Ch. 29

CPOV

Song: What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get? by Snow Patrol

We had done it. We had actually pulled it off. She was alive. And she was here. Well...mostly.

I don't know what I had expected exactly. It's not like things would go back to normal just like that. I knew she would feel immense guilt for the sins she committed in her time as Strigoi, but I only had the surface knowledge of some of the things she had done. After seeing her use her magic against one of her accomplices at The Ivy, who knows what she did to others who she didn't consider allies. Or others who were innocent.

Lissa wasn't that same monster we went up against in that room—that I was sure of. But she also wasn't the Lissa I knew before all this chaos wrecked our lives. It was like not all of her had come back to me yet.

She hadn't spoken since we brought her back. The only two people she would even let near her were me and Eva. If Rose so much as looked her way, Lissa would cower and hide her face in my chest. I was more than happy to comfort her—holding her in my arms again was something I thought I would only be able to do in my dreams—but I was starting to get the feeling she was doing it out of necessity rather than want.

But the way she looked at Eva. It was as if she was entranced by her. She hadn't yet looked me in the eye.

The two of them seemed to be harboring some sort of secret between one another. I could tell Eva desperately wanted to get a moment alone with her, but I wasn't sure if it was the best idea right now.

Then there was the other issue. Dimitri. He hadn't woken up after Lissa used her Spirit magic on him and we had to haul ass to a hospital nearby. Luckily, Abe was able to quickly find us one that treated Dhampirs and Moroi so we were able to avoid any speculative questioning. We checked Dimitri and Lissa in under fake names, hoping that would be enough to keep us under the radar for now.

Rose only left Dimitri's side long enough to seek me out and quickly ask if there had been any changes with Lissa. I wasn't sure how she was still holding it together, but damn that girl was strong.

A nurse came by to check on Lissa for any injuries and she silently obliged, but when they offered her blood she refused. She seemed almost scared and repulsed by it. Eva, however, indulged and seemed much better after feeding. Watching her drink from the other room only increased my thirst. I had used a good amount of magic and hadn't fed for a while now, leaving me feeling completely drained. I wanted to stay by Lissa's side, but after seeing her reaction to blood earlier, I decided to go into the next room.

"I'll just be next door, okay," her gaze glued to the floor as I spoke. "I won't be long." I looked at her for a moment longer, hoping for some sort of reaction. When she didn't give me one, I'll admit it hurt, but I turned to Eva and asked, "Stay with her till I get back?"

Eva's eyes shot from Lissa over to me and she nodded enthusiastically. I wasn't sure if it was the best idea, but my options were limited and I had to keep my strength up if I was going to look out for her the next couple of days. I stood up from my seat and headed over to the door. I spared one last glance at Lissa, hoping she would finally meet my gaze. When she didn't, I let out a sigh and moved through the door, immediately regretting my decision as it shut behind me.

Eva POV

Song: Heaven Sent by Mr. Little Jeans

I don't know what it was about her, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. I had restored Strigoi in the past, but somehow it was different this time. Now that she wasn't tainted by those horrifying features that distinguished them from us, she was beautiful. Almost...angelic.

Her blonde hair fell down her back like waves of wheat and I felt the urge to reach out and stroke it. Her eyes were like the ocean, no longer marred by that devious red. They were unlike any color I had ever seen. I stared at them, wondering if there were others like hers or if she was the only one of her kind. When she eventually looked up at me I quickly averted my gaze to avoid frightening her.

She had been avoiding looking at Christian and I didn't want her to freak out on me because I got caught staring at her. I nervously tugged at my unruly hair and tried to think about anything other than her hair, her eyes, her face. Then she showed me another beautiful feature of hers that entranced me above all else. Her voice.

"Eva?" The sound pulled my eyes back to hers and I tried to think of a way to get her to use it again. I came up short on words and just nodded instead, entranced by that sweet, melodious tune. "How—" her brow scrunched as she struggled to find the right words. "What did you do? How am I here? Like this." She looked at her palms, inspecting the color that had been brought back to them.

