Vampire Academy: Last Sacrifice (Dimitri's POV)

Chapter 28

At the same time, Adrian dropped my disguise and the pair of us were revealed to the astonished Moroi in the crowd. Almost immediately we were enclosed in a ring of guardians pointing handguns at us. I tensed and, as Janine and Mikhail rushed forwards to defend us, I moved to join them.

"Don't!" Rose ordered, flinging her hands up in front of her to show that she meant no harm. I followed suit reluctantly as she pleaded, "Wait. Please listen to us first."

We were completely surrounded with some familiar faces and others that I didn't recognise at all. They all stared at us determinedly but warily, as if we were dangerous criminals preparing to strike at them any minute now. And then I remembered that, in their minds, we were. I could think what their plan was. Move Janine and Mikhail out of the way, knock us down. It wouldn't be hard for all those guardians to get an advantage over our two defenders. At least, it wouldn't have been until Abe and Jill joined them. Adrian hadn't tried to defend us, but he was also caught up in the tight circle, which meant three potential Moroi tragedies if the guardians tried to take us out. We were safe. For now.

"Haul us off later, if you want," Rose told them. "We won't resist. But you have to let us talk first. We know who killed the Queen." Did she really know it all? Had she pieced everything together before I had?

"So do we," one of the guardians replied. "Now, the rest of you...back away before you're hurt. These are dangerous fugitives."

"They need to talk," Abe insisted. "They have evidence." There was a pause as the guardians mulled this over, although they didn't look too convinced.

"Let them talk." Another voice rang out around the room, a voice with unsteady authority but purpose, the weight of its name making it almost revered in the room. They couldn't disobey this voice. I saw a small smile briefly flicker on Rose's lips and Lissa pushed her way through the guardians and one of them held onto her arm so that she couldn't come closer to us.

"They've come this far," she continued, "They were right about...Jill. You've got them. They can't go anywhere. Just let them talk. I've got evidence to support their case too."

"I'd hold off on sharing that, Liss," Rose muttered, resulting in a perplexed look from her best friend.

"Let's hear them," Hans' loud voice suggested. "After an escape like they pulled, I'd really like to know what brought them back."

I cannot express in words how grateful I was to Hans in that moment.

"But I'm sure you two will understand we'll have to restrain you before you make your great reveal." I turned to Rose and sighed, knowing that this would be mortifying but it was the only way to get things done.

"Okay," I told our defenders, "It's okay. Let them through." Neither of them shifted.

"Do it. Don't end up as our cellmates," Rose told them. Only then did they begin to move away, and even that was a reluctant movement. As soon as they moved away from us, they were snatched away by guardians and we were locked in place by two guardians each, restricted completely. Lissa stood only a few feet away, watching Rose intently.

"Get on with it," Hans ordered Rose, squeezing her arm. I narrowed my eyes. Rose took a deep breath staring at the crowd and I watched her face carefully, waiting to see the emotions play out and wondering how she was going to deliver the news.

"I didn't kill Tatiana Ivashkov," Rose announced to the grumbles of many in the crowd. "I didn't like her. But I didn't kill her." She turned to Hans. "You've questioned the janitor who testified about where I was during the murder, right? And he ID'd the man who attacked Lissa as the one who paid him off to lie about where I was?" Hans nodded slowly. "There's no record of his existence-at least not with the guardians. But the Alchemists know who he is. They saw him at one of their facilities-acting as a bodyguard. A bodyguard for someone who was let in to see Tatiana on the night she died: Tasha Ozera." The audience was so stunned, only Tasha actually attempted to say anything. She leapt angrily to her feet with all the fire I knew she held inside her.