Dimitri's POV

Getting a call from Alberta in the middle of the night was unusual enough for me to be on high alert the moment I saw her name flash on the screen. When she told me that Rose, of all people, had called her, the feeling of dread only intensified.

It was then followed by irritation when I heard that Rose had taken it upon herself to assign her a post for the night – that was decidedly not her job. It was mine and it bothered me more than I would have liked to admit that she had once again chosen to completely ignore my authority. Not that I had wanted this authority to begin with, mind, but that didn't change the facts.

"She seemed worried, but she didn't say much over the phone. I am certain she will let you know what is happening as soon as she gets the chance," Alberta said on the other end of the line. I knew she was right.

I took a deep breath. This was a silly thing to get worked up about, especially when I knew that Rose would not have called Alberta for help without a good reason. "Just let her know that she will report back to me as soon as she's handled… whatever it is she's handling."

"Of course," she replied and I could have sworn I heard a suppressed laugh before she hung up.

It was no use trying to go back to sleep now, and my room was starting to feel very small as I walked around in circles, waiting for Rose. Would she even come? Could she be trusted to follow my orders? The doubts kept creeping up on me, and I started to realise that there was much that still needed to be discussed before our relationship – whatever its nature – could get back to the way it once was. Perhaps we would have time to have a real conversation tonight. Then again, I suspected that other issues would be taking up our focus after what I'd just heard.

It was almost eleven when Rose finally showed up. Any remaining thoughts I might have had about scolding her disappeared the moment I opened the door and saw her face. To anyone else, she would have looked composed – over the years, she had learned to hide her feelings well – but it took me only a split second to recognise the panic hiding underneath that mask.

I didn't get the chance to ask her what was wrong. "They're here."

There was no need to ask who she meant. Whoever was after the child had arrived. It had only been a question of when they would show up – after all, we knew Sunshine had revealed her location to them. I moved to the side to let her into the room, closed the door behind us, and immediately started making some coffee. I had a feeling we would need it.

Two cups later, I was all caught up. Three, and we had formed the beginnings of a plan. Rose, who had made herself comfortable on my bed while I chose to sit at my desk, was not quite happy with it, however.

"I don't think we should drag anyone else into this. The fewer people know, the better," she argued.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the one who called Guardian Petrov for help. It's only a matter of time until she figures out what is going on. If she hasn't already."

Rose had to know that was a very real possibility – her expression told me she did. She huffed. "Fair point. Still, we should—"

"If they know about Sunshine, I guarantee that they know who we are and what we look like," I reasoned with her. "We need to make sure that they do not think we are onto them."

She let out a long sigh. "I know. I just… isn't Alberta, like, semi-retired? Should we really drag her into our messes again?"

"I believe it's too late for that now. Besides, you know very well that she can handle herself."

It took a few moments of consideration before she conceded. "Fine, but we let her know only as much as she needs to."

"That's a given."

It was decided, then, although I had to admit that I liked it as little as Rose did. I would have preferred to personally investigate this, but what I had told Rose was true – we had to keep a low profile and let them think we had no idea they were here. Alberta was trustworthy – she would be able to keep an eye on the elementary campus for us while we continued our other investigations. Perhaps even more carefully now than before. If Rose was right, these people would have a connection to the Mână, and they wouldn't want us snooping around in Mână business, either.

I would have expected Rose to relax at least a little bit after knowing our next steps, but she appeared to shift around even more now. It took me all but a second to realise there was something else she wasn't telling me.

"What?" I asked. It came out harsher than I intended, but it earned me her attention.

She looked up at me and I recognised the way she was biting her lip. She was about to lie to my face. "Well, I—"

"Rose."

A moment of silence passed before she finally said, "There's… something else I need to tell you."

Oh no. Was this the conversation I had hoped we would have earlier? Her tone suddenly made me a lot less enthusiastic about having it, and I worried about what she would say to me.

"About us?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

A small smile played on her lips and she shook her head. "No. I mean, yes, that too, but not right now. I had… a dream visitor tonight."

That also wasn't a conversation I was comfortable having. I tolerated Ivashkov because I had to, but hadn't we decided to let Oksana handle this situation after he hadn't shown up the first time? "Unless he's got the ultimate solution to all of our problems, I don't think I can talk about Ivashkov tonight."

"It wasn't Adrian," she revealed.

Now, that was unexpected. And interesting. Who else would have contacted her? It couldn't have been the people who had been tormenting the child – she wouldn't have been so calm now if that was the case. "Elaborate?"

"Lissa contacted me last night and, before you ask, no, it's not good news."

Lissa? As in Vasilisa, who had sworn not to contact either of us until it was safe to return? If her correspondence wasn't good news, it had to mean that something terrible had happened. I remained silent, waiting for Rose to continue.

"There's no good way of putting this: Adrian's missing, and it's all my fault."

"черт возьми," I whispered under my breath. I knew nothing good would come from contacting him. "What happened?"

"I don't know. From what Lissa's said, I gather he's left Court shortly after speaking to me, and… the last time I talked to him, I believe he was already on his way to see me. In real life."

The implication was more than clear – he should have been here by now, but he was not. "What do you intend to do about this?"

I sincerely hoped her answer wasn't to go on a wild goose chase looking for him, but with Rose, one could never be sure. I knew very well it was my duty to care about a Moroi – especially a royal one – going missing, and I won't deny that there was a certain degree of worry about Lord Ivashkov's whereabouts at the back of my mind, but we had enough problems to worry about right here.

"Other than take a couple more naps at different times of the day in hopes he'll contact me? I don't think there's anything I can do."

A not entirely insignificant part of me wanted to agree with her, but I recognised how idiotic it was. The rivalry between Ivashkov and myself had ended years ago – why did it still feel so present? Granted, the spirit dreams were probably not the most helpful. He was, technically, visiting Rose in her bed at night. Still – unnecessary jealousy aside, I knew we had some options to potentially learn more.

"Not quite," I finally said. "I've not been as cut-off from the guardian world as you've been. I've got some contacts that I can reach out to. Find out his last known location."

Rose eyed me sceptically. "Are you sure? I wouldn't have thought—"

"I don't mean the man any harm, Rose," I sighed, choosing not to mention the many times I've wanted to punch his smug face before. "If he is seriously in danger, I will help. A danger to him may well be a danger to us, the Court, the Queen, Sunshine…"

Rose was quiet for a bit. "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about."