They say money is power. They're wrong, though. Money is only a means to power. Influence is what truly brings power. Money can buy that influence, but so can favors, lies, and fear. That last one was becoming a particular specialty of mine.

"Stephen!" My second-in-command was never too far away, and he came into my study a moment after I called to him. "How's the new deal with Harland?"

He was one of the few people who wasn't afraid to look me in the eye. "Just heard from him about an hour ago. He's sending over the paperwork. He said he wants to take the deal."

I shook my head, letting out a huff. I wasn't surprised that he took the deal, but the fact that it took him so long to make the logical decision was an annoyance. Business partnerships that start out with these little irritations often end up creating friction until eventually the fabric just falls apart. Perhaps others – like Harland – would be fearful of such an outcome, but it wasn't something I would fret over. If our deal went sour it would be him picking up the pieces, not the other way around.

That's what power got you. It's the ability to do what you need without worry of others getting in your way.

Right now, what I needed was to expand my operation's resources in America. Especially over on the East Coast. Galina had done well to manage several dealings with businesses in Novosibirsk and even some in Krasnoyarsk and Omsk. They brought in money and she was able to exchange favors and support. However, she never really sought to spread beyond Russia.

That wasn't something that I could rest my laurels on, though. I had to do more than just take over what was left of her regime. I had to build it up to be my own. That meant expansion.

Thankfully, expansion was just one step closer to her.

Rose was safe … for now. Behind the Academy walls, there was no way to reach her. At least not physically. So, in the few months I had before her graduation, I did everything I could to prepare. That meant creating new contacts, pressing down on old ones, and maintaining order within the Estate.

I was still seen as almost divine within our community. The story of how I killed Galina and her loyalists, of how I survived a stake to the heart, of how I could hold that same stake in my bare hands – all these were legends of near mythic proportions. We now had Strigoi seeking out our Estate to join the ranks. Galina's business of 'life insurance' had been popular before, but there was a new arrival of people who would pay extra to be turned specifically by me in hopes that they wouldn't have to fear the same threats to their immortality.

Perhaps the biggest thrill was the first time I had a lone dhampir – a guardian who had decided he was done with playing into a system that considered him worthless – came knocking on my office door. It was common for humans to seek the thrill of the supernatural, it was common for Moroi to desire immortality, but it was rare for a trained and promised guardian to shed his oath in favor of the strength and prestige that the Undead offered. That rare quality made Lukas an asset.

Where Stephan was my lieutenant and offered intellectual insight into the logistics of our operation, Lukas had become my enforcer. He was the brute strength that I used to play my hand without ever showing all my cards. I wasn't above getting my hands dirty and would happily work alongside him, but occasionally sending him out as my initial threat proved to me much more effective than appearing in person. I was what would come next if it came to that. And after seeing him, it never came to that.

That is how I had been able to seal my deal with Harland. He managed several 24-hour diners that dotted the East Coast highways. He had fluttered back and forth through our initial conversations, but it took only a day after Lukas showed up at his flagship diner in Philadelphia before he was agreeing to my terms.

So between that, two tattoo parlors, several bars, and a few nightclubs, I now had my hands in more than a few pockets back in the States. The Estate – no, the Enterprise – was thriving under my control. I was happy to let Rose know as much. It wasn't as if my accomplishment didn't affect her, too. I had purposefully extended my services to one of Montana's run down repair garages along the highway towards the Academy just so I could keep an eye on her.

My Beautiful Rose,

This was all supposed to be ours. The power, the money, the control. We could have had it all, together. Now, I'm well on my way to stretching my organization father than either of us could have imagined, and the only thing missing is you.

It's a shame, really. I have found some fairly capable people to help me, but none of them are you. Not a single one of them understand me the way you do. None of them can offer me what you could have. Even in those last moments that we fought together, both side-by-side and even against one another … I know you felt it too. We're meant to be, you and I.

But you threw it all away, didn't you. For what? Servitude? Being the body shield to some ungrateful Moroi? Even your precious Princess Vasilisa wouldn't bat an eye at seeing you die at the hands of someone like me.

