*Warning* There is a little violence and blood mentioned towards the end of the chapter.

Part 33

I screamed for a minute before I heard the sound of footsteps growing closer. As the locks on the door were turned, I gripped my bracelet, fingers poised on the clasp.

The door swung open, revealing a Strigoi I hadn't seen before. By the build of his body, he must have been Moroi before being turned, a long blond ponytail whipping side to side as they stalked towards me.

I had a second to prepare myself before their hand was around my neck, stopping me from making any more sound.

He leant in close to my face, growling, "Shut up. Or else."

This was my chance.

I tilted my head up at them, smirking. Hell was about to break loose.

As I unclasped the bracelet and let it fall to the ground, I felt all the darkness that had been held at bay rush into me, along with any that I could draw from Lissa. It was instantaneous. My muscles tensed as the rage burned through me. It snapped me out of the leftover haze of the endorphins, my vision becoming red as I felt it fuel my exhausted body.

At the same time, I dropped the mental walls I had built to keep the ghost back. The white figures filled the room, their pale faces staring at me, death calling me back to their world.

The Strigoi had been glaring down at me, unaware of what I had done until the ghost surrounded us. When he moved, the ghosts were no longer focused on me.

Luckily, it wasn't his first instinct to run from the ghosts, hands coming up and swiping at them as if he could fight them off. It was enough of a distraction that I could work my hands out of the ropes.

It was ridiculously easy to break out of now that I had the strength from the darkness. I could feel the madness creeping up in the edges of my mind. As I watched the Strigoi fight the ghosts, a delirious laugh escaped me.

Finding the humour in the dead fighting the undead.

I had to remind myself of my plan. I can't waste time.

As I had hoped, the Strigoi was too occupied by the ghosts to notice me. Deciding to use the same stupid trick as when escaping Dimitri, I dodged around the Strigoi to the door. Without sparing a glance back, I yanked the door closed and locked it.

It wouldn't hold him long, not once the ghosts moved on, but I just needed enough time to escape the building and get away from Robert. With no weapon and already on reserves of my energy, fighting any enemies right now would end in death.

I just needed to hold the madness at bay. If I were really lucky, I would escape and somehow get to help in time, but I knew when I made this plan that, in all likelihood, I was taking a one way trip to crazy town.

It's worth it if I can save Dimitri.

There wasn't much to the hallway, no clue which way was the best to run, and based on the churning in my stomach, there were more Strigoi here. The male I left in the room was still screaming; the sound would have alerted the others by now.

Choosing a direction, I ran.

Upside, I found the main room of the house, windows covered with paint and trash bags to keep the light out, only a dim lamp providing light to the house. The downside, in the room, stood two other Strigoi along with Robert.

I didn't pause for long. I had hoped for a door to leave through, but I guess I was taking another page from my escape from Dimitri—jumping out a window.

Hoping that the glass wasn't reinforced, I threw my body at one of them.

Before I could impact the glass, a hand was wrapped around my leg, tugging me in the opposite direction. I felt weightless for a moment before I impacted the wooden floor, barely managing to tuck and roll enough to not injury myself badly. With the darkness flowing through my body, I barely felt it.

"You think you are so clever, Rosemarie!" Robert bellowed, approaching me quickly, "I'm not letting you escape me again. You will pay for what you did to my brother!"

Robert fisted my shirt, yanking me up off the floor like I weighed nothing and slamming me into the wall. I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me.

"Fuck you," I spat out. It wasn't hard to call the ghosts to me, the sudden appearance was enough to shock the other two Strigoi standing behind Robert, but he wasn't affected by them.

"I'm not afraid of them," He hissed, slamming my body against the wall again.

My vision was starting to swarm; the darkness provided less anger but instead drowned me as it affected my mind more. It was becoming difficult to focus on my plan, even on Robert before me. Though from the menacing look in his eyes, I was sure he would kill me before the madness could take hold.

"I wanted to kill you in front of him, but I guess he will just have to feel your life slip away."

My heart tugged painfully, knowing that this was it. I couldn't get away from Robert, and now Dimitri would still come here.

I failed.

As Robert's fangs descended on my neck again, I felt tears trail down my cheek.

I had lost Dimitri and then gained him back again, and now before I could truly have him, I was going to die. All I ever wanted was Dimitri. I wished I had managed to break the block sooner. I wished I had realised just how much I loved him sooner.

Despite everything that happened between us, I wished I had forgiven him sooner.

At that moment, I knew I had forgiven him. For everything.

I'm so sorry, Dimitri.

The sound of a heavy impact and splintering of wood ripped Robert's attention away from me; head turned away from me, just bright light flooded the room.

I fell to the ground, no longer held up against the wall. I was too weak to catch myself; I crumbled into a heap on the floor.

Too much was happening to focus on. There was some yelling and sounds of footsteps; the ghosts were still surrounding the room, more appearing. But through it all, like a beacon, my eyes found deep brown ones focused on me.

Everything stopped.

And I felt it.

It was like my heart was being tugged, a string wrapped around me trying to draw me forward. A rush went through me. The affection was so profound; there was joy, contentment, and happiness. It felt complete.

I felt complete.

