Rose POV

Time seemed to fly by as I raced down the highway, exceeding speeds mortals wouldn't dare. The bliss of immortality rang through my body, erupting my heightened senses. The roadside view of forest and endless pines screamed past me, my laughter bouncing off the doors of the truck and mixing with the radio. Scents of pine needles and damp concrete from a recent rain filled my nose, mixing with a drop of blood on my shirt from my kill. The pure ecstasy behind the events at the gas station were beginning to wear off, but I still felt the high of the human's blood in my veins as I cranked the volume of the music higher and raced down the road. Immortal. Unstoppable.

"Steph," croaked a voice behind my temples, as if aching at the viciousness of my actions, "...her name was Steph."

"Fuck off" I muttered to myself as the mortal voice appeared once more to haunt my every undead moment. I've learned now that it tends to bother me most right before I begin something cruel and right after it's done. Typical. Fucking. Party. Pooper.

I was growing increasingly tired of this nuisance, conscience bullshit. "Soon enough, you'll be dead and gone, just like that waste of flesh and just like precious little Vasilissa and the rest of those pathetic vampires." Honestly, I must be losing my mind to be conversing with the voice, but at least it tended to leave me alone when threatened. A few more days and I'd be at peace, free to roam and terrorize to my heart's content. Pure freedom. I dwelled further on the idea as I glanced in my rearview at the unending darkness behind me.

It was something I had never truly experienced, at least not in my mortal life. True freedom. Hell, from the moment I was born I was bearing the weight of the expectations others had for me. My mother expected me to be an elite Guardian, then the Dragomir princesses Guardian. I was always expected to exceed, to be successful, to be better than my peers. The Academy expected great things from me, my friends, family, everyone. Train, protect, train. A never ending cycle of empty living. Nothing would ever have been more important than that job, not my happiness, not my desires, not even my life.

And I would've been fine with that. Mortal Rose would have gone through the motions of that life until it consumed her. Train, protect, train. I would've lost everything to that. Sure, I'd always be with Lissa, but Dimitri and I would've undoubtedly been pulled apart by duty eventually. The Moroi never cared for Dhampir relationships, deemed them a risk to the individuals assigned Moroi.

Can't say they're wrong though. For me, nothing would've come over Vasilissa's life, but for Dimitri... I could never have been sure who he would've saved if it came down to it. Love is a liability and my little mortal life would never have been allowed to have it, not for long, not the way pathetic little Rose dreamed of it.

And then what? Lissa was a target for everyone, even royal Moroi. The infamous last of the Dragomir line, and with a power so rare and extraordinary... being her Guardian would've cost me my life or my humanity one way or another.

What a waste all those expectations turned out to be. It was almost laughable. Living solely to fulfill them would've cost me my life one way or another. That life of service would've made this shell nothing but a machine subject to as emotionless a life as I now live.

Except now, I am free.

No one expects anything of me; I am my own being, my own ruler. And I will never bow to the will of others again.

Well, at least as soon as I rid myself of this fucking voice.

But I had a plan for that bit of humanity lingering inside. In deciding to send that little warning to Dimitri, Vasilissa, Adrian and Christian, I had achieved two things.

Temporarily relieved myself from the obnoxious rattling of this little bitch in my skull and made myself a living, breathing target for my former companions.

Despite my very clear intentions, I'm more than aware that my presence is not something any of those idealist idiots could ignore. They're weakness lies in their feeble emotions and the love they have for the little girl I once was.

Pathetic.

I had every upper hand in this situation, and that was obvious. I would detail the time, the place, who comes, what they bring, everything. Survival would tell them to run, to hide behind the wards and Guardians within the Academy's walls. Yet still, each and every one of them will walk right into my fangs, either trying to save me, or in some feeble attempt to free the soul they believe I still have. All I had to do was set the scene and wait for them to come running.

'Wannabe heroes.' I thought to myself. An audible laugh rising from my throat at the irony. After all, wasn't that exactly what I was once upon a time? Oh yes, the great Rosemarie Hathaway, elite Guardian, protector of the Dragomir line, killer of Strigoi and all things evil.

What is that saying about tables turning?

Anyway, I had no intention of lying when the time came to announce myself to my former friends. I warned each of them already, assuming they found my little love note. I'd simply tell them to come, and the conclusion of our little meeting would depend on their actions. Either way they'd be dead.

Vasilissa would undoubtedly be looking for some work around to my current state, some way to reverse the transformation. A futile effort, since nothing of that sort existed, yet, I know she will come to me in some unrealistic trance that friendship and love can 'save my soul'. She would be easiest to take down, but also likely the most heavily guarded. Certainly Ozera will be with her, unable to resist playing the protector of his little lost princess. He was a threat for sure, with his flames to keep him company. Still, Christian was nowhere near as dangerous as Dimitri. If we're talking about a trained Strigoi killer, Dimitri is the one to beat.

