While I walked to the parking of the hospital I had just been at, I had a weird feeling. Adrian didn't answer the phone and it worried me; he had promised that he would update me on Taylor.

I drove the short drive to my house.

All lights where out. There was no one soul in sight. Usually, there was a guardian stationed at the door. I got off the car ,the bad feeling intensified. I walked inside the door. The lights were out even inside the house. It was weird.

I finally entered the door, which was ajar.

I stepped inside and heard a distant eerie chuckle. I turned on the light. I was horrified at what I saw. There was blood everywhere. Bodies were lying everywhere too. Lissa's body was at the corner of the room. At the edge of the staircase lay Yaritza and Dimitri surrounded by a lot of blood. Stan, and all the guardians that were assigned to Adrian were lying on the ground as well. Ervin and Taylor were nowhere in sight. Nor was Adrian.

I screamed.

A hand covered my mouth. "Shh, somebody may still be here." Christian whispered in my ear.

I was too shocked to feel anything but numbness. "Christian, what happened?" I whispered just as low as him.

"I don't know, Rose. Stay with me and I'll keep you safe." He wrapped an arm around me and my brother pulled me close as we walked to the bodies. We walked to Lissa first. She was breathing, but she was unconscious. I felt relieved, although I was still worried for the others.

We then walked to Dimitri and Yaritza. Dimitri stirred as my hand touched his forehead. "What happened?" Christian answered him as I went to Yaritza.

She was the only one that was awake. She started crying and started rubbing her stomach. "Rose, I lost the baby." Dimitri went to her and hugged her to him.

"Do you two know what happened?" I asked. Nothing could take away the numbness; only if I saw Adrian, Taylor, and Ervin would help it.

I surveyed the room. Stan was awake now. He ran to me and looked around as if a threat was nearby. "Are you okay, Rose?"

At the far end of the room, I saw a shadow. He came into view and I threw my arms around him. "Adrian!" was all I could manage. In his hands, was Ervin who was sleeping peacefully, no scratches or blood him. My two boys were alive but where was Taylor?

I took Ervin out of his arms and hugged him close to me. I looked at Adrian. "Baby, are you okay?" I scanned him and ran my hands down his body. He was all in one piece as was Ervin. "Where is Taylor?"

"He took her, Rose." Adrian's eyes were all glassy and staring almost as if her were dead. Tears fell out of his eyes. "I couldn't do anything but watch."

"Who took her?"

"Him."

"WHO TOOK HER?"

"Rose. . ." He looked too devastated.

"ADRIAN IVASHKOV! WHO TOOK HER?" I yelled so loud that the whole world probably heard.

He didn't say anything. He handed me a note that had been scrunched up in his right hand. I read what is said:

My lovely Rose,

You and Adrian have such an exquisite daughter. Such a shame that I will have to dispose of her if you don't give me what I want. You see my life is at risk too. What is that saying? A life for a life. You give me what I want and I'll give you what you want and THEY will give me what I want. You have forty-eight hours to locate me and give me what I want. I will give you a hint on my location. A place out of a fairy tale. You know what I want, Dimitri. He doesn't belong to the world of the living; he belongs to the world of the dead, like you do, my lovely. See you soon.

Love,

Victor Dashkov

I dropped the note as if Victor himself would pop out of it at any second. I fell down, landing on my knees. This could not be happening! I thought Victor had died some time ago. Surely, this was a bad nightmare and Adrian would wake me up and it would all be over.

But no. The damn note and the fact that my Taylor Alba was not in my arms made it hard to believe that it was anything but reality.

NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Why? Why did he have to take Taylor, my baby? Why hadn't he taken me?

We will find you, Taylor Alba.

Ervin was standing on the ground next to me telling comforting things and kissing me in the way I kissed him when he was upset. But all of a sudden, he stopped. He gasped and his eyes turned all staring.

"What is it, baby?" Adrian asked.

"Twayor, (Taylor)" was all he said. Adrian reached for him and when Adrian touched his arm he gasped as Ervin had not so long ago.

I was sucked into Adrian's head as a strong emotion took him over. It seemed as if Ervin was having a vision of Taylor. It took me a second to realize what it was. Ervin and Taylor were bonded just as Adrian and I were. Ervin was seeing the world from Taylor's eyes.

What is this man doing with me? Where is daddy? Where is mommy? Where is Ervin? Where is auntie Yaritza? Where is uncle Dimitri? Where is grandma and grandpa? Where are they why am I here? Those where the thoughts that emanated from her side of the bond.

The mysterious man, who is he?

"Rose is there. She just finished reading the note, Sir. Victor." A human dressed in black said.