"With Spirit," I replied. Her eyes went wide and shot to mine again.

"Spirit," she whispered, her hands dropping slowly to her lap.

"Yes. Adrian told me you have Spirit too," I spoke slowly and calmly. "I saw how you healed Dimitri. The light inside you is strong."

"Dimitri," her face turned beautifully solemn. "Is he—is he okay?" Her voice was pained and full of shame. I hadn't been to check on him yet, but I could only assume if Rose wasn't screaming to all hell, that he was at least alive.

"I think so." It was the best I could do. Her gaze moved back to her lap and water began to fill her sea-green eyes. I reached my hand over and grasped hers, needing to comfort her in some small way. "He will be. Thanks to you." She looked at my hand on hers and slowly moved her gaze all the way up my arm and to my face. My heart raced under her admiring stare and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

I cleared my throat to steady my pulse and moved my hand back to my own lap. She seemed somewhat calm now and it peaked my curiosity. There was something I had been dying to ask her, but I was afraid of scaring her off. Maybe now that I had her talking, it was a good time as any to try. Before I could chicken out, I went for it. "Princess, I need to ask you about Nikolai."

After I restored her I looked across the room where Kristof's lifeless body had been, afraid that he may have healed and was ready to take me out now that I was vulnerable—but he had vanished. I'm not sure when he made his escape, or where to, but I needed to find out.

Her expression hardened slightly, but she held my gaze nonetheless. "The Order sent him to me for protection."

"The Order," I questioned. Rose had mentioned that name after she spied on Vasilisa through the bond. We were so focused on everything else that had happened, we hadn't really thought to look into it more. She nodded in response, with an eerily knowing look in her eyes. "Who is the—"

My next question was cut off when the door to the room creaked open and Vasilisa's gaze shot back down to the floor. Christian walked in, looking about ten times better, but somehow that made me more irritated than relieved. Christian had been my biggest ally amongst this group, but as he sat down next to the Princess and pulled her close to him, I suddenly felt a pang of resentment towards him.

Lissa leaned into his embrace but turned her observing eyes to me once more, enrapturing me into her elegant spell again.

DPOV

Songs: Morning by Beck, Renegade by Styx

The last thing I saw as my vision slipped away were her soft, brown eyes. They held sadness and concern, tears pouring out of them, but I was thankful for them all the same. She was safe. The Princess was safe. And my Roza would live on.

I upheld my promise to her and helped her bring back her best friend. I stayed by her side until the end and held her in my arms one last time.

I could only pray that I had done enough good in this life to earn the right to stand beside her again in the afterlife. I let the darkness cover me like a draping sheet and pull me away from her. My heart began to still and my mind drifted to an image of her smiling face.

Somehow death was warmer than I thought it would be. Just as quickly as the darkness came, a new light formed in its place. It was soothing and sweet. My broken body felt lighter than before as it was pulled to a new place. But to where, I wasn't sure.

I thought I heard someone say my name, a man's voice. It sounded oddly like Adrian's, but it couldn't have been. Last I saw, he was beside Rose. Alive. Something I was not.

That same pleasant light coursed through me, rejuvenating me with each pulse of my heart. But my heart had stopped? I could feel it wrapping around my bones, tugging at my fingertips, dancing across my eyes.

My eyes. They felt heavy, but somehow lighter than before. I realized they were still shut. When I decided it was time I faced this new light, I struggled to get them open. They slowly splintered, closing slightly before opening again as they adjusted to the blinding light.

I let out a soft moan as the brightness shot waves of pain into my head and heard shuffling beside me in response. Something pressed into my hand. Something soft and familiar. I squeezed back, causing faint bolts of electricity to dart up my arm.

I finally mustered the strength to open my eyes fully, and could now see a dark silhouette forming through the bright lights. "Dimitri, can you hear me?"

The voice of an angel called out to me, the sweetness flowing into my ears and filling my chest. My vision started to align and I could make out the features of my love. My Roza. "Moya milaya," I breathed out. My heart soared at the radiant vision above me. But that relief and bliss quickly morphed into another realization.

