"What?" For a minute I thought he was talking about the medical center.
"The battle with the Strigoi! The rescue. We've been hearing all sorts of things."
"Already? What did you hear?"
The guy's eyes were wide and excited. "They say almost every guardian died. But that you captured a Strigoi and brought him back."
"No, no... there were more injuries than deaths. And the other..." For a moment, I couldn't breathe. What had happened? What had really happened with Dimitri? "A Strigoi was changed back to a dhampir."
The doorman stared. "Were you hit on the head?"
"I'm telling the truth! Vasilisa Dragomir did it. With her spirit power. Spread that around."
I left him with his mouth hanging open. And like that, I had no more options, no one else to get information from. I went back to my room feeling defeated but far too keyed up to sleep. At least, that's what I initially thought. After some pacing, I sat on the bed to try to come up with a plan. Yet before long, I felt myself falling into a heavy sleep.
I awoke with a start, confused and aching in parts of my body that I hadn't realized had taken hits in the fight. I peered at the clock, astonished at how long I'd slept. In vampire time, it was late morning. Within five minutes, I had showered and put on non-torn, non-bloody clothes. Just like that, I was out the door.
People were out and about their daily business, yet every couple or group I passed seemed to be talking about the battle at the warehouse--and about Dimitri.
"You know she can heal," I heard one Moroi guy say to his wife. "Why not Strigoi? Why not the dead?"
"It's insane," the woman countered. "I've never believed in this spirit thing anyway. It's a lie to cover up the fact that the Dragomir girl never specialized."
I didn't hear the rest of their conversation, but others I passed had similar themes. People were either convinced the whole thing was a scam or were regarding Lissa as a saint already. Every so often, I'd heard something weird, like that the guardians had captured a bunch of Strigoi to experiment on. In all the speculation, though, I never heard Dimitri's name come up or knew what was really happening to him.
I followed the only plan I had: Go to the guardian building that held the Court's jail, though I was unsure what I'd actually do when I got there. I wasn't even entirely sure that was where Dimitri still was, but it seemed the most likely place. When I passed a guardian along the way, it took me several seconds to realize I knew him. I came to a halt and turned.
"Mikhail!" He glanced back and, seeing me, walked over. "What's going on?" I asked, relieved to see a friendly face. "Have they let Dimitri out?"
He shook his head. "No, they're still trying to figure out what happened. Everyone's confused, even though the princess still swore up and down after she saw him that he's not Strigoi anymore."
There was a wonder in Mikhail's voice--and wistfulness too. He was hoping that it was true, that there might be a chance for his beloved to be saved. My heart ached for him. I hoped he and Sonya could have a happy ending just like--
"Wait. What did you say?" His words drew my romantic musings to a halt. "Did you say Lissa saw him? You mean after the fight?" I immediately reached for the bond. It was gradually growing clearer--but Lissa was asleep, so I learned nothing.
"He asked for her," Mikhail explained. "So they let her in--guarded, of course."
I stared, my jaw nearly dropping to the ground. Dimitri was seeing visitors. They were actually letting him see visitors. The knowledge lit up the dark mood that had been building in me. I turned away. "Thanks, Mikhail."
"Wait, Rose--"
But I didn't stop. I ran to the guardians' holding building at a full-out sprint, oblivious to the looks I got. I was too excited, too invigorated with this new info. I could see Dimitri. I could finally be with him, back the way he was supposed to be.
"You can't see him."
I literally came to a halt when the guardian on duty in the front reception area stopped me.
"Wh-what? I need to see Dimitri."
"No visitors."
"But Lissa--er, Vasilisa Dragomir got to see him."
"He asked for her."
I stared incredulously. "He must have asked for me too."
The guardian shrugged. "If he did, no one's told me."