Yes! I know the last chapter was a little vague, but it was meant to be like this, don't worry!

I woke in a hazy fog. The last thing that I remembered was sitting in the kitchen with Dimitri. My arm throbbed, and when I looked down, I saw it was heavily bandaged.

What the hell?

I quickly jumped out of bed, throwing the covers off of my body.

"Olena!" I cry. "Olena, what's going on?"

Panic sets in, true, irrational panic. I run into the kitchen, waving my casted arm.

"Roza, is something wrong?"

The Belikov family sits at the kitchen table, eating breakfast, Dimitri drinking a cup of coffee. They stare at me like I've lost my mind.

"What happened to my arm?"

Okay, more weird looks. I wait expectantly, no one speaking. My heart races, my breath becomes ragged. I open my mouth to repeat my words, but Olena's voice cuts into the silence.

"You broke your arm..."

"When?"

She bites her lip and exchanges looks with her family. "What do you mean, when? Rose, do you not remember yesterday? What's the last thing you recall?"

Dimitri rises quickly from his chair, the wooden legs groaning against the tile floor. "We went out with Viktoria's friends. We met them at that coffee shop..."

I feel like I am explaining this to a child, but they stare at me, disbelieving.

"Roza, that's it? That's all you remember?"

I nod, feeling tears rise to my eyes. "What's going on?"

Dimitri, in an odd, sudden act of closeness, steps foward, kneeling before me, his hands resting on my shoulders, looking deep into my eyes. "Rose, that's the last thing that you remember?"

I nod slowly. He looks back at his mother. "Rose, you don't remember the strigoi?"

Strigoi? I shake my head, repressing tears. "No."

"Dimitri," Olena whispers, "Did she hit her head during the fight?"

He freezes. "Yes..."

I look between them. "But my head doesn't hurt!" Using my free hand, I pat my head, covering the entire area, feeling no twinge of pain.

Dimitri cups the back of my neck, and massages my scalp gently. "Nothing?" he whispers huskily.

I shake my head. "No."

"If she was hurt enough to cause a concussion, shouldn't she have, at the very least, a bruise?"

Olena nods. "Yes, she should. Dimitri, what happened that night? Why were you two outside?"

I look at him expectantly, but he shakes his head. "Dimitri-"

"No," he states gruffly. "We need to get her checked out. This could be serious."

Yeva clears her throat, speaking rapidly in Russian. Dimitri nods, grabs onto my fully-functioning arm, and drags me towards the front door. He pulls the sleeve of my coat over my cast, then helps me with the other sleeve, and throws on his own. Without a glance backward, he pulls me out the door.

By the time I realize that my legs are incredibly sore, I am already stumbling helplessly behind Dimitri.

"Please," I groan. "Wait. My legs."

He doesn't look at me, but instantly slows. I limp into the driveway of a familiar house, and Dimitri knocks on the door.

It opens, and Oksana gives out a sharp cry of surprise at seeing Dimitri. He tenses, and stays that way when she absorbs him and throws her arms around him.

"Dimitri!" she cries. "How?" She looks... tired. Extremely tired.

Mark appears at the door, leaning against the doorframe, and claps Dimitri on the back, pulling him into a masculine embrace.

"I don't have time to explain. Please, this is about Rose."

They seem to notice me now, and Oksana kisses both my cheeks before pulling me into the house.

She leads us into the living room, sits us on the couch, and is about to turn towards the kitchen, but Mark shakes his head.

"I'll make it," he says, completing some mental conversation they've shared.

Oksana sits across from us, taking each of our hands.

"Is everything alright? Rose, I didn't think I'd ever hear from you again, and Dimitri, I thought, we thought..."

Dimitri nods curtly. "I was, Oksana, but Rose's bondmate brought me back."

Oksana's jaw drops. "That's not possible!"

Dimitri replays the much shortened version of our tale, speaking quickly to avoid any interruptions. He brushes past some pretty major events, but I stay silent, sensing the tension within him.

Oksana nods robotically along, and I'm not entirely sure if she is absorbing the information.

"Oksana, Rose and I were attacked by strigoi a few days ago. She might have gotten a concussion, and her memory's questionable. Do you think you could heal her?"

She blinks in surprise, the automated expression leaving her face. "Losing her memory? Rose, is your bondmate here with you? In Russia?"

