Dimitri's Point of View in Frostbite (Vampire Academy) (Book 2)

Part 12

But now… now it looked as though that group of Strigoi hadn’t been a random occurrence. They’d united with purpose, utilized humans strategically, and had attacked again. We now had what could be a pattern: Strigoi actively seeking out large groups of prey. Serial killings we could no longer trust the protective magic of ward. We couldn’t even trust sunlight. Humans could move around in the day, scouting and sabotaging. The light was no longer safe.

I remembered the day Rose and I had seen the Badica house, she had whispered almost in fear, this changes everything, doesn’t it?

Janine flipped through some papers on a clipboard. “They don’t have forensic details yet, but the same number of Strigoi couldn’t have done this. None of the Drozdovs or their staff escaped. With five guardians, seven Strigoi would have been preoccupied---at least temporarily---for some to escape. We’re looking at nine or ten, maybe.”

I had suspected this. Strigoi working in groups was something everyone of us feared. Even the tough guardians like Janine. “Janine’s right. And if you look at the venue…it’s too big. Seven couldn’t have covered it.” I said.

The Drozdovs were one of the twelve royal families. They were large and prosperous, not like Lissa’s dying clan. They had plenty of family members to go around, but obviously, not so much anymore.

I looked around the room, trying my best to avoid Rose. Every guardian looked keyed up and ready to go out there and kill every Strigoi in sight. And if it weren’t for Janine’s voice of reason, that would be the exact thing that’d happen.

We discussed the attack more, how the Drozdovs had been having a belated Christmas party in a banquet hall when they were attacked.

“First Badicas, now Drozdovs,” Muttered on guardian. “They’re going after royals.”

Every guardian in this room knew he was right. But I refused to let Rose live in fear for the next couple of days. And taking a quick glance at her told me that she was scared for not only her life but for Lissa's as well. “They’re going after Moroi.” I said flatly. “Royal. Non-royal. It doesn’t matter.”

After a while of discussing and getting nowhere the group dispersed. That’s when Rose decided to leap up off the sofa and push her way toward Janine.  I quickly moved out of the room. Deciding to head where everyone else seemed to be going.

I walked slowly to the banquet hall. I never particularly liked the way Moroi handled things. They only discussed and cowered in fear. Unlike us guardians who took action the minute it’s handed to us.

By the time I got to the banquet hall people were still piling in. Although it was pretty packed. Despite the businesslike atmosphere, you could tell this room had been designed for things other than meetings about massacres and defense. The carpet had the texture of velvet and showed an ornate floral design in shades of silver and black. The chairs were made of black polished wood and had high backs. Paintings of long-dead Moroi royalty hung on the walls.

I glanced among the sea of heads and found Rose’s in the back. Despite me wanting to avoid her I decided against it. I wanted to show her that I still cared about her, even though she was leaving me for someone else.

I sat down on the other side of Rose, my leather coat draping around me as I settled in my chair, heart beating fast. I saw Rose glance in surprise from the corner of my eye. Although I didn’t acknowledge her. Guardians were rare at these kind of gatherings. Most were too busy doing damage control. So I could only imagine how confused she was.

The meeting kicked off then. Everyone was eager to talk about how they thought the Moroi should be saved, but really, two theories got the most attention.