The sun was setting when I woke up, and part of me was surprised to find that Dimitri was still wrapped around me. I shifted, trying to figure out the best way to get up without disturbing him, but as I started to move, his grip on me tightened.

"Good morning," he murmured.

"Hi," I said. "How long have you been awake?"

Dimitri released me from his grip and shrugged as he sat up. "Not too long. You looked peaceful while you slept, and I didn't want to wake you."

I felt my cheeks heat up, and I looked away. "I brought you clothes."

Dimitri crossed the room to grab his clothes off of my dresser. "Thanks."

He dressed quickly and turned back to me before leaving the room. "Are you hungry?"

I gave him a look. "Is that even a question?"

He chuckled. "Not a logical one, I suppose. Come on, I'll make breakfast."

I didn't argue that his breakfast would be my dinner and followed him out of the room silently. Once downstairs, he began putting together the ingredients for pancakes while I watched eagerly from the kitchen island. It didn't take long for the smell of the cooking meat to draw others to the kitchen, and Lissa wandered a moment later.

"Ooh, breakfast for dinner?"

I nodded, gesturing for her to take the seat next to me. She brought her calculus textbook with her, and I groaned. Calculus was my worst subject, but it was somehow one of Lissa's best, so we ended up in calculus classes more frequently than I liked. The plus side was that Lissa helped me with my homework and let me snoop through the bond (though she couldn't really stop me, even if she wanted to) during tests to maintain a passing grade in the class. I was thankful we wouldn't take any math classes next semester.

"Did you even attempt the homework?" Lissa asked, sliding her completed sheet over to me.

"I looked at it," I said, taking the sheet and snapping a picture of it. My homework sheet was still in my backpack upstairs, and I would transfer over the answers later. "Besides, that's what I have you for."

I shot her a cheeky smile, and Lissa couldn't help but smile back.

"Does Lissa regularly do your homework?" Dimitri asked, glancing back at us as he started cooking the pancakes.

"Not usually," I said. "Only in classes like calculus where I would risk being kicked out for not understanding the material. Since Lissa typically picks our schedule, she's fine with me using her for homework help occasionally."

"We do have that religion, witchcraft, and magic class next semester that you picked out," Lissa said.

"Let's be real; you wanted to take that just as much as I did."

Lissa nodded. "You're not wrong."

Dimitri turned around and looked at us with confusion on his face. "Isn't that risky? What if there are humans in the class that believe in vampires?"

I shrugged. "Lissa can compel them. Ow!" I exclaimed as Lissa smacked my arm. It didn't necessarily hurt, but the instinct was still there. "I'm kidding, of course. I don't think attending a class like that will draw any unwanted attention to Lissa that isn't normally drawn to her. Worst case scenario, we drop the course. We've got it all figured out, comrade."

"If you say so," he said, a small smile on his face.

He began putting cooked pancakes on a plate, and I started carrying things over to the table. We didn't often eat as a whole group, but we had the space to do so when the occasion arose. And I had a feeling that this would be an occasion that would bring all of the off-duty guardians together. Lissa helped carry over some things as well, and as soon as all of the food was on the table, people began to eat. Dimitri carried over the last of the pancakes, another look of confusion on his face. I instantly knew what he was thinking. He took a seat next to me, and I leaned over to talk quietly to him.

"Lissa likes the guardians to be friendly with her. It took some time for some of them, but when they're off duty, she enjoys sharing meals and other things with them. She knows that it's not exactly protocol, but since she's the queen, she can kind of do whatever she wants."

Dimitri nodded slowly. "Knowing Lissa, I'm not sure why I thought she would operate any differently. She treats her people well."

"She won the election by a huge margin, but if dhampirs could've voted or even been represented with a vote, she would have won by a landslide," I said. "She really does care for all of her people, not just the Moroi."

"Good," Dimitri said finally. "We need a ruler like her."

The rest of October passed quickly, and Lissa and I stayed busy between studying for midterms and Lissa's queenly work. She brought my idea about virtual meetings to the Council, and they agreed to hold meetings virtually for urgent issues and save less urgent matters for when Lissa could travel back to Court. Since our next trip wouldn't be until the end of November, she had a handful of issues to attend to virtually, but they happened to coincide with midterms. By the time November rolled around, we were both exhausted. Dimitri and I had continued hooking up in secret, but even that had dwindled due to my schedule with Lissa. Our days didn't overlap much since he stayed on the overnight duty schedule, and we mostly kept our hookups to happening when he was getting off shift and I was waking up.

We were a week away from Thanksgiving break, and Lissa had already started counting down the days until she would see Christian again.

"Good night, Rose!" she called as she passed my bedroom.

"Good night," I responded before turning to look back out the window.

