Unbalanced

III

It only took one more wave of Lucien’s power rolling through the apartment to convince the final Surori to it was time to go.

“Do you think she’ll carry your message back to the elders?” Lucien asked, quietly.

“Oh, I’m sure of it. What better news to carry home than the golden girl turned traitor and killed her own sisters,” she laughed, “they’ll probably think you’ve developed some kind of mind control to use me as a weapon against them.”

Shaking his head, Lucien said, “They’re the ones using vile tactics to turn strong women into cannon fodder for their endless war.”

“Did you just call me cannon fodder?” she asked.

Lucien put his hands in the air in a clear sign of surrender and shook his head.

“I’ll show you cannon Fodder,” she muttered as she stepped over the body of her fallen sister and went back to the table where the photograph of her parents still sat, undisturbed, on the table.

“Rain check,” said Lucien. “We can’t stay here. It won’t be long before they send more.”

Nicoleta raised an eyebrow and leaned back in her chair.

“Unless you would like to stay and leave more of your friends on my floor,” he allowed.

Grimacing, Nic replied, “I guess you’re right. We should go. Uh… where, exactly, are we going?”

“No idea,” he sighed. “How about we just find somewhere to hole up and get some sleep for now. I don’t know about you, but I’ve used a lot of power tonight, and I need to rest.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

~~~

An hour later, in a run-down hotel room with faded blue carpet and a threadbare floral blanket on the solitary bed, Nicoleta stood in front of the mirror and towel dried her hair. Setting the towel on the counter. she looked down at the white t-shirt and black sweatpants she wore and scowled at her reflection.

“Great, less than one full day and I’m wearing the enemy’s clothes,” she muttered.

A moment later, the door at her back opened and the mirror fogged up with the steam that rolled out of the room.

“Lita? Hey, are you okay?” Lucien asked as he stepped on to the carpet and gazed at her reflection.

Nicoleta met his eyes in the mirror for a moment before shifting her gaze to his towel dried hair. Her eyes followed a water trail south to his parted lips. Treasonous as they were, they continued to travel to the shadow across his jaw and over his wide shoulders. Applause worthy muscle corded through his arms and pecs, forming an abdomen she could wash her clothes on and a tapered waist with the lightest dusting of hair below his navel that dipped into- she snapped her eyes back up to his face.

Lucien raised his eyebrows and grinned a self-satisfied grin as her face heated and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, he was gone.

She was seated at the foot of the bed, with her legs crossed in front of her, when the door opened a few moments later. Lucien moved toward the head of the bed while she eyed him warily from her perch.

“Don’t worry, Lita. I’ll sleep on the floor. You can have the bed to yourself,” he told her as he grabbed a pillow.

“Don’t bother. I won’t be falling asleep anytime soon, either way. You may as well be comfortable,” she replied.

He dipped his head to her as he pulled down the covers. “You don’t have to move,” he said when she set her feet on the floor. “You sitting there isn’t going to bother me any.”

She nodded in return and pulled her legs up to wrap her arms around them and rest her head on her knees.

Nicoleta waited until Lucien rolled to his side before she pulled the photo of her parents out of her jacket pocket and traced her father’s features with her fingertip. She wondered what he was like, and f it was true that he was a wraith, like Lucien. Well, she doubted anyone was like Lucien, wraith or not. Shaking her head to prevent her mind from straying, she renewed her focus on the photograph. They all looked so normal, so average. How was she supposed to believe that both men in this photograph were wraiths and her mother was a fugitive warrior. A traitor. How could she have fallen in love with a wraith? They’re the monsters that hunt and destroy innocent people. Aren’t they? She needed more information; none of this was making any sense. Her mother did look genuinely happy, though. If she was being honest with herself, which she usually tried to be, she looked happier than she did in any of the photos the elders had given her. In those few photos she looked fierce and strong, but not particularly happy. There was always something about her eyes that looked a little sad.

