Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I try to tune out all the negative thoughts for the majority of the trip, but as the plane finally starts descending into Pennsylvania, I can’t shake the feeling that this decision was a mistake.

“Mama, mama, look!”

I turn my head to look at my son, who insisted he wanted the window seat for the last flight of our journey and is now excitedly looking out the window, pointing at everything that captures his attention. I, on the other hand, couldn’t care less about the view. I’m too busy overthinking all the decisions I made that led to us moving back to Court, and too worried about the reaction we’re surely going to get when the infamous Rose Hathaway arrives at the Moroi Royal Court with a fiancé and two kids in tow.

“Dimka, you gotta sit down. The plane is going to land soon.” As I speak, I have to wrestle him into a sitting position and tighten his seatbelt. I hear a low chuckle from the other side of the aisle and turn back to glare at Dimitri. “What’s so funny, comrade?”

“Nothing. It’s just the fifth time you do that in ten minutes, is all.” I can tell he’s trying hard not to smile, and while it should make me mad that he’s enjoying my suffering because of our son’s inability to stay still, I’m a sucker for that smile.

“Well, it’s not my fault he’s full of restless energy,” I tell him instead, and point in his direction. “You got it so easy.” Mila, who is sitting next to him, fell asleep almost two hours ago, right after she finished her lunch. I was hoping that Dimka would too, since it was a pretty long flight, but no such luck.

“Hey, I asked you if you wanted to switch. Twice. You said no.”

“I just want to prevent a tantrum if Mila wakes up and realizes we switched places.” In the two years or so since Dimitri moved in, the twins have definitely started playing favorites, and Mila is clearly a daddy’s girl, which made things difficult whenever he had to go away for work. Hopefully, if things work out the way we want them too, that won’t be an issue anymore, although we’d have an even bigger issue then: how much the twins would miss Dimitri’s family.

As soon as the plane lands, Dimitri quickly grabs our carry-ons and walks out of the plane to wait in baggage claim while I take my sweet time coaxing the kids in the direction we actually want them to go. This was their first time flying, and definitely the first time either of us flew with kids, which turned out to be a lot harder than I had expected. And I wasn’t expecting it to be easy.

Getting Mila to follow me to baggage claim is hard, but at least the promise of seeing her papa again keeps her going. Dimka, on the other hand, is excitedly pulling at my arm because apparently, I’m not fast enough, never mind the fact that I’m actually walking slow for them.

When we finally make it to baggage claim, Dimitri has successfully collected both of the car seats and the stroller, and as we wait for our suitcases to arrive, he helps me strap both kids to the stroller so they can’t run away; it wouldn’t be the first time they decide to run around like lunatics in a crowded place and end up getting lost.

As we make our way to the exit—me pushing the stroller and Dimitri a trolley with the car seats and all of our luggage—I can definitely feel more than a few curious onlookers staring at us. It’s like they’ve never seen a family of four moving halfway across the world.

Outside, Mikhail Tanner and Sonya Karp are waiting for us next to a big SUV. They are part of the reason why we decided to relocate to the U.S. After our mission to find Lissa’s sister—who turned out to be our friend Jill Mastrano-Dragomir—Sonya and Mikhail quickly rekindled their relationship, and they’ve been living in bliss for the past two and a half years. Finally, as of a few months ago, they decided to tie the knot. We received an invitation to their wedding about a month ago, along with Sonya asking me to be one of her bridesmaids and wanting the kids to participate in the celebration somehow. Dimitri and I had already been considering moving back to Court, and that invitation was yet another push toward finally taking the step.

Mikhail starts waving when he spots us, a big smile on his face matched perfectly by the one on Sonya’s lips. I smile at them in return and practically run the rest of the way until I reach them. I give Sonya a quick hug and then pull Mikhail into a longer one.

“Thanks for picking us up,” I tell them when I let go of him.

“It’s our pleasure,” Mikhail says. “And besides, it means I finally get to meet your kids.” He kneels in front of the twins’ stroller and smiles at them. “Hello,” he says in a high-pitched voice and reaches out to tickle first Mila, and then Dimka. “You’re just as cute as your auntie Lissa claims.”

“Just how many people has Lissa told about the twins?” Dimitri asks, and I notice that he’s already gotten the car seats attached in the backseat. No one can say that my future hubby doesn’t work fast.

“Actually, Mikhail found out when I was still pregnant,” I inform him. The look he gives me is priceless, like he can’t believe some random guardian knew about our kids before he himself did. The thing is, Mikhail is not just a random guardian. He became a very good friend very quickly, and is one of the few people I know I can trust with almost anything. “We spent my first Christmas in Baia together, since both Vika and my dad felt bad that I would be alone.”

“Oh.” Dimitri looks back at Mikhail, clearly surprised. “So that’s where you ran off to. I wondered what was so important that you would ditch us when you were supposed to be working.”

Mikhail cringes at the accusation. “I know, I know. Normally, I wouldn’t have done it, but when you get a call from Ibrahim Mazur himself, you can’t really say no. Just, please, don’t let anyone find out. It would get me in trouble with the boss.”

“Your secret’s safe with us, Mikhail,” I assure him, and Dimitri nods along.

Sonya helps me transfer the twins to the car while Mikhail and Dimitri do the heavy lifting by putting the luggage in the trunk, which takes a lot more maneuvering than I thought. We tried to be as smart as possible with packing—since we knew we’re bound to buy more clothes here, both for the twins and for ourselves, especially with their birthday coming up in two weeks—but we still ended up packing too much stuff for them, since they’re going to outgrow a lot of their clothes soon.

When everything is securely stored in the trunk and we succeed in closing it, Dimitri goes back inside to return the trolley while Sonya and I climb in the back of the car. Sonya ends up in the far back, practically buried in our luggage. I feel bad for her for all of two seconds, until I find myself tightly squeezed right between the twins’ car seats and realize that’s, somehow, even worse.

Dimitri returns and climbs into the front seat, turning around briefly to give me and the twins a smile, and then Mikhail starts driving to Court, toward my past. A past I didn’t think I’d be returning to so soon.

No one knows we’re coming back today.

Not because it was a rushed or last-minute decision, but because we thought it’d be better that way. We’re already risking starting the gossip mill by arriving at the beginning of the Moroi day—since we’ll surely be running into a lot of people—and if we added to that the welcome party that Lissa would surely have insisted on throwing for us, then basically all of Court would be gossiping about our arrival. We only told Mikhail and Sonya that we were coming because we needed someone to pick us up from the airport, someone that wouldn’t be too conspicuous when leaving Court. They also happen to be some of the few people I feel I can trust to keep our secret return… well, a secret.

While I’m still unsure this was the right call for us, there’s no doubt we had a lot of reasons to come back. First and foremost, Dimitri’s precarious position in the guardian ranks. He had a difficult time regaining his title after being Strigoi, and then he went and took two years off to help me raise our children. If he didn’t return to official active duty soon, we were both afraid they’d never let him, regardless of his spotless reputation as a guardian prior to being transformed.

Another reason is safety. While being a guardian is no joke and has its own risks, working for my father had even more, since our missions mostly revolved around capturing or killing Strigoi day in and day out. Not to mention, we could barely go out with the twins without risking running into Strigoi. It’s happened a few more times that we would have liked already, and I hate living in fear that we’re going to get attacked every time we go out as a family. At least at Court we have everything we need without needing to leave the wards.

Then, of course, we have Mikhail and Sonya’s wedding, which we couldn’t miss for the world, not after the hand we had in bringing them back together—according to their own words. There’s also the matter of our own wedding. We haven’t started planning anything yet, but I already know Lissa is going to be my maid-of-honor, and I can’t plan my wedding without her.

And last, but not least, are the rumors about the new dhampir laws, as people have dubbed them.

After a lot of back and forth in the Council—and with the very grave repercussions that announcing the lowering of the graduating age of dhampirs brought about—it was decided that the law wouldn’t affect all dhampirs, only a select few that would be thoroughly tested before being allowed to graduate early. That was over three years ago, right after I left Court. Once Lissa got her seat in the Council after Jill was recognized as a Dragomir, she advocated for those younger guardians to only be allowed to work with more seasoned guardians that would provide mentorship for at least their first two years on the field. Mercifully, the motion was approved.

But as of recently, the news that Lissa has been sending us haven’t been good. With the number of guardians steadily going down, some Council members are advocating for harsher laws once more. One of them, having all dhampirs graduate at 16, whether they’re ready or not for the field. Another one, using compulsion to force all dhampirs to become guardians. Not very moral or ethical, but still, not as bad as other things that are circulating.

The last proposal that has been getting a lot of attention lately—and definitely the most sinister—is the motion for forcing young dhampir women to conceive children with Moroi men, even if they don’t want to be mothers. Needless to say, neither Dimitri nor I were happy to hear any of this, not only because of the repercussions those laws would have for his sisters and Paul, but also because of our own children. Our world is slowly turning into a dangerous one for any and all dhampirs being born into it.

Given all of this, Dimitri and I were forced into making a decision about the move somewhat quickly, although we still thought it through a lot. We didn’t know if we were personally ready to return to Court, even individually—we had discussed the possibility of Dimitri returning on his own first, and then the twins and I would join him, but we quickly dismissed it because none of us were very fond of the idea of separating him from the twins for an undetermined amount of time. We also weren’t sure of how the twins would react, since it meant moving to an entirely new continent and away from their family, from what they considered home.

Eventually though, I had to see reason. I talked to Lissa for a long time, and her logic about how the move made sense for us—personally as well as politically—won me over. And admittedly, I miss her and the rest of our friends too much; seeing her, Christian, Jill, Adrian and Eddie in person only once a year for Christmas wasn’t going to cut it for long.

So here we are, back at Court and ready to face the shit-storm that’s surely coming.

Mikhail approaches the gate and comes to a stop, rolling down the window so the guardians on shift can see him clearly.

“Guardian Tanner,” one of them says. I vaguely recognize him from my brief stay at Court over three years ago. Guardian Stone, I think is his name. He walks closer to the car to inspect who else is coming in with Mikhail. “Guardian Belikov,” he stutters, clearly surprised to see Dimitri in the car with him. “It’s been a long time,” he settles for saying as a greeting.

“A long time indeed,” Dimitri confirms, giving him a nod in greeting. “It’s good to see you, Guardian Stone.”

“Likewise,” Guardian Stone says, then he proceeds to check the back, but he seems to be struggling to recognize my face. Maybe it’s the children’s seats that are tripping him off. “Could you roll down the back window, Guardian Tanner?” Mikhail nods and rolls it down for him. The guardian walks closer to the now-open window and peers inside. His surprise upon seeing Dimitri is nothing compared to the way his eyes widen when he finally recognizes me. “Guardian Hathaway. I must admit I wasn’t expecting to see you around here any time soon.”

“Yeah, well, you know, life sometimes has a way of unexpectedly changing our plans,” I say offhandedly. Then, because I can—and because I really, really want to see his jaw drop when I tell him—I point at the twins and say, “Have you met my kids?” The satisfaction that courses through me when his jaw does drop is unparalleled.

“No, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure,” he finally manages to say. He stares at the two of them, like he’s trying to determine how old they are. We’re going to get a lot of that, especially since it just so happens I was pregnant when I left. Everyone is going to think that’s why I vanished, but I’m okay with it. Better than admitting I left because of a broken heart, actually.

“Well, now you have,” I say cheerfully. “Could you please let us in already? I’ve been stuck in this very uncomfortable position for the last two hours.”

He finally snaps out of his shock and nods. “Yes, of course.” He gestures back at the other guardians in the booth. “Welcome back,” he tells us, walking away from the car.

“Thank you,” Mikhail says, and Dimitri and I echo him as he starts rolling up the windows.

The rest of the drive to the house is quiet and short. Mikhail parks up front and gets out of the car to help Dimitri and I with the luggage. I notice that the house, albeit a bit smaller than the one we had in Baia, still has a garage of its own, which is an oddity here at Court. My father, once again, abused his contacts for me. Sonya helps me get the twins out of the car, then she and Mikhail bid us goodbye and start walking away.

After more than thirty hours of travel, a horribly long flight, and a car ride that felt even longer because of how tight my quarters were, there’s nothing I’d like more than to throw myself in bed and sleep for the next ten hours. But I have it on our bond’s good authority that Lissa is hosting brunch at her house today, and all of our friends are invited. It’s almost time for that now, which means we barely have time to take a quick shower and change out of our gross, sweaty airport clothes and into clean ones before we have to rush out the door. Unpacking can wait until later.

As soon as we get to Lissa’s house, I enthusiastically knock on the door and wait for her to open, but I’m surprised when it’s a maid who answers the door instead. She seems just as surprised to see us, but apparently she knows who I am, because she just lets us in without consulting Lissa first. As we approach the formal dining room, I can hear our friends’ voices and laughter filter through the closed doors. I give Dimitri a mischievous smirk and together we push the doors open. A sense of déjà vu invades me as eight pairs of shocked eyes land on us the moment they hear us come in.

“Oh, you didn’t wait for us? I’m wounded,” I say dramatically. Before the words are fully out of my mouth, Lissa is already out of her seat and running to us. Good thing I’m ready for her, or she would have sent us toppling down.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” she screams into my ear. When she pulls back a little, I can see that Jill, Eddie, Adrian and Christian have come closer too, and now Mila is in Adrian’s arms, shyly playing with the buttons of his shirt, while Jill and Eddie are kneeling down next to Dimka to talk to him, and Christian gives Dimitri a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming,” she says accusingly.

“Yeah, well, we wanted to surprise you,” I say, and give her another hug.

“And what a surprise,” a new voice says, making me pull away from Lissa’s arms. “Rose, I wasn’t aware you had children.” The voice belongs to Tasha Ozera, Christian’s aunt, and I’m stunned to see her here. She usually doesn’t spend that much time at Court, but I guess since Lissa and Christian are living here now, she has a reason to come more often.

“They’re yours?” another voice asks, but this one I’m actually glad to hear. Mia Rinaldi stands up and cautiously approaches us. Another surprise is seeing Meredith Beckham next to her. Lissa told me that Meredith was one of her guardians, but I wasn’t aware she was close enough to be considered part of our friend group now.

The two of them silently study me and the twins. They’re probably realizing what most people who meet them do: they look nothing like me. There are similarities, of course—after all, I am their mother—but at one glance, you wouldn’t know it. At one glance, most people see the resemblance to Dimitri.

“They look like…” Mia starts, but instead of finishing the sentence, she just glances up at Dimitri, like she’s afraid to voice her thoughts in case she’s overstepping.

“Oh, I know. I don’t know where my genes went, because they definitely take after their father.” I instinctively reach out for Dimitri’s hand and squeeze, and when I look at him to give him a smile, I catch him staring back with a matching one.

“I thought you’d agreed to keep the twins’ parentage a secret,” Adrian butts in, passing Mila off to Christian before she jumps out of his arms.

“We do want to protect them from scrutiny, but we trust everyone in this room to keep the information to themselves,” Dimitri says, giving a pointed look to Tasha, Meredith and Mia, since they’re the only ones who didn’t already know.

“Of course,” Meredith and Mia say immediately, taken aback by both the news and the serious look Dimitri is giving them. Even without any real power over a Moroi and a fully-trained guardian, Dimitri can still be pretty intimidating.

“We’re practically family, aren’t we?” Tasha says in lieu of an answer, and I can hear more than see the smirk in her face. I wouldn’t call us family, exactly. In fact, we’re not even friends. More like acquaintances. Admittedly, I’d never gotten completely over the fact that Tasha had once offered Dimitri what at the time I thought I could never give him: children of his own, the opportunity to form a family by her side. Even a little over four years later, the memory still stung, regardless of the fact that Dimitri and I had indeed formed a family of our own.

“So, what are their names?” Mia asks, turning to grab Mila from Christian’s arms.

I pick Dimka off the floor so everyone can see him properly and turn so he’s facing them. “Tasha, Mia, Meredith, meet Mila and Dimka Jr.”

“Nice to meet you, Mila,” Mia says to her with a smile, and Mila giggles. “You too, Dimka,” she says, tickling him, and although he’s laughing, he hides his face in my neck. I laugh.

“Are you getting shy now, big boy? Too many people?” I can feel him nod. “That’s okay. They’re mama and papa’s friends.”

“And for sure you remember Auntie Lissa, don’t you?” Lissa asks him, trying to coax him from my arms. “You just saw me a month ago, little one, you better remember me.” Without much of a fight, Dimka lets Lissa grab him and give him a hug. The twins do love their Auntie Lissa, if only because she showers them with gifts for their birthday and Christmas. Between her and my parents, the twins are turning out to be pretty spoiled.

“So, when can we have food? It’s been hours since we last ate anything between getting off the plane and coming here,” I say, starting to walk toward the table.

“Of course,” Christian starts. “I’ll ask Mel to bring out two more sets of cutlery. Anything for the little ones?”

“They ate in the car. Thanks, Christian,” Dimitri says, walking up to the table with me just as Christian disappears through the door.

“Oh, Lissa,” I start when we sit down. “I wanted to ask you, would you help me plan their birthday party? It’s coming up in less than two weeks, and with moving and everything, things are going to get hectic.”

“Don’t worry about a thing, Rose, leave it all to me. Auntie Lissa will make sure they have an unforgettable third birthday.” She gives Dimka a kiss as she finishes speaking, and he smiles up at her.

“Thanks, Liss.” I squeeze her arm and give her a big smile, which she promptly returns. I’m pulled out of the moment when I hear a dramatic gasp behind us. I turn around and see Adrian walking toward us.

“Wait a damn moment, Miss Hathaway. What is that I’m seeing on your finger?” He grabs my hand from Lissa’s arm and pulls it toward the light, which glints off the surface of my new ring.

“Oh my God,” Lissa gasps, covering her mouth with the hand that isn’t holding Dimka. “Isn’t that…?”

“When did you two get engaged?” Adrian interrupts, more outraged than I expected. “Why weren’t we informed? I mean, at least I expected you to ask for her hand in marriage, Belikov,” he points an accusing finger in his direction.

“And I did. From her parents,” Dimitri says, matter-of-fact.

“Not that it’s any of your business, Ivashkov,” I add.

“When did he propose?” Lissa asks, grabbing my hand to inspect the ring better. She barely got a good look at it when Yeva gave it to Dimitri that fateful post-Christmas morning.

“About a month ago,” I say, letting all the girls—except Tasha, who doesn’t bother standing up—crowd around me to take a close look at it. “Right after New Year’s.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me right away,” Lissa complains, playfully slapping my arm. “What’s with you and keeping secrets from me these past few years? I thought we were like sisters, Rose.”

“I know, I know,” I say, trying to stop her from going on with her complaints. “I just wanted to tell you in person, and we were already considering moving here, so I knew I wouldn’t have to wait long to tell you.”

“Well, at least this time she didn’t wait a whole year,” Christian says, startling me. I hadn’t even realized he’d returned to the dining room with the maid that opened the door for us—Mel, I’m assuming.

“Wait, you didn’t tell them about the kids for a year?” Mia asks me and Dimitri.

“Actually, I didn’t tell anyone I was pregnant. Not even Dimitri,” I correct. “I told Adrian and Eddie while we were looking for Jill, and everyone else found out at Christmas later that year. It’s a long story. He’s still giving me and his sisters a hard time for not telling him sooner.”

“I am not,” he’s quick to defend himself. “It’s Vika who’s always on you about how not telling me was a mistake.”

