"I wasn't sure you'd come," Rose said, taking in the disheveled appearance of the Moroi sitting on the chair in her cell.
"I wasn't sure I would, either," Adrian admitted. When he'd told Lissa he would visit Rose, he hadn't realized how much it was going to hurt. Still—he was here, now. The two sat in silence, regarding one another. There was so much to say, yet hard to find the words to say it. "I know you didn't kill Tatiana. Sure, you weren't her biggest fan, but I know you didn't murder her."
"Thank you," Rose murmured, relieved to hear Adrian say that. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss."
Adrian nodded, wordlessly acknowledging her sentiments. "I'm not sure if you know she's being buried tomorrow?"
"Abe mentioned it," Rose replied, her eyes telling Adrian she knew he was aware of Abe's plan. "I'm sure it will be a lovely service."
"I expect so. Everyone will be there. The Royal families are already trying to promote their candidates for the throne." There was no mistaking the bitterness in Adrian's tone. "Anyway, who else has visited you?"
"Dad was here this morning, then Eddie. Lissa and Christian visited before lunch, and now you."
"Belikov hasn't…?" Adrian asked, his voice tight.
"No. I'm not expecting him to." Adrian muttered something under his breath that Rose didn't catch, but given the tone, she doubted it was flattering. "Lissa said you've been visiting the Guardian Council asking them to consider other suspects?"
"Yes, not that they seem to be looking very hard. As far as they're concerned, it's a done deal."
"Abe said the same," Rose admitted. "I guess I just need to hope additional evidence shows up that proves I'm innocent," she added for the sake of the Guardians who were standing nearby overhearing their conversation.
"Hard to find evidence when no one's out there looking for it," Adrian said pointedly, also for the benefit of their audience. They sat in silence for a while before Rose spoke quietly.
"Adrian? I'm sorry. About us… I took advantage of how you felt, and I shouldn't have. I hurt you, and I'm sorry."
"No, little dhampir, I'm the one who took advantage. I knew how you felt before you went to Russia. If I fooled myself that one day you might love me, then the blame is mine."
"I do love you, Adrian…"
"Just not in the way I love you," he replied, standing up and reaching out to hug Rose. They embraced for an extended moment, knowing that this might be the last time they saw one another face to face in a long time.
"Will you visit me?" Rose asked. "Please?"
"You'll want to kick me out, so you have time to sleep," Adrian promised, referring to his ability to dream walk. Then, with a last kiss on her cheek, he was gone, and Rose was left to wonder if she would ever see any of her friends again.
The day of Queen Tatiana Ivashkov's funeral started much like any other, since her incarceration, for Rose. A visit from Abe, followed shortly thereafter by breakfast. Abe's visit was brief, quietly reiterating instructions for what would happen later in the day.
"You'll know when it's time, as the church bells will ring to announce the start of the funeral service," Abe said, explaining the complicated bell sequence associated with a Royal Russian Orthodox funeral service. "As soon as you hear the bells, crouch in the corner behind your mattress. After that, follow Pavel's instructions."
"What if the guards are nearby?"
"Let them watch. By the time they get to you, it will be too late."
Once Abe left, it was a matter of killing time. Rose only had the clothes she was wearing—her toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, meds, sanitary products, and hair ties kept in a separate shower room she could only use once a day. With no television, books, or other sources of entertainment, she spent the hours before the funeral looking through Lissa's eyes. Which was fine until Lissa and Eddie stopped by to visit Dimitri.
Still guarded, although now only by two Guardians at the door to his room, he looked tired and ill at ease. Used to seeing Dimitri calm and unflappable, the tension Rose could see through Lissa's gaze was unnerving.
"Adrian and I will be part of the procession and then the service. The Royal Council and representatives from each family will walk behind Tatiana's closest relatives," Lissa explained. "Christian will be with Tasha and some of the other Ozeras, so you must be somewhere public when it happens. There need to be many people who can vouch for your whereabouts, so there is no suggestion you were involved."
"Alberta, Alto, and a few others have flown in to represent St. Vlads. Belikov, why don't you and your minders join them? I can hang out with Mia, Shane, and Meredith," Eddie suggested. It was a suitable solution. Alberta and the other St. Vladimir's Guardians would attest to Dimitri's presence, and with Eddie still in the doghouse because of the events leading up to Dimitri's restoration, he wouldn't further provoke Croft's ire by being seen in Dimitri's company.
"I will contact Alberta and ask to join them," Dimitri replied, sounding subdued.
"You didn't…?" Lissa asked, checking whether he had visited Rose to say farewell. When she saw Dimitri's eyes close in pain, she wished she hadn't.
"I couldn't," he all but whispered. "Not after what I did."
Whether what he did referred to the events that happened when he was undead, or the ruination he'd inflicted on Rose after his restoration, Dimitri did not elaborate. In any case, he couldn't bring himself to face Rose. As far as he was concerned, nothing he could do would ever make up for the damage he'd inflicted on the dark-haired Dhampir he'd loved, even when he shouldn't.
