I felt a sharp sensation tugging at the back of my head, waking me from my deep state of unconsciousness. I could hardly open my eyes, and when I did, there was nothing in front of me. I tried to turn my head to the side, but it was soon tugged back into place. I realized then there was a hand snugly wrapped into my hair, controlling all movement of my head and neck. I felt a chill run through my body at the cold touch, and I knew exactly who it was.

"Don't move. The show is about to begin," James whispered in my ear. I could hear the smile in his voice, and a sense of dread started to overcome me.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps sound above me. They were so loud, it sounded like never ending thunder rolling across the sky. I felt my stomach sink into my toes, knowing this was most likely some sort of rescue squad that had come for me. I attempted to fight through the feeling to think of a way to help them, but my thoughts were cut short at the feeling of fangs on my throat.

Crying out at the sensation, I let the bliss flit through my mind. I felt the pain in my arms and head dissipate for a few seconds as he drank from me. He drank more than I had ever had taken from me before, and I knew it would be useless to try and fight back. I was so weak I could no longer hold my head up.

I faintly recognized the sound of a blade on skin before I felt the blood drop down on my face. I could feel each individual drop land on my cheeks and forehead with a small 'plop'. I let the blood run down my face, unable to realize what was happening in my clouded state of mind.

As the endorphins faded from me, I became aware of exactly what the blood on my face meant. I started to shake my head, flinging the rivulets off my face. I felt his hand wrap in my hair once more, and the drops congealed over my mouth. I had my lips closed tight and my eyes open in horror. He was trying to turn me, and I didn't know if I had the strength to stop him.

"Oh come on! Open up!" James called out in a singsong voice. I wanted to scream and rip his head off, but I couldn't let his blood into my mouth. I wasn't sure how much it would take to turn me, but I wasn't willing to let even a single drop in. He would have to kill me instead.

I started thrashing against his hold, accepting my fate. As he tried to restrain me, a loud bang echoed through the room, and I raised my eyes as far as I could without moving my head. I saw the most beautiful sight I had ever witnessed. Death in a cowboy duster had come charging into the room to save me.

Dimitri moved through the space with more grace than I had ever seen. He sprang forward at two strigoi who jumped out from behind James. I hadn't even realized they were in the room, but now Dimitri was locked in battle with both of them. I watched in awe as he managed to deflect blows coming constantly on all sides, but I knew even with his skill it would be too late.

James had switched tactics as soon as the door opened, and now how his wrist pressed firmly to my mouth. I kept my lips clamped together so tightly I could hardly breathe. He was rubbing harshly across my face, muttering to himself as he tried to force my mouth open to his blood. I let the liquid smear across my face, but I never faltered in my resolve. Eventually, he removed the hand and moved it to my throat, wrapping around tightly as the battle raged on next to us.

"Open your mouth or I snap your neck," he threatened.

I wasn't going to let him break me. I stayed perfectly still, not moving even a centimeter. I didn't know how much longer I had left, and I closed my eyes tightly as I waited for the crack to reverberate down my spine. I heard it sound out, but I felt nothing but pain in my arms as I landed on the ground.

I realized that somehow during the fight, the chair I was tied to had its legs kicked out from underneath it. I was still tied tightly to the back of the chair, and I had fallen forward on my chest and face. My eyes met with a pair of lifeless ones and I knew Dimitri had killed at least one of his opponents.

I could smell smoke in the air as more bodies joined the fray. A strigoi dropped to the ground, completely incinerated. The body smoldered close to mine, and I was uncomfortable with the overwhelming heat. I turned my head, trying to escape the thick smoke filling the room.

By the shouting I could tell that the only one left was James himself. I knew Dimitri was fighting, and fighting hard. This was Dimitri's big rival when he was turned, so neither would have an easy win. Not to mention how personal the kill would be for both of them. I tried to move so I could watch. I needed to know Dimitri was winning. If he wasn't, then this was all for nothing.

