Lissa's POV

Trying to reach someone in a dream was a fierce type of torture. It wasn't easy for me to begin with, but being in that state of focusing on spirit magic for hours until the recipient finally went to sleep was extremely exhausting. I'd known it wouldn't be easy to reach Rose simply because I had no clue where she was and when she would go to bed. I didn't even know if she was on a human or a vampiric schedule now. Naturally, she would have preferred a human one, but perhaps she would have adjusted it to make life easier for… my daughter.

She would have turned eight a couple of weeks ago, and court life had been entirely on hold for a day. If it had been up to me, I would have preferred to treat it like any other day. I didn't want to be reminded of how I'd had to send my child away without even getting to know her. But I had to keep up appearances, and so every single year, everyone at court mourned the unborn princess' death. I, too, mourned, but not only for her.

I missed Rose, I missed Christian, and most of all, I missed the life I was never quite allowed to have. Sitting on Rose's old bed, I let out a sigh. With any luck, I'd at least get to see my best friend soon.

It had been difficult not to try to contact her soon. Ever since I'd finally learnt to walk dreams, I'd wanted to visit her, but Adrian – of all people – had reminded me that I could not. Too dangerous.

He had been right, of course, especially since I had not yet perfected the art of building a world around myself. I could have unintentionally revealed Rose's location to me, which would not have done any of us any good. We still didn't know who we could and could not trust. It was better if I didn't have any information to reveal accidentally. I was still playing a dangerous game – my control over the dream world wasn't ideal yet – but I no longer had any choice in the matter.

When I got the call from Janine last week that she'd seen Adrian dangerously close to the archives shortly before some files went missing, I knew he had lied to me about not seeing Rose. So Rose – at least I hope – was bound to have the answers to solve this current mystery.

Finally, after several hours, I felt something around me change, and then she was there. She seemed confused, which didn't change when she eventually turned around.

She looked different. I knew I hadn't changed much in the last eight years – benefits of being Moroi, I supposed – but Rose looked older. And tired. She appeared speechless for several seconds before finally finding her voice.

"Lissa?"

I couldn't blame her for being surprised to see me. For one, I hadn't been able to do this yet when we'd last seen each other, and we had also promised not to contact one another until all of this was over. That, I already knew, was going to be her next question.

"Is it—did you—"

I shook my head. "No. It's not safe yet."

A spark of hope was clearly visible in her expression that promptly got extinguished. "Oh. Then why… when did you… how… how are you doing?"

I smiled, but it wasn't entirely genuine. I was glad to see her; I simply wished it was under different circumstances. "I'm managing. What about you? And…"

Her smile was much more sincere. "Oh. Oh! Her name is—"

"No!" I interrupted her and didn't even realise I'd put some compulsion behind the word until it was too late. "Sorry. I… I can't know her name. Not yet. It's… I…"

I wanted to know her badly, and I wanted to know what to call her once we were finally united, but it was still too dangerous. I couldn't put her at risk. I really did hope Rose didn't give her a ridiculous name, though.

"Don't be sorry," Rose said, her mood clearly dampened, but she put on a show to make me feel better. As always. Some things, it seemed, time could not change. "I'm… assuming this isn't just a social call, then?"

I shook my head. "I'm afraid it is not."

Would she tell me without my asking? Or was this one of those things she wouldn't tell me because I wasn't supposed to know? She would have to, in any case, because once I asked, I'd know if her answer was a lie.

"So… what do you need?" she asked. She wasn't being cagey; she genuinely did not know why I called upon her. That was worrisome. Then again, perhaps he had not arrived just yet. But it had been almost a week… shouldn't he…?

Wondering and worrying didn't get me any closer to an answer, so I asked her, "Have you seen Adrian recently?"

"Of course," she said without hesitation, which I took as a good sign. Until she continued. "To be honest, I expected him tonight."

If she expected him to be with her in a dream, I doubted he was physically anywhere near her. Which meant… "Oh, no."

I could tell the moment she realised what I was implying. Her body stiffened, and she was on full alert. I momentarily cursed myself – wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she needed her rest, and I was once again taking it from her.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked. "Is he not at court?"

It was futile to lie to Rose, but of course, I tried it either way. "Yes, I was just wondering—"

"Lissa."

"I heard some concerning news last weekend that led me to believe he has been in contact with you," I started hesitantly. "When I went to speak to him about it, I found his apartment empty, and half of his wardrobe was missing."

Author's Note: I know, I know, adding another POV in the middle of the story is... ehhh... but it's always been the plan. It's just that the story got away from me for a while there and developed a life of its own lmao

Anyway, short chapter, I know, but I'll hopefully have the next one up in the next two days or so.