Standing to one side, but slightly behind her charge, Lord Szelsky, as they waited for the Royal funeral procession to begin, was torture for Janine. Unable to visit her daughter to say goodbye, and knowing that in moments Rosemarie would be spirited away from Court for months, or possibly years, was agony. It was hard to think back on their shared history without feeling guilt and blame. Their relationship was still rudimentary, at best, and while she was being brutally honest, Janine knew she had no one to blame other than herself.
Cognizant of Abe's instructions, she had taken the time to say a word here or there to fellow Guardians as they waited for Tatiana's funeral convoy to begin. One advantage of being Lord Szelsky's long-term Guardian was that Janine knew many senior Guardians allocated to other high-profile charges. One junior Guardian recollecting her presence might not count for much - but when push came to shove, more than a dozen career Guardians verifying her presence when shit went down would be indisputable evidence Janine was not an active participant in Rose's escape. Since Lord Szelsky was waiting with other high-ranking Moroi, it was easy enough for Janine to make her presence known without making it too obvious. In fact, as the mother of the alleged killer of their former monarch, there were more eyes on Janine than almost anyone as they prepared to follow Tatiana's coffin to the Church.
Also waiting, Abe was ensconced in a group of Royal Moroi some forty yards away from his daughter's mother. Like Janine, he was making sure to see and be seen. The Moroi mobster was under no misapprehension… He knew the moment they freed Rose from jail, he would be the primary suspect. However, as he'd said to Rose's closest friends, knowing was one thing, proving it was another! While the Guardian Council did not have proof of Rose's innocence—and thus were proceeding assuming her guilt—Abe had ensured there'd be no proof of his involvement in Rose's escape, hence the Council would have to operate assuming his innocence until a link was identified.
While the wait seemed immeasurable, promptly at 2:00 am the first of the Cathedral's bells rang, signaling the start of Queen Ivashkov's funeral. Loud, and cacophonous, they had only rung for a few seconds when a boom occurred on the other side of Court. The bells were so potent they obscured most of the sound, although later those lining the route closer to that side of Court reported feeling an accompanying shock wave.
Pretending not to hear the explosion he'd been waiting for, Abe Mazur kept his face impassive, giving no indication that his plan to liberate his daughter from Court had begun. It wasn't until some minutes later when fire engines were heard racing toward Court's jail that he wondered aloud what was going on.
As per Abe's instructions, at the very first chime Rose wrest the prison mattress from its base, and crouched in the furthest corner of her cell, the vinyl-clad foam in front of her for protection. Whether it was luck or good management, no guard was in the corridor outside her compartment, so her preparations went unnoticed. Hands over her ears, hiding behind her mattress shield, the very last thing Rose heard was an almighty bang.
"You promised me, Abe! You promised our little girl would be ok!" Janine sobbed, slumped on a sofa in Abe's townhouse at Court, her voice bordering on hysterical.
"It was a gas line," he replied, his hand trembling as he poured himself a scotch, downing it neat. Far from his first for the day, it certainly wouldn't be the last. With an ashen face, Abe outlined what had gone wrong. "It wasn't on the schematics of the building, so we didn't know it was there. With the explosives to bring down the wall… Well, she didn't stand a chance. She wouldn't have felt a thing."
Janine responded with a moan. Her daughter, only eighteen years old, was killed instantly in the explosion that was supposed to secure her freedom. Now, rather than planning how to hide their child while identifying Tatiana's true killer, Janine and Abe had to plan their daughter's funeral. Court's jail had been all but obliterated by the explosion and subsequent fire. In fact, it was a miracle that the Guardians stationed there and the prisoners detained in the low-security section on the other side of the building could get out before the entire structure was engulfed.
Abe was pouring himself another drink when there was a knock at the door. Guardians. Croft and Erskine.
"Good evening, Mr. Mazur, Guardian Hathaway," Croft said, taking in the devastated parents in front of him. He would bet dollars to doughnuts Mazur was responsible for the attempted jailbreak which ended up killing his daughter, so could only imagine the guilt the Moroi Mobster must be feeling. "First, I am very sorry for your loss."
Janine started crying again, loud sobs wracking her petite frame. Abe looked as though he wanted to comfort her, yet held back. There was no telling when sorrow would be replaced by anger and blame, and that wasn't something he needed the authorities to witness.
"Thank you," Abe murmured, offering both Guardians a drink. Strictly against Guardian protocol to drink whilst on duty, nonetheless, Croft and Erskine each accepted a tumbler containing a generous serve of spirits. It wasn't every day you had to tell a well-regarded peer that her daughter's badly burned body had been located. Sitting down beside Janine on the sofa, Croft gently took her hand.
"Janine? They've recovered Rose's body from the jail, and they have moved her to the morgue. You'll need to formally identify her, then we can release her so you can make the necessary arrangements…" Hearing this, the formidable Guardian Hathaway broke down completely. Recognizing that her heart was breaking, Croft gently put his arms around his long-term colleague, letting her rest her head against his chest as grief overtook her.
"I can identify Rosemarie," Abe muttered, using his daughter's full name for the first time since he'd met her. Unable to meet the mother of his child's eyes, he poured himself a last finger or two of Scotch, downing it in a single gulp before leaving with Erskine to visit the morgue.
