Chapter 47 - The Aftermath

Present day - Early May

Rose POV

The Headmaster was here.

I crawled back, his hands shot out. I wasn't sure if he was trying to help me or grab me so I screamed.

Two blinks later a shadow appeared, fast and precise. A third blink and the Headmaster wasn't standing in front of me anymore.

Shocked, I looked around while I shuffled back. The splitting pain in my head was making it hard to focus but, but to my left, Spiridon was on top of the Headmaster. My blurry vision sharpened just in time to see the blood splatter after Spiridon broke his nose.

Now that I looked, and I mean really looked, the Headmaster was a lot younger than the last time I saw him. It had been so many years, but I realized that the man underneath Spiridon was too young to be the Headmaster, no matter how much they resembled each other.

It only took my two more breaths to realize I'd seen a picture of him before, a picture Lissa had shown me.

Despite the pounding in my head I managed to make out some of the words that were yelled.

"Who are you?" Spiridon demanded.

"You broke my nose!" the stranger cried out, his words garbled from the blood that was pouring from his nose.

"I'll break your jaw next if you don't put it to better use," Spiridon growled. "Who are you? How many of you are here?"

I didn't hear his reply because Dimitri was by my side. "Are you hurt?" he murmured while he dragged me away from the threat.

"My head hurts," I whined, not sure what else to say.

Spiridon looked over at us and something glinted in his eyes. Something sinister I hadn't seen before. He turned back towards the man he was holding and hit him again, undoubtedly breaking his jaw. I cringed at the sound the stranger made.

"Christian!"

Lissa's voice was frantic and I noticed that she was running towards us. Celeste grabbed her before she reached the two men, allowing Yuri to engage instead.

"Let go of him," Yuri demanded.

"Who is this?" Spiridon countered. Dimitri lifted me up and brought me to his chest.

"Christian Ozera."

"What is he doing here? Who else is here?"

Christian tried to answer but all that came out was an intelligible groan of pain. "Say that again," Spiridon said and shook him. He didn't even try to respond. All this time Lissa was screaming and trying to get to Christian, and it was heartbreaking.

Spiridon let go of Christian and moved towards Dimitri and I. Dimitri gave him one nod and they started walking briskly towards the garage leaving the others behind. They were so in sync that it was clear that they were following some kind of pre-agreed plan. I looked back over Dimitri's shoulder and saw Lissa leaning over Christian and from the sudden lack of painful whimpers she had healed him, just like she had done Adrian.

She passed out on the ground, no doubt from the strain of using her magic so much.

"I'm alone, I swear! What the fuck is wrong with you!" Christian yelled.

Dimitri slowed down and I followed his eyes as he observed the glass shatters on the ground. Someone had broken the window to the garage. He looked over his shoulder. "What are you doing here?" he asked Christian.

"I knew she was hiding something and I didn't know what to think. I know I shouldn't have doubted her, I just didn't know what to expect. She kept disappearing somewhere and I just wanted to know what was going on so I hid in the trunk of the car when they left the Academy."

I watched Spiridon reach at one of the higher shelves in the garage and grab a backpack from it, and I wondered how much they had planned ahead for something like this to happen.

"Look, I don't know why you are freaking out so much or why the fuck you assaulted me but I swear I didn't want to hurt anyone!"

"Who else is here?" Spiridon demanded. He was still cold and brutal, so unlike the man I was used to seeing.

"I already told you, I'm alone!"

"The Lakeside Institution has a connection to the Ozeras, and now all of the sudden an Ozera is standing at the grounds uninvited. You want me to believe this is all some kind of misunderstanding?"

"The Lakeside what? I don't even know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Oh, hey man, didn't know you were here too," Adrian's voice came all of the sudden. "What the hell happened to you?"

I craned my neck and caught a glimpse of Adrian holding a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He must've missed the entire thing. "Shit, what happened to her?" he then asked and pointed at Lissa on the ground with the glass in his hand.

"Come on," Spiridon said to Dimitri. "We're leaving."

