Dimitri's Point of View in Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy) (Book 3)

Part 17

I stood beside Alberta; she nodded at me and gave me a small smile. We all knew this was going to be hell.

While we waited for everyone to be seated I scanned the crowd for Rose and Lissa. I caught Eddie's gaze and nodded at him, he was as determined as ever. And for the thousandth time I couldn't help but feel horrible for that night when I had attacked and "killed" the novice the way Mason was killed. I'll never be able to forgive myself for doing that to Eddie.

He smiled at me, as though reading my thoughts and telling me it was alright. When he looked away I allowed myself to look at Rose. She and Lissa were staring straight ahead, faces full of worry as Victor entered the room. Lissa paled and Rose looked like she was about to punch the first person that spoke to her.

My heart cramped at that last part, there was no way I was going to be able to get her out of here without all the guardians tackling both her and I. This was not a place to let Rose get angry.

I sent silent prayers towards her way, hoping somehow, they would reach her before she decided to do something stupid.

The trial started once they called order in the court. One by one, we who witnessed the events with Victor gave our accounts of what we'd seen. The story was all the same, nothing new, partly because I'm a guardian of Lissa's, but mainly because I was there.

Largely, this involved us guardians who had pursued Lissa when Victor had taken her away and who had subsequently been a part of the raid on Victor's hideout. Which I was both a part of.

I was one of the last of the guardians to go. I requested the slot, because knowing Victor, he would announce anything about me to get the court wild up and I wanted to save that for the end.

As I stood in front of the queen and gave my oath that stated I promised to tell the truth my heart both hammered and stilled in my chest. It was a felony to lie in front of our world's leaders. There would be no question about my fate if they found out. I would be locked up and then if they thought it right: executed. My throat went dry as I plunged into my side of the story.

My testimony wasn't that much different than the others. I had been a part of the rescue squad; the only difference was my part of the story had started a little earlier.

This was what I was most afraid of, what got my palms sweating as I reviled what had happened, not letting my eyes leave Victor's. As if that would keep him pinned and unable to say anything.

"I was with my student, Rose Hathaway. She shares a bond with the princess and was the first to sense what had happened." The words came smoothly; I had practiced it more than twenty times this morning. I didn't want to give Victor the satisfaction of just how mad he made me.

Victor's lawyer-someone who actually defended and found Victor innocent-glanced at some papers and then looked back up at me. Her eyes were brown, her hair even darker. Her eyes met mine as she cleared her throat.

The woman took a deep breath, before flipping through the papers placed in front of her. "Based on the events, it sounds like there was a delay between when she discovered that and when you alerted the others."

I nodded. I had practiced this part as well, knowing that I wouldn't get off that easy. "She couldn't act on it because Mr. Dashkov had inflicted a charm on her, one that caused her to attack me." The words again came out smoother than I felt. It helped that this part of the story was the truth. Rose had attacked me that night.

It hurt me to lie in front of all my colleagues and friends. I knew more people in this room than I did back at the academy. These people I trained with.  Some of them, I recognized as my teachers from so long ago. I hated this. The only good thing out of all of it was the fact that I was doing this to protect Lissa... and Rose.