I wake up bleary-eyed, feeling my stomach turn over as I glance in the direction of Julius, who's flopped over the bed and snoring. I wonder if he got up to use the bathroom or something, or if he just naturally hogs the bed like that.

I climb off the couch, my right arm aching from where it was crushed under the rest of my body. I rub the sleep out of my eyes as I put my boots on and zip up my jacket. I feel as if I've overused my welcome here, like I'm an intruder in this house and in this room, where I can't even look anywhere without seeing signs of Julius' tantrum, or the vivid memories of Dimitri rushing into the house like the hero he is.

There is a certain air over me that's suffocating, poisioning all my thoughts that don't include guilt over Julius, or burning anger over Dimitri. I wish I could run to Lissa and tell her what's on my mind, but what would it help to burden her with my problems? Besides, she can't know about Dimitri, but I'm starting to question whether I should confirm her suspicions about Julius being a Spirit-user.

I can't stand the thought of anyone encouraging him to use his elemental power, but I can't see how it would work out if I never told him, never gave him the help he needed, the support and understanding that I can't provide him. Adrian helped Lissa; she didn't feel so alone, so helpless in a situation. She's learning to deal with her powers, control them. Julius is lost, on his own, and I hate keeping him that way when I know there are others like him so close at hand.

I slip out of the room and start to climb down the grand staircase, my hand on the banister, guiding me to freedom out of this place. I'm close to the middle when Vivian shashays - I'm not even kidding, she sashays - into the foyer and smiles at me with dark red lipstick.

"I was just looking for you, Rose," she says, smiling gently at me. Her lips are stained a strawberry red, lipstick dabbed across. I tense at the sight of her, afraid because I've made an enemy of her daughter and that could very well cost me this job and Julius.

"You were?" I ask, biting down on my tongue until I felt the coppery taste of blood. I ignored the numbing pain, wondering how much time I had biding before Vivian came right out and said it. That I was a cheater, a liar, and a failure as a professional guardian. I've made this job so personal, sometimes I feel as if I'm not even a guardian to these people.

"Yes," says Vivian. Her smile looks so genuine and nice that I wonder if she even knows. "There's someone here for you." Her lips curve to the side as they purse and she adds, "I left him outside on the porch, but that probably wasn't a good idea, what with this weather."

Him.

I feel my stomach flip and one word crawls in my mind: Dimitri. It can't be him, so soon. He probably hates me for screaming at him, but would he really come back for me?

"Uh. . . thanks."

I take each step carefully, slowly, contemplating all the things I can or will tell him. That I'm sorry. That it's my fault. That everything has become so personal I can't even think straight anymore. I can't handle the suspense anymore, and though I feel myself becoming weaker as I fly down the rest of the steps, and thinking that if I'm about to trip and fall that maybe that's not such a bad thing.

I reach the door first, pulling on the latch and opening it with Vivian a few steps behind me. I'm exploding with all the words and apologies I want to say to Dimitri when it all comes crashing down right before my eyes.

"Adrian?" I gasp, feeling the cold air blow forth and hit my face like a tidal wave. "What the hell are you doing here?" I look back at Vivian.

Casually leaning against the stone railing, his cheeks red from the cold and his smile never-wavering, I stare at Adrian, hands in his pockets, wearing a gey coat that reaches down to his knees. I can't help thinking that he's never looked more handsome than right now, wearing wrinkled grey pants and a dark navy blue shirt, creased and slightly un-tucked. He looks like he hasn't shaved in a day or two, a dark shadow spread across his lower face, giving him an almost rugged look.

"Ah, Guardian Hathaway." He raises his hands in a dramatic way. "Where have you been all my life?"

My cheeks flush bright red and I'm thankful the cold weather has already made them red. I glance behind me at Vivian, who is studying Adrian with dark eyes, her lips pursed. She's staring at him with a hunger in her light-colored irises, her back ram-rod straight, the top two buttons of her blouse undone, but she doesn't seem to notice, as I stare, with a look of pure and utter horror, as the once-married, middle-aged woman looks like she's about to pounce on Adrian.

My stomach flips and my mouth goes dry before I realize what is happening: I'm jealous. I have never been jealous of Adrian, but I am now. Or maybe not jealous, just defensive, protective, not wanting a woman twenty-something years his senior to stare at him like that.

I gulp down the gagging sensation in my throat, turning back toward Adrian. "What are you doing here?" I say, suddenly regretting I ever mentioned anything to him about where we were staying or anything having to do with my job. He would never have found me had I not told him.

Adrian glances down at me and says, "Isn't that the question of life itself, little dhampir?"

I puff out of my cheeks, frustrated in a whole new way. "No," I say. "I'm talking about, what are you doing here, as in this very house at this very moment."