"Check the property with Yuri. If you can't find any traces of others, we'll stay."

I didn't hear what Spiridon replied because another wave of blunt pain struck me and I whimpered. Dimitri pulled me closer to him, perhaps trying to soothe me. I didn't know how but somehow he managed to open the car door with me in his arms, and he placed me in the car so that I was lying down in the backseat. He then got into the driver's seat and drove the car out of the garage. He stopped just outside the house and I knew that we were ready to take off the second something else went wrong, just waiting for Spiridon to return with intel. A whirring sound broke through the silence and I realized Dimitri had opened all the windows to hear better.

Lying down wasn't really helping me stay conscious.

I recognized my room without opening my eyes. It must've been the feel of the bed underneath me, the scent of my bedding, the light and air around me.

I felt a lot better, but kept my eyes closed since I didn't want to provoke the headache to come back. Everything felt tranquil, like the calm before the storm. It felt almost blissful.

I heard someone move around in my room, the sound of a full glass being placed on top of my bedside table. A warm, dry hand brushed away the hair from my face.

"Rose," Dimitri murmured close to me. I blinked my eyes open and realized he was on his knees next to my bed, his face a lot closer to me than I was expecting. I smiled and leaned into his touch. "How are you feeling?" he asked me.

"I think I'm good. I'm not sure," I whispered.

"We didn't know what to expect, we didn't think it would hurt so much. I've never seen anything like it."

"It's fine." His thumb kept rubbing my cheekbone soothingly. "Are we staying here then? I remember being in the car."

"We're staying for now, Rose."

"Did they come for us?" I asked but I already knew the answer. If Moore or anyone else had come here I wouldn't be lying in my bed.

"No, they didn't. Vasilisa's boyfriend snuck here."

"Christian?" I asked and he nodded.

"They should've noticed him in the trunk. It was inexcusable to miss a detail like that, and we're going to do our own checks from now on. But it was only him, driven by his juvenile insecurities. Both Vasilisa and Adrian compelled him during our interrogation." Dimitri looked displeased. "Turns out, he didn't realize that they had unknowingly locked him in the garage so it took him some time to get desperate enough to break the window to get outside. It was just bad luck that you stumbled upon him right after the princess and Ivashkov tried to break the compulsion."

"I'm not sure what happened, I remember wanting to be alone."

"I didn't realize you were in so much pain and disoriented, I thought we were doing the right thing to allow you a minute or two to collect yourself."

"I thought that the Headmaster had found me when I walked into Christian," I whispered.

He stilled. "What made you think that?"

"He looks like him. I mean, Christian looks a lot like him." His eyes flicked between mine, and I swallowed thickly.

"Do you remember what the Headmaster looks like?" Dimitri asked and drew me up into a sitting position. He was still on his knees by my feet, looking intently at me. His hands rubbed soothingly up and down my upper arms.

"It worked, Dimitri. I think they broke the compulsion," I whispered.

He licked his lips trying to find the right words, or maybe decide which question to ask first. "When was the last time you saw the Headmaster?"

"I'm not sure, many years ago. He just didn't come back one day."

Dimitri stood up and looked around the room. He seemed to find what he was looking for and grabbed something from the dresser. He sat down next to me on the bed.

I noticed that he was holding the book about the Royal lines. With quick fingers he turned page after page until he landed on the chapter about the Ozeras. A few more turns and he presented a picture of a small family I hadn't seen before.

A woman was sitting down, holding a small boy, a toddler, with icy blue eyes and raven hair. The boy was happy and smiling so wide that his tiny incisors were visible, and he was absolutely adorable. Her own hair was chestnut brown and she was stunning. Next to her stood a man with similar features to the little boy, and I choked on a breath.

It was the Headmaster.

My reaction must've told Dimitri what he needed to know. "This is Lucas and Moira Ozera with their son, Christian." He placed the book and the bed and stood up, pacing the room and was clearly deep in his thoughts. "Lucas and Moira willingly turned Strigoi several years ago, and I bet it was around the same time you last saw him."

