Chapter 6:

DPOV

She was asleep in my arms. I kept focusing on her breathing hoping it would still be there. She was hot against me, both reassuring me she was still alive and worrying me because it meant her fever hadn't broke yet.

The doctor had come by a few times and administered medicine. He said she was lasting longer than most. But I saw in his eyes he didn't know if she would make it till morning.

I touched the back of my neck where they had tattooed me. They tattooed over our already existing promise mark so there was no extra indication anything had changed. I traced the tattoo. I found it strange it didn't hurt. I have had a lot of tattoo's and all of them had hurt. They would always be a little sore or red for a few days. But not this one. I wondered if I miscalculated and we had been out of it longer then I thought.

The doctor came in again.

He measured her temperature and felt her pulse. I was holding my breath waiting for what he had to say.

He had a mixed look on his face. I didn't know if that was good or bad. The last few days his look had mostly been that of pity towards me.

"So?"

I asked a little agitated.

"Her blood values have stabilized, which is a good thing, but her fever still concerns me. But she has officially lasted longer than any of the others. That in itself in promising. But she isn't out of the woods yet. We need to get her fever down. She can take a bath and try it that way?"

I nodded.

"not cold water. Lukewarm. We don't want to have her going into hypothermia either."

I nodded again.

He then took some measurements from me. I had been fine. If Rose had lasted longer than any of the others it also meant I did. And I didn't have a single symptom. I wasn't afraid anymore the doctor would find that I was sick, I was worried he would find something else.

"How about me, any… changes?"

"Your blood values are normal. We are waiting for Rose to either pull through or… before we begin testing you and her physically for alternations in strength and speed."

"She will pull through."

I all but growled at him. He nodded a hopeful nod before he left again. The speed at which he left the room was either testimony for his doubt in my words or the fear being generated by my animalistic tone.

I woke Rose up and made her eat some of her soup. She hadn't been eating much which was worrying me. A few days ago they put in an IV to give her some fluids and a banana bag, but they were able to take it out yesterday when she started to eat on her own again, even if it was only little bits.

"Come one, let's give you a bath."

She was tired I could see but even through all of that she tried to smirk my way.

"Yes orderly I am ready for my sponge bath."

I knew she was trying, trying to be herself, trying to sound like herself and ease my worried by trying to sound seductive and funny. But she was failing. The bags under her eyes and the tiredness in her voice gave way to her current state. Although I did prefer this Rose to the Rose a few days ago that was non-responsive and minutes away from death.

I ran the bath and I picked her up and sat in the bath with her. Honestly I didn't trust her to have enough strength not to drown.

She laid her head against me as my hands rested on her stomach and hip.

"You are going to be fine Rose."

I didn't know who I was convincing, me or her.

"I am trying, and I will do anything to stay with you. But you need to promise me something."

"What?" I would promise her anything. A lifelong of just pizza, done. Always having fresh donuts in the morning, done. Massaging her before we go to bed. Done

"If I do die, you need to let me go. Don't have Lissa bring me back, don't try weird medical procedures that Nathan would offer."

I would promise anything but not that. How could she ask me that?

"Roza, I can't promise that, if Lissa can help, hell even if Nathan can help I will try anything."

She turned around and looked at me pleadingly.

"Comrade, that would be the third time I die. I think I have cheated death enough. I don't want to leave you, I don't want to die. But I can't come back a third time either. It isn't right. So promise me."

I tried very hard to keep a straight face. I wanted to honor her wish. I understood it. But if she did die and I had a chance to change it I think I would take it.

"I promise."

She laid her head back down and I could see a smile creeping on her face.

"Liar."

She whispered while she settled back in. She knew me so well.

After the bath she felt a little cooler. We climbed into bed again but we did start by sitting up against the headboard of the bed. I was watching some tv but noticed Rose was asleep again within minutes of me starting the movie.

I was getting anxious. The doctor said they would be testing us as soon as we were able if there were alternation on strength and speed. I, however, was still trying to find an escape route. I knew Rose's best chance was in an actual hospital or Lissa. I knew they were invested in her here and wanted her to live but if and when they determined she was no longer viable they would discontinue all treatment.

I needed to get out of here and back to court.

I slowly got up from the bed, letting Rose down on the bed gently and walked around the room. It didn't have any windows and only one door but I was curious to know what was beyond these walls. Were we high up or deep in the ground? Were we in the middle of the complex or was the world just outside these walls. If I broke through this wall, would I hit a body of water and drown us?

I tried listening for days now, but there was always silence on the other end of the wall.

Until now.

I could hear rumbling. Like struggling.

Someone had found us.

I didn't waste a moment. I tried pounding on the door. When I noticed no gas was being pumped into our room I knew I had been right. They were busy with something else. I kicked the door. Once, twice, three times. But nothing happened. I was starting to get angry. Whatever was happening on the other side this was our best chance of escape.

I kicked it one more time, I felt power surging through me that felt somewhat familiar yet strange at the same time. The door flew off its hinges. The guard that was standing behind it flew with it. I only hesitated for a moment before picking up Rose and walking out.

"Comrade?"

"We are getting out of here."

I walked into the hallway with Rose in my arms. Our room exited onto a corridor again with no windows, which made me believe we were underground. Well where is an exit sign when you need one. I tried listening to the raging battle going on. Which direction did it come from?

I didn't know if I should move towards it or away from it.

I opted for the latter and moved opposite where the sounds where coming from.

I found a stairs leading up. Hopefully into the daylight, or nighttime, God knows what time it was.

When I emerged from the stairs I saw Nathan on his knees and his hands bound behind his back. Before him were the royal guard which we knew so well and Eddie, so no doubt Adrian was here too. When they saw us coming up the stairs I could see Lissa worm her way through her ample guards.

