A Guardian Wedding - Vampire Academy Fan Fic

Chapter 24: Lost

Chapter 24: Lost

                The sound of windows shattering screeched through the room. It silenced the noisy Moroi and the even noisier Guardians trying to get them organized; it broke the already cracked peace of my perfect day.

“Get down!” Someone yelled and everyone ducked; everyone except me.

                I froze, watching the waterfall of glass showering onto the decorations below. It tore through my flower arrangements and left chips of petals strewn between the shards. Roses were no match for sharp objects these days.

                Eddie yanked on my arm and I stumbled into a crouch next to him, my eyes glued to the evening sky now glaring into the room. Darkness was falling; darkness meant the monsters could come out.

                I think the realization hit the Guardians at the same time, as we all sprung back into motion together.

“We have fifteen minutes!” My mother shouted. “Let’s move, people!”

                The room rushed for the doors, Guardians included; they had to stay with their charges, after all. Lissa and her group were still huddled in the center, Christian’s entourage now joining them. Cassie was barking at them; Andrew was arguing with her.

“Enough,” Dimitri said quietly as I walked closer again. My eyes flickered to the windows; Lissa needed to get out of here now. Dimitri’s voice was calm as he collected facts for a plan. That was my husband. “You notified Court?”

“Of course,” Lissa answered for them, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Apparently, she was back to normal. She stood. “The shuttles are–“

                Screams broke through the conversation.

                Without thought, Dimitri, Eddie, my mother, Andrew, and I took off for the hallway, leaving Christian and Lissa being restrained by the rest of their Guardians. They were safe here as long as the sun was still up; they had time to get away yet, and Cassie would make sure they did.

I hoisted up my wedding dress, running as best I could in the stupid heels. So much for the perfect bride. I followed Dimitri’s footsteps, not wanting to lose him in this mess. We may have promised to let each other take care of themselves in fights, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t be near him. I’d also just promised myself to him forever; he couldn’t be taken away so soon.

Eddie was at my elbow, running with ease in his trousers. Lucky bastard. “Rose, do you have a–“

“Already on it,” I said as I reached down beneath my skirt, producing a stake from the holster on my thigh while we rounded the corner of the hallway.

                We charged as one, Dimitri and my mother the vanguard of our little army. No one paused, not even as we saw the Strigoi ripping apart the people we loved. I let instincts take over as I entered the fray, not hesitating to smile at the Moroi fighting alongside their Guardians. Our friends were badasses, too, apparently.

                The Strigoi lined the hallway, focusing towards the end that led to the Lodge’s rooms where there weren’t any windows. Our friends had been aiming for the back exit there; the monsters had been expecting it.

                They outnumbered us; I’d only seen an organized group this large once. It had been years ago in Russia when Dimitri had been one of them. But, I hadn’t heard about that since… my bachelorette party. The woman had been asking for him by name; she’d wanted revenge.

                Dimitri.

                I froze, my stake in a Strigoi woman’s heart. They were after my Dimitri.

                Eddie stared at me before dropping the woman and moving onto the next. “Rose, let’s go!”

“Dimitri,” I shouted back as Eddie pinned another, ripping the man off one of Lissa’s distant cousins. “They want Dimitri!”

                I swore as my head was yanked back, a cold fist braided into my hair. I swung behind me with my stake scraping against chalky skin. The Strigoi hissed and attacked; Eddie drove a stake through its back, the point poking out through its chest.

                Through snarled lips, he whispered, “He must die.”

I moved as soon as the words left his mouth. Dimitri would not be dying on my watch; not again, anyway. My eyes roved the melee, skipping over bloody faces. I could deal with them later; right now, I needed Dimitri and I needed him safe.

Eddie followed me wordlessly as I darted to the other side of the hall, shoving off a few Strigoi on the way. Eddie paused to stake them with a couple other Guardians; I just kept running.

He was near the doors, piling dead Strigoi around him. A few younger Guardians were trying to help, but it was obvious he was doing the most work; he was a god, after all.

“Dimitri!” I yelled, my voice barely registering in the battle cries around us.

                Nonetheless, his head snapped around, leaving him open to the Strigoi at his back. It grabbed his neck and I felt my heart stop.

                I was losing Dimitri again.