I stood up too, feeling the anxiety spread through my limbs. "Maybe they're here after all, maybe they found us?" I asked frantically. He closed the distance between us and took hold of my shoulders, his thumbs drawing circles with the perfect amount of pressure to center me again. His scent helped to ground me too. I couldn't help it, and I didn't even want to help it. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled myself close to him. He lowered his arms immediately and encircled me in a hug too. I felt him press his lips or cheek against my hair, at first I thought he'd kissed me, but realized it couldn't be real.

"They didn't find us. Christian doesn't know anything about taken ones, other than the general rumors. He doesn't know anything about the Institution. He was simply too young to be part of it," he murmured. "That can't be said about his other relatives."

When he said the last part, his voice turned cold. He let go of me and guided me back towards the bed. I didn't feel like lying down however so instead I grabbed the book and sat down on the floor. "I might recognize more if I just look at their pictures," I murmured to myself. He sat down next to me, much like that time in the kitchen. He was holding the glass of water between us and I grabbed it, draining the entire glass.

Him and me again.

"This can all wait," he said, but something in his voice told me that he didn't truly mean those words. And I wanted to know more.

I started from the beginning of the Ozera chapter. I noticed that Dimitri took out his phone and it looked like he opened some kind of notepad that allowed him to type in text. I craned my neck to see better and noticed that he had typed in a name.

Headmaster Lucas Ozera

I turned my attention to the book again. Most of the members of the Ozera line were not familiar to me from my time at the Institution, including Tasha. We were staring at her picture, a picture taken before her face was scarred.

"Maybe you just don't recognize her without the scars?" Dimitri suggested. I could tell that he was worried that she was involved, she was his friend after all.

"No, I'm really sure. I know what she looks like, Lissa showed me a picture of her, remember?"

He nodded slowly, the tension wrinkles around his eyes not really smoothing out.

"I recognize him though," I said and pointed to a man. Dimitri's deft fingers typed on his phone.

Ronald Ozera

I shuddered and quickly moved to the next page, and the next. Dimitri grabbed my hand all of the sudden. I looked up in surprise and the question was already on the tip of my tongue, but the look on his face made me go still. The pit of my stomach started aching, for he looked devastated. He wasn't one to show emotions often, which made it more heartbreaking to see him like that.

"I know this is selfish to ask right now, but I need to know if he's involved," he whispered.

I didn't need to ask him who he meant, because there was only one person who could cause this kind of pain and fear and it was Dimitri's father.

"I haven't seen him, other than the picture."

"Please, look again. Maybe you remember something," he pleaded.

I fought hard to steady my shaking hands when I turned the pages until I found the Ivashkov chapter. I immediately recognized Rufus Ivashkov. I stilled on that page and Dimitri followed my eyes to the picture of that man. I nodded once and didn't need to look to know that Dimitri was typing out the name on his phone.

A couple of more pages and we were staring at Dimitri's father. It was still startling to see how familiar the features of Randall Ivashkov were. Dimitri rubbed his jaw absentmindedly, and I guessed that he was thinking the same.

"I've never seen him," I said and he met my eyes. Relief shone through them, but it was clear that he wasn't convinced.

"Just because you haven't seen him doesn't mean he's not guilty somehow." He looked away as if he was ashamed. "He's the kind of person to be involved in something like this."

"He's not you," I whispered, and it was clear that I had guessed correctly what was worrying him.

Dimitri just shook his head as if he didn't believe me. "He's not you, you're not the same," I repeated more forcefully. He kept averting his eyes, and I just didn't want him to doubt what kind of man he was.

I scrambled on my knees in front of him and placed my hands on his cheeks, forcing him to look at me. I wasn't rough at all, only showing the care and gentleness he so often treated me with. I felt the slight stubble underneath my palms, his hair framing his face as he still slumped down in shame.

"You're not the same as him."

My words were the truth I just wished he would believe. I was lost staring into his dark eyes.

"I hope that's true," he breathed.