Nic spent her entire life training to be the best warrior she could be, and straining to be something her mother would be proud of. She was never satisfied, always reaching for the next goal. Now, she wasn’t sure her mother would be proud of her, at all. If what Lucien said was true, she didn’t know anything about her mother. She allowed her thoughts to drift back to the man beside her. Confusing as they may be, they didn’t hurt so much. She could see herself in her father; his eyes were the same color and shape as hers. He was clearly rolling them at Lucien and his lips were twisted into a familiar half smile. She wondered if that was hereditary, too. Maybe that’s why she found herself questioning everything she thought she knew. She caught herself considering Lucien’s story despite her better judgement. She didn’t trust him. Not really. But something inside of her was sure that he didn't intend her any harm and she was determined to find the truth. As far as she could tell, that meant sticking with Lucien until her questions were answered.

Looking up to the ceiling, she muttered, “You’re losing it, girl.”

She had no idea what to believe, anymore. Why would she take the word of a stranger over the people that raised her? Because he had an old photograph? Obviously, she wasn’t a wraith, so why was she wasting time in the mirror willing her eyes to turn black? Noticing that Lucien’s breathing had become slow and even, and hoping that meant he was sound asleep, she took the opportunity to study his features. He certainly didn’t look evil lying there, in the too small bed, with his tousled hair and his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. She was struck again by his beauty; how could a monster look so divine? She then wondered if she was being naïve and allowing his good looks to influence her judgement.

“I can feel you staring at me." He told her. "Would you like me to roll over and give you a better view?”

Feeling the heat rush into her face again, she stood up and put her jacket on. “No need, I’m going to get some fresh air,” she said as she walked out the door, “go to sleep.”

Leaning against the aluminum railing of the second floor walkway, she looked up at the stars. Mars was visible, just to the left of the not quite full moon. She smiled to herself as she considered the tiny, reddish light that was more than half the size of earth and more than 38 million miles away. She startled when the door opened behind her and Lucien stepped onto the balcony.

“I thought you were going to sleep,” she said without turning to look at him.

“Turns out, I’m a little restless,” he replied. “I wonder if it might have anything to do with the woman determined to kill me, standing less than 10 feet from where I lay my head.”

“Do I make you nervous, now?” she smirked. “I thought I was nothing more than cannon fodder.”

"You know that’s not what I meant,” he yawned. “You are not like the others, and you know it. They know it, too.”

“I’ve never done anything that the rest of them couldn’t do,” she argued.

“You’re stronger and faster than all of them, I'd bet. You’re definitely the only one that sparks fear in the hearts of wraiths all over the world” he countered.

“I’ve also trained longer and harder than any of them,” she pointed out.

“That may have honed your skills, but it has nothing to do with your strength, your speed, or your reputation.”

She glanced, briefly, at Lucien’s face and returned her gaze to the sky. “Look, you can see Mars, tonight.”

“Can you?” He mused as he stepped up the railing and lifted his head.

“Yup. It’s right next to the moon,” she pointed. “Do you see it?”

“I do.”

“It’s crazy that anything we see up there tonight, happened millions of years ago.”

They stood there, silently staring at the stars, until she yawned and scrubbed her hands across her face.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you back inside so you can rest.”

“I told you, I’m not going to sleep tonight,” she protested.

Lucien opened the door and motioned for her to go first. “And I’m telling you, that you need to rest. You won’t be good for anything tomorrow if I have to carry you around.”

Nicoleta grimaced, “you wish,” she huffed as she walked by him.

With one last look to the sky, Lucien followed her into the room and locked the door. This time, he sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for her to lie down.

“You have nothing to fear from me, Lita. Rest.”

Yawning again, before she could form a reply, Nic crawled under the covers. She was asleep before Lucien turned out the lights.

Lucian

