Last Sacrifice

position and authority. She took each step with confidence, remembering that her grandfather had also walked this path. She tried to give the crowd a smile that was both dignified but genuine. It must have worked because they went even wilder. And when she paused to comment on a dragon banner a man had painted in support, the artist nearly passed out that someone like her would notice and compliment him.

'This is unprecedented,' remarked my mom, once they'd safely made it inside. 'There's never been this sort of turnout. There certainly wasn't during the last election.'

'Why so great this time?' asked Lissa, who was trying to get her breathing under control.

'Because there's so much sensation, between the murder and you muddling the law. That and . . . well, the way you're winning the hearts of every non-royal out there. The dhampirs too. There's a dragon sign in one of our coffee rooms, you know. I even think some of the royals love you, though maybe it's just to spite whatever family they're feuding with. But seriously? If this were up to all of the people and not just the Council—and well, if it was a vote you were eligible for—I think you'd win.'

Lissa grimaced but then reluctantly added, 'Honestly? I think we should have popular votes for our leaders. Every Moroi should cast a vote, not just a handful of elite families.'

'Careful there, princess,' teased Christian, putting his arm through hers. 'That's the kind of talk that'll start another revolution. One at a time, okay?'

The ballroom's crowd wasn't as crazy as the outside one had been—but was pretty close. The guardians were ready for the numbers this time and had made sure to keep strict control from the very beginning. They kept a tight count of how many were allowed in the room and stopped royal and non-royal squabbles. It was still intimidating, and Lissa reminded herself over and over that playing this role was helping me. For me, she would endure anything, even the fanfare. This time, fortunately, Lissa was swept up pretty quickly to the room's front, to where three chairs facing the crowd had been set up for the candidates. Rufus and Marie were already seated, speaking in low voices to a few select family members. Guardians stood around them. Lissa sat alone, of course, but nodded to nearby guards when Tasha approached.

Tasha crouched beside Lissa, speaking low and keeping a wary eye on Rufus as he talked to someone. 'Bad news. Well, depending on how you look at it. Ethan says Daniella was there that night. She and Tatiana met alone. He didn't realize it hadn't been put on the records. Someone else wrote those up on behalf of all the guards on duty, but he swears he saw Daniella himself.'

Lissa winced. Secretly, she'd been hoping—praying, even—that she'd made a mistake, that surely Adrian's mother couldn't have done this. She gave a swift nod to show she understood.

'I'm sorry,' said Tasha. 'I know you liked her.'

'I think I'm more worried about Adrian. I don't know how he'll take it.'

'Hard,' said Tasha bluntly. After what she'd faced with Christian's parents, she knew better than anyone else what it was like to have family betray you. 'But he'll make it through. And as soon as we can put all this evidence forward, we'll have Dimitri and Rose back.'

Those words filled Lissa with hope, strengthening her. 'I miss her so much,' she said. 'I wish she was here already.'

Tasha gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her shoulder. 'Soon. They'll be back soon. Just get through this for now. You can do this. You can change everything.'

Lissa wasn't so sure about that, but Tasha hurried off to join her 'activist friends' and was replaced by— Daniella.

She'd come to talk to Rufus, offering support and family love. Lissa couldn't bear to look at the older woman and felt even worse when Daniella spoke to her.

'I'm not sure how you got involved with this, dear, but good luck.' Daniella's smile seemed sincere, but there was no question which candidate she supported. Her kindly expression turned to concern. 'Have you seen Adrian? I thought for sure he'd be here. I know the guardians would let him in.'

Excellent question. Lissa hadn't seen him in the last day or so. 'I haven't. Maybe he's just running late. Doing his hair or something.' Hopefully not passed out somewhere.

Daniella sighed. 'I hope so.'

She left, taking a seat in the audience. Once again, Adrian's father was running the session, and after several false starts, the room quieted.

'In the last week,' Nathan began, speaking into a microphone, 'many worthy candidates have taken the tests required to rule our people. Before us sit the final three: Rufus Tarus, Marie Conta, and Vasilisa Dragomir.' Nathan's tone sounded displeased over that last one, but thus far, the law would let her give her speech. After that, the law's inconsistency kicked in, and all hell would break loose.

'These three have shown they have the ability to rule, and as their last act, before we vote, each will speak about their plans for our people.'

Rufus was up first, delivering exactly the kind of speech I'd expected. He played on Moroi fears, promising extreme forms of protection—most of which involved dhampirs but didn't get into much detail.

'Our safety must be our top priority,' he proclaimed. 'At all costs. Will it be difficult? Yes. Will there be sacrifices? Yes. But aren't our children worth it? Don't we care about them?' Bringing children into it was just low, I decided. At least he'd left puppies out.

He also used dirty politician tricks, slandering his rivals. Marie was mostly slammed for her family's lack of activity. Lissa, however, was a great target. He pushed her age, the danger of spirit, and the fact that her being there in the first place was a violation of the law.

Marie's speech was much more thoughtful and detailed. She laid out very explicit plans on all sorts of issues, most of which were reasonable. I didn't agree with all she said, but she was clearly competent and didn't lower herself to mocking her competition. Unfortunately, she wasn't nearly as charismatic as Rufus, and it was a sad truth that that could make a big difference. Her monotone closing summed up not only her speech but also her personality.

'Those are the reasons why I should be queen. I hope you enjoyed this talk and will vote for me when the time comes. Thank you.' She abruptly sat down.

Lissa's turn came at last. Standing before her microphone, she suddenly saw the chalice's dream, where she'd faltered in front of the Council. But no, this was reality. She wouldn't fail. She would go forward.

'We're a people at war,' she began, voice loud and clear. 'We're constantly attacked—but not just by Strigoi. By one another. We're divided. We fight with one another. Family against family. Royal against non-royal. Moroi against dhampir. Of course the Strigoi are picking us off. They're at least united behind a goal: killing.'

If I had been sitting there in that audience, I would have been leaning forward, mouth open. As it was, there were plenty of people there to do it for me. Her words were volatile. Shocking. And utterly captivating.

'We are one people,' she continued. 'Moroi and dhampir alike.' Yeah, that got some gasps too. 'And while it's impossible for every single person to get their way, no one will get anything done if we don't come together and find ways to meet in the middle—even if it means making hard choices.'

Then, extraordinarily, she explained how it could be done. True, she didn't have the time to give fine details on every single issue in our world, but she hit a lot of the big ones. And she managed to do it in a way that didn't offend anyone too badly. After all, she was right in saying not everyone could get their way. Still, she spoke about how the dhampirs were our best warriors—and would be better with a stronger voice. She spoke about how non-royals needed a greater voice too—but not at the cost of losing the exalted royal lines that defined our people. Finally, in addressing the issue of training Moroi to defend themselves, she did emphasize its importance—but not as something mandatory and not as the only method needing to be explored.

Yes, she gave something to everyone and did it beautifully and charismatically. It was the kind of speech that could make people follow her anywhere. She concluded with, 'We have always mixed the old with the new. We've kept magic alongside technology. We conduct these sessions with scrolls and—with these.' She smiled and tapped her microphone. 'That's how we have survived. We hold onto our pasts and embrace our present. We take the best of it all and grow stronger. That's how we have survived. That's how we will survive.'

Silence met her conclusion—and then the cheers began. I actually heard the roar from outside on the lawn before it started within. People I would have sworn supported others were practically in tears, and I hadn't forgotten that most of the people I had visuals on in this room were royal. Lissa herself wanted to burst into tears