A/N: Here is the next chapter. I'm sorry it is a little short. But this is the stopping point I wanted. I hope you all enjoy it. I am excited to be working on this story again. Please read and review. As always, thanks for reading!

Chapter 5

[ROSE]

Now that Lissa was gone and Dimitri was gone, I was finally able to get some peace and quiet. Except, it wasn't peaceful. Alone in my mind was turning out to be the last place I wanted to be. My thoughts raced uncontrollably. Maybe it was because I'd finally taken the darkness from Lissa. I had to do it the day she left for Montana. There was just so much of it, and I knew that it would only get worse because the queen was forcing her to leave court. Even though she had Christian, Lissa was not happy about going back to St. Vladimir's without me—or Dimitri for that matter. I was sure my former classmates would bombard her with questions and spread stupid rumors like wildfire, too, which I knew Lissa couldn't handle with the amount of darkness that had built up inside her. So, I took it.

It worked like normal, thank God—exactly as it had always worked before I was turned Strigoi. Her darkness had flooded into me. It was interesting, because it forced me to actually feel for the first time since I'd been restored. It was a rush of rage, but instead of making me feel like my former, Strigoi self, it made me feel angry towards her—righteous anger. But, for the very first time, I felt as though I had the power—as a dhampir—to put up a fight, and to right the wrongs I had done. It was my job to protect Lissa. And that was the one thing I would live for, and die for. Her safety was everything.

As for Dimitri, well, thinking of him was getting me nowhere. Except pissed off. I was still pretty shocked that he'd left. Good riddance, for all I cared. I didn't want to be around him. I didn't owe anyone any explanations. And I was honestly kind of glad that Lissa had left, just because I didn't have to listen to her to bug me about him every day. He was out of sight, out of mind. Or at least that's what I kept telling myself. It had been two days since he'd left. Surely he was back to his family by now. Certainly he was safer there—far away from me.

This was the part where my thoughts always took the violent turn. I remembered how close I had been to killing him. I remembered pinning him to the ground, sinking my teeth into his flesh, the taste of his blood, so much more unbelievable than any other blood I'd ever tasted as a Strigoi. I was so close. So, so close to the unthinkable… But Dimitri was a man of his word, and even after I put him through hell, with what should have been his very last dying breath, he kept his promise to me. The stake had pierced my heart. I'd felt it go. I had no recollection of the moments that followed.

The next thing I remembered were Lissa's green eyes, staring down at me. I was incredibly disoriented, but I knew something was different. And then I passed out, only to awake in a hospital room later and find out what had actually happened.

I pulled myself back from the memories, back to my prison cell, only to realize that I was sobbing. I had the most amazing friends in the world. They had saved me. Dimitri had staked me when he was inches from death—or worse. Lissa had freaking healed me, when she had no idea what was going to happen as a result. And Adrian had healed Dimitri. But it was such a close call. If one little thing had gone differently, things could have been catastrophic. My friends could have been dead. Or worse—we could have all been wandering around as Strigoi.

I knew my friends probably thought I hated them. It was partly because I told them so. But it wasn't true. I hated me. I hated the things I had done. I was a liability. They didn't need me around. Who knew what sort of complications might arise? No one had ever been restored from being a Strigoi before. What if it suddenly backfired? What if I was now an extreme target for other Strigoi?—especially the ones I had made; ones who might be seeking revenge? That thought terrified me, and I tried to suppress it as much as I could. But it was honestly one of my greatest fears, right after harming any of my friends.

Still, I was growing progressively more anxious in this prison cell. I couldn't handle the walls around me. Since I'd taken Lissa's darkness, I felt as though I was suffocating. I wanted out. I would go far away from everyone, where I couldn't harm them. But I needed out of here.

"Hey!" I shouted one evening, trying to get the attention of any of the guards I knew were standing outside of my cell. "Hey!" I repeated more loudly when no one heard me, my voice hoarse from lack of use. They were probably shocked that I was actually speaking. Eventually, though, a muscly guy with bad acne, who probably wasn't much older than me, walked over to my cell. I met him face to face through the bars, and it felt strange to have such close contact with another human being. I had no desire to drink his blood though, which was obviously a good sign.

"What's going on?" he asked in a calm, even voice.

"I want out," I replied, making my tone sound as determined as possible. The guard looked momentarily surprised.

"Um, Miss Hathaway, you'll require a medical evaluation before we can proceed with a petition to the queen to release you." I sighed impatiently.

"Are you serious?" I demanded. "I have a fucking medical evaluation every day!" A voice in the back of my head warned me to calm down before I ended up making things worse. Of course I didn't listen.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hathaway. I have to follow the orders I am given."

"Damn it!" I cursed, grabbing the prison bars and shaking them. "Let me out of here, you motherfuckers! Let me out now!" Two more guards stepped into sight, joining the first. All three watched me intently, hands on their hips, but didn't make a move. "Don't you know it's rude to stare?" I demanded, still beating on the bars. "Just let me out! LET ME OUT!" I knew in my heart I was getting nowhere, but I was cascading into a downward spiral with no way to stop myself. I threw myself to the ground angrily, sobbing.

There I remained for a long time, feeling completely worthless, feeling sorry for myself. I was sure the guards had since relaxed—I was obviously no longer a threat. Eventually, exhausted, I fell into a deep sleep right there on the floor.

"Little dhampir," I heard a familiar voice. Slowly the library at St. Vladimir's materialized around me. That was an odd location for Adrian. I tried to remain as calm as I could, but didn't speak. "We miss you," Adrian added tentatively, keeping his distance from me. I still didn't speak. "Well," Adrian continued. "I just wanted to thank you for taking the darkness from Lissa. She was having a lot of trouble. None of us were able to help her. But you were. And she is doing so much better now, Rose. So much better. She wants you to know how much she appreciates it." I swallowed, blinking back tears. I still couldn't speak. "I know you'll always care about her," Adrian added. "You'll always fight for her—to protect her. And that's what makes you Rose the dhampir. How do you not see that you're not a monster anymore? You know what side of this fight you're on now, Rose. We all believe in you. Remember that." Adrian stopped speaking and stared at me, his green eyes burning brightly into mine. For once I stared, without flinching, knowing he meant every word he said. I drew in a deep breath. When I spoke, it was quiet, timid, so unlike me that I barely recognized my own voice.

"Adrian, I need your help." His eyes flashed with concern.

"Anything at all, Rose," he replied gently.

"I want out of here," I answered determinedly. "I want out right now."