A 2022 miracle. Another chapter! I hope you all have/had a safe and happy new year, and wish you the best for 2022!

Sorry that this one is a little on the short side, but I hope you enjoy it!

Part 29

"I was hoping to talk to you about Dimka."

I gritted my teeth, giving her an unimpressed look, "What do you need to know about my soulmate?"

Her eyes pinched in the corners but otherwise seemed unfazed. "He and I have been friends for a long time. I just want to make sure he's happy. Your relationship started so badly-"

"Our relationship is fine." I cut her off with a cold voice.

"Oh. So have you completed your bond then?"

I wanted to knock that fake concerned look off her face. I crossed my arms, giving her a large smirk, "We will be once we are back at Court."

I had expected her mask to drop, maybe some shock and jealousy to show through. But instead, a genuine smile spread over her face. "That's great to hear."

Her response threw me off balance, "You're happy about that?"

"Of course I am, Rose. Like I said, I'm Dimka's friend, and his happiness is all that matters to me."

I cringed at the nickname but didn't say anything, still trying to figure out why Tasha suddenly accepted that Dimitri was mine. "Well, thanks, Tasha." I didn't want to push the subject anymore. Tasha was Christian's aunt and closest family member and Dimitri's friend; I was going to be seeing a lot of her in the future, and I didn't need to make things awkward between us.

"Hathaway… need extra eyes on the south side."

I gripped the radio in my hand, "On it." Standing from the table, I gave Tasha a last nod, "Stay inside and keep the door locked."

Holding my stake at the ready, I exited through the front door, locking the door from the inside. Taking a deep breath, I reached out with my senses, unable to feel the nausea that usually came when Strigoi were near. After walking out into the yard and finding nothing, I held the radio to my mouth, whispering, "Weber, I'm at the south side. What am I looking for?"

There was no response, a sense of dread settling into my stomach.

"Weber, do you copy?"

Silence.

I cursed under my breath, changing the channel on the radio to contact Sage. "Andrews, come in. Weber isn't responding." I waited a couple of seconds, but there was still no response. "Andrews!"

A footstep behind me put me on full alert, my body crouched down, coiled and ready to spring at whoever—or whatever—was behind me. I dropped the radio, so my hand was free, stake gripped in the other.

Just as I was about to attack, I recognised them. "Moore? Shit. Why are you here?" I asked, my surprise coming out as anger.

Moore reached down to pick up my radio, "Heard there may be an issue out here, so I came to give back up."

I regarded him carefully, "I can't get in contact with Weber or Andrews."

"Your radio is broken," He replied, fiddling with the dials, "I just saw Weber. He said it was all clear but couldn't get through to you."

Something didn't feel right, eyeing Moore, but I wasn't sure what was off. "I'm going to have a look just in case."

Moore shrugged, "If you want."

When he didn't move to leave, I realised he intended to follow me. While it wouldn't be bad to have backup if there is something here, I didn't really know him well. I could only hope that he wasn't useless in a fight. "Okay, let's go."

He trailed behind me, scanning the surrounding area of the house. The front of the safe house faced the street, but the back had a forest. A large fence ran around the perimeter, separating us from the tree line, but there were still many places one could sit and watch. Sage had explained that the ward lines were put just before the fenceline so Strigoi couldn't touch it.

I hated my short height at this moment, the fence was easy enough to see over for the taller guardians, but I had to stand on my toes to see over when beside it. After a couple of minutes, I realised that this was a waste of time. "There's nothing," I agreed, "Let's go back and -"

I felt a burst of pain explode in the back of my head, the force of it sending my body forward. Too disoriented to catch myself, I collided painfully with the fence. Stars were dancing behind my eyes as my body became heavy.

I fought to stay awake, but I quickly lost the strength to keep my eyes open. As darkness enveloped me, I felt myself reach for Dimitri through the bond, and then everything faded away.


The pounding in my skull made me wish I was asleep again. I couldn't even remember what happened to cause the pounding, but I would do anything to make it go away. Slowly, the other aches in my body made themselves known. My chest was the worst of it, the soulmate bond distressed by the distance.

I moved my hand to rub at the spot above my heart; something about the motion eased it, but I couldn't move my hands. Something strong and itchy was wrapped tightly around my wrist, keeping them pinned behind my back. Rope? When I wiggled, pain shot up my arms and into my shoulders; I had been stuck in this position for a while.

My heart rate picked up as my mind became fully aware of my situation.

