When I got to Alberta's office, she was on the phone. I could still feel that Lissa was alive, but I couldn't feel her emotions through the bond at all. It wasn't even like when she was asleep; then, I could still feel her dreams. I had no idea what happened.

"It's an emergency!" I screamed, "Go to Lissa's room right now!"

Alberta put her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and said, "This is Lissa on the phone right now. She just called."

"Just called? Adrian Ivashkov is in her room! I can't feel anything through the bond."

"Vasilisa," Alberta asked into the phone, "Rose Hathaway is here and says that you have," Alberta lowered her voice cautiously, "a Strigoi in your room. Are you being coerced, or have you been hurt in any way?"

A few seconds passed as Alberta got her reply. Alberta shook her head.

"Then could you please tell me what happened?"

"Oh," said Alberta, then a few seconds later followed it up with, "Oh, no!" She started signaling with her hands for guardians to mobilize.

"I see," she continued, "And you're sure?" She listened for another minute or two to Lissa's end of the conversation.

"Thank you, Vasilisa," Alberta said, "We'll send someone there right away," and she hung up the phone. "I'd like every guardian we can spare to go to Vasilisa Dragomir's dorm room right now. And be prepared to carry injured back to Doctor Olendzki's office. After you're done there, I have another place for two of you to go."

"What is it?" I asked.

Alberta hesitated. "Come on," I told her, "After my trials today, you know that I'm every bit as much a guardian as any of the guardians on staff who graduated last year - more so, even."

"Rose, give me a minute," she said, "I have to make another phone call." She picked up the phone and dialed, then said, "Headmistress? I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but it's rather urgent. The wards have been staked again and will need to be reinforced as soon as possible."

Another couple of seconds passed.

"Out on the northeast end of campus next to the pond - out by the old guardian watchpost cabin. Almost the same place as last time."

My heart thudded in my ears. Dimitri and Tasha were in the old guardian watchpost cabin when I left them almost an hour ago. How long had Adrian been on campus?

As soon as Alberta hung up her phone, the group of guardians ready to leave were standing there. "Rose, you might as well come along, too," she said, picking up an extra stake from a rack full of them and handing it to me.

"Guardian Smith?" Alberta said, "Since Rose is joining us now, I'd like you to head to the watchpost cabin. Another guardian will join you there shortly. Call my cell phone directly when you get there and report back what you find."

"Why not use walkie-talkies, ma'am?" he asked.

"The priority is the princess's room. I want the cabin investigated, but let's use some discretion."

With that, we all journeyed out towards Lissa's dorm room, running as a group.

"Rose," she said, pulling me aside as we ran, in a quiet voice, "I know that you know that Guardian Belikov is in that cabin. I have been told that he is fine. Drugged, but fine. Princess Dragomir and Jill Mastrano might be less so."

"What happened with Adrian?" I asked her, with a chill in my voice.

"I'm not sure I can believe what Vasilisa told me, but I'm also not sure I can't believe it. All the more reason to have every available guardian go there."

"What did she tell you?" I asked.

"She said that Lord Ivashkov was a Strigoi, but now he's ... not ... She says that he is a Moroi again."

I stopped running. I couldn't stifle the gasp from leaving my lips. "Moroi?"

"That's what she said," Alberta replied, "She said that she could feel it. That she ... healed him. And she says that he used spirit to heal Jill."

I was already winded from running to the guardians' office, but I began to run again, much faster, doubling my previous pace.

-=o0/&\0o=-

When we arrived at Lissa's room, Guardian Andrewes began unstrapping a battering ram from his back to use on the door. Before Guardian Andrewes could finish getting the battering ram in place, Lissa opened up the door.

She had a clear bite on the side of her neck, but other than that, she appeared to be okay. "Liss!" I breathed. It was unlike me to do so, but I wanted to hug her. "Are you okay? Are you being compelled?"

"Rose, I'm fine," she said, "But I used more spirit than I ever have." Lissa pulled back from the doorway and the guardians rushed into her room. Jill was sitting on the bean bag chair on the floor. She seemed distraught and was gazing off into nothing - nearly catatonic -, but other than that, she looked like she was fine.

