We're already over half-way through the plot-line of Last Sacrifice so really close to the end now.

46. The Other Heir

(Sonya POV)

Less than twenty-four hours had passed since Robert Doru landed the blow that changed me back into a Moroi, and I was tired – so tired. All I wanted now was a few hours to myself to process everything that had happened but Rose had other plans. Like it or not, I was currently sitting in the back-seat of Sydney's CR-V calling out directions to Dimitri as he drove steadily north, bringing us ever closer to the location of Eric Dragomir's secret heir; my cousin Emily Mastrano's house.

It was a six hour drive from Paris to Ann Arbor, and thankfully most of that time was spent in silence. Victor and Robert napped on and off while Sydney seethed about being relegated to a cramped spot into the cargo space. Rose didn't sleep exactly, but sat in a trance-like state for a long time until I saw her lips curve into a wide smile.

'You're awfully happy,' I commented to the young woman beside me as she resurfaced from her thoughts.

'Lissa passed her second monarch test,' Rose exclaimed softly, her face a mixture of excitement and relief.

Dimitri turned around briefly to acknowledge the news, and while his expression was serious I could see pride and hope in his eyes. I knew that Dimitri viewed his saviour with fierce loyalty and respect, and that he believed the young princess was capable of succeeding in her challenge for the throne, but I was more intrigued by the sudden spike of intensity in the big Dhampir's aura when he looked at Rose. Hmm… love is a powerful and beautiful thing, I thought, remembering that same depth of emotion in Mikhail's eyes when he looked at me.

Rose drifted off soon after that, unconsciously repositioning herself in the seat beside me until I had a clear view of her face. I studied the slack, peaceful expression curiously. For a trained killer and convicted murderer the ex-Guardian looked so innocent. I know it was silly to imagine she'd still be fighting in her dreams, wild and restless, but instead I saw a gentle brightening of her aura and realised she was having a Spirit dream. Rose is lucky to have such a close friendship with Vasilisa, I mused to myself with a faint smile before turning to look out the window and focusing my mind on more pressing matters;

Who was I now? And what did life have in store for me next?

Obviously I was Moroi again yet I felt so different to before; Dimitri had warned me that I'd never completely escape the memories of my old Strigoi life but there was something else as well. It took a while for me to figure it out but I eventually realised that the Spirit darkness that had tormented me for nearly half of my life had essentially… disappeared. It must have been a side-effect of the change, but after years of living in a suffocating cloud of anxiety and fear this unexpected freedom from the darkness felt surreal, and I wondered how it would affect me in the future.

Maybe this was a new beginning? Maybe there really was a way to come back from the evil creature I had let myself become? Maybe I had a chance at a normal life now? Mikhail's unconditional love and acceptance gave me reason to hope, and Rose obviously believed in me, but I wasn't stupid. I knew it wouldn't be so easy convincing the rest of the world that I was worthy of forgiveness.

As we drew closer to Ohio-Michigan border my level of tension increased rapidly. What would my cousin Emily think of me when she knew I intentionally led a car load of criminals, ex-monsters and misfits right to her doorstep? Betraying her secret was the last thing I wanted to do, but I understood now that Princess Vasilisa needed our help. The only way the young royal could win the throne was if she had a family member to support her claim, and technically Emily's daughter Jill was Vasilisa's half-sister. I just hoped Emily would see why I had to do this – that it was time for Eric Dragomir's daughter to be brought out of hiding and take up her rightful place as a royal heiress.

Rose woke up soon after we crossed the border and I eyed her with interest. 'You were having a Spirit dream,' I explained when she caught me staring at her. 'I could tell from your aura. Were you with Vasilisa?'

'No. My boyfriend. He's a Spirit user too,' Rose corrected me, almost defensively.

That surprised me – I'd assumed all this time that Rose and Dimitri were a couple. The two Dhampirs seemed so in-tune with one another; the way they seemed to know what the other was thinking without saying the words aloud; the way they looked at one another when they thought nobody else was watching; the way their auras lit up when they were together.