Lucien sat at the corner of the bed and dutifully ignored the girl lying next to him while she drifted to sleep. He was sure it wouldn’t help her relax to know he was consumed by thoughts of her. He had been looking for her for so long, he still wasn't quite sure he believed that she was really here. When he found Rain’s body in the grass a few yards away from their home all those years ago, he had been horrified by what they had done to her. Her stomach was torn to shreds and he choked on bile as he headed toward the house in search of Fane. Fane was nowhere to be found, but Lucien smelled his blood as soon as he stepped through the door. Fane must have put up a fight, but he lost a lot of blood. Realizing he must have been killed as well, Lucien cursed and turned to head back to Rain. He scooped her lifeless body into his arms and carried her into the nearby forest so he could properly put his friend to rest.

When reached the clearing and laid her on the forest floor, he had to look closer at her stomach. Something about it was nagging at him. He nearly vomited when he realized what about it seemed so wrong. They hadn’t done this to her in the hopes of destroying what they considered an abomination. They cut her open and took the infant from her womb. At that moment his horror receded and was replaced by a rage that infused every molecule of his being. If they wanted to see a monster, he would show them one.

“My gods, Rain,” he whispered, “I will find her, and they will pay for this. I swear it.” He had been hunting those wretched witches and searching for the baby they had taken ever since. Yet he was completely unprepared for the woman he found. She was fearless and strong, and beautiful. Gods was she beautiful.

Coming back to the present, Lucien looked over the woman in question. Her dark eyelashes brushed her cheeks and her full lips had parted, slightly, in her slumber. Her fair skin looked as smooth as porcelain; he had to rein in the urge to brush his fingers across her jaw. He chuckled to himself as he took in the similarity to a particular fairytale princess with a similar description. "Sweet dreams, Snow White," he whispered. "I'll keep you safe from the evil witches if it's the last thing I do."

He would have given his life for hers, without question, even before he met her. But, now that he had seen what an amazing creature she turned out to be, he wanted so much more. She may look like Snow White, but she was nowhere close to a damsel in distress.

. Nicoleta

When Nic awakened, she found Lucien sitting on the floor with his arms resting on his knees and his head tilted back, lying on the bed. He was asleep. She wasn’t sure how his abilities worked or how badly they drained him. She didn’t want to wake him, but they needed to figure out what to do next. So, she crawled out of the bed and sat on the floor with him. Placing her hand on his arm she gently shook him awake. It was a decision she regretted instantly.

“Woah, woah, woah. Lucien!” she squeaked as he grabbed her wrist and yanked her back against his chest. “Lucien!” she tried again, tugging at the arm around her throat.

Lucien’s hold relaxed until he was no longer hurting her, but he didn’t let go completely. He held her against him for several seconds before he pressed his face to the side of her neck, just above her shoulder. Inhaling deeply, he whispered, “you smell so sweet,” and briefly tightened his hold again. Only, this time his arm and slipped down to her chest and there was nothing threatening about the way he held her. Leaning her head back against his chest, she groaned at the feel of his embrace. Then, snapping back to reality, she rocketed up to her feet and out of Lucien’s arms.

“Sorry, sorry,” he mumbled dropping his head back onto his pillow.

Tucking her hair behind her ears, she settled down beside him, again. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Lita. I’m good,” he smiled, “not used to having anyone with me when I wake up. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

"You didn’t,” she blushed, realizing he wasn’t totally awake when he held her against himself. She refused to acknowledge the sinking feeling that thought brought to her chest.

“Good,” he said without lifting his head or opening his eyes, and they stayed like that, for just a moment, maintaining an awkward silence.

“Why do you call me Lita?” she asked, quietly.

"Does it bother you?”

She considered it for a moment before she replied. “No,” she said, “it’s just that nobody else does, so I was curious.”

“Not nobody,” he told her, “your mother and father called you Lita. Before you were born.”

After a moment of silence, he asked, “what do other people call you?”

“Well, the rest of the Surori call me Nic. I suppose nobody else calls me anything.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” he laughed. “I’ve heard you called plenty of things. Most of them unflattering, though some of them terrifying.”

Smiling, she rolled her eyes, and stood up. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he said as he gained his feet.