“Yes, yes, the old argument about how you’re an amazing dad and the twins and I are lucky to have you,” I say with a mocking tone. “Honestly, I was doing just fine on my own.” As I say it, I look back at him with a smirk that he returns. He knows this is purely in jest and I couldn’t be happier to have him in my life.

“That’s not what you were saying on the plane,” he replies, still smirking. I stick my tongue out at him and he laughs.

“So,” Christian starts, interrupting our staring session. “What are your plans now? Because I’m assuming you didn’t move all the way here without a plan.”

“Oh my God, that’s true,” Lissa jumps in before I or Dimitri can reply. “Where are you staying? Guest housing? You know you’re more than welcome to stay with us, right?”

“We appreciate the offer, Liss, but it won’t be necessary,” I say, giving her a smile. “My old man got us a house. Within walking distance of yours, actually.” Abe somehow pulled some strings to buy a small townhouse close to Lissa’s. Technically, dhampirs aren’t allowed to own a house at Court, but no one could stop Abe Mazur from purchasing a home and allowing his only daughter to live in it, even if they didn’t like it.

“Your old man?” Tasha asks incredulously, raising an eyebrow at me. “You met your father?”

“Oh, a long time ago now,” I reply, a little flippantly, but she seems unfazed. “Dimitri and I were working for him when we were in Baia. He seems determined to prove that he’s a good father and even better grandfather, despite the eighteen years he was missing from my life, so he’s trying hard.”

“He’s bought you, what, two houses and a car? I think he’s more than made up for those eighteen years, little dhampir,” Adrian teases.

“Make that two cars,” Dimitri says. “Plus giving me a job, which he didn’t need to do, but still did it anyway.”

“Seems like a good man,” Tasha comments. “Is he a royal? It sounds like he has access to a big fortune.”

I laugh just thinking of the face Abe would make if he was in the room. “No, he’s not royal. And actually, I wouldn’t let him hear you say that. He doesn’t want to be associated with royal Moroi unless it’s business-related and has some benefit for him.” I smile at that. My old man is a businessman alright. “No, my father is Ibrahim Mazur.” As the words leave my mouth, Tasha’s eyes widen, clearly taken aback by my revelation. “I’m surprised you didn’t know already. I thought it was public knowledge by now.”

“I guess I’ve been a little out of touch with your life since you left Court,” Tasha replies. “I asked for updates sometimes, but for the most part Christian said he didn’t know much.”

I’m not sure if I believe that. Well, I surely believe neither Christian nor Lissa would be sharing details of my life in Baia with anyone, not even Tasha. What I don’t believe is that she asked about any updates at all. Our relationship has been strained ever since she asked Dimitri to become her guardian and he refused. I don’t know to what extent she knows about his relationship with me prior to her offer, but if she does know that Dimitri said no to her because of me, she can’t be much fonder of me than I am of her.

“What about a job?” Jill suddenly asks, clearly picking up on the animosity between Tasha and me and trying to lighten the mood. I’m incredibly thankful for that. “You need a new job now that you’re here, right?”

“Desperately,” I sigh.

“Abe said he’d keep us updated if he needed a job done here in the U.S., but most of his business deals are in Asia and Eastern Europe, so we don’t expect much,” Dimitri explains. “We want to talk to Guardian Croft either later today or first thing tomorrow, see if there’s anyone around Court who needs a new guardian.”

“Or even if he has a desk job for us,” I add. “Like I said, we’re desperate. We dug a little too much into our savings account last November. Remind me again, comrade, why did we think it was a good idea to finish the master bedroom and basement renovations last year, when we were already considering moving?” I turn to him with a pout, and he’s smiling fondly at me, clearly amused by my dramatism.

“Because Dimka looked at you with puppy eyes and begged for his own room so Mila wouldn’t wake him up in the middle of the night anymore,” he answers, entertaining my antics even though he knows it was a rhetorical question.

I close my eyes, humming. “I knew there was a good reason. I’m a sucker for those puppy eyes.”

“But somehow, I’m always the one who spoils them.” I open my eyes again and see that his smile has a wicked little tilt to it. I can’t help but return it.

He’s not wrong. I always complain when he goes the extra mile to make the kids happy, or when he takes their side after they do something wrong, but I have my own ways to spoil them, and the little shits know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for them if they ask nicely enough.

“Hey, I thought that as godmother I was the one doing the spoiling,” Lissa complains.

“Yeah, well, you guys need to start finding better excuses to spoil them,” I tell them, then I make my voice as high-pitched as I can and say, mockingly, “‘I’m their godmother,’ ‘I’m their cool uncle,’ ‘Just a little something from grandma Olena,’ ‘They’re my only grandchildren, let me spoil them like I couldn’t spoil you.’” I give Lissa a cold stare. “They’re getting old.”

“Well, what can I say? You’re the only one in our friend group who has kids. Obviously they’re going to get all the love,” Lissa says, giving Dimka a quick squeeze.

“Then maybe you and Christian should get on it and give me a niece or nephew. That way the love can be shared.” Although it’s obvious I’m joking, it’s still extremely satisfying watching Christian choke on his own saliva at the mere thought of having kids anytime soon.

“At least let her finish her degree before we even start considering expanding the family,” he says, reaching out for his glass of wine.

“Besides, I always wanted to get married first, then have children,” Lissa tells me, as if I didn’t already know that.

“I never planned on getting married or having kids, yet look at me now,” I say, flashing my engagement ring at her and pointing at Dimka and Mila.

“Well, to be fair, it’s not like they were planned,” Dimitri points out. “But life can lead you down unexpected paths, I’ll give you that.”

“And speaking of,” I say as I finish my food and stand up. “Since we decided to uproot our entire lives and move halfway across the world, we gotta go back to the house now and start unpacking or we’ll regret it later.”

“What? But you just got here! You gotta stay a little longer,” Lissa complains.

“And that’s exactly why we can’t stay. We need to at least get the kids’ rooms ready before they have to go to bed. I know that Dimka won’t fall asleep without Ellie and who knows where I packed it.”

“Can the kids stay with us? I promise we’ll take good care of them and won’t give them any sweets,” Lissa pleads.

I think about it for a moment, but I’m hesitant. Not because I don’t trust my friends, I really do, it’s just… None of them has ever taken care of a child before, much less two, and the twins in particular can be a little much sometimes. “I don’t know, Liss.”

“Please,” she insists, and when she looks at me with her pleading eyes, Dimka starts giving me his puppy-eyed look again, even though he most likely doesn’t understand what Lissa is begging me for. “I’m sure you two could use some alone time,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I hear multiple people snickering at that, and when I look in Adrian and Meredith’s direction, they look like the clear culprits even though they’re trying to hide their smiles.

Dimitri nudges my arm and mutters under his breath, “We’ll probably finish faster without the kids around.”

I sigh, once more defeated by the puppy eyes and Dimitri’s logic. “Fine. But no sweets under any circumstances, no magic tricks—I’m looking at you, fire pants—and absolutely no weapons where Mila can see them. She’s like a magpie with those things.”

“Deal,” Lissa quickly agrees, and she passes Dimka off to Christian so she can grab Mila from Dimitri’s arms. “We’re gonna have so much fun, little ones,” she tells them, tickling Mila and sending her into a laughing fit.

“Alright, then I guess we’ll see you later.” I grab Dimitri’s hand and start walking toward the door. At the last minute, I turn around again and look at Lissa. “If they get hungry, give them some fruits or veggies as a snack. Mila likes carrots, and Dimka loves strawberries, but they will eat literally anything.” I feel Dimitri tug on my arm, like he can tell I’m just dragging this out on purpose. “Oh, and Dimka might need a nap in about an hour or two. He didn’t sleep at all during our last flight. Don’t let Mila fall asleep though, or we’ll never be able to put her in bed tonight.”

Dimitri pulls harder on my hand, and just as we’re walking through the door and into the hallway, I hear Lissa yell, “Don’t worry! We can handle anything they throw at us.” I sincerely doubt that, but hope she’s right regardless. I finally give in and pick up my pace to keep up with Dimitri.

“You really think they’ll be okay?” I ask him as we walk out of the townhouse and toward our own home.

“You worry too much sometimes,” Dimitri says, pulling me to his side and wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “You should have more faith on Lissa and Jill, even Meredith. And besides, it will be a couple hours at most, I’m sure they’ll have no trouble keeping them in line that long.”

I sigh and let myself believe his reassurances. He’s right. It’s just a couple hours and we’re only a few blocks away. If there’s any emergency, we can get back to Lissa’s in under five minutes. I allow myself to relax in his arms and let him guide me home.

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, Miss Hathaway, but we don’t have enough space to accommodate such a large party,” the nice lady on the phone tells me as I open the front door to Lissa’s home.

I sigh, resisting the urge to punch a wall. “That’s alright. Thanks for checking, and have a nice day.”

“You too,” the lady replies before the line goes dead.

As I walk into her office, Lissa looks up from the paper she’s reading, and by the look she gives me, she certainly noticed my mood.

“Where did you leave the kids?” she asks, frowning at my lack of entourage.

“Dimitri took them to the playground. They need an outlet for all that energy of theirs.” She smiles and returns to her work, while I flop down on the couch by the window and bury my face in one of the pillows. “And speaking of, I should probably call him and explain why we’re going to be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future.”

Lissa looks up at me, frowning again. “Why would you have to do that?” Honestly, it’s a miracle she understood a single word I said, considering I still have a pillow on my face.

I sigh and sit up, hugging the pillow to my chest instead. “My dad called us this morning to say that he rented a private jet to fly Dimitri’s family and my mom to Court with him when he comes for the twins’ birthday, but all the hotels at Court are booked right now and we only have two guest rooms, so we’re going to have to give up our bedroom to Dimitri’s sisters.” As I finish saying the words, I bury my face in the pillow again.

Lissa immediately shakes her head, putting her papers aside. “They can stay here.”

I look up again and give her a serious look. “Are you sure? I mean, you don’t have to. There’s five of them, not counting the kids. You already know what it’s like to look after the twins, now imagine two older versions of them, plus a teenager.”

“It will be fine,” she says, rolling her eyes at me. “It’s not like I’ll be babysitting for them. Karo and Sonja will be with them the whole time, won’t they?”

“I guess, yes, you’re right,” I sigh again. “And you’d be literally saving my life. Or at least my back.”

She shakes her head, a fond smile on her lips. “How many rooms would they need? I can have Mel set them up.”

“We can still host my parents at our place, so I guess at least four? Olena and Vika can share, and Karo and Sonja too. The kids can all share a room, and Yeva can have her own.” I am not putting anyone through rooming with Yeva, even for just a few days.

Lissa nods, writing it all down. “I’ll let her know. See? You didn’t have to worry about anything.”

“Only because I have the best friend ever.” I give her a big smile. “Anyway, where did we leave off with the birthday preparations?”

“You were signing invites and I still have to finalize some details for the catering, but everything else is taken care of.”

“Already? God, I forgot how efficient you are when you’re really passionate about something.”

She laughs. “I am. And nothing will make me happier than seeing those two little angels smiling, playing and having fun all day on Friday.”

“They’re so lucky to have you as godmother,” I say, finally making my way to her desk and grabbing the box with the invites from underneath.

“That they are,” she agrees, grabbing her phone and dialing the number for the catering company.

“We understand the concerns, Princess Dragomir, but the Strigoi numbers keep going up while our own population keeps getting smaller and smaller. We need more extreme measures if we want to survive,” Prince Zeklos is saying when I tune in to the Council meeting Lissa’s currently attending.

“Forcing dhampirs to protect us won’t help the issue,” Lissa responds, trying to keep her voice even and calm, even though her blood is boiling. “Most of the dhampirs in the communes haven’t served in years, while many have never served or had training at all. They have families of their own that they have to take care of too. They’ll just be cannon fodder for the Strigoi!”

“Princess, we tried it your way when we approved the last age law,” Prince Badica starts. “It didn’t work. We keep losing people, and it’s time we take more drastic methods.”

“The numbers will be even higher because those dhampirs you want to force into becoming guardians will be killed almost instantly.” Even without the bond, I’d be able to tell she’s near her breaking point by the way her voice trembles. “What do you propose we do then? Lower the graduating age even more? The dhampirs will start rebelling sooner or later if we keep treating them like they’re disposable.”

“They can’t do much,” Prince Zeklos interjects. “They need us for their race to survive.”

“At the rate they’re dying to protect us, maybe they’ll decide they’re better off that way. At least they’ll get to grow old with their loved ones,” Lissa says, sitting back down. Her point was made, even if the rest of the Council members are too stubborn to see sense.

These meetings have been more and more frequent recently, concerns arising every day news of yet another Strigoi attack reach Court. The Queen has already set a day for the actual voting, and it’s taking place in less than a week. So far, no one is particularly sure where she’s standing. Some people speculate that she’ll favor the dhampirs, but I’m not so sure. The Queen’s views are pretty traditional.

I’m pulled out of Lissa’s mind when I hear a high-pitched scream, and a moment later, Vika’s arms are wrapped around me.

“I’m so happy to see you!” she screams in my ear as I hug her back. We’re standing in the front lawn of Lissa’s house, just the two of us, but over her shoulder I see her sisters and Olena getting out of the car. Their plane landed about an hour ago, and while the party doesn’t start for another thirty minutes, Vika was texting me non-stop while they were on the drive down.

“I’ve missed you too, Vika. We all have,” I tell her, pushing her away from me so I can see the entire family. “It’s so good to see you all again,” I say, hugging Olena first, then Sonja, then Karo, and lastly, Paul, then I crouch down to hug Zoya and Katya too, who also seem very excited to see me. “How was the flight?”

“Long, but what can I tell you about it? You’ve been through it more times than we have,” Olena replies with a smile.

“I’ve never flown private, though. That must have been nice. Shorter, no waiting around in airports or switching planes, a lot more leg room…” I trail off.

“Definitely a good flying experience,” Karo agrees.

“Where are the twins? We’re dying to see them,” Vika asks me.

I roll my eyes. “They should be here soon. Dimitri and Eddie took them to the playground for a while. Why don’t you all go inside and leave your bags? You should have enough time to shower.”

“That would be great. Thanks, Roza,” Olena tells me, and then looks past me. “And thank you, Princess, for letting us stay at your home.” I turn around and realize that, somehow, Lissa and Christian have made it back from the meeting already.

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, I had to return the favor. You’ve welcomed us into your home for the holidays many times these past few years,” Lissa replies, smiling at them. “And also, I’ve told you before to just call me Lissa.” As she speaks, she breaks away from Christian and approaches Olena, taking her arm in hers. “I’ll show you to your rooms. They’re in the same wing, so you won’t be too far from each other.” She pulls Olena toward the door, and Christian and the other Belikovas follow them.

“Roza, let me know when Dimka gets here with the kids!” Vika yells over her shoulder.

I shake my head, amused. “Will do!” I say to her retreating form, then I turn around to face my parents, who just got out of the car. “It’s good to see you,” I tell them, pulling both into a hug. “It’s been so long since you last visited.”

“I know, kiz. I’ve just been very busy with work lately,” my dad says, giving me a nudge. “But I’m very happy to be here for the kids’ birthday. Can’t believe they’re turning three already.”

“Tell me about it. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday we were in that doctor’s office together, getting my first ultrasound and finding out they were twins, and now look at them,” I say, pointing behind them to where Dimitri and Eddie are walking toward us with the twins. Dimitri is carrying Mila on his shoulders, Eddie doing the same with Dimka, and apparently they’re in some sort of competition to see who’s faster, although it’s clear they’re just playing around and not taking it as a serious race. The twins don’t care though, laughing at the grown-ups’ antics as they hold on to them for dear life.

“Sometimes I don’t know if they are the kids or Dimitri and Eddie are,” my mother comments under her breath.

“When you find out, let me know. Lissa, Jill and I have been trying to figure it out for years,” I say jokingly just as the guys reach us. Dimitri immediately turns serious the moment he sees my parents and offers his hand to them.

“Mr. Mazur. Guardian Hathaway,” he says formally, shaking their hands in turns.

I roll my eyes. “Oh, comrade, when are you going to drop the formalities with them? You’ll be family when we get married.”

“Then I’ll drop the formalities when we sign the marriage license,” he teases back.

I sigh. “Should’ve seen that one coming.”

“Grams! Dede!” Mila exclaims, fighting Dimitri’s hold so she can get to my parents. My mother laughs and helps her get down, giving her a big hug.

“How’s my favorite girl?” my mother asks her, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Good, grams. Missed you,” Mila says, wrapping her little arms around my mother for another quick hug.

My mom laughs, and passes her off to my dad, saying, “I’ve missed you too, pumpkin.”

“Dede!” Mila says again, excitedly giving my dad a hug. “Where you been?” We all laugh at that. The twins keep picking up odd sentences here and there that Dimitri and I tell each other, and it’s so funny every time they say it back at us. Dimka is shier and quieter than Mila and struggles a lot with speaking sometimes, but Mila picks up everything very quickly and is improving her speech every day.

“Well, been here and there, kiddo. But you know my favorite place to be is where you two are,” he says, bopping her nose and then Dimka’s, who’s now in my mother’s arms.

I take advantage of the twins’ distraction and walk to Dimitri’s side, snaking my arm around his waist and going on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. Every time the twins catch us kissing, they pull a disgusted face and look away, so we try to keep the PDA to a minimum when they’re around. Since they’re distracted however, they won’t care if we kiss once or twice.

“Your mother and sisters are inside,” I tell Dimitri. “Vika said to let her know when you and the kids got here, but I wouldn’t go now if I were you. They might be in the shower,” I warn him.

He nods. “I’ll wait out here with you. Is everything ready for the party? Anything we need to do last minute?”

I shake my head. “Lissa’s got everything under control. We’re just waiting for the guests to arrive.”

“Do you want to get the twins changed, then?” he asks, passing me a bag with the twins’ outfits for today.

“We’ll do it,” my mother says, taking the bag from Dimitri’s hand before I can. “We’ll be back in a bit.” She nods toward the house, and my dad follows her inside, a little reluctantly.

“And I’ll go find Jill,” Eddie says abruptly. “She and her parents just arrived from St. Vladimir’s for the party,” he explains nervously, then he turns around and walks back the way he just came with Dimitri and the twins.

I chuckle as I watch him go. “Do you think he’s aware that we all know he has a big crush on Jill?” I ask Dimitri, looping my arms around his neck to bring him closer to me.

“He must know. He’s not as subtle as he thinks he is,” Dimitri replies, dipping his head down to give me a proper kiss now that we’re alone. I return the kiss for a few seconds, but regrettably, I have to pull away. I don’t go too far, though. I lower my arms and wrap them around his waist, keeping him close.

“We should go to the backyard and see if Lissa needs us to do anything before the guests start arriving,” I murmur against his lips. Dimitri nods, then reluctantly takes a step back, grabs my hand, and starts walking around the building, pulling me along.

I walk out into the backyard, burying my face into my coat, and silently curse Lissa for insisting that it was a good idea to hold a little reception for the guests outside before heading inside for dinner. To be fair, I’m just as mad at myself for agreeing, but Lissa swore up and down that the weather report claimed the temperatures were going up and there’d be no snow, so I caved.

“There’s a lot more people here than I was anticipating,” Olena says, looking around at the backyard as she joins me by the drink table that Lissa had some of the servants set up.

I look around too before accepting a hot chocolate from the barista with a smile. “I know. I only invited about ten percent of the people that showed up, but apparently the rumor mill has been working and everyone wanted to see if the news about me having children was true, so they showed up uninvited.”