"Why are you here with me," I asked her. This wasn't right. She was alive. I was not. She shouldn't be here. "You were safe," I whispered, trying not to let the panic and shooting pain in my skull take over my senses.

"It's alright, Dimitri," her heavenly voice soothed as she gently ran her hand across my cheek. "We're both safe. You're here with me." I blinked a few times, letting her words seep in, still not fully understanding them. I looked around as much as my heavy head would allow and could see a small window behind her, a faint light coming in through it. The walls were stark white, just like the floor, and there was a burning clean smell throughout the space.

"What—where are we?" I felt a small twinge in my ribs as I tried to sit up. Rose gently pressed her hand into my shoulder, holding me in place.

"Don't try to move around. Not just yet," she guided. "Lissa tried to heal you, but there is still a lot of damage to mend. You need rest."

Lissa. Suddenly, my thoughts were clearer. The light. The warmth. It wasn't the afterlife. It was Vasilisa. "She—she healed me," I faintly asked. Rose nodded and smiled in response as she stroked my hair. I reached up and grasped on to her hand. "So you're really here? We're here together?"

"Yes," she breathed out with tears forming in her eyes. I reached my other hand up to the back of her neck, suppressing a wince at the movement, and pulled her closer to me so that our foreheads touched. We stayed there for a moment, breathing in each other and just being there. For the first time, we weren't running off on some life-threatening mission or plotting a way to face our enemies head on. We were just here. Nothing was certain except for the fact that we had each other. She was mine and I was hers. And that was all I needed.

I felt a small, warm droplet hit my cheek and realized my eyes had closed. When I opened them I could see streaks of tears running down Rose's face. "Shh, milaya. Everything's alright." I pulled her head to my chest and wrapped her in my arms. "I thought you were gone," she quietly sniffled.

I stroked my hand through her silky hair and closed my eyes as I reveled in the feeling of it between my fingertips. A feeling I never thought I would get to indulge in again. "I told you, Roza," I whispered in assurance. "I will never leave you."

/

I must have drifted off because the next thing I knew I was waking up again, but Rose was no longer on my chest. My head was slightly less fuzzy and my vision was crisp. I moved my arm to stretch and test out my flexibility, but something hindered my movements. Where the warmth from Roza's hand had been, was now something rough and cold clamped around my right wrist. I tried to move again and looked down to see what was stopping me from maneuvering.

The fluorescent light caught a silver ring chained to the hospital bed, sending a flash of realization into my gut. My eyes darted around the room, searching for Rose but she was nowhere to be found. Outside the door, I could make out a tall figure through the slim window standing unnervingly still.

They found me.

I yanked at the handcuffs keeping me strapped to the bed, causing a clanking noise to reverberate off the white tiled floors. The shadowed figure by my door shifted at the sound and I tugged harder, trying to wrench my arm free.

The door handle moved and voices carried into the room as the door retched open. Two men dressed in all black shuffled in and moved beside me to reinforce my restraints. I thrashed against one of them, causing a shooting pain to leech up my side. I let out a growl, half in frustration and half in reaction to the pain. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way," a voice called out as a third figure walked into the room. "The way I see it is you're battered, outnumbered, and currently strapped down to that sorry excuse for a bed. I could always have the nurse add more drugs to your IV, but I'd prefer to have a civilized conversation."

I looked up to the familiar voice to see a man I recognized. Hans Croft, the head Guardian at Court, was standing at the end of my bed. If he was here, it was very clear that these other two men were not the only Guardians on patrol. He was right. I was seriously outnumbered.

"Now I'm only going to ask this once, and your answer will determine how the rest of this will play out." I stared at him deadpanned, refusing to give anything away. "Where is Princess Vasilisa Dragomir?"

A/N: I'm back! Sorry for the absence, I hope it wasn't too painful. Maybe hearing from Dimitri made up for it? Thanks for sticking around :)