I had been watching Dimitri before Lissa passed, and I went back to watching and saw as Dimitri turned the corner of the house on his rounds. I started turning towards my bed when I saw a flicker out of the corner of my eye. I glanced over and saw the unmistakable pale form of a ghost. The ghost wasn't familiar to me, but it stood within the ward boundary. I stared at it for a moment before flying into action. If there was a ghost within the ward lines, then they were weak enough for a Strigoi to break through, and an attack wasn't something that we could risk. As I ran from my room, I hit a button on my watch, easily notifying all of the guardians in and around the house that there was an issue. We all wore the watches, regardless of whether we were on duty or not, for situations like this where it might require all hands-on deck on short notice. I burst into Lissa's room a moment later, causing her to jump.

"Christian, I have to go," she said, seeing my face. As she hung up her phone, mine rang.

"Rose, what's going on?" Dimitri asked over the phone as four other guardians burst into Lissa's room.

"Something's wrong with the wards," I said. "We're at risk for an attack."

Dimitri didn't question how I knew. "Take Lissa somewhere safe. And stay safe."

"You too," I whispered. I hung up the phone and turned to the other guardians. "We need to get the queen to the bunker. I'm not fully debriefed on the status of the wards, but at the very least, they've become weakened, and it would be possible for a Strigoi to cross the boundary."

We moved quickly, having practiced this drill before. Our bunker was actually in the attic, intentionally designed that way to make it harder for Strigoi to access it. The door to the attic was hidden in the back of a linen closet, carefully concealed by a shelf of towels with a hidden latch. Two of the guardians led Lissa upstairs to the bunker, while one guardian would patrol the second floor and the other would report outside with the rest of the guardians to man the perimeter. It didn't matter at that moment if someone was technically off duty; we needed every guardian possible. I turned to follow the guardians into the bunker with Lissa when I felt the telltale nausea that indicated Strigoi were close. I quickly hit the button on my watch three times – our agreed-upon signal for Strigoi – and shut the door to the attic stairs. I heard the linen shelf click into place a moment later, and I turned, running up the stairs. Lissa was already inside the bunker, but the door was still open. I ran into the bunker and slammed the door shut. As I did, the generator kicked on, lighting up the room and pumping oxygen throughout it. The bunker was soundproof, and we were isolated from what was happening outside. The nausea in my stomach stayed, though, and I knew it wouldn't be safe to come out any time soon.

"Rose, what's going on?" Lissa asked, pacing the length of the bunker.

"There's Strigoi nearby," I said. "We're going to protect you, Liss. Nobody's getting through that door."

Lissa nodded and sat down in one of the chairs. The two other guardians in the bunker stayed posted by the door, ready for anything. I crossed the room to stand closer to Lissa, my body in front of her. I had faith in the bunker, but I was also ready for anything.

Time moved slowly in the bunker. Every now and then, our watches would alert as guardians signaled to each other outside. I soon took to pacing the length of the bunker. I was still ready for anything, but my anxiety spiked every time I thought about the fight outside. Part of me wanted to be out there, but Lissa needed me more. Still, I couldn't help but think back to what Dimitri had told me about Tasha saving his life. Unbidden, I had started worrying about his safety in addition to Lissa's.

She reached out and grabbed my hand. "He's going to be okay," she whispered. "He's one of the best guardians there is."

I nodded. "I know."

That was all I could tell myself as we waited for an all-clear to come through the watches. Slowly, the nausea in my stomach faded until it was barely noticeable. I couldn't determine if it lingered because there were still Strigoi alive nearby or if it had been so long that I couldn't tell the difference between them being here and being gone. A knock on the bunker door pulled me out of my thoughts.

I held up my hand, indicating that the guardians by the door shouldn't move. They both shifted their stance, pulling out their stakes. The door could only be opened from the inside with a code, but every guardian was taught a knock when they started for situations like this. I waited, but no other noises sounded. I shook my head, indicating to the guardians that we wouldn't be opening the door, and a moment later, there was a large thump against the door. There was an undeniable sound of metal hitting metal a moment later, and I had a sickening feeling that a Strigoi had managed to make it up the attic stairs and had been knocking a moment ago.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed after that before I heard the signal of knocks on the door. I gestured with my hands for Lissa to stay back, just in case, and kept my body in front of hers as I okayed the guardians to open the door. One of them rapidly typed in the code while the other threw the door open when the light turned green. Both guardians jumped out the door, ready to fight if needed. But it was just another guardian on the other side.

"The Strigoi are dead or gone," he said, speaking directly to me. "Hans is sending a helicopter to retrieve the queen; it should be here any moment. We're going back to Court tonight."

I nodded, flanking Lissa as we stepped out of the bunker. We had to step over a Strigoi body to do so, and I tried to keep Lissa's attention off of it. We led her to her room, where she quickly started throwing together a bag. Like me, she kept a lot of duplicate items in both places to make packing easier.

"Status update?" I asked, directing my question to the guardian who cleared us from the bunker. "How many Strigoi?"

"At least five. We're not sure if any held back from attacking and got away," he said.

"Any injuries?"

He didn't meet my eyes for a moment. "We lost one guardian and have at least two that are badly injured. I haven't received names yet."