But I am not just any Strogoi. I happen to be the girl he loves.

A wicked grin spread across my face as I continued racing down the highway, the dawn cracking through the night and threatening its impending arrival.

Yes, Dimitri would be my first target, he'd want the others safe, so he'd come at my first. Unfortunately for him, I know exactly how to crack open all those emotions over my death, how to use them against him. He won't stand a chance.

And then there is Adrien. Poor, helpless, little rich boy Adrien. Out of all of my former friends, Adrien was the one I was most disgusted with. How I ever saw anything in him, friend or more, I'll never understand. The living epitome of a spoiled rich boy. Wasting his life and his magic away by drowning himself in drugs and alcohol.

His obsession with me would make him an easy target, but it also made him more unpredictable than the rest. I cringed at the thought, clutching the steering wheel tighter in the process.

Still, he was nothing but a Spirit user. Not a true threat.

Contemplating the players, I devised my plot. Dimitri had to go first, but perhaps inflicting some damage to Adrien and removing him from the playing field would be smart. I'd aim for those two first. Christian, while a real threat with his fire, would have his primary focus on protecting Lissa, so those two could wait until the others were dealt with. Perhaps then, I'd offer Christian and Vasilissa the chance to flee, a trick of course, but, like I've said, those little emotions will get the better of them. An empty promise like that, made under the guise of some last sense of friendship would plant that shred of hope that would kill them.

Oh yes, this would be quite fun.

The cold of the night snapped against my cheeks as I drifted away from my thoughts and stared straight at the unending road ahead of me.

This would be very fun, indeed.

The threat of the looming sun forced me into a shitty motel off of Route 93 a few hours later. Without my rest stop at the gas station in Darby, I probably would've made it just outside the forest of St. Vladmirs by now; but hey, you can't blame a girl for wanting to have a little fun, eh?

Besides, the truck was running low on gas and the motel could offer me some semblance of entertainment while I wait out the sun.

Eventually, I'd have to figure out a little workaround from this bursting into flames bullshit. Giving up half my days every time the sun rose was certainly a waste of this immortality.

That or I'd need a very entertaining day house.

I pulled into the lot around 5:43am, just as the darkness began to give way to a few specks of the rising dawn. The motel was less than impressive. It was a two story, squatted building with patchy and peeling beige paint and a faded red roof. Far from the luxury I planned to see in my future, but it would suffice for today. Seeing as I sure as hell wasn't going to be spending money here, not that I had much to begin with, I considered my options.

As a Dhampir, I never really needed cash, Vasilissa was more than wealthy enough to provide us with anything we needed, and the Academy took care of anyone's needs as long as tuition was paid, which, thanks to my useless mother, it always was.

My mother… I wonder how she'd take the news of my awakening. She probably wouldn't give a shit, it's not like she ever bothered to be involved in my life anyway. If anything, I'm sure my new...situation would be nothing but a social hindrance to her. A disappointment, as per fucking usual. It was ironic now, how I secretly pined for that useless mother daughter bond in my previous life… fickle ass emotions if you ask me. Hell, maybe we'd meet again in my new life. Perhaps a piece of that maternal nature will suddenly rise up and compel her to hunt me down… what a fun reunion that would be.

Smiling at that thought, I continued to examine my surroundings. Room 202 sat dead ahead of me, in the center of the lower floor.

Good enough for me.

Opening the creaking truck door, I hopped out, pulling the small duffel that was sitting in the passenger seat onto my shoulder. The door of the rundown pickup slammed behind me as I waltzed up to the hotel room door. Cobwebs swept through the corners of the doorway, an indication that this room hadn't been used in quite a while.

Not bothering with the flesh bags in the lobby, I broke the handle of 202 off in a quick tug, shouldering the door open to reveal a small bed, tv and two end tables laid on either side of the room. Quaint.

Deciding to remain incognito, I twisted the door handle back on and locked the door behind me as I stepped into the room, the sun's growing heat beginning to push my instincts to find cover.

Tossing the duffel onto the bed, I laid back onto the mattress, the smell of the musty sheets lingering in my nose as I debated how to spend the next several hours of daylight. Laying against the scratchy, old comforter sent a plume of dust into the air, and for the first time since my awakening I regretted my improved senses.

Groaning, I searched the room for some source of entertainment. Noticing a small black remote on the bedside table, I sat up to turn the ancient box tv on, the screen flickering into static.