“I told you I can ask my guardians to kick them all out,” Lissa offers, not for the first time. When I turn around I notice that both she and Christian are walking toward us, arms linked and holding a champagne flute each.

“It’s okay,” I reply, not for the first time either. “I don’t want to cause a scene or do anything that will take the attention from the twins. It’s their special day. It’s not like they will care much about who was here regardless. They only care about the gifts and the cake.”

“And that’s a mood,” Christian says, drinking from his champagne flute to hide his laugh.

“Sorry I’m late.” I turn in the opposite direction and find Adrian approaching our group. “I got caught up at home with an unexpected visitor,” he explains, then raises his hands to show us the bags he’s holding, two on each hand. I assume they’re the gifts for the twins. “Where can I leave these and where are my delightful nephew and niece?” he asks, looking around to try and spot them.

“Gift table is over there,” Lissa points toward the backdoor, where she had Eddie and Christian set up a foldable table decorated with a blue and lilac tablecloth and at least a dozen golden balloons.

“And the twins are inside with Dimitri and Vika. They needed to use the restroom,” I inform him.

He sighs. “I guess I can wait a little longer to see them. How’s everyone?” He looks around and gives Olena and my parents, who have just joined us, a smile. “So good to see you three again. I trust your flight was alright?”

“Long, as usual,” my mother replies. “But okay. Not much turbulence.”

“Glad to hear it,” he says. “I’ll be right back. Just want to leave the bags on the table before my arms fall off.” With a charming smile, he turns around and walks toward the gift table.

I roll my eyes affectionately as I watch him saunter away. Just as he reaches the table, Dimitri and Vika walk out with the twins, seeming deep in conversation.

“You must be joking,” Vika’s saying when they reach us, sounding upset, and her eyes quickly meet mine. “Roza, tell me he’s joking.”

“About what?” I ask, putting an arm around Dimitri’s waist as soon as he steps next to me.

“Dimka says you two don’t have plans for Valentine’s Day! That you haven’t celebrated it, like ever,” she says, sounding a little outraged. “Please, tell me he’s lying.” I look up at Dimitri, my eyes wide, and when I look back at Vika, I know she can tell from my reaction that he was telling the truth. “Roza,” she says, in an almost warning tone.

“It’s the twins’ birthday!” I say, trying to defend ourselves. “We want to spend time with them and make new memories as a family.”

Vika groans. “I cannot believe you, guys. You two are the most disgustingly in love people I know, and you don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day?”

“Well, just because we can’t make time for a romantic date or something equally cheesy doesn’t mean we don’t celebrate in different ways, if you catch my drift,” I say, and then give her a wicked smile. I feel Dimitri shake with silent laughter, and Christian chokes on his champagne.

“You seriously didn’t just say that,” he says when he’s recovered.

I laugh at the disgusted expression that crosses his face. “I did say that. But in my defense, she was asking for it.”

“Hey, everyone!” Mia says as she and Meredith join the group. Adrian returns just a second later and stands between them and my parents.

“Tee-tee Mia!” Dimka says excitedly, jumping around Mia’s legs. Mia laughs and picks him up.

“How’s the birthday boy? Getting a lot of presents?” she asks, and Dimka nods excitedly, giving her a big smile.

“That’s for sure. It looks like you might need a second table soon,” Meredith says, pointing at the table behind them.

Dimitri sighs. “Actually, we already took a bunch inside because they didn’t fit anymore.”

“At this rate, what we might need is a bigger house,” I joke.

“Please, you didn’t have time to get bored of this one yet,” my dad says, joking along.

Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of silver and I quickly turn around to face my troublemaker of a daughter, who’s standing next to Meredith and has one of her hands wrapped around the silver stake peeking out of her pocket.

“Milena Vasilisa Belikova, get your hands off that silver stake right now or I’ll make Uncle Christian set fire to every single one of your presents.” The sudden seriousness in my voice makes everyone turn in the same direction I’m looking. When she notices everyone is staring at her, she looks back at me like a deer caught in headlights and returns the stake to the pocket. “Good girl. Now come right here so papa can, once more, give you the lecture about why stakes are dangerous.” Tail between her legs, Mila walks toward us and wraps her little arms around one of Dimitri’s legs, who just laughs at the situation. I would laugh too if I wasn’t so worried about Mila actually getting hurt one of these days.

“Quick reflexes,” Meredith tells me, pushing the stake further into her pocket and zipping it closed so Mila can’t try to grab it again.

I sigh. “She has a fascination with stakes for whatever reason. If it wasn’t because we literally need them to do our job, we’d ban them from the house, but alas…”

“Well, she has to learn how to use one eventually,” Eddie counters.

“Not before she’s at least in the double digits. Knowing her, she’ll try to kill someone with it because she thinks they’re a Strigoi,” Dimitri says.

“She knows what Strigoi are already?” Mia asks, confused and horrified in equal measure.

“Yes and no,” I start explaining. “Both of them have heard us talk about killing Strigoi enough times to know they’re evil, but they don’t know much more. She’s definitely seen them on a few occasions, though.” At that, everyone looks at us in panic, Olena and my parents included. “What? It’s not my fault we ran into Strigoi whenever we took them out for dinner. In our defense, we always tried to go to areas where Strigoi activity is low, but for some reason they always found us and we had to deal with them.”

“How are your children not traumatized?” Christian asks, sounding entirely serious for once.

“Hey, at the Academy, they started showing us videos of Strigoi when we were like 5. They’re only a few years younger,” I quickly defend myself.

“Videos are not the same as seeing them in person, Rose,” Eddie says. For someone who not even five minutes ago was defending the twins’ right to learn how to use a silver stake, he’s pretty horrified at knowing they’ve already seen Strigoi in real life.

“Hopefully by the time they graduate they’ll be desensitized,” Dimitri says off-handedly.

“Wait, you’re going to send them to one of the Academies, then?” Lissa cuts in, looking between me and Dimitri in surprise. “Last time we talked about it, you weren’t too sure.”

“And we still aren’t,” I reply. “We obviously want them to get fully trained, more than what we can teach them ourselves, but we’re afraid someone who knows us personally might notice the resemblance to Dimitri right away. Without us there to squash any rumors, things could get ugly.”

“What if they go to St. Vlad’s?” Christian offers. “Guardian Petrov is still there. You were close with her, right, Rose?”

“Yes, I guess that’s our best option, but Montana is further from here than I would like.” I sigh. “I really don’t want to think about their schooling until next year. Please, let me live in the bliss of thinking they’re still babies for one more year.”

Adrian takes a sip of his champagne and mutters under his breath, “Someone’s not dealing well with the twins growing up.”

“You have no idea,” Dimitri says, laughing.

“It just feels like yesterday I found out I was pregnant, and now they’re turning three,” I say, sounding as defeated as every time this topic comes up. “Like, can someone explain where the hell time went?”

Everyone starts laughing at my misfortune like the assholes they are, but all of a sudden, Adrian goes rigid. “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” he says, staring at something or someone behind me. “She did not bring him here.”

“What? Who?” I look behind me, in the same direction Adrian is, and notice two figures approaching us, one clearly female, and the other male. They’re too far away for my dhampir eyes to identify them, but the Moroi probably can.

“Our unexpected visitor,” Adrian says vaguely. “My mother said she might come by later, but I didn’t think she’d bring Uncle Rand with her.” He looks at me apologetically. “Beforehand, I’m so sorry if this gets ugly. Uncle Rand doesn’t have a filter when he drinks. And he’s always drinking.”

When they finally get close enough for me to see their faces clearly, I realize I’ve never met the man, but he does look a little like Adrian’s father, who I’m assuming must be his brother. I feel Dimitri tense under my arm, and when I turn back to him, I catch sight of Olena, who’s also gone still, her eyes wide.

“You have some nerve showing your face here,” Dimitri tells him when they’re within earshot.

The man, clearly startled, looks at Dimitri first, then at the rest of our group, analyzing every face and pausing on Vika and Olena. “Well, I’ll be damned. No one told me this would be a proper family reunion,” he says, slurring every word.

Dimitri growls. He honest-to-God growls. “You’re nothing to us.”

“Mom, let’s go inside,” Vika says, getting a hold of Olena’s arm.

“Take the kids,” Dimitri instructs her, pushing Mila in her direction. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Vika nod, but since her hands are busy guiding Olena inside, it’s Mia and Meredith who pick up the twins and follow them.

“What is going on?” I finally ask Dimitri once Olena and the twins are gone. “Do you know him?”

“Enough to wish I didn’t,” he replies, not tearing his eyes from the man. His face is full of hatred, a look that I’ve never seen on him before, not to this magnitude. “Get out of here right now, before my patience runs out and I kick you out myself.”

“Excuse me,” Daniella cuts in, “but you’re no one to talk to a royal like that,” she says, with the classic snobbery of a royal who doesn’t like being told no. I know she’s Adrian’s mother, and that despite all their differences, he loves her very much. At this moment, though, do I wish I could strangle her.

“He’s a royal pain in the ass, that’s what he is,” Dimitri spits out. “And he knows what he did.”

“Come on, Dimka,” the man says, and the familiarity with which he uses that nickname startles me. “All of that is in the past, alright? We can forget about it. Turn over a new leaf.”

“Do not call me that,” Dimitri says furiously, and I can feel the muscles in his arm clench as he tries to stop himself from getting any closer to Adrian’s uncle. “You do not get to call me or my sisters anything but our titles. And do not dare speak my mother’s name or I swear I’ll beat your ass again.”

“Again?” Adrian asks, looking at Dimitri with a frown. “What do you mean ‘again’? Where do you know my uncle from?”

Startled, Dimitri looks back at Adrian, tearing his eyes away from the man for the first time. “Your uncle? This is your uncle?” Slowly, almost reluctantly, Adrian nods. “He’s my father,” Dimitri announces, and my blood runs cold.

“He’s your what now?” I ask him, perplexed. I never thought I’d meet Dimitri’s father—and from what I’d heard of him, it’s not like I wanted to—but I expected to meet him like this even less.

“Does that—” my mom starts, looking back and forth between Adrian and Dimitri. “Does that mean you two are cousins?” By the panicked look that crosses Adrian’s face, you’d never think the two of them had been on good terms—friends, really—from the moment Adrian found out about our kids.

Dimitri ignores Adrian’s reaction, focusing back on Randall—his father. “Out of respect for Lissa, I won’t forcefully remove you from the premises, but if you don’t leave immediately, I won’t have another option,” he tells him, venom in his voice.

Randall’s face turns serious, having realized that playing dumb won’t get him anywhere. “You don’t have any power here, boy. You can’t force me to do anything.”

“Actually, he can,” I say, finally stepping into the conversation. “And if he doesn’t, I will. I never wanted to have the displeasure of meeting the pathetic excuse for a man that time and again hurt Olena, but now that I have, I’d very much love to kick your sorry ass. But just like Dimitri, I won’t do it. For Lissa and Adrian and only for them. Now leave.”

I see his nostrils flare as he takes a step closer to me. “Listen now, you little whore—”

Before he can continue, Dimitri steps around me and between us. “You do not talk to my fiancée like that. You’re testing my patience right now, so if you don’t want me to do something you’ll regret, you’ll leave.”

“Mom, just take him and go,” Adrian tells his mother, his eyes pleading. Daniella looks between him and Randall, a conflicted look in her eyes. It’s clear that part of her wants to listen to her son and finish this fight before it truly starts, but I can tell even she is not sure she can control Randall.

So in her stead, it’s Lissa who steps up and grabs both me and Dimitri, pulling us away from Randall, then she looks back at Eddie. “Guardian Castile, escort Mrs. Ivashkov and her companion back to the Ivashkov residence, please. That was enough drama for what was supposed to be a happy birthday celebration.”

Eddie nods and steps up to Daniella and Randall, indicating for them to turn around and start walking. “You heard the Princess.”

“This is ridiculous and insulting,” Randall growls. “Wait until my brother hears about this.”

“Mr. Ivashkov, please,” Lissa insists. “Either you leave now without causing more of a scene, or I will give Rose and Dimitri explicit permission to remove you by force.”

With one last look of fury sent our way, Randall finally turns around and starts walking away. Daniella gives us what seems like an apologetic look—too little, too late— and follows him.

“I’ll make sure they won’t turn right back around,” Eddie says, following after them.

When I finally turn around, I notice that everyone except for Adrian, Dimitri and I have dispersed, joining the little clusters of guests that had turned to stare at the little altercation, probably to give Dimitri some time and space to cool off, and to do damage control.

“Are you okay?” I ask, reaching out to cup his cheek.

He nods, but his face is still hard as stone. “I’ll go find my mother, tell her that he’s gone.” I nod too. He gives me a quick peck before turning around and walking toward the house. I sigh. What a nice memory for us to have of the twins’ third birthday.

“I’m sorry,” Adrian says, suddenly at my side. “I should’ve explicitly told my mom to not bring him, but I never imagined she’d even think to do it.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him, giving him a smile that I hope is reassuring. “You didn’t know he’s Dimitri’s father. You couldn’t have known that this would happen.”

“I didn’t know he’s his father, no, but I do know that Uncle Rand is always trouble,” he insists. “I don’t know what my mother was thinking.”

I shake my head. “None of you knew. You don’t have to beat yourself up over it. No one’s blaming you.”

He opens his mouth to speak, but he’s cut off by his phone pinging. I think nothing of it at first, but when I see him scramble to get the phone out and read whatever text he just got, I’m immediately curious. Even more so when he breaks out into a goofy smile.

I raise an eyebrow, interest definitely piqued. “Okay, do I want to know who that was?”

He clears his throat and quickly puts the phone away. “No one,” he says, trying to be nonchalant.

I huff. “Yeah, sure, because that lovesick smile is there for nothing.”

He looks away, clearly avoiding eye contact, and I think I can see the barest hint of a blush creeping up his cheeks as he says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Adrian,” I say, giving him a look. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

He sighs. “Okay, fine. It’s Sydney,” he finally admits, a little shyly. And for good reason.

I stare at him, wide-eyed and tongue-tied. “You have Sydney’s phone number?” I only have it because she gave it to me when we first met in Russia so she could help ‘clean up my messes’. The fact that she gave it to Adrian willingly, without a real reason for it, is extremely surprising coming from Sydney.

He nods. “I asked for it at the airport in Detroit, before she went back to New Orleans. She was reluctant at first, but when I said I’d only use it to keep her updated about your kids, she gave in. Apparently, Sage has a soft spot for kids, even miracle dhampir ones.”

I hum. “You know, I invited her to the twins’ birthday this year, but she said it would look too suspicious to her superiors if she flew to Pennsylvania without a clear mission to work on, so she sadly had to pass on the offer.”

He hums in response too. “She told me.”

We fall into silence, and I inspect his demeanor and appearance. He seems more vulnerable than I have ever seen him, more open, and that stops me from teasing him, although I really want to. “You really like her, don’t you?”

He sighs, looking away again. “I know it’s not right…”

“Bullshit,” I cut him off. “Who cares what the Alchemists think? Who cares what anyone thinks, really. If you like her, and if she likes you, then it’s right.”

He looks around, making sure no one is close enough to overhear us, then he turns to face me again. “The problem is, I don’t think she likes me.”

I scoff. “She gave you her phone number, Adrian. And I send her plenty of pictures of the twins myself, so I don’t believe that excuse,” I add before he can say anything. “She gave you her number because she wanted to stay in contact with you. Coming from Sydney Sage, that has to count as the world’s biggest sign that she does like you back, even if just a little.”

He shakes his head. “Doesn’t matter. I’m stuck here at Court and she has to go wherever the Alchemists send her. It’s never going to work out.”

I hum again, nodding along. “Something I’ve learned over the years is that you can never say never. I thought multiple times that Dimitri and I would never be together, and look at us now. I swore I would never have kids, and here we are, celebrating my twins’ third birthday.” I shrug. “If you really like her, don’t give up before trying. Just… Don’t be too over-the-top. When we were looking for Jill, you were genuinely acting like yourself, not trying to impress anyone, and if I’m right, that’s what she liked about you. You have to keep showing her the real you, the one underneath the Adrian Ivashkov persona that everyone has come to know. That’s the Adrian we all like best.”

He smiles, finally looking like himself again. “Thanks, Rose. That does mean a lot coming from someone who broke up with me in a two-minute conversation.”

I laugh. “Let’s face it, even without Dimitri in my life, you and I would have never worked.”

“Yeah, I’ve come to realize that too.” He looks back at me, still smiling. “And that’s okay, because I would rather have Rose Hathaway as my friend than nothing at all.”

“You can be a great friend too, Adrian. I’m glad to have you in my life, and my kids are lucky to have you as their uncle,” I tell him, smiling back. “Which reminds me, you and Dimitri are actually related. I’m still shocked, so I can only imagine how you feel about it.”

He sighs, downing the rest of his champagne and putting the flute down. “Honestly? Four years ago, I probably would have rathered die. But now? He’s not as bad as I thought he was.”

I raise an eyebrow, ready to tell him how surprised I am by that statement, but someone beats me to it. “That’s a high compliment coming from you.” I turn around and find Dimitri approaching us, close enough to have heard the last part of our conversation. “Dinner is served. My sisters are discreetly telling anyone who was actually invited to make their way inside, but I said I’d come get you myself.”

“How’s Olena?” I ask, sneaking my arm through his.

“A little shaken, but okay,” he reassures me. “My sisters are angry that I didn’t beat him up again, but that wouldn’t have gone over well with so many witnesses.”

“You could claim self-defense. I would definitely testify in your favor,” Adrian says, already walking toward the house. “See you inside, lovebirds.”

“So…” I start once Adrian’s out of earshot. “You’re technically an Ivashkov. You were holding out on me, comrade.”

“I didn’t know he was an Ivashkov,” he tells me, his face serious. “To us, he was just Randall.”

“Oh, I believe you. I saw the surprise in your eyes when you realized he was Adrian’s uncle.”

He sighs. “It figures that we’d be related.”

I laugh. “Life can be pretty ironic sometimes.” I shake my head, amused, and look around us. The backyard is deserted now, the actual guests inside and the crashers finally gone. I notice the sky is starting to get a little lighter too. I loop my arms around his neck and go on my tip-toes to get closer to him. “It’s getting late, so how about we go inside, have dinner, then go back home, get the kids in bed, and finally get that Valentine’s Day celebration going?” I smirk at him, and he smiles back before dipping his head down to close the rest of the distance between us. He captures my lips in a soft, slow kiss that lasts a lot less than I’d like it to.

“I think that sounds divine.”

Chapter Text

I’m drifting in and out of sleep when I feel a pair of strong arms hugging me from behind, followed by a trail of kisses from my shoulder to my neck to the corner of my lips. I hum and take a hold of his arm, using it as support to turn around and face him.

“Good morning to you too, comrade,” I say, smiling, and press my lips to Dimitri’s for a proper kiss. I roll onto my back, feeling his weight on top of me as he follows, his body the only thing covering mine. His lips trail down to my neck again, making me gasp in anticipation. “God, I love waking up like this.” He laughs against my neck, my skin trembling from the sound.

And of course, that’s the moment Mila chooses to start screaming for her papa.

I groan against Dimitri’s lips, not wanting to let go. “I just want a day. A day where we can lay around in bed and do nothing. Is that too much to ask?”

Dimitri laughs, giving me one last, lingering kiss. “There are no breaks when you’re a parent. We’ve learned that the hard way.” Unfortunately, I know he’s right. I reluctantly let go of him so we can both get dressed as quickly as possible, and in under two minutes we’re all set and walking to Mila’s room.