I shake my head. "No, she's back in the States. Why? Is she the only one who can heal me? What's going on?"

Oksana shakes her head. "No, Roza. This isn't about a concussion or about healing. At least, I don't believe so."

At this point, Mark comes into the living room, carrying several tea cups and a kettle.

"Rose?" he asks, like he's been a part of this conversation all along. "How long have you been away from your bondmate?"

I quickly do the math. "A few months..."

Oksana and Mark exchange glances.

"What's going on with me?" I beg desperately, the panic setting in again, as if I am waiting for some terminal diagnosis.

Mark sighs and runs a hand through his short, salt-and-pepper hair. "Rose, your mind might be malfunctioning because you're so far away from the Princess. Your bond is calling out to her."

I am suddenly cold, a chill sweeping over my body. "But... But... I've been away from Lissa before! It didn't effect me then!"

Mark looks puzzled. "Have you checked the bond lately? Been inside her head?"

I freeze, and shake my head. Mark nods.

"Blocking her just makes the desperation grow faster. She's a part of you, Rose, and your body can't function without her," Oksana informs me. "I wish I could heal the darkness from you, it might help, but... But I just healed Mark yesterday. I just can't, Rose."

I can feel tears burn in my eyes. "So, if I was away long enough, it would still have happened, it just would've happened faster if I had blocked her?"

Mark nods, looking sympathetic. "Rose, it's time that you went home."

But this time, it's Dimitri who shakes his head. "They're not allowing any flights home right now. Strigoi numbers are becoming extremely high, and there have been an extraordinary amount of attacks in the past month."

I turn to him, fire and fear blazing within me. "But I'll go crazy!" I cry. "We have to go back! If I'm losing my memory, what else will happen? We have to go back! I have to go back!"

Mark pats my hand, as if I'm a young child. "Rose, before I became Oksana's guardian, they tried to keep me away from her. For several months, we had to keep at a distance, because of our relationship. I started to experience some of the same effects you have. You need to get back to Vasilisa, Rose."

...

Dimitri and I step out of the house. I am completely numb, my hands shoved into my pockets. I look at the ground, unable to lift my heavy head, my whole body shaking with fear.

"Rose," Dimitri says finally, breaking the silence and drawing me from my wallowing fears. "Please don't worry. We'll figure something out."

I laugh, surprising myself. A short, sharp, harsh laugh. "Figure something out? Anna was seperated from Vladimir after he died! And she killed herself? Is that what you want to happen to me?"

Dimitri grabs my shoulders, treating me as if I'm being hysterical. I squirm, but he holds me fast.

"Rose, I know this scares you, but I won't risk your life! And I won't let you hurt yourself!"

I feel myself calming, the panic seeping from my body. I sniff loudly.

"Dimitri? What happened that night? Why were we outside? Why didn't we have stakes?"

He sighs loudly, looking reluctant to answer, but when I place my hand comfortingly on his shoulder, he breaks.

"You and Viktoria came home late, about a half hour later than her curfew. I... I had been up waiting for you, worried sick. I told you that I wasn't going to allow you out anymore."

I feel a pang of familiarity. "Allow me?"

He sighs. "Yes, that's what you said. It's my duty to bring you back, and I said that I couldn't keep giving you easy opportunities to escape." He looks away not meeting my eyes.

"Dimitri?"

He doesn't even look at me, but continues speaking after several moments. "You got very angry with me, and told me that you wanted to go back, and that you missed your friends. I... snapped. I told you that it didn't matter, that I wouldn't let you run away, that I'd do my duty like I promised to do.

"And that's when... that's when you said that I wasn't to be trusted with promises, because I promised to protect you and 'look how that turned out.' And that you didn't belong to me, that you weren't my property, and if that's what I was going to treat you like then I might as well bite you, because even if I did get my soul back, it didn't mean that I had gotten back any decency."

I froze, and although I hated to admit it, it did sound like me.

"I... I just had to get away. I left the house, and you followed. I didn't think to bring my stake. It was my fault."

"Oh, Dimitri. I'm-"

"Please, Rose, just don't."

To my surprise, he didn't walk away, he just stayed frozen, waiting for me to continue. Even in broad daylight, he wouldn't leave me.

For a change.