Chapter Twenty-Two

Rose

"That was a lovely service," Lissa said as we all walked back into our house.

Yeah, I thought to my self, for Camille and her family.

It has been a week since the attack, and Queen Tatiana held a large ceremony for the family that perished. But what about the Guardians. There was no recognition given to them today, or at all. Meredith and the other two, who I found out were longtime Guardians to Camille's parents, Ryker and Austin, were simply put to rest in the Guardian section of the Court's cemetery.

There would be no slideshow of pictures, no speeches about the people they were, or the things they accomplished in their lives. Nope. They were given a plain wooden box set in the ground for them to rest peacefully. As Liss said, Lovely, -in case you could tell, that was sarcasm.

"I'm going to put on a kettle for tea, would anyone else care for one?" Mom asked, heading for the kitchen.

"Yes, Please," Adrian and I spoke together.

Dimitri followed Mom into the kitchen, while I found the first open seat in the living room and plopped down. Running my hand over the right side of my ribs, I soothed the throbbing flesh. Halfway through the service, Munchkin sent a deadly kick to my side, no doubt anxious with my heightened emotions.

She has been moving constantly, which from what the doctors keep saying is a good thing. And don't get me wrong, her moving around lets me know she is doing okay. Growing healthy and strong. Very strong.

"So, have you thought of any names, Rose," Sydney broke through our tense silence, taking a seat in the armchair, her hands wrapped around a cup of coffee.

"We have discussed a few, but we haven't settled on one just yet."

"Are you thinking something Russian, or more on the American side."

"Dimitri wants Russian of course," I rolled my eyes. Not that all Russian names were weird, but the vast majority are. The awkward spellings, or pronunciations, and the nicknames made no sense to me. Take Alexandria for instance, such a pretty name, but yet in Russian, the nickname is Sasha. How? "I don't know, I'm half tempted to throw a bunch in a hat and just pick one."

"She's kidding," Dimitri chuckled at Sydney's aghast expression. Handing me my cup of tea, he sat down next to me, resting his arm on the back of the couch, "We have a list to choose from, but someone keeps finding a reason to say no."

"It's not entirely my fault," snuggling into his side, I took a small sip, "I didn't realize how many people I didn't like until you started throwing names out."

"You should name her after me," Adrian laughed, causing a scoff from Dimitri.

"Not going to happen, Ivashkov."

"What? It's a good name, and works for both genders."

"Because I don't want to think of you everytime I look at my daughter."

"I kind of like it," I smiled at Adrian with a wink.

Dimitri leaned his head back, letting out a long sigh, "Fine."

"Damn, that was easy," Chris laughed, muttering 'whipped' under his breath.

The room erupted into laughter, even Sydney joined in, though she tried to hide it in her coffee mug. It felt good to laugh, I hadn't done much of it lately. My hormones have been getting the best of me. Dimitri has enjoyed the heightened libido, but with our pleasure, comes my pain. I am not sure as to why I am on such a roller coaster lately, but damn if I don't want off this ride. Dr. Davis assures me it is normal to experience fluctuation emotions, but this seems a little extream, even for me.

Dimitri thinks I am putting to much strain on myself. Trying to figure out an answer to replenishing Guardian numbers. The dread of losing another friend, far too soon. And prepare to have a baby. Shopping for the nursery, setting up birthing plans, and helping Lissa put together a baby shower, yeah, I've got a lot going on.

"Belikov," Mom called from the kitchen.

Dropping a kiss to my hair, Dimitri rose and headed to see what Mom needed. Chris and Lissa excused themselves to change and relax together upstairs. Eddie had already headed to bed, his shift had ended just before the funeral and he was in desperate need of sleep.

"Ms. Sage, could you come here, please," Dimitri poked his head around the corner. I shot him a questioning look, but he just shook his head, telling me not to worry.

I waited a few seconds after Sydney walked around the wall of the kitchen before standing up to eavesdrop. If they were all talking, my money was on it being about the Conta attack. In which case, I wanted to know what they were saying.

Adrain raised a brow when I pushed my back to the wall, turning my head toward the kitchen. Putting a finger over my lips, I told him to remain silent. They were whispering and I was struggling to hear, but from what I could make out, there was more to this attack than Dimitri let on when they were in the hotel.

"Is this what you meant when you said evidence of human involvement," Dimitri asked.

The room was silent for a moment, only the sound of papers shifting, "Yes, and no, obviously this was done either by a human or possibly one of the Guardians, but they had also discovered the wards had been staked."

"No Guardian would do that," Mom spoke deadpan.

"Why wasn't this brought to our attention sooner," Dimitri almost growled.

My curiosity spiked. He isn't one to get angry, at least not without a valid reason. And to growl at Sydney, a simple human, no, something was seriously wrong.

"It..it wasn't found until they performed the autopsy," Sydney's voice wavered, cowering even. "They thought he had just been staked, they didn't see the writing."

What writing?

"And which Guardian was this?"

"Clayton," Mom said, "Ryker Clayton. Do you know him?"

The room fell silent again. I could almost hear the gears shifting in Dimitri's head, trying to think back to every Guardian he had ever met. Every person he knew in school, through Ivan, or Tasha, and everyone he had met when he came to America.

"I don't know, it doesn't sound familiar, and I don't recognize him. Do You?"

"No, but he may have just been a victim of opportunity, let's look past that," Mom steered the conversation to another direction, "This could be payback for the caves."

"I'm confused," Sydney spoke.

Dimitri and Mom filled her in on the Academy attack and the sequential rescue mission that Dimitri almost died in. Thinking back to that night, the blonde Strigoi fang deep in Dimitri's neck, the sinister look on his face as he tried to drain my world away. Could Dimitri have been a target this entire time?

"If it is, then that's not about you, it's about Rose," Dimitri's voice dropped, deadly low, and if I am not mistaken, terrified.

"They won't get near her, she is well protected here," Mom reassured him.

"Who won't get near me," I stepped around the wall, taking in the mass of papers and pictures covering the kitchen table.

Dimitri stepped around the table, blocking my view, "Roza, why don't you go take a hot bath."

"Don't do that, tell me what is going on." I pleaded to him with my eyes, begging him not to hide whatever was happening from me, "Please, Comrade, tell me."

He stepped to the side, letting me see what laid on the table. Alchemist reports from the Conta house, copies of the autopsy, and photos of the victims. Bile rose in my throat as I stepped closer to look at the picture in question. The Guardian, Ryker, had been mutilated, by the look of it, with his own stake. Carved into his chest was an ominous message, jagged and hard to read by the harsh lines, but with a closer look, it came across loud and clear.

I'm coming, Belikov. For Hathaway too.