Rose POV

Lissa had many powerful enemies; we all knew that. As royal guards, we were prepared. As soon as the popular movement against her grew in strength, we prepared several escape plans to ensure her utmost protection.

We were prepared when the riots broke out at the Court. All the royal guards gathered in Lissa's quarters while others defended the Palace entrance. Lissa, Christian, and Jill were evacuated. Only Harvey, our head of the royal guard, the few guardians he took with him, and Dimitri, who stayed with me to defend the palace, knew their location.

It wasn't our choice; the guardians on duty during the attack went with Lissa. Dimitri and I had finished our shift long before, and by the time we reached the Palace, Lissa was already being led through secret tunnels to the exit. Dimitri was tasked with remotely opening the right combination of doors for them, making him the only one among us who stayed at the Court and knew Lissa's destination.

We waited for the attackers in suspense, poised to strike. Dimitri found my hand as we silently watched the door to Lissa's quarters with the rest of the royal guards. He squeezed my hand tightly, and I didn't want to let go, even though he was blocking my dominant hand. It also didn't escape my attention that Dimitri gently moved in front of me, as if to shield me from what awaited us behind the closed door.

The fight began with a bang as the door to Lissa's beautiful apartment burst into flames and the attackers stormed in. Gunshots rang out from both sides as we rushed at the attackers. Despite our skills, we couldn't win against so many of them. Somewhere between the sixth blow to my face and being thrown against the wall, I blacked out and was tied to one of the ornate columns.

I wasn't the only one. Almost all the guardians were either unconscious or barely standing, tied to various pieces of furniture in Lissa's room. I saw Dimitri tied up at the other end of the room and Eddie chained to the wall under the window.

The attackers began roaming the rooms, searching for Lissa. Their nervousness grew the longer they could not find her. Dimitri struggled with his handcuffs, trying to free himself. My heart clenched when I saw the blood dripping down his face and his bruised eye. He met my gaze, and I saw the fury in his eyes as he assessed my injuries.

Our opponents were not thrilled when they realized we had managed to evacuate Lissa and hold them off long enough to give her a solid chance to escape. Their boss knocked over Lissa's beautiful desk, shattering it into pieces.

"All right," he breathed out, turning to face us slowly, "we were prepared for such an eventuality."

He walked over to one of his helpers and pulled out something that looked like a syringe. My blood froze in my veins.

"So... who will be our lucky one?" he asked with a wicked smile, scanning our battered group. I wasn't surprised when his gaze stopped on me.

"Hathaway is Vasilisa's friend. If anyone knows where the queen is, it's her."

I shot them a murderous look as they approached. Dimitri began to jerk violently in his bonds, as did Eddie.

"Don't touch her," growled Dimitri, but I sent him a warning look. It was better for them to come to me since I truly didn't know anything.

"I'll tell you shit," I hissed as they grabbed my arm and unrolled my t-shirt, exposing my skin. The boss shook his head and smiled sinisterly.

"Oh, honey, it won't be up to you anymore."

I started to struggle, but the two big guys held me down, immobilizing my arm enough for their leader to stick a needle into my skin. I hissed feeling a burning sensation and growled at him. He just smiled as he pressed the plunger and, after a moment, removed the needle. He told us to wait five minutes and then distributed his men, leaving only one guy with us.

I prepared myself for a sleeping agent or narcotic, repeating to myself like a mantra to say nothing but a string of curses. I hoped that even if I lost control, I wouldn't reveal anything important. When the time came, I was ready to talk sheer nonsense just to buy time. I was surprised that I didn't feel even a little sleepy.

"Okay then, where is the queen?" the leader asked me.

"I don't know," came out of my mouth before I could stop myself. I pressed my lips together, surprised that I had spoken the truth.

The leader looked worriedly at his helper.

"Why doesn't it work?"

"The serum works," he replied, pointing at me. "She must truly not know. We just chose the wrong target."

The leader's face darkened as he came closer to me. I glared at him, ready to bite my lips at the next question.

"How come her friend and guardian doesn't know where the queen has been evacuated?"

"We created several plans so that no one quite knows where she might have been sent," I answered immediately. Again, I closed my mouth tightly. I felt betrayed by my own tongue and lips, which spilled the secrets that were so important to me. At the same time, it was the strangest feeling to have words fall out of my mouth involuntarily. I didn't know what kind of magic they used for this serum, but they were pretty fucking good.

"I understand. So, who here knows where the queen is?"

"Dimitri." I bit my lips too late, letting out a quiet gasp as I realized what I had just said. I saw my boyfriend close his eyes for a second, but when he opened them, they were filled with iron determination not to utter a word.