I felt the wood of a chair digging into my back and arms. I have been tied to a chair. And it was dark, very dark… I think.

Scrunching up my face, I felt fabric move against my eyes. Great. I was tied to a chair and blindfolded.

The memories of exploring the south side of the safe house with Moore came back to me. I didn't see who knocked me out, but I could guess. I had no idea why Moore would attack me, but I was very pissed off.

The more I became aware of everything, the more I felt both of the bonds, the combined emotions of Lissa and Dimitri flowed into me. The sudden intensity of it made me dizzy, increasing the pain in my skull.

I took a deep breath and tried to make sense of what I was feeling—distress, fear, and anger. The emotions became too much for me to resist, and I was pulled into Lissa's head.

She was standing in Hans' office, said man behind his desk with a hard expression. There were so many people crowded in the room that it took me a moment to recognise them all. Lissa was in the far corner with Christian's arms wrapped around her. Jill beside her with a comforting hand on her shoulder, and Eddie stood behind Jill, his eyes pinched in distress.

By Hans' was my parents, my mother with an imposing energy, despite her height. I could tell she had taken control of the room, everyone listening as she made her demands.

"And you just ran?" Her accented voice came out cold and harsh.

Just in front of her was Ethan Moore and Tasha. Moore answered my mother, "Guardian Hathaway told me to get back up and guard the Princess. I also had to guard my charge."

Janine crossed her arms, "You could have called for backup without leaving my daughter alone!"

"He already told you, their radio was broken." Tasha stepped between my mother and her guardian. "Janine, I'm so sorry this has happened, but it isn't Guardian's Moore's fault. Rose did what she had to keep Lissa safe, and so did he."

"Please refer to me as Guardian Hathaway, Lady Ozera." My mother admonished Tasha, "And I still do not understand how Strigoi even got through the wards. If there were so many that Guardian Moore felt the need to abandon another guardian to get help, why did no one else see any Strigois?"

"We found a stake in the ground just past the fence line," Sage supplied. I hadn't noticed him at first, standing against the wall. In his hands was indeed a silver stake.

"But why just take Rose and leave?" Lissa cried.

"That's what I would like to know," Abe spoke up, voice kept level, calm. It was just as menacing as Janine yelling as Abe's calculating eyes narrowed on Moore and Tasha.

Moore started to fidget under the eyes of the others. Tasha once again defended him, "I don't know, but I'm so sorry that Guardian Moore wasn't able to do more, I really am. Rose's main concern was Lissa, and she would be thankful to know that she is safe."

Lissa sobbed again, Christian's arms tightening around her so she could bury her head against his chest as fresh tears fell.

Please, Rose. Please be okay!

The plea in Lissa's voice broke my heart. While I knew everything Tasha was saying was a lie, no one else did. I didn't understand why she went along with the story that a group of Strigoi took me. Her guardian was the one that knocked me out, which didn't make much sense either.

I continued to watch through Lissa's eyes; she had turned to look at those in the room again. Watching Tasha as she crossed to the far side of the room until she stood in front of Dimitri.

He stood stoic, his expression guarded as he stared down at the floor. The chaotic churning of emotions going on inside was undetectable, but I could feel it all. What I felt from Lissa was nothing compared to Dimitri's; the pure panic and fear gripped my heart. The headache from the blow made it difficult to reach through the bond to him.

I desperately wanted to let him know I was okay.

While Tasha spoke quietly, Lissa's hearing picked up her words, "I'm sorry, Dimka. I know you two were getting close again."

If it didn't hurt, I would have laughed. Close? She really was acting like we weren't soulmates.

Tasha laid a hand on his arm, causing a burst of irritation to come from Dimitri as he eyed it. "Rose wouldn't want you to blame yourself. She knew the risks of being a guardian."

Dimitri's eyes flicked to her's, body jerking out of reach, "Rose isn't dead."

"Dimka, I know you don't want to think about it, but the Strigoi took her. You know how this will end."

Lissa winced at how easily Tasha spoke about my supposed terrible fate. "No, we have to get Rose back. We can't just leave her."

"We have no leads on how many were there or where they went after," Hans' voice filled the room, stating the grim facts. "We have no way of knowing where Hathaway is."

Every guardian in the room wore the same expression. While Morois, especially royal Morois, would have a search party sent out, a lone dhampir guardian going missing didn't. I may not be dead, but I was considered as such, and Court wasn't going to send anyone to find me.

