Okay, well, I only got about two reviews for the last chap :/ I'm really sorry if it wasn't okay – I was really nervous about uploading it and maybe I should have taken another look at it. I'm sorry guys and I hope this one makes up for it.

I've nearly completed writing this story now :( but still tweaking and editing it. I'll update again soon after this one – it could be a few days though :)

Chapter 23

I woke suddenly when I heard a soft knocking on the door of our room.

Rose was still wrapped up in a tight embrace in my arms; one I hated to break.

I lifted her arm from around my waist and gently eased myself up out of the bed. I made sure to gently place her head back down on the warm pillow. She sighed happily in her sleep and snuggled down into the duvet.

I smiled happily at her.

Happy.

One emotion that was also completely new to me after the last few months…it was also the greatest.

The soft knocking repeated itself.

I turned away from Rose and began picking up any item of my clothes I could find scattered around the room. I pulled them on quickly and went to answer the door.

I didn't open the door all the way; it was just wide enough me to see who ws standing on the other side.

It was Sonya, and she was standing there with an almost smug smile, like she knew exactly what Rose and I had just done.

Then again, she probably did.

"Dimitri," she greeted me with an amused grin.

"Sonya," I replied nonchalantly.

"Can I talk to you a sec?" she asked and gestured behind me into room.

"I don't…think that's a good idea," I answered. Understanding lit up her face.

"Of course," she said grinning. "It's just…" she glanced around carefully and lowered her voice. "I got a call from the front desk. The staff are beginning to realise that something was odd about our check-in. We need to get out of here."

"Oh, ok." I answered. "Eh, could Rose and I meet you and Jill out here in about ten minutes?"

"Sure," she said, her joking attitude returning. "Try not to take too long." She said and returned to her own room.

I shook my head. It was hard to feel embarrassed when I was this happy inside.

I shut the door behind her and went back to Rose. I hated waking her.

"Rose," I whispered. She didn't stir so I shook her a little. "Rose."

Her eyes fluttered open.

"We have to –" I began.

"Oh my god," she said suddenly. My senses went onto alert. "You will not believe what I just saw."

"Is Lissa okay?" I asked her worriedly.

"Yeah, fine, but –"

"Then we'll worry about that later," I told her. "Right now, we have to leave."

Her eyes moved from my face down my fully-clothed body. "What's going on?"

"Sonya came by – don't worry." I said and smiled as a shocked expression showed itself on her face. "I got dressed and didn't let her come in. But she said the front desk called. They're starting to realise we had an unusual check-in. We need to get out of here."

"No problem," Rose said straight away and threw the covers off herself. The sight of her without any clothes on right in front of me almost made me tackled back onto the bed.

"You see something you like?" she asked me seductively, echoing something she had said to me what felt like years ago. It had been the first time I realised just how beautiful she really was.

"Lots," I replied, scanning her body again. It was impossible to take my eyes away from her.

So it was surprising when she looked away and started pulling on her clothes.

"Don't' forget," she said to me quietly. "Don't forget…" she trailed off.

"I know, Roza. I haven't forgotten." I told her. It was something that I really was going to work on. I hadn't a clue how I would start to forgive myself, or how long it would take – I just knew that no matter what, if being with Rose was the result…I would do it.

She slipped on her shoes and we walked out into the hallway. Sonya and Jill were already there waiting.

Nobody said much as Sonya checked us out – using a little compulsion of course – until we were on the road.

"I need you to make a charm," Roza said to Sonya in the car. "And we have to stop in Greenston."

"Greenston?" I asked her. "What for?"

"It's where the Alchemist's are being held," she answered.

She took a deep breath.

"And it's where we're going to find proof that Daniella Ivashkov murdered Tatiana."

I processed what Rose had told us in the car as we drove further.

"Pull over here a sec," Rose said suddenly, pointing to an old gift shop on the side of the road. I pulled up in front of the place.

"What?" I asked her.

"They might have something silver," she replied. "I'll be back in a minute."

She grabbed some cash and walked swiftly into the shop, only to return less than two minutes later with a small brown paper bag.

"Did you get something?" Jill asked her.

"Yeah," she answered. "They didn't have much but it'll do."

She took the small silver bracelet out of the bag and handed it to Sonya who had agreed to try and charm it for her.

I pulled out and we continued driving. I had to stop myself from looking at Roza every couple of minutes. She was checking in on Lissa once again.

Thinking about what she had told us, I had to admit, Daniella seemed like the most likely suspect. She had the motives definitely. All we needed was the evidence.

Rose shifted slightly in her seat and I looked sideways at her from the driver's seat. I noticed the blank look was gone replaced with an expression I knew all too well.

"That's a dangerous look," I commented.

"What look?" she asked, putting on an innocent face.

"The one that says you just got some idea," I answered.

"I didn't just get an idea," she said. "I got a great idea."

Rose turned in her seat and addressed Jill.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked her.

"I'm not sure," Jill's small voice answered her from one of the backseats. "A lot's kind of happened. And I don't really get what's going to happen next. I feel like…like some kind of object that's going to be used in someone's master plan. Like a pawn."

"You're not an object or a pawn," Rose reassured her, her voice kind. "But you're very, very important, and because of you, a lot of good things are going to happen."

