FIVE

Rose

Going to sleep without a grimace on her face had been refreshing.

She'd never expected to have a fun day with Christian. They'd been bowling, had takeout, watched a movie back in their hotel room. With him, she could pretend for a little bit that she hadn't failed. It wasn't like she could be training right now, after all, and Liss was in no danger at court.

It was almost like taking a mini-vacation, and Christian did a strangely good job of making it feel that way.

She still woke up with that weight on her shoulders, though. The weight of knowing that Mason had died and Dimitri had gone, and that soon she would be supposed to look after Liss when she hadn't been able to look after another dhampir.

A knock on the door had woken her. They didn't have any reason to set an alarm at court, and the change in timezones had thrown her off.

She climbed out of her bed and went to answer the door. It was a courier, who handed her an envelope.

She accepted it with her thanks, and saw Christian's name on the front.

A weight sank in her stomach.

Christian appeared behind her and shut the door. She realized she'd frozen. He took the envelope and opened it, though she'd been about to offer to do it herself.

"We both know it's going to be another threat," he said. "There's no point pretending it's not."

He was right. There were a number of pictures in the envelope, and a note. This one had more words.

The fact you've come to court makes me think you don't think these threats are real.

The photos, as expected, were of Moira Ozera. And they all had newspapers in them. Newspapers from the past week, with human and Moroi stories.

Christian dropped them, taking a step back as if they were going to attack him themselves.

"No," he said. "No way. It can't be. They're fakes. They've got to be fakes."

"Christian." She didn't know what to do. She would have given Liss a hug, cradled her as she cried until they could start to talk about what they would do next.

He looked like he might cry, his eyes glassy as he stared at the ground and the taunting photos.

She hoped they were fakes. She hoped above anything they were fakes.

"Christian," she said again, stepping over them and blocking his view with her face. She gripped his arms. "Christian."

"She can't be alive. There's no way."

"The most important thing is that you're safe right now. We're safe and we have time to decide what to do next, to find out whether they're fake or not."

He seemed to see her properly for the first time, and wrapping his hands around her arms, too, rubbing up and down as if reminding himself she was really there. "She's supposed to be dead. It's been so many years. I'd fully accepted it. She's gone."

"We'll get to the bottom of what's happening." She couldn't reassure him by telling him if she was back they'd kill her, or promising that his mom really was dead, or that it would all be okay. "And we'll decide what to do next."

He laughed. "At least you're not attempting to tell me everything is fine."

Her smile was weak. "I don't think any of this is at all fine. We need to ring Alberta and let her know. Come on, we should get dressed." She squeezed his arms then released them, putting the photos and letter back in the envelope and putting it on her bedside table while she got dressed.

Her entire body was stiff and she struggled not to get lost in her own thoughts. She was Christian's guardian right now, and she had to be strong. She was going to take charge and make sure they took the right steps.

She could let her own insecurities about whether she'd be able to keep him safe take over later, when he couldn't see it, when it didn't matter.

"You should call Liss and let her know, too," she said, and gestured to the bedside phone. "Then I'll call Alberta afterward."

Christian tried her, but there was no answer. It was breakfast time, and she was probably already out and meeting with people.

Rose sat beside him on the bed and dialed St. Vlad's number. She didn't know how to get in touch with Alberta personally, and had to wait to be transferred.

"Rose," Alberta said, not hiding her surprise.

"Guardian Petrov," Rose said. "Christian has received another threat. It appears to legitimize the photos. It's got recent newspapers with Moira. We think that they might be real."

There was a beat of silence. "Where are you right now, and who knows about this?"

"We're in our hotel room. No one knows apart from us and you."

"Do you think there's a real threat?"

"The letter implies that court is less safe than the academy." She read it out to Alberta. "But it doesn't specify anything."

"I have to alert the court guardians, just in case." She sounded reluctant. "And I've got to speak to the headmistress. Stay put for now. I'll be in touch."

Rose gave her the number to call back on, and then ran her hand through her hair.

It was just one Strigoi as far as they knew, but they didn't normally threaten like this, not something so personal and taunting.

Christian leaned back against the headboard and shut his eyes. "She's really alive isn't she? Well, alive. You know what I mean."

"I think we have to treat it that way."

"Why now? Why would she even care? Strigoi don't feel. They don't care."

"You're her son. There has to be something there. There original intention was to turn you, wasn't it? When you were older?"

He looked away. "I suppose so."

He tried Liss again, but there was no answer.

She checked the bond, and was surprised to see that Lissa was visiting with the Queen. The shock of the photos had blocked out the anxiety Liss had been feeling about her meeting. Normally Rose would have listened in on the conversation, but this time she pulled straight back and let Christian know.

He tried a different number, and this time the answer was immediate.

"Hi, Aunt Tasha," Christian said.

She listened as Christian explained what had happened, and heard the angry and sad tone from Tasha even if she couldn't hear the words. Christian didn't perk up, but he at least got to vent.

But then the call was over and he went back to staring at the ceiling, or fidgeting, or sighing. She had nothing to say. There was nothing to say.

Eventually, he instructed him, "Stand up."

"What, why?"

"Just do it, will you?"

He did as he was told, and she stood up too. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Her arms went around his middle and her head rested against his shoulder.

He froze for a moment, but then he hugged her back, tightly. She heard his ragged breath, and thought he might be crying, but he didn't say anything. She didn't either.

That would have ruined it. She'd been right in her first instinct. Just giving him a hug was the best thing.

"I'm scared," he admitted, voice barely a whisper.

"Nothing is going to happen to you," her voice was stronger than she thought, even when she made the promise she didn't think she was capable of keeping, "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

He tightened his arms and she tightened hers too.

A knock on the door forced them to separate. Selfishly, she could have stayed there in his arms a lot longer. It felt like forever since she'd last had a hug, especially one from someone bigger, who could full embrace her like that, keep her away from the world, and even in the circumstances she couldn't deny it was nice. She was supposed to be the one protecting him, but something about being wrapped in his arms like that made her feel safe.

She was the one who answered the door. She wasn't exactly expecting to see Moira Ozera on the other side, but it was still good practice.

Who she did see made her a little light-headed. "Comrade," she said, blankly.

"Rose," he replied, standing in front of her in his standard duster, Russian accent thicker than she remembered it. "Alberta called."