Isiah grinned menacingly at me as he circled me. I tried to keep him between me and the door, giving me an out, but I couldn't. I was exactly where he wanted me. I glanced around the room in hopes to find something that could aid me, but there was nothing, just a useless ornate sword plaque.

Isaiah lashed out at me and I jumped back in time, starting to duck under his arm but he swing around and clipped me with the other arm. I stumbled and crashed to the floor, rolling to my feet in time to dodge another hit.

We danced around each other. It was similar to how Dimitri and I fought, but Isaiah was cruder than Dimitri. I was luring him towards the door, hoping to get him close enough to the sun to push him into it.

My hope was useless though, he knew what I had planned. He gripped my shoulder and tossed me like I weight nothing. I crashed into the wall, knocking down the ornate plaque as I fell. It took me a moment to get my bearings, Isaiah looming over me. I scuttled backwards on my hands, my hand brushing the handle of one of the swords. It was probably duller than my skates hidden in the garage, but it was something. I rolled out of the way of his fist barrelling down at me, scampering to my feet.

I swung the sword at him, making him move back. Isaiah tried to rip the sword from my hands, but all it did was cut his fingers off. He hissed and looked down at his hands. I used the moment of distraction and swung my foot up between his legs. The impact made him drop to his knees and I used it to my advantage.

I could hear Dimitri's voice whispering in my head as I swung the sword at Isaiah's neck, the dull blade breaking the skin. I pulled back and swung again, and again, and again. By the time the blade had cut through the bone and skin, I was panting.

I sighed and dropped the sword, clattering like a gunshot to my ear. A part of me felt like I needed to gag at the sight, but the other part of me was triumphant that I managed to take down a Strigoi on my own.

Another part of me started to laugh at the fact that a kick in the nads worked on a Strigoi. But I swallowed the laugh when I looked at Isaiah's decapitated head.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand and closed my eyes for a second when the door on the other side of the room creaked. I opened my eyes and saw Nathan standing in the doorway, a sick grin on his face.

"I didn't think you had it in you," he said as we walked towards me, blocking my path to the front door. He looked down at Isaiah and nudged his head with his foot, making it roll across the floor.

"You've underestimated me too many times," I said firmly. Nathan smirked at me again.

"I might have, but you can't bring a sword to a gunfight," Nathan said as he pulled a gun out from behind him. I took a slow breath and my eyes flicked from the barrel of the gun to Nathan's eyes. There was a sick joy that shone there.

"If I can't break you, I might as well kill you," he said with a shrug. I rolled my shoulders back and lifted my chin, not showing him any fear. If I was going down, I wasn't going to show him any emotions. Nathan pulled back the hammer back when there was a shattering noise outside, drawing both of our attention.

Mason burst through the door, a broken piece of glass in his hand. Mason ran right for Nathan, but he never stood a chance. Nathan raised the gun quickly and shot Mason. I used the moment of Nathan's distraction and swooped down and grabbed the sword, running at him.

Nathan turned with a smug look on his face and I rammed the sword through his chest, the smirk falling from his face.

"Good luck," I whispered bitterly while his hands grappled at the blade. I twisted it before pulling it out, watching him drop to the floor with a thud. I kicked his arm out of the way as I made my way to Mason, dropping onto my knees.

"No," I whispered, turning Mason's head to the side. I thought the shot hit his shoulder, but I was wrong. The bullet hit him directly in the head, his blue eyes looking out lifelessly at me. I whimpered and shook my head, shifting his head so that it was in my lap.

A broken sob broke free and I bent over Mason, wrapping my arm around him as I rocked. I had hoped that what Dimitri had said was true, subjective and easily changeable, but this was one vision I truly wished hadn't come to.

There was a scuffle of footsteps and commotion, voices filling the room. I kept myself hunched over Mason, shielding him from view. I couldn't make out what was being said, my ears still ringing from the gunshot. I could see the shadow of feet in front of me. When they reached for me I gripped the sword again, lifting it upward and putting it between us and whoever approached.

"Don't touch him," I snarled.

"Rose put it down."

"Don't touch him," I repeated, the sword shaking slightly in my grip.

Roza, please put it down.

I blinked a few times. The room wasn't fuzzy to my eyes anymore. It was bright and in front of me was the person I prayed to find us.

"Dimitri?" I whispered.

"Put down the sword, Roza," Dimitri said softly, resting his hand on my hand. I looked up at him and my lips trembled.

"I was supposed to keep them safe," I whispered.

"You did," Dimitri whispered, "You did. You did what you had to."

I nodded and lowered my arm, dropping the sword back to the ground. I heaved a sigh and pulled myself from under Mason and I stumbled toward Dimitri, wrapping my arms around him the moment I was close enough. Dimitri held me tight in an iron grip, kissing the side of my head a few times before resting his cheek against my head.

