Rose POV

We should have expected anything on the anniversary of the attack on St. Vladimir's Academy, but we didn't know that Strigois could be so pathetically vindictive. What we didn't expect was that they would gather in a large group, pierce the magical protection around the school, and start a bloody repeat of the attack. It actually made sense considering, how many important personalities, including the queen, showed up for the celebration.

I was also taken by surprise. I was already off my shift, so I thought I'd dress in something fancier than my usual black slacks and shirt - and yeah, it was a mistake. I wore a long skirt that was nowhere near suitable for a fight. At least the thigh-high slit provided quick access to the stake I had hidden underneath

The Strigois attacked us while Dimitri was holding me in an embrace outside the building when the emotions were becoming a little too overwhelming for me. Suddenly, I felt a sharp sting of unnatural nausea and knew what was coming. I pushed Dimitri away and threw myself at the Strigoi who was trying to sneak up on us, taking away her element of surprise. Dimitri quickly joined me, notifying the other guardians about the attack through the microphone that all the guards carried.

I kicked the Strigoi, who was too close for me to strike with my stake. My kick sent her to the floor, where Dimitri instantly rushed over to her, piercing her heart. I didn't have time to see her dying as I had to attack the Strigoi waiting behind Dimitri's back. He didn't have time to touch my boyfriend when I knocked him to the floor and wounded him in the face with my stake. He screamed shrilly, but before he could push me away, my stake plunged deep into his heart.

"Come on, they need help at the entrance," Dimitri was panting, giving me a hand and helping me up. We ran to the entrance, where the guardians were outnumbered by a group of Strigoi. We threw ourselves to aiding the most vulnerable guardians.

I don't know how long we fought; just like the previous year, it seemed they just kept coming at us. I desperately wanted to get to Lissa and see if she was safe, but I heard on the microphone that she was protected, so I stayed to defend the entrance. At one point, I was thrown to the ground, ripping the skin on my face and hands. Another blow to my ribs left me breathless, and I was sure my ribs had sustained some damage. Another guardian quickly knocked down the Strigoi in front of me, but I had to return to the battle as soon as I could catch my breath.

We did our best, but several guardians were injured. Some didn't get up after the Strigois' blows; others were thrown against the walls of buildings so hard that they lost consciousness. I also saw a Strigoi bite into the face of one guardian, leaving behind a bloody mass of muscle and blood. I tore her away from the guardian and dragged her into the fight, but I didn't get a chance to see if the girl survived. I only saw someone else dragging her away from the battle site.

My gaze often fell on Dimitri, who was never far from me. I saw a bloody wound on his forehead and I thought I saw a flash of blood on his arm, but other than that, he was fine. I knew he also tried to stay close to me and react when I was at risk.

We fought until we defeated all the Strigoi trying to get inside. Dimitri, the others, and I ran inside, where the guards were defending all the ceremony guests. With our help, they quickly finished off the Strigoi in the middle of the big hall, and finally, I felt someone gripping my arm. I reflexively nearly stabbed him before realizing it was my boss, Harvey, who stopped my arm before I could lift it.

"Where is the queen?!" he shouted in panic. Harvey was the head of the Royal Guard, and I had never seen him angered. I had never even heard his raised voice. At the sight of the deep terror in his eyes, my blood froze.

"What do you mean, where is she?!" I screamed in response. "You were the ones protecting her!"

"But she ran to you!" he shouted back. A circle of people gathered around us, awaiting my answer, including Christian, who had turned deathly pale. For the moment, I didn't care about finding out who had seen her last and who had fucked up the job of protecting her. All I cared about was that my friend was missing and in danger. Harvey shouted something to me, but I didn't respond, as I moved into Lissa's mind.

The strong hands of the monsters held her with a brutality she wasn't used to. Earlier, she had tried to scream, so they put a cloth gag in her mouth. It choked her as she tried to hold back tears and look around for anything that would help me find her. Finally, her eyes landed on an old cabin in the woods.

"THEY HAVE HER! They are near the cabin!" I cried, breaking away from Harvey and rushing as fast as I could in her direction.

I ran as hard as I could, not looking back to see who was following me, although I knew that Dimitri was keeping pace with me, followed by the entire Royal Guard and Christian in the distance. I didn't feel the fatigue in my legs, but my lungs began to burn from the sprint as we tried to outrun the time and reach Lissa. We didn't even slow down for a second as we rushed towards her.

It wasn't until we saw a group of Strigoi with a struggling Lissa that I realized they were expecting us.

Lissa stood between them, held by one of the Strigoi, who put a knife to her throat.

"Do not take another step, or I'll slit her throat."

We stood still. I raised my hand to signal that no one should approach her.

"If you even try to set us on fire, your queen will pay the price."

Breathing heavily after sprinting, I assessed the situation. Our groups were about equal in number, but it didn't matter since they had Lissa closer to them. My friend looked fearfully into my eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks onto her dirty face, leaving trickles of mascara behind. Her hair had come loose from the intricately braided bun.

She looked at me, and for a second I absorbed her emotions. I saw myself standing across from her with rage clear on my face. She saw my bloody hands, tense face, torn skirt, and the vengeful anger in my eyes. In her emotions, I felt fear not only for her but also for me, for Christian standing behind me, and for the others. She knew we couldn't win.

"Leave her, and we'll let you go," Harvey said, trying to sound composed. He stood with his stake extended, ready to leap into battle.