This is what it was meant to feel like, what I had expected all those weeks ago. The puzzle pieces clicking. It was so powerful that it almost knocked the breath out of me again. What I had been feeling from Dimitri leading up to this was nothing in comparison. I didn't think our bond could have been better.

I watched as Dimitri's eyes lit up, a sense of awe filling them, his expression becoming one of pure rapture as he felt it too. Both stared at one another as we caught our breath. We could feel each other.

The bond was connected.

Even with the darkness, the bond was reaching me, the feeling of Dimitri's love and panic overpowering it. Just being close to Dimitri had helped me manage the darkness before, but now with the bond connected between us, I could feel the darkness receding; my mind was clearing.

Roza!

I gasped. I could hear his thought.

And then reality came crashing down on me. I looked around, noticing Dimitri wasn't alone, my mother and Pavel barreling into the room after him. The Strigoi that had been locked in the back room was out and ready to get payback. Four Strigoi against three guardians weren't the best odds.

They stood glaring, sizing each other up. My mother moved first, initiating the fight, Pavel and Dimitri not far behind her.

Strigoi were terrifyingly powerful, having experienced fighting them multiple times, but watching how my mother, Pavel, and Dimitri fought them was an experience unlike any other. They were skilled guardians, each holding their own, taking on a Strigoi and seeming to be winning.

Like death in a duster, Dimitri was fighting his way to reach me.

Sunlight was pouring in from the broken door behind them, but it was too far for me to reach to be safe. And I didn't have just the Strigoi to worry about anymore.

The ghosts had moved on from the Strigoi and were focused on me, their pale hands reaching for me as their mouths hung open in silent screams. Before, I never would have been able to build my walls again to push them back, but with Dimitri here, feeling his strength flowing into me through the bond, I could do it.

It took a couple of tries, but I managed to succeed. The process left me exhausted, barely able to move from my spot on the ground.

"Roza!" Dimitri yelled out to me, the pull in his voice enough to make me open my eyes. He was sparing glances at me as he fought the Strigoi with the blond ponytail.

He didn't say anything else, but I got the message. You need to move!

I tried to stand, barely able to get my arms under me as my vision swarmed and my elbows buckled. My injuries and blood loss had become too much, the darkness no longer giving me what I needed to push through it.

I caught his eyes again. Then a warmth washed over me, a deep voice whispering. Keep trying.

I reached forward on my elbow, gritting my teeth; I dragged my body a couple of inches. And then I dragged myself a little more. It was slow-moving and painful, but I was moving. With ragged breaths and a shaking body, I was nearing the sunlight, crawling through the broken remains of the door.

I was so close. I could feel the warmth of the rays as my hand touched the light. And then a cold hand curled around my ankle.

I yelped as I was dragged back, hands grappling for something to hold on to, only managing to grab a broken piece of wood. It wasn't much, but it was the only weapon I had.

A hand buried itself into my hair, wrenching it up painfully, making me scream, my body having no choice but to lift with it. Another hand went around my body to wrap around my neck, squeezing it.

"Time for my revenge," Robert breathed against my neck.

There was no escaping this house, for Robert or I. The three other Strigoi were dead, the three guardians inching closer to us with concern and anger in their eyes. My eyes locked on Dimitri's.

He was running through his options, trying to think of a way to get me away from Robert without bringing more harm to me.

I will get you out of here. He promised.

I didn't even need to hear his thoughts to know, able to read his determination clearly on his face.

"Guess it's over," I huffed, an attempt at a laugh, but it was cut off by Robert's hand squeezing tighter. Dimitri's eyes pinched at the sound.

I felt Robert smile against me, "I don't think so." His hand moved from my hair to my hand, the broken piece of wood still grasped. My grip was weak enough that he took it easily. "Say hello to Victor."

My eyes were on Dimitri, watching as he lunged for me as Robert plunged the wood into my chest.

At first, it felt like a pinch, and then pain exploded from my chest. A slight gurgling sound escaped my mouth, feeling a trickle of blood slip out between my lips. There was movement around me, blurs of speed and sounds of a fight as I crumbled to the ground.

It wasn't lost on me that a Strigoi had basically staked me. A part of me had always wondered what it would be like to be staked, never feeling brave enough to ask Dimitri. He was staked three times, once by Lissa and twice by me. One of those times with a piece of wood as well.

Maybe this was karma.

I couldn't move, lying on my back staring up at the ceiling. It hurt, but I couldn't tell exactly where. Everything hurts.

Then the pain started to fade. Something tells me that wasn't a good thing.

This was it. The moment I died. Not while protecting a Moroi or saving Lissa like I always envisioned. But instead staked by Strigoi, one that I was only near because I was betrayed by someone I used to trust. I never had the chance to tell anyone what happened.

The only good thing I had managed to achieve was making the connection with Dimitri. It wasn't for long, but it was perfect.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Dimitri's face came into view. He was crouched over me, distraught. His lips were moving, but I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't even feel him.

Everything was becoming numb.

I felt myself slipping.

I tried to push a thought through the bond one last time using what I had left.

I love you, Dimitri.

I did say she was going to make some questionable decisions...

As always, I love hearing what you think :D