Eddie staked the Moroi.
Dimitri had once jokingly commented that you didn't have to be Strigoi to be hurt by a stake through your heart. And, let's face it, a stake through the heart didn't actually hurt. It killed. Tatiana was proof. The man's knife actually made contact with Eddie's neck-- and then fell before piercing skin. The man's eyes went wide in shock and pain and then saw nothing at all. He was dead. Eddie leaned back on his heels, staring at his victim with the adrenaline-charged battle lust that followed any situation. Shouting suddenly caught his attention, and he leapt to his feet, ready for the next threat.
What he found was a group of guardians, ones who had responded to Lissa's earlier cries for help. They took one look at the scene and immediately acted on and the conclusions their training drove them to. There was a dead Moroi and someone holding a bloody weapon. The guardians went for Eddie, throwing him against the wall and prying his stake away. Lissa shouted to them that they had it all wrong, that Eddie had saved her life and--
"Rose!'
Dimitri's frantic voice shocked me back to the Mastrano house. I was sitting on the bed, and he knelt before me, face full of fear as he gripped my shoulders. "Rose, what's wrong? Are you okay?'
"No!'
I pushed him aside and moved toward the door. "I have to--I have to go back to Court. Now. Lissa's in danger. She needs me.'
"Rose. Roza. Slow down.' He'd caught hold of my arm, and there was no escaping from that grip. He turned me so I faced him. His hair was still damp from the shower, and the clean scent of soap and wet skin surrounded us. "Tell me what happened.'
I quickly repeated what I'd seen. "Someone tried to kill her, Dimitri! And I wasn't there!'
"But Eddie was,' said Dimitri quietly. "She's okay. She's alive.' He released me, and I leaned wearily against the wall. My heart was racing, and even though my friends were safe, I couldn't shake my panic.
"And now he's in trouble. Those guardians were pissed--'
"Only because they don't know the whole story. They see a dead body and a weapon, that's it. Once they get facts and testimonies, everything will be okay. Eddie saved a Moroi. It's his job.'
"But he killed another Moroi to do it,' I pointed out. "We're not supposed to do that.' It sounded like an obvious--and even stupid--statement, but I knew Dimitri understood what I meant. The guardians' purpose was to protect Moroi. They come first. Killing one was unimaginable. But then, so was them trying to kill each other.
"This wasn't a normal situation,' Dimitri affirmed.
I tipped my head back. "I know, I know. I just can't stand leaving her undefended. I want so badly to go back and keep her safe. Right now.' Tomorrow seemed years away. "What if it happens again?'
"Other people are there to protect her.' Dimitri walked over to me, and I was surprised to see a smile on his lips, in light of the grim events. "Believe me, I want to protect her too, but we'd risk our lives for nothing if we take off right now. Wait a little longer and at least risk your life for something important.'
A little of the panic faded. "And Jill is important, isn't she?'
"Very.'
I straightened up. Part of my brain kept trying to calm me about Lissa's attack while the other fully processed what we'd accomplished here. "We did it,' I said, feeling a smile slowly spread to my own lips. "Against all reason ... somehow, we found Lissa's lost sister. Do you realize what this means? Lissa can have everything she's entitled to now. They can't deny her anything. Hell, she could be queen if she wanted. And Jill ...' I hesitated. "Well, she's part of an ancient royal family. That's got to be a good thing, right?'
"I think it depends on Jill,' said Dimitri. "And what the after-effects of all this are.'
Guilt over potentially ruining Jill's life returned, and I stared down at my feet. "Hey, it's okay,' he said, tilting my chin back up. His brown eyes were warm and affectionate. "You did the right thing. No one else would have tried something this impossible. Only Rose Hathaway. You took a gamble to find Jill. You risked your life by breaking Abe's rules--and it paid off. It was worth it.'
"I hope Adrian thinks so,' I mused. "He thinks me leaving our "safe house' was the stupidest thing ever.'
Dimitri's hand dropped. "You told him about all this?'
"Not about Jill. But I accidentally told him we weren't in West Virginia anymore. He's kept it secret, though,' I added hastily. "No one else knows.'
"I can believe that,' said Dimitri, though he'd lost some of his earlier warmth. It was such a fleeting thing. "He ... he seems pretty loyal to you.'
"He is. I trust him completely.'
"And he makes you happy?' Dimitri's tone wasn't harsh, but there was an intensity to it that put the exchange on par with a police interrogation.
I thought about my time with Adrian: the bantering, the parties, the games, and of course, the kissing. "Yeah. He does. I have fun with him. I mean he's infuriating sometimes--okay, a lot of the time--but don't be fooled by all the vices. He's not a bad person.'
"I know he isn't,' said Dimitri. "He's a good man. It's not easy for everyone to see, but I can. He's still getting himself together, but he's on his way. I saw it in the escape. And after ...' The words caught on Dimitri's tongue. "After Siberia, he was there for you? He helped you?'
I nodded, puzzled by all these questions. Turns out they were only the warm-up for the big one.
"Do you love him?'
There were only a few people in the world who could ask me such insanely personal questions without getting punched. Dimitri was one of them. With us, there were no walls, but our complicated relationship made this topic surreal. How could I describe loving someone else to a man I'd once loved? A man you still love, a voice whispered inside my head. Maybe. Probably. Again, I reminded myself that it was natural to carry lingering feelings for Dimitri. They would fade. They had to fade, just like his had. He was the past. Adrian was my future. "Yeah,' I said, taking longer than I probably should have. "I ... I do love him.'