He placed his hands on top of mine, trapping my hold, and leaned forward until our foreheads touched. We were so close, our breaths mixed together.

"Kazhdyy den' ya vedu beznadezhnuyu bitvu, kogda delo kasayetsya tebya, Roza."

I blinked, not understanding what the words meant. The sound of his voice caressed me like silk, deep and gentle.

I wished it wasn't so devastating when he pulled away from me. I wished the sudden space between us didn't hurt so much.

I wished he'd kissed me.

Ronald Ozera regarded us girls with malice in his eyes. His gaze lingered on me.

"This one's a real looker," he said and tilted his glass of clear liquid in my direction. The other man in his company gave me a look that made me feel dirty and snaked his hand in my hair. He yanked down hard and I roughly dropped down to my knees.

"Indeed, a very fine specimen. Don't even see the need to wait a few years, she's certainly developed already."

The hand in my hair gripped tighter, forcing my face upwards. I squeezed my eyes shut and trembled. It hurt and I was terrified. I didn't dare to look at the man holding me.

Someone behind me tutted. "Gentlemen, you wouldn't want to damage the goods. Remember, if you break it," the Headmistress' voice trailed off.

The hand released me and I fell forwards, gasping in pain and shock.

"Don't mind him Ellen, we both know that they're much more compliant when dispatched at a later age. He's only jesting, right Lord Drozdov?" Ronald Ozera offered.

"Of course," Lord Drozdov reassured with a smirk that spoke otherwise.

"Girls, there's someone special here to see you," the Headmistress said. I fearfully looked around and noticed a third man in the room, one I hadn't seen until now. He'd stayed so still that he blended into the wall and chair.

"Ah, yes. Thank you for the reminder Ellen," Ronald Ozera said with grace. "Form a line, now." He took a large sip, probably vodka. "Quickly now."

We all looked around with worry in our eyes trying to gauge the situation. The unknown man was sitting in the corner, his eyes downcast. He didn't seem to react to the movement around him, letting us form a line.

"They're ready for you, Mr. Doru."

One of the younger girls wasn't smart enough to stay silent. Despite my temper, even I knew when to shut up. "What's going on?" she asked with a trembling voice and I suppressed a cringe. I didn't know her exact age, she was under Meredith's care and attending the lower classes, but my guess was that she wasn't more than eight or nine.

Ronald Ozera took three quick steps towards her and delivered a blow with the back of his hand. She cried in pain and tumbled to the ground. He looked at her with disgust and took another sip of his drink as if he hadn't just hit a child.

"I wonder, Ellen, don't you teach them to respect their betters?" he said with a sneer. "They're meant to be seen, not heard."

The Headmistress stayed silent, but from the hateful look she was giving us she was sure to punish us harshly when this all was over.

Meredith was the first in line, but she was shaking so much I took pity on her and pulled her back enough so that I could take a step forward and place her behind me.

"Ah, a volunteer I see. Good, very good," Lord Drozdov murmured. "No need to be afraid, girl. Step forward."

I did as I was told and took small, hesitant steps until I was close to the man in the corner. He looked up with palpable disgust in his brown eyes. He turned his attention to Lord Drozdov. "Is this really necessary?"

"You know what happened last week. Can't have that group of mongrels cause us any further trouble in case they manage to find this place too. We did the right thing by taking precautions at the Blackbird Institution, even if we managed to evacuate in time."

Mr. Doru sighed in defeat, and trapped me with his gaze. All of the sudden the entire world seemed to consist of him, and only him.

I cleared my throat and rubbed my face. I had spoken for so long my voice was getting hoarse. The lack of sleep from the whole kidnapping of Adrian wasn't really helping.

"Do you need a break?" Dimitri asked. We had been holed up in the study for a long time, telling Dimitri and Spiridon different memories that I thought were significant.

I nodded weakly.

Spiridon got up from the chair and disappeared briefly to the library. He brought back three glasses and a green bottle that said Laphroaig.

