Rose's POV

The charm worked… well… like a charm. Headmistress Kirova could not see through it in the slightest and didn't suspect I could possibly be anyone other than the Moroi woman I'd claimed I was. She was surprised that I wouldn't have brought my daughter to an academy sooner – children of Moroi were often very young when they started school, too, though for different reasons than dhampir children started school early. For Moroi, it was all about the protection an academy such as St. Vladimir's could offer, especially to non-royals who did not have the luxury of personal guardians. Then again, maybe she was not as much surprised as she was offended. It had been ten years since the battle at the academy, but the consequences of it could still be felt here. Sure, it was one of the more prestigious academies that I knew of. And, sure, many Moroi were still sent here. But that night would always be a black mark in its history. It was an unfair assumption by the outside world that what had happened could have been the academy's fault.

With the knowledge I had, however, I could make that same assumption, and it would not have been so unfair. Of course, the reason the wards had been weakened had been kept a secret, but I knew. I knew that could have been prevented if the they had just bothered to fucking look at what was happening at the time. If only—no. No, it didn't matter now. All that mattered was that this gave me a good explanation when she asked me why I'd decided against an early education for my daughter. "Headmistress, I'm aware that this is unusual, but you must understand… our daughter's safety is of the utmost importance to us."

Kirova bristled at that. "I can assure you, this academy is heavily guarded. It may well be the safest place in the world for your daughter."

The implication that, had we been royal, the only place safer than here would have been the royal court did not escape my notice, and I nearly had to laugh. If only she knew. "I don't doubt that. That's… that's why we're here now. I've realised that, without a guardian at our disposal, we cannot adequately protect her."

And that was that. Kirova nodded approvingly while Sunshine watched me curiously. I was glad that she didn't say anything. I hadn't told her much about Strigoi, guardians, and that entire system. She would learn. In time. That was nothing she had to worry about yet.

Then, all required forms were filled out, sealed with signatures and stamps, and it was time for me to hand over my ward to the academy. Kirova sent for a guardian to escort her to her assigned dorm, and I was glad when the one that showed up was someone I didn't know. Sonya's compulsion charms were strong, but had it been someone I'd known well, it might not have worked. I turned to Sunshine to say my goodbyes and promises to visit – though I had no idea just how I would make that work – but she wouldn't let me go just yet.

"Are you not coming with me?" she asked with wide eyes and I had to look away. I'd told her we wouldn't see each other for a while. Couldn't she understand?

I sighed. "I can't, Sunny. I promise I'll be back soon, but—"

"You could accompany her to her room. There's no rule keeping parents out of the building," the guardian said, and I had to suppress a groan. It pained me to leave Sunshine, but how could I walk across the entire campus without anyone noticing that something wasn't quite right with me? Not everyone was as weak to compulsion as Kirova and, by the looks of it, this guardian were. It wasn't likely anyone could actually see through the charm and recognise me, but anything that might raise questions was to be avoided.

Of course, Sunshine didn't know about those particular problems, either. All she knew was that she had to pretend I was her mother today, and that no one could know who I was. The details of Spirit magic had been just a bit too complicated to explain to her, especially since I myself still couldn't wrap my head around all of it. "Yes, can we do that? I don't want you to leave me yet."

The guardian gave me an encouraging look. He, too, couldn't have known what was going on in my head. So I put on a smile. "Of course. How could I turn down some extra time with my daughter? But I'll have to go soon. You understand that, right?"

Sunshine nodded now, and I knew she really did understand. She was young, though, and didn't want to feel like I was leaving her behind. I could relate to the feeling and, besides, it wasn't like this was easy for me. Sunshine knew I wasn't her real mother – I could never have lied to her about that – but I was the only person she'd ever known as a mother. Just because she called me auntie didn't mean she truly knew the difference. And as much as I tried not to think of her as my own daughter, I would have been deluding myself if I'd said I didn't harbour any motherly feelings toward her at all. I didn't want to let her go, either, and that wasn't just because of my obligation to Lissa.

Still, I regretted my decision to walk with her and Guardian Frolov to the elementary campus. It was the middle of the night, which meant lots of activity on campus. It may have been ten years since I'd graduated but, as I well knew, staff didn't usually change much around here. I briefly wondered whether Alberta might still be on campus. She would have been, what, in her sixties now? She might have retired – or worse – but if I knew her at all, she wouldn't leave this academy unless she was literally unable to stand on her own two feet. She'd see through my disguise in an instant, and knowing what she did about spirit, she might have even been able to deduce who I was. I decided it didn't matter – I wouldn't have been able to do anything about that. There was, however, another pressing problem that I could do something about.

It was torture to go against each and every guardian principle that had been drilled into me from childhood. I couldn't scan my surroundings for threats and I couldn't look too alert. A Moroi woman with those instincts would raise questions for any guardian that may have been on duty, prompting a closer look. That, I couldn't risk, either. So I had to do something I never did – be completely unaware of my surroundings. It was harder than one might think, but at least Sunshine provided a distraction. She was scared but excited at the same time, and she couldn't wait to meet others.

That, unfortunately, earned me a raised eyebrow from the guardian at her side. He didn't say anything, but the question was clear. Why didn't this Moroi child have any Moroi friends? I ignored it. Among Moroi, that wouldn't even have been considered all that rude. Many simply didn't treat us guardians as people and, as much as I hated doing that, I didn't really have an explanation as to why Sunshine had not met other Moroi her age.

