A/N: The Last Chapter is finally here! I'm not going to say anything more here, but read my author's note at the bottom for more... well, you'll see ;)

I hope you all enjoy the last chapter of Vampire Academy: Broken Bond!

Chapter Eighteen

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, MY favourite toy was a yoyo I had stolen it from the kindergarten toy box. I would spend hours playing with it. But one day, the string snapped and the yoyo fell to the ground. I tied the strings back together, but it was never the same again. No matter how many times I tried, the knot formed from me tying the two parts back together, would stop the yoyo from unravelling properly. It was broken, and there was nothing I could do to fix it.

The day I realised that I would never be able to fix my yoyo, I was out on the playground, and I was so sad that I started to cry. Lissa was nearby, and hurried over, asking what was wrong. I explained, expecting empathy, but instead she laughed.

"Why don't you just re-string it?" She questioned, amused.

I frowned.

"You can do that?"

She nodded, and began to take off one of the boots she was wearing. She untied her lace, and began to unthread it from the boot.

Without a word, she took the yoyo that I had clutched between my fingers and unscrewed the two discs that held it together. She let the old string fall to the ground, and then tied her shoe lace to the barrel of the yoyo. I didn't think it was going to work, but her shoe lace was both thin and long enough that she was able to screw the two discs back together, and wind her shoe lace around the barrel with ease. She made a little loop at the top, and then placed it back in my stiff hand.

"Go on, give it a go."

I did what she said, and placed my middle finger in the loop and then flicked my wrist downwards. The yoyo unravelled, and I thought that's all it would do. But when it reached the bottom, the shoelace tightened and the yoyo bounced back up, the string ravelling up around the barrel as it went. It was fixed, and even sturdier than before.

Lissa had made it whole again. And it was in that moment that Lissa became my best friend. And as cheesy as it was, it was also a reminder that no matter what people went through, their experiences would only strengthen them and their bonds with others. But never did I think for a moment that being in a car crash would have literally bonded me to my best friend, but you get the point.

But like I said, that was a toy. Humans were different. Toys were much easier to fix, humans were way more fragile and vulnerable.

Life can't last forever.

Eventually the string would break, and there would be nothing anyone could do to fix it.

But my string wasn't ready to break.

Not yet.

When my eyes opened, everything was blurry. The only colour I could see was white.

I moaned as I tried to move my tender limbs, but I couldn't. My head was pounding, and I barely had the strength to keep my eyes open.

I felt fingers brush across my forehead, and my body tensed.

"Rose, it's okay. You're safe."

Lissa?

"You need to stay calm. Everything will be okay."

Everything will be okay? Where was I? What had happened?

My eyes finally focused, and Lissa's face came into view. There was a white curtain that surrounded us, and a machine that stood behind her which continuously beeped. It looked like a heart monitor, which meant that I was in the hospital.

"Liss…" I looked down to see her hand in mine, but I couldn't feel it. "What's going… on?" I muttered as I fought to keep my eyes opened.

I could barely speak, and my brain seemed to be wrapped in a thick fog that wouldn't go away.

Her mouth opened to answer, but then she looked up, startled. I tried to follow her eyes, but I couldn't even move my head.

"Why… why can't I move?" I breathed, panic beginning to swell inside me.

Memories flashed inside my mind.

Getting shot, Zoe, Avery and… dying. I should be dead right now.

Adrian and Lissa couldn't have saved me. Did my body manage to save itself once again?

My breathing shallowed as I relived the moment.

No. Something wasn't right. Something had gone wrong.

Lissa stood up and made way for another person that I never thought I would see again.

"Roza, calm down. We'll explain everything, but you need to stay calm."

Dimitri.

I wanted so badly to reach out and touch him, to make sure he was real. But I couldn't.

He sat down in the seat nearest to me, while Lissa moved to the next one.

Her eyes were on the floor, adverting my gaze.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, but I still felt like I was on the brink of unconsciousness.

"Start explaining," I moaned.

And he did.

"You can't move because the doctor gave you a sedative. You've been in and out of consciousness for a while now, but…" He paused, and I could see agony fill his eyes as he tried to find the right words. "You haven't been yourself up until now. We're hoping the sedative will help to keep you being… you."

What? How could I not have been myself? I tried to remember waking up, but the last memory I had was still of dying.

"There was only one way they could save you Rose," Lissa added, still not being able to meet my eyes.

"We never thought it would have had this effect though… I'm so sorry Rose."

I locked eyes with Dimitri, still not understanding anything they were saying. But I knew it wasn't good.

"What did you guys do-"

Dimitri's face faded away, as my mind was pulled out of the fog.

I was no longer in the hospital. I was now in a tiny room, filled with cardboard boxes overflowing with sheets of paper. In front of me was a mirror, but it wasn't my reflection that stared back.

No…

"Ah finally, there you are Rose! You keep slipping away, but this time I seem to have a firm grasp," Avery muttered with a smirk. "I just wanted to tell you that we're going to have so much fun, you and I." She winked and then broke off into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

I was in her mind!

I had survived because Avery had used Spirit on me.

"No, we can't!"

They had saved me from death by binding my life to hers.

"It's the only way! Do you want her to die?"

No!

We were bonded.

"NOOOO!" I screamed.