The Strigoi laughed ominously, sending shivers down my spine. Lissa closed her eyes, trembling with fear.

"You will let us go? If you attack us, the queen will die. If you leave us... Well, the queen will start a new life."

He smiled cruelly, knowing we were in a losing position. I desperately looked around at the other guardians, catching Christian's panicked gaze and Dimitri's distraught look. No one knew what to do, so we stood frozen.

Lissa cried as they began dragging her further into the woods. My heart broke, but then I remembered the Moroi were not the only ones with secret weapons. I found the

mental barrier inside me that protected me from the world of the dead and let it fall.

The ghosts appeared around us, and the Strogoi stopped in mid-step, terrified. Since I came back to life for the second time, they no longer looked like phantoms; they were not transparent anymore. I could summon them to an almost real form. They were no longer just scary, flying faces - they were real. They could inflict pain and harm on me and the Strigoi.

Putting a mental barrier between me and them was one way to protect myself, so I didn't use their help very often, or at all. They posed as much danger to me as the Strigoi, if not more. But I knew that nothing else mattered now except getting Lissa back.

The souls of defeated guardians and others appeared around us. For a second, we all froze - me, the ghosts, and the Strigoi. But after a moment I whispered, "Kill the Strogoi. Save Lissa."

The spirits threw themselves at the monsters, and I focused on the one holding Lissa. The soul of the dead guardian launched at the face of the Strigoi, who in bewilderment let go of Lissa, screaming shrilly.

"Christian, now!" I shouted, and the monsters and trees around us burst into flames. I jumped into the fire without hesitation, heedless of the heat, Strigoi, or ghosts. so I quickly grabbed her and pulled her to me as the Strigoi tried to stab her neck with a knife, despite the ghost trying to scratch his eyes out. His knife cut her arm before I pulled her away and kicked him back. At that moment, he burst into flames.

Another Strigoi rushed at me and Lissa, but before I could shield her with my own body, Dimitri attacked him, allowing me to lead Lissa out of Strigoi's reach. We ran out of the flames to the other guardians and Christian, who controlled the flames around them. I pulled Lissa close, hugging her, and she readily snuggled into my arms. I cast a quick glance at Dimitri, who was easily finishing off the remaining burning monsters with other guardians.

"Let's get out of here!" I ordered, but before I could take the first step, I felt clawed fingers tighten on my shoulder.

I turned around to see the ghost of a guardian, who dug its nails into my face too quickly for me to step back. I screamed, feeling my skin being ripped apart, but when I raised my hands to my face, there was no blood. When I lifted my eyes, I saw that all the spirits who had helped me save Lissa were now gathered around me.

With murderous expressions on their faces.

They attacked me at once, clawing at me from all sides and delivering breathtaking blows. I tried not to scream, focusing all my power on putting up a mental barrier, but I couldn't even begin to recreate it as the spirits attacked me viciously. My body trembled as I focused on my barrier, and I felt blood running from my nose to my lips.

At the next strike, I fell to my knees. I felt Lissa's warm hands on my shoulders and Dimitri's strong hands holding my body as I bent in half in pain. The spirits obstructed my view of them, but I managed to meet Dimitri's gaze.

"Get her out of here!" I gasped. Lissa was pulled away, but I could hear her screams of protest. Dimitri moved closer, trying to catch my gaze again. I couldn't see him through the mass of ghosts trying to rip at my face, my hair, my body. Every touch they made hurt as if they were lashing out at me in the real world.

"Rose, put up a barrier! Focus on blocking them out!" Dimitri shouted, trying to reach me through the shrill howling of the ghosts. I trembled, trying to put up my mental wall, but I couldn't do it, not with the phantoms trying to tear my body apart.

"No... I can't…" I moaned, tasting blood in my mouth. Dimitri grabbed my face and forced me to look into his horror-filled eyes. I only saw him for a moment before one of the souls also grabbed my face, trying to jerk my head around.

"Roza, you are stronger than they are! Focus, you must fight! You must block the ghosts!" The panic in Dimitri's voice touched my heart, but I feared there was nothing I could do.

This was too much. Too much screaming, too much pain, too much energy. I couldn't stop them, not after giving them so much to attack the Strigoi. I felt myself drifting away as cold claws began to pull me towards the icy abyss between them. I didn't have the strength to fight them, but the warm, iron grip of Dimitri's hand didn't let me go, holding me tightly to him. I focused on his fingers clenched on my shoulders, his warmth radiating through my body.

A scream ripped from my throat as I tried to block out the spirits that wanted to tear me apart. Dimitri held me tightly, begging me to keep fighting and save myself. Every time I felt the world of the dead crushing me, his tense voice brought me back.

I was shaking all over my body as I tried to build the mental barrier brick by brick. Whenever I succeeded in lifting it even a little, an attack from the spirits shattered my progress but I didn't give up. I tasted blood in my mouth and felt it dripping from my nose, but after what seemed like forever, I locked the spirits away and shielded myself with my mental barrier.

The sudden silence rang in my ears like a bell, and I became motionless as I looked at Dimitri. His grip on my body didn't weaken, and his eyes never left my face. Pain and fear were etched on his face, but when he spoke, his voice was infinitely gentle.

"Rose?"

I didn't have time to answer him before my eyes rolled back into my head and I lost consciousness, falling into his arms.