"What about the bond?"

Everyone looked at Abe in question, Lissa understanding his meaning straight away.

"Yes," She stepped out of Christian's arms, "Dimitri could use the bond to find Rose."

Heads snapped to the other side of the room, now looking expectantly.

Dimitri's fist clenched, eyes dropping down to the ground as his shame and anger grew. "I can't… I still can't feel through the bond like that."

"Then how do you know she is still alive?" Tasha pushed, trying to keep her voice gentle.

His nostrils flared, "Because I know. If Rose was dead… I would feel it."

"So would I!" Lissa defended, "I would know if my bond to her was gone."

"That still leaves us with no way of tracking her." Hans reaffirmed, rubbing at his brow, "Without an order from the Queen, there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry."

I could tell that Hans was genuinely sorry that he couldn't help me; it seems that despite our rocky relationship, I had made a good enough impression for him to be upset at losing me.

I have never wished so hard that my bond with Lissa was two ways. Everything would be solved if I could just tell her to make Tasha tell her where I was.

If I didn't have that stupid block to Dimitri…

The sounds of a lock sliding snapped me back to my body. I pushed the pain of my body and the overflowing emotions from the bonds to the back of my mind. I need to be completely focused; if I was fortunate, I might be able to figure out a way to escape from this place… wherever it may be.

Dread washed over me as my stomach turned—Strigoi.

I heard a door handle turn before the door was thrown open and impacted against the wall; it sounded like wood on wood. Heavy footsteps came closer to me, like they were striding, the weight behind each step putting me on edge as they grew closer.

Whoever it was, took their time, circling me before stopping in front, remaining silent. I chewed on the inside of my cheek as I waited them out, not wanting to be the first to break.

After some time, they chuckled, the sound deep and masculine. "I didn't think you could be quiet for that long."

It felt like my blood froze in my veins. I knew that voice.

A finger hooked under my blindfold, yanking it off. I squeezed my eyes closed against the sudden light, squinting through them at the man before me. His skin was now paler, eyes that used to be so unfocused now stared back at me with red rings around the pupils.

"My brother always said you had a smart mouth. At least he did until you killed him." Robert Doru grinned down at me; the cold look in his eyes told me this wouldn't end well.

"I see you aren't crazy anymore," I commented. I didn't know what Robert's plan was or how Tasha was a part of this, but I knew I needed to get out of here, or at least get my hands free. I tried twisting my hands behind me, unable to move much against the tight binds.

"After you murdered Victor, I needed to get revenge for him," Robert started, eyes never leaving mine, "so I found a kind lady to help me. I understand why Sonya Karp did this. It's amazing the clarity one gets when the darkness is gone."

I cringed internally. We never should have just left Robert behind, and now people were dead because of us, because of me. "So this is your revenge? Capture me, and kill me?"

"That's part of it." He backed away from me, circling again.

I don't know what it was with Strigois and talking in circles, only giving a little of their plan each time. All leading up to their grand reveal. "And what's the other part?"

I felt his breath fan over the skin of my neck, my hair still up in a bun, leaving it exposed. "I'm going to kill that soulmate of yours. He took me away from my brother before I could save him, leaving me in a bush!" He snarled.

"You won't get Dimitri," I was suddenly grateful that they weren't sending anyone to rescue me. Dimitri will be far away from here.

"He will come here for you," He whispered in my ear, making me cringe away. "He will never leave his soulmate when they are in pain."

I scoffed, acting much braver than I felt, "Dimitri doesn't feel the bond. He won't feel anything." It was mostly a lie, but there was enough truth to it that I hoped Robert would believe it.

His fingers worked their way into my hair, gripping the strands tightly. My breath quickened in pace as he angled my head to the side. "Should we test it?"

I tried to jerk my body away, but his grip and the ropes tied around my wrist kept me pinned in place. I could only cry out in pain as I felt his fangs pierce the side of my neck. The all too familiar pain burst from my neck before being replaced by the endorphins.

So many thoughts ran through my mind, of Lissa, my parents, and then finally of Dimitri. Of how the last time I was fed from, it was him, and then it shifted an image of him smiling at me. The pure look of joy in his eyes when I told him I wanted to complete the bond between us.

As the endorphins spread through my body, everything became hazy, all except for that image in my mind. I focused on that feeling of love from him as I slipped back into the darkness.

Ohhhh.

Please let me know what you think :D

Next chapter is going to be a Dimitri POV