Chapter 25 - New plans

Present day - March

Rose POV

I woke up. My throat was dry as a desert and the waterglass on the bedside table was already empty. I couldn't recall that I had drunk it but who else would have, so it must have been me. The soft light from the last sun rays were seeping through the curtains, so either I had slept for just a couple of hours, or more likely I had slept through the entire night and almost a whole day. Oddly enough, I wasn't uncomfortable knowing that I had been so exposed. Even after the encounter with Spiridon I felt, well not safe exactly, but more safe than I had felt in a long time.

My body still felt heavy and my mind wasn't entirely my own, and even if the fever had probably gone down I was not entirely myself yet. I took a deep breath and the calming scent flowed down my lungs, it was strange how much it eased my discomfort. I contemplated calling for Dimitri to ask him to bring me some water but I heard his voice from the outside, too muffled for me to hear anything specific but enough that it was clear that he was occupied. And either way I felt like moving my stiff limbs. I slowly eased out of the bed, keeping myself steady with a hand on the bedside table.

After a few tentative steps towards my bedroom door I could feel the fever rising again. This sickness wasn't like the earlier ones, not only did the cramps differ from the usual ones but also the fever behaved differently. I felt fine just seconds ago in bed but now it felt like I would catch fire any minute. I pushed through the haze that came with the fever spike, opened the door and slowly made my way towards the kitchen.

I emptied the first glass of water, and immediately refilled it and drank another one. The cold water stood in sharp contrast from my feverish skin, and it felt nice to be cooled from the inside even if the relief was just temporary. I took a few deep breaths trying to steady myself and as I turned around from the kitchen counter I could see Dimitri standing on the porch just outside the window. His hand was holding a phone and he stood with his back against me. I crept closer to the window, unsure of what I was doing. But it was clear that something in me was pulling towards Dimitri, recalling how good it felt to be near him.

Apparently, my body wanted to be very close to him as I almost opened the door. The only thing stopping me was his voice asking, whoever he talked to, how did they know. It puzzled me, I wasn't sure what Dimitri was referring to and what exactly they knew, but it was probably something I also wanted to know. Neither Spiridon nor Dimitri have told me much and it was frustrating. His next words stopped my train of thought completely and my heart as well.

"Yes, Arthur. I did. I finally found her."

The thought of my Dimitri popped up, could it be him?

I immediately scolded myself for letting my guard down and allowing myself to hope. I remembered that my Dimitri had gentle brown eyes, that he was big, and that he was kind and caring. I shuddered as I realized that there were indeed undeniable similarities between my Dimitri and the man who was standing right outside on the porch.

He had said to someone that he finally found her, and I knew that he was talking about me. Perhaps a part of me, the little girl in me who was torn away from my home and from my Dimitri, had always hoped that there was someone out there looking for me, missing me, and remembering me. But never in my wildest dreams had I actually truly believed it would be Dimitri who wouldn't give up on me for all these years. I desperately wanted to know what he had really meant with that, what it meant for him and to me that he had finally found me.

I decided that my mind must have been playing tricks on me and that it was best to just lie down and sleep some more, instead of dwelling on it. I turned around and made my way back to bed. My body weak from the movements welcomed the soft mattress, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The scent was almost gone but I could imagine it well enough to fall asleep almost immediately.

Dimitri POV

"Is the foul temptress still sleeping?" Spiridon asked as he closed the car door. He handed me a bag filled with groceries, and I knew I would have to discuss my phone call with Arthur with him as soon as possible. I decided to get it over with.

"Don't call her that. But since you're asking, she does seem to feel better. I think it's safe if we sleep in turns in the smaller bedroom now, she doesn't trigger me as much anymore, but we should still avoid being in the same room as her for longer periods of time. I managed to hand-wash the clothes you bought for her, but we're going to need to get more soon."

He eyed me for a moment, understanding the underlying meaning of my words. "So she really is staying with us? Longer than we expected?"

"Way longer than we expected," I answered and gave him the gritty details. When I was done explaining to him our new assignment he repeatedly ran his fingers through his hair.

"I didn't train to become a glorified babysitter," he finally said.

I was instantly angry that he didn't understand how important this was. "Is that what you think this is?" I challenged him. "Would you rather babysit a wealthy Moroi instead? If so, be my guest."

