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Her composure calmed everybody; her strong manner inspired them. This, I realized, was how a leader behaved.

Dimitri was just as collected as she was, but he deferred to her to run things. I had to remind myself sometimes that he was young as far as guardians went. They discussed the attack more, how the Drozdovs had been having a belated Christmas party in a banquet hall when they were attacked.

"First Badicas, now Drozdovs," muttered one guardian. "They're going after royals."

"They're going after Moroi," said Dimitri flatly. "Royal. Non-royal. It doesn't matter."

Royal. Non-royal. I suddenly knew why the Drozdovs were important. My spontaneous instincts wanted me to jump up and ask a question right now, but I knew better. This was the real deal. This was no time for irrational behavior. I wanted to be as strong as my mother and Dimitri, so I waited for the discussion to end.

When the group started to break up, I leapt up off the sofa and pushed my way toward my mother.

"Rose," she said, surprised. Like in Stan's class, she hadn't noticed me in the room. "What are you doing here?"

It was such a stupid question, I didn't try to answer it. What did she think I was doing here? This was one of the biggest things to happen to the Moroi.

I pointed to her clipboard. "Who else was killed?"

Irritation wrinkled her forehead. "Drozdovs."

"But who else?"

"Rose, we don't have time- "

"They had staff, right? Dimitri said non-royals. Who were they?"

Again, I saw the weariness in her. She took these deaths hard. "I don't know all the names." Flipping through a few pages, she turned the clipboard toward me. "There."

I scanned the list. My heart sank.

"Okay," I told her. "Thanks."

Lissa and I left them to go about their business. I wished I could have helped, but the guardians ran smoothly and efficiently on their own; they had no need for novices underfoot.

"What was that about?" asked Lissa, once we were heading back to the main part of the lodge.

"The Drozdovs' staff," I said. "Mia's mom worked for them...."

Lissa gasped. "And?"

I sighed. "And her name was on the list."

"Oh God." Lissa stopped walking. She stared off into space, blinking back tears. "Oh God," she repeated.

I moved in front of her and placed my hands on her shoulders. She was shaking.

"It's okay," I said. Her fear came to me in waves, but it was a numbed fear. Shock. "This is going to be okay."

"You heard them," she said. "There's a band of Strigoi organizing and attacking us! How many? Are they coming here?"

"No," I said firmly. I had no evidence of that, of course. "We're safe here."

"Poor Mia ..."

There was nothing I could say to that. I thought Mia was an absolute bitch, but I wouldn't wish this on anyone, not even my worst enemy- which, technically, she was. Immediately, I corrected that thought. Mia wasn't my worst enemy.

I couldn't bear to leave Lissa's side for the rest of the day. I knew there were no Strigoi lurking in the lodge, but my protective instincts ran too strong. Guardians protected their Moroi. Like usual, I also worried about her being anxious and upset, so I did my best to diffuse those feelings.

The other guardians provided reassurance for Moroi too. They didn't walk side by side with the Moroi, but they reinforced lodge security and stayed in constant communication with guardians at the scene of the attack. Information flowed in all day about the grisly specifics, as well as speculation about where the band of Strigoi was. Little of this was shared with novices, of course.

While the guardians did what they did best, the Moroi also did what they- unfortunately- did best: talk.

With so many royals and other important Moroi at the lodge, a meeting was organized that night to discuss what had happened and what might be done in the future. Nothing official would be decided here; the Moroi had a queen and a governing council elsewhere for those types of decisions. Everyone knew, though, that opinions gathered here would make their way up the chain of command. Our future safety could very well depend on what was discussed in this meeting.

It was held in an enormous banquet hall inside the lodge, one with a podium and plenty of seating. Despite the businesslike atmosphere, you could tell this room had been designed for things other than meetings about massacres and defense. The carpet had the texture of velvet and showed an ornate floral design in shades of