Shifting through endless channels of empty static, I quickly gave up on the useless device, tossing the remote across the bed and leaning back against the creaking mattress once again.

I briefly closed my eyes, finding myself being filled with a feeling I thought I'd left behind with my mortality.

I was... exhausted.

Not physically, of course, but laying here with nothing but silence beckoning me, I suddenly realized how mentally draining this internal war with myself was. I was an immortal vampire, and an extremely powerful one at that, sleep is not supposed to be a part of this existence, not true sleep anyway. But somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that as long as that voice plagued me, I would be subject to this in-between. Immortal, unfeeling, unstoppable, yet afflicted by some piece of weak mortality that clinged relentlessly to this new essence. Keeping me chained to some level of humanity that clawed at my mind, a consciousness that screamed in my ears.

Yes, I would need to solve this issue sooner rather than later

Sighing with the realization that rest would (in a way) solve my entertainment issue, I let my mind run blank and drifted into the beckoning black oblivion.

Dimitri POV

An emptiness took over my body, my mind…

Rose was Strogoi.

The fate she feared more than anything, an evilness taking root in her soul and driving her to do unthinkable acts.

Acts like hunting down her family.

Nothing in my life could have prepared me for this. Not an ounce of my training or experience could change this reality. What the fuck was I supposed to do now?

In some way, the answer was obvious. But could I face it? I knew what Rose would want... what she would have begged for.

I had to kill the love of my life, had to destroy her body in order to free her soul from this corruption. I cursed myself for believing the worst thing had already happened, that nothing could be more devastating, more damning than losing Rose in that cave system, than her dying in a Strogoi torture chamber.

I was painfully wrong.

I was lost in myself from the moment the realization hit me, the reality of Rose's situation forcing me to double over at the physical pain in my chest, forcing me to my knees like a knife in the heart. I hadn't realized that tears now stained my cheeks, falling onto the chest of my black Dhampir uniform, the leather forcing them to slide further and further down until they dripped to the floor.

I couldn't fathom how I would manage to do what needed to be done now. Rose would never have wanted this fate. She fought until her bitter end to ensure that this exact scenario would never come to be. If she could, she would beg me to end it. To kill her.

I would do it for her. I owed her as much after I left her in that cave to die. I should never have let the Guardians drag me away, should have fought them harder, killed them if I had to. Anything, if it meant saving her.

I should have taken the flank of the group, been the one trapped in that stone tomb of a cave, not Rose. She should be here, safe and sound, gossiping with Vasilissa and teasing Ozera. Laughing with Adrien and smiling that beautiful, bright smile. God, she could light up the world with that smile.

Picturing her here, happy, alive, only sent another wave of pain through my body. Like a blow to the stomach. Nausea rolled over me until I heaved into the garbage can on the floor next to me.

I'd never see that smile again.

The pain was blinding, a type of emotional turmoil I'd never experienced, even after losing Ivan. Yet, I knew I couldn't let it take me. No, I wouldn't sit here in my grief, wasting precious time when a very real threat was approaching the Academy, a threat that needed me to free her. All I could do now was protect those that Rose loved, and save her from an immortal existence as the thing she hated most in this world.

Forcing my eyes away from the letter still in Ozera's shaking hands, I glanced around at the grieving group. Vasilissa sobbed into Ozera's shirt, uncontrollably shaking in his arms. To his credit, Christian was fronting all of her weight while processing his own devastation at this information. With his background, I could only imagine how this information felt on his soul… to lose another to the Strigoi. To face seeing his friend again as one of them after his parents...

I found Adrien on the floor. I couldn't remember when or how he got there, but he sat in the corner of the room, lost in a sea of his own tears and the strong smell of liquor that tangled within his sobs. "She's gone...she's really gone." he cried softly, slightly rocking back and forth with his knees pulled to his chest. "Could've saved her..."

That sentence alone was enough for me to pull myself together. To realize I had to be the strong front here, that everyone in this room was experiencing the same unfathomable devastation.

Rose would hate this sight.

For her, I forced myself to straighten my spine, forcing my body upright and standing once more. Not bothering to wipe away the evidence of my pain, I spoke to my companions... my friends, "I'm going to free her."

All eyes rose to me, standing in the center of Vasillisa's bedroom. "Ros- that thing. It's coming here with one purpose, to kill the people that Rose loved most. It can not. I will not allow it, and we have to… I have to free her when she comes. She can not live like this and she would never allow us to be consumed by this fate." I choked on her name, forcing the words to leave my mouth and blinking away the tears that tried to escape.

I would not be weak, not when she needed me to be strong. Not when our friends needed me to be strong.