"Is it true?" Lissa whispered in disbelief about the gossip flying around Court like wildfire.
"Yes," Adrian replied. "Rose's body has been recovered. They said it would have been instant… She wouldn't have felt a thing."
Grasping her boyfriend's hand, Lissa felt numb. She kept looking from Christian to Adrian, expecting one of them to laugh and say 'gotcha!' but it didn't happen. As incomprehensible as it seemed, her best friend—sister, really—was gone.
The trio sat in silence, each trying to reconcile the inconceivable. Initially, so caught up in their own thoughts and grief, it was Adrian who spoke first.
"Belikov…?"
Lissa's head snapped up. Rose had been her best friend, yet Belikov had known Rose differently. Confidants. Lovers. While she still didn't fully understand everything the two Dhampir had been to one another, Adrian had rightly recognized Dimitri would be suffering right now; especially given he hadn't visited Rose to say goodbye.
"We should go to him," Lissa said, looking at Christian. "He must… He must be in a world of pain," she whimpered.
Understanding that his presence would be no balm to Belikov, Adrian threw down another tumbler of spirits before standing up. "You tend to Belikov. I'll go to Eddie." The young Dhampir and Royal Lord had relatively little familiarity, however, as co-conspirators to this fatally thwarted scheme, Adrian understood Eddie might need to talk. By mutual accord, no one mentioned Abe or Janine, each understanding the agony they must both be going through.
"Be kind to him," Lissa warned, standing to prepare herself to visit Dimitri. "This is the second close friend Eddie has lost."
Christian grimaced. Lissa had not been present during their disastrous mission to Spokane. While she'd been sympathetic in the aftermath, it was hard to describe the bond he'd developed with the others after that experience and Mason's death. He thought he'd be a much better person to console Eddie than Adrian, but recognized Adrian's presence would be no comfort to Belikov just now.
"Is she really gone?" Lissa murmured one final time. "It wasn't meant to happen this way."
"She is, and I'm sorry," Christian crooned, pulling Lissa into his arms and kissing her temple. "I'm so very sorry."
As a career Guardian, Erskine was familiar with escorting distraught family members to identify a loved one's body. Some would just nod, confirming their relative was now no longer. Some cried or broke down before finally acknowledging their person had departed. Yet in over twenty-five years of guarding, Erskine had never witnessed any family member exhibit such guilt.
That Abe Mazur was the architect of his daughter's demise was no secret to Erskine. Who else had the motive, means, and muscle to orchestrate such a daring attempted escape?! Despite no doubt hundreds of witnesses attesting to Abe's presence at the crucial moment, nothing would convince the senior Guardian of Abe's innocence. That it had ultimately proven so devastating—that Abe's actions had ultimately cost him his only offspring—was tragically ironic. That the man was truly shattered was abundantly clear.
"I never knew her, as a child," Abe muttered while they were waiting for the morgue technician to wheel his daughter out, covered by a sheet. "I only got to know her recently."
Like everyone, Erskine knew who Abe was. Or more to the point of what he was capable. But right now, he couldn't see any of that. All he could see was a man—a broken man—overcome by what he had done.
"I didn't expect to know her. I didn't expect to love her," he moaned, resting his head against the glass pane that would separate him from her corpse. "Do you have a child?" he asked Erskine. While atypical for a male Guardian, it was not out of the realm of possibility.
"No, I don't," Erskine replied, shaking his head.
"It changes a man," Mazur murmured, more to himself than the Guardian beside him. "Things you never knew you wanted. Things you never thought you could feel." Further pondering was cut short when the technician wheeled in a gurney covered by a crisp white sheet. The sheet that covered Rosemarie Hathaway.
"You can look from here, but if you need to examine more closely, you can step inside," Erskine said, his voice soft, gesturing to a door to the left that separated the viewing space from where Rose's body had been wheeled. Waiting for Abe's subtle nod, the morgue attendant pulled the sheet down to reveal Rose's face.
It took all of Erskine's Guardian training not to flinch or look away. Rosemarie Hathaway was burned beyond recognition. Her face, skin, and hair were all but obliterated. It was horrific. But, incredulously, that was not the hardest part of this experience. Hearing Abe Mazur—a man feared and revered in their world—whimper and then sob was somehow so very much worse.
The two stood side by side for a moment until Abe asked: "Can I?"
His hand gesturing to the door separating him from his daughter, Erskine nodded, rapping on the window to alert the technician they would enter the space where Rose's body lay on the cold metal.
The door opened, Abe wasted no time approaching Rose, locating one of her hands covered by the sheet, Abe rested his own above it. He didn't look at her face. Erskine could only imagine it was too painful. Instead, the bereft man spoke to his daughter. Standing to one side, to give them the illusion of privacy, Erskine was witness to a father's last words to his girl.
"Oh, little one. I'm so sorry. You didn't deserve this. I know you're innocent. If it is the last thing I do, I will make sure that your death does not go unavenged. You will never know how much your death means to Janine and me. You'll be always remembered, never forgotten."
And hearing Abe's vow, Erskine shivered. This was a man who'd lost his only child. Whatever this was, it was far from over.