Chapter 19

Rose's Point of View

Everything went by in a blur for me after that. Dimitri had leaped out of his seat, grabbed poor Ian by his collar and demanded to know what happened. The Guardians were patrolling the area when they noticed some unusual activity at the nursery next to St. Basile's. When they investigated, the babysitters were already dead and the babies already gone. They inspected the wards, only to find out that they were broken by humans. They had arrested the humans, but the Strigois were nowhere in sight. My parents were quickly beside Dimitri as I felt my head spin. Lissa was beside herself as she clung onto me. This couldn't be happening, I repeated over and over again to myself. Anya is safe, I told myself desperately, it's just a mistake.

We rushed back to the nursery after Lissa hastily paid for dinner. Her hands were trembling so badly that her signature barely resembled that on her credit card. When we reached the nursery, we saw broken glass, torn curtains and the bloodied remains of the babysitters. Lissa was screaming and I was struggling to keep her emotions from flooding me and dragging me under. Ayeshah and Mia tried to keep her under control while I was at wits end. There was a savage look in Dimitri's eyes. I knew he was struggling as much as I was to stay in control. Someone had to take charge. My mum was trembling – possibly from anger, fear, I don't know, maybe a bit of both.

Dimitri picked up a note that was stuck inconspicuously near the cot. The Guardians must have missed it. I rushed to Dimitri's side and we read it together in horror.

D. Congratulations on being a father. I still don't understand the whole Shadow Kissed concept but it doesn't matter now. Sasha loved your proposal. I didn't think you could be so romantic. It's about time. We have her, in case you're wondering. We decided to take the boy too. He has the blood of the Ozeras and the Dragomirs. I'm sure he'll grow up to be powerful. And Anya, she's special, I know it already. I'll be waiting by the Botanical Gardens for you. Come with your Roza – we can be one big happy family again. Sash and I can't wait, Alex.

Dimitri crumpled the note in his fists as he punched the cot, 'Shit!' It broke and I silently marveled at his strength. 'We have to go, now,' he said urgently, pulling me along.

'Where are you going?' my mum demanded.

'The Botanical Gardens, that's where they are,' Dimitri yelled back as we sprinted towards our destination. My heart pounded wildly with fear. I hoped Anya and Ethan were safe, I hoped Alex hadn't turned them yet. I felt tears well up within me but I battled to keep them down. I couldn't cry. This wasn't a time for weakness; I had to save my baby, our baby. I heard my mum run alongside me, yelling out for us to explain.

'Mum, we'll explain later, we need to get there fast,' I yelled at her. I heard Lissa, Christian and Adrian behind us. Eddie and my dad must have stayed back to make sure that Ayeshah and Mia got back to their rooms safely. They were clearly shaken; it's not easy seeing dead bodies. I knew this was too dangerous for Lissa.

'Lissa, you need to get back, we'll get Ethan back for you,' I yelled back at her. I felt a tidal wave hit me as I experienced the full force of Lissa's anger. 'This is my son you're talking about, I am coming with you!' she screamed back at me. I wasn't about to waste more energy on arguing with her so I continued to sprint towards the Botanical Gardens.

Dimitri and I halted as we neared the edge of it. I felt a vague sense of nausea. I knew they were close and I whispered this to Dimitri. He nodded silently, his hands already gripping his silver stake. I flipped mine out, gripping it tightly. My senses were on high alert as Dimitri, my mum and I scouted around for them. Suddenly, I felt myself gag. Nausea engulfed me just as piercing laughter rang through the gardens.

Dimitri and I turned around quickly to see Alex striding towards us. He had Anya in his arms. I started out towards her but Dimitri held me back, 'Careful,' he whispered.

'I knew you would come,' Alex taunted, his red eyes flashing at us, 'And Rose. You grow more beautiful every day,'

'You're making me jealous,' another voice rang out, jokingly. It was female and it sounded like it was laughing. I saw her stride out of the darkness. She had long blonde hair that reached to her lower back. She was tall – almost as tall as Alex and Dimitri – and beautiful. She looked like she could've been a Russian princess. She had high cheekbones, almost like royalty and beautiful deep blue eyes. This must be Sasha. 'Sash, you know I only have eyes for you,' Alex grinned, his eyes not leaving the both of us. Sasha held Ethan in her arms. I found it amazing that Anya and Ethan were silent, despite being so close to Strigoi. Did they know how close they were to death? Or worse?

'One big happy family,' Alex grinned menacingly at Anya as he lifted her up so she faced him. She looked at him and he laughed maniacally. I saw his fangs flash in the moonlight. I was frantic with fear. I wasn't sure how long I could keep up this self control. I wanted to break some necks, stab some hearts, rescue my daughter… I had to do something. All this chit chat was not getting me any closer to my daughter.

