"Paul actually looks exactly like he did at that age. I should show you pictures of him-and some recent ones, too. Dimitri's pretty cute. For my brother, I mean."

I was sure seeing pictures of Dimitri as a little boy would rip my heart out. As it was, the more Viktoria began to talk about him, the sicker I felt.

She had no clue about what had happened, and even though it had been a couple of years since she'd seen him, it was clear she and the rest of the family loved him like crazy. Not that that should be a surprise. (And really, who couldn 't love Dimitri?) Being around them just one morning had shown me how close they all were. I knew from Dimitri's stories that he was crazy about all of them, too.

"Rose? Are you okay?" Viktoria was peering at me with concern, probably because I hadn't said anything in the last ten minutes.

We had circled around and were almost back at her house. Looking at her, at her open, friendly face and eyes that were so much like Dimitri's, I realized I had another task ahead of me before I could go after Dimitri, wherever he was. I swallowed.

"I... yeah. I think... I think I need to sit down with you and the rest of your family."

"Okay," she said, the worry still in her voice.

Inside the house, Olena was bustling around the kitchen with Karolina. I thought they were making plans for tonight 's dinner, which was startling considering we'd just finished a huge breakfast. I could definitely get used to the way they ate around here. In the living room, Paul was building an elaborate racetrack out of Legos. Yeva sat in a rocking chair and appeared to be the world 's most stereotypical grandmother as she knit a pair of socks. Except most grandmothers didn't look like they could incinerate you with a single glance.

Olena was talking to Karolina in Russian but switched to English when she saw me. "You two are back earlier than I expected."

"We saw the town," said Viktoria. "And... Rose wanted to talk to you. To all of us."

Olena gave me a look as puzzled and concerned as Viktoria's. "What's going on?"

The weight of all those Belikov eyes on me made my heart start thumping in my chest. How was I going to do this? How could I explain something I hadn't spoken about in weeks? I couldn't stand to put them-or myself-through it. When Yeva scuttled in, it made things that much worse.

Maybe she'd had some mystical sense that something big was about to go down.

"We should sit," I said.

Paul stayed in the living room, for which I was grateful. I was pretty sure I couldn't handle saying what I had to with a little kid-one who looked like Dimitri, apparently-watching me.

"Rose, what's wrong?" asked Olena. She looked so sweet and, well... motherly, that I nearly cried. Whenever I'd been angry with my own mother for not being around or doing a good job, I'd always compared her to some idealized image of a mom-a mom who seemed a lot like Dimitri's, I realized. Dimitri's sisters looked equally worried, like I was someone they'd known forever. That acceptance and concern made my eyes burn even more, seeing as they'd just met me this morning. Yeva wore a very strange expression, however-almost like she'd been expecting something like this all along.

"Well... the thing is, the reason I came here, to Baia, was to find you guys."

That wasn't entirely true. I'd come to search for Dimitri. I'd never thought much about finding his family, but now, I realized that it was a good thing I had.

"You see, Viktoria was talking about Dimitri earlier." Olena's face brightened when I said her son's name. "And... I knew-er, know him.

He used to be a guardian at my school. My teacher, actually."

Karolina and Viktoria lit up as well. "How is he?" asked Karolina. "It's been ages since we've seen him. Do you know when he's going to visit?"

I couldn't even think about answering her question, so I pushed forward with my story before I lost my courage in front of all those loving faces. As the words came out of my mouth, it was almost like someone else was saying them and I was simply watching from a distance.

"A month ago... our school was attacked by Strigoi. A really bad attack... a huge group of Strigoi. We lost a lot of people-Moroi and dhampirs, both."

Olena exclaimed in Russia. Viktoria leaned toward me. "St. Vladimir's?"

I halted in my story, surprised. "You've heard of it?"

"Everyone's heard of it," said Karolina. "We all know what happened. That was your school? You were there that night?"

I nodded.

"No wonder you have so many molnija marks," breathed Viktoria in wonder.

"And that's where Dimitri's at now?" asked Olena. "We lost track of his latest a.s.signment."

"Um, yeah..." My tongue felt thick in my throat. I couldn't breathe. "I was at the school the night of the attack," I reaffirmed. "And so was Dimitri.

He was one of the leaders in the battle... and the way he fought... he was... he was so brave... and..."

My words were breaking up, but by this point, the others were catching on. Olena gasped and again murmured in Russian. I picked out the word for "G.o.d." Karolina sat frozen, but Viktoria leaned toward me. Those eyes that were so like her brother's stared at me intently, as intently as he would if pushing me to tell the truth, no matter how awful.

"What happened?" she demanded. "What happened to Dimitri?"

I looked away from their faces, my eyes drifting to the living room. On the far wall, I caught sight of a bookcase filled with old, leather - covered books. They had gold-embossed lettering on the spines. It was totally random, but I suddenly remembered Dimitri mentioning those. They were these old adventure novels my mother collected, he'd told me once. The covers were so beautiful, and I loved them. If I was careful, she'd let me read them sometimes. The thought of a young Dimitri sitting in front of that bookcase, carefully turning the pages- and oh, he would have been careful-almost made me lose it. Had that been where he'd developed his love of western novels?