He rubbed his eyes with one hand as he poured amber colored liquid into the three glasses, one that contained a lot less than the two others. Dimitri handed me the one with only a little in it and I smelled the content. I scrunched up my nose in disgust which earned a small smile from Dimitri.

Spiridon had already downed his drink and was pouring himself another one.

"So, here's to confirming that dhampirs really are being traded among the Royals," he said with forced cheerfulness and held up his glass. None of us felt that way.

"Yeah," I said quietly and took a tentative sip. It burned, but somehow the burn was welcomed. I still had to fight to keep my expression neutral and not show disgust.

"This information needs to be contained in this room for now. Don't say anything to Vasilisa, Ivashkov or Christian Ozera," Dimitri said seriously. "That includes Celeste and Yuri."

"That kid's dad was practically running an Institution and we're not supposed to say or do anything?" Spiridon asked tiredly.

"We don't do anything hasty. This is our one opportunity to put an end to this, and we need to be smart about it."

"Don't you think Christian deserve to know?" I asked.

They both looked at me for a long time, Spiridon with disbelief and Dimitri with the same seriousness he so often did. "For now, we keep quiet about our discoveries," Dimitri said. "The same goes for who my father is. Adrian doesn't need to know that I'm related to him, especially now that we know that Rufus Ivashkov is involved."

I simply nodded because it was clear that Dimitri wasn't leaving any room for arguments.

We all took another sip of our drink.

"So, what happens now?"

My question broke the silence and once again they didn't respond for a long time.

"I think we should call it a night and catch up on some sleep," Spiridon said, forcing down a yawn.

"I didn't mean that."

"I know what you meant but I just feel like tomorrow's Spiridon can deal with all this shit. I've been up for days trailing that brat and bringing him here, I feel like my last brain cells are going to have a seizure if I don't get some rest."

"Glad you can admit that you only had a few brain cells to start with," I joked and it worked, Spiridon chuckled before draining his drink. Dimitri and I did the same and this time I couldn't hide how horrible I thought it tasted.

We exited the study and found the rest of the house quiet. I wasn't sure where everyone was, I guessed and hoped that Christian was taking care of Lissa. Today had been straining for her and she'd put a lot of energy into compelling and healing.

Spiridon placed a hand on my back and led me downstairs. It was good that he did, because going through my time at the Institution was like reliving some of the moments, and my heart was pounding just from the sight of the stairs. Dr. Olendzki had said it could be a symptom of trauma, and some days were worse than the others.

When we got downstairs I saw Adrian smoking a cigarette by the door that led outside, accompanied by Yuri. Since the entire back wall was windows, I knew I'd need to close the curtains tonight in my room to make sure he couldn't see me when I slept. The windows had some kind of tint on them making it hard to see inside, but it wouldn't feel like enough.

"I'll go relieve Yuri, you two should catch up on some sleep," Dimitri said. If he was tired he hid it well.

Spiridon placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring squeeze. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep?" he asked, and the shadows under his eyes were remarkable.

I glanced at Dimitri who was looking at me intently. I nodded and tried to give them a convincing smile.

"Spiridon will sleep in your room tonight, we'll set up a place for him on the floor."

While I wasn't too thrilled to be sharing the bed with him, there was no way I'd let him sleep on the floor. "Don't be ridiculous, there's no need for that."

"One of us will have to stay with you. While we don't think Christian or Adrian are going to do something that they'll regret, the house is too crowded and we need to take precautions. Tomorrow we'll do another evaluation of the risks," Spiridon explained.

While I had objected to sleeping on the floor, not to staying in my room altogether, a part of me thought it was excessive. And I'd much rather have Dimitri with me. I looked at Dimitri, who was staring at Adrian through the glass door. He looked tense and I knew I wouldn't be able to change his mind. I took a few extra seconds to study his straight nose, the slight protruding of his lips. I wondered if he was pouting, only not pouting. Dimitri had a talent of hiding his expression so that only minuscule telltale signs were there, if any.