We glared at each other before I decided to back off. Deep down I knew the only reason he was reluctant to carry on with the assignment was his fear of hurting Rose. "We're not going to be babysitting her for six months. Until Arthur can locate and eliminate the leak, until the Division can guarantee her safety, we will be her safety. I don't want to sit around playing house with her for so long. After we find somewhere to hide her, I think we should continue to investigate on our own. I think we have the upper hand compared to Arthur, all eyes will be on him from now on if it really is Court and the Royals that are behind this. We need to get to the bottom of this and prevent more children from getting hurt."

He was deep in his thoughts for a moment. "I don't understand why they would go through all that trouble," he finally said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it. Think about what we saw at the market. They were showing off the girl to a couple of Morois, like she was a piece of meat. If they are selling these children, and with a strong emphasis on if," he said pointedly, ignoring my doubtful expression, he knew that I firmly held onto that theory. "Why would they go through all that trouble, raising these girls at Institutions, only to be sold to Morois?"

I was evasive, not wanting to voice my deepest fears. "Well-"

He interrupted me. "I know you don't want to admit this, but with light of what we know about the sickness, and how it resembles a fucking heat of some sorts, it's clear that it would be extremely easy to take advantage of the girls."

Could the Moroi really target sick dhampir girls only for their perverse, sick sexual gratification? I felt my heart pounding in my chest, sick to my stomach.

"But still, even with the sickness, it just doesn't add up. The amount of effort they go through, raising them at the Institutions, the systematic nature of the kidnappings, the network they have seemed to built, I don't just think it's a reason enough. I mean, with just enough feedings and compulsion they could pretty much turn anyone into a blood whore, including myself, and I would probably suck dick just to keep my addiction going. Why would they go through all that trouble with the girls, sickness or no sickness? There's easier ways to acquire forced blood whores," Spiridon continued, looking into the distance trying to connect the dots.

I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. "Stop," I managed to breathe.

He turned his gaze to me, snapping out of his contemplation. "This is personal to you," Spiridon said, eyeing me warily. I realized my arms were rigid to my side, and I was breathing heavily. There was no trace of my guardian mask, revealing more than I wanted.

"With the way you are reacting right now only proves that I am right. This is personal to you, and I need to know what is going on." Before I had the chance to reply to him he continued. "Why are you calling her Rose? I mean that asshole said Rosie, do you know who the girl is?"

"He said Rose, not Rosie," I lied. Spiridon just shook his head, calling out my bullshit. We stared at each other, sizing each other up.

"Don't you think it's for the best if I know your connection to her? I mean, it's so painfully obvious that something is going on. You know who that girl is, just like you knew who that guardian was who kicked her in the stomach. Tell me the truth, Dimitri."

I had never seen Spiridon so earnest and serious before. "You almost shot that man on sight, I'm not saying he wouldn't have deserved it, but I mean, I know you. Don't insult my intelligence by saying that you didn't know who he was. And the same goes for the girl, ever since you asked that baker if the girl had brown hair and brown eyes it has been clear that something is going on. And I see the way you look at her," he continued, and it was clear that there was no way out of this. Galina's and my family's words still echoed in my mind, the restraint I've carried for ten years holding me back. But he was right, he should know the truth.

"It's not an easy subject for me to talk about, I even promised Babushka and mama that I wouldn't tell anyone this. But I can see that it may be crucial that you know the full story." I eyed him warily, seeing if he understood the weight of what I was about to tell him. He looked at me encouragingly and I continued.

"One time when I was visiting home from St Basil's, I found a small girl in the forest near our house. She was running away from someone, and I ended up taking her home with babushka. Mama and babushka knew that she was a taken one. That girl was Rose," I tentatively started.

He looked thoughtful until he seemed to realize something. "Shit, this was a long time ago, right? I think it was the year when Ivan accidentally set fire to my shoes, right? We were fourteen or something like that? And by the way, don't think I don't know that he did that on purpose."

"Yes, I was fourteen and Rose was seven. How did you know that?"