To my surprise, Vasillisa was the first to respond, despite her cracking voice and swollen eyes. "She would want us to… to k-kill her. Ho-how can we help her?"

"We will do anything," a voice came from the corner. "Anything to fulfill her wishes, to set her free." Adrien's voice, unlike Vasilissa, was strong and unfaltering, a heavy contradiction to his appearance, which screamed his true loss. He, like me, would put on a brave face, would do anything to achieve what had to now be done. For Rose, we could be strong.

Ozera said nothing, but his eyes were clear as he awaited my response, the plan they all expected me to have. With their attention on me, I saw their determination ring true.

We were going to kill Rose.

—-

Later that day, we all found ourselves pouring over maps of the Academy, the surrounding forest, notes on the cave systems and the letter Rose had sent us. Christian had come to my room in the dead of night to bring me here for the reading of the letter, a time that felt like days ago...years ago. Where the dead of night once was, the sun now began to rise over St. Vladmirs.

I was planning how we would respond to the creature, whenever it sent its arrival. Plotting how we could turn the tables against that Strogoi, despite her being the one to have all control in this situation. Rose knew all of us deeper than almost anyone, whatever wore her body now would use that knowledge, was already using it, to lure us. We had no control of the meeting place, the time, anything. So we'd better be prepared for anything.

Glancing up from my place at the desk in the right corner of the room, I assessed my companions. Christian and Vasilissa were discussing information they had discovered in the ancient texts, Vasilissa speaking in a hushed tone to her boyfriend, who seemed distraught at her insights. Adrien was reciting the letter, his eyes glued to the writing, searching for any indication, any hint when Rose might make an appearance. Not knowing how long we had before the arrival was unnerving, every second of research, of preparation would count.

Despite my attempts at warning her otherwise, Vasilissa had insisted on trying to find a cure. She felt so sure she could heal Rose from death, like she had years ago in the accident. Christian tried to remind her that these were two very different situations, that Rose wasn't just dead, that she had been...like this for some time now. But no matter what he said, or how much I deterred her, Vasilissa prevailed. The discussion took more time than I wanted to allow, so I gave up, leaving Christian to help her in the library before they came back, arms full of some of the oldest texts St. Vladmir's had to offer. We were all grieving, and a little hope would only serve her good in the time we had left with it. Besides, I doubted the Princess had much experience planning a takedown anyway.

During the entire debate, Adrien had only sat quietly in the corner, as if lost in his thoughts. In fact, he hadn't said more than a few words since his proclamation earlier, only nodding when I handed him the letter to look over again for any hidden meanings. Looking at him now, pouring over the handwriting, I felt guilty for giving him the job of reliving that horrible realization. I just couldn't bring myself to read it again... to even see her words for too long.

So there he sat, still in his corner, reading as if deciphering a code.

At least that was what he was doing, that is, before he collapsed.

It happened incredibly fast, one minute we were all working, planning, the next Adrien was on the floor, violently shaking. I was by his side in a flash, checking his symptoms as quickly as I could. I pressed my fingers to his pulse to assess his heart rate, looking over his airway in the process. Vasililissa was there a moment later, laying her hands on his chest, as if she could feel the source of his pain with her fingertips. Actually, she likely was doing exactly that.

Pupils dilated, but only slightly, heart rate definitely increased, but not in an abnormal range for the situation at hand, his breathing was fast-paced, and picking up as the seconds raced by. "Princess, do you feel anything?" my voice was urgent, hard, the voice of a soldier.

"No, no he feels fine, nothing in his brain or body seems irregular." She voiced back, slightly panicked.

Magic. It had to be magic related.

Before I could voice my idea, Adrien's body froze, falling limp as quickly as it had begun shaking only moments before.

Then his hand was on my arm, his eyes open wide and alert, and staring straight into mine.

As if I was teleported to another place, another time, I was suddenly standing in a lush garden. Flowers of every shape and size filled this valley, miles of them stretching into an oblivion of blue sky, the air sweet with the scent of blooming roses.

And there was Adrien, standing next to me, hand still firmly gripping my arm.

"What the hell happened, Belikov?"


Hey guys!

Livy here, I'm so happy to be back and writing again, it's been so long! I hope you all enjoy this short edition as I feel out how I want the story to progress now that so much time has passed. I'm working out how often I'll be uploading and plan to stick to a schedule once I figure out timing. I work full time and I'm a college student now, so I stay busy, but don't worry, I want to be back and working on Rose's story as much as you guys do!

PLEASE let me know what you guys think of this chapter, and how you feel about this story now that it's been a few years! I love to hear your ideas and thoughts!

See you in the next chapter!