The Villains Must Win

"Marris tried to hold the line, but we were boxed in. We fought. I got stabbed and clawed. It was all chaos. There was a flash—some kind of spell or artifact—I don't know. I was thrown back into the wall. I must've blacked out after that." She paused, then added with a bitter smile, "I guess I was lucky I hit my head early."

"And the vampires? You're saying they just . . . left you?" he asked, skeptical.

Selis glanced away, swallowing hard. "Maybe they thought I was already dead. Or maybe they were called off. I don't know. All I know is that I woke up surrounded by corpses, and now I'm here."

Lucian stared at her like he could hear every heartbeat of her lie.

She met his gaze, holding it for just a second too long.

"Interesting luck for a newbie," he muttered.

Selis gave a weak chuckle. "That's what they call me, lucky."

Lucian didn't respond. He simply stood and turned his back to her.

"We'll talk again after debriefing. Don't try to leave HQ. And don't talk to anyone about what happened until I say so."

"Wait, that's it?"

Lucian paused at the door.

"You survived. That alone makes this suspicious."

Then he was gone.

Selis lay there in silence, heart still racing, thoughts screaming.

Crap. That was way too close.

And she still hadn't figured out what to do about the real problem:

Salister.

The vampire warlord who gave her a choice.

And if anyone found out about that? She wouldn't be waking up in an infirmary next time.

She'd wake up on a stake.

If she woke up at all.

====

"What happened?"

Selis groaned inwardly, finding herself at the center of a circle of high-ranking vampire hunters—each of them staring her down with deadly, unforgiving eyes.

Great. Just what she needed. Not even a minute to come up with a decent excuse.

Lucian's face was way too close—handsome, yes, but in a "he-might-strangle-you-if-you-sneeze-wrong" kind of way. His eyes flicked over her body, scanning for wounds.

"Your injuries are shallow," he said flatly. "And you're the only one who made it back. What happened?"

Ah. There it was. The "you're suspicious" voice.

Selis blinked at him, trying to look groggy and tragic instead of guilty and awkward. "Is that how you greet a squadmate who just came back from near death?" she croaked. "Shouldn't there be flowers or, I don't know, a fruit basket?"

Lucian didn't even blink. He could probably melt steel just by glaring at it.

"Hunter Selis, watch your words. You're standing before the high-ranking vampire hunters," one of them warned sharply.

She sighed inwardly. Alright. Here goes nothing.

"There was an ambush," she began, lifting herself slowly with a wince that was only half-acted. "We entered Sector 4-C expecting low-level stragglers. Nothing special, just cleanup duty, right?"

Lucian didn't respond, so she took that as permission to keep digging her grave.

"But the moment we got there, it was like—bam! Out of nowhere, full-on elite-class vamps. Not the screechy, run-into-walls kind. No. These guys were coordinated. Like . . . tactically trained bloodsuckers."

She made a vague explosion motion with her hands for dramatic effect.

Lucian's brow twitched slightly. "Go on."

"We didn't stand a chance," she said, lowering her gaze and injecting just the right amount of haunted tremble into her voice. "Maris tried to cover us, but they overwhelmed her. Tore her apart. I watched that happen."

That part, unfortunately, wasn't even a lie.

Selis clenched her fists and forced a shiver. "We scattered. I lost visual on everyone. The smoke, the screaming, the blood, I was scratched and stabbed and got knocked out. I know how that sounds, but that's what happened."

Lucian stared at her like he was reading her soul with X-ray vision and suspicion lasers.

"What kind of coordination did they use?" he asked.

Dang it. He was testing her. This guy wasn't just broody and good-looking. He was smart too.

"They cut off our escape first," she said, thinking fast. "Blocked comms. Used scent masking. One of them mimicked a distress signal. That's how they lured us deeper. It was a trap."

Pause for effect. Look devastated. Add a shaky breath.

"I didn't survive because I fought better. I survived because I was knocked out and for some reason, they didn't notice me. You've scan and tested me, and I'm not infected."

Lucian's eyes narrowed, and for a second, Selis thought he might slap a truth-dripping amulet on her face or stab her just to be sure.

He didn't.

Instead, he stood up and looked away, jaw clenched.

"You're not on trial," he muttered. "But you will be watched."

"Wow. Thanks. That totally makes me feel safe and supported," Selis muttered, flopping back on her interrogating chair.

Lucian gave her one last look—a complicated one, full of questions and something else that wasn't quite anger—and then walked out, his coat swirling dramatically behind him like a cape made of disappointment.

It seemed like Lucian was hoping she was a spy—just so he'd have someone to blame, someone to punish for the death of Maris and her entire squad.

Selis would never let herself be that outlet though.

The moment he was gone, Selis let out the breath she'd been holding and pressed her hand over her face.

"Holy crap," she whispered. "That was the worst lie I've ever told. And somehow, he bought it. Or at least didn't kill me on the spot. Same thing."

But she wasn't out of the woods yet.

The real problem was now pounding in her skull: Salister.

The vampire prince. The infamous villains of this story. The guy who could rip apart hunters like paper dolls.

He'd spared her life.

He wanted her to make a decision.

He wanted Emerald.

And worst of all . . . he seemed to believe she could actually give him what he wanted.

"Why me?" she muttered aloud. "I'm not even a squad leader. I can't even lie properly without almost peeing myself."

But the truth gnawed at her gut like a vulture with a grudge: he had chosen her. Salister had let her live when he could've torn her in half. And not only that—he wanted to bargain.

She didn't know which was scarier.