Chapter 1

Nicoleta slowly cast her gaze around the unfamiliar room, taking in her surroundings. Confused by the deep green walls, dark trim, and oak furniture, she had to admit it wasn't a horrible place to wake up. When she was sure she was alone, she sat up and continued to look around. The pounding in her skull the only remanence of the night before. She found herself in the middle of a large oak bed with soft green blankets and thick pillows. To her right, her wrist sheath and stiletto lied upon a small table next to a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin. She reached for her knife as she slid off the bed and saw that the door was left ajar.

She padded over and peaked through the opening. The rest of the dwelling appeared sparsely furnished, as well. A dark leather sofa was positioned in front of a large, mounted television that hung between two large, full bookcases. An exit was just on the other side of that couch and it was secured with nothing more than a deadbolt, locked from the inside. Pushing the door wider, she stepped out.

"Good morning," said a deep, raspy voice.

She spun, expecting to see a monster, but instead she saw dirty blond curls falling over eyes the color of a storm ravaged ocean. He sat at a small dining table, with an open, handwritten book and a few scattered photographs in front of him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Tilting his head to the right, he said, "I must have hit you harder than I thought."

Sucking in a breath, she stepped back. "No. You can't be," she shook her head, "Your eyes are blue."

She watched as his eyes changed. The iris darkened until she could no longer see the pupil and then spread out until there was nothing but blackness.

"You can control it? How?" The words tumbled out of her mouth in her surprise. She had never known they could hide their powers, or their aesthetics before. Of course, she'd never taken one down that cared to try. They usually just attacked. Savagely.

"Of course I can," he tilted his head to the left and turned the answer into a question, as if to say, "Why don't you know that?"

She didn't know if he was asking her or musing to himself, so she didn't answer. Not that she had an answer, anyway. Why would she know that?

"What do you want from me?" She asked, confusion crinkling her brow. "Why did you bring me here? Why not just kill me?"

"I want you to listen to me. That's all. If you still want to kill me after you hear what I have to say, I won't stop you."

"Why would I trust you?"

He gestured toward the stiletto she forgot she was holding, "I am unarmed. You can search me if you'd like," he smirked. With three days' worth of stubble across his strong jaw and shadows under his eyes, he didn't look soulless or evil. He looked exhausted. "Because I am not the one who has lied to you, Leta," he said after a moment.

"Is that so? Who has lied to me, then?" Crossing her arms over her chest, she couldn't believe she was listening to this. She couldn't deny her curiosity though. There was something about him that made her want to believe him and she was fairly sure it had nothing to do with his dimples.

Leaning back, he ran his hands through his hair, leaving it to stick up at odd angles. "My name is Lucien. I knew your mother," pausing, he slid an old photo across the table, "I knew your father, too."

Stepping forward she picked up the photograph, there were three faces smiling back at her. Lucien was on the right, looking exactly as he did now. Her mother stood in the middle, her blonde hair being swept across her face by the wind, and the smallest hint of a baby bump. Her arms were on the shoulders of the men on either side of her. Nicoleta didn't recognize the man on the left, but he had dark hair and eyes that were a shade closer to purple than blue. Just like hers. "Is that him? Is that my father?"

"It is," Lucien leaned forward again, as if to emphasize his words. "He was my best friend and he loved your mother."

"Why did you kill her then? Did you kill him too? Was your immortality worth their lives?" Shaking with anger, she bit back her tears.

"I didn't kill either of them," pausing, he looked down at the table and then back up to her face, "The Surori războinice did."

Taking a step back, Nicoleta shook her head. "Why would they do that? We hunt monsters. Creatures like you, not humans."

Lucien smiled and leaned back in his chair again, "Your father was like me. You are like me. Your mother was sent to kill him, but she fell in love with him instead."

"You're lying," she spat. "I don't have to hurt people to survive."

"Neither do I, and not all of us do. We're immortal with or without taking souls. We were cursed, a very long time ago, by powerful witches that were part of the Surori Războinice. We don't feel emotions the same way mortals do, the same way we used to. The soul stealers are seeking that. They want to feel and taking another's soul allows them to do so."

"You have killed 13 members of the Surori războinice in the past year."

"They deserved it. They killed my friends and took their daughter. Not to mention, they were trying to kill me."

Nicoleta couldn't stand there anymore, her knees were going to give out. She crossed the space between them and sat down, setting her knife on the table in front of her. "What was my father's name?"

"Fane. Stefan, actually, but everyone called him Fane."

