RPOV

Son of a bitch. I knew I didn't like her. But I never thought she had it in her to kill someone or to blame somebody else just to get to what she wanted. But as I looked at her, I think reason had left her a while ago.

I knew she wasn't doing this to be evil. I had seen evil in Isaiah and Galina. Their eyes had been cold and calculated. Every step they made, every life they took, they did it with purpose. And of course, satisfaction as was their nature, but they seemed in complete control of their actions and not simply led by instinct, rage or desire. But none of that was present in Tasha. Her eyes held so many emotions at once, it was hard to pinpoint what she was thinking. Fear, anger, rejection, and of course a whole shit load of crazy. Her eyes kept scanning over the crowd, but I doubt they were seeing anything. In one word, she was unhinged, all pretense of the sane person she seemed only a day ago gone.

She wasn't helping her own cause. Her actions were plain for everyone to see now. I could already see the disdain on people's faces about what she had done. Although I bet it was more for the horrible death she had caused Tatiana, than the fact she had framed me.

She was digging her own grave. Or as the case may be, that of others. She inhaled, and I knew she was desperate enough to unleash her flame here just to get out of it. I don't think she was targeting anybody, her eyes never regained focus. I might have expected her to target me, but she didn't seem to be coherent anymore. She just wanted to get out of there. She knew what being sentenced meant, so she was willing to risk it now, so she could avoid execution.

Her chest plate lit up, and her fire underneath was visible. You could see it moved from deep within her chest towards the surface following its natural path towards her snout. It seemed to take forever, but in reality, it must have been a split second. I calculated the direction I thought she would unleash her flame and saw a single person in her path.

Lissa. I don't think she realized it, because I doubt she would want to hurt Christian, but she was in the line of fire. I didn't hesitate, my movement was almost instinctual. I had wondered, now that I had something to live for besides Lissa if I would still be willing to sacrifice myself for her, but I had my answer. I would always save her. No matter the cost to me. Not to mention Tasha would have taken out two monarchs in as many days, and I couldn't let that happen.

So I threw off my robe, and let the flames engulf me in a protective layer as I moved towards Lissa. The bright light around me seemed to shock some people, but unfortunately, it didn't deter Tasha from her path.

We reached her at the same time. Her flame crashed into me, pushing Lissa and me into the wall. Her flame was indeed hot. Galina had tried to burn me when I was like this, but I didn't even feel her, but Tasha's flame was different. Like Christian's, it burned extremely hot and despite my own flame being able to match the heat and intensity, I could feel the power of it burning me away. I was just glad Lissa was on the other side of me, protected from the blaze.

I pushed as much as I could, burning hotter myself to combat the flame trying to consume us both. But even I had a limit to my power but luckily so did she. The blinding light created by our flames suddenly dissipated, as if someone had thrown a blanket over us, shrouding us in darkness. I didn't see anything except total blackness. I fell to the ground, and I realized that some of the blackness wasn't from the lack of light, but the lack of consciousness. I passed out before my body had fully hit the ground. The only thing I did see, and what brought me enough peace to let my body fall unconscious, was the steady rise and fall of Lissa's chest.

I woke up in a soft plushy bed. I winced when I tried to get up. My entire body hurt. I could barely move. As a matter of fact, as I tried to sit up or get out, my body was unresponsive.

"Wow Rose, take it easy."

Her voice was a welcome sound, and I immediately relaxed as I felt Lissa's hand rest on my shoulder.

I opened my eyes which required a lot more energy than it should have.

"You need to lay still Rose. You have been hurt a bit in your fight with Tasha. I have made that special ointment you like and Karolina is making some sort of tea which is also supposed to help."

Lissa's special ointment. Lissa had a bit of a gift when it came to healing. Somehow instinctually she knew which herbs she needed to combine to treat a wound. Whether it was a rash, a burn or a scrape, her ointments always worked. Karolina's tea was also pretty good; it helped me heal fast last time, although I wondered how much of that had been my hybrid blood.

"What… is …wrong…with…me?" Man, that took a lot of energy to get out.

"Don't worry Rose, you'll be up in no time. The theory is that you spend so much energy maintaining your flame to protect me, you simply didn't have anything left. It is just about getting your energy up again, and you'll be good as new."

"Dimitri?" I asked trying to look around the room, recognizing it as his chambers, well I suppose our chambers now.

"I sent someone to let him know you woke up. He had been here a lot, but he had to be by Adrian's side too. There is a lot to do for his coronation."

I nodded.

