently.

I sighed, "It's Randall…"

I heard a knock from the other side of the line, then, "Dimitri, it's your turn for… What's wrong?" Rose's voice became clearer and more audible, and I could almost see her approaching Dimitri with an ease that only Rose could perfect around him. "Put me on speaker," I demanded, not entirely sure I wanted to do that.

"Alright Tasha, spill."

"Wait, Tasha? What the fuck?"

"Yeah. It's me. Now listen closely and don't let anyone else hear. Okay?"

A pause. Then, "Yeah, what do you want?" I internally groaned at being asked that for the second time. "This isn't about me. This is about Karolina, Sonja, and Viktoria. Dimitri… Randall took them. He's using them as bait to get to you and Rose."