Chapters 17-18 Summary

In Chapter 17, Lissa is trying to arrange for Rose to come with her, Camille, Natalie, and Uncle Victor to a mall. Dimitri will guard Lissa. While Lissa is talking about it, though, she opens her backpack and finds a dead dove. She instinctively reaches for it, but Rose stops her. Natalie walks in on them, and Rose goes to report the incident.

Rose gets permission to go on the trip, as a training exercise to guard Lissa as Dimitri's partner. Rose complains about not having a stake, and Dimitri asks if she would really be ready to kill a Strigoi, maybe even someone she'd known before they turned. Dimitri asks what she would want, if someone was going to turn her into a Strigoi, and Rose admits that she'd want someone to kill her. Victor says it reminds him of Mikhail...