I was losing it. I was getting distracted. I wasn't going to be able to tell them the truth. My emotions were growing too powerful, my memories flooding me as I fought to think about something-anything-that didn't involve that horrible battle.

Then I glanced at Yeva again, and something about her eerie, knowing expression inexplicably spurred me on. I had to do this. I turned back to the others. "He fought really bravely in the battle, and afterward, he helped lead a rescue mission to save some people that the Strigoi had captured.

He was really amazing there, too, only... he..."

I stopped again and realized tears were running down my cheeks. In my mind, I was replaying that awful scene in the cave, with Dimitri so close to freedom and taken by a Strigoi at the last minute. Shaking that thought away, I took another deep breath. I had to finish this. I owed it to his family.

There was no gentle way to say it. "One of the Strigoi there... well, he overpowered Dimitri."

Karolina buried her face in her mother's shoulder, and Olena made no effort to hide her own tears. Viktoria wasn't crying, but her face had gone perfectly still. She was working hard to keep her emotions in check, just as Dimitri would have. She searched my face, needing to know for sure.

"Dimitri is dead," she said.

It was a statement, not a question, but she was looking to me for confirmation. I wondered if I'd given away something, some hint that there was still more to the story. Or maybe she just needed the certainty of those words. And for a moment, I considered telling them that Dimitri was dead.

It was what the Academy would tell them, what the guardians would tell them. It would be easier on them... but somehow, I couldn't stand to lie to them-even if it was a comforting lie. Dimitri would have wanted the whole truth, and his family would too.

"No," I said, and for a heartbeat, hope sprang up in everyone's faces-at least until I spoke again. "Dimitri's a Strigoi."

Chapter Eight

The reactions were mixed among Dimitri's family members. Some cried. Some were stunned. And some-mainly Yeva and Viktoria-simply took it in and kept their emotions from their faces, just as Dimitri would have done. That upset me almost as much as the tears; it reminded me too much of him. Out of all of them, pregnant Sonya -who came home shortly after the news broke-had the most intense physical reaction. She ran sobbing to her room and wouldn't come out.

It didn't take long, however, for Yeva and Olena to spring into action. They spoke rapidly in Russian, clearly planning something. Phone calls were made, and Viktoria was dispatched to run an errand. No one seemed to need me, so I mostly wandered the house and tried to stay out of the way.

I found myself studying the shelves I'd seen earlier, running my hands along the leather-bound books. The t.i.tles were in Cyrillic, but it didn't matter.

Touching them and imagining Dimitri having held and read them somehow made me feel closer to him.

"Looking for a little light reading?" Sydney walked up and stood beside me. She hadn't been around earlier but had heard the news.

"Very light, seeing as I don't understand any of them," I replied. I gestured to the scurrying family members. "What's going on here?"

"They're planning Dimitri's funeral," Sydney explained. "Or, well, his memorial service."

I frowned. "But he's not dead-"

"Shh." She cut me off with a sharp gesture and glanced warily at the others as they hustled around. "Don't say that." "But it's true," I hissed back.

She shook her head. "Not to them. Out here... out in these villages... there's no in-between state. You're alive or you're dead. They aren't going to acknowledge him being one of... those." She couldn't keep the disgust out of her voice. "For all intents and purposes, he is dead to them. They'll mourn him and move on. So should you." I didn't take offense at her blunt att.i.tude because I knew she hadn't meant to give any. It was just her way.

The problem was, that in-between state was very real to me, and there was no way I could move on. Not yet.

"Rose..." began Sydney after several seconds of silence. She wouldn't meet my eyes. "I'm sorry."

"You mean, for Dimitri?"

"Yeah... I had no idea. I haven't really been that nice to you. I mean, I'm not going to act like I feel any better about hanging out with your kind, but you guys are still... well, not human, obviously. But... I don't know. You still have feelings; you still love and hurt. And while we were coming here, you had all this horrible news in you, and I didn't make it any easier for you. So I'm sorry for that. And I'm sorry for thinking the worst of you."

At first, I thought she was talking about thinking I was evil, but then I got it. She 'd thought this whole time that I really was coming to be a blood wh.o.r.e and now believed delivering the news to Dimitri's family had been my only purpose. I didn't bother to correct her.

"Thanks, but you couldn't have known. And honestly, if I were in your place... I don't know. I'd probably act the same way."

"No," she said. "You wouldn't. You're always nice to people."

I gave her an incredulous look. "Have you been traveling with someone else these last few days? Back home, I've got a reputation for not always being so nice. I've got att.i.tude, and I know it."

She smiled. "Yeah, you do. But you also say the right things to people when you have to. Telling the Belikovs what you did... well, that was hard.

