The four of them being together after all they experienced is not easy—it only makes them think of Mason.
Soon, they’re joined by Lissa and Adrian. Christian asks if the meeting with the queen helped clue her in on who got them the invite to the trial.
It certainly did. It was Adrian. As Tatiana’s favorite great-nephew, he was able to convince the queen that they needed to be there. And he didn’t do it for Lissa . . . he did it for Rose. This generous gesture surprises her deeply.
“I just thought . . .”
I couldn’t finish. I’d thought Dimitri would be the one who came through for me, the one who—despite what he said—could make almost anything happen. But he hadn’t.
“Thought what?” Adrian prompted.
“Nothing.” With much effort, I managed to utter the next words. “Thank you for helping us.”
“Oh my God,” he said. “A kind word from Rose Hathaway. I can die a happy man.”
—page 174
Mia gives Rose a note she was told to deliver. It’s from Victor Dashkov, and it’s a taunt that he intends to share stories of Rose and Dimitri’s forbidden romantic escapades, thanks to his lust-charmed necklace, in court—something that would get both of them in
serious
trouble.
She shares this unsettling news with Dimitri. He makes a quick phone call to a contact who he knows will be able to get them in to see Victor.
When they arrive at the Court’s prison facilities, seeing Victor for the first time since he was imprisoned at St. Vlad’s after Lissa’s kidnapping makes Rose’s skin crawl.
Compared to how sickly he’d looked before, now he appears young and healthy—but it’s unlikely to last. Frequent healings from Lissa would have been required to keep his disease permanently at bay. For now, though, he’s in good health to face his trial.
Victor is delighted at the chance to taunt Rose and Dimitri in person. The question is, what does he want from them? But Victor really isn’t interested in petty things like revenge. He has his sights set on higher aspirations: revolution. There’s been a lot of unrest building in the Moroi community, with people clamoring for a more forward-thinking government. And Victor would think that Rose of all people would be interested in overthrowing a government that holds on to archaic traditions like the virtual enslavement of the dhampir race. He even believes there’s someone she knows who would be the perfect person to spearhead this revolution—Lissa. With her compulsion and spirit magic, nothing would be impossible if she was in a position of power.
The conversation ends when Victor threatens to discuss Dimitri and Rose’s relationship, especially pertaining to the lust charm, and the normally controlled Dimitri offers up his own veiled threats. If Victor tries to ruin Rose, he’s ruining his chance to get Lissa to help him with his rebellion fantasies.
“And it’ll all be pointless anyway, because you won’t stay alive long enough in prison to stage your grand plans. You aren’t the only one with connections.”
My breath caught a little. Dimitri brought so many things to my life: love, comfort, and instruction. I got so used to him sometimes that I forgot just how dangerous he could be. As he stood there, tall and threatening while he glared down at Victor, I felt a chill run down my spine. I remembered how when I had first come to the Academy, people had said Dimitri was a god. In this moment, he looked it.
—page 188
When they leave, Dimitri seems shaken by the confrontation. Rose wonders if he meant what he said. Would he really have Victor killed?
“I ’d do a lot of things to protect you, Roza.”
My heart pounded. He only used “Roza” when he was feeling particularly affectionate toward me.
—page 189
THE TRIAL
When Victor is brought into the courtroom the next day, Rose can feel Lissa’s fear through the bond. It’s the first time her friend has seen the man since he kidnapped her and forced her to heal him with spirit.
Witnesses are called to testify against Victor, including Dimitri. The tense part is when he speaks about the lust charm—after all, he can’t exactly admit the
lust
part. Instead, he says the charm made Rose attack him (not
that
far from the truth, really), which delayed them from getting help for Lissa. It’s obvious to Rose that lying on the stand is difficult for Dimitri, but there’s no way around it.
After Christian testifies, it’s Rose’s turn. She does her best to brush over the “attack” charm and tries to ignore Victor’s knowing smirk.
Lissa’s account as Victor’s victim is the most moving—and she even works in a little spirit-induced charisma to gain everyone’s sympathy as she painfully relates how she was tortured by Victor’s henchman.
Victor takes the stand as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. His defense is that he was dying and felt he had no choice but to use Lissa’s magic to heal him. Worst of all, he takes no responsibility for convincing his own daughter Natalie to turn Strigoi to rescue him. As he says, Natalie made her own decisions, ones that ultimately led to her death.
“Can you say that about everyone you used to meet your ends? Guardian Belikov and Miss Hathaway had no say in what you made them do.”
Victor chuckled. “Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I honestly don’t think they minded. But if you have time after this case, Your Honor, you might want to consider trying a statutory rape case.”
—page 199
Rose is stunned, but luckily, no one believes him, thinking he’s just trying to shift focus off himself. Looks like he’d just wanted to tease them. Evil jerk.
The queen delivers her verdict: Victor’s found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Finally, Lissa can move on from her ordeal and feel safe again.
Adrian gives Rose a congratulatory hug in public (one that will lead the queen to want to chat with her later). But first, Tatiana wants to see Lissa and offer the last Dragomir a chance to come to live at Court after graduation and attend the nearby Lehigh University. Lissa graciously accepts the generous offer.
