Another quick update! I think my writers block as gone (fingers crossed!)

Thank you to dnelson34, disha(), guardiana, xDropDeadBeautifulx, cheerleader1100, melissamary55, Kris Ivashkov25, Deanna64 for the reviews and favourites! I can't believe I got to a hundred! Thank you all so much for sticking with it and telling me how much you like the story, it is very much appreciated!

On a personal note, I also have very good news. I'M GETTING MARRIED! My boyfriend proposed to me yesterday! I'm so happy it is unbelievable. So I might not be updating as often because, although we've decided not to get married for another couple of years, that is not going to stop me looking at wedding dresses and venues and making wedding plans. But who can blame me, right!

And thank you guys again for your continued support, I really do appreciate it and I honestly never expected this much of a response! You guys are amazing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy.

When I woke up my head throbbed. I tried to rub my forehead but I couldn't move my arms. I had been tied up.

"Fucking bastard!" I shouted and tried to get myself free to no avail. "Shit!"

At that moment I was pulled into Lissa head. She was drunk and about to throw herself out of a sixth floor window. Not a great time to be tied up. Cheers, Simon.

"Lissa, you shouldn't be doing that." I heard Avery say and Lissa turned to face her.

Not you again. Avery said in my head and she pushed me out again. Bitch! What was I going to do? Lissa was in danger and I was tied to my bed with no way of helping her. All I could do was watch as Avery did whatever it was she had planned. She was going to pay for this.

I tried to put things together in my head. What the hell had happened in the few short weeks that Avery had been here that led to this? Obviously Simon was in on it otherwise he wouldn't have attacked me and Avery had been lying to everyone about her element. I bet she used compulsion not only to manipulate everyone but to hide her aura too otherwise Adrian and Lissa would have known she was a spirit user straight away.

But there was something else that didn't add up. Why isolate Lissa? Why split up Adrian and I? It didn't sound like an evil master plan but then evil master plans didn't sound like evil master plans until the 'big reveal' at the end when the good guys were about to be killed and the evil master is laughing and twirling his moustache. Well, that's what happened in movies anyway.

My phone started to ring and I could just see the display to see that it was Adrian. What was he calling me for? I couldn't answer because of the flex cuffs binding my hands so I just had to let it ring. I had more important things to think about than Adrian. I felt bad about for even considering he had been cheating on me and I had kissed Dimitri because of it. Ain't life a bitch?

I sighed defeated. I kept trying to go into Lissa's head but Avery was blocking me out. I did catch glimpses and I noticed that Simon and Reed were there sort of overseeing everything and Avery was sitting in the corner focussing on Lissa, who seemed to be getting closer and closer to jumping.

"Rose!" Adrian burst through the door and I have never been so happy to see him in my life.

"Adrian! We have to get to Lissa. Avery's a spirit user!" I said as he started to untie me.

"I know. She told me everything she's planning before that brother of hers knocked me out. It isn't good, Rose." He said gravely.

When I was free I ignored Adrian and ran to Lissa. She was over the other side of campus and I prayed that I got there in time. I ran flat out, never stopping, glad that Dimitri made me run all those laps. Adrian lagged behind but he'd catch up eventually.

I burst through a large wooden door and gasped. Lissa was standing on a window ledge with Reed trying to push her. A brief glimpse in her head told me that she was fighting Avery's compulsion, how I didn't know but it was a start.

Simon immediately attacked me but I was prepared. I dodged his punch and kicked him between his legs. His knees gave way and I kicked him again in the face, breaking his nose. I kicked him another three times for good measure.

"Lissa! Don't do it! You have to fight it!" I shouted as I ran towards where Reed was standing, planning on dispatching him as I had Simon.

"Rose?" I heard Lissa's pleading voice.

I heard Adrian come in behind me. "Rose, Avery's compelling Lissa to jump. I'm gonna try and stop her." He said.

What? "How?" I said to him pulling his arm so he could stand in front of me. We didn't know how strong Avery was and she could do anything to Adrian. I mean, spirit users could go mad, and Adrian was mad enough as it was.

He looked at me with those emerald green eyes. How I missed those eyes. He cupped my face and I loved the warmth. Oh, God I missed him so much. "If can get into her head, I might be able to do something. Compel her or something. I'm not really sure but I have to try. You sort out Lissa."

