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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.