I turned my attention to Spiridon, who was staring at me flatly. I realized he'd seen me watch Dimitri, and felt the blush heat my cheeks. It wasn't really helping my case, and I escaped to my room to get ready for bed.

I had changed into my pajamas and was in the process of arranging the pillows into a wall when the door opened. Spiridon, not having bothered to knock, stepped into my room like he owned the place. He didn't even bother to lock the door behind him, only closing it with a light thud.

"Your room is way nicer than mine," he said as he was inspecting it. I realized he hadn't been in my room that many times, only once or twice in the beginning of our stay. Dimitri had been here a lot more than he, and I averted my gaze. He was carrying his duvet and a pillow.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor," I said and he observed the pillows that would act like a border between us.

"Look, I won't tell him if you don't. As long as you're okay with it, I'd rather sleep in that ginormous bed with you and not the floor."

I shrugged my shoulders and he dropped the duvet to the floor but brought his pillow with him to bed. We both got under the covers and he leaned over to shut the light.

Once the darkness set in, I realized how weird the situation was. While I was comfortable with Spiridon, sleeping next to him in the same bed as something else. I could feel the bed shift as he moved into a comfortable position, his breathing as he settled down. I was just so aware of having another man than Dimitri next to me.

The minutes passed and I rolled around trying to settle and fall asleep, but it was hard. So much had happened today and I kept going through everything, thinking about all the things from my time at the Institution.

I flopped down on my stomach and roughly fluffed my pillow. I felt Spiridon's hand land on my upper back, pressing me down slightly. "Settle, already," he murmured sleepily.

"I can't," I huffed.

"Because I'm not Dimitri?"

I stilled and felt myself tense up. I didn't know what to say so I just opened my mouth and closed it several times.

"Relax, I'm just fucking with you. Try to sleep, I know this has been a long day and a lot has happened but just think about this room, this bed, how your limbs feel and the weight of my hand. Whenever a thought pops up, just re-focus on my palm, okay?"

I did as he instructed, and it helped.

It was light outside when I woke up, but since the curtains were drawn it only seeped through the gaps.

Something was pressing into my back, hard, and it kept me from rolling over to my back. Instead I was balancing on the edge of the bed. I muttered half asleep and looked back. Spiridon was lying almost diagonally in the bed, on his stomach and one leg bent. I drew my hand back and felt that his knee was pressing into my back.

Douchebag. I reached back and tried to push it away from me but was met with resistance.

"Spiridon," I groaned. He didn't reply and was obviously deep asleep. I half-fell out of bed and stood up, watching him sleep happily. He was really taking the whole bed and the wall of pillows were completely scattered. I tried to push his knee down and succeeded after putting more pressure, but the second I released it he drew it back up.

Stupid douchebag.

"Spiridon, move."

"Okay, okay," he muttered in his sleep and rolled to his back. I pushed him further in towards his side and he complied, somewhat allowing me to do so. He was still taking over most of the bed but at least there was enough room for me to lie down.

I was lying on my back and almost asleep when he started shuffling around. I opened one eye to get a side glance and was shocked to see that he was removing his t-shirt. He was still lying down in bed, doing the bare minimum effort to get it off, but it was enough for me to see his bare chest and arms. I quickly rolled over to my side so that I was facing the wall, suddenly wide awake.

"What are you doing?" I whispered and was horrified. He just made a content sound in response and a few moments in his breathing became deep and even again. "Spiridon?" I said with a little more force in my voice but he still didn't reply.

I relaxed a little knowing he'd done so in his sleep, and not deliberately.

Still, it took me a long time to fall asleep again.

The next time I woke up as Spiridon emerged from the bathroom, with his shirt on again. He plopped back down in bed and we just laid there, apparently not feeling the need to hurry anywhere.

"How'd you sleep?" he murmured lazily, throwing one arm above his head and stretching his legs. I turned my pillow to get the cool side.

"Even in your sleep you're a douchebag."

"Hey, that's hurtful."