Lissa was quiet after that. I could see her almost crying. I asked her the silent question because asking it out loud just seemed so much work. I just kept staring at her until she finally broke down. She threw herself at me in a dramatic gesture, sobbing into my chest.

"Oh, Rose. I am so sorry."

What did she have to be sorry about?

"I am so sorry I doubted you. When you were off to war and when you were taking care of Dimitri, I felt you abandoned me, like you picked him over me. But you nearly died protecting me from Tasha. You didn't hesitate, you just jumped in front, and now you can't MOVE!"

And she started to wail again. I tried to comfort her, but my voice was silent and my hand was still.

"I am such as horrible, horrible person."

She pulled back a little and quieted her sobbing a bit.

"I know you will always protect me, Rose. I know you want a life with Dimitri and at first, I was worried you would leave me. I mean Viktoria is fine, I like her, and when Christian is around I hardly need any protection, but I selfishly wanted my best friend by my side. I wanted you to always be there. Now I know you will be there for me when I need you."

She hugged me again, and I crossed my eyes behind her. She needed me to almost die for her to realize this? Yes, I wanted my own life. I had my own life now, but she would always be a priority for me.

I tried to hug her as best as I could.

"I love you, Liss," I whispered. I didn't know if my voice reached her, but she hugged me a little tighter.

After a long hug, that I was unable to get out of even if I wanted too, and at some point, I had wanted to, Lissa got up to get me some water. I saw her wince a bit and rub a sore spot on her back. I also saw that she was wearing a dress with loose sleeves. I would recognize that wince anywhere.

"Lissa? Do you have… something to tell me?" Well, I was getting that out better than the last sentence.

She turned towards me and blushed, but where I would have expected joy, she also seemed a little apprehensive. I looked around the room but didn't see Christian anywhere.

"Liss? Help me up."

Liss walked over to me, placed the cup of water on the side and helped me up a little higher on the pillow. The sight was funny. I was pretty much dead weight and I couldn't move to help her. Lissa was very slim and had no muscle what so ever, so her trying to pull me up a bit must have looked hilarious. But somehow she managed to place me a little higher so I could at least pretend I was sitting up.

"Tell me what happened. He claimed you, didn't he?"

Lissa nodded, again looking more ashamed than happy. I lifted my hand a bit and moved it over towards her hand only a few inches to the left. Yet it felt like a few miles by the effort it took me to move it. I was very glad when her hand was underneath mine, and I could crash my hand on top of hers.

"Liss. Tell me, where is lord Snarkyness anyway?"

"He claimed me, Rose. It happened before everything with Tasha. It was amazing, and I love him so."

There was that smile I had expected a moment ago. That smile that I wore permanently now too. The smile that said that you and your mate were bonded forever, and maybe a little afterglow from the claiming itself.

"So why are you looking down then?"

Then she started crying again. I had no idea what I had done, but her wailing was insufferably loud.

"Because now you won't be my guardian anymore, because I married the nephew of the person that tried to kill you by framing you for murder! I had already been thinking about redecorating the room next to me to house you and Dimitri when you are at the palace. I had the curtains picked and everything even ordered a giant bed. And now it will all go to waste."

She buried her head in her hands and kept sobbing. I rolled my eyes. I was wondering what had her more upset, the curtains or me not being a constant in her life anymore?

"Lissa? Liss!" She looked up and sniffed.

"I am not going to abandon you. I don't blame Christian for any of this."

"You don't?"

"Of course not." Christian and I had been through so much together. It wasn't just about making Lissa happy, Christian had a special place in my heart. And although I knew he would take the situation with Tasha personally, I also knew Christian as a person and he was a good man, he wouldn't have had anything to do with what Tasha did.

"Now tell me about him claiming you. The romantic bits, I don't need the details of the actual act."

Seemingly satisfied with my proclaimed peace with Christian, she giggled but gushed about how he had followed human tradition and proposed and how they would have a human ceremony in the summer when she would take the throne. Yeva had performed the ritual which had been surprisingly painless. She was still talking a mile a minute, the curtains making an appearance again when a flustered Dimitri came into the room.

"Roza." He rushed to my side and grabbed my hand as he bent down next to me to come to my level.

"Are you okay? I was so worried."

"Fine, exhausted, frustrated I have no control over my body and starving."

He chuckled, but lifted me up a little better and placed a soft pillow behind my back.

"I suppose I have to feed you then."

He got up and grabbed me a plate filled with bread and meat. I tried to pull the bread apart with my hands, but although I had progressed to being able to pick up the piece of bread, tearing it apart still was beyond my capabilities. Dimitri grabbed the bread, and plucked off small pieces and handed it to me.