Adrian was balled up in the corner on the floor in a fetal position, weeping. At once, the guardians began to pull out stakes and get into fighting positions.

"Don't!" Lissa pleaded. She didn't have any spirit left, but I could tell that she was futilely trying to compel them. "He's not a Strigoi anymore!"

All of us - except for Lissa and Jill - were confused. Lissa continued. "He healed Jill. And he regrets everything he did while he was a Strigoi."

None of us were convinced, but his reactions and behavior were puzzling. "Look at him," Lissa said, "I think he's kind of ... broken."

Adrian looked up at us. His face was streaked with tears as he stood to face us. "Kill me," he begged, "I don't deserve to live. I can't live with what I did." Adrian approached the nearest guardian, screaming, "Attack me! I'm bad! Kill me! I'm evil and need to be destroyed!" On the last word, his voice broke. Adrian fell to his knees, bowing his head. Hands clutched together, he begged, "Please ... kill me!" More tears streamed down his face, Adrian's eyes, now that vivid emerald green again, shimmering with them.

"His eyes!" one of the guardians whispered, "They're not red!"

"That's because he's a Moroi!" Lissa insisted. Adrian knelt there, weeping, making no move to attack.

All of us held our breath for a moment, none of us quite sure what to do. Alberta removed a pair of handcuffs from her belt and began walking towards Adrian with them. "Don't cuff me!" He pled, even as he held out his arms to let her place the cuffs, "Kill me!"

Alberta fastened the handcuffs on Adrian. "Check the girls!" she told the other guardians, "and get them both to Doctor Olendzki."

Alberta began man-handling Adrian, pulling him by the handcuffs. I'd never seen him look more haggard or despondent. Part of me felt like he deserved it and tried to just let it go, letting the hate and anger drag me down into darkness and let him wallow in his pain and misery. Make him suffer for all the suffering he caused.

And yet ... if he was truly Moroi again, part of me was reminded of the friend I used to have, and of the man, however misguided in his attempts to do so, who was getting ready to propose to me. The small part of me that had truly cared for him.

I sighed. Why was I feeling this way?

As he was being led out of the room, Adrian mumbled, "Belikov. And Tasha Ozera."

"What was that?" I asked, terrified of what he had to say.

"I ... killed her," he said, "And Belikov ..." he was weeping again and I couldn't understand the rest of what he said.

My heart was in my throat. I lunged for him and wrapped my hands around his throat. "What was that?" I growled at him, tightening my grasp.

"I gave him a rohypnol. About an hour ago. I was planning to save him for you to kill ... after - after I turned you ..." Adrian broke down again and it took him a few more moments to compose himself. "He was alone with Tasha. You don't want to see what I saw."

Immediately, my mind went to the worst. Hadn't Dimitri said that we would be together? What did Adrian see when he saw them?

"What did you see?!" I screamed at him. He shook his head, closing his eyes. My mind whirred. Did Dimitri give in to Tasha after I left them? I tightened my hold again, causing Adrian to gag.

Amazingly, none of the guardians tried to stop me.

I saw Adrian's lips trying to remove, gasping for air, but no words were coming out. I shoved him up against the wall.

"Rose ..." Lissa begged. I hadn't even realized she was still here. "He can't talk if he can't breathe."

"The bastard doesn't deserve to breathe!" I told her.

"Let him tell you," Lissa urged, putting her hand on my shoulder. I released my grasp and Adrin crumpled back to the floor, coughing.

"Cabin," he gasped, "Th-they were," another cough, "alone. T-together." He coughed again, bringing his cuffed hands to his throat and rubbing. "It looked ... romantic. There were flowers. He had his shirt off."

Alberta gasped in shock, but relief passed through me. He was a lot less dressed than that when I had left him, and the rest I already knew. He hadn't been with Tasha in the way Adrian had assumed. Then the words he had said first hit me. "Wait - Tasha is ... dead?"

Adrian wept again, only able to nod his head, then finally said, "I killed her. And so many others! Kill me!"

I backed away, my mind overwhelmed by all that was happening. I didn't always love Tasha, but I didn't want her to die. And who would be the voice of the dhampirs to the council now that Tasha was gone? Or who would lead the Moroi who wanted to fight?

