I was in a daze. I could hear mumbles around me. I could feel my neck lift off the ground in someone's arms before my legs bent around something hard and I was hovering. I couldn't open my eyes, and my mouth was totally disconnected from my brain.

Lights passed through what I could see. It felt and sounded like I was in a tunnel. Every voice echoed multiple times, so much that I could only just make them out. But my brain wasn't working right. I wasn't paying attention to the voices; they were watching the lights dancing in the air before they rested above my head, two straight, parallel, thick lines of light.

I closed my eyes for longer than necessary as hands flew around me and a high pitched voice screamed out to me.

"Come back to me, Rose. Come on. Breathe deeply for me." A loud voice sounded like it was shouting in my head.

I followed the instructions wordlessly. I wanted to say something, anything, but it wouldn't work. My mouth wouldn't even close, but I could swallow perfectly.

There was a compression on my chest, then another, then another. It hurt and I was quite sure I would bruise there tomorrow. If I lived through tomorrow.

"ROSE! Please!" the high pitched was being dragged away. A girl with blonde, curly hair. She was beautiful. She looked familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I didn't know her name, yet.

I tried to say something to stop the hurting in my chest, but I chocked on my words. I was slowly finding my mouth again, but only a mumble came out now.

I rolled my head to the side and opened my eyes as best as I could. I was so tired.

That was her. The blonde girl.

Lissa.

Yes. That was her. I remember…

Lissa.

My eyes flew open and I shot up into a seating position, almost smacking heads with a few of the people crowded around me. I coughed over the side of the bed, gasping for breath when I could get it in.

There was a cautious murmur. No one knew what was going on with us, and I guessed they were looking for an answer from me. But to tell the truth, I was just as confused as they were. Everything was happening so quickly…but there was only one answer that seemed possible for this to have happened.

I had a complete check up as I sat on the bed, again. There was nothing wrong with me, again, physically, but even though I had been sleeping for so long, I was so tired.

My legs swung over the side of the bed as I placed my head in my hands and shut my eyes. Dimitri came and sat next to me and pulled me into him. I looked up at him, and then leaned on his chest.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked softly.

I wasn't certain, but I had a pretty good idea.

"Victor," I chocked.

Someone stroked my hair. "What…?"

I looked to Dimitri. "Victor. He...He infected me, us. A virus."

Everyone was alarmed. "A virus? How is that possible?" Dimitri growled.

I shrugged. "He was trying to kill us, make us brain damaged. But something went wrong."

He stiffened. "I would say I want to kill him, but he's already dead."

I groaned. "I don't get this! He wasn't young and he wasn't killed violently! Why is he still hanging around?"

Dimitri rubbed my arm. "Right now, that doesn't matter. But you can be absolutely sure you aren't going outside the wards anytime soon."

"But what about Lissa? What about college?"

"She won't be going anywhere either until this is all sorted out." He soothed.

"It's got to be soon." I said, mostly to myself, hoping it was true. "That we can just live that happily ever after. Our dreams…" I sighed. "They're slipping away everyday."

He squeezed my shoulders. "We'll figure it out, Roza. I promise."

I pulled away from him to look at him. "How can you say that? How can you promise anything at this point?"

"I'm sorry, Rose. I just want to make this better."

"We all do." I breathed in. "And it won't be any time soon, will it?"

"Do you think it is?"

I shook my head. "No. It won't. But this isn't just going to go away by itself."

"So what are you going to do?"

I thought about it for about a minute. What was I going to do? I couldn't just let him terrorize us all this time, even if he would go away in about a month. I couldn't risk that again, and what if I wasn't cured yet? What if this continued? We certainly couldn't test it without another complication.

I decided I would wait it out another month and try again. I saw no other choice, really. If I couldn't walk outside of the wards, I would let the infection get to me. I would slip away. I would float. Fade.

I would die. Again.

***Interval***

"OLENA!"

I ran at average speed as I saw her step out of the font passenger seat of the car. She saw me with wide eyes and hugged me tightly.

"Roza…" she whispered, a smile placed on her face. It had been a while since I had seen that genuine smile, all the way back before they didn't know anything about what had happened to Dimitri.