'What's wrong?' the young woman frowned at my puzzled expression.

I shook my head and returned my attention to the road. I must have been more exhausted than I thought if my aura-reading was that far off the mark! 'Nothing's wrong,' I answered dismissively, spying a familiar road-sign and leaning forward to direct Dimitri on the last leg of our journey.

It was late afternoon when we finally pulled up at my cousin's house in Ann Arbor, and by the time Rose, Sydney and I reached the doorstep I was feeling extremely anxious. I wanted to rush into Emily's arms and tell her I was okay but, at the same time, I was deathly afraid that she would never be able to accept me after what I'd chosen to become (or forgive me for betraying her secret). The look on Emily's face when she came to the door confirmed all my fears, and tears of shame and grief welled up in my eyes as I saw my true identity reflected in her horrified expression.

'Sonya?!' she cried out in panic, throwing herself protectively in front of her child and husband who stood gaping in the doorway.

When I took a step forward to show her there was nothing to fear, Emily recoiled from me in alarm and refused to even look at me, fixing her eyes on Rose to demand an explanation.

'I think we should come inside ...' the young Dhampir suggested calmly, aware that the unexpected arrival of an ex-Strigoi, a wanted criminal and a human stranger was more than a little intimidating.

We all waited tensely as Emily weighed up her options, and it felt like an age later that she finally stood aside to allow us inside, leading us into the modest living room and directing us to sit.

I sunk onto the sofa next to Rose and Sydney, trying to look as harmless as possible while Emily served everybody refreshments. She was just as beautiful as ever but her normally graceful movements were forced and robotic as she struggled to figure out what was really going on. When our host took her place on the couch opposite us she shrank against her husband for support and John wrapped his fingers protectively over hers. I glanced up at the pair, hoping to God we could all find a way through this, when a tall, slim girl came to perch herself on the arm of the chair next to her mother.

I couldn't take my eyes off the familiar figure. The last time I saw Jill was over two years ago and I think I must have just missed her fifteenth birthday. It seemed like only yesterday that she was an adventurous, knobbly-kneed urchin with messy hair and a cheeky smile, but in our years apart she'd become her own person. The girlish lankiness I remembered had evened out with the addition of some more womanly curves, and her jade green eyes were filled with intelligence and curiosity. Sensing Emily's distress, Jill draped an arm over her mother's shoulders and waited quietly for Rose to explain why we were all here.

'How... how is this possible...?' Emily began haltingly, her eyes darting briefly across to me.

Rose sat forward to answer but Jill got in first. 'It was Lissa, wasn't it?' the teenager exclaimed breathlessly to her old school friend. 'I heard what happened with Dimitri. It's true, isn't it? Lissa can heal Strigoi. She saved him. She saved…,' the girl took a nervous breath and looked me in the eye. 'She saved you.'

I felt overwhelmed by relief at Jill's brave acceptance. At least one person here thought of me as a person, not a monster to be afraid of.

'Another Spirit user did,' Rose explained tentatively, obviously not wanting to advertise the fact I'd been restored by the brother of escaped convict Victor Dashkov (or that both men were currently waiting outside in the car with Dimitri Belikov – yet another fugitive). One convicted criminal in the house was enough for now.

The conversation fortunately moved onto another topic before any suspicions were raised, and after Sydney had been introduced as an ally who helped in my restoration Emily finally plucked up the courage to look at me properly.

'It's really you, isn't it?' she whispered, her beautiful face crumpling up with emotion as she realised the truth. 'They brought you back to me. Oh, God.' Emily rose quickly and drew me up from the couch, wrapping her arms tightly around me as tears of wonder streamed down her face. 'I've missed you so much.'

I closed my eyes and returned her embrace, whispering broken apologies and assurances through my own tears. Emily did accept me – it was going to be okay. I couldn't believe it, but everything was going to be okay.

Then Rose had to go and ruin everything.

'There's another reason we're here,' her ominous words brought our moment of reunion to a hasty end and Emily stepped back from me, instantly alert.

'We know about Eric Dragomir,' Rose continued boldly.

