3rd Person Narrator'sPOV
Rose runs from a church with her heart continuing to shatter at a pace her legs strive to better, to take her as far from the scene as possible. Her lungs burn as intensely as the aching around the hole in her chest does, the one where her heart is supposed to reside. Her sanity escapes from her grasp as quickly as her soul seems to part from her body. She desires to flee to the surrounding mountainy forest terrain, to the edge of the wards and perhaps beyond the bounds of the Moroi Royal Court. Her legs, hands and arms have a different idea, however, a different location in mind to go to first. As if being pushed by a dark, unseeable force, reason escapes her when her sanity does and she gives into letting her body control her actions; she's exhausted of always fighting to do what's right. Especially when what's right and that stupid mantra are the things destroying her in the first place.

Adrian wishes to take his Little Dhampir out to brunch. He misses the exotic goddess feisty-guardian-girl whom lights up his day, despite always having an ever-thickening ring of darkness on the edge of her aura. He knows the darkness is insidious, and he wishes he could do something—anything—to help. But whilst he can make her happy—bring about a short-lived brightening of her aura—he knows deep inside himself that he's no match for a certain cradle-robbing Russian mentor. Dead or alive; denying her or embracing her; hurting her or healing her, that certain Russian has a level of control of Little Dhampir's aura and heart that he thinks no-one should have. Ever. Especially when his Little Dhampir is so at risk of the darkness, the darkness only the cradle-robbing Russian can keep dammed-up and heal away. That is why he searches all over the Moroi Royal Court when she isn't in her room in Guest Housing and isn't contactable via other means. He dreads what his failures may mean for his Little Dhampir...

Princess Vasilisa—better known by her preferred name, Lissa—passes by Dimitri as she walks to the back entrance of the church. She sees he's not coping well—it's all over his face and clear as day in his muddy aura. She suspects her friend and his ex-lover is the reason for Dimitri's downcast and distressed face and aura. She had warned her friend to stay away, even mentioned in a tone close to that of a royal asserting their authority that he specifically didn't want to see her, didn't want her around. Lissa does not understand the turmoil her friend has been through this past year (the one she's still going through, silently as ever). Lissa does not begin to consider that her friend no-longer relies on her to keep her alive, to keep her sane and happy. Lissa believes that her friend is being selfish and blind to the restored-dhampir's anguish and suffering, when in fact Lissa herself should be counselling Dimitri on how Rose may help him recover, not lecturing her friend and being too like a narrow-minded mother who cannot deny her child. Lissa knows and understands neither one of the lovers when she truly and fully believes she knows both. But how could she know either when she could not, did not, and possibly also would not see the authenticity and intensity of the love between them when it began? So how can she restore Dimitri fully when she does not know the proportion of his soul that is so impacted and changed by Rose's is 99 point 9 percent of it? How can Lissa possibly bring Dimitri back to himself when she doesn't know who or how he truly is unless he's embracing her?