"I'm so sorry," I told her. "I wasn't allowed…"

She stroked my face, starting at the corner of my mouth and drawing my smile. "You were doing what you were told. Of course you had too." She smiled.

I smiled and hugged her again. "He's actually on duty at the moment, but we'll go put your bags in your room and then we'll go hunting for him."

She laughed. "Like you haven't been doing enough of that. I'm so glad you saved him, Rose. I owe you everything."

I shook my head and took her heaviest bag over my back. "You owe me nothing."

Sonya was already out of the car, followed by Viktoria. I tried my best to smile and wave at her, but she ignored me. Yep, still angry with me.

Sonya was a lot less round this time, which made me laugh at how shocked it made me. She bent into the back seat of the car, and produced a baby from within the car.

Sonya and Viktoria joined us, both their expressions different. Sonya was at least happy to see me.

"You felt the need not to tell Dimitri the details?" I asked her lightly.

She laughed. "It's payback."

"What did he ever do?" I asked curiously.

"I was the last to know about you."

I laughed with her then.

"Can I asked what he slash she is?"

She smiled and gestured for me to drop the bag. I did, and took the baby in my arms.

"Her name is Alicia."

"That's…wow."

Sonya laughed. "She's my world."

I carried the bag inside, the majority of it all. I set the bag down in the room for them and let them to settle in while I found Dimitri. Viktoria was still ignoring me, but I pretended to accept it, even though I would change that.

I searched the whole court before I looked at the time and saw that, technically, he would be just knocking off his duty. So now….he'd rather be in my room or his. He didn't know where his family was staying yet, so he relied on me to get the information out.

I went to my room so he would come and find me.

I unlocked the door and decided to change into my pyjamas. It was late. Most of the Moroi would be going to bed now, but I couldn't say that for the guardians. Everyone ran on a different schedule, and I was lucky to get five days off.

There was a knock on the day when my toes were just dry of red nail polish. I peaked out the crack of the door before opening it.

"Room one eighty nine." I told him.

He smiled. "Thank you."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and drew me into him.

"Aren't you coming?" he whispered into my ear.

I shook my head. "I've had my time with them for now." I told him. "Go have your family time. You need it lots more than I do now. Lots."

He laughed. "True. But you could come anyway."

"No dice, Comrade."

He sighed in fake disappointment. "Okay, Rosemarie."

I elbowed him playfully.

He laughed with me quietly before kissing me once, twice, three times. His arms squeezed around me.

"Go," I said finally. "I'm not going anywhere."

"By now, I choose not to believe it."

I rethought my words. "I won't go anywhere voluntary?"

He smiled. "Good enough."

I pushed him out the door. "Go. I'll be right here later if you want to come and…talk."

"Just like you're giving me family time, I'm giving you sleep." He told me. "Good night, Roza, and please, try not to get sucked into your dreams again. I was scared for you."

I smiled. "You're not scared of anything."

"If you still believe that by now, you haven't been paying attention."

I kissed him one more time before he left and promised me we would see each other tomorrow. I closed the door and leant against it, resting my head on it as I smiled.

Dimitri was mine. I still couldn't wrap my head around how strange that was. All through that, I had looked for him in a hope to give him his final wish, and now that he was home…he had changed, but it was nice. He acted like a boyfriend, mixed with the instructor and friend. I still looked up to him, after all this.

I still loved him.

I walked over to the window and saw the sunset. I envied it, to tell the truth. For billions of years, it's known what was coming.

Every night has its dawn.

"What's my dawn?" I whispered.

Was it death? Was I meant to die all those years ago? Had I been cheating fate? Would ending my life end the war?

I was sure of one thing, though. Something I couldn't tell Dimitri. He wouldn't let me; he would try to save me again. But this had all happened because of me, or people have just been able to manipulate me.

Through all the wars…

I would be the last sacrifice.

Hey

Lots of fluff coming up before the end of the book, so chill! No, I will tell you what the last chapter is! Breathe!

Love the reviews, guys. Got heaps that made me smile, which you guys know, I absolutely LUV!

Not to make myself look better or whatever, but I really like my ending. It just sort of…fit. It will come up (if all goes to plan) later too, I think. It'll be a finale you will play in your mind all day :)

Thanks once again

Lauren