'No. We are not doing this,' Emily's reply was fierce and desperate as she looked from Rose to me. 'You promised! You promised you wouldn't tell!' The hurt and betrayal in Emily's eyes cut me to the core and she returned to her place beside John, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the living room.

'I didn't tell,' I explained feebly, but somehow the logic that Sydney had fed me didn't seem to be enough anymore. I sat back down, overwhelmed by feelings of confusion and shame.

Rose tried her best to calm the situation down. 'It's hard to explain, but Sonya kept her promise,' she confirmed levelly, but Emily was too angry to listen and judging by the look on her face we didn't have long before we had officially outstayed our welcome.

'What's going on?' John demanded sternly, but Rose kept her focus on Emily.

'We have to talk about this,' the Dhampir urged her. 'Please. We need your help. We need her help,' Rose gestured to Jill and the teenager frowned in confusion.

'What do you mean?' Jill asked warily, pushing her hair back from her eyes.

'It's about your…'

'Don't!' cried Emily, jumping up angrily as she interrupted Rose's explanation. 'Get out! All of you! I don't want you here!'

Rose cut in again, desperately trying to reason with the furious woman but that only riled her up even more. 'Get out, or I'll ... I'll call the police! Or the Guardians!' A lightbulb went off in her mind. 'Why did I even let you into my house?! You're a fugitive! A murderer!'

'She is not!' Jill protested, leaning forward to grab Emily's elbow. 'I told you, Mom. I told you before it was a mistake.'

'Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?' John's voice was tight with frustration. 'If I don't have an answer within thirty seconds, I'm calling the Guardians and the police.'

Sydney stepped in then, seeing that our time had run out. 'He's not your father, Jill,' she explained bluntly, pointing at John.

Emily sank back on the couch and buried her face in her hands, but Jill eyed the Alchemist with a hint of disdain. 'I know that. He's my stepdad.'

'Right. He's not your biological father,' Rose took over, fixing Jill with a meaningful gaze. 'Eric Dragomir is.'

My hand flew to my mouth as I witnessed the bombshell explode.

John shook his head in shock, looking to Emily for confirmation but she was oblivious to all of us, sobbing into her hands while she begged Rose to stop. I wanted to comfort her but I knew it was my fault this conversation was happening in the first place – she wouldn't want to listen to the one person in the room who'd betrayed her trust.

Then a small voice spoke up and I saw Jill rise from the couch. 'That's... that's impossible,' the teenager shook her head slowly as she took a few steps towards Rose. 'My father was just ... just some guy who ran out on us.'

Rose reached out to place a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. 'That guy was Eric Dragomir,' she explained carefully. 'You're part of their family. Lissa's sister. You're ...' Rose paused, her expression taking on a new awe and respect. 'You're royalty.'

Jill threw an imploring look back at her parents, and when Emily saw the confusion and betrayal on her daughter's face she broke down again.

I couldn't hold back any longer. 'Emily,' I moved swiftly across the room, sitting close beside her and taking both of her hands in mine. 'It's time to give this up. You have to tell her. For God's sake, you have to tell John. You can't keep this buried anymore.'

Emily looked up at me with pleading eyes – the same helpless, frightened expression I'd seen on her face when she first told me she was pregnant all those years ago. 'I can't tell. You know what will happen ... I can't do that to her.'

I wanted to say that everything would be alright, but a happily ever after wasn't something I could promise. Instead, I fixed her with a determined gaze and told her the truth that she didn't want to hear. 'None of us know what will happen, Em, but things will get worse if you don't take control now.'

There was a long silence as Emily stared at the floor.

'Mom?' Jill asked, her voice trembling. 'What's happening? This is all a big mix-up, right?'

Emily loved her daughter more than anything in the world and I knew it had been hell for her keeping Jill in the dark all these years. But now that Rose had let the cat out of the bag, there was no sense in hiding the secret from Jill any longer.

Emily sighed heavily as she lifted her head to speak. 'No, Darling. You are Eric Dragomir's daughter. Rose is right.'

