Rose

Things moved quite quickly after that.

Within seconds, guardians had swooped in and grabbed Robert firmly by his arms, stakes at the ready. That was hardly necessary – the former Grand Master put up no resistance. His eyes, blue again, were rapidly filling with a remorse I had seen before in the eyes of Dimitri and Sonya, after they had been returned to life.

Dimitri stepped to my side. He said something anxiously in Russian, and I looked at him with confusion.

"Are you all right, Roza?" he repeated himself in English.

I smiled weakly. "I'm fine, comrade."

No sooner had I gotten the words out of my mouth than Dimitri smothered me in a world-ending kiss. I lost myself in his lips, drowning in the smell of his seat. My hands went up to his hair, my fingers threading themselves into it, and I held his face closer to mine. When we broke apart, his eyes were tender.

"We did it," he whispered.

I grinned at him. "We did."

Lissa was stepping forward to face Robert. She was bloodied, her face grimy with sweat and dirt, and her mouth was set in grim lines. She also looked exhausted – it was obvious she'd been training with guardians without my knowledge, but not so long ago she'd been a dainty Dragomir princess afraid of throwing a punch, and she was evidently as of yet unused to the physical strain of battle. Nevertheless, she held her chin high as she regarded the trembling Robert.

"Robert Doru," she said. "It's been a while. Las Vegas, wasn't it?"

Robert made no reply.

"I suppose I never thanked you for teaching me the secret of what I just did to you," Lissa continued. "The secret of how to return Strigoi to life. But that doesn't absolve you from the heinous crimes you've committed."

A low whisper came from Robert's throat. "What have I done?"

Lissa gave an uncharacteristically harsh laugh, and I blinked in surprise. "Let's see! You willingly turned Strigoi, plotted against the Moroi nation and took countless human lives along the way, jeopardizing the entire vampire world. You've committed some of the worst crimes under Moroi law, and you will stand trial, although if you ask me, the evidence speaks for itself. You are the lowest of the low. You don't deserve to have been restored. The only reason I turned you back is because I want you to feel the regret you're feeling now for the rest of your life, and you can't very well do that dead."

The coldness in Lissa's voice frightened me. I'd never known her to speak that way to anybody – not my sweet, warm Lissa. I reached out a hand to her, but Dimitri batted it down.

"She's the queen," he reminded me. "She's just watched her people face the greatest enemy in their history. Don't undermine her authority, and don't begrudge her her anger."

I let my hand fall back to my side. Robert was quietly sobbing now.

Lissa was continuing. "Guardians," she now addressed those holding Robert. "Take him to the most secure holding facility we have here at Court, before transferring him to the most secure prison we control."

As Robert was roughly hauled away, Lissa turned to my mother, who stood not far away. "Ja – Guardian Hathaway," she corrected herself. "Would you please see to it that several sweeps are made of Court to ensure there are no remaining Strigoi? Once that's done, I would like to address my people."

My mother bowed. "At once, Your Majesty," she promised. She glanced at me, and we shared a look of relief and love – there was so much I wanted to say to my mother, so much I wanted to thank her for, starting with risking her position to come and save me. Then, Janine Hathaway picked herself up and moved off, barking orders to guardians around her and dispatching them to various parts of Court.

~~Page Break~~

Once it had been ascertained that Court was once again Strigoi-free, some Moroi and dhampir guardians were sent to re-establish the protective magical wards that ordinarily surrounded the capital of the Moroi world. The rest of us gathered in one of Court's larger ballrooms. There was a low murmur of conversation, but by and large, Moroi and dhampirs alike sagged in exhaustion, their faces haggard, dirty, bloody – and in many cases, tearful. Looking around the ballroom, I realized how many of us had gone down in battle. There would be many burials in the days and weeks to come, and many bereaved families.

Lissa ascended the stage at the front of the ballroom, and Christian, Dimitri and I followed her. Christian stood at Lissa's side as she prepared to address the crowd, and Dimitri and I, as their guardians, positioned ourselves behind them.

"My people," Lissa said, her voice carrying to all corners of the ballroom. "Tonight, we faced the greatest threat that we have ever faced, in our long and dignified history. Thanks to intelligence secured by some of our most accomplished guardians" – here she turned and formally dipped her head in acknowledgement to me and Dimitri, and sent me a wink only I could see – "we were prepared and able to vanquish our enemy. This is cause for celebration – we faced our enemy, and survived."