I moved out if Adrian's grip and towards Lissa. I punched Reed square in the face and he stumble stopping him pushing Lissa. He came at me but I quickly knocked him out with no effort at all.

"Lissa, come away from the window." I said, hoping that Adrian had managed to break Avery's compulsion.

"I want to, but I can't. She's making me. Make it stop, Rose." She begged as I tried to physically drag her away from the window.

"Rose, I can't break it!" I heard Adrian say from across the room. "She keeps pushing me out. Maybe if Liss tried as well it might work."

"Lissa, do you think you can push the spirit into Avery? Like you put the darkness into me?" I asked.

"I'll try. But I don't really know what do to. " She whispered and I could see a look of concentration on her face. It would harder because she had been drinking.

I heard a whimper from across the room and saw Avery start to squirm in her chair.

"What's happening?" I asked.

"She's fighting back." Adrian said through gritted teeth. "The darkness is going into Simon and Reed so she can wield more spirit. They're bonded to her. She wanted to bond to Lissa that's why she did all this, isolate her, and make it look like Lissa would kill herself so she could bring her back."

When Adrian had finished talking I felt a searing pain explode through my skull. I cried out in pain and could just hear Adrian's voice over the ringing in my ears that accompanied the pain.

"She's putting it into Rose! Lissa, you need to stop fighting Avery, you're bridging the gap! This could kill her!"

"I can't!" she shouted.

I screamed again as another wave of whatever it was hit me. I feel to my knees and clutched my head. "Adrian!" I shouted.

I felt his hands on either side of my face and his brought my head up to look at him.

"Baby, fight her. You're strong enough, Rose. Fight it." He whispered to me.

"I don't know how." I whispered and cried out in pain again as another wave of pain hit me. "Don't let her kill me, Adrian." I begged. I didn't want to die, not without telling Adrian I loved him, without having a life with him, as much as I could at least. I wanted to live, but the pain, how could it ever stop?

"Just concentrate. Just like how you fight the darkness. Fight against the pain." He pleaded.

I looked into Adrian's green eyes and saw his love and caring and that was what I needed. He was the one to could help me fight the darkness and he was the one who could help me fight Avery. Because I love him and he loved me and that was what mattered. Just like I did with the darkness I fought against it. I couldn't say exactly what I did but whatever it was it worked.

I heard Avery cry out from across the room and then slump against the chair she sat in. Her eyes glazed over, not moving. The pain in my head was gone but I was still shaky as Adrian helped me up. This has to be the weirdest thing I have ever experienced/witnessed.

"What exactly happened?" I asked as I surveyed the scene.

Lissa was standing by Avery shaking her, Simon and Reed, who had regained consciousness during the 'spirit battle', were in a similar state to Avery they were slumped on the floor, mumbling incoherently.

"From what she told me before, she wanted to bond Lissa to her for whatever reason but that kind of backfired. I don't think she expected me and Lissa to try and break her compulsion. That's why she pushed it into you. She couldn't risk herself or anyone else being affected by the spirit, apart from you. She didn't need you in her plan."

"What about what she did to us? Lying about you having an affair?" I asked.

He reached out and cupped my face. "I don't know. Maybe she just had a thing for me." he smirked and I couldn't help but smile. "But at least you know that nothing happened between us. It was all compulsion." He leaned in closer. "I love you, little dhampir." He whispered and he kissed me lightly.

How I could think Dimitri's kisses were anything like this I will never know. This is where I belong. With Adrian. I know I had to tell him about me kissing Dimitri but that would come later. For now I just needed him.

I clung to him, pulling us closer, deepening the kiss. Nothing else existed, just us. It had only been two weeks since we broke up but they had been the worst two weeks of my life.

A delicate cough brought us back to reality. "What do we do now? How do we explain this to Principal Lazar?" Lissa said coming to join us.

I shrugged, my gaze not leaving Adrian, my hands still clutching his shirt while his were still tangled in my hair. "I don't know. Right now, I don't really care." I said and I leaned forward to kiss Adrian again.

Lissa grabbed my arm and dragged me away. "Rose, we need to concentrate. We need to go and see Principal Lazar and explain this." She said seriously.

"Yeah, I know." I smiled at Adrian and pulled Lissa into a hug. "I missed you, Liss." I whispered.

"I missed you too. I'm so sorry, Rose. I didn't mean..."