"Thank God," Dimitri whispered.

I breathed out a sigh and pressed my face against his chest. Dimitri kissed my head again before standing and lifting me with him. I clutched onto his shoulders and kept my face pressed in his shoulder as he walked. I could tell that we had stepped outside because of the cold that blasted my skin, but it wasn't long until I was seated in the backseat of a car.

Dimitri had to peel my fingers off his coat before closing the door. I tracked him with my eyes as he walked around the car, climbing in beside me. He shrugged his duster off and wrapped it around my shoulders, rubbing them to warm me up.

Dimitri cupped my cheeks and kissed my forehead. I blinked slowly at him and sighed.

"I want to go home," I whispered.

"I know, we're going to go in a minute. I just need to check you over," Dimitri said as he opened a wet wipe and started wiping my face. He took the duster off and looked at my wrists, grimacing at the burned skin.

"We can take care of this later," Dimitri said softly. I nodded and licked my lips.

"Are the others okay? How long have we been gone?"

Dimitri wrapped gauze around my wrists until we could get home and frowned.

"The others are okay. Shaken up but okay. You've been gone a week," he explained. I nodded and curled up in the seat, resting my head against his shoulder.

"Can we go home?" I asked, feeling agitated the longer we sat in the car.

Dimitri nodded and kissed my head again. "We can go home. I'll be right back," he said getting out of the car. I curled up sideways on the seat, tucking my knees up to my chest. I looked down at my fingers and rubbed at the blood that was there, wiping them on my pants. I didn't want to see Mason's blood. Knowing that I was the fault was enough of a burden.

Once I was looked over and cleaned up, I retreated to my bed. I lay there curled on my side for hours. I hadn't eaten in days, but I couldn't bring myself to eat anything.

It wasn't that the food didn't smell appealing, I just couldn't do it. Dimitri eventually compelled me to eat, much to his own dismay. He hated compelling me, but I needed to eat. Once I managed to eat half a bowl of strew I pushed it away, curling back on my side. My parents wanted me to go to the hospital, but I fought against it. The Ekons that worked at the hospital were waiting for us when we got back, looking over all of us before letting us go to our respective homes.

Going to the hospital would raise too many red flags.

I managed to fall asleep for a while, and when I woke up, there was a cannula in my hand. I frowned at it and went to yank it out but a hand stopped me, gripping mine gently. I looked up and found Mom sitting in a chair beside my bed, a small smile on her face.

"Leave it," she said quietly.

"I hate needles," I grumbled.

"I know, but you're so dehydrated and need more food than your stomach can handle. This will just be there for a few hours," she said quietly. I shrugged and rested my head back on the pillow, reaching behind me in search of the knit blanket. Mom found it tucked behind my pillow and placed it under my neck like I usually would and smoothed my hair back. I rubbed the corner of the blanket between my fingers and looked up at her.

"I killed someone," I whispered.

Mom's face contorted for a moment before nodding. "Yes."

"Am I going to go to jail?"

Mom choked on a laugh and shook her head. "No. The police won't be involved. I pulled some string at work with the help of my team, but it was mostly the Ekons and the Guardians who did the leg work. You won't be held accountable for Nathan's death."

"Why do I feel so horrible?" I asked with furrowed brows. Mom moved from the chair to the edge of my bed, rubbing her hand over my back.

"Because you are a good person. Even after everything he did, you feel remorse. More than he would have felt for you or Mason. But don't let it consume you," she said gently. I pursed my lips and closed my eyes.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Eddie is suffering some withdrawals and is currently at the Hub. Mia is there too, and Christian is waiting for Natasha to come back."

I nodded and squeezed her hand. "And Baba?"

Mom said softly. "He's asleep. I think it's the first time he's slept since you went missing."

"And Dimitri?"

"He's downstairs. Do you want me to go get him?"

I shook my head. "No. Can you…can you just lay with me for a little bit?"

Mom nodded and let go of my hand, climbing over me and under the blankets. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close to her. I sighed and gripped her hand that rested in front of me, lacing my hand with hers.

"I'm so glad that we found you," Mom whispered and kissed my head. I nodded and licked my lips.

"Me too," I said quietly.

I sighed as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I tried my best to cover the bags under my eyes, but I couldn't cover them completely. I smoothed my fingers over my hair and pursed my lips slightly. I didn't want to be here, in fact, I wanted to run from the building and set it on fire.

But I was here because I needed to be here.

"Rose?"

I turned at looked at Eddie, his face exhausted and forlorn as he stood in the doorway.

I smoothed my hands over my dress and looked at him with a slight shake of my head.

"This is so messed up," I whispered, crossing my arms over my waist and sniffing. Eddie nodded and walked towards me, smoothing his tie over his shirt before pulling me into a hug. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him tightly, resting my cheek against his shoulder.