Of course, she can't believe what a word he's said. She just can't figure out what he wants. Why tell her this dark fairy tale of his. Why not just kill her. What does he gain from turning her on her sisters? She'd have to play along. Long enough to find out what his game was at least. And long enough to find out why he had these photos and what he really knows about her parents, about her. Then she could kill him.

In the silence that followed, she started trying to fit this man, this abomination, into the story. Nothing about this made sense, but she had been suspicious of the Surori for a while now. She was missing pieces and she needed to find them if she wanted to put this puzzle together.

The order had told her that her parents were killed by the Wraith and that there was no reason for it; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They told her they would train her to avenge her parents and to protect people from such an awful fate. They pretended not to notice that she was different from the other warriors, but she was. She was faster, she was stronger. She was the best of her generation for a reason and she was sent after the toughest targets. As she watched him, she knew he had been waiting for her. She knew why the only bodies left in his wake were those of the warriors sent after him, and she knew why they wouldn't send her until none of the more experienced warriors were left. He knew something. She just had to find out what.

"They know I'm here," she realized, "they would never have trusted me to come after you without watching me."

"I know," he sighed. "There are others in town. No doubt, they have contacted the order and told them that I captured you."

No sooner than the words came out of his mouth, the door burst open and three Surori warriors filed into the room. Their faces were covered with scarves, so Nicoleta wasn't sure who they were before they attacked. Her. Why would they attack her? Why were they even here? This was her assignment. They had never shown up on one of her assignments before. Never not trusted her to complete her mission. Why is the target different than any other?

There was something going on, and she didn't appreciate being left in the dark. She knew now that she had to stick with the demon and find out more. She could kill him after she found the truth.

"What are you doing Nic?" her attacker spat, nodding toward Lucien. "Why isn't he dead?"

"He had some interesting things to say."

Shifting her aim to Nicoleta's head, the warrior cursed just before she pulled the trigger on her outdated handgun.

Somehow, Lucien managed to knock her out of the way before she was hit, and he herded her around the corner into a small bathroom and closed the door. "I don't have guns," he said, "We have to get them away from theirs if we're going to make it out of here."

"My daggers." Nicoleta replied.

"Here," Lucien said as he handed her the weapons. "Can you disarm them from here?"

"I can if they don't shoot me first." She was distracted from being impressed that he grabbed the knives when she noticed the blood on his arm, as well as the overwhelming impulse to get away from him start to rise again. "You were hit," she pointed out.

"I'll be fine. I heal fast," he said through gritted teeth as his eyes faded to black.

"Your eyes weren't black before," Nicoleta said, "and I wasn't afraid of you a moment ago. Did you just turn it all back on?" She had not known they could control the features the marked them for what they were so easily.

"Not exactly. It happens whenever I use my power. To heal, to frighten humans, to compel them, whatever."

"Are you doing that now? Compelling someone?"

"No. Just healing faster than I would without it. And, maybe keeping your friends out there a little nervous," he smiled.

Nodding her head, Nicoleta reached up to open the door. As the warriors turned in her direction, she threw the daggers, stabbing the leader of the group through her wrist and the woman to her left in the hand. Both of them dropped their weapons, however there was still a third problem and she was out of daggers.

"Put the weapon down," Lucien said from behind her.

The third enemy woman glanced around, unsure of what to do. In the end, she decided against putting down her gun. However, the momentary confusion allowed Nicoleta to attack the warrior and bring her to the ground while Lucien kept the other two busy. The weapon wasn't helping her any as long as Nicoleta sat on her back wrenching her arm as far back as it would go. Eventually, she dropped her weapon as well, and the battle became much easier to manage.

Lucien narrowly avoided being stabbed through the chest for the second time that day as Nicoleta threw one of her rediscovered daggers into the warrior he didn't have his eyes on. As she fell forward, Lucien pulled the dagger out and tossed it back to her. Without hesitation she ended the warrior underneath her and regained her feet.

"I never thought I'd be on this side of the fight," she sighed.

"Thank you for saving me," Lucien replied.

"Returning the favor. Besides, it turns out I am interested in hearing what you have to say."

The third warrior was still trying to put up a fight, but she was no longer a threat. It looked like her shoulder had been dislocated during her struggle with Lucien and she couldn't put any weight on her left leg.

"I'm not going to kill you," Nicoleta stepped forward. "Go back to the Sisters. Tell them I'm not returning until I know what happened to my parents, and I hope they weren't a part of it."