Adrian frowns. "Aren't you happy to see me? I came all this way to find my dear dhampir friend, and here she is, turning me away at the flick of a wrist. I might as well just fall to my knees and beg."

"Please don't."

"I'm actually here," says Adrian, "to ask you to join me for an evening walk. I hear those are very romantic."

"They're not," I say. "Besides, I'm not off-duty." As I start to close the door, leaving Adrian with a hurt expression on his face, Vivian steps forward, blocking me from closing the door the rest of the way.

Adrian frowns and turns to look at Vivian, who places one hand on her hip. "Well," she says, "I'm sure we can spare Guardian Hathaway for the rest of the evening."

She says it with such a purr that I cringe inwardly.

"What?" I glance between her and Adrian.

Vivian flicks her hand in my direction. "We're fine, Rose. We're leaving in two days, you should enjoy the time you have left with Adrian. . ." She trails off, raising a sharply penciled eyebrow.

"Ivashkov," he finishes for her.

"Of course," Vivian says, spreading the door wider. Cold air sweeps into the foyer and disrupts a stack of papers on a nearby table, sending them in a dance across the floor. She turns to me, putting a red-polished gently on my arm. "Take your time, Rose." She glances sideway at Adrian. "In fact, we don't even need you for the rest of the time here."

I gape at her. "What?"

Adrian smiles brightly. "Just you and me, little dhampir," he says as he holds out his arm for me to take, and I move to accept this notion, but Vivian's hand tightens its grip on my arm and she pulls me backward.

"Just remember we're leaving in a couple of days, Rose."

I nod.

She releases my arm and taps her nails on her hips and says, in a quiet voice that Adrian can't hear, that even I can't hear unless I lean in closely, "Now is the time to settle what you left behind." She walks off then, leaving me with a stunned expression, wondering what she could have meant.

What if Wren told her stuff? What if she knows about Dimitri and Julius and all my personal baggage? I glance back over my shoulder, hoping to catch sight of her face one last time and ask her what she means, but she's already gone.

It's as if her words never reached my ears.

It's as if they never even existed in the first place.

"You're cold."

I glance up to see Adrian staring down at me with an expression of concern etched over his face.

"No, I'm not," I say, adverting my eyes as two Moroi women pass by, smiling at Adrian even though one of them has a toddler plastered to her hip. I narrow my eyes until they slip out of my vision and my face returns to normal.

I shudder and my teeth clack together.

"You are cold," Adrian says, and before I can protest, he is shrugging off his coat and wrapping it around my shoulders, a task so small and tiny but worth a lot to me.

"I can't take this," I say, holding out the coat for him to take back.

Adrian shakes his head. "You don't always have to be so stubborn, Rose."

"I'm not stubborn," I snap at him, but he barely seems to notice as we continue walking. Where we are headed, I have no idea, but this seems ideally nice compared to the rest of my life lately.

"Yes, you are," he says, and this time he takes the coat and throws it over my head. I giggle and, despite my stubbornness, I pull his coat closer around me, snuggling in the warmth of it and sparing him a side glance before putting my nose to the fabric and breathing in his scent.

"Vivan was totally checking you out," I say, after we have walked in comfortable silence for a while. Despite the chill in the air and windy weather, it's nice to be outside without having to scan the perimeter or check the shields or watch for Strigoi on the premises.

"She was?" Adrian asks, an underplayed tone of surprise in his voice, added to with a raise of an eyebrow.

I roll my eyes and say, "As if you didn't know!"

"I didn't," says Adrian, shrugging. "I have eyes only for you, little dhampir."

"That's bull," I mutter, but Adrian only shrugs once more and we continue on our walk. After a moment, Adrian opens his mouth to say something, then slowly closes it, cutting off whatever words were about to spill out of his mouth. I tilt my head.

"What?" I ask.

Adrian glances down at me. "What?"

I roll my eyes. "What's on your mind?" I ask.

Adrian sighs. "Here," he says, taking my hand and leading me to a park bench. "Sit." I sit down willingly and he follows suit. The building suspense is oddly suspicious, but I keep my mouth shut in case he decides against whatever he's about to tell me.

"I hate to ruin this little cruise of ours," he says, rubbing his stubbly chin with his hand. I raise both eyebrows and watch as he leans back, arms spread on the back of the bench, and I lean against one of them. "But. . ."

"Out with it, Adrian," I say a little too harshly, and I throw him an apologetic look, but he's not even looking. "Adrian-"

"There's been another Strigoi attack," he whispers so low I can barely hear him.

"What?" I'm stunned. It's the only way to explain how I feel in this moment.