“Good morning, princess,” Dimitri says, lifting Mila out of her bed and giving her a big hug.

“Morning, papa.”

“Oh, am I invisible now? Good to know,” I say as I make my way to the closet to grab some clothes for Mila.

Both of them have the audacity to laugh. I can’t believe the nerve. Have kids and a fiancé for this. Mila squirms out of Dimitri’s arms and runs to me, hugging my legs. “Morning, mama. I love you.”

“I love you too, pumpkin,” I say, picking her up. “Now, I seem to recall we promised you and your brother we’d go out for breakfast today, didn’t we?” Mila nods enthusiastically. “Then I guess it’s time to get dressed, missy.”

I hand her and her clothes to Dimitri, then I go to the next room to get Dimka, who’s already sitting up in bed when I walk in. I smile at the adorable look on his face and make my way to his bed.

“Good morning, my favorite troublemaker.” I sit down next to him and run my hand through his unruly curls, knowing he needs some time to wake up before he’s ready to get out of bed. He climbs into my lap and wraps his little arms around me. I laugh. “Ready for breakfast?” He nods, so I stand up to get his clothes and get him ready.

By the time we reach the living room, Mila is dressed and she and Dimitri are playing with some wooden swords that Christian thought would be a hilarious gift for a pair of three-year-old dhampirs. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting Dimitri to take it seriously and start teaching them how to use a sword though.

“I’m going to return those swords to uncle Christian. Honestly, what was he thinking?” I say, grabbing my purse and making my way to the front door.

“Hey, they need to learn sooner or later. At least this is safer than real swords,” he points out, taking the sword from Mila and putting both of them aside.

I give him an unimpressed look. “Dimitri, they’re three. They have more than enough time to learn when they start going to the Academy.”

“It’s never too early to get them started,” he counters. “Besides, they’re supposed to start their schooling next year.”

“Don’t remind me,” I pout. “Anyway, it’s time for breakfast. I’m starving, comrade.” He shakes his head fondly at me, then he slides his free hand into mine.

We leave the house and walk to our favorite breakfast place in Court. It’s close enough that even the kids could walk there without getting tired, but as usual, Mila’s in Dimitri’s arms and Dimka’s in mine. Knowing them, if we made them walk, they’d probably say something smart like ‘it’s too early to walk’.

The café is mostly empty this early, but that works for us. We claim one of the tables near the door, and I order at the counter while Dimitri entertains the kids. I’m returning to our table with our coffees when at least a dozen guardians swarm the place. And they aren’t just any guardians. No. They are part of the royal guard.

I freeze momentarily, confused about their presence here. There aren’t many other patrons yet, so whatever this is about has something to do with me or Dimitri.

“What’s going on?” I ask conversationally as I leave the coffees on the table, forcing a smile.

“Rosemarie Hathaway, you have to come with us,” one of them says matter-of-factly.

“Okay,” I say, trying to remain calm, or at least look like it. “Can I ask why?” Without even looking at him, I know Dimitri’s body’s gone rigid, anticipating a fight. But there’s no way I’m letting a fight break out in front of the kids, not if I can help it.

“You are under arrest for high treason,” the same guard informs me. Now I do start to panic. High treason? What have I done since returning to Court that could qualify as high treason? The guard gestures to one of his companions, who takes out a pair of handcuffs. I hear Dimitri’s chair scrape across the floor, and I know he’s not going to let them take me without a fight.

I quickly raise my hands up to stop him, and while he doesn’t look happy about it, he complies. He doesn’t return to his seat though. Still, I’m confident enough that he won’t try anything to look away from him and back to the guards. “What exactly are we talking about? What am I being accused of?”

“The murder of Her Majesty Queen Tatiana,” the guard informs me, gesturing for his colleague with the handcuffs again. Surprise must be apparent in my face, because the guard hesitates when he steps forward.

“The queen is dead?” I ask, my voice cracking.

“You tell us. You’re the one who did it,” the first guard says.

“This is ridiculous. Rose would never—” Dimitri starts, but I put a hand on his arm to placate him, and he stops talking.

“If I go with you without a fight, will you wait to put those handcuffs on me until we’re out of sight of my children?”

The guard with the handcuffs looks back at the one who’s been doing most of the talking, who I assume is the head of the royal guard. He seems to consider it, and eventually nods.

“Roza, what are you doing?” Dimitri asks me as I get ready to follow them, his voice desperate.

“Protecting you and the kids,” I simply say, giving him a soft smile. “Finish breakfast, then call my dad. I’ll be fine.”

“Roza…” he starts, but he can’t bring himself to finish. The pain in his beautiful face is killing me.

“I said I’ll be fine, comrade. You take care of the little ones, okay?” Keeping my hands in view of the guards, I give both kids a kiss. “I love you. So much,” I look up at Dimitri at that, a glance that holds a thousand different messages, then I turn around and follow the guards out.

True to their word, the guards wait until we’ve rounded the corner to put me in handcuffs, and then they guide me to the cells in the guardians’ headquarters.

I’m not sure how much time I spend in that cell, alone, but I’m mildly aware of the guardians changing shifts at least twice, and they bring me food three times. I’m not hungry though, my stomach has been in knots since I was brought in, so I don’t touch it. Eventually, I’m tired enough that I finally start drifting off to sleep, and as I do, I feel the familiar sensation of being pulled into a spirit dream. The moment I see Adrian appear, I throw myself in his arms.

“Thank God you’re here,” I tell him, pulling away to look him in the eyes. Eyes that look both sad and terrified at the same time. “What the hell is going on, Adrian?”

“I don’t know,” he says, sounding lost. “All I know is that this morning one of the members of the royal guard came to our house to inform us that Aunt Tatiana had been murdered, and next thing I know Belikov is pounding on Lissa’s door, panicking because you’d been arrested for her murder.”

I pause, looking at him with hesitation. “You know I didn’t do it, right?”

“Of course I do!” From the way he looks at me, you’d think I’d just kicked his puppy. “Rose, the thought that you might have actually done it never even crossed my mind. I know you and my aunt weren’t exactly on good terms, but I also know you, and I know you wouldn’t murder someone in cold blood. Unless it’s a Strigoi.”

“Okay, good, because I would’ve been deeply hurt if you did.” I sigh. “This is all a big mess.”

“Tell me about it.” He shakes his head. “Anyway, how are you doing? Are they treating you alright?”

I nod. “I’ve been left alone, for the most part, and they bring me food.” I don’t mention that I haven’t been eating. “How are things on the outside?”

“Chaotic,” he admits. “The Council has called for an emergency meeting with all the royal families to nominate the candidates for monarch, and in the meantime they’re all planning for my aunt’s funeral and your trial.”

I shake my head. “It’s crazy that they’re thinking about all of that when your aunt hasn’t even been buried yet.”

“It’s how politics work, I’m afraid,” he says, and it would be amusing if the situation wasn’t so depressing. “I just really hope we can get you out of prison soon and that we don’t end up with a horrible ruler when this is all over.”

I don’t say it out loud, but my hopes of having a good ruler are almost null. Usually the nominee for each family is the Prince or Princess, the same one that holds a seat in the Council, and from what I’ve seen and heard from Lissa, they aren’t very promising. If I thought the future looked bleak for dhampirs before, I’m scared of what it would look like with any of them on the throne. I shudder just at the thought.

I shake my head, trying to push the images away for now. “Enough about all of that, how are you doing? It must have been so hard for you to hear that your aunt was murdered.”

“It sucks,” he admits, letting out a sigh. “Sometimes I thought Aunt Tatiana was the only person in my family that truly cared about me and my future, and with her gone… I don’t know, I’m a little lost.”

“Hey,” I start, making him look me in the eye. “You still have us, okay? We might not be related by blood, but you’re like a brother. You’ll always have me, Lissa, Dimitri, the twins, Sydney…” I smirk at him that last one, and he returns it, a little amused. “You’re never alone.”

“It should be me cheering you up, not the other way around.”

My smirk turns into a genuine smile. “It works both ways.” Dimitri’s face at the moment of my arrest returns to me, and my face falls. “How are Dimitri and the twins?”

He gives me a small, sad smile. “He’s holding up. Trying to keep it together for the sake of the kids, but I know he’s freaking out inside.”

“I can imagine...” An idea comes to mind, and I bite my lip to keep it in. It’s probably impossible, and even if it isn’t it might take a lot of spirit to pull it off. I won’t let Adrian submit himself to that, especially not right now, when he seems at his most vulnerable. He must notice my internal struggle, because he gives me a weird look, and when I shake my head, trying to brush it aside, he raises a challenging eyebrow at me. I sigh. “Is there… Can you bring him here?”

He gives me a sad smile. “I could, but he has to be sleeping and he’s refusing to.”

I shake my head again, this time fondly. “That stupidly stubborn man.”

He hums in agreement. “We can try later if he falls asleep.”

“That would be great, but I don’t want you to overuse spirit. We’ll survive without seeing each other for a while.” Suddenly, the dream starts dissolving around me. “What’s happening?”

“Someone’s trying to wake you up.” He looks around, at the dream disappearing around us. “And me too, by the looks of it. See you soon, I hope.”

“Hope so too. Take care, of yourself and everyone else.”

He nods, then he releases his hold on the spirit dream and I wake up, lying curled up on the hard mattress of my cell. When I look up, I see a familiar face through the bars of the cell. Hans Croft. And he’s staring at me with a tired smile.

“Hathaway. You’ve been back for less than three weeks and you’re already getting in trouble,” he says, and if the situation wasn’t so horrifying, I’d think he was amused.

“I really wish I knew how this happened, Guardian Croft, but all I know is that one second I was about to enjoy a nice breakfast with my fiancé and my kids, and the next I was being arrested for a murder I didn’t commit.”

He sighs, as if I’m being difficult on purpose. For once, I wish I was, but I’m just extremely confused. “For a murder you didn’t commit, there’s surely a lot of evidence against you. Come on, it’s time for your hearing.”

“A hearing? Already?” I climb to my feet as I speak, not wanting to anger any of the other guardians with my tardiness. “How long have I been here?”

“A little over a day,” he informs me. “But we’re dealing with a dead queen, Rose. Everyone wants the culprit brought to justice.”

He gestures for me to get out, and I start walking. As I do, I continue talking. “Well, I hope you’re looking for other suspects, because I didn’t do it.”

Hans gives me a hard but sympathetic look as I walk past him. “There are no other suspects. All evidence points at you, Rose.”

When we step through the doors of the courtroom, I’m surprised to find that almost every seat is filled, and everyone is looking at me with terror and hatred in their eyes. Hans wasn’t lying when he said that absolutely everyone wants the culprit—me, apparently—brought to justice.

Most of the guardians in my entourage disperse throughout the room the moment we’re inside, but Hans escorts me to the front of the room, where I’m extremely relieved to see my dad, waiting for me.

“Thanks for coming to the rescue again, old man.”

“No problem, kiz,” he says, offering me a reassuring smile. “No one’s going to frame my daughter for murder and get away with it.” That’s what I’m afraid of, that they just might.

The judge calls forth the lawyer in charge of the prosecution, a non-royal Moroi named Iris Kane, and she launches into a long and detailed description of the queen’s murder, and I must admit that even I am taken aback by the gruesome pictures and descriptions that she gives us. When she’s done, she calls me to the stand, and I somehow manage to make my way there without tripping over my own feet. I swear I haven’t been this nervous since I found out I was pregnant with the twins.

From the stand, I can see Dimitri sitting in one of the first rows of the audience, his face twisted with worry and fear. Lissa’s sitting next to him and my mom’s on his other side, both with matching expressions of worry and confusion. Christian and Adrian are also there, and so is Olena.

I focus on Lissa and the bond, and a message comes through immediately, like she was waiting for me to let her in. Yeva, Karo, Sonja and Vika are outside with the twins. They’re doing fine. Don’t worry about them right now, worry about yourself. Almost imperceptibly, I nod at her, but I know it’s not going to be that simple. Worrying about the twins is all I’ve done ever since they were born.

“Miss Hathaway,” Iris begins, and the drop of my title is another knife in the gut. “What were you doing yesterday night?”

“Yesterday was my kids’ third birthday,” I say, as calmly as I can muster. “We celebrated with friends and family at Princess Vasilisa’s home.”

Iris nods, like she already knew this part. “And what time would you say you got home?”

I shake my head. “Not sure. Sometime after dinner. The twins are still adjusting to a nocturnal schedule, so they get tired pretty fast. Maybe four? Five?”

She checks her notes, and it must track with whatever everyone else told her, because she just nods. “And what did you do after that?”

“My fiancé and I gave the kids a bath and got them ready for bed. After they fell asleep, we watched a movie, then we went to bed,” I say, leaving out all the things we did before actually falling asleep. I doubt she’d want to hear that.

“And you were with him all the time?” she insists.

I nod. “Yes.”

She hums, leafing through her notes again. “Can someone else confirm that alibi? Aside from your fiancé, of course. I know he’s an esteemed guardian, but I wouldn’t put it past him to want to protect his loved ones.”

My blood boils at the insinuation. Dimitri is known for his utmost respect for the rules and his high morals. She’s not only accusing me of treason, but she’s trying to paint him as my accomplice too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if most people here actually believed her.

“Besides our kids, there was no one else in the house,” I tell her.

She hums again and pushes her notes away. “That’s too bad.” She gives me a terse look, a little satisfied smile on her lips.

“I can confirm it,” a familiar voice suddenly says from the audience.

My eyes quickly snap to the front row, where my family and closest friends are sitting. “Liss, what are you doing?” I urge her, my voice almost a whisper.

Helping you, you idiot, I hear through the bond.

Iris turns around to face her, looking more than a little displeased at the interruption. “Princess Vasilisa, how can you be so sure of that?”

Lissa stands up, pulling out her phone and looking for something. “Rose and I were texting on and off all night. She sent pictures too.”

Iris closes the rest of the distance between them and holds Lissa’s phone at a distance. She inspects the images for a few seconds before giving the phone back and dismissing Lissa.

“And how do you know those texts weren’t sent by someone else? Say, Guardian Belikov, for example?” Iris questions, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Oh, come on,” I blurt out. All eyes turn to me again. “What does Dimitri gain from doing that?”

“It’s not so much what he gains as what he doesn’t lose.” By the way she looks at me, I’m sure I know what she means. Me. He wouldn’t lose me.

I clench my teeth, trying to stop myself from responding with something very rude. In the end, it’s my father who intervenes. “That’s a little convoluted if you ask me. In your theory, my client is careless enough to leave behind whatever evidence you claim you have, but somehow smart enough to involve Guardian Belikov and Princess Vasilisa in what could be an airtight alibi.”

“Funny you should mention the evidence,” Iris starts, ignoring the rest of my dad’s rebuttal. “Miss Hathaway, between you and Guardian Belikov, how many silver stakes would you say you own?”

I’m taken aback by the question and abrupt change in topic, but I answer anyway. “Four. We each keep one with us at all times, but we have two more for backup that we keep in a safe.”

“Guardian Croft?” Iris calls out, and Hans takes a step forward from the shadows. “Did Miss Hathaway have a silver stake with her when she was arrested this morning?”

“Yes, she did,” he confirms. “It’s with the rest of her belongings back at headquarters.”

“Thank you, Guardian Croft.” Hans nods and takes a step back. But Iris is not done, as I thought. “Guardian Stone.” He steps forward as well, and waits for Iris to ask her question. “It is my understanding that you were part of the team that searched Miss Hathaway’s home earlier. Did you find the safe she was talking about?”

He nods. “Yes, we did, ma’am.”

“And how many stakes were in the safe?” Iris asks next.

“Just the one,” he replies, and all the blood leaves my face. Last I checked, both stakes were still there, and that was just the morning of the birthday party, so it hasn’t been that long.

“Thank you, Guardian Stone.” As the guardian nods and returns to his spot in the shadows, Iris pulls a transparent bag that she presents to the public. “And here’s the missing stake. The one used to murder the queen.”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Abe interjects. “There are thousands of stakes like that one, they’re handed out to guardians like they’re candy. She cannot claim it’s Miss Hathaway’s.”

“Of course,” Iris says before the judge can say anything. “Miss Hathaway, is there anything special about your stakes? Something unique to them?”

I look nervously from Iris to my father to Dimitri, both of whom know as well as I do the answer to the question. I clear my throat. “Both Dimitri and I worked for my father, Mr. Mazur, while we lived in Siberia. The stakes he gave us were engraved with his and our initials.”

Iris smirks and brings the stake closer to me. “Like this one, you mean?” I freeze. That is indeed one of my stakes. Abe’s initials are right there at the top, mine right underneath. “I would also like to point out that testing has revealed that Miss Hathaway’s fingerprints are on it. Only hers.”

“That proves nothing,” my father objects again. “She could have lost it at some point, or someone could have stolen it. If they used gloves, no other fingerprints would be found. Of course the stake would have her fingerprints on it, it’s hers,” my father quickly defends me. But at this point I know that whoever did this did a very thorough job. There’s no easy way for me to get out of this.

“Now who’s making this more convoluted than it needs to be?” Iris asks, throwing my father’s earlier rebuttal back in his face.

“And what’s the motive?” I force myself to ask, feeling a little brave now that my options look so bleak. “Why would I kill the queen? Sure, she wasn’t my biggest fan, and I wasn’t hers, but that’s a pretty weak motive for murder, don’t you think?”

Iris’ twisted smirk returns, and I’m convinced that I will be seeing it in my nightmares for many nights to come. “What about your children?”

I pause, at a loss for words for a moment. “Oh, no,” I say when I finally find my voice. “Don’t you dare bring my kids into this.”

“Why not?” she asks off-handedly, like we’re talking about anything other than murder accusations. “It’s common knowledge that you and Lord Ivashkov, the queen’s nephew, were involved shortly before you left Court over three years ago, which is exactly how old your children are. We all know the queen didn’t approve of your relationship.”

If I thought I was at a loss of words before, it doesn’t compare to how lost I feel now. “You—” I pause, gathering my thoughts. “You think Adrian is the father of my children?” Gasps erupt all around the room from every member of the audience. The only people who don’t visibly react are my family and friends. The only ones who know the truth.

“The dates line up,” she says, shrugging it off.

I shake my head. “Okay, whatever, even if he was, why would I kill the queen over that?”

Her smirk returns once more, and by now I’m more than a little tired of this game she’s playing. “Guardian Stone and his men found something else when they were searching your house earlier. Something very interesting. And given how well it was hidden, I’m pretty sure you didn’t want it to come to light anytime soon.” She grabs another one of her transparent bags and presents this to the audience, then to me, and this time I truly am shocked. “Miss Hathaway, would you like to tell everyone here what this is?”

I’m sure everyone in the front rows could tell what it was the moment they saw it, and from the murmurs that start running throughout the room, I know the gossip mill is working its course once more. Still, I answer the question. “Um… A pregnancy test.”

“A positive pregnancy test,” she amends. My eyes immediately find Dimitri’s, who looks as shocked as I feel. “How far along would you say you are, Miss Hathaway?”

I take a deep breath and force myself to look away from Dimitri and back at Iris, ignoring Lissa’s grating voice through the bond. “Around a month, maybe two. I didn’t have time to go to the doctor yet.”