Then, Anya kicked his nose and Alex growled angrily, 'This one has a temper, D,'

That's my girl, I thought to myself as my head swirled with ways to rescue her. I knew that the only reason why Dimitri was holding back was because we might hurt Anya or Ethan in the process. Dimitri's fists were balled up; I could almost see the whites of his knuckles. My mum was tapping her foot impatiently, not entirely understanding what Alex was saying, or why we were hesitating. Then, to my horror, Alex started to bring his fangs closer to Anya's neck. She let out a small whimper, as if sensing how close she was to becoming undead.

'No,' Dimitri shouted vehemently. Alex looked up, amused, still too close to Anya's neck for my liking, but at least his fangs were drawn back, 'Not her… Not yet,'

Alex looked amused as he looked at Sasha. She smiled serenely back at him. Her pale skin glowed eerily under the moonlight. She truly looked like a Princess. 'Perhaps you'd like to go first, D,' Alex turned back to Dimitri and grinned.

'I will,' Dimitri answered with steel in his voice. I gasped loudly, 'No,' as I gripped onto his arm.

He pushed my hands away fiercely as he strode towards Alex. Alex grinned ecstatically. This couldn't be happening, I told myself as I struggled with the urge to scream. I could hear my mum grinding her teeth beside me. What was his plan? What was he trying to do? I hated not being kept in the loop.

'Wait!' a voice called out behind us. It was Lissa; she had caught up with us. What was she doing here? Alex looked annoyed at this intrusion.

'Morois, D?' Alex rose an eyebrow at him. He did it almost as well as Dimitri did. 'If these are your reinforcements, well… I think it's my lucky day,' I felt my heart sink; we should've brought more Guardians. We had friends from St. Basile's, Guardians at our disposure, we could've easily enlisted the help of Alberta, Ian, David… but in our haste, we failed to plan things out meticulously. And what was Lissa doing here? My head throbbed painfully as I considered the possibility of losing a loved one. Dimitri, Anya, Lissa… I truly felt sick.

Dimitri remained silent as he stared at Alex murderously. 'Why the sour face?' Alex taunted, 'We're going to be one big happy family again,'

Dimitri opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by Lissa, 'I'll go first,'

WHAT? I almost yelled as she strode up towards Alex. Why wasn't Christian holding her back? I reached out to grab her but she swiftly dodged my grip. I couldn't even tap into the bond to find out what she was thinking of doing. I was paralyzed with fear as I saw her bravely approach Alex. Dimitri, please do something, I silently begged.

'And who are you?' Alex sneered.

'Lissa. Vasilissa Dragomir,' she replied proudly. Alex's eyes opened wide with hunger, 'the Dragomir Princess,'

'That's right,' Lissa said bravely, looking deep into his eyes. Oh shit, I thought. I knew exactly what she was trying to do. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Was she insane? I inched slowly towards her, instinctively trying to make sure that I was close enough to defend her if anything untoward happened.

I felt a tingle pass through me and knew she had already started, 'Give Anya to me,'

She was dangerously close to him. One move and he could snap her neck. Alex hesitated. He must've known she was using compulsion on him. I stopped breathing as she bent her head to one side, exposing her neck to him, all the while not breaking eye contact with him. 'Give Anya to me, before you turn me. She's like a daughter to me, I want to feel her one last time,' she tried to sound convincing. She must be aware of Sasha who was looking on. I knew Lissa didn't want to raise suspicions.

Alex's eyes flashed hungrily. If we ever got out of this alive, I made sure I was going to kill Lissa for being so stupid. Slowly, he handed Anya over to Lissa and once Anya was safely in Lissa's arms, Alex grabbed for her neck. I heard her scream in fright, followed by the sound of crunching. Dimitri had punched Alex in the face, just before Alex had managed to sink his fangs into Lissa. There was a roar of pain as Alex stumbled back.

I shoved Lissa back quickly, ordering Christian to get her as I lunged for Sasha. She was screaming at Alex and Ethan had started to wail. My mum took Sasha's momentary lapse in concentration to trip her over, sending Ethan flying into the air. I used a nearby tree to launch myself into the air as I reached out for Ethan. I barely caught him in my arms as I rolled onto the ground, shielding him from the impact. There was a sickening crunch and I knew that I had broken my arm. Adrian quickly took him off me as I scrambled painfully to my feet. Suddenly, I felt a warm overwhelming feeling of joy spread through me and the pain I experienced before left me. I looked at Lissa, and saw that her eyes were closed. I knew she was healing me and I silently thanked her for it. I turned around to see Dimitri locked in that familiar dance with Alex and my mum was throwing punches at Sasha.