"I know, it was compulsion." I said and I pulled away. "Let's get this over with." I said, grabbing Adrian's hand and leaving Avery and her crazy minions where they were. There was sick and twisted part of me that was happy that Avery had got her comeuppance but, I was also really pissed off that I didn't even get the chance to kick her ass.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Principal Lazar had decided to resign from his position as Principal for 'personal reasons' meaning Kirova was back in charge. Avery, Reed and Simon had been taken to some mental institution because they had gone completely crazy and unresponsive to anything. Everything had been explained to Jill, Eddie and Christian about Avery and her compulsion although Christian was reluctant to get back together with Lissa despite being told it couldn't be helped. Stupid ass.

It was kind of the same with Adrian and I. He said he loved me, I knew he hadn't done anything with Avery and I loved him. But I felt so guilty about kissing Dimitri, I just couldn't bring myself to tell him about it and until I could, I couldn't be with him. It sounded stupid, I know, Lissa and Jill thought so too but it made sense to me.

Graduation was in a week so, again, we continued with our work and I continued training. Dimitri's sessions were awkward but I dealt with it, only speaking to Dimitri when necessary and avoiding looking at him as much as possible.

With Lissa and Christian and me and Adrian not together anymore it kind of made things awkward between us, so we didn't really spend that much time together anymore. I told Lissa that I had probably done more school work since splitting with Adrian than I had in my entire school life, meaning I would probably have half decent grades when I graduate along with my impeccable guardian record. My behaviour record is another matter all together.

My eighteenth birthday was the same day as graduation so I had nothing really planned. I knew there would be graduation parties across campus and I was happy to let them serve as a birthday party. I didn't really want the fuss, not anymore at least.

Before graduation however there was the final novice exam. School guardians acting as Strigoi attacked a novice and their Moroi (who was also a guardian) and the novice had to eliminate the Strigoi whilst protecting their Moroi, making sure they were not harmed. My mother had come to watch me take my exam and along with Dimitri offered me words of reassurance but that didn't calm my nerves.

I somehow managed to pass the exam, although they made it that much harder for me according to Dimitri, and I was told I was graduating top of the class because of it. Now that I never expected.

"Congratulations, Rose! I'm so proud of you!" my mom said and hugged me tightly.

"Thanks, Mom." I hugged her back. "You staying for the graduation ceremony?"

"Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it for the world. I'll give you your present as well." She pulled away and smiled and hurried off after Alberta.

"Well done, Roza." Dimitri said, hugging me to. I hugged him back half heartedly. "You alright? After everything with Avery Lazar and Adrian I can imagine it's been tough."

I pulled away and looked at him. "Yeah it has been tough, but knowing Adrian never cheated makes me feel terrible." I looked down at my feet.

"Rose, you did what you thought was best. You can't feel bad about that or, "he lowered his voice, "our kiss, you weren't with him, Roza. You did nothing wrong."

"You would say that! I bet you loved it when I split with Adrian and kissed you!" I tried to keep my voice down but I was so angry all of a sudden. Lissa said it was because of the spirit she had to use against Avery.

"Rose, calm down. I hated seeing you upset and yes, there was a part of me that was wishing you would come to me but I never want to see you hurt." He pleaded.

"Whatever, comrade." I said and I walked away. I didn't want to talk to him anymore. I went back to my room because I was so pissed off I just wanted to be on my own. I got a text from Eddie saying they were meeting up in Adrian's room to celebrate us passing our final exam but I ignored it. I didn't really feel like celebrating anymore.

I got into my room and decided to start packing. We would leave for Court two days after graduation so I was a bit premature but I needed something to do.

Looking back at my school career, I realised I had wanted to leave school as soon as I started and I couldn't wait to graduate and go off into the world and guard Lissa. But when I was faced with it I was absolutely terrified. Believe me I hated school with a vengeance but I was scared of the real world because if I screwed up, like I have a tendency to do on a regular basis, it could cost someone's life, Lissa's life and that freaked me out.

But, I was Rose Hathaway. I had killed Strigoi, fought crazy spirit wielding Moroi, fallen in love, lost a best friend, sent a royal to prison, and lived on the run for two years under constant threat of danger. All before the age of eighteen. If I could do all that then I could do anything that came my way. Well, that was the plan anyway.

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