Sunshine didn't seem to notice anything amiss and kept talking. The excitement seemed to be overtaking the anxiety, and I was once again reminded that this had been the right decision. She needed to learn about her culture, live among others of her kind, and gain control over her magic. And she was going to do so well here. I just knew she was.

We were passing the middle school building when I suddenly thought I felt someone's presence several feet behind us. I may have tried to block out my surroundings, but there were some instincts I just couldn't shake. I couldn't exactly hear the footsteps, which indicated it must have been a trained guardian, but I just knew someone was following us. Something about them felt familiar, too, but I didn't have time to dwell on how or why. There was also absolutely no way I could turn around to find out.

A few minutes later, it turned out that I might have just been paranoid. Whoever had been behind us had turned left while we kept walking straight ahead. I didn't get a glimpse of who it was, which irked me, but I supposed it wasn't important if they hadn't followed us. We arrived at the Moroi dorm on the elementary school campus not much later. This was where Guardian Frolov left us as well. We went inside, where the matron, who appeared somewhat surprised by our arrival, showed us to Sunshine's room. There, we were given some privacy, and I repeated the most important points from our conversation last night.

"You'll visit me, won't you?" Sunshine eventually asked. She sounded suspicious, and I couldn't blame her. I would visit. At least I'd planned on doing so. Unfortunately, I had no idea just how. She must've figured out as much.

Still, I nodded. "Of course. Whenever I can."

That wasn't a lie, at least. Whenever I could find a way, I would.

Then it was time to say goodbye. It was even harder than I'd anticipated, and I gave her a long hug. I also gave her something she wasn't supposed to have. A phone.

"Don't let anyone know you have this," I told her sternly. "And only use it in emergencies to contact me."

She nodded in understanding to the first part, but seemed confused by the second. "What kind of emergency?"

"Any kind." I didn't know what to expect from here on out. Anything could happen. I'd much rather have her call too many times because of something trivial than not have her call me about something that mattered. "Anything you consider an emergency, you hear me? If anything, and I mean anything, isn't all right, you call."

"Okay."

That should have been my cue to leave, but I pulled her into my arms a second time. "You'll be fine. You'll do so well here, Sunny. You're gonna make me proud. You're gonna make your mommy proud."

Anyone who might have listened would have thought those last two sentences were the same thing. Sunshine knew they weren't. And then, very quietly, she asked me a question I didn't expect. "Is she here?"

"No." There was nothing else I could – or would – say about that. "No, she's not here."

Sunshine couldn't hide her disappointment at that, but accepted it. "I hope I can meet her soon."

"So do I," I told her quietly. I really did, but I was beginning to lose hope.

We eventually managed to let each other go, and it wasn't long until I was back on the road. There had been a shift change at the gates, and one of the guardians who worked there had been a former classmate, but he hadn't recognised me. Luck really had been with me the whole day.

Now I just had to figure out what was next. I would have to stay nearby to keep the promise I'd made to Lissa. I knew nearby was relative, with the academy being located in the middle of nowhere, but I was going for something along the lines of 'less than an hour away if I completely disregard the speed limit'. I wasn't all that familiar with the area, so for now, I was just driving down the road and hoping to find myself a motel room where I could spend the next few days contemplating my future. After just over an hour and a half, I finally did. It was still night, and I was hoping to finally get some sleep.

Early in the morning, I was woken up by the chime of my phone. I was out of bed immediately and answered the call. "What's wrong?"

"Auntie Rose?" Sunshine's voice came through the speaker. "I can't sleep."

Oh, thank God.

"Sunny, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought something was wrong," I scolded her.

"Something is wrong," she told me. "Sleeping during the day is weird."

I almost laughed. Yes, I'd kept us on a human schedule, so how would she know anything else? "Well, remember how being out in the sun would always tire you out fast? It's like that with all the Moroi."

She was quiet for a while, then seemed to decide that that made sense. "Okay. Thank you."

And with that, she was gone again. I shook my head. I supposed this phone being strictly for emergencies was off the table, then.

I was proven right that night. I knew classes wouldn't start for another week – or two? I wasn't sure – so she would have had a lot of free time. It was past midnight, sometime after lunch for her, when she called again. "Auntie Rose, why do they tell me I get to feed every night?"

"Every day," I corrected her, then explained, "And it's because now you can. With feeders on campus, there's no need to drive so far away to get blood."

"Hm. Okay." And she had hung up again.

For the next three days, I kept receiving calls like these, and they were always over soon. Until the fourth morning, when she called to ask about something very unexpected.

"Auntie Rose, can you tell me about mi… moil… molnija marks?" It wasn't a surprise that she stumbled over the word, seeing as I had never taught it to her. She had no business knowing about something like that.

I was on high alert immediately. "How do you know about molnija marks?"

"The guardians here have them, too, but they don't tell me what they're for."

Well, that was something at least. She was far too young to be confronted with the ever-present threat of the Strigoi and how guardians took care of that. Nevertheless, someone had clearly told her something. "Sunny, I need you to tell me what you know. Right now."

"Well, I know they're a sign of honour, and Guardian Belikov said…"

The world stopped spinning. My heart stopped beating. I couldn't breathe. I didn't even hear the rest of her sentence. Guardian Belikov. No, I couldn't have heard that right.

"What… what did you just say?" I asked. "Who?"

"Guardian Belikov," she repeated. No. No, I'd definitely heard that right. Belikov.

Dimitri Belikov? It had to be.

I didn't have time to ponder the implication that revelation might have held in regards to Christian. All that mattered was that Dimitri was alive. Dimitri was here.

It seemed like I would have to visit the academy again sooner than I'd thought.