Chapter 1: Chapter ONE

The metallic sound of the door closing behind Mia and Vassili startled the young woman. The vampire’s face was devoid of hostility, but she didn’t feel comfortable knowing that Ethan was locked alone in that dark, damp room. The link had just been completed a few hours ago, and the memory of his bite was still fresh in her mind. Her body sought to tirelessly draw closer to the Vila, to touch his skin, and to feel the warmth of his flesh against hers. A real need to be in his presence had ignited, an unbearable desire to melt their two bodies. It was the only thing on her mind right now, but it was clearly not on the agenda.

“What are you going to do with him?” she inquired, her anguish evident in the tone of her voice.

A smile appeared on the vampire’s face. She read no malice there, but the man had proved that he knew how to put an act.

“Don’t worry, no one’s going to hurt him. Quite the contrary, we have a nice surprise for him...”

“Is that supposed to reassure me?” the young human raised her eyebrows. “He needed to be tied down and alone for that?”

“Does the time without his presence already seem long to you?” laughed the vampire, obviously thinking they were close enough for teasing.

Time in yours especially, thought Mia. After all, you betrayed Ethan’s trust. I have no reason to believe what you say.

She didn’t know how safe they were here and preferred to keep her word for herself until she learned more about their new role here. The blonde had understood that they had their uses in the eyes of the Resistance, but that didn’t make them guests of honor. Until then, everything led her to believe that they were more prisoners than allies.

Vassili sighed at the young human’s lack of reaction, making her giggle ironically in the back of her mind. Holding her tongue didn’t mean she was going to be overtly friendly to individuals who had forced them into a battle the ins and outs of which she didn’t yet understand. It had only been a few hours since their shenanigans had endangered her life and that of Ethan, and now they were demanding a new forced collaboration from them when they had just woken up from this nightmare.

“I know I can’t ask you to trust me after what was done to you, but I assure you that neither one of you are in danger. We are not your enemies.”

“Doesn’t feel like it since yesterday. Nor now.”

“You will be reunited in a few hours, and you will then be free to move around the city as you see fit,” Vassili explained, putting a hand on Mia’s shoulder to encourage her to move on. “In the meantime, Shaun will show you around your new home!”

The blonde resigned herself to following the vampire who led her through a narrow hallway that had other metal doors along the way. The driveway was dark and windowless, and the dampness of the stone made the place as inhospitable as possible. Torches lit the way, casting spooky shadows on the brown rock walls. If Mia had to guess what kind of place they were in, she would have bet on a prison. Quite the opposite of a reception reserved for guests.

After a few minutes of traveling down what looked more and more like an endless hallway, a door wider than the cells loomed in front of the pair. It was open, and a more intense light came out of it than the almost non-existent and artificial one in the hallway. As they got closer, she could make out the voices of two men bickering.

“Lars, Klein, I thought Ellana asked you to stop playing cards while on duty,” the vampire said as he entered the room, a smile on his face.

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Mia followed him closely to discover a room a few meters wide, much better lit than the hallway. The light seemed to come from what looked like oil lamps hung everywhere along the walls, allowing the occupants of the room to clearly distinguish each individual who passed through it. In one corner of the small hallway stood a wooden desk and two chairs, one behind the desk and one beside it. Sheets covered with inscriptions sat everywhere on the furniture, chaos of papers rising with each movement that the two men made while swinging a card on the pile in the middle. A small bench sat opposite the desk against the wall, and three old wooden lockers towered over the secretary, threatening to collapse on top of the individual seated directly in front of it at any moment.

The two men, both in their late forties, greeted the vampire with a single, annoyed look at the newcomer. They were concentrating on the few cards that lay in their hands, occasionally tossing them onto the pile. None seemed surprised to see the young woman in the wake of the vampire. To be honest, they didn’t give her a look, far too focused on their game.

“We’re bored in this damp cellar, Vassili,” replied one of the men, nonchalantly tossing a card on the desk, provoking a desperate pout from his partner.

He gathered up all his cards and tossed them angrily on the cabinet, twirling a few pieces of paper as he went.

“I think I’d rather be bored than play a game of Bursting with you, Lars,” continued the one she guessed was Klein. “I’ve never seen someone with so much luck, it makes me wonder if you’re not actually cheating.”

“How do you expect me to cheat at a game of chance?” challenged the accused with an angelic smile that only further annoyed his companion.

“Unlike you two, some people don’t have the luxury of being bored,” Vassili interrupted, approaching the desk to call the two men to order.

Klein sighed as he jerked open a drawer and pulled out a thick book, which he slammed against the wooden furniture. At the same time, Lars handed the vampire a quill which he quickly grabbed to scribble a few words and a signature in the book. During this time, the two men took the opportunity to stare at the blonde, making her immediately uncomfortable. Their looks weren’t hostile, but there was a flicker of curiosity dancing in their eyes, making the young woman feel like they were sizing her up.

“She’s the Vila’s soulmate?” Klein continued as the vampire put the quill down on the desk and was already starting to leave, the blonde hot on his heels. “It’s going to take a lot of work to make her look like a warrior...”

Lars coughed into his fist, embarrassed by his partner’s brusque frankness. They seemed once again much more aware of the fate of the young human than herself. Her tortured mind was thinking at high speed in an attempt to analyze what had just happened. They hadn’t yet agreed to fight alongside them, yet both men considered it to be just the same. It left a sour taste in her mouth, a feeling of not really having a choice.

If they expect me to look like a warrior, they’re sure to be disappointed... It’s already a miracle if I manage to run two kilometers without spitting my lungs.

A final corridor separated Vassili and Mia from the outside. She followed him silently, lost in thought. The blonde still had the impression that her mind was covered with a hazy veil that did not allow her to apprehend the situation to the fullest of her abilities. She felt half stoned, half unable to really focus on any task or coherent thought. Almost as if she had just emerged from a long night’s sleep, except that the fog of waking up didn’t seem to be dissipating quickly.

The vampire opened the heavy metal door that separated them from the cool air and pushed it open, allowing sunlight to stream into the damp hallway. Mia automatically brought her palm up to her eyebrows to hide her sensitive eyes, the intense light threatening to burn them. She blinked several times to force them to get used to the outdoors as she still followed the vampire, barely seeing where she was stepping.

“Welcome to Callis, the hidden human city!” Vassili exclaimed, pointing to the landscape in front of them.

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