𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐄𝐑 ▸ Rose and Lissa have been best friends since kindergarten. Their friendship has grown and changed but they still have each other's backs - even as Queen and Head of the Queen's Guardians. Rose has always said she do '...
"What time is it?" Rose growled softly, unwilling to open her eyes as she spoke into the phone she'd plucked off her minuscule side table in the RV where it was charging. The last thing she needed was for Lara to wake, especially since she was just starting to sleep through most nights.
"Shit. It's 2 am," Adrian replied apologetically. "Sorry to ring in the middle of your night. It really is urgent."
"Couldn't you have dream walked me?" Rose grumbled.
"Sorry. I didn't think about it."
"Well I'm awake, now," Rose sighed begrudgingly giving Adrian her permission to continue.
"I've just had a call from Christian. He's in a bad way."
"Yeah. He's figured it out. He rang Dimitri a couple of days ago and asked whether Lara was Lissa's, so we told him everything. Has he told you about it, yet?"
"No, he just said he needed to get out of Court and that he could use a friend. I've never heard him so lost. Not even after Tasha's execution."
Occurring not long after his marriage to Lissa, Tasha's execution for regicide caused Christian to withdraw for months. It was a dark time in Christian's life, and to hear he was worse now than he was then was sobering.
"Shit," Rose said, sitting up in bed, pulling the sheet up to cover her upper body. After an evening of passion with Dimitri, she'd fallen asleep naked curled up in her man's arms. Her movements rousing him, Dimitri opened a bleary eye, looking up at Rose questioningly.
"Adrian," she silently mouthed, still attending to Adrian's conversation.
"He's asked me to go overseas with him. He's arriving at St. Vlad's in a few hours, and then we're taking off for Europe," Adrian explained.
"We?!" Rose asked in panic. The last thing Christian needed was to suspect or discover Eddie was Lara's father.
"Christian, some Guardian from Court I've never heard of, myself and Frankie."
"Who's Frankie?" Rose asked.
"Guardian Isabel Frankenfurter or something like that. She goes by Frankie."
"How did you end up with her?!"
"Alberta recommended her," Adrian replied.
"Oh. She'll be fine then," Rose responded, her concern immediately assuaged. Alberta had a knack for placing Guardians in suitable allocations. If Alberta had suggested Frankie to accompany the two Moroi, then Rose had no doubt she was up to the task.
"Does Christian know you guys were at St. Vlad's?" Adrian asked, getting to the point of his call. With the benefit of hindsight, he appreciated the primary reason they'd visited St. Vlad's was to speak with Eddie. If he could figure that out, he was sure Christian probably would, too.
"No, and I think it's for the best he doesn't find out. He doesn't know you know the truth about Lara, either."
"I thought as much. I'll let him tell me in his own time, and I'll meet him at the airstrip, so he doesn't need to come up to the main campus."
"Thanks, Adrian. He's been through so much, and he's hurting. Please - look after him? He didn't deserve any of this."
"None of you did," Adrian said softly, wishing Rose a good night and promising to keep in touch.
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