"Princess," said Alberta, patting her on the arm, "we should get you to Doctor Olendzki now."

Lissa nodded and walked out, followed by one of the guardians escorting Jill while holding Jill by the upper arm.

My mind was still reeling as I followed them out. "Liss," I asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes," she said, "Rose, go. I'll be fine."

-=o0/&\0o=-

I ran to the cabin. By the time I arrived, three more guardians were there and there were two stretchers sitting on the ground outside of the cabin.

One of them had a body with a sheet over it. 

Tasha.

I moved to cover my gaping mouth. She was dead. A tear trekked down my face.

Dimitri was on the other stretcher, his eyelids heavy, partially unconscious and unable to move. He had a bruise on the side of his face, which extended over his eye. It would likely be gone by tomorrow, but for now, he looked all the more worse for wear because of it.

"I think he has a concussion," Guardian Smith said, "We're going to get him to Doctor Olendzki." I nodded, dumbly.

The guardians were having difficulty carrying both stretchers, since Dimitri was so tall and heavy that he seemed to need three people to carry him. After a few more seconds of the guardians struggling, I could tell that they were having difficulty. "Do you need some help?" I asked.

Guardian Smith nodded. "We're taking this one," he motioned to the stretcher with the sheet over it, "to the infirmary, too. Can you help with her?" I nodded, somberly.

"After the year we've all had," he said, "we should probably have a morgue, but we don't."

I nodded again, as I went to pick up the end of Tasha's stretcher that her head was on. Guardian Smith grabbed the other end.

"Can I talk to her?" I asked, "And say my goodbyes?"

He nodded.

I leaned down towards her face as we carried her stretcher, saying, "Tasha, I'm so sorry for what happened to you. You didn't deserve to die. You were always such a fighter and I know you must've fought right up until the end." I paused, lowering my voice so that Guardian Smith couldn't hear me. "I know you loved him. I love him, too. I'll take good care of him, Tasha. Forever."

-=o0/&\0o=-

We carried Tasha the rest of the way in silence.

Doctor Olendzki was assessing Lissa and Jill when we got there.

"Other than blood loss, both of you seem to be just fine," said Doctor Olendzki to Lissa, "Now, I need to go check on my next patient." She turned and saw Dimitri, babbling and half-conscious on the stretcher. "Other than for his initial physical, I don't think I've ever seen Guardian Belikov in here for a medical issue before. What happened?"

Guardian Smith said, "I'm not really sure. He was obviously hit in the head, though."

I chimed in, saying, "He was given rohypnol."

"How long ago?" Doctor Olendzki asked.

I glanced at the clock. "A little more than an hour and a half ago."

"Guardian Belikov," she said to him, "we're in for a fun afternoon while this wears off. I don't have a counter-drug for that. Luckily, with your size and dhampir metabolism, it should be gone in about an hour."

I looked at the clock again. It was a few minutes before two o'clock. "Do you think he'll be able to make it to the promise mark ceremony at three? Are they even still going to have it after this?" I asked.

Doctor Olendzki thought for a moment and said, "Guardian Smith, could you please check with Guardian Petrov to see if they are planning to postpone the ceremony? It depends on how fast he recovers, Rose, but we will try to get your mentor there to see you get your mark."

As Guardian Smith picked up his cell phone and began to dial, I walked over to where Dimitri was laying, took his hand, and looked into his glassy, half-conscious eyes. "Dimitri, I'm glad you're okay. I hope to see you in at the ceremony." I squeezed his hand, and then let go and walked over to Lissa.

I asked her, "Liss, what happened? Explain this to me."

"I staked him, Rose. I had a stake that I had charmed with healing that I was planning to give you for a graduation present tonight at the party. I plunged it into his chest, just like with the dummy. And it went in. I could feel it. When the stake went into him - I don't know - it acted like a conduit or something. All of the spirit magic in me went into him. It felt ..."

"Kinda like a nuclear blast?" I offered.