I felt the heat grow as I wiggled around in my restraints. Flames licked at my waist before I realized what had happened. The body had caught the chair back on fire, and it was starting to burn me.

The heat was so intense I couldn't help but scream, although I managed to do so wordlessly with my lips closed. I could feel it echo around in my throat and mouth. I breathed heavily through my nose, refusing to cough out the smoke, trapping it in my lungs instead. Just as soon as they sprung up, the flames died down around me.

"Rose? Rose! Fuck, I'm so sorry!" I heard a voice say. The ropes had burned off of me, and I felt the chair back being removed from my flesh. I leaned back into his arms with a cry, feeling every inch of my burned skin. I wanted to respond to him, but I couldn't with a face full of strigoi blood.

Suddenly a different face popped up in front of me, one that made me slump even further into Christian's arms. I could see the tortured look in his eyes, and it only made the pain I was feeling more intense. Despite the state I was in, I wanted nothing more than to hold him in my arms and tell him everything was going to be okay. But my arms were broken, and I wasn't able to pry open my mouth.

"Roza? Roza, are you okay? Talk to me," he begged.

I moved my hand up to my face, trying to ignore the agony that shot through me at the motion. I used the back of my hand to try and wipe the blood off, but it just kept smearing around my face. Realization dawned on Dimitri's face, and he gave me a tender look before continuing.

"It's okay, Roza. It's not enough blood," he tried to calm me. I shook my head 'no' and started frantically clawing at my mouth, unwilling to let even the slightest bit in.

Dimitri knew how serious I was in that moment because he immediately shrugged his duster off his shoulders, shirt following soon after. He balled the material up in his hands, bringing it tenderly to my face. I let him wipe the blood off, taking care to get in the corners of my mouth and on the ridges of my lips.

When he was satisfied it was gone, he let the shirt fall from my hands and caressed my face in his bare hands. I closed my eyes, relishing in the touch. Despite all my injuries, a part of me never wanted to leave this moment. I knew that once he was sure I was okay, he would go back to feeling guilty and leave me behind once more.

"Rose," I heard Christian say.

"What's up, Sparky?" I asked, voice raw from my day's activities. Dimitri didn't give him the chance to answer.

"You're okay," he breathed out a sigh of relief, removing his hands from my face. I cursed myself for letting my walls down around him, and prepared to bring them back up.

"Never better, Comrade," I asked, voice cracking in pain. I hoped they thought it was from my injuries, and not my broken heart.

At that moment, two guardians I didn't recognize stepped into the room. I could feel their eyes widen in horror before they snapped back into guardian mode. They shared a look between each other before approaching us.

"Lord Ozera, it's time to go," one of them said. He stiffened behind me.

"There's been some mistake. I'm not leaving," he explained, tightening his hold on me.

"Princess Dragomir is refusing to leave without you. Our orders are to bring her back to Court at all costs," the other explained.

"Go, Christian. I'll take care of her," I heard Dimitri say. His voice sounded angelic in that moment, almost lulling me to sleep.

"Are you sure you can handle that?" Christian asked, voice hard.

"I promise, Christian. Go to Vasilisa," he said while holding out his arms. Christian made no attempt to move.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I don't."

His statement held a tone of finality, and I wanted to laugh. We were the same in that way. We didn't promise what we couldn't deliver on. Only, I didn't see how he could keep this one. It would surely be too much for him, just like I was.

The boys stared at each other over my head for a few moments before I felt Christian start to shift. I cried out as the two helped me stand up. Christian tenderly pressed a kiss to my temple, and whispered something in my ear I wasn't sure if I heard correctly.

"We'll be back for you as soon as we can. Stay strong, Rose."

My legs were weak, unable to support the weight of my body. I fell forward once more, this time right into Dimitri's arms. He caught me as I cried out, overwhelmed with pain.

"I have you, Roza," was the last thing I heard before my world went black. He had more than he realized.

