"I'm worried about Dimitri," Lissa said to Christian as the two lay in bed, about to start their day.
"Why? The guy is happier than I've ever seen him."
"Well, that's it. Before he was consumed with guilt. But since Rose is back, it's like she's all he thinks about. I mean, he hasn't been to church once since we've been here."
Christian thought Dimitri was a lot happier and more himself than he'd ever been—including the time at the academy before he'd been turned—and it was a relief not seeing a morose Dimitri head off to church, only to return even more withdrawn and subdued. But there was no point arguing with Lissa when she had a thought in her mind.
"I'm not saying he shouldn't be happy. It's just like he's forgotten all he did when he was undead. I know he's crazy about her, but to be honest, I am surprised Rose forgave him so readily. And now they're going off into the human world, when they barely know one another. Not really."
Eyeing his girlfriend, Christian didn't need to see auras to discern what was really going on here. If he'd been there, Christian would have checked with Adrian. But he was certain the male spirit-wielder would have confirmed his suspicions that Lissa was sporting a mild case of the green-eyed monster. Treading carefully, he asked a few follow-up questions to test his theory.
"Well, you can see his aura — does he really love her?"
"Without doubt. It lights up when she is even mentioned, and when they're together, it is almost blinding."
"And hers is not the same?"
"No. It is. It's just as bad." Lissa appreciated she was doing a poor job explaining herself. "It's just almost too much. The two of them are so consumed by one another they have little or no regard for anyone else."
Bingo. The green monster it was.
"I am sure it's not on purpose, and that Belikov is still very much aware of his actions when he was undead. Like you said—you've seen their auras. It's natural that they're enjoying that first flush of new love, especially given everything they've been through. In time, it will no doubt settle into a deeper, more devoted love that's less in your face."
Lissa paused to consider. What Christian said had merit. She'd been unable to see auras when she and Christian were falling in love. And come to think of it, she'd seen no other new couple since. Yes, Rose and Belikov were almost sickening in the way they reacted to one another, in thought and action, but perhaps, like Christian said, that was normal? She could see Christian's love when he looked at her, and while it was not the fiery deep red and hot pink Dimitri and Rose shared, she could nonetheless tell he loved her deeply. Nodding thoughtfully, she replied, "You're probably right. I'll ask Adrian next time I see him. But I'm still going to talk to Dimitri. I want to make sure he isn't losing himself, just in a different way. And I need to see if he really wants to go out into the human world."
Fate, or Croft, had a profound sense of irony. She did not know it at first, but Tasha was incarcerated in an almost identical cell to the one Rose had been held in. Yeah—the prison had been blown to smithereens—but Court had rebuilt in an almost identical floor plan, and someone had placed inmate Ozera in the same cell where Rose had been detained, with the walls now well reinforced.
The dhampir Guardians who attended 'Lady' Ozera took exceptional satisfaction in letting her know the Spartan accommodations she would enjoy were the same Hathway had also experienced. But that Ozera's tenure was likely to be much, much longer. In fact, no one seemed kindly disposed to the Moroi murderer. While knowledge of her crimes, and the framing of Rose Hathaway, was not yet well known, Ozera's jailers, and by extension the jailhouse staff, quickly learned of what Tasha was accused and that there were several supporting witnesses. Her co-accused, singing like a bird on the other side of the prison, did not help her pleas of innocence.
Looking at her meal tray, Tasha sighed. Capsicums stuffed with rice and bacon topped with baked cheese. Ostensibly a tasty meal, had she not been intolerant to capsicum, it might have been ok. As it was, she decided not to even risk it, else suffer the indignity of a night on the metal lavatory in full view of sneering and jeering dhampir guards. Instead, looking at the partially frozen blood bag, she noted it was the smallest size and that the expiry date was today. Cold, almost rancid, blood was the worst of the worst, and she recognized that this was provided to her on purpose. But needs must—and she took a deep breath and downed the plastic pocket, recognizing the need for sustenance, even if the taste left a lot to be desired. She quickly downed the only appealing thing on her tray—a glass of orange juice—before retiring to the vinyl covered mattress with a skimpy blanket. Given it was January in Pennsylvania, she was still hungry, and close to freezing.
"She took the bait?" Abe asked Croft, as they shared a quiet moment in Croft's office with a fine bottle of Scotch Abe had provided.
"Hook, line, and sinker," Croft smirked. He still felt a massive amount of guilt about not investigating Tatiana's murder further, and it was NOT helped by Abe now giving him (begrudging) permission to take credit for the scheme which had saved his daughter's life. They both understood the need—yet it did not sit easily with either of them.
"There were enough laxatives in the orange juice Ms Ozera will be lucky to have a solid bowel motion this month," Croft promised.
"It would be a pity if her embarrassment somehow found its way to the Moroi population," Abe mused, not even attempting to disguise his demands. If another was going to take credit for his brilliant plan, he wanted the chance to exact the maximum revenge on the woman who caused it all.