She hums. “It is my understanding that Lord Ivashkov visited you in Russia over Christmas. Isn’t that right? That is pretty good timing for the timeline of your pregnancy, wouldn’t you say?” She pauses and walks closer to me. Then, in a fake-whisper, she tells me, almost conspiratorially, “How awkward, considering your engagement to someone else.”

In that moment, I can’t help it. I start laughing. I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, most of them surely judging me or thinking I’m crazy. My family, though, they’re just worried about me, as always.

“Miss Hathaway?” the judge asks, trying to get my attention.

I take a moment to calm down and look back at her when I’m finally composed. “I’m sorry, Your Honor, but this is getting ridiculous. Please, allow me to clarify.” I take a deep breath, steeling myself to finally reveal what I have been keeping a secret for almost four years now. “Lord Ivashkov is not the father of my children. Of any of them. They all have the same father, and it happens to be the man I’m engaged to.”

If I thought the crowd was surprised by the prosecution’s speculation that Adrian may be the father of the twins, it had nothing on the uproar that my own revelation created. Even my friends are surprised that I told everyone the truth.

“That’s ludicrous, Miss Hathaway,” Iris says as soon as the judge has managed to bring everyone to order. “You and Guardian Belikov are both dhampirs. Genetics say you cannot have children together.”

I hum. “A paternity test would say the opposite.”

Iris looks at the judge, at a loss for how to continue, and I know I’ve destroyed her entire theory with one single sentence. If this is true, and I know it is, she doesn’t have a clue what other motive I could have to murder the queen.

Finally, the judge says, “We’ll take a break to allow for the paternity test to be administered. And as ridiculous as it may sound, a maternity test will be taken too. Just to cover all bases.” She sighs, like she’s already done with this whole ordeal. “We’ll reconvene once we have the results. Guardian Belikov, please bring the kids inside.”

I’m led to the adjacent room by Hans himself, and before I have time to process what’s happening, someone has gotten out a needle and someone else is getting my arm ready to draw a blood sample. It happens so fast, I barely have time to take everything in.

“Roza!” I look up at the sound of that voice, his voice, and I see him accompanied by two guardians. I look back at my own entourage, pleadingly, and the second Hans nods his approval, I run to Dimitri’s arms. He holds me tight, like he can’t believe I’m in front of him again. I barely believe it myself. He reluctantly pulls away and cups my face in his hands. “Is it true? Are you really pregnant?”

I nod, tears coming to my eyes. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want you to find out this way. I had this whole thing planned. I wanted to make it special this time, something we’d always remember.”

He shakes his head, gently wiping my tears away. “That’s okay. I don’t care about any of that. I only care about your wellbeing and our children’s. The rest is not important.”

“It’s important to me, though! They had no right to bring this up in a courtroom. It’s our private life.”

“Unfortunately, nothing’s off limits when you’re being accused of treason,” he says, a sad smile pulling at his lips. He knows what I’m going through better than anyone, having gone through extensive investigation and questioning after Lissa restored him, so he understand how this feels like. Before I can say anything in return, something to reassure him that we'll be alright, his lips are on mine, gentle and tender and so full of love. “Regardless of the circumstances, I couldn’t be happier about the news,” he says against my lips. He’s smiling now, and his happiness is so contagious that, despite everything going wrong in our lives right now, I find myself smiling back. “We’ll get you out of here, Roza. We’ll find out who did this and we’ll make them pay.”

I nod. “I know you will.” I kiss him again, wrapping my arms around his neck to pull him as close to me as I can.

“Mama!” We spring apart just as the two little cannonballs barrel into me at full force. “Mama, I miss you!” Dimka sobs into my jeans. I pick him up and give him a big hug.

“I miss you and your sister too.” Dimitri picks up Mila and joins the hug, keeping both kids sandwiched between us. “But I promise I’ll be with you guys soon. In the meantime, be good for papa, okay? He’s got a lot on his plate right now.”

“Promise, mama,” Mila says, looking as fierce as her papa with her serious big-girl face. I laugh and hug them even tighter.

“I love you all so much.” I kiss their foreheads and give Dimitri another quick kiss, which makes the twins squirm and scream in disgust. I laugh.

“Miss Hathaway, we have to go,” Hans says to me, interrupting our little moment. I give them a small smile and reluctantly hand Dimka over to Dimitri before letting go of them.

“Be good, okay?” I tell the kids, fighting back the tears. “I love you all. See you soon, I promise.”

I let Hans and the other guardians pull me away as I give Dimitri and my babies one last glance. The sadness in their beautiful faces almost breaks me.

All the way back to my cell, I can’t get that image out of my head.

Chapter Text

A few hours after returning to my cell, I’m lying on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, when I feel the weird sensation of Lissa’s mind pushing against my own, like she’s trying to pull  me into the bond. I let myself go to her, and when I do I realize she’s in the middle of a Council meeting. But it’s not just any meeting. They’re holding the nominations for monarch. All the Moroi residents of Court are there, the royals occupying the front seats while the non-royals lurk in the back.

Lissa is sitting with the rest of the Council members in the center of the room, and there in the front row, right in her line of sight, sit Jill, Adrian, Christian and, surprisingly, Tasha. Last I heard of her, she was going to be across the country this weekend for some kind of martial arts exhibition, which is why she told Christian that sadly she’d miss the twins’ birthday. I guess she jumped on a plane as soon as she heard the news of the Queen’s murder, but she made it here surprisingly fast.

Despite being in Lissa’s head, I can tell there’s something Lissa is trying to block from me, something she won’t let me access, which worries me. What is she up to?

All the chatter dies down once Nathan Ivashkov enters the room and sits with the rest of the Council. He quickly explains the nomination process, and then the voting starts. I recognize most of the names being thrown around. Ariana Szelsky, Rufus Tarus, Marcus Lazar, Marie Conta and Ronald Ozera, since they’re all part of the Council. But others—like the Dashkov, Zeklos and Voda candidates—I’ve never heard of before.

The real surprise comes at the end, when it looks like all the nominations are in and things are wrapping up, because that’s when Jill stands up and says, “I nominate my sister, Princess Vasilisa Dragomir, for the throne.”

The room is quiet for all of two seconds before Christian stands up and says, “I second the nomination.” All the other Ozeras, who are sitting across the room from them, turn to look at him, surprised that he’s speaking up to nominate someone who’s not even a part of their family.

“And I confirm the nomination,” Adrian says, standing up before Christian is fully seated.

Nathan does a double take when recognizing his own son’s voice, but quickly looks at Lissa. “Princess Dragomir?”

Lissa takes a deep breath and stands up, squaring her shoulders. “I accept the nomination.”

Nathan nods, writing down her name. “And this concludes the nomination process. We have eleven nominees. All candidates must meet at the gates tomorrow at dawn for the first of the trials.” With that, he gathers all of his stuff and leaves before the room turns into chaos.

I can’t believe they did that.

I have no clue whose idea it was or why they went through with it—better yet, why didn’t Lissa stop them?—but for a moment I think I must be dreaming. There is no way that just happened. Lissa was never that interested in politics. The only reason why she fought so hard for her spot on the Council is because she wanted to help bring about change and inclusion for Moroi and dhampirs alike, but she wouldn’t have done that if there was any other Dragomir that could’ve taken her spot.

I have a hard time falling asleep after that, perhaps because of my current situation, or perhaps because I really want Adrian to visit me in a spirit dream so I can get some answers and I’m afraid he won’t come. When I finally drift off, I’m relieved that I’m immediately pulled into one.

But the first person I see it’s not Adrian.

It’s Lissa.

“What—” I stutter. “Since when—?”

“It’s Adrian’s dream,” she clarifies, quickly catching onto my confusion. “He’s brought me in so we can talk.”

Sure enough, when I look behind me, Adrian’s standing there, a safe distance away so Lissa and I can have some semblance of privacy.

I round on her again, more collected now that I know Lissa didn’t suddenly learn to dream walk. “Was that shit planned?”

Lissa sighs, immediately knowing what I’m talking about. “I knew you’d be mad.”

“Of course I’m mad!” I interrupt before she can continue. “You were keeping it from me on purpose, weren’t you?”

She nods. “We didn’t want you to worry or even think about it until it was a done deal.”

“We?” I question.

“Yes, everyone was involved. I told your parents because we needed to figure out if any nominations were valid, even if not all three people that voted for me were part of my family. Your dad really pulled through with that, and very quickly too.”

I shake my head. “How long have you been planning it?”

“Not that long. We started talking about it after your arrest,” she explains. “We figured it might take some heat off you if I ran for queen. Your return to Court with the twins has been all everyone’s been talking about, and now you’ve been framed as the Queen’s murderer. Something big had to happen for the attention to shift.”

I laugh humorlessly. “It’s not going to shift, Lissa. Not when the test results come back and everyone knows for sure that Dimitri and I are able to have children together. If you thought they were talking about us before, it’s nothing on what’s coming.”

“Well, it’s worth a try,” she insists. “The return of the Dragomirs to the Council was big news when I finally got my quorum, and I’m the youngest candidate in centuries. Your dad’s been running some numbers. I might actually have a chance to win.”

I sigh. “Do you even want to be queen, Liss?”

She looks down, like she doesn’t know what to say at first. After a while, she looks back up at me. “It was never in my plans, no, but I wouldn’t mind it. Someone has to do something about these stupid new laws they’re trying to force on us, on you dhampirs specifically. As queen, they’d have to listen to me.”

“There’s no guarantee you’ll pass the tests. Or that you’ll be elected, for that matter,” I remind her.

"Like I said, your dad believes the odds are in my favor. And as for the tests… I will try my hardest.”

I sigh again. “Well, I hope we don’t all regret this.”

She gives me an encouraging smile. “We won’t.” She finally closes the distance between us and gives me a tight hug. “We’ll get out of your hair now. We all need some rest.”

“Again, you are sleeping. This is like a lucid dream, except it’s actually happening,” Adrian reminds us.

“But you technically aren’t, so her point still stands because you also need rest. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon enough. Sleep well.”

“Good night, Rose,” Lissa says, letting me go, then the dream dissolves around me.

I wake up what feels like days later, but I know it hasn’t been more than a few hours because the guardians outside haven’t rotated and they’re still wearing the exact same clothes as the last time I saw them. I sigh and prop myself up, leaning against the wall behind me.

“Hey,” I call out to the guardians. When a few minutes go by without a reply, I say it again, louder this time.

“Be quiet,” one of the guardians replies. He must be far from the door, because his voice sounds muffled.

“No, I get it, you don’t want to be caught talking to the queen-killer, but I have a question. Please,” I add, hoping that will get me some sympathy.

The guardian standing right outside of my cell sighs, but finally he turns around and looks inside. “What is it?”

“Like I said, I just have a question about my current circumstances. If we proceed to wait until a real trial, will I be allowed to visit a doctor for my pregnancy? Or is that not one of my rights, since I’m a prisoner?”

He actually looks stumped by my question. Point for me, I guess. “I am not sure of the answer. This is a bit of an unprecedented situation. I would have to ask.” Of course it is. If I was a royal Moroi, it’d be out of the question. A doctor would be brought in immediately if it was necessary. But I’m just a lowly dhampir. One who—according to some evidence that someone planted—killed the Moroi queen. The worst of the worst.

And because I’m in the mood for being antagonizing, instead of letting the subject drop, I say, “Cool. While you’re at it, will you ask as well if, in case I’m found guilty and slated for execution, they will wait until I give birth?”

Even from a distance, I see him blanch. Good. I want him to be just as uncomfortable as I feel right now.

He clears his throat, shifting in place. “I’m pretty sure if that’s the case they would want to wait until after the baby’s born, miss.”

“Oh, great,” I exclaim exaggeratedly. “Three motherless children instead of two. Unless of course, they decide that Dimitri helped me and they decide to execute him too. Then they’ll be straight-up orphans.”

I see him struggle to come up with an answer, but he’s visibly unsettled by my words. Before he settles on something to say, I hear footsteps in the corridor that announce someone else’s arrival, then I hear Hans’ familiar voice.

“That’s enough, Miss Hathaway.” He walks into view and unlocks my cell. “They’re ready for you in the courtroom. The results are in.”

I frown, getting to my feet. “Already? That was faster than I thought.” It can’t have been more than eight hours since they brought me back to my cell. I expected it would at least take a full day.

“Yeah, well, it was sent in as urgent. You got everyone hanging on a thread with that bombshell,” he tells me as I step out. He points at a guardian I don’t know and he approaches me, grabbing me by the arm. “I must admit, it was a smart move. Took the attention away from the Queen’s murder for a few hours, and it did give you some extra time to think of a better alibi.”

I look up at him, an eyebrow raised. “What, you think I’m lying?” His silence is answer enough. “Oh, Hans. I thought you of all people could tell when I’m lying or telling the truth.”

“Rose, it’s impossible,” he tells me, face stern. “Dhampirs can’t have children with other dhampirs. It goes against everything we’ve been told since the beginning of time.”

“Yeah, I’ve been hearing that a lot since I got pregnant the first time. I used that very same line on Dimitri’s family when they said they thought I was pregnant. But unless both of my pregnancies were God’s intervention, the only man I’ve ever slept with is Dimitri Belikov.” He and all the other guardians are looking away, uncomfortable, and probably unwilling to accept it as the truth. I get it. It’s not easy to take it in when the things you believe in are challenged. “If you still don’t believe me, wait until the results are announced,” I add, then we fall into silence for the rest of our walk.

We make it back to the courtroom pretty quickly, and I’m surprised to see it’s impossibly even more packed than before. Word must have spread about what happened earlier and now the entire population of the Moroi Royal Court is here to find out if what I said about the twins’ parentage is true.

I should have known. Dimitri and I have talked multiple times about the implications that coming out with the truth would have on the Moroi world. We aren’t just worried about the twins becoming the center of attention or a topic of conversation. What worries us the most is that people might want to investigate what exactly made this possible and how to replicate the results on other dhampirs. It would help with the dhampir population problem, and the number of dhampir single mothers would surely go down. But as much as I want those things to change, I also can’t let them turn my kids into lab rats.

One of our worst nightmares might be about to become true, and it’d be all my fault for telling the truth in the first place.

Once again, Hans leads me to the front of the room, where I sit down next to my father. Dimitri, Lissa, Christian, Adrian, Olena and my mother are sitting in the row behind us, and when I look back at them briefly, they all give me encouraging smiles.

“Miss Kane?” the judge prompts as soon as everyone is sitting down. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Yes. Let’s get this madness over with,” Iris says, standing up and pulling out an envelope. By her attitude, it’s clear she doesn’t believe me, just like Hans and the other guardians. Well, she’s in for a real shock. She opens the envelope, giving me a haughty look before reading the results. I can tell the moment she gets to the bottom from the way her expression changes. In an instant, the haughty look is gone and replaced by surprise and shock. “This is impossible,” she mutters under her breath, but the room is so quiet in anticipation that I’m pretty sure everyone can hear, even the ones in the far back.

“Well, Miss Kane?” the judge prompts her again. “What does it say?”

Iris Kane looks at the judge, still puzzled, then back at the papers in her hands, and back at the judge once more. “As unbelievable as it sounds, the test confirms that Guardian Dimitri Belikov and Miss Rosemarie Hathaway are in fact the biological parents of Dimitri and Milena Belikov.”

The reaction from the audience is immediate. In a matter of seconds, the room is filled with gasps and whispers, and it gets so out of control that not even the judge shouting and banging her gavel can get them to calm down. I find Hans’ eyes in the crowd, and I can see that he is just as shocked at the news as everyone else. Despite our earlier conversation, he still believed I was lying.

It takes at least fifteen minutes for the entire room to quiet down enough for the judge to bring it to order. When everyone’s fallen silent, she looks over at Iris, who still seems off-kilter, to incite her to proceed. Iris recovers quickly under the gaze of the judge, or at least pretends to, and looks out into the audience, zeroing in on someone right behind me.

“Guardian Belikov, please take the stand.” Before I fully process the words, Dimitri stands up and walks up to the witness stand. He’s hiding it well, but I know him too well to not notice his nerves and confusion. Who knows what Iris Kane has planned now that all her theories are out the window. “Guardian Belikov, did you know before today that you’re the biological father of Miss Hathaway’s children?”

“Yes,” he answers, his face impassive as he stares at her.

She nods and paces around, pretending she’s coming up with her next question. “How long have you known?”

“Two years,” he replies in the same deadpan voice as before.

This gets her attention, and Iris’ head snaps up toward him. “Two years? But the twins are three now,” she tells him, like he doesn’t know how old his own children are when literally everybody else knows.

“Yes,” he confirms. “When my fiancée found out she was pregnant with the twins, she was in Siberia with my family. I had been recently restored, and we weren’t on good terms at the time. She knew I was trying to be reinstated as a guardian and that I would give it up if I knew about her pregnancy. She decided to keep it to herself temporarily.”

Iris gives him a disbelieving look. “I would say more than a year is a little more than temporary, don’t you think?”

He shrugs it off. “Depending on how you look at it, I suppose it is, but it didn’t matter to me.”

Her expression hardens. I don’t know what her intentions are with this line of questioning, but it must not be going her way. “When did you and Miss Hathaway rekindle your relationship?” she asks next.

“Right before the twins turned one, on Christmas. That’s when I found out I was their father.”

“And did you do a paternity test at the time?”

“No.”

“No?” she asks him in the same disbelieving tone. “Someone drops a bomb like that on you and you don’t think it’s necessary to confirm she’s telling you the truth?”

The change is subtle, but I can tell Dimitri is extremely pissed off that she is indirectly calling him stupid to his face.

“I believed she was telling the truth,” he answers through his teeth. “She had no reason to lie to me or my family about the identity of the twins’ father. Besides, we both agreed we didn’t want it on any official records, as our plan was to keep the truth to ourselves until they were old enough to understand the peculiarity of their existence.”

Iris’ eyes glint for a moment, like she just got a tidbit of information that was the breakthrough she needed.

Before she can open her mouth to speak, Dimitri says, “If you’ll forgive the question, why is this information relevant to this hearing? I thought you were determining whether there’s enough evidence to send my fiancée to trial regarding the Queen’s murder. Our children have nothing to do with this. I believe I speak for both Rose and I when I say we’re more than open to answer all of your questions, but does it have to be now and so publicly?”

“Guardian Belikov is right, Miss Kane,” the judge intervenes, giving Iris a warning glance. “Unless you’re going to tie this up to the cause for this hearing, I suggest you wrap this line of questioning right now.”

“Just one more question, Your Honor,” Iris says, glancing at her briefly before turning to Dimitri once more. “You just said that you and Miss Hathaway planned on keeping all this a secret, correct?”

Dimitri nods. “Yes.”

“Why?”

Dimitri almost laughs, but he covers it with a cough. “I figured that much was obvious. They’re just kids, and this is the first time two dhampirs have been able to conceive a child together. We wanted to protect them.”

Iris smirks for the first time since our return to the courtroom, and I’m almost afraid of what’s about to come out of her mouth. “Then why would Miss Hathaway throw caution out the window to reveal that information now?”

“I won’t pretend to know exactly what was crossing her mind when she made the decision, but I’d imagine that faced with accusations of murder, anyone would try to defend themselves, whatever means necessary. Telling the truth about our children now completely thwarts your theory that she killed the Queen because she opposed her non-existent affair with Lord Ivashkov. So unless you have any other theories as to why she would, as you put it, throw caution out the window to commit high treason when that would risk not only her life but our unborn child’s as well, I think you’re left without a motive.”

