My good show of being "seen and not heard" at the hearing had apparently earned me the right to some visitors. I wasn't allowed out and about in the real world yet, but the small gathering in my living room was better than the total isolation I had been expecting. I was even allowed to meet with them semi-privately - at least with a little bit of 'charm' from Vasilisa. Perhaps Adrian might have helped her, but he was in no state to do so at the moment.

They, along with Christian, were all scattered around the room, but none of us really spoke to one another. I had offered the initial courtesy of water as they arrived, but that had been the last real conversation between any of us. Everything else had been said in random, confusing glances that left their messages lost in translation.

"So, does anyone know exactly why we're meeting?" Adrian spoke to the ground more than any one of us in particular. Ever since the hearing yesterday, he had retreated even more into himself. Or into his bottle. Everyone seemed to notice it, but nobody wanted to acknowledge his downward spiral.

"I'm…" Vasilisa looked between me and Christian before settling back on Adrian. "I'm not sure, really."

"Didn't you ask for all of us to meet?" I asked. Vasilisa had been the one to set this all up so I had assumed she had also set up our agenda. Or if nothing else, she had to know what was going on.

"No, I -"

Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by someone bursting through the door.

My defenses went up quickly, though I couldn't tell if the fear was more physical or psychological. Mr. Mazur had that sort of effect on me.

"Okay, so we need to move fast." Zmey dropped a stack of folders on the coffee table without greeting, and several documents slipped out and onto the table. He quickly pushed them back in, but not before I caught sight of drawings rather than lines of text. "The defense is pushing to have Rose's trial date moved up, and between their evidence and that foolish speech she made, they have more than enough to win."

A small squeaking sound came from Vasilisa.

"What does that mean for her if she's found guilty? Life in prison?" Christian rubbed Vasilisa's back comfortingly. I was grateful that he was fully back in her life again. I knew their estrangement had been a source of stress for Vasilisa, and between that, dealing with me, my conflict with Rose, and now this trial, finally having someone she could lean on, rather than being the one constantly offering support, was good for her.

"Unfortunately, no." He laughed, albeit humorlessly, but he laughed just the same.

"Her life is on the line. Do you think this is funny?" My eyes were fully focused on Mr. Mazur, but I could hear someone gasp slightly as the puzzle came together with my words: conviction meant death, not prison.

"I can assure you, Belikov, I don't find this funny in the slightest. Rosemarie's future is very important to me, and I intend to make sure she lives to see it."

"Why? Is she just another pawn in your game?" While Zmey wasn't Royal, he wielded power like one. Perhaps more so because he personally fought for every ounce of power and respect that he had, instead of resting on the back of his ancestral name. But I knew, more than most, that power came with a price. If he didn't want to personally pay it, he would call in favors or use fear to make others pay it for him. "Why do you care?"

He finally stopped arranging his belongings and stood to properly look at me. "Perhaps the better question is...why do you?"

The question seemed to hang in the air, as did my noticeable lack of answer.

I had been asking myself the same question over and over again. Why did I care? Or at least, why did I care so much?

After I was escorted home after the hearing, I was in shock for the first few hours. I started to realize that I had probably been in shock from the moment they had led her away from me in chains. I couldn't really remember a time between that first moment and the hearing when my mind wasn't completely consumed with thoughts of her and her wellbeing. It wasn't until after I had begun to come out of that shock, however, I started to question why. Why was I so consumed by her?

I would obviously never want any harm to come to Rose. I could easily admit that. Perhaps that alone could justify my worry for her and her current predicament. Rose, despite our disagreement and my inability to have any sort of real contact with her, was still someone I respected. Plus, I didn't have to love her to care for her enough to be concerned about her. I didn't have to be dedicated to her to be supportive.

But I had been willing to fight to the death for her. And not against Strigoi who were an obvious and well-recognized enemy. No, I had been ready to fight those who should have been considered our brethren. I had been ready to fight the 'good guys' to keep her safe, because her safety meant more to me than 'right' or 'wrong.' From an outside perspective, the Royal Guard were just in their cause to apprehend a likely suspect for a murder. The guardians were the 'right' in this situation and Rose was the 'wrong.' However, that hadn't mattered to me then. If I was completely honest, it didn't really matter to me now, either. There was a part of me that knew, no matter what, I would always side with Rose. Justice and the law be damned, I'd always side with her. That hinted at something more than just respect. It also hinted at something more than simple caring, too. That flew past the idea of loyalty and settled straight into the realm of devotion.

It was an idea that I was having a hard time coming to terms with considering I should be the last person devoting myself to her. My commitment was supposed to be keeping her safe - from me.

But why shouldn't I also be willing to fight alongside her in battle? We both had been willing to fight together to fulfill our promise to Vasilisa - back when we both were guardians and then again with her as a guardian and me as a man of eternal gratitude. Perhaps Vasilisa was the whole reason I had been so concerned with her in the first place. Perhaps my devotion to Rose was simply an extension of my devotion to Vasilisa, considering Rose was one of the people she held most dear. Letting harm come to Rose would only hurt Vasilisa in the end. Right?

The idea was convoluted at best and a total and complete lie at worst. While Rose was very important to Vasilisa, and I knew I would be more than happy to protect Rose if it that was what was needed to make Vasilisa happy, I also knew that my promise to Vasilisa had nothing to do with why I had fought that day. I had fought because of Rose, not the princess.

Everyone kept trying to play it off as me reacting instinctively to a threat, too, which I knew was another lie. I had more than enough time to realize what was happening, but I had actively made the choice to fight with and for Rose. My obsessive worry over her afterward might not have been an active choice (looking back, that was more instinctual and natural than anything else) but the decision to put her life over others? I had made that choice with no regrets.