"Well, we did choose the wrong person. But we needn't worry. For Dimitri, we'll use more... traditional methods."

Dimitri measured them with a calm, cool gaze, and my heart skipped a beat. I knew he would never reveal Lissa's location, no matter what torture he endured. He would sooner die than put her and Christian in danger, and panic gripped me.

"No, wait!" I shouted, tugging at my bonds, as they approached him. "It won't do you any good! He won't say anything, no matter how much you torture him!"

The leader stopped a mere foot away from Dimitri. He raised an eyebrow and turned to me, a questioning look in his eyes.

"You must really believe that, if you say so," he said slowly. Dimitri shot me a warning look.

"I really do," I replied unnecessarily, unable to stop myself.

"And tell me, what could make Dimitri betray the queen's location?"

"Maybe if you hurt me."

I bit my lips too late. I sent the other guardians an incredulous look, wondering how such a thing could come out of my mouth without my will. Way to go, Rose.

I reluctantly turned my gaze to Dimitri, who didn't need a truth serum to show what he felt. Despair was painted on his face. I gave him an apologetic look.

The group leader snorted.

"Well, at least you saved us some time."

He nodded at his helper and they approached me with something that looked like a police baton.

"Dimitri, I beg you, don't say anything to them," I said to my boyfriend, who started tugging at his handcuffs. "I can take it."

"Yes, Dimitri, let's see how much she can actually endure before we finish her off," replied the group leader, smiling at Dimitri.

"Leave her alone," growled my boyfriend. His eyes darted desperately between me and the man in front of me. "She has more faith in me than she should. She'll last longer."

The commander of the attackers only grinned wider.

"I guess there is only one way to find out."

I closed my eyes as the first blow landed, determined not to show any pain. The hits to my stomach left me breathless, and a blow to my face made me black out. Bells rang in my ears, but I could still hear Dimitri's pleas to leave me alone. I tried not to make a sound so he wouldn't break.

The commander untied my hands and pushed me to the floor, kicking me hard in the ribs. Before I could take a breath, his aide punched me in the face until I felt blood in my mouth.

"Well, Dimitri? Will you tell us where Lissa is now?"

"Rose…"

"Don't tell them anything!" I growled, spitting blood. Another kick to the ribs made me groan as I felt a bone crack. I tried to keep my lips tightly closed so I wouldn't make a sound.

"Tell us, Rose, are you in a lot of pain?"

"Yes," escaped my traitorous mouth. I growled furiously. "But I'd rather take this than betray Lissa."

I looked meaningfully at Dimitri, though my vision was blurred by the blood flowing from my eyebrows. Even with foggy eyesight, I could see the pain and fear in his face and a plea for forgiveness. I shook my head to tell him not to say anything and that no forgiveness was needed. I wanted him to hold on as long as possible and keep silent.

I lost sight of him when another kick to the head sent me to the floor. I must have blacked out because when I woke up, I saw the barrel of a gun in front of my eyes.

"Stop! I ... I will tell you ... but leave her alone," I heard Dimitri's voice indistinctly. I wanted to protest, but only gibberish came out of my mouth. The barrel disappeared from my sight as the commander approached Dimitri to get the address. I saw him reveal Lissa's location with his eyes closed.

The commander sent his aides away, and Dimitri looked at me intently. His gaze softened, then shifted to the right. I followed his gaze and saw the fireplace poker, and I almost smiled.

Dimitri distracted the commander with details of Lissa's route while I, trying to move silently, stood up and reached for the poker. I managed to approach them unnoticed—he probably didn't expect me to get up on my own. I was a little unstable on my feet, but I managed to swing and slam the poker into his head. He fell to the ground, immobile, but I kept watching him closely while breathing heavily.

"Rose, love…" Dimitri's voice was infinitely gentle. I wanted to untie him, but I saw my tormentor moving on the floor and approached him, kicking his gun away.

"You'll pay for this, bitch," he growled. This time, I was the one who smiled.

"You can go and fuck yourself. And hey, you know that's exactly what I mean."

I whacked him on the head one more time to make sure he was unconscious. Then I set about untying Dimitri. He helped me sit up and untied another guard, who then went to free the rest. Dimitri came back to me, gently grasping my chin, and the pain on his face broke my heart.

"Don't worry, comrade. I'd rather go through this than put Lissa in danger, really" I said, my voice breathless from my broken ribs. He gently ran his thumb over my face.

"I am so sorry."

"Really, don't worry. Let's just call Lissa and her guardians to keep her safe, and then take care of... this," I said, pointing to my face and ribs.

Dimitri slowly leaned over me and kissed my forehead. He put his hands on my shoulders and held his lips against my skin in a way that told me that today he would not let me out of his arms even for a second.