For a moment, Iris seems at a loss for words, probably because she knows he’s right and is scrambling for a reason, any other reason, that would’ve made me want to kill the Queen. The small, satisfied smile that takes over Dimitri’s lips as he sees her momentary struggle makes me smile in return, even if I know that not having a motive won’t stop them from sending my case to trial.

“That still doesn’t change the fact that Miss Hathaway’s stake was found in the Queen’s heart and she doesn’t have a solid alibi for the time of the murder,” Iris says in the end.

“Actually, she does have an alibi,” Hans sighs, looking about as tired of all this as I feel.

The judge looks at Hans, then quickly back at Dimitri. “Guardian Belikov, you can return to your seat. Thank you for your collaboration.” Dimitri nods at the judge, then he stands and returns to his seat, nestled between our mothers. When he’s settled, the judge motions toward Hans. “What is that alibi, Guardian Croft?”

We all stare at him as he approaches the stand to converse with the judge and Iris. Although they keep their voices low, everyone in the front rows can hear them. “While we waited for the paternity test results, my team and I inspected Miss Hathaway’s phone, as well as Princess Vasilisa’s. The texts that the princess mentioned earlier are all there, as well as some pictures that only Miss Hathaway could have sent, since they show Guardian Belikov sleeping and no one else could have taken the picture if not her.”

“They could have been staged,” Iris quickly claims.

“Yes, they could have,” Hans agrees. “But without a motive and with a plausible alibi, I think we should investigate other possible culprits. Miss Hathaway hasn’t even seen the Queen since she and Guardian Belikov returned to Court with their children.”

The judge and Iris share a complicit look, but before the former can open her mouth to speak, I interrupt. “I did see the Queen.”

Rose, what are you doing? Lissa screams in my head.

I look back at her and the rest of my family. “If I don’t tell them now and they find out later they’ll say I was manipulating evidence or some other bullshit. I’d rather come clean. I have nothing to hide.” I look back at Iris Kane and the judge, who are looking at me expectantly. Hans is too. “The Queen visited me almost a week ago.”

“When?” Dimitri asks from behind me, and when I look back at him I see him frowning. He has no idea. I never told him about it.

“You weren’t home,” I explain. “You took the kids to play outside while I… attempted to make dinner.”

I’m checking the recipe for the umpteenth time when the oven timer goes off, and just as I’m turning it off, the doorbell rings.

“Coming!” I yell at whoever it is, making sure that the oven is actually off and the gas is low so the food doesn't burn, then make my way to the door. “Did you forget the keys again?” I yell, assuming it’s Dimitri. “I swear I’m gonna have to hang them around your neck like a—” The words die in my throat when I open the door and see who’s on the other side. “Oh.”

“Good evening, Guardian Hathaway,” the Queen greets me, her hands neatly folded in front of her. “May I come in? I wouldn’t want to get anyone’s attention. I’m sure you understand.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat and nod, getting out of her way. The Queen nods as well, pleased, and walks past me and into the kitchen.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” I ask when I find my voice again, following her in as if this was her house and not my own.

She ignores me, curiously looking around the room. She looks from the food simmering on the stove, to the family pictures on the mantel, to the Christmas lights strung around the banister that Dimitri and the kids insisted we put up after we moved in—even though Christmas was more than over by then—and I’ve been too lazy to take down. “This is homey,” she eventually says instead of answering my question.

“Thanks. We do try,” I say, trying to be amiable. “Now, would you answer my question?” I add, because her presence here is really unnerving me.

She sighs like I’m the biggest nuisance in the world. To her, I probably am. “You, Miss Hathaway, have become the talk of the town. Everywhere I go, everyone I see, all they seem to be talking about is you,” she tells me, as if I don’t know that already. “And your children, of course,” she adds, giving me a pointed look.

“I’m aware,” I tell her. “But I don’t see how it concerns you, Your Majesty.”

She turns around to face me, her expression hard, unreadable. But then her eyes fall on something behind me and it changes to one of confusion. She strides past me and grabs one of the pictures we’ve hung on the fridge. It’s a copy of the family picture that Vika took of the four of us last December so we could send it as a Christmas card to our family and friends.

“Are these your children?” she asks, her voice uncertain.

“They are. Dimka and Mila,” I say, pointing at each of them in turn.

And then the weirdest thing happens. She laughs. Not a little chuckle or something equally subtle. No. A full-on belly laugh. Not knowing how to go on after that, I simply stare at her, waiting for her laughing fit to die down.

“Well,” she starts when she finally composes herself, “It appears I’ve wasted my time coming here. Have a nice evening, Guardian Hathaway,” she says, handing me the picture and starting for the door.

Still confused about what’s going on, I step in front of her, not willing to let her go until she gives me an explanation for her visit.

“What are you talking about?”

She sighs and gives me a defeated look, like she can’t believe she’s about to admit this out loud and to me of all people. “I assumed, wrongfully, that the father of your children was my nephew, but after seeing that picture it’s obvious that’s not the case,” she explains. And for good measure, she adds, “They look just like their father.”

For a moment, I’m stunned. I knew, objectively, that the Queen was smart—she wouldn’t have passed the monarch tests if she wasn’t—but so many people look at me and the twins and, even if they know Dimitri, they don’t put it together, not right away and, for the most part, not without prompting. Of course, they believe just as I did that dhampirs can’t have children together. But the Queen does too, and she still put it together just by looking at a picture of Dimitri and the kids side by side.

“They do,” I agree. “And not at all like me.”

“Oh, I’m sure they have your personality,” she says, and I’d dare say it almost sounds reassuring. Or as close to reassuring as the Queen can get. “And if so, I’m sorry for anyone who has to deal with them.”

At that, I laugh, which is something I never thought I’d do with the Queen. “I am too,” I admit.

She gives me a serious look, and for the first time it doesn’t seem judging. “Be careful,” she tells me. “A lot of people would kill to get their hands on those two if they knew the truth.”

I cross my arms over my chest and raise my head defiantly. “First they would have to get through Dimitri and me.”

A smile spreads over her lips. “Oh, I’m sure. I’ll see you around, Miss Hathaway.” She moves around me and toward the door, and this time I let her. “If anyone asks, I was never here,” she says, stepping through the door and closing it behind her.

“The moment Queen Tatiana saw a picture of the twins, she figured out the truth,” I tell the room as I finish recounting what happened that night. “She didn’t doubt that she was right either. She just assumed she was. And yes, the Queen and I never saw eye to eye on many aspects, but after that day I think we understood each other a little better.” I look away from Dimitri as I finish and look back at Iris Kane and the judge. “No, we weren’t friends. Probably never would’ve been. But I didn’t want her dead.”

The room falls into silence then, and for a minute or two no one dares to break it. Eventually, because something has to be decided regarding the trial, Hans does. “Well,” he starts, “As I was saying earlier, given her alibi, I don’t believe Miss Hathaway did it. However, it is entirely possible that both she and the Queen had a common enemy who thought they could kill two birds with one stone. Literally.”

“Thank you, Miss Hathaway, for sharing your story with us. And thank you, Guardian Croft, for your input,” the judge says, looking away briefly, like she’s trying to gather herself and wrap her head around everything. “Now, I would normally take a few minutes to deliberate a decision regarding the trial, but given the circumstances, I’ll give you my verdict now.”

The room is silent again as we wait with bated breath for her to continue.

“We’ll move forward to trial,” she announces, and I let out a defeated sigh. I should have known that getting out of this wasn’t going to be this easy. “But we’ll also continue to investigate any possible leads that might point at a culprit other than Miss Hathway,” she adds over the uproar that was beginning to form in the front rows. “However, considering Miss Hathaway’s delicate situation, I don’t think she should wait this out in a cell. She can return home with her fiancé and children, but there will be guardians stationed around the house at all times to ensure she doesn’t try anything. You’re all dismissed.”

As she bangs her gavel, indicating the end of the session, I struggle to my feet. I can’t believe it. I’m free. Well, not entirely, but at least I don’t have to stay in that cold cell all alone anymore.

I let my father hug me, even though we both know this is far from over, and then I run to Dimitri’s arms. He holds me tight, like he can’t believe we get to go home together either, and all I want is to get lost in his embrace forever.

We start walking home, Dimitri and I leading the way and followed by an entourage of at least six guardians, Lissa, Christian, Adrian, my parents, and Olena. I try to enjoy the silent walk home, the cold breeze sending my hair flying into my face.

But the silence doesn’t last. Before long, Lissa falls into step beside us and reaches for my arm. “Okay, girl, when were you going to tell us that you’re pregnant again?” she asks me, giving me a look of disbelief.

“I just found out a few days ago,” I say in my defense. “I wanted to tell Dimitri and go to the doctor before sharing the news with the rest of the family. But of course, Iris Kane went and ruined the surprise.”

“We’re so happy for you both, of course,” Olena quickly adds. “And you still get to share the news with the girls and the twins on your own terms. I know it’s not the same, but it’s something at least.”

I nod. “I know. I’m excited to tell them too, but I want to wait before telling the twins. It’s still pretty early on in the pregnancy, I don’t want to get their hopes up too soon, just in case something happens.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” Dimitri tells me, always the optimist, and pulls me even closer to him. I don’t know how we’re even able to walk. “From now on, no excitement for you, Miss Hathaway.”

I crane my neck to look at him. “Oh? I thought we had a wedding to plan.”

“The Belikovas and I will take care of that,” Lissa butts in. “And you can focus on taking care of yourself and that sweet little baby,” she tells me with a self-satisfied smile.

I smile. “Thanks. I’m really glad to always have you guys on my corner.” I look down, sighing. “But there’s a threat we have to focus on, though. I hate to say this, but I’m not sure we can rely entirely on the other guardians to lead this investigation. Most people are convinced I did it and changing their minds might be impossible if we don’t find strong evidence quickly.”

“And what do you propose we do?” Adrian asks. I’d almost forgotten he was with us.

I look around us, at all the passersby who are looking at us curiously and the guardians escorting us home. I shake my head. “Not here. We’ll talk about it when we get home.”

We finish the walk in silence, and when we get to the house I let my friends and family in and close the door in the guardians’ faces unceremoniously. We sit on the floor, forming a circle in the middle of our living room, and soon Vika, Karo and Sonja join us.

“So, whoever killed Queen Tatiana clearly wanted to take out Rose as well,” Dimitri starts, immediately addressing the big elephant in the room. “Now that you’re somewhat free, they might try a more direct approach,” he tells me, squeezing my hand in his.

“At least the house will be well protected at all times,” Vika says, spying the guardians through the window. “It might be intended to keep you in, but it will also keep attackers out.”

“And I’ll have my Russian God by my side all the time, won’t I?” I say lightly, looking up at Dimitri with a mischievous smile. He laughs, pulling me to his side and dropping a kiss on my head.

“Of course, Roza, all the time,” he says, sounding amused.

“Okay, all of that’s great, but how are we going to find whoever did this?” my mother asks, bringing us back to business.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I am sure of one thing, though. Whoever did this, has to be Moroi.”

“How are you so sure?” Christian asks curiously.

“Because they thought it’d be easier to sneak past the Queen’s guardians than to take me on directly,” I explain. “A guardian would be too cocky, too sure of themself. They’d think they’d be able to take me down if they got me alone.”

“And a Moroi would know that trying to attack a trained guardian would be a lost battle for them. Especially one with Rose’s track record and reputation,” Dimitri points out.

“Exactly,” I nod. “But you’re not wrong that they might get desperate enough to try a direct attack now that I’m not in a cell anymore.”

“Well, then I say we stop with the chit-chat and start searching for some clues, starting first thing tomorrow morning,” Adrian says.

“Rose, I know you can’t leave the house, but we’ll send you any leads we might find so you can investigate them from here,” Lissa tells me.

“No, Liss, not you,” I say. “The monarch tests start tomorrow and you have to focus on that,” I add when I see her ready to argue. “Let everyone else deal with this. We have more than enough hands on deck.”

“And I can probably get some outside help as well,” my dad says, typing away at his phone already.

“Perfect. Thanks, dad,” I say, pretty sure I know what kind of help he’s talking about. “We can meet here every day at dinnertime to discuss what each of us figured out that day.”

“Great!” Adrian says enthusiastically. “We only have to find some seemingly nonexistent clues and catch a killer before they catch us. How hard can this be, really?”

Famous last words.

Chapter Text

Needless to say, we don’t dare to step outside of the house for the next couple of days. Me because I’m not allowed, and Dimitri because he doesn’t want to leave me alone, even though the house is surrounded by guardians and he knows full well that I can take care of myself. So while our friends and family are out there investigating any possible leads, and Lissa is working her ass off on the monarch tests, Dimitri, the twins and I are chilling at home, and I don’t know who’s enduring the inactivity worse, Mila or me.

At the end of the first week of my house arrest, a guardian knocks on the door and hands me a court-stamped paper. As I read through it, I realize it’s a petition that someone filed for me and presented it to the judge so that I’m allowed to visit the doctor—later I find out that it was actually my mother who filed it and Lissa who took it to the judge; of course they couldn’t deny the request if it came from one of the monarch candidates. I quickly get dressed, desperate for some fresh air and stretching my legs. Dimitri calls Vika, who comes over to the house in record time to watch the kids, then Dimitri and I walk outside and let two of the guardians escort us to the nearby clinic.

“All seems well,” the doctor—a middle-aged, kind-looking, non-royal Moroi woman—tells us. Her voice wavers a little, like it has been ever since we stepped in. Apparently people still think I’m a murderer and are skittish around me. “Heartbeat is steady and strong. There seem to be no complications.” At least this time we didn’t get a twin surprise again. “We can schedule another visit six weeks from now, but feel free to come by if you have any weird symptoms. I understand this is a very… peculiar pregnancy.”

“So far, just as normal as the first one,” I assure her, but she doesn’t look very reassured by my answer.

As predicted, all of Court is going ballistic with the news of the twins’ parentage. By some miracle—it being that the knowledge is part of an ongoing criminal investigation—no one outside of Court knows yet. The judge put a ban on talking about it to anyone who wasn’t present at any of the sessions for my hearing. The guardians at the gates are more vigilant than ever, and unless people present official documents allowing them entry or exit from Court, no one can cross the gates. Which is good, because it means that, at least for now, the amount of people who know is controlled. Once all of this blows over and things go back to normal however, we won’t be that lucky.

Dimitri and I return home, happy to learn that the new addition to our family is healthy, strong, and soon-to-be-kicking. When we make it there, we find Adrian, Lissa and Christian waiting for us in the living room.

“How did it go?” Lissa asks, wrapping me in a warm hug as soon as we step inside.

“Good. Baby is doing just great,” I tell her, grabbing the picture of the ultrasound from Dimitri’s hands to show her. She practically rips the paper from my hands as she squeals.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt again,” she exclaims. “And this time we get to live through this together. You know you have me here for anything you need. And I mean it, Rose. Anything.”

I laugh. “I know, Liss, I know. But how are you going to be there for me when you’re busy being queen?” Lissa had passed her first monarch test with flying colors, although not all candidates had been so lucky. The Dashkov, Voda and Drozdov nominees had failed and were out of the running now, which meant there were eight candidates left. We have high hopes for Lissa of course, but if she can’t win, we have our sights set on Ariana Szelsky. According to Lissa, she believes in some of the same reforms we do, and while she might not be quite as radical—as some people are calling Lissa—she’ll still do a lot of good for Moroi and dhampirs alike. Lissa believes this, so I do too.

“I’ll always make time for you,” she reassures me, as if I needed her to. We’ve been through so much together that her help and support are a given, and she knows it’s mutual. “But speaking of becoming queen, I need to get going now if I want to make it to my next trial on time.” She gives me another hug and starts for the door.

“Wait, you’re going alone? Where are your guardians?” I ask, looking around as if I’ve somehow missed them.

“Meredith just finished her shift, and the others are on break. It’s fine though, nothing is going to happen to me at Court,” she says, brushing it off.

I walk toward her and grab her arm. “Lissa. Queen Tatiana was murdered at Court. She was murdered in her bedroom. Her killer is still at large. Forgive me if I’m a little paranoid about your safety.”

“Rose is right,” Christian agrees. “It would be better if you took a guardian with you. We’ll be less worried.”

“There’s a whole bunch of them outside. I’m sure one of them will accompany you if you ask nicely enough,” Adrian cuts in.

“That won’t do.” I turn to Dimitri with a hopeful look. Although the last thing I want is to have him away from me, I would rather he’s there to protect Lissa if something were to happen.

He doesn’t wait for me to voice it. Just from the way I’m looking at him, he knows what I’m thinking and nods. “Of course. I’ll go with you, Lissa.”

“Thank you, Dimitri, but you really don’t have to,” she insists. “They need your help going over the evidence we’ve collected so far.”

I huff. “Yeah, because we have so much evidence that it will take us ages to review it if Dimitri doesn’t help.” Adrian, Christian, Eddie and my mother have been going around Court talking to anyone who’s willing about the Queen’s murder and whether they saw anything strange in the palace that night, but they haven’t found out all that much.

“I’ll go with her.” I turn around and find Vika walking down the stairs. “The twins just fell asleep. You don’t need me right now, do you?” Karo, Sonja, Yeva and the kids had to return to Siberia, since the girls had to work and Paul, Zoya and Katya had to go back to St. Basil’s, but Olena and Vika stayed behind, claiming we’d need help with the twins considering all the stress we were under because of the upcoming trial and our little murder investigation.

“Guys, I really don’t need—” Lissa starts complaining again.

“We insist,” Christian cuts her off, reaching out for her hand and squeezing it. “Now stop arguing with us and go before you’re late.” He pulls Lissa toward him and drops a kiss on her forehead. She sighs in defeat and starts walking to the door again, Vika close on her heels.

“See you all later,” she says as the two of them walk out and the door closes behind them.

“So far the only relevant clues we have are the accounts of two witnesses,” Dimitri says a few hours later as we finish reviewing all the information that Adrian and Christian brought us.

Two young girls who work in the palace claim they were working near the Queen’s room that night. One of them saw someone leave the room around the established time of the murder, but they couldn’t see their face, and the other claims she heard voices a little while before that, what sounded like a man and a woman whispering furiously at each other. All of that is great to know, but it puts us nowhere closer to finding out the identity of the killer or clearing my name permanently.

“This person must have connections with the royal guard if they could sneak in that easily,” Christian adds. “So it might be a royal, someone who the guards either trusted or had the money to bribe them.”

“Maybe someone who wanted the Queen gone so they could get themselves on the throne?” Adrian suggests.

“Lissa can give us a list of any Council members or other royals who are particularly power-hungry,” I say. “And we need to gain access to the guard rotation for that night, specifically who was working outside the Queen’s bedroom at the time of the murder.”

“One of your parents might be able to help with that,” Dimitri points out, pulling out his phone to text them.

I hum in agreement, but before I can say what else is on my mind, I’m suddenly pulled into Lissa’s head. And she’s in distress.

“Help!” she’s screaming at the top of her lungs. Then I notice that a few steps away from her, Vika is fighting a masked person—a Moroi man, if I had to guess based on their build—who’s holding a pretty large knife in their hands.

I gasp, managing to pull myself out of Lissa’s head. “Lissa’s in trouble,” I tell the other as I jump to my feet and run to the door. The guardians outside immediately stand to attention, getting in my way so I can’t get out. I grunt, frustrated, but at least I can send her help. “Princess Dragomir needs help. She’s two streets over,” I say, pointing in the direction Lissa’s in. As soon as the words are out of my mouth, two of the guardians rush in the direction I gave them, Christian and Dimitri following closely behind.