"I overheard one of the Queen's guards talking about it. They're trying to keep it under the radar, but-"

I interrupt him again. My hands curl into fists as I ask, "What does that mean?"

Adrian sighs and runs a hand through his unkempt hair. "It's not your fault-"

"Of course it's not my fault," I yell a little too loudly. "How would it be my fault?" He doesn't reply. "Adrian, just tell me what happened or I swear to God I'm leaving." I leave out the part about how I have no idea how to leave on my own will.

"It was ten miles from the academy," he says. "A family of Moroi, they were driving out to the academy because they were enrolling their daughter there. The car wrecked, went into a ditch. The Strigoi came out of nowhere. . . And the family, they were dragged out into woods and-"

I raise my hand. "Stop," I say, my voice shaky and small. I manage to croak out the word two more times. "Stop. Please, stop."

"Rose-"

Tears threaten to fall and I avert my attention back to Adrian. I don't think about a car crash, or broken glass scattered across the pavement. Or blood dripping from the hands of innocent people. "How many?" I ask, trembling in my seat.

"Just the family," he says. "The father, mother, and two kids."

I can't. . . I can't even ask about the children. Two children, just like Lissa and her brother Andre. Just like her family crashed and we all died except for Lissa, until she brought me back.

Now it's happened all over again.

"Rose, I needed to tell you. You deserved to know." Adrian thinks I'm mad at him. I can tell. He thinks I'm angry at him for telling me. But I'm not, I'm just. . . sad.

"Adrian." Tears stream down my cheeks. I'm not sure how that's possible when this dream isn't real, I'm not real. Until I get back into the real world, these tears aren't real. "I can't do this right now," I say to him.

Adrian looks at me with desperate eyes. "Don't do something stupid, Rose." He watches me carefully as I use the wooden beams of the bench to stand up.

"Don't tell me what not to do," I spit at him. I turn my back to him and put a hand over my mouth.

I hear Adrian say, "Okay" and a few other words I don't care to listen to, before I start off at a quick pace, my mind racing, my heart beating. I realize I'm running, my mind barely processing the sound of my boots making contact with the pavement. I can hardly breathe, but not because I'm about to cry. I'm not even sad, actually.

I'm furious.

"Rose!" Alberta smiles when I storm into the room, obviously not seeing the fire in my eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"What the hell!" I scream, my words echoing in the room. Several guardians exchange looks and start to whisper. I return the favor by giving them dirty looks. I turn back to Alberta. "How dare you not tell me about the Strigoi attack."

"Rose, it's more complicated than that," Alberta starts to say, but I cut her off.

"Who do you think you are?" I scream at her, louder and louder until I feel like my throat is going numb. "I'm a Guardian! I deserve to know when Strigoi's attack, and if you dare say it's because I went through the same damn thing, then I know you don't give a crap about what happens next."

"Calm down," Alberta says in a warning tone.

"Like hell!" I shout. "You say you care about me when you won't even let me be a proper guardian? Who else didn't you tell, huh? Because I'm pretty freaking sure you told everyone EXCEPT ME!"

The kindness that Alberta always had for me was down, exchanged for an angry, tough look. "Who told you that?"

"Why do you care?" I spit at her. "Why should I tell you things when you won't even tell me things?"

Alberta narrows her eyes. "I will not discuss this until you calm down, Hathaway," she barks. She waves her hands and two men guardians stalk over to me, their arm muscles bulging out of their shirts. They stand near Alberta as she takes a step closer and speaks to me in a quiet, collected voice.

"Guardians, Miss Hathaway, do not act this way," she says calmly. "These men will escort you out now. You may come back when you know how to act like a guardian."

"Go to hell," I spit, before the two guys grip my arms and start to pull me out of the room. I shake them off and say, "I can handle myself," before I throw open the door and leave the building.

Adrian is waiting for me when I walk out of the front doors. I take two stairs at a time.

"Go away, Adrian," I say a little too loudly. Passersby stare at me and turn their friends to gossip. I'm tempted to flip them off just for the fun of it, to see their jaws drop and their mouths go yapping to their friends that the Contas' guardian is an unprivileged little girl.

"I told you not to do anything stupid, Rose." He falls into step with me, out of breath

I throw my hands up. "Well, you know me. I don't know how to act properly."

"I could hear you screaming from outside," he whispers as we pass by a group of young Moroi girls and a couple of men who look like they're on business.

"So?" I ask.

"Rose-" he starts.

I skid to a stop. "Look, Adrian. I appreciate you telling me what happened, but from here on out, stay the hell away from my business and stay out of my dreams." I cast a side glance at him and realize what I've said. "I'm done." I veer off the sidewalk and between two buildings.

Adrian doesn't follow me.