"It won't be that simple though, will it?" she asked her. "Things are going to get worse before they get better, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Rose answered her. "But then you'll get to contact your mom…and well, like I said, good things will happen. Guardians always say 'They come first' when we're talking about Moroi. It's not exactly the same for you, but in doing this…well…" she trailed off.

"Yeah, I get it," Jill said. "It's for the greater good, right?"

When we were nearing Greenston, Sonya finally finished charming the silver bracelet Rose had given her. Rose slipped it on her wrist. She immediately became blurry, but was still recognisable to me.

"Well?" she asked.

"I don't see anything," Sonya said. "but then, I wouldn't."

"You seem a little blurry…like I just need to blink a few times." Jill said.

"Same here." I told her.

"That's how it should look to people who know she's got a charm on," Sonya explained. "Hopefully, to the other guardians, she'll be wearing a different face."

Rose directed me towards a dark empty parking lot outside a closed restaurant in Greenston. There was a car parked in the back corner.

I pulled up near to the car and the man I recognised as Mikhail Tanner stepped out…along with Adrian Ivashkov.

We all stepped out of the vehicle. Mikhail started walking quickly towards us but stopped in his tracks when he saw who was with us. Sonya let out a cry and ran towards him.

They collided and he wrapped his arms around him. They cried as they embraced, and despite what had happened between Rose and I earlier on I still felt regret for not going straight to her when I had been changed back. I hated the fact that I had hurt her.

"Mikhail – I'm sorry – I'm so sorry –"

"It doesn't matter," he replied, kissing her. "It doesn't matter. Nothing matters except that we're together again."

She cried and they held each other tightly. My eyes automatically made their way to Rose. She had been staring fixedly at the reunited couple but her gaze now locked with mine.

You need to forgive yourself…

The words pained me. But I would try. I would do anything for her.

She looked away from me once again and back to Sonya and Mikhail. I continued to watch her as she wrapped her arm around a sniffling Jill, tears she thought no one could see building in her eyes.

Mikhail looked away from Sonya and to Rose.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for this. Anything you need. Anything at all –"

"Stop, stop," she replied. "I'm glad…glad to have done it, and well…it wasn't really me at all."

"Still…" Mikhail went on. "You've given me my world back."

I felt pride. Somehow, Rose always managed to do the impossible, even when she was doubted.

"I'm so happy for you…and I want you to have this, to just enjoy this right now. But I have a favour. One more favour." She said to him.

"I figured that's why he brought me here," Mikhail said, nodding his head in Adrian's direction.

"I need you to get me into the hotel where the Alchemist's are staying." Rose said and Mikhail's smile dropped.

"Rose…I can't get you into any place. You being this close to Court is dangerous enough."

Rose retrieved the charmed bracelet from where she had put it safely in her pocket. "I'll have a disguise," she said and held it up. "They won't know it's me. Is there a reason you'd have to see the Alchemists?"

"They'll have guardians near their rooms," he said after a moment of thought. "We could probably pass ourselves off as relief."

I nodded in agreement. "If it's too different from their scheduled shift change, it'll raise eyebrows…but hopefully you'll have long enough to get in and find out what you need. The guardians are probably more worried about the Alchemists getting out than other guardians getting in."

"Absolutely," Mikhail agreed. "So it's you and me, Rose?" he asked.

"Yup," she answered. "The fewer, the better. Just enough to question Sydney and Ian. I guess everyone else waits here."

I hated the idea of Rose walking willingly into the arms of the guardians without me beside her to protect her, but I had to trust that she would look after herself.

As Adrian struck up a conversation with Jill, I signalled for Rose to follow me. I walked around the car and followed me out of sight.

"This is dangerous," I muttered quietly. "If that charm fails, you probably aren't going to get out of that hotel."

"It won't fail," she replied. "Sonya's good. Besides, if we're caught, maybe they'll bring me back to Court instead of killing me. Imagine how much that will slow the elections."

Normally, I liked the way she found humour in everything, but I needed her to take this as serious as I was.

"Rose, I'm serious." I told her.

She grabbed my hand, her thumb started massaging my palm in a calming circular motion.

"I know, know." She said. "This'll be easy. We should be in and out in under an hour, but if we aren't…If we aren't, then send Adrian to Court with Jill, and you and Sonya hide out somewhere until…I don't know."

"Don't worry about us," I told her, squeezing her hand. "You just be careful." I leaned in and kissed her forehead, lingering my lips on her soft skin.

Just as Adrian walked around the car.

"Little dhampir, are you – "

He stopped when he saw us. Rose pulled her hand away from mine and I took a small step back.

"Let's hurry," Mikhail said, joining us around the back of the car. "Sonya says you guys have a ticking clock at Court too."

"Yeah…" Rose replied.

"Go," I told her. I felt guilty. I'd never meant for Adrian to find out about Rose and I this way. My first instinct was to go and talk to the man, but Rose obviously didn't want me to.

"Remember," she murmured to me. "Talking to him is my responsibility. Not yours."

Rose and Mikhail walked away towards his car and I watched as they drove away. I broke away from the group, running my hand through my hair, and trying not to think about the fact that Rose was walking into danger.

It took a fair bit of my self-control to not try and talk to Adrian. When I looked over at him, he had also broken away from the group and was smoking a cigarette. Jill and Sonya were engaging in a conversation.

I walked back and forth, rubbing my face with my hands and glancing in the direction Rose had left to see if she was returning.

Eventually, after just under an hour, the car came driving back in our direction.