"It's just, I can't really explain it. I know we weren't really friends back then, mostly rivals, but you changed. You changed so much. You became so serious all of the sudden, and you were so into your training and keeping your grades up. You stopped having fun and being fun, and I always thought that maybe you were stressed about not being assigned to Ivan when we graduated. You just became so closed off. So, I assume there wasn't a happy ending?"

I sighed heavily, and sat down on the stairs to the porch. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees, fidgeting with my hands. I stared down at the ground.

"That bad, huh?" Spiridon said and sat down next to me.

"Took me ten long years to find her again bad," I said wryly. "That man, the one who kicked her, his name is Moore. Chief Moore."

"Yeah, I remember from the timetable. So I assume you and he go way back?"

I nodded. "We took the girl to our house, and she was just so small and vulnerable. But just after an hour they came for her. They were three in total, and Moore was their leader. Babushka and I tried to fight them, but they overpowered us."

"I'm surprised you two didn't hold your own, Yeva is such a little firecracker. One look from her and she has me shaking." I gave him a sour look, not interested in his jokes right now. He held up his hands in a defensive manner.

"The thing was, I promised Rose that I would protect her and not even an hour later I had already failed her. They took her away from me because I wasn't good enough." Finally admitting that out loud to someone should've been liberating, but there was only one person who could liberate me and it wasn't Spiridon.

"You were fourteen, just a little grasshopper despite Galina. Or not so little I suppose, you genetic freak. You can't blame yourself for what happened to Rose." I knew he wanted me to feel better and laced his words with humor again, but I felt nothing but self-resentment. "Don't take this the wrong way, but are you sure that's the same girl? She doesn't seem to recognize you at all."

That was something I had been asking myself a lot. But I was sure. "I'm certain that it's the same girl. But she was only seven when all this happened so I suppose it's only reasonable that she doesn't remember me." Although I knew that some part of her recognized me.

"She seems more interested in hurting us or running away from us," he grinned. "I don't know if I'm going to be disappointed when she realizes that we're here to help her, I quite like the way she keeps us on our toes."

I scoffed. All I ever wanted was for her to feel safe around us, and be safe.

"And that's all I need to know, right? Or is there something else?" he asked. I really didn't give him enough credit, it was moments like this when it was clear just how good he was. He knew I was hiding something else, and I knew that I should tell him about Moore and what he had done to Rose, but I couldn't bring myself to admit what we had done. He would also be devastated knowing we waited too long, and I wasn't sure how Rose would want to handle it.

I stood up, knowing I should check on Rose. Before I took the groceries inside I turned around. "Hey, Spiridon?"

He looked up at me. "It wasn't by accident that he set fire to your shoes." I grinned widely as I heard him curse under his breath.

After Arthur's phone call I was growing increasingly restless. Protecting her would be hard, and it meant that we had to get her out of the country. Even if we were closing in on the Finnish border of Russia, we would still have to cross over the borderline somehow. And knowing that the Blackbird Institution, the first Institution we'd found, was in the neighboring country Sweden, it didn't exactly mean that she'd be safe there. Taking her through Estonia, or any other country for that matter, would impose the same problems. Rose had no identification, and it was very likely that the borders were monitored by the Alchemists, who would report to Court.

The Royal Morois and Court simply had a reach that stretched too far, a reach that was hard to evade. My finger hovered over my phone, ready to press the button. Spiridon and I agreed that doing what I was about to do was our best option, but it didn't mean I felt any better about it.

Doing something because you ran out of other options was never a good thing.

My thumb pressed down before I could talk myself out of it again.

She answered on the fourth ring. "Natasha Ozera," her voice reserved as she hadn't recognized the number of the burner phone.

"Tasha, I need your help," I said, knowing that our only way of evading the Royals was to be allies with one.

Author's note

Hi readers! Thank you again for your support. We will take a summer break and wish you all an amazing and safe summer!

Alesha & Telma

Update 20th of June 2022:

We've noted some comments regarding Tasha in this story, and we wanted to ease some of your concerns. Without wanting to reveal too much, Tasha is not and will not be this story's main antagonists nor will she be part of the main dynamics, it goes deeper than that.

They way we see Tasha draws inspiration from Mead's additional work The Turn and the Flame, as well as the books. And we felt that there has been plenty of interpretations about Rose-Dimitri-Tasha, making us inclined to take a different course in this story.