He threw open the door to the Moroi dorm, shoving Lissa in ahead of him

"Adrian! What in the he—"

He pushed open the door, shoving her into the lobby. "Sorry. I just had a… weird feeling."

She stared at him a moment, eyes narrowed, then flounced towards the stairway. Shooting a winning smile at the matron on duty, Adrian followed after her. That is, until Castille grabbed his arm, halting his progress.

"Don't do that again," he warned. "I don't care who your aunt is. I'm not gonna stand by and watch my charge get manhandled."

Cocking his eyebrow, he shrugged off the young dhampir's hand. "You don't have to get huffy about it man. It won't happen again. It was a... momentary lapse."

Eddie looked as though he might press the issue, but instead turned to follow Lissa to her room. Adrian rolled his eyes at the boys intensity. How did someone so young become so passionate about a job? At his age he should be worried about girls and parties, not following a Moroi around and acting like a guard dog. With a heavy sigh, he jogged up the stairs, eager to get his hands on Lissa's well documented notes. If there was something—anything—that could help him assist Rose in handling spirit's darkness, they needed to find it.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he bit back a curse. Lissa had been waylaid outside her door.

She and Christian were embracing, but the dark haired Moroi pulled away as he spotted Adrian, an unhappy expression crossing his face. Eddie, slumped up against the wall beside them shot him a warning look as he approached. What the hell? Was everyone pissed off at him today?

"I thought you were going to your room?" Christian glared at him.

Smirking, Adrian shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging his shoulders. "I thought they might need me on hand, in case Lissa needed any healing." The lie rolled off his lips with ease. Thinking on the spot was something he'd learned early. It was a necessity if one was going to spend time at court.

"Sure you did." Turning to Lissa, Christian gave her a questioning glance. Judging by the blush that crept up her cheeks, the look had some intimate meaning that escaped Adrian completely.

"You go on ahead. We need to look something up. I'll be there as soon as I can," she said.

"What's so important it can't wait?"

"Rose… she took the darkness of spirit from me and it…" closing her eyes she shook her head. "We need to see if we can find anything about countering it."

Christian shot a questioning glance towards Adrian. "I thought she was with Belikov? He'll look after her."

Lissa leaned forward, kissing his cheek. "Twenty minutes, okay?"

"Fine." With a dramatic sigh, Christian brushed passed Adrian. "Don't keep me waiting too long."

The notes were useless. They had found nothing mentioned about counteracting the darkness. Not even a hint that it was possible. Lissa pushed the papers away, frowning as she glanced at her watch.

"Christian's going to kill me. I'm sorry Adrian, but I have to go."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. He'd been so sure that he'd seen something mentioning a way to alleviate spirit's side effects. "Maybe in the library there's—"

A frantic pounding on the door interrupted him. Eddie shot to the door, opening it only enough to peek through. The matron's frantic voice carried through the room, her words causing a chill to race down Adrian's spine.

"Get upstairs! All of you!" The dorm matron pointed down the hall. "We're under attack! Everyone has to go to the upper level."

Eddie was in action immediately, hovering at Lissa's side as he tugged her out the door.

Adrian stared at the matron as she left the doorway, the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach expanding at an alarming rate. This was it—what his vision had been about. What his mind had been hiding in its depths for days. Rose… Oh God, she was out there in the midst of it. He shot out the door, racing after her as she moved on to the room next door, repeating her frenzied warning.

"What do you know?" He asked the older woman as she moved to the next door.

"Please Lord Ivashkov, join the Princess and Novice Casteel up—"

He latched onto her arm, lacing his words with spirit. "Tell me what you know."

"Rose Hathaway alerted the guardians there were Strigoi on campus. She said Guardian Belikov was attempting to hold them off while she ran for backup. He told her to tell the others 'buria'. That's the… code word."

Buria. Storm. He could have prevented this. He released the woman, both physically and mentally, slowly heading down the hall towards the stairs. Belikov had stayed behind—alone—giving Rose a chance to escape. Adrian's eyes closed as he leaned against the wall. He sent his mind out, searching for the familiar aura, hoping he'd find it. Praying his stupidity hadn't—

There.

He was fighting. For just a moment, Adrian saw what the other man was seeing as he attempted to fend off three ancient looking Strigoi. While he watched one fell, Belikov riding its body to the ground as he twisted his silver stake into the chest. Graceful as a cat the man pivoted, springing to his feet to take on his next opponent.

Pulling his conscious back, he jogged up the remaining stairs. Belikov was holding his own. Knowing Rose, she was probably doing everything in her power to return to her lovers side. He refused to worry about them. Together, they would be unstoppable. He immediately reached the decision that his main concern right now should be reassuring Lissa. She had to believe that everything would be fine. The last thing Rose needed was for Lissa to become distraught and pull in too much darkness. If that happened, Rose might lose her ability to function in the middle of the fight. If she got pulled into Lissa's head while trying to kill a Strigoi—he shuddered at the thought. She had to stay focused, concentrating on the battle, and he'd do his damndest to keep her bond mate calm. The argument with Belikov in the clinic played through his head, reproaching him with each stair he ascended.

"You were positive it was a prophecy, Adrian."

"What if you're wrong? Are you willing to risk that? Try and remember, please. Tell me what you dreamed, just in case."

"Fine. If anything does happen—if Rose gets hurt—it's on your head Ivashkov. I hope you can live with that."

Biting his lip, he fought to contain the scream of denial he felt building with him. A scream that felt as if it were forming from the depths of his soul. People would die tonight, Moroi and Dhampir, and he knew that their blood—the blood of innocents—would be on his hands.

"Adrian!"

He spotted her—Castille had placed her in a corner and was positioned in front of her like a living shield. He pushed his way through the mass of bodies, wincing at the onslaught of emotions he was picking up from the auras he left in his wake. Lissa's aura was blazing brighter than the others, full of fear and terror. He knew who she was worried about, and tried to calm her as soon as he was close enough to speak without having to shout over the cacophony of voices in the lounge.

"Rose is fine," he said, struggling to make his voice as soothing as possible. He could see a tinge of darkness spreading through her aura. "She can take on any Strigoi. Besides, Christian told you she was with Belikov. She's probably safer than we are."

Lissa nodded, chewing at her lower lip. "But Christian…"

Fuck. He'd forgotten about her boyfriend. By now, the kid had probably been used as a Strigoi juice box. He glanced at Eddie, hoping the dhampir would help him out.

"If he's in the chapel, he's fine. He really is the safest of all of us." Castille offered.

"Unless they burn it down," said Lissa. "They used to do that."

"Four hundred years ago. I think they've got easier pickings around here without needing to go all medieval." He ran his hands through his hair. God, he needed a drink.

Lissa winced, closing her eyes. After a moment or two, she grabbed his hand. "If something happens to him… I love him so much—I couldn't bear it."

Pulling her into his arms, he dropped a kiss on the top of her blonde head. "I know exactly how you feel, cousin. Believe me."

As he tried his best to ease her mind, he found himself hoping that somehow, for the duration of this night, the madness would claim him. Anything would be better than hearing the echo of Dimitri Belikov's accusations rolling around in his head.