I don't know how I ended up here. Actually, I did: I went to a party with Adrian. After getting my heart ripped out by Dimitri at the church earlier today, I had turned numb. Completely numb. So when Adrian suggested a party, I just agreed. It might even take my mind off things for a few hours. Well, it did take my mind off Dimitri, that was for sure.
The party was with some of Adrian's friends from high school: all Royals or something like that. At the beginning of the party, he was very attentive, but then he fell into conversation with some old friends, and I just stood there. Deciding not to stand and stare I made my way to the kitchen to make another drink. That was where I ran into Hayden Badica. Hayden was tall with golden-brown hair and hazel eyes - you might even call him attractive. And Hayden was a charmer too – not the way Adrian would charm, no. Hayden had a way of making you feel you were the only person in the world. I suppose that usually had girls begging. Unfortunately for him, this girl just had her heart broken – not to mention I was unavailable. No matter how hot he was, I just wasn't interested.
So, how the hell did I end up naked in the park? I distantly remembered being handed a drink, Adrian's fading voice as he chatted up some girl, a slight feeling of jealousy, and then… Someone wrapping their arm around my shoulders and practically dragging me from the house and here: To a dark, cold, empty garden. A weight was pressing on me, laughter sounding from above. I could see Hayden, laughing with a drink in his hand, watching the show with a smirk. I tried to struggle – again, I realized. I had struggled before – the pain in my wrists and ankles told me as much.
"Hey beautiful, stop fighting it," someone, the weight on me, muttered in my ear. His fangs found my neck and sunk in before I could protest and the world got a little more hazy.
"Dude, my turn!" Someone demanded, and the weight on me was replaced with a new one. The pain between my legs was throbbing already, but I felt the sting as I was reentered. Reentered. How many times had they taken me already?
"Hey, make sure you leave some for Ivashkov," Hayden smirked. "Wouldn't want to bleed his girlfriend dry now he finally has one, would we?"
The others snickered. The sound rang in my ears like nails against a chalkboard. Fangs on my breast tore me back only for a minute. Then the sting of a bite, then more haze.
"Please stop," I cried. My cheeks were already wet with tears, and I could barely make out the figures above me anymore. "Please…" My voice shook and broke but the only thing I heard was laughter. Ear-deafening laughter. Then a weight disappears, replaced by a new one. Then another sting of pain.
I woke up to someone calling my name, but it was hard to figure out who. It was a man. Had they come back? I tried to flinch away, but my limbs didn't comply. I felt something on my body - like a blanket - then blackness swallowed me again.
The blonde strands of hair falling in my face was the first sign I wasn't in my head, and I was relieved. I – Lissa – was at the café, Dimitri hovering behind her like always, when the news reached in the form of Christian Ozera. He had sought her out for once, and her heart fluttered slightly at that thought.
"Have you heard?" He asked her concerned.
"Heard what?" His blue eyes were swimming with empathy.
"The queen – Tatiana. She has been murdered."
"WHAT?!" She shrieked, and I thought at the same time.
"Yeah…" There was something he was not saying. "Lissa, the last thing I heard was that they are searching for Rose. They have evidence that points to her."
"No!" She cried, fear gripping her. "No, Rose would never…" Or would I? She was not convinced. Thanks Liss. "They had their differences but…"
"Princess Dragomir," a guardian approached – or more like ten. "I am sorry to ask this but have you seen Rosemarie Hathaway?"
"No…" she hesitated, then stated firmly. "She didn't do it." Thanks, Liss, honestly this time.
"The court will decide," the guardian answered with a blank face. "But we do need to find her."
"I will help," she offered. "Have you checked with her boyfriend? She was with him last night." I thought I noticed Dimitri stiffen out of the corner of her eye, but I was not sure.
"Lord Ivashkov has already been questioned and released," the guardian answered. "I- Everyone knows that the two of you share a bond. Could you ask her to come forward? It will look better if she turns herself in." Yeah, fat chance. Even if I could move - and I definitely could not - I would not be going near the headquarters.
"I will," she forced a faint smile. As darkness claimed me again, I heard her words in my head: Rose, wherever you are, get the hell out of here.
Thanks, Liss, I'll try.