My heart jumped into my throat at his words, and out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Lissa zip up her bag, even though some of her stuff was still on her bed.

"Let's go," she said. We could both hear the helicopter as it landed, and Lissa met my eyes. She knew I wouldn't leave her, but she also knew it was killing me not knowing if Dimitri was okay. She left her extra stuff on the bed, again repeating, "Let's go.

We moved as one and flanked her as we walked through the house. I could see the feet of a guardian sticking out from the kitchen, and it took everything in me not to run over to see who it was.

We reached the helicopter in record time and quickly got Lissa on board. There were a couple of guardians already inside, obviously injured from the pained expressions on their face. I knew Lissa was going to try to heal them before she even made a move.

"Go," she said, moving toward the back of the helicopter. "They have me."

I knew she meant the other guardians who weren't injured, but part of me resisted. It was still dark outside, and Strigoi could still attack at any time.

"Rose, go!" she repeated. "That's an order."

I nodded jerkily and turned to leave the helicopter. I hadn't stepped off the bottom rung when I saw Dimitri running towards me. He was limping, and I could see that his arm was severely cut, even from a distance. I waited until he was close enough before I dragged him onto the helicopter, falling into his arms. The tears came unbidden, and Dimitri wrapped his arms around me, soothing me.

"It's okay, Roza," he said. "I'm fine. It's going to be okay."

He continued repeating those words as the helicopter took off, heading for Court. I stayed in Dimitri's arms the entire time, not saying anything, just holding onto him as if to make sure he was still there.

When we landed less than thirty minutes later, I finally untangled myself from Dimitri's arms, and I was the first to exit the helicopter. I wasn't surprised to find that Hans and a group of guardians were waiting. Christian was also there. Lissa threw herself into Christian's arms the moment she stepped off the helicopter, sobbing in a similar way that I had been in Dimitri's arms.

"I'm taking her home. If anyone has a problem with that, then they can deal with it tomorrow," Christian said. He didn't wait for any responses before leading Lissa away.

Hans turned to me and Dimitri. "Hathaway, Belikov, let's debrief. The rest of you get to the medical center to get checked out."

We followed him dutifully. As we walked, I remembered Dimitri's limp and cut arm.

"Dimitri needs medical attention," I said.

"I'm fine," he said.

I stopped walking. "No, you're no—"

It was then that I realized Dimitri was no longer walking with a limp. I grabbed his arm, revealing that there was no cut there, though the blood still marked his skin.

"Lissa healed me on the helicopter," Dimitri said. "Roza, I promise you that I'm fine."

I nodded. "Okay."

Dimitri slipped his hand into mine as we continued walking, and I didn't pull away. We held hands until we reached the headquarters building, where we finally released each other. We followed Hans back to his office and took a seat.

"What happened?" he asked, a serious look in his eyes.

"I'm not sure," I said truthfully. "The wards either broke or were tampered with. I was upstairs when I noticed something wrong. I sent out an alert and got the queen into the bunker as soon as possible. As we were shutting the bunker door, I realized that there were Strigoi nearby and sent out that alert, too. I'm not entirely sure what happened after that. We had three guardians, counting myself, inside the bunker, and one guardian was stationed on the house's second floor."

Dimitri nodded. "When Rose alerted that there was an issue with the wards, all of the guardians that weren't protecting the bunker reported to the perimeter. We had four, counting myself. Rose's alert about the Strigoi had just gone through when the first Strigoi attacked. We killed five, including one that managed to get into the house and up to the bunker. The bunker itself wasn't breached."

"Causalities?" Han questioned.

"One," I said. "And a few injuries, but I'm fairly confident that Lissa healed all injuries on the helicopter."

"She did," Dimitri confirmed. "We lost Guardian Chase. He was patrolling the second floor initially but responded as backup to the first floor when a Strigoi breached the house."

"Was the body recovered?"

Dimitri shook his head. "Our focus was getting the queen to the helicopter and back to Court. There's a chance that Chase was turned.

Hans nodded slowly. "We'll send a team when the sun rises to try to recover his body. As soon as we find out more about the wards, we'll let you know. Both of you need to sleep. Go."

We left Hans' office silently, and our hands found one another again. Subconsciously, I started walking back towards palace housing. Dimitri followed me without a word. Once in my apartment, Dimitri slipped into the bathroom to wash the blood off of his arm, and I stripped down to my underwear, swapping my t-shirt out for a tank top. I crawled under the covers and waited for Dimitri to come out of the bathroom. He came out a moment later, and I flipped the covers back on his side of the bed.

"Will you stay?" I asked softly. "I don't want to be alone."

Dimitri nodded. "Of course, Roza. I'm not going anywhere."

I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! I won't lie…I did briefly consider having Dimitri be turned here, à la Shadow Kiss (since the main events of Shadow Kiss and beyond didn't happen in this story) but ultimately decided not to turn him. You're welcome :)