A low cheer rose from those gathered.

"Cause for celebration – but not for complacency," Lissa continued. "Tonight taught us much about our enemy, our nation, and ourselves. Tonight taught us that things should not continue as they have always been – not when we have an opportunity here to become so much better, stronger, than before."

She paused for effect here. No longer was she Lissa, my best friend – she was Queen Vasilisa, regal and authoritative. She effortlessly held the ballroom spellbound.

"Our enemy has proven itself capable of evolution, of adaptation," Lissa said. "We must similarly adapt, if we are to survive against a changed enemy. Tonight showed us the way. Moroi and dhampirs working together, as never before. For too long, we Moroi have hidden behind our dhampir guardians, relying on them to protect us. No longer. With our neglected magic, we are capable of great feats. We are more than capable of standing with the guardians in fighting our enemy."

From where I stood, I glimpsed Mia Rinaldi. She wore an enraptured expression, almost disbelieving, as the cause she'd fought so long for at last came to realization.

"I am announcing the establishment of an advisory committee to explore options and techniques in the field of Moroi fighting techniques," Lissa declared. "No longer will Moroi magic be forgotten. We will use our gifts to the best of our ability. Additionally, I will be instituting training programmes for Moroi who wish to be trained alongside dhampirs in physical combat. They will be found at all of our academies. These will not be compulsory for all Moroi schoolchildren, and will operate on a voluntary basis. However" – and here Lissa's voice took on a challenging note – "those of you who witnessed me in battle today will note that I have trained with guardians. If any among us have any compunctions about the indignity of physical battle, I would remind you that guardian training is good enough for your queen."

The message was loud and clear, and a murmur rippled through the crowd. These were some of the most radical changes the Moroi world had ever faced – Lissa was living up to her reputation as a liberal monarch. And she wasn't nearly done.

"This would constitute a fundamental shift in the Moroi-dhampir relationship – one I believe is sorely in need of reform. The dhampirs are not bodyguards or servants, they are allies, partners, friends and family. They are a people unto themselves."

This elicited a few gasps of shock from the crowd, and the murmur of disbelief rose to a buzz. I was pretty flabbergasted myself. Never before had a Moroi monarch so overtly acknowledged dhampir servitude and dhampir inequality.

"I intend to pass a law recognizing dhampir rights, and establishing a council to better represent dhampir concerns in our shared government," Lissa continued. "I understand the radicalness of what I have proposed, and I fully anticipate a great number of concerns to be brought to my attention in the coming days and weeks as this news spreads throughout our world. I look forward to defending my proposals, but tonight is not the time for debate. Tonight, we heal, we mourn, and we pick ourselves up."

With that, Lissa stepped back, and the room erupted into cheers. I was taken aback, having expected at least some boos and hisses. But Lissa had led her people into battle in a way no monarch had for centuries. There could be no reaction but one of respect for such a leader.

As we entered her chambers, Lissa sagged, her queenly persona melting away. "If anyone needs me, I'll be spending the next five years in the shower," she groaned, collapsing into a chair.

I dropped to my knees in front of her. I could see my own shining eyes reflected in Lissa's. "Liss, you were incredible," I exclaimed. "I can't tell you how proud of you I am."

"Stop." Lissa waved a hand feebly. "It needed to be done."

"But you did it! You were a voice for dhampirs, and for those Moroi who finally want to get off their asses and do something. You've also effectively just declared war on the conservatives, but that's a problem for tomorrow. You made history tonight, Liss. No one's ever advocated for those issues before."

"Well, they should've." Suddenly Lissa's eyes were blazing. "I meant it. The dhampirs aren't servants, and the Moroi have never properly appreciated the services you render us. It's time someone changed that, and I'm proud to be that person."

I felt strong hands on my shoulders. "Let's leave Lissa to rest, Roza," Dimitri murmured. "She must be exhausted."

Christian was already kneeling next to me, and Lissa's hands were in his lap. As I rose, Lissa leaned her head against his shoulder, and he kissed the top of her head. He glanced over at me and winked, mouthing, I've got this.

Silently, Dimitri and I slipped out of the bedroom of the queen who had just made Moroi history.