Royal Roulette

Chapter 9|The Dark Hour

"Guardian Hathaway," whispered Jared, "It's your turn to watch." I nod silently and then say, "Just call me Rose." He yawns and climbs into my bed while I take the chair by the window. It's around lunch in the human world, and the street outside the window is filled with people. I glance back at Liss and Lacey, both of them sleeping peacefully. I notice Lissa's phone which is lighting up on the table. There are like a hundred notifications. I walk over and pick it up, realizing how many calls from court she had missed. The screen lights up, and it is yet another call from court. I decide as head guardian that I have a right to answer Lissa's calls, so I walk out in the hallway and press answer. "Hello?" I say curiously. "Queen Vasilisa! Are you alright?" says a frantic voice at the other end. "The queen is fine, you are speaking to her head guardian. To whom am I speaking?" I say, flaunting my authority. "This is Daniella Ivashkov. The council members told me to call you and you and you haven't been answering!" she says, her voice frightened. "Daniella, what's going on?" I say, keeping my voice calm. "Court has been attacked," Daniella whispers, her voice betraying all the fear she is feeling. "What do you mean attacked?" I whisper, realizing that my hands are shaking. "Strigoi," she says, voice grave, "the whole court is in lockdown. 5 Moroi have been killed so far, and no guardians have fallen, yet." My mind is spinning. "Be careful Daniella," I murmer, and hang up the phone. Holy shit. Court has been attacked.

I run back into the hotel room and turn on the lights. "Liss! Get up, we have to go!" I shout, grabbing clothes and stuffing them into bags. She sleepily sits up and glares at me. "What the hell are you doing Rose?" she says, stifling a yawn. "Court has been attacked, and we have to go back and restore the order," I say calmly. Lissa's face falls. "Wha, what do you mean? who-" she begins but I cut her off. "We have no time," I say and grab our bags, "Let's go." Jared stares at me wide eyes and then jumps in to help. "How are we going to get back to court? Our flight doesn't leave until 7," Lissa says, keeping her voice calm. "I'll find a way to bump us up," I say, determination burning through my chest. We make it to the airport and find a flight about to leave for Pennsylvania. The flight attendant almost doesn't let us board, but with a little help from compulsion, we make our way to our seats. "How many were killed," Lissa asks quietly. "Daniella said 5 so far," I say, mirroring her fear, "Who would help Strigoi get into court? I mean someone had to break the wards and they can't," I whisper in Lissa's ear. "I don't know," she says, voice shaking.