The truth gradually came out after that, and I held Emily's hand tightly as she unburdened herself of the secret we had both kept for so long. Finally, when every last detail was laid bare, John slipped a comforting arm around his wife.

'I told you the past didn't matter to me. Never affected how I felt about you, about Jill. But I never imagined ...' he trailed off, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Jill, however, seemed to find the news more difficult to accept and she wandered off from the group to sit on a low seat below the room's bay window, staring blindly out into the deepening twilight.

'You're an heiress – and royalty,' Rose followed after her, checking to see that she understood the gravity of the situation.

'I'm not any of those things,' Jill snapped her head around suddenly, frowning back at all of us. 'There's a mistake. You've all made some mistake.'

Emily stood up slowly and walked over to Jill, dropping to kneel in front of her daughter and clasping her hand. 'It is all true. And I'm sorry you have to find out like this. But it doesn't change anything. Our lives aren't going to change. We'll go on just like we have before.'

Jill leaned down to bury her face against her mother's shoulder and there were more tears as they took comfort in one another, but again Rose had to butt in with an unwelcome dose of reality.

'You can't go on like before,' she said, apologetically but firmly. 'Jill has to go to Court.'

If Emily was upset before, now she was really pissed. She turned swiftly, subconsciously positioning herself in front of Jill like she was afraid the Dhampir planned take the girl by force.

'No! She is not going there. She is never going there,' Emily's voice was sharp with warning. 'I've seen what that world is like. Court life is politics and lies and backstabbing. I didn't want that for Jill when she was a baby, and I don't want that for her now.'

'But she has to,' Rose urged. 'Court is getting corrupted, and the Dragomir family has to play its part to help fix things. Lissa has no power alone, not without a family quorum. All the other royals are trampling her. They're going to push laws that won't help any of us.'

'And that's exactly why Jill can't go,' my cousin reiterated. 'I don't want Jill involved. That place is poison. Tatiana's murder is proof. All those royals... they're vicious. I don't want Jill turning into one of them. I won't let her turn into one of them.'

The argument rapidly became more heated as each of the women passionately defended their point of view – Emily listing all the reasons why Jill shouldn't go to Court, and Rose trying to explain all the reasons why she should – until a third voice spoke up.

'I'll do it,' Jill announced with quiet resolve, ignoring her mother's protests. 'I'll help Lissa and... and the Dragomirs. I'll go with Rose back to Court.'

Emily shook her head violently and continued to fight for Jill to change her mind, but eventually sank back against the chair in defeat.

'Okay,' she agreed at last when she realised her daughter's mind was set. 'Jill can go but I'm going too. You aren't facing that place without me.'

'Or me,' John added, coming to stand by his family. He didn't really seem convinced that it was a good idea for any of them to return to Court but was doing his best to show his support.

For once, I think Rose was lost for words. 'Thank you so much,' she stammered gratefully, looking back at Sydney with a grim smile and a new sparkle of hope in her eyes.

It was agreed that we would all travel to Court in the morning to allow the Mastranos time to pack, and also give us the chance to catch up on a good night's sleep – we had no idea what the morning would bring and it was probably a good idea to make sure we were well rested before facing the public with such controversial news.

Emily raised an eyebrow when we told her we had another three travelling companions waiting in the car, but nevertheless graciously extended her welcome to the whole group. Poor Dimitri hadn't slept for at least two days, Robert Duro was severely weakened from his magic use, and Victor was clearly suffering from his illness. Yes, we all needed a proper night's sleep.

While Rose and Dimitri headed upstairs to shower and Sydney went off to unpack in one of the guest rooms, I teamed up with Robert to create an illusion that masked the identities of the Dashkov brothers, and the three of us trooped into the living room to enjoy a much-needed dinner. Emily had ordered a 'home-delivery' feeder for the Moroi to share and despite my physical tiredness I felt a lot stronger after I'd eaten. When the other guests had finally gone to their rooms to prepare for bed I sat back comfortably on my chair, smiling to myself as I watched Emily and Jill chatting quietly on the other sofa. I couldn't believe how much my luck had changed in the last day; I was back with my family again, Jill had agreed to declare herself as Eric Dragomir's heir, and best of all, this time tomorrow I would be at Court and in Mikhail's arms.