It was why I wouldn't add my testimony to those of others - including Adams, Hunter, and even Phillips - when they said I had acted impulsively. I knew I would make the same choice again if needed. I didn't incriminate myself by telling that to the officials who had questioned me about the incident, but I wouldn't lie, either. I just remained silent and let the confusion war within me.

I decided to take a similar path with Mr. Mazur. "My reasons are my own," I assured him.

"As are mine."

Another moment of tense silence passed before he turned back towards his paperwork, brushing off our interaction entirely.

"Now, we need to keep our circle as small as possible until we have more of an idea as to how we are going to get her out of this mess."

"Yeah?" Adrian moved back in his chair. The position didn't make him look relaxed insomuch as semi-stable. He seemed to lean heavily into the chair as if it was the only thing keeping him from falling onto the floor. "How do you suppose we do that?"

"Do you have any more information? Maybe some proof that she wasn't there?" Christian reached for one of the files, only to have his hand batted away. He pulled back quickly, rubbing the injury and looking at his girlfriend for sympathy. She didn't seem to notice the slight towards him at all.

"There has to be someone who can attest to seeing her at the time of the...incident." She glanced quickly towards Adrian but he didn't seem to hear her. Of if he did, he ignored her and any possible emotions those words could have caused. As much as I had hated the numbness that surrounded me on occasion, I was beginning to understand just how necessary it could be as a shelter in instances like this. He was coping, and right now that was enough.

"I was there," Adrian insisted. "I know I was. At least for most of the time. I just don't have any way to corroborate it."

"And I don't mean to offend, Adrian, but while your loyalty should be seen as split between Rose and your Aunt, given the circumstances, now that you have shown support for Rose it will taint any testimony you give."

"What if I can support his testimony? He was with me just before going to see her."

Vasilisa and Christian looked somewhat hopeful, but Mr. Mazur brushed me off quickly.

"Your testimony would be even less accepted, for several very obvious reasons." There was a certain venom in his voice as he spoke. Before I could question it or defend myself, he continued, "Besides, that's not exactly the route I was going for."

"Oh? And what defense are you thinking of using?"

He smiled at Vasilisa's question. "I'm beyond using legal defense. Rose's case isn't winnable that way. It's time to get her out."

"Out?" Christian almost seemed amused.

"Out," he repeated. He opened a thick manila file, pulled out a small blueprint of the jail, and handed it to Christian before offering me a highly detailed map of Court that included every key entry point, guardian post, standard patrol route, and more. He finally pulled out a small notice of the upcoming funeral for Queen Tatiana. "We need to plan fast. We don't have much time."

I stared at all the information in some form of awe, wondering just how this man had the power and means to even fathom, much less attempt, something like this. All of us could be tried for treason for just considering what he was suggesting. Yet, just as before, my sense of right and wrong flew out the window. Apparently, everyone else felt the same.

We poured over the various papers, sporadically watching the door to make sure that nobody caught us in our criminal act, and the thought kept flooding me. Why?

"Why are you doing this for her?" I repeated my question to him. "Why does Rose matter to you so much?"

Like some light switch that had been flicked on, Vasilisa tilted her head as she came to a realization. "You don't know...do you?"

Christian suddenly stopped messing with the paperwork, his finger still tracing a line on a page. "Oh my god, he doesn't. Does he?"

"I'm h-"

Adrian cut off his words.

"Oh. Oh! Can I tell him? Please?" Adrian was practically bouncing in his seat, looking much more sober than he had earlier. Slowly, he had been growing more animated as new possibilities opened up before us, but this was probably the first time any of us had seen him really smile since the whole debacle started. The small celebration that this should have caused was quickly dampered when I realized that whatever happiness he was currently enjoying was going to come at my expense.

Mr. Mazur shrugged good-naturedly and waved him on.

He pumped his fist victoriously before squaring his shoulders off to take on a much more befitting, royal air. "Dimitri Belikov, meet Ibrahim Mazur - Rose's father."

Neither of us moved.

Neither of us offered our hands in greeting.

We both stood frozen on opposite sides of the room, with the rest of the group in the middle watching our uneven staring match.

"Good to see you again," he finally spoke, giving me a smirk that looked horrifyingly familiar, "...boy."

Only one thought kept circling my mind, over and over again, until it became the only response I could manage.

...Fuck.

Author's Note

And that's it! We are done with Spirit Bound: Dimitri's Point of View. We are ONE STEP CLOSER to Last Sacrifice. I don't know about you, but I'm excited.

As I stated before, I will be going into a little hibernation for a few weeks. I'm going to be rereading everything to make sure we're ready to go into this final phase. Plus, I need some time to enjoy my family and the holidays. I'm planning to be back the first or second week of the new year. Don't fret though, there WILL be at least one little one-shot coming out around Christmas.

At the end of every book, I ask several questions and so I will make those the Questions of the Week:

1) What were your favorite things about this book, and why?

2) How could the book have been better?

3) What am I doing right and how can I improve as an author.

Answering these questions (with specifics, if possible) really help me become stronger as an author. I want to do my best for your guys!

Either way, I appreciate you reading the story and every last person who has reviewed, fav'd, followed, and shared this story. I read every single review and I try to respond to most of them (Maybe a 90% success rate on that one lol) but it has been so nice to get to know all of you through this journey. Someone on the facebook page likened this to high school and we are about to go into our senior year. It's going to be amazing, maybe a little bittersweet towards the end, but amazing still the same.

Happy holidays and if you miss me during the break, come find me on facebook! Look for "AndreaAndersonWrites"