Then it’s Rose’s turn. She expects that she’ll be told, as Lissa’s future guardian, that she’ll have to be extra careful of the princess at the university, but that’s not the subject at hand. The queen wants Rose to stop the affair she’s having with Adrian.
Say what?
“Um, Your Majesty . . . there’s some kind of mistake. There’s nothing going on between Adrian and me.”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” she asked.
Wow. That was an opening.
“No, Your Majesty.”
—page 207
The queen assumes Rose is a “cheap dhampir girl” looking to run off with a rich Moroi lord. And Rose’s former party-girl reputation doesn’t exactly help matters. Tatiana even brings up Rose’s mother, Janine, who was once involved with a Moroi named Ibrahim—but even
she
learned that Moroi men don’t marry dhampir girls. They just play with them. That’s when the queen unleashes the greatest threat in her arsenal: if Rose doesn’t end things with Adrian, Tatiana will ensure that she isn’t assigned as Lissa’s guardian after graduation.
The queen’s plans are very clear. She wants Adrian and Lissa to have an arranged marriage that will help further the Dragomir line. The princess’s current relationship with Christian is unacceptable. Thanks to his parents’ decision to become Strigoi, his being a royal is irrelevant.
Wow. This is info Rose definitely isn’t ready to share with the others, not until she has time to process it herself.
A GLIMPSE AT THE FUTURE
While they’re waiting for the flight back to St. Vlad’s, Lissa takes Rose to the spa. Since Rose uses her hands so much to punch things, a manicure sounds like total luxury. While there, Rose meets Ambrose, a to-die-for hot guy who sure isn’t like any other dhampir she’s ever met—by the bite marks on his neck, it’s obvious he’s a male blood whore. That is
so
not normal. But Ambrose is very happy with his choices—and they
are
choices, unlike Rose, who really never had a say in what she’s become and where her future will lead.
Speaking of the future, Ambrose, who’s also rumored to be the queen’s secret lover, takes the girls to see his fortune-telling aunt, Rhonda, so they can get a tarot-card reading.
Lissa’s told her life is about to change in ways that, while difficult, will
“ultimately illuminate the world.”
Sounds pretty cool.
Rose is told that she will
“destroy that which is undead.”
Lame.
She already knows that. She’s training to be a guardian, after all. What a stupid fortune!
When Dimitri comes to retrieve the girls for the flight, he too is given a little insight on his future. He’s told:
“You will lose what you value most, so treasure it while you can.”
It’s an ominous reading, and one that will prove true all too soon . . .
DESCENDING DARKNESS
On the flight back to the Academy, Rose is again plagued by a headache and shadowy forms. Due to inclement weather, the plane is diverted to a nearby airport. When they land, Rose’s world explodes. The pain in her head becomes so intense, it feels like her skull is being ripped open.
She sees ghostly faces—many of whom she recognizes as victims of Strigoi massacres—and they’re reaching out to her with pale, shining hands. They want something from her. They’re trying to tell her what it is, but they can’t speak. There’s a growing patch of blackness, and Rose instinctively knows it’s the entrance to the world of death—she died in the car crash, but Lissa brought her back. She shouldn’t be alive. This—
this
is where she’s supposed to go.
She starts screaming and screaming. Mason appears, and she begs him to make the others leave her alone. She can’t get away—they’re everywhere and they’re reaching for her. Finally, Rose can’t take it anymore, and she passes out from the fear and pain.
When she wakes, she’s in the school’s clinic, and everybody’s worried about her. Finally she tells them the truth: she’s been seeing ghosts, including Mason.
As predicted, no one—her friends or the school officials—believes her. It seems clear to the school doctor that her visions are a result of post-traumatic stress. Witnessing Mason’s murder and then killing the Strigoi responsible must have taken their toll on her. Obviously, her recovery has been hindered by fighting the “fake” Strigoi during the field experience sessions.
It’s suggested that she drop the field experience entirely, but Rose doesn’t like this suggestion at all—she needs to pass to graduate. Dimitri, deeply concerned with Rose’s well-being but also familiar with her stubborn streak, suggests she take part in the testing part-time. She’s also to see a counselor.
Rose is grateful Dimitri stepped in and helped, but she doesn’t realize quite how upset he was to see her in such distress.
“Rose,” he said, the pain in his voice making my heart stop, “this shouldn’t have been the first time I heard about this! Why didn’t you tell me? Do you know what it was like? Do you know what it was like for me to see you like that and not know what was happening? Do you know how scared I was?”
I was stunned, both from his outburst and our proximity. I swallowed, unable to speak at first. There was so much on his face, so many emotions. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen that much of him on display. It was wonderful and frightening at the same time. I then said the stupidest thing possible.
“You’re not scared of anything.”
“I’m scared of lots of things. I was scared for you.” He released me, and I stepped back. There was still passion and worry written all over him.
—pages 253-254
She didn’t tell him about the ghosts because he wouldn’t have believed her. He
still
doesn’t believe her. But it makes sense to her that she’s the only one who can see the ghostly visions—she’s
shadow-kissed
. Because she died, she has a connection to the world of the dead. Killing the Strigoi has strengthened that connection.
And this experience has strengthened Rose and Dimitri’s relationship. This has shown Rose how much he cares about her—and it’s not just the concern of a tutor for his student. It’s way deeper and more powerful than that.