I really want to follow them too, but I don’t want to get in trouble with the guardians when I’m already on thin ice, so I return inside with Adrian and flop down on the couch, returning to Lissa’s head.

Dimitri arrives on the scene first and immediately runs toward his sister, who’s panicking and looking at the ground in front of her, where the masked person is lying, bleeding out. He pulls her into a hug, trying to calm her down, just as Christian and the other two guardians arrive. Christian is at Lissa’s side in an instant, pulling her into his arms like Dimitri did with his sister.

The guardians inspect the scene before them, from Lissa’s shaken state, to the body on the ground, to the blood on Vika’s hands. One of them approaches the person and pulls the mask off their face, revealing a Moroi man not older than thirty. The guardian looks back at his colleague, who shrugs. None of them know how to proceed.

In that moment, probably alerted by the commotion, a few other guardians join in, Hans among them. That’s when I realize that they’re not too far from guardian headquarters. Hans, much like the other two guardians, inspects the scene before him.

“Guardian Belikova, you’re going to have to come with me,” he says, sounding tired already.

I see Dimitri’s shoulders tense around Vika. “She didn’t do anything wrong,” he defends her.

Hans glares at him. “There’s a dead Moroi and his blood is all over her. It’s protocol.”

“She was protecting me!” Lissa intervenes, getting out of Christian’s embrace and stepping between Hans and Vika. “That man attacked me and Vika only did what she was supposed to do, keep me safe.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that a Moroi died by her hand,” Hans insists. “I have to take her in and interrogate witnesses. Who else was with you when you were attacked?”

“It was just the two of us. Vika was escorting me to and from my monarch test,” Lissa replies.

“Rose saw it too,” Dimitri adds. “That’s how we knew we had to come.”

Hans sighs again. “Princess Dragomir, please walk with us. We’re going to need a full recount of what happened.” He then looks at the two guardians that came with Dimitri and Christian. “Please, return to Miss Hathaway’s home and escort her to headquarters. We’ll question her too. Everyone else, go home.”

He gives Dimitri a stern look, and eventually Dimitri gives in and lets Vika go. She’s still trembling in panic and looks like she can’t even speak right now. Hans grabs her by the arm and starts pulling her toward headquarters. Lissa gives Dimitri a reassuring look and then follows them.

I come back to myself and find Adrian staring at me with a questioning look.

“What a mess,” is the first thing that comes out of my mouth, and then I tell him everything I just saw.

We end up spending upwards of three hours sitting outside Hans’ office in headquarters, each of us being called in individually to give our version of events.

Thankfully, someone got Vika a change of clothes and they allow her to clean up while Hans and a young guardian that I don’t recognize take turns questioning me and Lissa. After more than two hours interrogating us separately, they bring us all into Hans’ office to go over the details once more. As far as I can tell, everything matches perfectly. But something must not be clicking for Hans, because he insists on keeping us here.

“What was Miss Belikova doing with you in the first place, Princess?” Hans finally asks, and I see Vika flinch when he drops her guardian title.

“All of my guardians were off this afternoon, but Rose and Christian insisted I let another guardian accompany me to my test for safety reasons. Vika offered, and upon everyone’s insistence, I agreed,” Lissa explains.

“And thank god we insisted,” I intervene. “Lissa could have been killed by that psycho if Vika hadn’t been there.”

“That psycho was Moroi, and people will have questions about his death,” Hans says, stern.

“And the answer is simple: he attacked a royal, a head of family who’s running for queen. Vika was only doing her job,” I argue.

“Miss Belikova is not the Princess’ guardian, so it wasn’t her job,” Hans counters. “Don’t you think people will question that too?”

“It’s funny that we dhampirs are expected to fight and give up our lives for Moroi, but when a Moroi gets hurt because of one of us, we’re suddenly the bad guys. Everyone conveniently forgets we’re the reason Strigoi don’t obliterate them all.”

“That’s a strong accusation, Rose,” Hans warns me. “Moroi don’t like being challenged. Especially royals.”

“She isn’t wrong, though,” Lissa says. “Vika was only doing her duty when she protected me from that man. She saved my life. And if I have to tell that in front of the entire Court, I will. Now will you please let us go? It’s been a long day and I have my last monarch test tomorrow. I would like to rest.”

I don’t know if he was already done with his interrogation or if he simply got tired of our antics, but after that he lets us go. Two guardians escort me and Vika back home while a third one accompanies Lissa.

When we walk in, Dimitri and Olena are standing in the kitchen, trying to make dinner while the twins jump around them excitedly. They must hear the door close behind us, because Dimitri immediately abandons what he was doing and rushes toward us, pulling us both into a hug.

“That took forever,” he says as he lets us go. “You both okay?”

I nod. “Hans wanted to be thorough with his interrogation, but I think she’s off the hook. At least for now.”

“Good to hear,” Olena says, walking to us as well. “Why don’t you both sit down? Dinner is almost ready.”

“Thanks, Olena.” I smile at her, making my way to the couch. Before I make it there though, Mila and Dimka jump on me.

“Mama, mama! Will you read a book for us?” Mila asks me crawling on top of me when I finally make it to the couch.

“Papa too busy,” Dimka tells me seriously, climbing on the couch next to me and handing me the book in question. It’s a personalized Christmas story that Lissa got for them last year, and it quickly became their favorite.

“Silly papa. How can he be too busy to read to his little angels?” I roll my eyes playfully, taking the book from him and opening it to the first page.

For the next twenty minutes, I let the twins bully me into reading the same book ten times, the scent from Olena’s delicious cooking filling my nostrils and making me feel all too grateful for my incredible family.

The following morning, we all get together at mine again to analyze yesterday’s attack and how it could be linked to the Queen’s murder.

“His name was James Vogel,” Abe informs us from a computer screen. “He has a few connections to some minor royals, but he wasn’t very well-known or liked, as far as I’ve learned so far. I sent his info to some contacts with the Alchemists. They should know more soon.”

“Okay, we could be on to something,” Dimitri says. “Adrian, you said yesterday that the person who killed your aunt could be someone vying for the throne. Who are the minor royals he was connected to? Those could be our suspects.”

Abe hums and looks down at his phone. “I’m texting you the list right now.”

“Something doesn’t add up, though,” I say, starting to pace. “We don’t know this James guy at all, so why would he or whoever he worked for frame me for the Queen’s murder?”

Christian shrugs. “Easy target? You just recently moved back, didn’t have the best relationship with the Queen, and they probably assumed the twins were Adrian’s, like other people did.”

I shake my head. “Then how did they get in our safe? We were out of the house all day, but how did they figure out the password unless they knew us personally and could take an educated guess?”

“Well, what’s the password?” Adrian asks. “Was it easy to guess?”

I share a look with Dimitri. “We’ve changed it since, but it was the twins’s birthday and my year of birth,” I tell everyone. “Their birthday is probably what they tried first, but it must have taken them a few tries to figure out the rest, and I’m not that important, so most people probably don’t even know how old I am.”

“Okay, so we narrow your dad’s list down to people who might have known more private details about you,” Lissa says, taking my phone from my pocket so she can check the names on my dad’s list. “There’s only six names in here and none of them are candidates for monarch.”

“They could’ve still done it to put someone from their family on the throne,” I say, taking my phone back and reading some of the names out loud. “Mariana Drozdov, Evette Szelsky, Blake Lazar—” I pause. “Is he related to that girl that tried to kill you? Avery?” I ask Lissa.

She shrugs. “He must. But the Lazar is a pretty big family, so they might not even be close.”

“That’s enough to put him in my list of suspects,” I argue. “Avery and her brother are rotting away in Tarasov, their brains fried because of spirit, and you and I had a hand in it. He might have a personal vendetta against us. Enough to kill the Queen and pin it on me as revenge. When’s the last time a Lazar sat on the throne?”

“Centuries, I believe,” my dad says, confirming my suspicions. “We can definitely add him to the list of suspects.”

“Who else is on that list?” Christian asks.

I scan the other names, pausing again when I recognize them, then look up at Christian and Adrian in turns. “You’re not going to like this.” I look down again and read, “Natasha Ozera, Randall Ivashkov, and Daniella Ivashkov.”

When I look back up at them, Christian and Adrian are wearing matching disbelieving expressions. Adrian shakes out of it first. “No. My mother wouldn’t have done it. I mean, sure, she and my aunt had their differences, but she wouldn’t have killed her.”

I’m almost afraid to ask, but I force myself to do it. “Maybe not killed her, but paid someone to do it?”

Adrian shakes his head. “No. I’m telling you, Rose, she wouldn’t.”

I nod. “Fine. We won’t consider her a suspect, at least for now. We’ll follow Blake’s trail first, but if that doesn’t pan out, we’ll have to look into your mom’s alibi too, even if just to eliminate her as a suspect for sure.”

“My aunt wasn’t even here that night,” Christian cuts in then, having recovered from his shock. “She was in California for that work thing she had.”

“Right,” I agree. “We’ll have to make sure she was actually there though.” Christian nods.

“I’ll look into that,” Abe says. “I have to go now, but good luck talking to Blake Lazar. He has a reputation for always being drunk and a little brazen.”

“Great. I’ll go talk to him. I have experience dealing with people like him,” Adrian says, and Chrisitan and Lissa quickly offer to go with him.

My dad nods and hangs up, and soon after that everyone but Dimitri, the twins and I leave the house, ready to find Blake Lazar and make him talk.

Two days later and we still have nothing conclusive.

Lissa, Adrian and my mother were able to track down Blake Lazar and talk to him. Adrian and Lissa even used a little compulsion to loosen his tongue, but as far as we can check, his alibi is solid.

We don’t know what else to do at this point. We’ve tried everything, talked to anyone who had something against Queen Tatiana, investigated every royal James Vogel had connections with, but it’s all a dead end. Most of them weren’t even at Court the night of the Queen’s murder, and even if they were, their alibies checked out. The trial is set to start tomorrow, and unless a miracle happens, things aren’t looking good for me.

Then, as if she’d just heard me wishing for a miracle, I receive the best clue we’ve gotten so far from the least expected source.

Dimitri is getting Mila in bed, and I’m just starting to wash the dishes while obsessing over the case when my phone starts ringing. I frown at the caller ID. It’s too early in the human day for her to be calling. But then again, Sydney Sage has always struck me as a very early riser.

I dry my hands and grab the phone. “Sydney?” I ask as soon as I pick up. “Is something wrong?”

“On the contrary, actually.” She’s quiet for a few seconds, and I can hear the soft clicking of keyboard keys in the background. “I just dug up security video footage from one of our Alchemist facilities in Pennsylvania, not too far from the Moroi Court. There’s a guy there that matches the description of the James dude that attacked Princess Vasilisa the other day, and he’s talking to two other people. One looks like a dhampir guy, the other one I’m not too sure about, but definitely Moroi.” She starts rattling off the description, and all the blood leaves my face.

“Are you sure?” I ask, silently willing her to say no.

“Positive. I got the tip from an Alchemist friend that works there and I immediately went to check it out. Does the description ring any bells?”

I sigh. “It does, although it’s someone we had previously cleared. Someone confirmed she was in California the day of the murder. Are you sure you got the dates right?” I hate doubting Sydney, since she’s one of the smartest people I know, but if she’s right, then a lot of people are in for a real shock.

“I am. It’s the night before the murder, I’m sure,” she confirms. “I’m sending your father the file right now. I trust him to get it to you and the appropriate authorities.”

“Tell my father to hold onto it for now. I need to talk to someone first, confirm the information is right.” I sigh again. I have a long conversation ahead of me, and it’s not going to be a pretty or easy one. “Thanks for calling, Sydney. You might have just saved my life.”

“You’re welcome. Take care, Rose.” She pauses momentarily, and when she speaks again, I detect the hint of a smile in her voice. “And congrats on the new baby.”

I chuckle. “Adrian told you.”

She babbles for a second, clearly flustered. “He just likes to keep me updated, is all.”

“Yeah, so he claims,” I say, amused. “Take care too. I hope we can see each other soon.”

As soon as the line disconnects, I rush toward the living room and gather all of the files we’d managed to gather, then hurry to Mila’s bedroom, where she and Dimitri are cuddling on her bed, still reading her bedtime story.

Mila looks up at me, concern showing on her beautiful little face. “Mama, you okay?”

I muster a smile for her. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m great. I just need to talk to papa. Mind if I steal him for one second?”

She looks back at Dimitri, a little pout on her lips. “Come back after, papa?”

“Of course, love. I’ll be right back.” He kisses her forehead and puts the book aside, then follows me to the living room. “What’s going on, Roza?” His tone is concerned as well now that we’re away from Mila’s prying ears.

“I know who killed the queen,” I blurt out.

His face immediately lights up. “Who?”

“I can’t tell you yet.” He frowns at that, confused about why I’m making a big deal about this if I’m not going to tell him. “I need to talk to someone else first, cross-check all the facts. But there’s a video on my dad’s email with the most incriminating piece of evidence of all. The address and password are in the notebook on my nightstand. If I’m not back from Lissa’s in thirty minutes, you know what to do.”

His frowns deepens. “Lissa’s? What does Lissa have to do with any of this?”

I shake my head, already starting to walk backward toward the front door. “Not her. Christian. I need to talk to Christian.”

“Roza, what’s going on? Why are you being so secretive?”

“Because I need to confirm something with Christian before I publicly accuse someone of murder. And also, he deserves a heads-up.” I open the door, still clutching the documents to my chest. “I love you. And remember, thirty minutes.” I can see the reluctance in his eyes, but he nods and lets me leave.

Getting the guardians at my door to let me leave the house is a little trickier, but when I beg them and tell them they can send an escort or two to accompany me, they eventually yield and we make our way to Lissa’s house at a fast pace.

I find Christian alone in the kitchen, making dinner for him and Lissa. He’s not happy that I’m pulling him away from the kitchen, but when I tell him this is about the Queen’s murder, he relents.

“Are you sure?” he asks me when I tell him my theory, just as I did Sydney merely ten minutes ago. The despair in his face almost breaks my confidence. Almost.

“Unfortunately, yes.” I grab one of the files and show him. “See this name here? Ethan Moore. He was caught on camera with your aunt and James Vogel the night before the Queen’s murder. He was also on shift at the time of the murder. He was guarding her room.” I pull out of my phone and open my dad’s email, playing the video that Sydney sent him.

Christian takes the phone from me and sits down, watching the few minutes of security tape that Sydney found for us. When he’s done, he passes it back to me with a sigh.

“I know him,” he says. “My aunt has mentioned him before. They just started dating recently.”

I sit down next to him, putting my arm around his shoulders. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” I tell him. “My relationship with your aunt is not great, but never in a million years did I imagine we would end up here.”

“Me neither,” he agrees. “And I’m glad you came to me first. It can’t have been easy to keep Dimitri in the dark.”

“It wasn’t,” I admit. “But it was the right thing to do. You deserved to find out from me.”

He nods, gratefully. “Do you need anything else?” He asks, suddenly recovered, or pretending to be.

“No, and I should get going. I told Dimitri I’d be back in thirty minutes and it’s been almost twenty already. But I’ll see you at the trial tomorrow.”

“Of course. Be careful, Rose,” he says, pulling me into a hug.

“Always am,” I say with a smile, starting for the front door.

But what I’m not expecting is what I find when I leave the house. One of my guardians is lying on the floor, alive but unconscious, and the other one is nowhere to be found. Before I can turn around and yell for Christian’s help, someone grabs me from behind and blindfolds me. Guardian training kicks in and I try to defend myself, but between the blindfold and the strong arms holding my own, I can’t fight off my opponent effectively. I feel a hard blow to the back of my head, then nothing.

I wake up in the dark an indefinite amount of time later, and the first surprise is that I’m awake at all. The second is that the blindfold is gone, but I’m tied down to a chair that I know I can’t get out of, not without possibly hurting myself and my baby in the process.

“Very mature!” I call out to the dark. “Attacking a defenseless pregnant lady. You should be ashamed of yourselves!”

“Oh, Rose. I think we both know you’re anything but defenseless,” a familiar voice mutters, and before she even steps into the light, I already know who it is.

Tasha Ozera.

I look her up and down, and I actually smirk. “Hello, Tasha. Good to know you’re done hiding. Did you figure out that we were on to you?”

She starts pacing around the room, arms crossed behind her back, her posture relaxed. “Actually, I was just waiting for you to be stupid enough to leave the comfort and protection of your home. I knew it would happen sooner or later.”

“And let me guess, my missing guardian helped you pull this off.” She stops walking, and her expression changes to one of surprise. “Ethan Moore, isn’t it? I know he was part of the Queen’s personal guard. In fact, he was working the night she was murdered. That’s how you got into her room without leaving any trace, right? I must admit, your plan was almost flawless. For a second, you almost had me believing I had killed the Queen and blocked it all out.”

She glares at me, her face furious. “Not perfect enough, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

I try to shrug, but the ropes around my shoulders make it hard. “So what’s your plan now, huh? Who’s going to take the fall for my murder? Guardian Moore? Let me guess, he wanted revenge after I murdered the Queen and decided to take matters into his own hands.” I pause, and Tasha resumes her pacing, letting me talk. Good. At least I’m stalling whatever she has planned for me. “Or maybe you’ll go as far as to frame your own nephew. Wouldn’t that be something? Dimitri already knows I was with Christian tonight. I guess people could think I accused him of murdering the Queen, and he lost control and killed me as well. Honestly, I’d believe it.”

“I was planning to make it look like a suicide, actually,” she confesses, stopping in front of me. “You couldn’t take the guilt of lying to everyone you knew anymore.” She pauses and pulls a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, putting it on my lap. “You even left a suicide note, confessing to the Queen’s murder in detail, and then shot yourself.”

“Oh, good one. Hadn’t thought of that,” I admit, looking down at my supposed suicide note on my lap before looking back up at her. “And then I assume you’ll be there to comfort Dimitri after my death, and take a maternal role with the twins, and the four of you will ride off into the sunset, right?” If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now. “Come on, Tasha, we both know why you went through all this trouble. You hated Queen Tatiana, yes, but you would have never killed her if you couldn’t pin it on me. Getting rid of me was the only way for you to get one last chance with Dimitri, after all. He’d never choose you over me unless I was dead.”

She turns around abruptly, like I’ve become unspeakably ugly and she can’t bear to look at me anymore. “He almost chose me once, but you got in the way.”

I huff. “You mean when you asked him to be your guardian four years ago? The only reason he considered that in the first place was because he wanted to get away from me.” She turns to look at me again, and the hatred I see in her eyes is so clear I’m surprised no one realized the truth before. “He thought he’d get over his feelings for me if he didn’t see me every day. Dimitri has only ever seen you as a friend, Tasha.” I put emphasis on the word ‘friend’, just to make it abundantly clear. I probably shouldn’t be taunting her like this, but what the hell? She’s planning to kill me anyway, what’s it matter if I add a little more fuel to the fire?

“You have some nerve, Hathaway, I’ll give you that,” she says, resuming her pacing once more. “Even tied down to a chair and facing imminent death you won’t shut up.”

“I sure do,” I admit light-heartedly. “And you know what, Tasha? You might have been able to get away with all of this at some point, but now, even if you do kill me before someone finds us, Christian and Dimitri know you killed the queen. Your own nephew has all the evidence I could find that incriminates you. Yes, you might get me out of the way, but Dimitri will always hate you for killing me and the baby we’re expecting. You won’t be able to fool them anymore. You’re already facing treason charges for the murder of the Queen, so go ahead, kill me. You won’t get away with it, though.”