But she'll witness that soon enough, won't she? I haven't forgotten our little deal: I would either awaken you or kill you, and you said you'd rather die than be awakened. The least I could do is keep my end of the bargain.

You can't hide forever, Rose. I'm watching.

Love,

Dimitri

I wrote her letters every other week or so. I doubted Rose could forget exactly what was waiting for her just outside the safety of the wards, but I didn't want her to think that I was neglecting her. Nothing would distract me from my pursuit of her. I knew we were far beyond spending eternity together. She had made it clear that she would never be awakened. It was a foolish choice, but she would have to deal with those consequences.

More importantly, if I couldn't have her then nobody could. She was mine and mine alone. If she refused to spend her life with me then she had condemned herself to death, and I wouldn't allow another even that privileged. It had to be my own hands that stole the last breath of life from her lips.

With another letter signed, sealed, and stamped, I handed it off to Stephen. He knew exactly where these letters went to so often. I didn't miss his occasional disapproving looks, but he knew better than to speak against my actions. I allowed his input only so far. He had seen first hand what happened to people who overstepped their bounds, and he was smart enough to avoid meeting the same fate.

Lukas would be back within a day or two. Ever since I had awakened him, he had taken over several duties around the compound including overseeing training and security. I wasn't foolish enough to pass off all control to those beneath me, however. I had learned from the mistakes of my predecessor. So with him away, I took over checking the security team for the day before dropping by the training gym to see how the new members of our group were coming along.

We prioritize the training of those who showed promise or those who previously had tactical training before being turned. Those who didn't..well, they went through the basics and hopefully they learned quickly. We could only teach so much before they had to sink or swim. We had perfected many aspects of enforcing our business so that we rarely lost the best of our talent, but occasionally we had requests for outside jobs and when prudent (according to the calculations of Stephen and myself) we took those opportunities. It was never wise to send all of our best to die in a potential raid, though. There had to be some acceptable bodies to serve as our casualties so that the majority of our best would come back to fight another day.

This was a very new group; a handful of those who had been awakened within the last couple of weeks. Already it was easy to see who would fight and would be fodder.

I pointed to one in particular who was sharp and showed good potential. He was a former human who might have had some form of fighting training or perhaps even a military background and he was worth preserving in a more advanced group.

The woman leading the training session acknowledged my silent order with a nod before continuing with the lesson. He would be pulled aside later.

A trip to the feeders, overseeing some records with Stephen, and some more menial work. That was my day-to-day now. For the life of me, I couldn't understand how Galina had reveled in the luxury of this life. Perhaps she filled the void of actually doing anything by surrounding herself with the trappings of power rather than the fight for it.

I just felt anxious for more action. I knew that I needed to stay back from the raids at the moment. With my Enterprise so new, I needed to be a presence and security for the others. Dying, or even injury would break the illusion of my godlike status among the others. Something like that could destroy what I had worked for – what I continued to work for.

So, for now, the only battles I fought were with the punching bag. I went through about one a week and it still wasn't enough for my tastes. I thought perhaps if other needs were being met my aggression would diminish, but nothing satisfied my hunger. None of them were her. In my annoyance, I had torn the head of one woman by her hair and offers had severely diminished because of it, but those seeking power and position would risk anything (including death by decapitation) to gain it.

One day though, one day I'd have her. That thought sustained me. There were only a few more weeks that she would be able to hide behind the safety of those wards before she was mine. And Lord knows, I'm not above playing with my food.

My Dearest Rose,

One of the few downsides to being awakened is that we no longer require sleep; therefore we also no longer dream. It's a shame, because if I could dream, I know I'd dream about you. I'd dream about the way you smell and how your dark hair feels like silk between my fingers. I'd dream about the smoothness of your skin and the fierceness of your lips when we kiss.