"Yeah, kinda like that. And then I could feel all of his feelings. It was like his ... his soul ... went through me. I could feel how much he cared for you. I could feel all of the regret for the things he did. I could feel that he was turned on accident. It took literally all of the spirit within me. I couldn't even see his aura afterwards. But I could feel how much he was hurting when it was happening. Rose, he is emotionally obliterated - like no pain I've ever experienced. He may never be right again. Then, when he healed Jill ..." Lissa lowered her voice and leaned in to me. "I think she might've been dead. Adrian and Jill might be bonded now. For Jill to have to go through what he was feeling? And with a healing of that magnitude, the darkness ... for that to have to go through Jill."

"Jill?" I said. I glanced over at her and she still seemed unresponsive. A chill washed over me.

Lissa was chewing on her lip and I knew that she knew more but was hesitant to say it.

I took her hand. "Lissa, what else? I know there's more."

"Adrian said a lot of crazy things while we were waiting for the guardians to come. Some crazier than others."

"Lissa, what did he say?"

"He said that when he ... drank Jill, that she ... she tasted ... like a Dragomir."

Before I could begin to respond to that, Guardian Smith walked over. "I just talked to Guardian Petrov. Since everyone still seems to be okay and since all of the graduation plans have been made, she felt it best if things continue as scheduled. Princess Dragomir, Guardian Petrov said that if you, Rose, or Jill need extra time before leaving campus because of this, you're welcome to have a few extra days." Then, to me, he said, "Rose - I think we can almost call you Guardian Hathaway now - Guardian Petrov said that you can be moved to the end of the promise mark ceremony if you want some more time to prepare. That would give you a better chance that Guardian Belikov would be there to see you get your mark."

I nodded. "Okay, that sounds good."

"I'll let her know. You'd better go get ready for the ceremony," he said.

I nodded again and set off for my dorm room.

-=o0/&\0o=-

The ceremony was a smaller event. All of the attendees were either dhampirs or those invited by dhampirs. Lissa was there for me, along with both of my parents. I had yet to see Dimitri, but I was hopeful that he would show up before I got my score.

When they began in alphabetical order, it tugged at my hear that Mason would've been first. I imagined him bringing a score at the top of our class - after me, of course. His mother would've been here, proud to see him succeed.

As each novice rose to receive his promise mark and become a guardian, his final trials score was announced, then the tattoo process would begin. Much like with the much more somber zvezda mark ceremony, there were three chairs at the front of the room for participants to receive their marks.

After the first few people were seated to receive their marks, the rest would wait in line to get their own. Since I was going to be last, I would have to wait the longest to get mine.

When Eddie's name was called, his score was the highest I'd heard so far. Several people cheered. "I wonder how fast he went through the dark maze," I said off-handedly.

"What dark maze?" asked Meredith, sitting beside me in the novices.

"Right before the bridge," I replied.

"There was no dark maze before the bridge," Meredith said, "What are you talking about?"

"Right after your pregnant Moroi turned Strigoi?" I asked.

"Uhh, Rose, none of that happened," Meredith said.

Dean Barnes interrupted, saying, "except to you."

"What do you mean?"

"I was watching your trials, Rose. They were completely different from everyone else's. They covered part of the course with tarps to make it darker just before you went out. You were the only one with a pregnant Moroi. You were the only one whose Moroi turned Strigoi. You were the only one who was chased at close range across the bridge."

I sat there, in shock. Dimitri had said that they'd made my trials to test some 'situations that other people will not experience'. Boy, had they ever.

-=o0/&\0o=-

When Alberta finally called my name at the end of the list, my score was announced. I had the highest in the class, by far. The highest score I'd ever heard of. Definitely at least a full black moon. I was sort of glad she didn't have to read my grades along with my score, but my record in my field experience and trials would more than make up for them.

I looked over to where my parents sat and saw that Dimitri, Lissa, and Jill were sitting with them. I smiled. Dimitri was very bruised and looked like he might still have a little bit of the drug in his system, but he smiled back and waved. Lissa's bite marks had already healed. Jill still seemed troubled, but she smiled at me.

I still couldn't sense anything through the bond, but I imagined what Lissa would say to me now if she could: Rose, we did it! I can't wait for our new life together to start! Lehigh, here we come!

