The irony was incredible. He didn't even know! He held Adrian hostage in exchange for Lissa's powers, not even knowing what he really was!
And I couldn't let him know.
"She'll never heal you," I say shakily, trying to discard my previous realization. "She hates you! You tortured her! You tried to kill her! Why in hell would you ever think that she would heal you?"
My voice was coming back with every word. I hated him for what he did to Lissa, but now, I loathed him, I despised him with every fibre of my body, with every breath I took. I hated what he did to Lissa, what he did to Dimitri, what he could do to Adrian, and what he was going to make me do.
Viktor's thin lips curl upwards, although he doesn't look particularly pleased. "Because, Rosemarie, she wouldn't want you to suffer. If she turns herself in, then she won't have the guilt upon her shoulders of having made you watch your own boyfriend being tortured and killed before your very eyes."
I repress a shudder. "He's not...we're not..." My voice cracks, and Viktor smirks. "Take me. Leave Adrian alone. Take me, use me as bait. She'll come if I'm a hostage. You know it, Viktor. I'll be much more effective."
But Dimitri will never allow Lissa to go, even if I was in trouble. I hoped.
"Don't do it, Rose!" Adrian shouts, thrashing his head around to avoid being silenced. "No! Run, Rose! Get out of here! Leave, Rose, NOW. She needs you! Don't worry about me!"
"Shut up, Ivashkov," Viktor snarls. But Adrian's rant continues.
"Bastard! What the hell is wrong with you? Rose, get out of here! Protect Lissa! Protect her! Go, Rose! I swear, Dashkov, I'll kill you, you son of a bi-"
"Enough," Viktor barks, and several of his 'guards' step forward.
A dhampir brings the butt of his pistol down on the base of Adrian's skull, and he keels forwards, falling onto the wooden church floor. I give a yelp of surprise and horror. Viktor grins now, his paper-thin skin stretching across his face.
I take a step forward desperately, but a man, who looks no older than I, pulls a firearm from his coat, pointing it at my head. I freeze on the spot, and try as hard as I can to stop the tears from coming.
I'm pretty sure he won't kill me, but he won't hesitate to aim downwards and shoot Adrian. So I remain still.
"Stop! He didn't do anything! Leave him alone!" I beg. So much for my face of indifference. I'm desperate.
And he knows it.
"Rosemarie, Vasilisa will know that you want her safe if you've been held captive. But if you beg her to come..."
I take a threatening step forward. "Never."
Viktor's stone face doesn't falter. He nods towards his 'guards' once, and they immediately bend down, grabbing Adrian's unconcious body and jerking him upwards.
"Don't touch him!" I cry. "What are you trying to do? Is this worth it? Are all of these lives worth it, Viktor? What is it that you're trying to accomplish?"
One side of his mouth quirks upwards. "If I told you that, there would be no room for surprise, Rosemarie."
"This is why your plans don't succeed. Why do you need to change the world by killing innocent people? Why can't you do it legally? Honestly?"
What was this, a damned Christmas special? I was spurting out nonsense now. I was preaching against violence, yet all I wanted was to be in an enclosed space with Viktor and be in possession of a heavy object.
"When has your life ever been fair and honest, Rosemarie?" Viktor says sweetly, cooing. "You don't have the chance to be a kid. Vasilisa has taken that away from you. You're forced to protect her, forced to put her above yourself. Forced to give up any romantic relationships. They chose what you eat, what you do, who you love. You're stuck on a path someone else has chosen for you, a path you can't escape. There is no fair for you, Rosemarie, because your life is controlled by someone else, someone who didn't decide to give you your freedom."
My chest was heaving now. His words drew up painful memories from my discussions with Deidre.
"I," I whisper. "Would rather have no choices at all then choose between my two best friends. And you're wrong. They don't make me fight. I fight to protect the people I love, because if they were gone, then all the freedom in the world wouldn't make it a world I want to live in."
This is obviously not the answer he was hoping for, because his brow furrows. But he manages to pull himself together.
Viktor smirks. "Then I suppose you have a choice to make, Rosemarie."
I'm hopeless. This isn't something I can fight my way out of. This isn't a test of my skill, of my abilities. I can't win.
"Well, Rosemarie? Make your choice. Vasilisa or Ivashkov? Do you give up Vasilisa or let the boy die?"
My head pulses and pounds, my whole body shakes under the weight. I couldn't choose between two of my best friends, my bondmate and my ex-boyfriend. Two Moroi, and only one of them could come first.
"I...I..."
The church doors slam open behind me, making the whole building quake. I don't spin, don't turn my back, don't allow myself to become even more vulnerable to Viktor and his gang of dhampirs. Unfortunately, the sense of security doesn't last long.
Dimitri appears beside me, before me, before the dhampirs force him onto his knees. Even kneeling, he is about Viktor's shoulder height. Not him, too...
Bile rises into my throat, and my chest becomes tight.
Because if Dimitri is here...
Where's Lissa?
okay, still a little short, but the next one'll be longer! At least I'm updating!
Please review, guys!