Last Sacrifice

It was a new voice, but a voice I knew by heart. Lissa pushed her way through two of the guardians. They held their tight position, the immediate concern being that we not escape. This allowed her to slip through—but only so one could grab her arm and stop her from reaching us.

'They've come this far. They were right about . . . Jill.' Boy, that was not easy for her to say with a straight face, seeing as she hadn't entirely come to terms with the issue. My imminent death was probably the only thing distracting her from the earth shattering experience of learning she had a potential sibling. She too was taking a lot on faith here, confident I was telling the truth. '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,' I said in a low voice. Lissa still believed Daniella was the killer and wasn't going to like hearing the truth. Lissa flashed me a confused look but didn't protest.

'Let's hear them,' said one of the guardians—and not just any: Hans. 'After an escape like they pulled, I'd really like to know what brought them back.'

Hans was helping us?

'But,' he continued, 'I'm sure you two will understand we'll have to restrain you before you make your great reveal.'

I looked at Dimitri who had already turned to me. We'd both known what we were getting ourselves into, and honestly, this was a better scenario than I'd envisioned.

'Okay,' said Dimitri. He glanced at our noble protectors. 'It's okay. Let them get through.'

My mom and the others didn't move right away. 'Do it,' I said. 'Don't end up as our cellmates.'

I thought for sure those loveable fools wouldn't listen to me. But Mikhail backed off first, and then the others did too, practically in sync. In a flash, guardians seized them all, leading them away. Dimitri and I stayed put, and four guardians moved in, two for Dimitri and two for me. Adrian had retreated with the others, but Lissa still stood a few feet away from us, all her trust in me.

'Get on with it,' said Hans. He gripped my right arm tightly.

I met Lissa's eyes, hating what I had to say. But, no. She wasn't the one I was worried about hurting the most. Looking out into the audience, I found Christian, who was understandably watching this drama with avid attention. I had to turn away and stare at the crowd as a whole, refusing to see individual faces. Just a blur.

'I didn't kill Tatiana Ivashkov,' I said. Several people grumbled doubtfully. 'I didn't like her. But I didn't kill her.' I glanced at 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?' I'd learned from Mikhail that Joe had eventually admitted to taking money from the mystery Moroi, once the guardians had cornered him with the picture.

Hans frowned, hesitated, and then nodded for me to continue.

'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 someone's bodyguard.' My eyes fell on Ethan Moore, who stood with the guardians near the door. 'A bodyguard for someone who was let in to see Tatiana the night she died: Tasha Ozera.'

There was no need for any uproar from the audience this time because Tasha more than made up for it on her own. She'd been sitting next to Christian and sprang up from her chair.

'What on earth are you saying, Rose?' she exclaimed. 'Are you out of your mind?'

When I'd stood there defiantly, ready to face the crowd and demand justice, I'd been full of triumph and power. Now . . . now I was just sad as I stared at someone I'd always trusted, someone who was staring back at me with so much shock and hurt.

'I wish I was . . . but it's true. We both know it is. You killed Tatiana.'

Tasha's disbelief grew, tinged now with a little anger, though she still seemed to be giving me the benefit of the doubt. 'I never, never believed you killed her—and I've fought for you on that. Why are you doing this? Are you playing on the Strigoi taint in our family? I thought you were above that kind of prejudice.'

I swallowed. I'd thought getting evidence would be the hard part. It was nothing compared to revealing it. 'What I'm saying has nothing to do with Strigoi. I almost wish it did. You hated Tatiana for her age law and refusal to let Moroi fight.' Another memory came to me, when Tasha had learned about the secret training sessions. Tasha had been aghast with what I now suspected might have been guilt at misjudging the queen.

The crowd was riveted and stunned, but one person came to life: an Ozera I didn't know but who apparently had family solidarity on his mind. He stood up, crossing his arms defiantly. 'Half this Court hated Tatiana for that law. You among them.'

'I didn't have my bodyguard bribe a witness or attack Lis—Princess Dragomir. And don't pretend you didn't know the guy,' I warned her. 'He was your bodyguard. You were seen together.' Ian's description of her when she visited St. Louis had been perfectly clear: long black hair, pale blue eyes, and scarring on one side of her face.

'Rose, I can't even believe this is happening, but if James—that was his name—did whatever you're talking about, then he acted alone. He always had radical ideas. I knew that when I hired him as outside protection, but I never thought he was capable of murder.' She glanced around, looking for someone in charge, and finally settled on the Council. 'I've always believed Rose was innocent. If James is the one responsible for this, then I'm more than happy to tell you whatever I know to clear Rose's name.'

So, so easy. The mystery Moroi—James—was almost everywhere Tasha had been. He'd also been spotted in suspicious situations where she hadn't been—like Joe's bribery and Lissa's attack. I could save Tasha and just blame it all on him. He was already dead. Tasha and I could stay friends. She'd acted on principle, right? What was wrong with that?

Christian stood up beside her, looking at me like I was a stranger. 'Rose, how can you say any of this? You know her. You know she wouldn't do it. Stop making a scene and let us figure out how that James guy killed the queen.'

So, so easy. Blame the dead man.

'James couldn't have staked Tatiana,' I said. 'He had an injured hand. It takes both hands for a Moroi to stake someone. I've seen it happen twice now. And I bet if you can get a straight answer out of Ethan Moore . . .' I glanced over at the guardian who had gone pale. He could probably jump into a fight and kill without hesitation. But this kind of scrutiny? And eventual interrogation by his peers? I didn't think he'd hold up. It was probably the reason Tasha had been able to manipulate him. 'James wasn't there the night Tatiana died, was he? And I don't think Daniella Ivashkov was either, despite what Princess Dragomir was told earlier. But Tasha was. She was in the queen's chambers—and you didn't report it.'

Ethan looked like he wanted to bolt, but his odds of escape were about as good as mine and Dimitri's. He slowly shook his head. 'Tasha wouldn't kill anyone.' Not exactly the confirmation of her location I wanted—but close. The guardians would get more out of him later.

'Rose!' Christian was pissed off now. Seeing him look at me with such outrage hurt even more than Tasha's expression. 'Stop it!'

Lissa took a few hesitant steps forward. I could feel in her mind that she didn't want to believe what I was saying either . . . yet she still trusted me. She thought of a controversial solution. 'I know it's wrong . . . but if we used compulsion on the suspects . . .'

'Don't even suggest that!' exclaimed Tasha, turning her sharp eyes on Lissa. 'Stay out of this. Your future's on the line here. A future that could make you great and achieve the things our people need.'

'A future you could manipulate,' I realized. 'Lissa believes in a lot of the reforms you do . . . and you think you could convince her of ones she doesn't. Especially if she's with your nephew. That's why you've fought so hard to change the quorum law. You wanted her to be queen.'

Christian started to step forward, but Tasha laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. It didn't stop him from speaking. 'That's idiotic. If she wanted Lissa to be queen, why make that James guy attack her?'

That was a mystery for me too, one of the holes I hadn't quite figured out. But Dimitri had. Conscious of his two guards, he shifted closer to me.

'Because no one was supposed to die.' Dimitri's low, resonant voice sounded wonderful with the room's acoustics. He needed no microphone as he directed his words to Tasha. 'You didn't expect a guardian to be with her.' He was right, I realized. Eddie had been drafted that night under weird circumstances and only barely made it