Viktoria’s expression was hard, but she nodded politely. “Thank you.”

“Is it true he fell defending Moroi?”

I didn’t like the sneer in Denis’s voice, but it was Karolina who voiced my angry thoughts. I hadn’t noticed her approaching our group. She didn’t look happy to see Denis at all.

“He fell fighting Strigoi. He died a hero.”

Denis shrugged, unaffected by the angry tone of her voice. “Still makes him dead. I’m sure the Moroi will sing his name for years to come.”

“They will,” I replied. “He saved a whole group of them. And dhampirs too.”

Denis’s gaze fell back on me, his eyes thoughtful as he studied my face for a few seconds. “I heard you were there too. That both of you were sent into an impossible battle.”

“It wasn’t impossible. We won.”

“Would Dimitri say that if he were alive?”

Karolina crossed her arms over her chest. “If you’re only here to start something, then you should leave. This is a church.” It was funny. Upon meeting her, I’d thought she seemed so gentle and kind, just an ordinary young mother working to support her family. But in this moment, she seemed more like Dimitri than ever. I could see that same strength within her, that fierceness that drove her to protect loved ones and stand up to her enemies. Not that these guys were her enemies, exactly. I honestly didn’t yet understand who they were.

“We’re just talking,” said Denis. “I just want to understand what happened to your brother. Believe me, I think his death was a tragedy.”

“He wouldn’t have regretted it,” I told them. “He died fighting for what he believed in.”

“Defending others who took him for granted.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh?” Denis gave me a lopsided smile. “Then why don’t you work for the guardians? You’ve killed Strigoi but have no promise mark. Not even a graduation mark, I heard. Why aren’t you out there throwing yourself in front of Moroi?”

“Denis,” said Nikolai uneasily, “please just leave.”

“I’m not talking to you, Kolya.” Denis’s eyes were still on me. “I’m just trying to figure Rose out. She kills Strigoi but doesn’t work for the guardians.

She’s clearly not like the rest of you soft people in this town. Maybe she’s more like us.”

“She’s nothing like you,” Viktoria snapped back.

I got it then, and a chill ran down my spine. These were the kind of dhampirs that Mark had been talking about. The true unpromised ones. The vigilantes who sought out Strigoi on their own, the ones who neither settled down nor answered to any guardians. They shouldn’t have unnerved me, not really. In some ways, Denis was right. In the simplest terms, I really was like them. And yet… there was an air about these guys that just rubbed me the wrong way.

“Then why are you in Russia?” asked one of Denis’s friends. I already couldn’t remember his name. “This is a long trip for you. You wouldn’t have come here without a good reason.”

Viktoria was picking up her sister’s anger. “She came to tell us about Dimka.”

Denis eyed me. “I think she’s here to hunt Strigoi. There are more in Russia to choose from than there are in the States.”

“She wouldn’t be in Baia if she was hunting Strigoi, you idiot,” returned Viktoria evenly. “She’d be in Vladivostok or Novosibirsk or somewhere like that.”

Novosibirsk. The name was familiar. But where had I heard it? A moment later, the answer came to me. Sydney had mentioned it. Novosibirsk was the largest city in Siberia.

Denis continued. “Maybe she’s just passing through. Maybe she’ll want to join us when we go to Novosibirsk tomorrow.”

“For God’s sake,” I exclaimed. “I’m right here. Stop talking about me like I’m not. And why would I want to go with you?”

Denis’s eyes gleamed with an intense, feverish light. “Good hunting there. Lots of Strigoi. Come with us, and you can help us go after them.”

“And how many of you will come back from this?” Karolina asked in a hard voice. “Where’s Timosha? Where’s Vasiliy? Your hunting party keeps getting smaller each time you return here. Which one of you will be next? Whose family will be the next to mourn?”

“Easy for you to talk,” retorted the friend. Lev, I think his name was. “You stay here and do nothing while we go out and keep you safe.”

Karolina gave him a disgusted look, and I recalled how she was dating a guardian. “You go out and rush into situations without thinking. If you want to keep us safe, then stay here and defend your families when they need it. If you want to go after Strigoi, go join the guardians and work with those who have some sense.”

“The guardians don’t hunt Strigoi!” cried Denis. “They sit and wait and cower before the Moroi.”

The unfortunate part was, he had a point. But not entirely.

“That’s changing,” I said. “There’s a movement to start taking the offensive against the Strigoi. There’s also talk of the Moroi learning to fight with us. You could help be a part of that.”

“Like you are?” he laughed. “You still haven’t told us why you’re here and not with them. You can say what you want to the rest of this group, but I know why you’re here. I can see it in you.” The crazy, eerie look he gave me almost made me think that he could. “You know the only way to rid the world of evil is to do it on our own. To seek out the Strigoi ourselves and kill them, one by one.”

“Without a plan,” finished Karolina. “Without any thought of the consequences.”

“We’re strong and we know how to fight. That’s all we need to know when it comes to killing Strigoi.”

And that was when I understood. I finally got what Mark had been trying to tell me. Denis was saying exactly what I had been thinking since I left St. Vladimir’s. I’d run off without a plan, wanting to throw myself into danger because I felt I had a mission that only I could carry out. Only I could kill Dimitri. Only I could destroy the evil within him. I’d been giving no thought to how I’d pull it off-seeing as Dimitri had beat me more often than not in fights when he was still a dhampir. With a Strigoi’s strength and speed now? The odds were definitely against me. Still, I hadn’t cared. I’d been obsessed, convinced I had to do this.

In my own head, what I had to do made sense, but now… hearing those sentiments from Denis, it sounded crazy. Just as reckless as Mark had warned. Their motives might be good-just as mine were-but they were also suicidal. Without Dimitri, I honestly hadn’t cared much about my own life. I’d never been afraid to risk it before, but now I realized there was a big difference between dying uselessly and dying for a reason. If I died trying to kill Dimitri because I had no strategy, then my life would have meant nothing.

Just then, the priest walked over and said something to us in Russian. From his tone and expression, I think he was asking if everything was okay.

He’d mingled with the rest of the congregation after the service. Being human, he probably didn’t know all the dhampir politics afoot, but he could undoubtedly sense trouble.

Denis offered him a simpering smile and gave what sounded like a polite explanation. The priest smiled in return, nodded, and wandered off when someone else called to him.

“Enough,” said Karolina harshly, once the priest was out of earshot. “You need to go. Now.”

Denis’s body tensed, and mine responded, ready for a fight. I thought he might start something then and there. A few seconds later, he relaxed and turned to me.

“Show them to me first.”

“Show you what?” I asked.

“The marks. Show me how many Strigoi you’ve killed.”

I didn’t respond right away, wondering if this was a trick. Everyone’s eyes were on me. Turning slightly, I lifted the hair off the back of my neck and showed my tattoos. Little lightning-shaped molnija marks were there, along with the mark I’d gotten for the battle. From the sound of Denis’s gasp, I was guessing he’d never seen that many kills before. I let my hair go and met his gaze levelly.