"What happened? Where is Christian?"

Dimitri sat down on the bed with me, and Lissa started to fidget again.

"He is visiting Tasha in the cells right now. He doesn't want to come here, so I imagine he will leave for his room afterward."

"I get it. I wouldn't want to be around me either if I were him. I mean, I was the one who called out Tasha." I looked down at my hands. They were unmoving, and right now it had nothing to do with lack of energy. I knew she had wronged me and deserved punishment, but she was Christian's only family, and he was my friend. I could have handled it better.

Dimitri shook his head, and a small humorless smile made its way onto his face.

"He doesn't want to come here, because he doesn't want to hurt you. It was his aunt that nearly got you killed."

I groaned and laid back.

"Oh for God sakes. I don't blame Christian, and we should get this out of the way before it becomes awkward. He is your best friend and my best friend's boyfriend, not to mention my friend as well. We need this sorted out. Let him come here when he is finished."

I tasked Lissa to get Christian when he was finished visiting his aunt. After about two hours he walked into our chambers in human form. He looked down at the ground, his shoulders hunched over. He sat down in a chair and purposely kept it a few feet away. I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy.

"How is Tasha?"

He shrugged. "Pretty much same as you. She expended most of her strength trying to hurt you and Lissa."

He quickly gazed at Lissa, and I could see a peculiar mix of love and shame in his eyes. Afterall, his aunt had targeted Lissa too. I doubt she had planned it or meant it, but if I hadn't intervened, Lissa would have been dead because of her right now. Maybe he was also a bit shameful he hadn't been able to save Lissa. Or maybe he was blaming himself for not seeing Tasha descent into madness.

"Oyi, Snarky."

He looked up a little shocked and maybe a little pissed off, but at least the shame was driven from his eyes.

"Did I not spend four months, by your side, defying the army and torturing Snow Dragons to save our loved ones and risk everything for them?"

He nodded.

"Did I not trust you without words and without a doubt?"

He nodded again.

"Did I not turn to you to try and save those stupid boys from getting killed?"

Again he nodded.

"Do you still trust me?"

He looked up at me.

"Of course I do."

"Okay then, that is settled. Now, of course, I will have to hurt you because you didn't ask me before claiming Lissa. I might have to add mint oil to your water again. Try and mark her with that pathetic flame."

He grinned and shook his head.

"At least I didn't mark her entire body. There isn't a part of you Dimitri didn't mark."

He had mischief in his eyes and had his arms crossed defiantly. My own face reflected a similar smirk.

"Probably because you couldn't muster up enough flame to do it. Or maybe other parts of your stamina were lacking? I mean it was a very lengthy process for us."

He was about to retort with a quick whip, but Dimitri held up his hand.

"That is enough you two. You will have time to insult each other later. Christian, why don't you take Lissa and go to your room? Rose needs to rest."

Christian nodded in his direction, a lot more at ease than when he had come in. He grabbed Lissa, and she waved as she walked by and they left our room. Dimitri took off his shirt and laid down next to me. He had to help me down.

"Lissa has a room ready to decorate at the palace for us."

He simply hmphed in reply.

"And when we want a bit more privacy we can go to the cave."

He nodded again wordlessly.

"I imagine Lissa will also spend some time here because of Christian."

"Yes, I know he was making plans to make his alcove a bit more human-friendly" Dimitri responded.

"And we will have to be here a lot too right, with Adrian?"

He nodded.

"At first yes, I am appointed battle lord and will have to deal with the military part. But I suppose after Adrian has settled in and provided there is peace, I doubt I will have to be here a lot. We will be freer to move about. Just like I was before."

I snuggled closer to him. I suppose we would work it all out. We will have three homes, although I would always consider Dimitri's cave our real home, even if I spent only a few weeks there, where I had spent my whole life with Lissa. But the most important thing was that we were together. I would still be able to be there for Lissa, and Dimitri could still do his job as General, but we also had our own lives and a duty to each other now. And I couldn't be happier.

Everything had worked out in the end. After being bound my entire life, after the war and torture, we were finally where we were supposed to be. And with that, I drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Well, that was until Dimitri uttered some words to me that made me want to go to war all over again.

"Oh, tomorrow we will have tea with my mother and grandmother, so they can get to know you better."

END

That is it folks.

My biggest story so far is finished. I had a lot of fun writing it and hearing everyone's comments en speculations. Thanks to everyone who took the time to review, fav and follow.