I was just thinking how well everything had turned out when there was a sudden flash of movement outside the window. The next moment, the front door burst open and the sound of heavy footfalls echoed through the house as several voices called out at once.

Guardian Dyatlov - retrieval team leader! Stand aside!

Rosemarie Hathaway, Dimitri Belikov – stand down immediately!

Surrender yourselves and nobody will get hurt!

My years as a Strigoi had taught me how to identify threats and prey, and right now I was prey. Emily might have accepted that I was no longer Strigoi but a Guardian who recognised me from the wanted lists wouldn't bother stopping to check if my eyes were red or blue. They'd shoot to kill. I had to get out of here – Jill and Emily would be okay, I knew Rose and Dimitri could fend for themselves, and Sydney could talk her way out of anything. Frankly, I didn't care what happened to the Dashkovs.

Emily's eyes widened in horror as the shouting drew closer and she whipped her head around to meet my frantic gaze. 'Run, Sonya,' she mouthed, before tugging Jill onto the floor and throwing her arms over her daughter, trying to shield her with her body.

Jill wriggled free. 'I have to warn Rose,' she cried out, making a dash for the spare bedrooms and passing Sydney who was coming back down the stairs to stall the Guardians' advance.

I didn't have time to wait and check everyone was alright – I took Emily's advice and ran. There was a side-door off the laundry and I made for it quickly, grabbing a basket of neatly folded washing that was sitting on the bench as I passed through. There were two Guardians lying in wait outside the door and they sprang at me as soon as I stepped out into the yard, probably assuming I was Rose. I screamed hysterically and threw the washing at one of them.

'Please, no! Don't hurt me! I'm just the maid!' I cried out in broken English. The Guardians looked at me closely, seeing only what I wanted them to see – a short, tubby woman in her early fifties, wearing a pressed white uniform and matching rubber-soled shoes.

'Get out of here!' one of them hissed at me, and I happily obeyed, tottering off around the corner of the next house before dropping the illusion and sprinting for dear life.

A few blocks away I came across an older-model car parked on a darkened street. Perfect – no security alarm. Using some tricks I'd picked up in my Strigoi days I broke my way in and hotwired the engine, improvising a plan as I went along. The first step was to get out of Ann Arbor, which was easier said than done. Almost as soon as I was on the road I got stuck in heavy traffic that was crawling along outside Michigan Stadium where a big game must have just finished. My heart was racing as I constantly checked the rear-view mirror then I saw something more horrible than I could imagine. There was a familiar vehicle in the next lane, only two cars back from mine. It was a Honda CR-V. Victor Dashkov was at the wheel and there were two passengers in the back – Robert Doru and Jill.

I wanted to get out of the car and strangle the old bastard with my bare hands but I knew I couldn't take the risk. Robert's arm was around Jill's shoulder in a grandfatherly embrace, but it was clear he was using Spirit to keep her compliant. If I attacked them now I would only be putting Jill in danger. No. I needed help if I was going to get the Dragomir heir back to her family. I saw a gap in the traffic and took off as quickly as I could towards Detroit. The only thing to do now was find a safe place to wait out the night and then try to get in touch with Rose and Dimitri. I just hoped they were still alive.

Author's Note:

I forgot how much dialogue Sonya got in Last Sacrifice, so I've had to be really selective in what to include (to make sure the main points are covered without just re-writing Richelle Mead's scenes word for word).

Obviously it was important to dwell on the Sonya-Emily dynamic, and also make the quorum concept clear (seeing as Sonya didn't necessarily know this was a thing until now). The Rose/Adrian/Dimitri aura reference needed to be included too as it will be referenced in the next Sonya chapter.

Yet again, humblest acknowledgements to Google Maps for the geography lesson!

My fav. original idea in this chapter is how Sonya escaped, as this is not explained in the book.