"I'm tired of funerals," I said softly.

Eddie nodded. "So am I," he whispered. There was a knock on the door and Christian poked his head into the room, giving both of us a tightening of his lips.

"It's time," he said, his eyes moving towards me. I sighed and gripped Eddie's hand tightly as we walked out, heading towards the main room. There were so many people here that there almost wasn't enough room. Mason's parents were at the front of the room, speaking with some family members. I led Eddie and Christian to the row that Dimitri was sitting in and sat down. Lissa was on one side of Dimitri, head bent towards him as the spoke. Her eyes moved up as she spoke and gave me a soft look. Dimitri and Lissa both stood up, moving spots so that Eddie and I were next to Dimitri.

I slipped my hand into Dimitri's and he lifted our hands, kissing my hand gently. I looked at him with a small frown.

"It'll be over before you know it," Dimitri reassured. I nodded and crossed my legs, looking at the front of the room. The story that had been spun was a mugging, and it was easy for all of us to go with that because it wasn't completely wrong.

The funeral itself wasn't long, but it felt like an eternity to me. I hates hearing Mason's mom cry, and it made my guilt sink deeper into my chest. I knew that I wasn't at fault for his death, but knowing that he came back for me and that was why he died ate away at me.

Even once in a while, Dimitri would squeeze my hand, or I would squeeze Eddie's when his breathing hitched in his chest. Mason was to Eddie what Lissa is to me. Once the funeral was over and we went to the cemetery, I felt like I wasn't able to breathe anymore. I had kept everything bottled in and watching his casket being lowered into the ground was almost enough to break me.

There was supposed to be a reception but I bowed out, saying that it was too much for me. The ride home was silent, Dimitri's hand resting on my knee. I chewed on my lip as we drove, my eyes trained on the world outside.

"Do you want anything to eat? Or do you want to go to Boymans for milkshakes?" Dimitri offered, looking at me when he stopped at a red light.

I shrugged. "I could be tempted by a milkshake," I said quietly. Dimitri nodded and turned his signal on to change lanes. I tucked my feet up on the seat and gripped Dimitri's hand, rubbing my thumb over his fingers. It didn't take us long to get to Boymans and I climbed out of the car, tucking my coat around me. I let Dimitri open the door for me and walked in, going to sit down in one of the booths. Dimitri went to the counter to order and I looked out the window as the rain started to splatter against the glass.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket when it buzzed, and looked down at the screen.

Eliie: Syd and I are coming down to see you this weekend. We are going to pig out!

I smiled to myself for a moment and tucked my phone back into my pocket when Dimitri sat across from me.

"I glad to see that," he said softly.

"Ellison and Sydney are coming down this weekend," I said as I rested my chin on my hands.

"That's great," Dimitri said. I nodded and perked up a bit when my milkshake was set in front of me. I said my thanks and took a sip.

"What have you got planned for the rest of your day?" I asked quietly, running my nail against the bottom of the glass.

"Not a lot, I planned on spending it with you," Dimitri said kindly as he leaned back in the booth.

"Even if it's just to watch movies and nap?"

Dimitri quirked a grin and folded his arms on the table, leaning forward.

"Even if it's just to watch movies and nap with you," he said softly. I smiled and reached across the table, resting my hand on his arm.

"I love you," I whispered. Dimitri smiled softly and placed his hand over mine.

"I love you, Roza."

I sipped my milkshake again and sighed, cringing when I watched one of the skateboarders across the street fall and land on the grind rail. He rolled off of the rail and clutched at his crotch, pain clear on his face.

"Ouch," Dimitri grimaced quietly.

I snorted a laugh and then couldn't stop, holding my stomach as I laughed. Dimitri raised his brow at me but laughed along, the laughter becoming contagious.

"What is so funny?" he asked through his laughter.

I snorted again and gripped the tables. "Did you know that a kick to the balls works on a Strigoi?" I giggled.

"What?"

I could feel the tears roll down my cheeks. "I kicked Isaiah in the nuts before I cut his head off. I didn't think it would work, but it did," I giggled quietly, holding my hand over my mouth. Dimitri's laugh became louder, the two of us giggling in the corner over our milkshakes.

"I don't think this is normal," I snickered with a hiccup.

"We all deal with grief differently," Dimitri chuckled, rubbing his hand over the side of his jaw.

I wiped a few tears from under my eyes while calming down, hiccupping a few times.

"I guess I have an inappropriate response," I said with a shrug.

Dimitri nodded and smiled at me.

"Feel any better?"

I sighed. "Honestly, a little bit," I said as I stirred my straw in my milkshake. Dimitri nodded and took a drink of his.

I nodded and glanced outside again, bursting into a fit of giggles when the same skateboarder fell again.

There we are! Another one down! Stay tuned for the next one!