"Dimitri, you're okay, of my God Rose, is she okay? What happened?"

I glared at Nathan but didn't answer her question. He turned to me and there was satisfaction on his face. He would be in jail for his crimes but he did succeed.

"Lissa, can you see if you can heal Rose? She has a bad immune reaction to something Nathan did."

Lissa walked over to her immediately.

She placed her hands over but Rose stopped her.

"you promised."

"You're not dead yet, she is just speeding up the healing process."

"No. If I am going to die so be it. If I am going to live so be it. I have to do this myself. If Lissa heals me now, I won't have beaten the reaction and it will just come back. My own body needs to fight this."

I knew she was right. Her body needed to adjust to the tattoo. But I was scared. She was so weak. But I saw some strength come back to her when she spoke so passionately.

"Besides, I don't want to exert Lissa now that she is pregnant."

Okay guilting me in letting my wife die. That was a low blow.

"There is one thing I want to do though. Can you take me over to Nathan?"

I picked her up and cradled her close to me. I didn't want her to waste energy in Nathan, but I knew she needed to speak her mind to him, because she might not get a second chance.

She smiled at me as we came close enough to Nathan. She wiggled out of my arms despite my protests. She stood in front of me. Part of me was elated. She hadn't been able to stand for days now. A smirk came across her face when facing Nathan who was on his knees and hands cuffed behind his back. I caught on to late. Rose pulled her foot back and jammed it into his groin. Nathan doubled over and all I could hear was a whimpering from him. He couldn't exactly grab his busted balls so he tilted forward and lost consciousness. Rose having used up the last of her strength collapsed in my arms. She was already unconscious by the time I lifted her off the ground and against me safe and sound. That was my wife. Deadly ill but still using her last strength to do something so 'Rose'.

When we exited the premises I could see Adrian. He was watching his father being hauled into the van. I could see he was ashamed of him but he was also sad. It was his father after all. I know how hard it is to except that the person you should look up to as a man falls very very short of that image. I could also see loathing, I recognized that loathing, not for our fathers, but for ourselves, because weren't we 50% our farther. Did we have the same kind of evils inside of us? It took me a long time to realize that wasn't true. And I needed Adrian to believe it too.

I placed Rose in the ambulance and walked over to Adrian.

I was only a few feet away from him before he noticed me, so caught up in watching his father drive off.

"Hey Dimitri. So did he tattoo you two too?"

I was a little surprised he knew about the tattoo's.

"Yeah, how do you know that?"

"That is how he was able to get to you two. He used Moroi blood to work a compulsion spell into the tattoo. The two guardians that kidnapped you two were forced. Hell almost all guardians on this facility were forced. The alchemists have been doing it for years. But Sydney has found a way to reverse the effects, she is breaking the compulsion on the guardians now. But I am glad you two seem unaffected. God he is such an asshole, he really wanted to enslave Dhampirs."

"Adrian. He didn't take us for that reason. He didn't tattoo us with Moroi blood. He… He used Strigoi blood."

"Why?" The look of pure shock on his face was almost comical. No he didn't want obedient soldiers in us. He wanted the ultimate weapon.

"He seemed to believe that just like Moroi blood gave the wearer Moroi attributes Strigoi blood could do the same. He was convinced if we survived it would make us faster and stronger. I believe he wanted to make an army. An army of Strigoi strength warriors he could control."

"Well that is just crazy. I doubt it works that way."

I had hoped he was right, but after I kicked the door in, I wasn't so sure anymore. He saw my hesitation.

"It is crazy right?"

"He has been trying for a while, nobody had survived the procedure yet, either turning or dying from rejection. So he believed Rose and I were the key. I am resisted to turning and my body has already accepted Strigoi strength and speed once, and Rose is just too stubborn to die."

We both chuckled a bit at that.

"Rose rejected the blood and was really sick, but the doctor did say she was lasting longer than any of the others. I didn't have any response though."

"So the tattoo didn't do anything."

I sighed deeply.

"I thought so too at first. But Adrian, when I heard you guys come in I knew it was my shot to get Rose out of there. So I kicked the door in."

"So?"

"So, the door went flying off its hinges, into the corridor flying into the guard. Dhampirs are stronger than humans and Moroi and I am stronger than most dhampirs, but I shouldn't have been able to that Adrian. But it felt familiar. I have had that strength before. I remember it."

I pulled my hands through my hair. Adrian just stared at me. He was apprehensive about something.

"Dimitri. You also shouldn't have been able to hear us. This complex was designed as a bunker, the room he kept you guys in is the safe room. The walls are so thick you shouldn't have been able to hear us."

We just stared at each other. Better hearing, being stronger, it seemed that the tattoo was actually working. I wondered if Rose would experience the same things too.

"I am sorry he did that to you. I know how hard this must be for you."

He was right. My time as a Strigoi may be the only reason I survived but I still carried that guilt and those memories. I doubt they would ever go away. I had learned to live with them and enjoy my life again but thinking back to that time still hurt. When I felt the surge of power when kicking in the door I was momentarily hurled back to my time as Strigoi. It is weird because as Strigoi I relished in the feeling of power. It is weird now to have that kind of strength but not associate it with dominance. But maybe we were wrong. The building was old and that could explain both the door and the walls. I knew I was stretching it. But I had to believe it. I had to believe my days as Strigoi were over.

We just stayed like that for a while. Side by side staring into the distance. Until the girls came and found us. Sydney looked tired.

"I think that is all of them. He had over twenty guardians here under compulsion."

I saw Adrian cringe more. Sydney walked up to him and took his hand. This was going to be hard on him.