HI! Sorry this chapter is so short but I'm starting school on Monday and I wanted to give you at least this much. I'm working on chapter 9 right now and I will try to update it ASAP. :D

Chapter 8

RPOV

"Are we there yet?" Lila complained for hundred times in the last five minutes.

"Almost, and if you want to get there sooner then you should be walking faster." I replied, we had to walk or give short runs since Lila couldn't keep up with my strigoi speed and we couldn't exactly take a bus or a plain to the royal court that was where Lissa was currently at.

"We have been walking for hours; I need to take a break." Lila said. I turned to look at her and she certainly looked tired, I felt just fine but I decided that we could use a pause since we were nearing the court's grounds and we needed to be strong.

After another hour of jogging through the forest we saw the gates of the moroi royal court in front of us. I admit they were kind of impressive to look at.

I could sense that Lissa was in one of the guest rooms, on the northern part of the building.

"Okay, we should put our disguises now." I told Lila. We have brought along with a pair of wigs, scarf's and hats contact lenses for me. It bothered my eyes a bit but my eyes were now a strange green instead of red. Lila was also wearing a wig because we couldn't take any chances of somebody recognizing her and asking questions. But as we were coming into view of the front gates we realized of another problem that we hadn't taken into account.

"How on earth am I going to cross the wards?" I whispered-yelled at Lila. Wards were a magical force field that kept strigoi at bay, they couldn't cross them because magic was alive and strigoi were not. Unless we broke them and that option was out since the guardians at the gate had just seen us and were approaching.

"What are you doing here?" asked one of the guards. He looked kind of bored, which was comprehensible if you had to work at a gate in the middle of nowhere where no strigoi dared to appear. Until now at least.

"Mm yeah, we were just, going around the perimeter you know, talking a walk and all." Lila said giving the Guardian a man-eating smile. The guardian immediately softened his gaze and replied.

"And what could two young pretty girls be doing walking around in the middle of the night for?" since we didn't know how much of the strigoi part remained I wasn't going to risk being toasted alive.

"We just felt like it." Lila responded shrugging. "But we are kind of tired and we should really get inside, our aunt is waiting for us and she doesn't like to have to wait.

"Ohh, you are sisters? You don't really look related." The guardian replied. "I'm riley by the way."

"We're actually cousins, and I'm Carly and this is Marla, but we really should get going. But I could look for you after…" she said giving Riley a seductive smile. His smile widened and he went inside to open the gates and let us pass.

This was it. The moment I had to see if I could get through the gates.

I took a long breath and took one step forward.

And nothing happened.

I could go through!

But as I stepped further the air seemed to become heavier and heavier, it felt as if I was walking through jell-o.

"Common we're almost through, just breath." Lila says besides me. I tried to focus on inhaling and exhaling and as we cross over I feel myself relax again. One obstacle down.

We get inside and quickly turn right to the guest rooms. I can feel the bond guiding me to Lissa, who is currently with Christian in their room. I can tell that Lissa feels stressed out and anguished. I tried to take shallow breaths and breathe through the mouth so the smell of that many damphirs and moroi wouldn't overwhelm me.

After we made some final turns we saw Christian emerging from Lissa's room. I stopped dead on my tracks, I could fool the guards because I had never seen them before but Christian knew me like a sister he would see right through my disguise.

"Don't worry, I have an idea." - Lila said when I stopped. – "wait here." She then went straight to Christian and almost slammed into him. Then she pretended to faint and Christian grabbed her so she wouldn't end up all smacked on the floor.

"Hey, are you okay?"Christian asked Lila. She pretended to regained consciousness and faked being embarrassed at being held.

"Yeah, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going and then I suddenly fainted." She explained.

"Don't worry about it, I was just going to go pick up something to eat at the cafeteria for me and my girlfriend, she….isn't feeling that great. Do you want to eat something?" he asked her. He wasn't flirting with her; he was just that kind of guy, who would help a girl for no ulterior reason.

"Ohh, I would love that, but you lead the way, I just arrived today with my brother, he is here with his charge and I'm thought about giving him a surprise but I guess I got lost in the way. Silly me." I had to admit, she was one hell of an actress, she was even swaging a bit so that it looked as she was dizzy. They went away with her chatting about her school life in a nonexistent school in South Carolina. I quickly went down the hall and stood in front of Lissa's room. I could feel her through the bond, with only a door separating us.

I hadn't realized how much I had missed her. And if she was afraid of me? I couldn't take it if she got away from me.

Talking a deep breath I turned the door knob.

And was dumbstruck at what I saw.