And no matter what you say, you can be polite and go out of your way to make people feel good. Most of the time."

I was a bit startled. Was that how I appeared? I often thought of myself as a trigger -happy queen b.i.t.c.h and tried to think about my behavior with her these last few days. I had sparred with her a lot, but among the others we'd met, I supposed I had been friendly.

"Well, thanks," I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Did you see Abe yet? When you walked around town?"

"No," I said, realizing I'd forgotten about my mysterious rescuer. "Should I have?"

"I just figured he'd find you."

"Who is he? Why did he come get us when you told him I was hurt?"

Sydney hesitated, and I thought I was going to get some more of the Alchemist silent treatment. Then, after glancing around uneasily, she said in a low voice, "Abe's not royal, but he's a really important guy. He's not Russian either, but he's in the country a lot, always on business-both illegal and legal, I think. He's friends with all the important Moroi, and half the time, it seems like he controls the Alchemists, too. I know he's involved in the process of making our tattoos... but his business goes far beyond that. We have a name for him behind his back... Zmey."

"Zma what?" I had barely heard the word. It sounded like zz-may. It was certainly nothing I'd ever heard before.

She gave a small smile at my confusion. "Zmey is Russian for 'snake.' But not just any snake." Her eyes narrowed as she pondered a better explanation. "It's a term used in lots of myths. Sometimes for giant snakes heroes have to battle. There are also a few stories about wizards with snake blood who get called that. The snake in the Garden of Eden? Who made Eve fall? He was called a zmey too."

I shivered. Okay, that was pretty freaky, but it made something click into place. The Alchemists allegedly had ties to leaders and authorities, and Abe apparently wielded a lot of influence with them. "Is Abe the one who wanted you to come with me to Baia? The reason the Alchemists made you come here?"

Again, she paused, then nodded. "Yeah... when I called that night in Saint Petersburg, I was told there was a search going on for you. Abe gave orders through the Alchemists for me to stay with you until he could meet up with us here. He's apparently been searching for you on someone's behalf."

I went cold. My fears were being realized. People had been looking for me. But who? If Lissa had initiated a manhunt, I would have sensed it when I visited her mind. I didn't think it was Adrian either, not from the way he seemed so desperate and clueless about my whereabouts.

Plus, he seemed to accept my need for this quest.

So who was looking for me? And for what reason? This Abe sounded like a high -ranking person-albeit someone involved in shady business someone who might very well be connected to the queen or others almost as important. Had he been ordered to find me and bring me back? Or considering how much the queen hated me-had he perhaps been ordered to make sure I didn't come back? Was I dealing with an a.s.sa.s.sin?

Sydney certainly seemed to regard him with a weird mix of fear and respect.

"Maybe I don't want to meet him," I said.

"I don't think he'll hurt you. I mean, if he wanted to, he already would have. But be careful. He's always playing several games at once, and he deals in enough secrets to rival the Alchemists."

"So you don't trust him?"

She gave me a rueful grin as she turned to walk away. "You forget: I don't trust any of you."

When she was gone, I decided to go outside, away from the sorrow and business indoors. I sat down on the top step of the backyard porch, watching Paul play. He was building a fort for some of his action figures. While sensitive to the grief in his family, it was hard for him to be too affected by the "death" of an uncle he'd only met a couple of times. The news didn't mean as much to him as it did to the rest of us.

With so much time on my hands for the rest of the day, I decided to do a quick check -in with Lissa. In spite of myself, I was kind of curious about how things had panned out with Avery Lazar.

While Lissa's intentions were good, she'd still had some misgivings about bringing Avery along to lunch. And yet, she was pleasantly surprised to see Avery fitting in perfectly, charming both Adrian and Christian. Admittedly, Adrian was impressed by pretty much anything female. Christian was harder to crack, but even he seemed to be growing fond of her-probably because she kept teasing Adrian. Anyone who could make a joke at Adrian's expense ranked high on Christian's list.

"So, explain this," Avery said, winding linguine around her fork. "You just, what, hang around the Academy all day? Are you trying to redo your high school experience?"

"Nothing to redo," said Adrian loftily. "I totally ruled my high school. I was worshipped and adored-not that that should come as a shock."

Beside him, Christian nearly choked on his food.

"So... you're trying to relive your glory days. It's all gone downhill since then, huh?"

"No way," said Adrian. "I'm like a fine wine. I get better with age. The best is yet to come."

"Seems like it'd get old after a while," said Avery, apparently not convinced by the compelling wine simile. "I'm certainly bored, and I even spend part of the day helping my dad."

"Adrian sleeps most of the day," noted Lissa, trying to keep a straight face. "So he doesn't actually have to worry about finding things to do."

"Hey, I spend a good portion of my time helping you unravel the mysteries of spirit," Adrian reminded her.

Avery leaned forward, curiosity all over her pretty face. "So it's actually real? I heard stories about spirit... about how you can heal people?"