She screams in rage, and I can only stare in horror as she pulls out a gun and points it at me. And I know it, I know this is the end, that she’s going to pull the trigger and kill me and my baby. I won’t see Dimitri’s face again, or hear his laugh. I won’t hold my babies again, or read to them, or play with them. I won’t be there for Lissa’s coronation, or her wedding to Christian, or the birth of their first child, whenever that ends up happening. I won’t see Adrian finally get it together to ask Sydney out on a real date, or hear her fluster about it. But at least I have the comfort that Tasha won’t be fooling anyone. Dimitri and Christian will take all the evidence to the courtroom, and she will be seized and tried for my murder and the Queen’s.

I’m panicking so much, a million thoughts and faces running through my head at once, that I don’t hear the door opening or the footsteps rushing toward me until the guardians swarm the room, surprisingly armed with guns instead of stakes. In the midst, I find Dimitri, and his eyes almost immediately find mine. He sighs, relief clear on his face as he starts moving toward me.

“No, stop!” Tasha screams at him, moving the gun from me to him. “Dimka, get away from her. Don’t make me pull the trigger on you too.”

Dimitri raises his hands, like he’s trying to placate a wild animal. “Tasha, you’re surrounded. You’re not walking free out of here. Don’t make this harder than it has to be by adding more charges to yourself.”

“I don’t care about that anymore, Dimka,” she spits out. “I’m already dead, since your fiancée over there found evidence that I killed the Queen. I’ve got nothing else to lose.”

“Lady Ozera,” Hans starts carefully, his eyes and gun fixed on her. I’m both surprised and relieved to see him with the team. “You have to know, we have orders to shoot if you don’t cooperate. If you want a chance to defend yourself from the murder accusations, you have to drop your weapon now, before you do something you regret.”

Right before our eyes, Tasha dissolves into uncontrollable laughter, like she’s completely lost her mind. And maybe she has. I don’t think anyone sane would go to the lengths she’s gone to. When she finally recovers from her laughing fit, her gun is pointing at me again.

“No!” Dimitri screams in panic, jumping in front of me. “Tasha, she’s pregnant. Think about what you’re doing. We’re friends, aren’t we? You wouldn’t kill the mother of my children.”

Her grip on the gun tightens, and now I’m scared for a whole different reason. After all of this, after all she’s done to get me out of the way, to get his affection, would she be capable of shooting him? “Dimka, get out of the way. I don’t want to hurt you.” I allow myself a sigh of relief, relief that he at least will be walking out of this, even if she ends up shooting me.

“Then, drop the gun, Tasha,” Dimitri tells her, his voice serious yet laced with panic. “Because if you hurt her, you’ll be hurting me too.”

For the first time, I see conflict in her eyes. I can tell that his words are affecting her, that a part of her wants to listen to him. She wants to kill me, I know she does. But will she be able to pull the trigger in front of Dimitri? Would she risk him jumping between the bullet and me? Would she risk him dying for me?

Before she can make up her mind, flames erupt around her hand, startling her and making her drop the gun. Luckily, it doesn’t go off. I look up, as surprised as she is by the flames, and find Christian and Lissa standing next to the guardians.

“Enough, aunt Tasha,” Christian says, his voice grave and full of pain. “Hasn’t this whole ordeal hurt enough people already? Rose and her baby have done nothing to you.”

Hans and the other guardians advance and apprehend Tasha before she can fully recover from the shock of the flames. She isn’t hurt, not really—despite everything, Christian loves his aunt too much to actually harm her—but seeing the fire around her hand was definitely a shock to her system, especially coming from her own nephew.

As soon as Tasha is dealt with, Dimitri is on me, untying the ropes around my shoulders, wrists and ankles before pulling me into his arms.

“I was so worried about you,” he whispers into my hair, and I’m pretty sure there are tears in his eyes.

“I was worried for me too,” I say, still trembling. “How did you find me?” I ask as I pull away from his embrace, but he doesn’t let me get far, pulling me to his side and putting his arm around me instead.

“After you left, I heard the commotion outside,” Christian tells me. “I found Guardian Stone unconscious and called Hans. They managed to wake him up and he told us how Ethan Moore knocked him out, so we tracked him down. Once he was arrested for aiding a criminal, he told us he brought you here on my aunt’s orders. We just hoped we made it on time.”

“You couldn’t have had better timing,” I say, feeling the adrenaline slowly seep out of me. “One second later and you might have found me bleeding out on the floor.”

“Don’t say that, Rose,” Lissa scolds, pulling me out of Dimitri’s arms and into her own. “Don’t even think about it.”

I shrug. “It’s the truth, though. The only reason she didn’t kill me faster is because I kept her talking, but even that wouldn’t have lasted much longer.” I look back at Dimitri and reach out to him, needing his touch. “Did you know she wanted to frame my murder as a suicide?”

He squeezes my hand. “That wouldn’t have worked out even if we hadn’t known she’s the Queen’s murderer. You’d never kill yourself, especially not when you’re pregnant.”

“Well, she apparently thought my guilt over killing the queen would have done it. She’s psycho.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I look back at Christian, feeling a little remorseful for my lack of filter for once. “I’m sorry, Christian, I know she’s your aunt, but the way she was talking, it was… chilling.”

“I know. We heard the end of it before we came in.” He shakes his head, like he also can’t believe what happened. “I’m sorry you had to go through this. I should have offered to walk you home just to make sure you were safe.”

“You couldn’t have known, Christian,” I try to comfort him. “To be honest, I should’ve recognized Ethan Moore as one of the guardians that escorted me to your house, but I was in such a hurry that I didn’t even think to check who they were.”

Hans returns inside and approaches us then. “They’re taking Lady Ozera to the cells in headquarters. Guardian Belikov showed us the video footage from the Alchemists and we have Mr. Moore’s full confession. Even if she refuses to speak, we should have enough evidence to send them both to trial and hopefully get them sentenced. You are free to go, Guardian Hathaway,” he tells me, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Although you should probably show up at court tomorrow for Lady Ozera’s hearing just in case.” He turns to Dimitri then. “Tell your sister that she’s free to return home too and that the incident with Mr. Vogel won’t be in her records. We got Ethan Moore’s confession on that as well, so her name is cleared.”

“Thank you, Hans,” I say sincerely, and Dimitri and Christian echo it. He gives us a brief smile, then leaves.

“Come on,” Dimitri starts once he’s gone. “We should return home and rest. Today was a very long day.”

I sigh. “Tell me about it.” I let him wrap me in his arms again, and the four of us start our walk back home to get some much-needed rest.

Three days later we’re all sitting in the Council room, waiting for the last three remaining candidates to make their speeches before the voting takes place. I’m sitting at the back next to Adrian, and Dimitri and Eddie are standing behind us, holding the twins on their shoulders so they can see everything. Christian is standing with them, having graciously ceded me his seat. Lissa is sitting in the middle of the room with Marie Conta and Rufus Tarus. I know Jill is somewhere in the crowd of royals too, but I’m having trouble spotting her.

It’s been a busy few days, between saying goodbye to my mother, Olena and Vika first, and then the hearings. Thankfully, Ethan and Tasha are both still behind bars. Ethan pleaded guilty and was offered a deal: he’ll spend the rest of his life in Tarasov for conspiring and aiding in the Queen’s murder, Lissa’s attempted murder, and my own kidnapping and attempted murder. But at least he won’t be facing execution, like Tasha probably will at the end of her trial. According to Ethan’s account of events, she was the mastermind and executioner behind all of this, and Ethan and James only followed her because they were both in love with her. Pretty sad, if you ask me. Both of their lives ruined because they were too blinded by someone who wouldn’t love them in return, not really, since her sights were always set on Dimitri.

I focus back on the scene before me just as Rufus finishes his speech, and then it’s Lissa’s turn. She stands up and walks toward the podium, and while I can feel her nerves through the bond, you wouldn’t know it just by looking at her.

“We’re a people at war," she begins, voice loud, clear and resonating through the entire room. “We’re constantly attacked—but not just by Strigoi. By one another. We’re divided. We fight with one another. Family against family. Royal against non-royal. Moroi against dhampir. Of course the Strigoi are picking us off. They’re at least united behind a goal: killing.”

Even though I’ve heard her rehearse her speech a thousand times in the last two days alone, I still hung on to her every word, and I know I’m not the only one. Everywhere I look in the audience, people are staring at her in awe, listening to her speech with rapt attention.

“We are one people,” she goes on. “Moroi and dhampir alike. And while it’s impossible for every single person to get their way, no one will get anything done if we don’t come together and find ways to meet in the middle—even if it means making hard choices.” She pauses and looks out at the entire room, making eye contact with a few of the royals in the first few rows, then a little further up at the few non-royals who made it in. Finally, her eyes meet mine and she smiles. “Dhampirs are our best warriors. They’re strong and fast and have proven they’re willing to give their lives for ours multiple times. But we can’t expect them to stick with us if they don’t get something in return. They deserve a stronger voice, they deserve the chance to represent themselves and have a better life if we want them to keep fighting for us.”

As expected, a lot of people in the audience make weird faces at that, but I’m surprised that a sizable amount of people, royals included, seem to be taking it to heart, and I even see some nods of agreement.

“Non-royals need a greater voice too. We won’t be losing the exalted royal lines that define our people, of course, but non-royals deserve to be heard and treated equally.” She pauses again, taking a deep breath. “In recent years, a common issue has been the idea of Moroi training to defend themselves. I know it’s a sensitive topic that not many agree with, but we can find ways to offer training for those Moroi who wish to defend themselves. It doesn’t have to be mandatory for everyone, and certainly not the only way ahead, but it will give us more of a fighting chance against the constant Strigoi threat. It will make us a more united front.”

She looks around the room again, at some of the royals and her fellow Council members, and she adds, “We have always mixed the old with the new. We’ve kept magic alongside technology. We conduct these sessions with scrolls and—with these,” she says, tapping her microphone with a silly little smile. I hold in a laugh. “That’s how we have survived. We hold onto our past and embrace our present. We take the best of it all and grow stronger. That’s how we have survived. That’s how we will survive,” she concludes.

As she finishes speaking, the entire room erupts in applause, much louder than they have for the previous candidates, and even before voting, I’m already sure she has this in the bag. When the applause and cheering finally dies down, she nods and mutters a quick thank-you before returning to her seat.

Nathan, the spokesman as usual, calls forth the family members of the candidates that were chosen to show their support. That’s when I finally spot Jill, walking excitedly up to Lissa and standing behind her, resting one pale hand on her shoulder. Nathan gives a short speech, and then the Council members have thirty minutes to deliberate and vote for the candidate they think will be the best monarch.

One by one, the Prince or Princess of each family approach Nathan and slip the folded paper with their decision inside the glass urn in front of him. Funnily enough, Jill herself has to vote too, since she’s the interim holder of their family’s Council seat as the only other member of the Dragomir line. Before the thirty minutes are up, the last of the Council members puts his vote in and they all return to their seats. Nathan approaches the podium where the candidates gave their speeches, and the three candidates themselves stand behind him with their family representatives.

Nathan opens the urn and takes out the twelve votes. As he opens each of them and rattles off the names, a non-royal Moroi who’s sitting beside him is writing down and tallying the votes. When Nathan is done, and before the guy can even give him his notes to check who the winner is, everyone in the audience is already chanting the Dragomir name. Because while the other two candidates got a few votes each—probably only from their respective families and a close friend—the vast majority of the Council voted for Lissa.

Nathan calls the room to order, and after several more minutes of cheering, we finally settle down. Nathan clears her throat and thanks the other candidates for a magnificent race, then he sends them back to their seat. Finally, he calls Lissa forward, and she approaches him with her head held high, Jill right beside her. A quick peek into her mind lets me know that she’s mentally screaming in disbelief. A little laugh escapes me at that, and Adrian gives me a funny look.

“I present to you Vasilisa Sabina Rhea Dragomir, your elected Queen of the Moroi.” The applause resumes again, and this time Nathan doesn’t try to stop it since the formalities are over.

Lissa stands the applause and congratulatory words for a few more minutes before she excuses herself and leaves the room. We all leave after her and meet her outside, where Christian immediately wraps her in a hug.

“Congratulations, Lissa,” Eddie tells her.

She laughs and punches his arm. “Thank you. Although I have to admit I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“Don’t worry, we’re all here to help you,” I say, pulling her out of Christian’s arms and into my own.

“Well, there is one thing I am sure of,” she says, her voice suddenly serious again as she pulls away from me. “As queen, I get my own choice of guardians. Rose, this has been a long time coming, but would you please be head of my royal guard? Because there’s no one I would trust with my life more than you.”

Tears well up in my eyes as I stare at her in disbelief. “I’m sure that even the Queen needs Hans’ approval before appointing anyone head of the royal guard, but it would be my honor, Liss.” I hug her again, and I let the tears run free.

“And Dimitri,” she says, letting go of me to look at him while brushing away some tears of her own. “There’s a position for you too if you want it.”

“Actually,” Christian cuts in, looking up at Dimitri too. “I think it’s finally time I fulfill that promise I made you two years ago. I asked Hans last night if he’d agree to make you my guardian again. He said we could talk about it today after the voting took place, because if Lissa won, I would need more protection as the Queen’s partner. So I guess it’s your call, Belikov.”

I look back at Dimitri and return to his side, a question in my eyes. This is a conversation we’ve had multiple times before, even during our time at St. Vlad’s. Back then, we knew that our best chance at making our relationship work was if we worked for different people so we could coordinate time off. Of course, the situation is a lot different now. We’re engaged and have two kids with a third on the way, so regardless of what we decide to do, our relationship and our kids will always be our top priority, which I already know is not going to go over well with a lot of royals.

“I think,” Dimitri finally starts, “that regardless of what we choose we’re going to be working together a lot of the time. It will be easier to coordinate shifts and time off if we work for different people though.” I nod, completely in agreement. “So if it’s okay with Hans, I’d like to be your guardian again, Christian.”

“Well, what a relief.” As one, we all turn around to face Hans, who suddenly appears behind us, “because I already started the paperwork yesterday.”

“What happened to waiting until after the voting?” Christian asks, one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“I didn’t doubt for a second that the Princess would win,” Hans admits. “You’ve made quite the name for yourself, Your Majesty. A lot of the guardians at headquarters are already celebrating your victory.”

Lissa laughs. “I hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations, then.”

“Oh, I’m sure you will,” I reassure her, giving her a big smile.

This is not the future any of us had planned, but I have no doubt it’s going to be even better than I could have ever imagined if I have all of my friends by my side.

A week after the voting and four days after Lissa’s coronation, we receive an urgent call from her in the middle of breakfast, and Dimitri and I drop everything to meet with her in the palace. We have to bring the twins with us, since we have no one to babysit now, and they’re in awe of everything they see around us as we make our way to Lissa’s new office, where the bond is telling me she is. She’s waiting there alone, which surprises me. I was expecting Christian to be with her.

“Close the door,” Lissa tells me, in a much harsher tone that I’m accustomed to.

I do as she says and then carefully approach her. “Is everything okay?”

She nods, then shakes her head, then nods again. “I found this draft in one of the drawers of Queen Tatiana’s desk. It’s in her hand-writing… Why don’t you read it yourself?” She hands me a thick envelope, and I notice her hand is trembling.

Confused, I take the envelope from her and pull the papers out. It takes me a while to get through all of it, and I don’t understand half of it, but what I do gather shocks me.

“Are you sure this is real?” I ask her. “Because I’d never imagine her capable of doing something this nice for me.”

“What is it?” Dimitri asks, and when I look back at him he’s frowning, worried and confused.

I take a deep breath. This is too good to be true. “Apparently, Queen Tatiana was drafting a new law, one that would protect the truth about the twins’ real parentage until they’re eighteen.”

“For real?” he asks, as disbelieving as me, and takes the papers from me.

“Well, not in so many words, and it doesn’t mention the twins specifically,” Lissa explains, clearly having read the document in much more depth than I have. “But what it proposes is that we use a tattoo similar to the one the Alchemists have that will prevent anyone who knows about dhampir procreation from telling anyone else who doesn’t already know. It does have a caveat that the information can be revealed once, and I quote, ‘the first child born from two dhampirs turns of age.’ So once the twins are eighteen.” She finishes and takes a deep breath, and I realize she’s said all of that without taking a pause to breathe.

“What do we have to do now? This is obviously just a draft, so what would be the next steps?” I ask.

“I already called Hans and asked him to reinforce the security control at the gates, and he has someone reviewing the security tapes to keep track of anyone who might have left after your hearing, so we can reach anyone who knows but isn’t at Court anymore. He was confused about the request but did it anyway,” she explains, back in her frenzy. “I also have to sit down with the Council to go over the full document and hold an emergency voting session so we can get this passed as quickly as possible. With a little luck, we can manage it by the end of the week.”

“That quickly?” I ask, a little unsure. “That might be a little rushed, and you’ve been queen for only a few days. Aren’t you afraid people will turn against you already if you do this now?”

She shrugs. “I don’t care. This is more important to me.”

Although we try to change her mind, get her to slow the plans down a little, there’s no changing Lissa’s mind once she’s set on something, so when she tells us thirty minutes later that the Council is ready to meet with her, there’s not much we can do except watch her go, her face set in determination that she’s going to get this done as quickly as possible.

~Two Weeks Later~

Somehow, impossibly, Lissa manages to get the new law regarding dhampir procreation passed in record time, and by the end of the second week after its passing almost everyone who knows the secret has been tracked down and given their tattoo.

Surprisingly, the Council got on board pretty quickly too. I guess given the dhampir laws they were considering not even a month ago, they’re too afraid to let the general public—and mostly dhampirs—know that there might be a way for dhampirs to have kids without needing Moroi, because then there wouldn’t be anything to keep us in their leashes. While their reasoning is sickening, I’m glad that they voted yes on passing this law, if only because it will protect my kids until they’re old enough to understand their situation.

To celebrate the success of the new law and Lissa’s first official win in the Council as queen, she hosts a dinner party at the palace and invites all of our friends. Christian is obviously there, and so are Jill, Eddie, Adrian, Mia, Meredith, Sonya and Mikhail, and while my parents couldn’t make it, they both called earlier to congratulate us. Sydney also called, or so Adrian claims, because he didn’t let me speak to her, too eager to speak to her himself. I swear if those two don’t get their shit together soon I’m gonna have to intervene.

I’m standing in the balcony after dinner, bundled in my coat and sipping on a glass of cider—non-alcoholic of course, because even if I wanted some alcohol in my body Dimitri wouldn’t let me—when someone sneaks out after me and a pair of strong arms hug me from behind. I recognize his scent immediately and fall back into his chest, letting him hold me and keep me warm.

“It’s a perfect night,” I mutter after a few minutes of quiet.

He hums in agreement. “The last month has been pretty rough, but I’m glad we made it out unscathed.”

“Me too.” I squeeze his arm, grateful to always have him by my side. His unwavering love and support are what kept me going when I was at my weakest, and I know I’m lucky that we’re still alive and together after everything we’ve been through. We both are. I turn around in his arms and rest my hand on his face, cupping his cheek. “I love you, Dimitri. I don’t think anyone has ever loved as much as I love you.”

He smiles, his nose nuzzling mine. “You’re wrong. I’m pretty sure I love you more.” I laugh, ready to argue, but when his lips capture mine I forget everything else and kiss him back, slow and sweet, yet full of passion, and I decide that just this once he can have the last word.