"Good, Brad, good." Victor Dashkov said while holding my daughter Taylor.

I came to awareness when Christian slapped me. Lissa was laying on the couch looking at me strangely. And then I knew. I knew where they were keeping Taylor. A place out of a fairy tale. The place was just a mile away from the house. It was still on our property.

A place out of a fairy tale. It was a cabin. Adrian once had taken me on tour of the house. I didn't know there had been fruit trees in our two hundred fifty acres of our property. "I know where she is, Adrian!"

"Where?" He asked frantically.

"At the cabin on our property." I said. I was feeling nauseous all of a sudden and I didn't know why.

"There are you sure?"

"Yes."

We got a hunting party together in case there were Strigoi nearby. Adrian made a quick call to the Royal Court and they sent more guardians. Before we knew it, it seemed like a thousand guardians were here.

I forbid Adrian to come with us. "You can't go. If anything happens to me, we can't leave Ervin without both parents. Stay here and be safe. I promise I will get Taylor out and come straight back." I kissed him very passionately before I kissed Ervin on the cheek. "I love you both."

My mother handed me a stake and we ran out the door. "Save Twayor" was what I head before I went out the door completely. We loaded up in a black SUV and headed down through the forest to the cabin.

We got off the SUV nine hundred meters away from the cabin. We came up with a strategy on how to attack the house. Before we could do anything, twice the amount as there was guardians there were Strigoi.

We were ready when they started attacking. I staked almost twenty Strigoi before I could go help Stan who was struggling with twice as much as I had. Out of nowhere, someone started shooting fire. It wasn't Christian since he had stayed behind to help the others. Tasha Ozera set the Strigoi ,that had Stan pinned down, on fire.

"I'm glad you're here." I said as I moved on to the next Strigoi. I had a couple of scratches here and there and seat was running down my face.

I staked on more and then Stan yelled out in victory. "Yes, we are done! They are dead!"

I wasn't listening, I was running to the cabin. "Come on!" I yelled. Everyone was following me in a matter of seconds.

Humans dressed in ninja clothes surrounded the house. I grabbed one; he looked like the leader and I wrapped a hand around his neck really hard. "What are you guys doing here?"

The others has busted down the doors. "I don't know. I simply follow orders from my master!"

"And who is your master? Is he Strigoi?"

"Yes!" He gasped.

"His name?"

"Garret Dean."

"What is your name?"

"Ian, Ian Jones." He sounded scared.

"Alright, Ian, I hope you go to heaven." I thrust my stake into his heart as if he were Strigoi.

I ran to the broken door and went inside. I heard the cries of Taylor. I stopped dead in my tracks when I noticed where she was. In the hands of a very old Strigoi, Taylor stopped crying when she saw me.

I cried in anguish. All that for nothing. "Let's see who's so powerful now." Said Victor Dashkov tauntingly ,as he walked through the hallway.

Oh, hell was I going to do now? I ran to him and twisted my arm around his neck in the way I had done to Ian. I couldn't do anything to help my daughter but I could definitely kill this bastard. "Tell him to her go and I will let you free. I won't ever bother you again as long as you don't bother me." I whispered in his ear.

I was sick to the core of my body as I watched Taylor in the Strigoi's arms. I wanted to do something but I couldn't. Then I remembered Tasha. I looked at her. She was dead tired, that was obvious but could she still do it? Did she have enough power to set him on fire without the fire touching Taylor? Could she perform one of those spells she practiced with Christian a while ago?

"Tasha!" I gasped out, looking at her with big pleading eyes.

"Rose. . ." She looked very tired but her eyes were determined. She lifted up her hand and fire shot out. A sort of arch was created with her fire; it surrounded the Strigoi but none of it touched Taylor.

I let go of Victor and Dimitri took my spot. My mother took Taylor out of his arms as the Strigoi fell, crying in agony. I got my stake out and positioned it so that it was directly in line with his heart. "Any last words?"

"He belongs to us." He gasped ,out pointing at Dimitri. I staked him and the fires stopped Tasha fell; Stan caught her just in time before she hit the floor. He cradled her to him and led her outside to the SUV.

Once the Strigoi was dead and he was nothing but ashes, I took Taylor out of my mom's arms and held her in mine. She started crying when she looked into my eyes. "Hey, baby. Don't ever scare me like that again." I kissed her cheeks and her forehead.

Dimitri, from the other side of the room, was holding Victor. "Rose! What do you want to do with him?"

I looked at him. "Take him back to the house." I walked out of the room and into one of the SUV's. As soon as I was on, the car sped away to my house. Tasha was whimpering behind me, in Stan's arms. Stan's face registered pain as he watched Tasha suffer.

