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Dimitri

I had never before encountered such trouble keeping my cool guardian mask in place. What my face wanted to do was sag in boredom.

It did help, though, that Rose was nearby. Every now and then, our eyes would meet, and she'd slip me a wink. Or, if I was really lucky, she'd pull a silly face just for a moment, before resuming her neutral expression. I suppressed laughter and tried to tune in to the conversation.

It was really hard, though. Technically, it concerned guardians, because we'd be the ones sent off to fight Strigoi in their lairs if these plans came to fruition. Obviously, we were nowhere near that stage yet. It was just a bunch of old rich Moroi arguing.

"The fact is," said one Moroi woman, who I recognized vaguely as a Drozdov, "there are just too many dangers. Facing Strigoi is no small task. And while we're sending off these guardians, who's going to protect those of us who stay behind? There aren't enough guardians to go around. We can't expect to send guardians all around the globe to hunt down Strigoi while still maintaining our current defences. We just can't do it."

"In saying that, you have demonstrated in full your incapacity to understand the threat posed to us," said Christian, as aggravating as ever as he debated. That drew some gasps from the crowd, and the Moroi woman turned bright red. "One battle strategy all soldiers can agree on is to know your enemy well. The Strigoi know us – they know where we are, how to get to us, how to kill us. For a long time, we didn't possess that knowledge. Strigoi were unpredictable monsters lurking in the shadows, and we feared their attacks. Now, for the first time, thanks to Guardian Belikov" – he dropped a nod in my direction, one that I acknowledged with a nod of my own – "we have knowledge of Strigoi movements, and we know there is a Strigoi concentration not far from Court. Wouldn't it make sense to send a strike team and eliminate this threat before it can eliminate us?"

I had to admire my charge – he had guts.

"Easy for you to say, Lord Ozera," said another Moroi, sneering. "And who would lead this strike team?"

Christian started to open his mouth, but before he could say anything, another voice spoke up.

"I will."

I stiffened, and my eyes, like all the others in the room, swivelled towards Rose. She had spoken clearly and confidently.

"I will lead the strike team against the Strigoi."

I tried to meet her eyes, tried to communicate what a foolish idea I thought this was, but Rose wouldn't grant me that privilege. Instead, she listened to what the outraged Moroi in the crowd were shouting.

"Rose Hathaway?!" one cried. "Notorious rebel, fresh out of guardian school?! She is to lead this strike team?"

"I'm trained and I'm good, and the queen's personal guardian," Rose snapped. "I'm as qualified as any to lead this team." She looked like she had something else to say, something more profane in nature, but in a remarkable show of restraint managed to hold back her words.

"Your Majesty, you can't seriously be considering this!"

All eyes now turned to Lissa. She was biting her lip in concentration as she deliberated. Not for the first time, I felt a pang of sympathy for her. She was just eighteen, and already she was forced to take onto her shoulders the responsibility of running the troubled Moroi nation. And yet, I thought of Rose, throwing herself in harm's way, as usual, and selfishly begged Lissa not to agree to the plan. I knew Lissa wouldn't want Rose to be in danger, but she couldn't show favouritism in front of the Council.

Finally, Lissa sighed. "I will authorize this pre-emptive strike on the Strigoi..."

And with that, the Council erupted into chaos.

~~Page Break~~

"Rose!"

I weaved through the guardians in the wake of the Council meeting adjournment. People had argued, and people had shouted, but at the end of the day, Lissa's word was law, and there was nothing any of the others could do about it.

I wasn't happy about it either, but mostly because it was Rose leading the strike team.

I finally caught up to Rose, as she stood next to Lissa. As the Moroi had left the Council room, Lissa had removed her queenly crown and now sat back, exhausted.

Rose was jumping up and down with excitement. "You won't regret this, Lissa. You won't! We'll wipe out those Strigoi!"

Before Lissa had a chance to say anything, I stepped in. "Rose! Do you know how reckless that was?"

"What?" Rose turned her dark eyes on me. "Oh, don't tell me you don't want me to be on the strike team!"

"I – "

"I don't need to be looked after, Dimitri!" Rose said sharply. "I'm strong, and I'm capable, and I'm just as ready as you are to take down those Strigoi. Don't baby me. Babying me is the worst thing you could do to me, and you should know that about me by now."

I looked at her, and I saw that she was right. She wasn't the half-trained girl I'd first tracked down in Portland, all fire and no way to channel it. This was a fierce, intelligent woman, whose forged paths through reason and her passion about what she cared about to achieve her goals. Rose had grown under my tutelage. She fully deserved this.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "It's just – "

I struggled to express how I felt, but Rose's eyes softened, and I knew I didn't need to. "I know you love me, Comrade," she sighed. "Come here." She leaned forward and kissed me.

"Hey, guys!" Lissa groaned. "Not in front of the queen!"

We broke apart. "Sorry, Your Majesty," I said, grinning, and Lissa laughed.

"That really exhausted me. Sometimes, being queen is worse than wielding spirit."

"You haven't had to since you took the throne," Rose reminded her.

Lissa snorted, sounding most un-queen-like. "Haven't had to? More like haven't had the time." She sounded wistful. This wasn't Queen Vasilisa before us – this was just Lissa.

Until, of course, she decided she had to go to the restroom. She drew herself up. "I have to use the little queens' room," she announced. I watched as she donned her queenly persona, and then made her way out of the room. "Dimitri," she said, looking back, "you wouldn't mind scouting around and looking for potential recruits to the strike team, would you?"

"Of course not, Lissa."

I stepped away, my mind whirring, and went to find the other guardians.

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