"There could be a breach of the jail cameras," Croft suggested. Like Mazur, he was furious Ozera had basically played him for a fool. "If it happened over the weekend, it would be Monday before I could have anyone investigate and 'correct' the situation. It couldn't be released until Ms. Ozera's crimes were publicly known, but two days of shitting yourself in public view would have to be embarrassing?"
"For a start," Abe said, causing Croft to almost shiver. By the time Abe was finished with her, he had no doubt Ozera would be begging for death.
"Darling! How are you going?" Abe asked, excited to speak to his daughter when she picked up his call. During their time together, they'd become closer and closer. Being away from her at Court, he realized he missed her company.
"Good, Baba. All is OK here. Lissa and Christian will return to Lehigh tomorrow. Dimitri and I thought we'd join them on the plane."
"You want to go with them? To Lehigh?"
Rose sighed. "No. We want something different. I want a chance to explore a relationship with Dimitri. I know you are still angry with him, but I love him, Baba. We have been through so much together. We deserve the chance to just try to be a couple… We can't do that in the Moroi world."
Abe already knew from Pavel he had secured socials and passports etc. for the pair. With his many legit and not so legit connections, Abe could get them a gig anywhere and with almost anyone they wanted.
"What do you have in mind?" Abe asked, not letting on Pavel had already appraised him of their nebulous plans.
"Maybe human security? I mean—we're both trained to protect…?"
Abe wished his daughter might explore other aspirations, but she was right. She and Belikov had been trained from their formative years to defend. It was a logical extension as they explored other opportunities.
"Do you have an idea of where you'd like to be?" he gently probed. If this is what his girl wanted, then he was determined he would make it happen.
"America," Rose answered immediately. "Dimitri isn't ready to see his family just yet… I mean, we both LOVE the idea of travel, but we need time before we see his family again."
"Understood," Abe muttered, keeping his thoughts about the undead Belikov to himself. Pavel had reported Rose was the happiest he'd ever seen her, despite the Ozera situation, so he was prepared to stay his hand unless Belikov upset his little girl. "I hate to tell you this, but your mother would like the chance to meet with you again before you go away."
Rose groaned. It made sense Mom wanted to reconnect, but she was eager to avoid another encounter like the one in St. Petersburg. Any meeting would be best done away from Abe. "When and where are you thinking?"
"Since you'll be using my plane, it will need to refuel in London and Seattle. You could meet at one of those?"
"Seattle," Rose said decisively. "It's closer for her, and even though Liss and I lived in Portland, I've never been there."
Like Rose, Janine had never been to Seattle. Getting a leave of absence at short notice was no bother, given her hundreds of owed overtime hours and untaken holidays. So as soon as Pavel contacted her to let her know of Rose's plans, she immediately agreed to fly to Seattle and meet her daughter there. Quietly pleased that Abe would not be joining them, she thought she might spend a day or two trying to establish a relationship with her girl.
Similar to Abe, she understood leaving the Moroi world was probably Rose's best option. She still wasn't thrilled that apparently Belikov would join her, but it was some sort of relief that she would not be out in the human world all alone. And if Abe and Pavel were to be believed, the man adored Rose and treated her well, and there was a lot to be said for that.
More than anything, she was grateful to have this second chance. As she'd now learned, things could change in a heartbeat, and she wanted to make sure Rose and she were in a good place. That nothing was left unsaid. Confiding a small part of this to Pavel, she asked him to encourage Rose and Belikov to consider staying a few days in the Emerald City, so she could start forming a relationship with them both.
Life in prison was even more miserable than Tasha had envisaged. The short-dated blood bag she'd consumed must have been rancid, as shortly afterward she was on the toilet and literally did not leave it for days! Not able to properly sleep, trying to doze covered by a thin blanket while sitting on a metal lavatory as she literally shat out half her intestines while mocked by her guards was singularly embarrassing. And then, to top it all off, her cycle arrived!
The food was terrible—stale or with capsicum in almost every meal—and the blood bags were always small, cold, and often right on the edge of expiring. If she could engage a decent lawyer, she would have put forward a charge of cruelty. However, her phone calls to Christian had remained unanswered, and since no one else cared to step forward to assist her, and she had no access to her money, no lawyer had taken on her case. She had been appointed a Court lawyer—a newly graduated Moroi from an ignoble family—so she had no confidence she'd have any sort of defense. Especially now she knew, from her guards' jubilant remarks, that Moore was wasting no opportunity to throw her under the proverbial bus.
If she had a way to kill herself, she would have done it. Sadly, her cell was bereft of anything to assist her, and pretty much everything was not flammable. Sure, despite her magic being 99% ineffective, she'd attempted to set her vinyl covered mattress alight. But despite the meagre flame she'd eventually been able to elicit, all that had occurred were for her and her cell to be soaked with a fire hose, and her left to sleep on the metal bed-base with no mattress or pillow, and a sodden thin blanket. While both were replaced, a day or two later, she would not make that mistake again!
So, as she lay there, cold and hungry, she again wondered why she'd set out on the journey she had. Because the punishment sure as hell was not worth it.