"She needs blood." I said to him while I looked at my daughter, checking her to see if she had anything broken or scratched.

"Tasha, drink from me." Stan said from the seat behind me.

I heard a little slurping sound before I saw the huge outline of my house. As soon the vehicle stopped, I jumped out and ran into the arms of Adrian. "Rose! Taylor!" He hugged us to him and sighed in relief.

I could see Lissa sitting on one of the stairs, with Ervin on her lap, and Yaritza sitting next to her. Yaritza looked horrible. Her eyes were swollen and she wouldn't look at Dimitri as he got of the Suburban with Victor trapped in his arms. More tears fell out of her eyes as he passed came into her view. Dimitri looked at her briefly but it was a look filled of love. She was too much a mess to notice it.

I handed Taylor to Adrian.

I went to Yaritza and put an arm around my sister. "Yaritza, it is going to be okay."

"How, Rose? My baby and Dimitri's died." She put her head into her arms.

I hugged her harder. "It's okay, Yaritza. After a couple months, you and Dimitri can try again." Damn, Rose, you can do better. I wasn't so good with words so I just hugged her. She cried a lot.

"Rose, Adrian, what do you want us to do with this asshole?" Asked one of our guardians. I let go of Yaritza because Dimitri was comforting her now. He was talking to her in Russian, the way he used to talk to me. I would have to convince Adrian to talk to me in Romanian later on.

But to more important matters. I looked at Adrian. "What do you want to do with him, Rose? It's up to you, my love." Adrian said to me. His were filled with bloodlust; he wanted Victor murdered.

So I gave him the go ahead. "I want him dead but can I speak with him first? Alone?"

He agreed alright but with a guardian holding Victor. That was fine with me. I turned to Victor. He wore a serious expression on his face. Something I had not seen him with. "Why did you do it?" I asked in a menacing voice. He actually looked scared.

"He threatened me to do it. I want nothing but to live Rose." He looked away. "And because a dhampir beat me to being a ruler. You became Queen when I couldn't even become Prince. I was jealous of you and Adrian. I wanted him to pay. That is why I killed Queen Tatiana. That is why I agreed to help Garret."

I wanted to kill him in that moment. But I wasn't going to do it. Nor, was Adrian. We wanted no blood on our hands. "Although, you have never been kind to me, I will be kind to you. I will relieve you from all your pain and bad feelings." I motioned for Guardian Elica to come here. She was one of the best woman guardians out there; she was almost as badass as my mother. I would have become like her if I hadn't gotten married.

Elica, who was tough and had feelings like glass, pulled out her silver stake. I gave her the okay and honor. She stuck the stake into Victor's heart. I watched all of it with a malicious smile. "Thank you, Elica."

"Anything for you, my lady." She bowed and went back to her duty which was Adrian. Elica was from Romania and was hot as hell. I know it sounds weird coming from me but it was true. I was always hesitant while she as around Adrian cause she definitely was Adrian's type. I didn't want Adrian running off with her. My worries eased when Adrian told me she went for the other team. So now he was hesitant; he didn't want me running off with Elica. I was thinking about naming my future daughter after her.

Adrian gave me a look that said I looked psycho smiling at death. I ran to his arms. We really had made it! I had Taylor, Ervin, and him in my arms before I knew it.

I hugged everyone I could get my hands on. Hell, I even hugged Dimitri who I was so always so careful around in case Yaritza ever got jealous. I even kissed him on the cheek. He let me go to go hug his future wife. They looked at each other with love before attacking each others lips. She looked a little bit better but Yaritza kissed him nonetheless.

Adrian made another call and in thirty minutes, a cleaning group came and cleaned, scrubbed, and polished every inch of the house. When we went inside, and there was no trace of evil in the house. Everything was spotless; everything literally shined. And it smelled so good like Pine-Sol.

We gathered around the dinner table. The cook had made a good delicious meal of shrimp and fettuccini alfredo. My favorite food beside steak and rice. The food was delicious. The cook was the only one who had survived the attack and he told us everything. Everything.

"I was readying myself to cook dinner when a group of ninjas burst through the door. The humans went directly to Dimitri who was sort of in a trance, looking at Yaritza. The people took of the ring off Dimitri's hand and his eyes turned red. He wasn't a Strigoi but he wasn't Dimitri either." Ement said looking around the room.

"What?" I asked looking at Dimitri.

"Yes, Rose. If you take of my ring I become part vampire. Not exactly Strigoi, but not Moroi." Dimitri said, absentmindedly. I wondered why he wasn't with Yaritza who was at the hospital. I would have to ask him later.

