


As a result, Lissa becomes depressed and engages in self-harm. Things proceed to get worse after Lissa finds dead animals in her room and threatening letters written in blood. It is also implied that Rose is jealous due to Lissa's interest in him, but Rose in turn starts falling for Dimitri. Lissa befriends Christian Ozera, a well-known Moroi who is negatively thought of due to his parents, Lucas and Moira's, reputation of becoming Strigoi willingly this sparks worry from Rose, who believes he is heading down the same path. Mia uses every opportunity to taunt Lissa, who is in turn insulted and threatened by Rose. On the very first day back, they find that another Moroi student, Mia Rinaldi, is dating Lissa's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, and that she holds a grudge against Lissa. They decide to keep company with Lissa's "cousin," Natalie Dashkov, who is the daughter of the frail and dying Victor Dashkov. Though they quickly fall into academy life, they discover that Lissa has lost her social place among the elite Moroi, a consequence of Rose and Lissa running away.

Rose agrees, conceding to the reality that this is the only way she will even have a chance to be appointed, on graduation, as Lissa's guardian. He also believes that Rose can be the ideal guardian for Lissa due to their rare, one-sided bond, which allows her to tap into the latter's emotions, thoughts, and, most importantly, her whereabouts. He offers to mentor Rose in extra classes, as he feels that she has potential and that by working hard, she can make up for the years she has lost. Upon their return, Guardian Dimitri Belikov, the leader of the guardians sent to track them down, is assigned to be Lissa's guardian. Vladimir's Academy, after running away two years ago. Guardian-in-training, Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway and the royal Moroi princess, Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir, are forced back to their school, St. Vladimir's – the very place where they're most in danger. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Rose Hathaway is a dhampir, a bodyguard in-training for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi vampire princess. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school – it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them.