Without dreams, I have to be content with my own imagination- which is almost as good. I can picture all of those things perfectly, as well as how it'll be when I take your life from this world. It's something I regret having to do, but you've made my choice inevitable. Your refusal to join me in eternal life and love leaves no other course of action, and I can't allow someone as dangerous as you to live. Besides, even if I forced your awakening, you now have so many enemies among the Strigoi that one of them would kill you. If you must die, it'll be by my hand. No one else's.

Nonetheless, I wish you well today as you take your trials-not that you need any luck. If they're actually making you take them, it's a waste of everyone's time. You're the best in that group, and by this evening you'll wear your promise mark. Of course, that means you'll be all that much more of a challenge when we meet again which I'll definitely enjoy.

And we will be meeting again. With graduation, you'll be turned out of the Academy, and once you're outside the wards, I'll find you. There is no place in this world you can hide from me. I'm watching.

Love,

Dimitri

Her trials should be this week. I couldn't imagine that they would need to put her through those trials, though, as she had obviously proven herself more than capable. She had beaten Strigoi. She had killed them. And above all, she had survived. My associates were dead because of her, but I was still insanely proud. She was everything I could have ever hoped for in a partner. Smart, intuitive, cunning, strong. I had trained her, but she had made herself better than I ever could have imagined. The only disappointment was that she was so loyal to her oppressors that she had become blind to her true potential.

She was as blind as I had been once. Could I really blame her for the stupidity of youth? Still, no matter how much I had tried to tempt, seduce, and even demand her to listen, she had rejected my wisdom in the matter. She had always been headstrong and from the first day we had met, I wondered if it would get her killed. Now, I knew it would.

But it was time to plan the next steps. I was taking a portion of my Estate with me to a new headquarters in America while leaving Stephan and Lukas to take care of operations here in Russia. There was no shortage of people willing to follow me, and I had hand picked the best of my men to come with me. We would remain far enough from Court to stay undetected, yet close enough to keep track of the comings and goings of those inside. It wouldn't be hard to bribe or threaten a Moroi official to assist us either. We already had a few people on the inside who were members of our insurance policy, and we could easily add this as a clause in their contract.

The graduating class of new guardians always went to Court first to be shown off to the Royals where they would be auctioned off like cattle in a silent bidding war. Of course, Rose was already allotted to her princess, but would most likely still be required to attend with the others.

I wondered how she would feel if she knew that Eric and Rhea didn't just request that Rose stands alongside their daughter as a guardian, they had it written in their will long before their death. She was (quite literally) given to Vasilisa as a gift upon their graduation.

Outside of such circumstances, those who had the highest trial scores would always end up costing the most. The memory of a man trying to outbid Ivan and his parents for my contract – and then immediately bribing them with property and another one of his guardians in addition to some money when he lost the bid – made me laugh. It had disgusted me when I was young (no matter how many times Ivan joked that I should have been "honored" by the man's determination), but now I realized it was a show of how ridiculous the entire process was. Even though I had ended up with my best friend, I still was purchased. Perhaps the biggest insult was that I or my family didn't see a single penny of that exorbitant price. It all went directly to the Guardian Headquarters to be doled out into our salaries. Despite all the grueling work I had put in, it hadn't done any extra good to my family. All I saw in return was a decent position guarding a decent man.

It wouldn't be until after this process and official contracts were signed that I could hope to catch her off guard. Her move to Court would be directly from the Academy airstrip to the Court's airstrip, fully protected. Perhaps Vasilisa would insist on a trip outside of Court, but for the most part, it should provide anything her pretty little heart could desire.

The only real time I knew they would be leaving Court would be for her to attend Leigh in the fall. Her application had gone out before the attack and even if I wasn't absolutely sure that her grades were enough to qualify her for admission, a little bit of money could ease the way for her attendance. It certainly would be needed to get Rose it.

Hopefully, I wouldn't have to wait that long, though.

I had my eyes on Court, on Roza, and I wouldn't lose my chance to take what was mine.

Author's Note

I'm back! So happy to start this book and see you all again. A very happy birthday to my wonderful beta, Raissa, and a happy Canada Day and Independence Day to those of you in Canada and USA, respectfully.

Don't forget to follow, fave, share, and comment! Let's do this!