I looked up to be sure he wasn't really offended, but he was just lying there and scratching his stomach. He didn't bother to pull back his shirt, so I saw the lines of his lower stomach despite the dark room. "I slept so fucking good. Can't remember when I slept like this, this bed is magical," he said and sighed deeply. "Want to switch rooms?"

I knew he was joking, but a part of me didn't mind a room closer to Dimitri. Then maybe, I could just go to Dimitri and Spiridon wouldn't know-

I stopped my train of thought, knowing it was inappropriate, not to mention stupid.

"Shouldn't we do something?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I don't know, continue figuring out what was going on at the Institution."

"Do you want to do that, at this very second?" he asked. "There's plenty of time for that later, Dimitri's probably still asleep."

"What time is it?"

"It's time to shut up and just enjoy a moment of doing nothing."

I managed to do just that for about thirty seconds until I gave up. I grabbed a set of spare clothes and went into my bathroom.

When I came out Spiridon was still lying in bed, only now he was watching something on his phone. I ignored him and walked over to the windows, pulling the curtains open.

"Fine," he said dramatically, drawing out the word and doing a show of getting out of bed.

After lunch we were in the study again.

"We need to dispose of Ivashkov," Dimitri said. I looked at him with alarm.

"As much as Adrian jokes about being found dead in a dumpster three weeks from now, relax. We're not going to hurt him, we just need to get rid of him and return him to the Academy or something. He did what he came here to do and there's no point in keeping him around," Spiridon explained. "And it wouldn't hurt to just call him Adrian," he added and gave Dimitri a dry look.

"Maybe we should keep him here for a few days, in case we find some additional blocks," I suggested. They thought about it for a while, and by the looks on their faces they thought it was a good idea.

"Okay, and what do we do about the other one, then?"

We hadn't planned for Christian to be here, and so far he'd been holed up in Lissa's room. It was probably a good strategy on his part to avoid everyone.

"I think he should stay for a few days, just so that we can convince him to keep quiet," Dimitri suggested.

"I can convince him to do that in a matter of seconds."

"I don't think threats are the best way. Despite his father's connection to the Lakeside Institution, it's clear that he doesn't know anything. Once he understands the danger he can put Rose in, I think he'll be much more cooperative."

"I still think my way is better."

"If he hid in the trunk, he didn't see anything, right? He doesn't know where we are?" I asked.

"No, Vasilisa made it clear that he wasn't familiar with this place and Yuri said it would've been impossible for him to follow the drive from where he was hidden. He didn't have his phone with him, either."

"Okay, so everyone stays then? We'll just take turns guarding Adrian?" Spiridon muttered.

"We secured his phone and there's no landline connected to this place. I don't think he'll be able to find out where we are. As long as we keep him out of this room where there's a computer, I don't see the risk."

"Move him to the guardian quarters, make him sleep with Celeste and Yuri and it's settled," Spiridon grumbled. He clearly didn't want to deal with Adrian.

"I think he should take one of our rooms. Can't expect them to take responsibility for him."

"Where will you sleep, then?" I questioned.

"I wouldn't mind sleeping in your room from now on, but I'm willing to take turns with Dimitri. I can see why he likes it so much," Spiridon said with a smirk.

Dimitri's expression revealed nothing.

"Okay, sleeping arrangements and guest list aside, what happens now?" Spiridon added.

"We have a list now," Dimitri said and pulled out his phone and showed it to us. "We're missing the full names of some, but it's a start."

Confirmed:

Headmaster Lucas Ozera
Ronald Ozera
Rufus Ivashkov
Lord Drozdov
Mr. Doru
Headmistress Ellen
Zmey

Suspects:

Alberta Petrov?
Moira Ozera?
Natasha Ozera?

"You really think Tasha is involved?" Spiridon asked.

"No, but I'm not willing to exonerate her just yet. Lucas, and Moira, are deceased, so that leaves us with Ronald Ozera as the suspected head of the Institution."

"How do you know that they are deceased? I thought they turned Strigoi?"