I woke up in immense pain with various tubes running into my body. Opening my eyes, I realized I was in a hospital bed. I glanced around and noticed it was completely dark outside. The lights were off, the only light being a small lamp next to a chair on the right side of my bed.

Said chair was occupied with a petite blonde, fast asleep despite being curled up in an uncomfortable position. I occupied myself with how long I'd been here, not that I'd have any way of knowing until Sydney was awake and could tell me.

There was an unopened bottle of water on a table next to me, and I attempted to reach for it. My throat was so dry I didn't know if I could open my mouth. I was stopped by two braces, binding the bones in my arms back together. I groaned in frustration, the sound vibrating around the quiet room as it ripped through my dry mouth.

That sound was enough to wake Sydney, who bolted upright in her chair as if I had let out a scream. Her eyes settled on me and I could see the grimace on her face. I must be in really bad shape if they brought me to what I could only assume was a human hospital.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," I croaked out, trying to sit up on the bed without the use of my arms.

"It's fine, I'm glad you're awake," she responded, scooting her chair closer to me.

Sydney lifted her arm like she wanted to touch me, but thought better of it and let it fall to her side awkwardly. I nodded to the water next to me and she got up, untwisting the cap and lifting it up to my lips. I drank deeply, too thirsty to be embarrassed at her help. I gave her a small thanks as she set the empty bottle back down.

"What happened?" I asked, unable to remember what happened after I fell into Dimitri's arms.

I scolded myself for the feelings I had remembering his words back at the house. He obviously left the second he knew I wasn't going to die on him. Tears pricked the corner of my eyes, and I wondered when a nurse would be by to up my pain meds.

"I only know parts of the story," she said, hinting at what I knew to be true. She wasn't there for the things I wanted to know about.

"Where are the others? Did they make it out?" I asked, voice shaking. I didn't know if I could handle losing a single one of them.

"Yes, everyone is fine. They're all back at Court now," she responded.

"So it's just me and you?"

"And Dimitri," she said as my heart started beating faster, made obvious by the monitor I was hooked up to. She raised her brows at me and I shot a glare her way.

"Why him?" I questioned, not sure I wanted to hear the answer. I was happy he hadn't left yet, but I thought it was more likely to see Eddie or Mikhail here with me.

"It's... complicated. We're kinda fugitives now," it was my turn to raise my brows at her. She shrugged, and added, "I should really let Dimitri explain. He'll be here any second."

"What do you mean? It's the middle of the night."

"They only let one visitor in the ICU. He wanted to be here, but I wasn't sure if you would want that. So I've been here with you, and he's been in the lobby. He sneaks in at the shift change to check on you, which is in about ten minutes," she explained. I thanked her, grateful she had thought of me when making that decision. Even if I had wanted to see him when I woke up, I realized things would be easier if it was her. Maybe some of her practicality was rubbing off on me.

Sydney saw the faces I made every time I shifted, and let me know the nurse would be in after shift change to check on me. I rested a little easier knowing some relief would be coming my way soon. We didn't talk much after that, each wrapped up in our own thoughts. Instead, I looked at the clock on the wall, counting down the minutes until he would walk through the door.

Right on time, the door opened and the unmistakably tall figure of Dimitri Belikov slipped through the crack. He moved to the side of my bed with his head down, looking anywhere but at me. He was as graceful as ever, and I was glad to see he didn't have any lasting battle scars.

"How is she?" he asked, looking at Sydney.

"Never better, Comrade," I said, voice still scratchy.

His eyes snapped to mine, giving me a small smile as he moved to grasp my hand. It was awkward, with me not able to move my arms much. He touched me as if I was made of glass, like he could break me at any second. Still, I appreciated the warmth it gave me, and made an attempt to return the familiar gesture.

"Roza," he whispered, sounding tortured.

Sydney saw this as her cue to leave, and I tried not to notice as she slipped out of the room. She didn't realize she was leaving me alone with the one person who truly had the power to kill me.