"Yes, whatever, back to my story." All eyes turned to him again. "He started attacking the ninjas. They were clearly upset about something. So then they attacked Yaritza. They threw her around a couple of times. She hit her stomach pretty hard and that started bleeding a lot. Then Lissa came and then they started hitting her."

"A guy stood in the door way. Just stood there, arms crossed across his chest, a smile of revenge on his face." Victor. "A Strigoi went behind him and he looked completely freaked. The Vampire ordered the other vampire to call all the ninjas to follow them. A ninja was carrying Princess Taylor. I couldn't do anything just watch helplessly."

"Then Lord Ivashkov, walked in through the door. Something clicked in him or I don't know." He looked at Adrian for a second. "He ran to the kids' rooms and checked them or so I imagined. He ran out of the room with just Ervin. I knew I had to tell him about the kidnap but I couldn't move. I saw a white piece of paper lying on the ground and I picked it up and read it. Then found Lord Ivaskov and gave to him. He ran wildly around the house."

"Lord Ozera walked into the room. I thought he was one of the bad guys so I threw a pan on his head." Ah, that explained why there was a bump on his head. I laughed and Christian glared at me. "He looked at me and then I was scared but then he helped me find cover. And then you came in. I heard you scream and that was it before I passed out inside the closet. The end."

I tried to fight a smile. From the corner of my eye, I saw that everyone was copying my action. "Thank you, Ement for sharing that wonderful story."

He must have been oblivious to my sarcasm because he bowed and returned to his work in the kitchen. "If you'll excuse me, Lady Ivashkov. I have to return to my duties in the kitchen."

"ROSE! ADRIAN! YARITZA! ERVIN! TAYLOR! DIMITRI! JANINE! ARE YOU GUYS ALL RIGHT?" Arianna ran into the room. Behind her was. . . everyone. Paul and Sara and their three boys. Dylan and Breeanne with their two kids. Daren and Donia with their three kids. Maylin and Jasper, her husband, and their three sons.

They all hugged me and Adrian, Dimitri, my mother, and Ervin and Taylor. Then it all occurred to them to ask about Yaritza. "Where is my daughter? Oh, Lord, is she okay?"

"She's fine." I looked at Dimitri. "She just lost the baby. She is at the hospital."

"Why aren't with her, Dimitri?" Asked Paul, all puffed up.

Tears welled in Dimitri's eyes. "She doesn't want me with her." He said sadly.

"Bullshit! Let's go see her! And yes, you are coming with us!" Paul said and grabbed his future-in-law's hands.

I wanted to go see Vera and Yaritza in the hospital so I tagged along. "Come on Adrian!" He followed with Taylor and Ervin in his hands. I hopped into our Audi, Adrian buckled in our children, and I sped away.

"Thank you, Rose. For saving our daughter." He kissed my hand.

"You have nothing to thank me for."

We arrived to the hospital in like ten minutes since I was driving.

The Ivashkovs' took over the two rooms. One had Vera in there and the other had Yaritza. I went to Yaritza's room first since I had already seen Vera. Dimitri and Adrian followed me silently.

"How are you doing, Ritza?" She hated when I called her that. She looked at Dimitri and nodded. I wondered what that meant.

I took me a second to comprehend what I was. "Oh, I'm sorry, Yaritza." I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Adrian hugged his sister and kissed her as well.

"I am so sorry, Dimitri." She said. Her voice was filled with sadness.

"No, Yarzi. You have nothing to be sorry for. Like Rose said, we could try again in a couple of months."

Yarzi was the Russian nickname for her. Adrian and I left to Vera's room where the whole gang was gathered. My eyes must of conveyed a lot since they sobered up a little. "Did Yaritza. . ." Arianna let her voice trail off into a question.

I closed my eyes. I nodded.

Paul looked very sad. As the oldest, I think he felt responsible for everyone. "Come on, let's go cheer her up." The whole gang followed him even Vera and Jack. I watched Vera walk agonizingly each step. It was not long before I picked her up and sat her on the nearest chair in Yaritza's room.

Our whole family, well the Ivaskovs, gathered around Yaritza. Although she was sad, she was happy that the whole family was gathered. Taylor cried until Adrian put her into Yaritza's arms.

I leaned against Adrian. He hugged me from behind. His lips went to my ear. "I love you, I am glad that you are well and that our kids are well."

I turned around and kissed him softly. "I love you too." I turned back around and continued listening to my father-in-law tell stories about the Ivashkov brothers and sisters when they were small.