"Rose has a point. We know they were hunted down and presumably killed, but that's all hearsay. We can't be completely sure," Spiridon added.

"Did you find anything on Alberta Petrov?" Dimitri asked.

"I'm convinced she wasn't turned. The source was solid, I also saw camera footage. Definitely not Strigoi or she would've been toasted. Her whereabouts are unknown with no leads."

"We'll keep her on the suspect list, there's a chance she was connected to, or even behind, Rose's initial kidnapping."

"The thing is, I don't think she was. From what I can remember she was adamant that I kept my sickness hidden, I always felt protected by her," I defended Alberta.

"I managed to find another source that claimed that she was seen in the company of Zmey. I couldn't verify this, however."

"And Zmey, anything new?"

"He was allegedly spotted in Court, but honestly, nobody knows what he looks like or what his real name is so that's just a wild rumor."

"Shouldn't Zmey be on the suspect list?" I asked. Despite hearing Moore and others mention him, I'd never actually seen him. At least the others on the confirmed list were Moroi I had actually seen in person.

"You said that you haven't seen him, but the number of times they talked about him makes it probable that he's indeed engaged in trafficking. We'll make a new evaluation once we catch a trail on him," Dimitri said.

"I think Lissa will ask me about the compulsion and if it worked. And honestly, I'm pretty sure they all put two and two together and realized that we've been holed up in here going through my new memories. What can I reveal exactly?"

"Like Dimitri said earlier, don't let anyone know about Christian's daddy dearest. If possible, I think we should keep the names to ourselves for now."

Dimitri nodded seriously in agreement.

"Okay, I'll keep as much as possible to myself."

"We're here if you need anything, remember that," Dimitri said quietly and his dark eyes bore into me. I knew he was worried that I would break down again, but I felt good. At least now I knew what shit I had to deal with, there was no fear of abuse that I might not remember. I was still a virgin, in every way possible, despite Moore's attempt to harm me. I knew what I had endured, and I knew I would survive it. I felt a million times better just knowing things.

Once this all had settled, and the people staying here were gone, I knew I'd have enough strength to read the journal and deal with Igor.

Despite suggesting that we'd keep Adrian around in case there would be more blocks, I was sure that there weren't any. A part of me was still feeling guilt for how we had treated him and used him, and I wanted him to get a chance to recover. I also wanted to apologize to him, if I could manage to gather enough courage to do so.

"We still need to establish a motive," Dimitri said.

"Isn't it obvious?" Spiridon huffed.

"What's obvious?" I asked.

"Some Royal lines, if not every, have an Institution. They gather sick girls there and it's quite obvious it's not to bake cookies or anything. So each Royal line has a brothel or some kind of place to keep girls that are then sold as sex slaves."

"Careful," Dimitri murmured, but Spiridon ignored him.

"Everything is pointing to that, they wanted to keep her untouched, they wanted obedient, meek girls. And the sickness is only helping here, you remember how she-"

Dimitri stood up abruptly and stared at Spiridon, how quieted down. "While I may agree that it's a likely reason, don't be crude. I suggest you pick your words better."

The temperature of the room felt ice cold and hot at the same time. I drew back my chair several inches. The men kept glaring at each other, until Spiridon smirked. "Anywho, so keep a bunch of sick girls at Institution until they're old enough to be sold."

"I still think it seems odd, I feel like we're missing something," I said quietly, fighting hard to not think about what Spiridon's words actually meant. I heard them, I knew the meaning behind the words, but it was dangerous to allow myself to fully comprehend the monstrosity behind them.

"It's a start," Dimitri replied.

"A good start," Spiridon, and I couldn't agree more. Finally had a direction, something to grasp.

Author's note:

So excited to publish this chapter. It's so much fun to read your theories and it's impressive to see that many of you connected the dots. Thank you all again for leaving a review, we read every single one!

The Russian thing Dimitri says, unfortunately we need to rely on google translate but hopefully it's somewhat correct.

"Everyday I fight a losing battle when it comes to you, Roza."