It took me a few moments for it to really hit me. Everything about my life was about to change. I was no longer a student. I wouldn't be living at St. Vladimir's anymore. I was going to be going off into my 'real life', as a guardian. Lissa would go off to college at Lehigh and Christian and I would attend there with her.

Nothing would be familiar. I was scared, and yet, I knew this was going to be a change for the better.

-=o0/&\0o=-

After the ceremony, I changed out of my promise mark ceremony clothes into clothes more appropriate for a party and went to the party that Abe had set up. He had obtained a small but lavish banquet room that seemed inappropriate for a 'lowly' dhampir's graduation, bigger and more grandiose than the room we'd had our luncheon on his last visit.

After changing, I headed downstairs and was met at my dorm building door by Dimitri.

"Congratulations," he said, with a smile, "Alberta tells me that you are a Blast Master, level two."

"Does this mean what I think it means?" I asked.

"I'm not quite ready to announce it to the whole campus, but once we're inside the banquet room, I think hand-holding would be acceptable. Let's walk there now; shall we?"

I couldn't stop the grin that spread across my face as Dimitri and I walked along the path.

"They told me about Tasha," Dimitri said, immediately sobering us both, "but the rest is ... confusing, to say the least."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Tasha," I told him, "I know she was your friend. Even if I didn't always like her, I liked her and I'm sorry to see her go. Lissa can explain what happened after that better than I can. I still can't feel anything through the bond. I mean, I can feel that she's still there, but it's like when you turn on a TV and all you get is static. I know that there's something there, but it's just ... unreadable."

"And Adrian is really a Moroi again?" he asked.

"I think so. You should've seen him. I wanted to hate him so much, but he was just so pitiful. He was crying and asking us to kill him."

Dimitri sighed deeply, "If I was there, it would've been tempting. All the things he did. Even before he was a Strigoi."

"Did Alberta say what's going to happen to him?" I asked.

"If he's truly a Moroi again, he'll probably be put on trial for the things he did as a Moroi, including the girl he killed to become a Strigoi. But I was told that Lissa said her death was an accident - not that there's any proof. Given that, the Ivashkov family name, and a family lawyer, he'll likely get a light sentence. I heard that his mother is related to Damon Tarus, who is a pretty renowned Moroi lawyer. It doesn't sound like Adrian can be legally held responsible for his actions as a Strigoi, though - if he's truly a Moroi again."

A few more moments passed in silence. "How long did it take you to come out of the drugs?" I asked him, "I'm glad you were conscious enough to come to my promise mark ceremony, but it looked like you were pretty out of it."

"I'll be honest; I don't remember a lot of the ceremony. I don't know if that was the drug or the concussion, though. But I saw your score. And I remember some interesting things your father said to me. I talked with Alberta after the ceremony and that part is pretty concrete in my mind, though."

"Did you see when Tasha ...?" I asked.

"Adrian knocked me out as he was snapping her neck. I could see it happen, but I couldn't do anything about it."

"I know how much this must affect you to have seen her being killed, Dimitri. Are you going to be okay?"

"I will be. Eventually. She wasn't as close to me as Ivan was and we weren't on the best of terms right at the end. The reason Adrian went to Lissa's room was because Tasha told him you'd be going there."

"Why would she tell him that?" I asked.

"She was trying to protect Christian. But there's something else you should know," he said.

"What's that?"

"At the time of her death, I was still slated to be Tasha's guardian after leaving. I talked with Hans Croft, head of the Guardian Council at Court, after I talked to Alberta. With Tasha's death happening before my assignment began, I would be guarding her next of kin."

"Christian," I said.

"Christian."

-=o0/&\0o=-

Author's Notes:

So, we haven't completely come to the end of our story, but we're sure getting close.  Including the Epilogue, there are 42 chapters in this story. 

Here's my question of the week:

Have you ever come to a point in your life like Rose's graduation where you just knew everything you knew was about to change?

For me, mine was actually the point at the end of my freshman year of college when my parents split up. Among other things that happened as a result of their divorce, my mother was the one who had convinced my father that my parents should pay for my education, and when he left, my source of tuition pretty much evaporated. I had to move back in with my mom and pay my own way through school.