Dimitri

We alerted the local Alchemists of the human bodies lying in the Strigoi house. Then, from a safe distance, we crouched and hid and watched the house, to make sure the Alchemists really did come. We weren't fugitives, but for the sake of Janine's career and all our reputations, it was probably best that the Alchemists (and therefore the Moroi) didn't know where we were, as Operation Save Rose had been pretty hush-hush so far.

We watched as an SUV pulled up outside the house and several humans emerged, cautiously approaching. I caught the flash of a golden tattoo and turned.

"All right, let's go."

The drive to Pittsburgh International Airport was quite quiet. We'd known what we'd signed up for, but seeing how the Strigoi treated their servants and hearing Maria's last words had been pretty sobering. We sat in silence, all of us lost in our own thoughts.

Janine rode shotgun beside me, and I glanced over more than once. Her expression was surprisingly upset. She wasn't wearing her usual guardian mask, and as a guardian myself, I knew how vulnerable that meant she was, and how much she'd let her guard down. I considered making conversation, but seeing how troubled she looked, I decided not to.

It was probably just as well, because at that moment, my phone began to ring. Janine turned towards it, her cool guardian expression sliding into place once more, and answered, putting it on speakerphone.

"Your Majesty," she said. "We're here."

"Good," said Lissa's voice, "because I've got news from Rose."

All of us sat forward. "What's the news?" Christian asked.

"Well, she obviously doesn't know where she is, except she's in a basement. But she's alive, and she's well – for now."

"For now?" I asked, stepping just a little bit faster on the gas pedal. "What does that mean?"

"It means the Strigoi have plans for her." She explained about what Rose had said about a Grand Master.

"Isn't that what Maria said?" Christian exclaimed.

"What? Maria who?"

Janine gave a brief summary of what had happened in Pittsburgh and why we were heading to Atlanta now.

"I'm glad you've got a plan," said Lissa, worried. "Think about what a Strigoi Grand Master means, though."

"If a powerful Strigoi takes on a leadership role and is able to command other Strigoi like that…" Janine began.

"Then it could be catastrophic for the Moroi," I finished. "We could be talking about Strigoi armies."

"That's why I'm modifying your mission parameters," Lissa said urgently. "I want you to find Rose, and find out who this Grand Master is. Then we can concentrate on taking him/her down."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Janine said at once.

"I'm going to go and alert the Council." Lissa sighed. "It won't be pretty when they hear just how I know about this."

She hung up, and silence settled on the car once again, in light of the new threat we faced. If a Strigoi Grand Master truly existed, then that meant the Strigoi had evolved and were organizing, mobilizing, just the way we'd feared they were. One reason why the Moroi had managed to stay one step ahead of the Strigoi was because the Moroi were an organized, structured society, while the Strigoi were rogues, thieves, bandits preying on the edges of the vampire world. If the Strigoi organized and became our equal, it could change everything about our world, and in a very, very bad way. We'd be facing a threat like never before.

We arrived at the airport, and Janine was the first to hop out.

"We'd better get going," she said, businesslike and straightforward. "If we're to save Rose and find that Strigoi Grand Master, we're going to need every second we've got."

We checked in and bought tickets on the first flight available to Atlanta. It was a Southwest Airlines flight departing in forty-five minutes, and we had to move as fast as humanly (or in our case, superhumanly) possible to get to the gate on time.

As the plane took off, Christian decided to get some shuteye and dozed off. Janine flipped briefly through the in-flight magazine, before setting it back in its place and staring straight ahead. I decided now was as good a time as any to talk to her.

"Hey," I said quietly, careful not to disturb Christian. "Penny for your thoughts."

She turned towards me, and I again saw that vulnerability that I'd seen in the car on the way to the airport in Pittsburgh. She gave me a wry smile. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because what we saw in Pittsburgh was pretty upsetting, and I just thought you might want to talk about it."

Janine snorted softly. "I'm a guardian, Dimitri. I've seen worse."

"I know you have. But that doesn't make it any easier to see innocents killed."

A lot of Moroi probably would've disputed Maria's innocence, seeing as she'd willingly served Strigoi, but I didn't really want to delve into that, and neither did Janine.

She sighed. "It's just a waste. Seeing a human – an idiotic human – exploited and left for dead like that, well, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth." She paused. "And I can't help but think about Rose, and what those monsters might be doing to her. How they might be feeding off her…" She bit her lip, then laughed bitterly. "And we don't even have that mother-daughter bond that most mothers and daughters do. I was hoping – I was hoping to fix that. And now I'm faced with losing her."

I was amazed by the mother's love that was radiating off her. Janine Hathaway was not known for her maternal instinct, least of all by her own daughter, and yet here she was, on the verge of tears out of worry for Rose.

I laid a hand on her shoulder. "We're going to find Rose," I reassured her. "And when we do, you're going to get to know her. I'll make sure of it."

She gave me a faltering smile.

"I didn't really like Rose when I first met her," said a voice to my other side. With a start, I realized that Christian had woken up and was joining in the conversation. "I thought she was arrogant and annoying, and hell-bent on stealing Lissa away from me. And what's funny is that she thought the exact same thing about me." He chuckled softly. "But then she saved Lissa. And she saved me. And then she saved countless others at St. Vladimir's during that attack. And that's what makes her an amazing friend and person – that she can't see something suffer and not go charging in to save it. That's why I grew to love Rose as a friend. She has one of the biggest hearts I know."

I smiled. Christian wasn't one for talking about his feelings – I knew that much. To talk so much and so openly – I knew that meant he truly felt at ease here. I realized that the three of us were bonding, growing closer together. And it was all for love of Rose.

We spent most of the rest of the flight sharing our funniest stories about Rose. I tactfully decided to leave out the night we'd first had sex in the cabin, because I didn't think Janine would appreciate that. As the plane began its descent into Atlanta, though, our conversation tapered off. Christian got up to use the restroom. As we readied our seats for landing, I decided to ask Janine one last question.

"Janine? Do you – um – approve of me?"

Janine turned to me, confusion in her eyes. "What's that mean?"

"Do you approve of Rose and me?"

It was a question I probably should've asked a long time ago, but I felt it was important. Rose and I had started off as teacher and student and fallen in love, which was scandalous in every society I could think of, even among humans. It didn't help that we were both guardians. Then I'd become Strigoi, and when she'd come to kill me and release me from my undead state, I'd kept her hostage in Siberia, feeding off her and coming very close to turning her myself. After I'd been restored, I'd rejected her and broken her heart, before falling in love with her all over again and stealing her away from her then-boyfriend. And now we were properly together, except we were both guardians, which was still frowned upon. There were a lot of reasons why a parent might not approve of us.

Janine's expression softened. "Do you really need to ask that?"

I kept silent.

"Dimitri." Janine's voice was soft. "You saved Rose from an undeserved execution. You kept her safe when you were fugitives. And now you're with me, heading straight into a nest of Strigoi to save her. If I ever had any reason to disapprove of your relationship with my daughter, there would be none now. You are perfect for her, in every sense of the word."

I dipped my head in gratitude, happiness welling up inside me. "Thank you."

"Now no more sentimental nonsense," Janine ordered. "We've got a big job to do once we land."

I nodded. "Yes, boss."