I smiled to myself. Let's see how well Strigoi can handle two Hathaways, I thought, as I lunged towards Sasha. My mum and I fought in sync with each other; seriously, we should do this more often. We make an awesome team. When she kicked, I would punch; and when I punched, she would kick. I could see the fear in Sasha's eyes increase as we battled on. She was fast and strong, as she had just fed – presumably from the babysitters – but my mum and I weren't famous for nothing. My mum hooked Sasha behind her legs and as she fell, I sent a flying kick to her face, breaking her beautiful nose. She screamed in terror as she fell to the ground. My mum held her down with a death grip as I drove my stake into her heart. She let out a final blood curdling scream, before she shuddered, her life sucked out of her. I heard a thunderous roar behind me as Alex realized that Sasha was dead.

He managed to escape Dimitri's grasps as he rushed towards me, his eyes screaming bloody murder. He was fast, much faster than Sasha; he had just fed off the babysitters too but being a male Dhampir previously obviously gave him an edge, especially if he used to be as good as Dimitri. He caught me off balance as I was still crouching over Sasha's body. I felt his claws rip through my arm as I rolled away from him. I screamed in pain, 'You're going to pay for this you son of a bitch!'

'You killed her, you bitch!' he screamed at me, lunging for me once more. I barely managed to roll away from him again. He growled menacingly at me before diving at me again. This time, I didn't escape his clutches. I felt him grab me by my leg and pulled me towards him as I clawed against the ground, struggling to find something to hold on to. He lifted me up easily in the air and threw me against a tree. I heard another sickening crunch as I slid down the tree. Great, another broken bone. This time it was my leg.

'That's my daughter you ass hole!' I heard my mum scream, as I struggled against the concussion that was threatening to overwhelm me. My mum and Alex circled each other, growling at each other like wolves. Alex lunged at her and delivered a well placed punch to her arm. She screamed in pain as she managed to compose herself to kick him in the groin. He barely flinched and she looked at him quizzically. There weren't many Strigoi who didn't hurt under her attacks. He laughed coldly, 'you're gonna have to try harder than that, old lady,'

My mum's eyes flashed angrily. Nobody calls her an old lady. She lunged at him but he managed to quickly side step her and delivered a roundhouse kick to her head. I saw her head snap dangerously to the side as she fell to the ground. 'Mum!' I screamed, scrambling towards her. My left leg was bent at an odd angle. It must've been broken, but I was too stricken with panic to register the pain. She was unconscious and blood was gushing from her head. Alex laughed loudly but was cut short when Dimitri tackled him to the ground. Alex snarled in frustration as he easily threw Dimitri off him. I struggled to drag my mum away from Alex and Dimitri, as I felt the distant throbbing in my left leg. Christian and Adrian ran to help me drag my mum away and that was when I turned around to see Dimitri trip over a tree root and slip.

I saw the horror in his eyes as he fell to the ground with a thump. I felt like I was watching a horror movie in slow motion. Alex then delivered a strong punch to Dimitri's head and I saw his eyes roll back. I screamed for him as I rushed towards him, dragging my broken leg behind me. Dimitri never fell, Dimitri was always so strong. I pleaded silently, frantically, to whoever was listening for Dimitri to get up, to fight back.

'Time for you to join me,' Alex growled triumphantly as he lowered his fangs to Dimitri's neck.

'Not yet!' I screamed angrily, as I used all the energy I had to deliver a well placed kick to Alex's head. To this day, I am unsure how I managed it, given my broken leg. He let out an angry yell as he stumbled backwards. 'Christian!' I yelled, 'Now!'

Christian understood what I meant and soon, his fiery dragons surrounded Alex's face. He tried to bat them away, only to burn his hands every time they came in touch with the dragons. Christian willed them to burn his face, and Alex let out a blood curdling scream as he stumbled to the ground. I knew this was my cue; Christian wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

'Not your lucky day anymore,' I said triumphantly as I flipped out my stake and drove it into his heart. Another blood curdling scream later, Alex shuddered into the ground as I staked him once more to make sure. I stared at his bloodied body and his slightly scorched face. He wore a peaceful expression. He would've been handsome once, would've been someone who easily broken women's hearts, someone who laughed often, I realized sadly.

'Roza…' I heard a guttural voice behind me. I turned to see Dimitri rousing from his concussion. I rushed to his side to help him stand up. His beautiful eyes stared back at me lovingly as he draped an arm around me. I tried to support his weight, but my broken leg decided to give in and I fell towards the ground. He held me up with his strong arms as we stared intensely at each other. I tried to ignore the pain that was coursing through me.

'Lissa once said… Even Guardians need Guardian Angels,' I blinked once, twice, trying to keep my eyes open, trying not to slip into the darkness that was threatening to engulf me. My hero – he looked devastatingly handsome, even after a battle, especially after a battle. There was a deep cut at the side of his head that was bleeding profusely.

'You are my Guardian Angel,' he said softly, brushing his thumb on my cheek. There was regret and pain in his eyes.

'How can I be yours when you're mine?'

'We'll figure out the logistics later,' he said, as he picked up me easily and carried me to the infirmary.