My body propelled forward, the fog now completely gone. I was back in the hospital, sitting upright on the bed. Able to move again, I turned to Lissa and Dimitri, who were now standing with looks of horror all over their faces.

"Avery!?" I cried. "How could you? Death is better than being bonded to that psychopath!"

I didn't wait for a reply. I couldn't even look at them. I might be alive, but I wasn't going to be able to live.

Ignoring the stiffness of my limbs, I ripped the wires that were attached to my body, and stumbled out of bed. Despite my exhaustion, I felt completely fine. I looked down at my body, and pulled up the long sleeved blue shirt someone had put me in. I expected my stomach to be bandaged, or at least scarred, but there was nothing there. Spirit had completely healed me, but the thought of Avery using it on me made me want to throw up. The only reason why I was still in hospital was so they could drug me to keep that bitch out of my head, but even that didn't work.

I expected Lissa and Dimitri to try and stop me, but they just stood there frozen as I ran down the empty corridor and down the stairs. A few doctors stopped in their tracks and stared, but I was too fast for them to even consider getting in my way.

The icy cold wind felt so good on my skin as I exited the building into the gloomy day light. There was no-one nearby, and I couldn't go any further. Giving up, I let my body collapse on the ground. I burst into tears, and thrashed my body around, trying to let go of all the fear, anger and grief that was consuming me.

Warm, solid arms grabbed my waist, and even though I knew it was Dimitri, I tried to push him away. But he refused to let me go.

Neither of us spoke a word to each other as I cried and screamed. But eventually I stopped fighting him and instead drew him closer. We laid back on the wet grass, and I curled my body into him and sobbed silently into his chest as he rested his chin on the top my head.

"I'm going to find a way to fix this Rose. I promise," he said softly. I nodded as his fingers wiped away the last of my tears.

"I know," I whispered. "Just another day in the life of Rose Hathaway yeah?"

He kissed forehead.

"We'll get through this. We always do."

I leaned back and moved my hand up to his face.

"I know. But for now, just having you, Lissa and everyone else by my side is enough."

Before he could say another word, I pulled his mouth down to mine. My arms wrapped around his neck, as his moved up and down my back, drawing me closer. Our limbs entwined together, and my body shook with desire.

"I take it… that I'm… forgiven?" He mumbled between breaths.

I leaned back so that our lips just touched, and gazed into his soft, gorgeous eyes.

"For now," I breathed. "But there's still a lot you need to fill me in on."

He nodded, and with a sigh, he pulled away. We got to our feet, and began to head back to the hospital.

Part of me wanted to stay on the grass wrapped in Dimitri's arms, but I needed to know what had happened. And most importantly, I needed to figure out a way to free myself from Avery.

When I had been bonded to Lissa, every time she used her magic, Spirit filled me with darkness. Luckily, we were able to repress it using Spirit enhanced jewellery when it had started to overwhelm me, but even then all that did was prevent the inevitable. When the bond broke between us, as horrible as it had made me feel, I knew that I'd never have to worry about Spirit driving me insane again.

Compared to Avery, Lissa barely used Spirit and it still had a massive effect on both of us. Luckily, Lissa cared about both our lives, and did her best to control it. Even now, she reserved using her magic as she understood what consequences awaited her if she did. But, Avery didn't care. She wasn't bothered by the cost.

She would continue to use Spirit for her own gain, even if it sent her insane. And me along with her.

As we entered the doors of the hospital, Dimitri steered me in the opposite direction of where my room was.

"Where are we going?"

"You're right, there's still a lot I need to fill you in on. And we knew that as soon as you woke up that you'd want answers."

"We?"

He didn't elaborate, and instead took me down a small corridor and into a tiny lounge with ugly, green, floral couches. Lissa sat on one of them, with Christian next to her. But they weren't the only ones in the room. As I looked around I noticed more familiar faces.

Eddie, Jill, Sydney, Adrian, Angeline, Jackie, Sonja and Mikhail. My fists curled as my eyes flickered across Mikhail's slumped form, and I had to remind myself that he was under compulsion when he shot me. It wasn't his fault.

Dimitri slipped his hand into mine, helping me to relax, and gestured for me to take a seat.

"Ready?"

Everyone's eyes were locked on me, waiting to see what I'd do. Would I scream and run away again?

No, I was done running. For my entire life I had been fighting for other people's lives, but now it was time to fight for my own.

I nodded.

"I'm ready," I stated firmly.

Or at least, I hoped I was.

A/N: BOOM! So Avery and Rose are now bonded! Did this ending shock anyone?

The story has finished, yet it still has many unresolved issues and questions! And that's because there is going to be a sequel!

I'm definitely going to be writing it and uploading it, but I want to know what you guys would prefer in regards to posting dates. I can either write the entire story prior to posting the chapters, thus allowing me to post a chapter (or more) every week, however if I did it this way you wouldn't get the sequel until the end of the year/early next year. Or, I can have the first chapter up by July and do what I did with this one and write each chapter and post it as I go along, but I can't guarantee regular weekly posts. So let me know what you guys want, and whatever the majority say, I'll go with that :)

Please let me know how you liked this story by reviewing and favouriting it!

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And last but not least, thank you so much to everyone who has taken the time to read this story. Especially those who have reviewed it, favourited and followed it! It means the world, as I really want to become an author sometime in the near future! So you guys are seriously amazing, and I can't wait to write more stories for you all! :D

So until next time, take care!