Last Sacrifice

Last Sacrifice (2010) is the final novel in Richelle Mead’s six-volume Vampire Academy series. Written for a young adult audience, the series takes places in a modern-day fantasy setting where vampires exist. The novels trace conflicts in vampire society that arise from a variety of sources: between Moroi vampires, who are benevolent and mortal, and Strogoi vampires, who are immortal, undead, and evil; between two governing Moroi families, the Dashkovs and the Dragomirs; and between vampires and vampire-adjacent species, such as the dhampirs, half-human, half-vampire hybrids who function as Moroi protectors, and the Alchemists, special long-lived humans who keep vampire and dhampir existence secret.

Last Sacrifice opens with the series protagonist, the dhampir Rose Hathaway, in Moroi prison. At the end of the last book, someone had framed her for the murder of the previous Moroi Queen, Tatiana Ivashkov. As Rose considers her options before she is summarily executed, she uses a mental link to communicate with her best friend and now possible heir to the throne, Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir. Through this telepathic link, Rose sees that proving Lissa’s claim to the throne requires finding Lissa’s illegitimate half-sibling (the son or daughter of Lissa’s father, Eric Dragomir).

Several of Rose’s fellow dhampir friends create a diversion during Queen Tatiana’s funeral, which distracts the dhampir Guardians and allows Rose’s friends to break her out of her cell. Although Rose is in a relationship with Adrian, she has been growing closer to another dhampir, Dimitri, who now spirits her away to West Virginia, to a human Alchemist named Sydney who leaves Rose in the protection of the Keepers, a group of unallied Moroi, dhampirs, and humans.



When Rose reveals that she must find Lissa’s half-sibling, she gets the unwelcome help of the two Dashkov half-brothers, who want to find this missing Dragomir for their own purposes. When they invade her dreams, Rose tells them that the individual who knows how to find the missing person is Sonya Karp. This is a problem, since Sonya is a Strigoi. Here, one of the brothers, Robert Dashkov, proves useful, since he is able to change Sonya back into a Moroi by impaling her with a magical silver stake. In gratitude, Sonya shows them to the Michigan house of Jillian “Jill” Mastrano, who is revealed to be Lissa’s half-sister.

In the meantime, Lissa is getting closer to becoming a viable candidate for the throne. She successfully passes a series of complex tests to prove her worth, forcing a heated deliberation within the ranks of court Moroi.

The prison’s Guardians catch up with Rose at Jill’s house, and in the ensuing chaos, the Dashkovs kidnap Jill. But they can’t hide her for long: Sonya uses her abilities to locate them. She also tells Rose that she can see the strong love auras that glow when Rose and Dimitri are together. When Rose and Dimitri catch up with the Dashkovs, they get into a fight over Jill. In a rage, Rose accidentally kills Robert, which crushes her. As Dimitri comforts Rose, he confesses that he is in love with her but that he won’t try to be with her if she is still committed to Adrian. Rose admits to herself that Dimitri is actually her true love, and they end up having sex.



Before Rose gets the chance to break up with Adrian, he sees her kissing Dimitri. Nothing can be resolved, however, as the group receives word from Sydney and the other Alchemists that they’ve identified Queen Tatiana’s real murderer.

Everyone reconvenes back at court to make a presentation to the vampire Council. Rose introduces the court to Jill, and her existence and relation to the Dragomir bloodline mean that Lissa could actually become the new Queen according to vampire tradition. Rose also reveals the evidence that clears her own name and proves that Queen Tatiana was actually killed by her longtime political rival, Natasha Ozera, because of disagreements about the way dhampirs should be treated. As she describes the murder and the way she was framed, Rose realizes why Natasha targeted her: Natasha has always wanted Dimitri for herself, and framing Rose would get her out of the way.

The Guardians attempt to arrest Natasha, who grabs a hostage and threatens them with her gun. Lissa rushes at Natasha to prevent her from leaving the Council chamber, but Natasha shoots. Following her dhampir protector training, Rose jumps in front of Lissa and takes the bullet in the chest. She blacks out.



When she wakes up a few days later, Rose sees that Dimitri is by her side. He tells her that their legal status as Guardians has been restored and that all the charges against Rose have been dropped. Not only that, but since they are now protecting different vampires, they can have a relationship in the open. At this point, Lissa enters the room and announces that she has been crowned Queen after winning the royal election—something she has Rose to thank for, since it was only possible because Rose found Jill.

As she recuperates, Rose is finally able to make a clean break with Adrian and fully devote herself to a relationship with Dimitri.

The series ends with Lissa’s coronation ceremony. As Rose watches her best friend become Queen, she is completely happy and looking forward to the future.