Reunion

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A simple case.

That’s what this was supposed to be.

So why did she have the horrible feeling that it was going to be anything but that?

Marise stared at the grand palace beyond the gates in front of her. Moonlight shone brightly on its façade, reflecting off the many windows. They glinted at her. She fought to suppress the feelings that being back here brought to the surface. The disappointment. The hurt.

The hatred.

She swept her chestnut hair from her face. The movement of her hand across her face wiped her emotions away, erasing them.

Holding her hand out in front of her, Marise looked at it, waiting for it to stop shaking before she made a move. She couldn’t walk in there like this.

The car behind her pulled away.

The two guards protecting the gate came out of their rooms. They looked at her, hands on their swords, waiting.

She took another breath, forcing the air into her lungs and cursing herself for being so weak. It had been years since she had felt the necessity to breathe. It had been longer than she cared to remember since she’d had to steady herself like this.

It had been the last time she had seen him.

Marise tugged at the sides of her black knee-length jacket and adjusted the stand-up collar. It felt too tight even though she knew that it wasn’t.

Questions crowded her mind but she pushed them away. She was here for a job. It didn’t matter if he was here too. He wasn’t the reason that she had returned.

If she’d had her way, she wouldn’t be here at all.

But her bloodline had called, and it was her duty to answer.

Expelling all of the air in her lungs, she raised her chin and strode towards the gates. She didn’t stop when the guards saluted her, didn’t even glance at their faces. It was their obligation to notice her. As for her, she was above them.

Walking at a brisk but steady pace towards the mansion, she went over the details of the case.

There had been an assassination attempt made on the lord of her bloodline, Timur. She had almost laughed when she’d read the report. The very idea of someone trying to kill him, a man so strong and iron-willed that he had been the leader of his bloodline for more centuries than she had been a vampire, was nothing more than a joke in her eyes.

Only one attempt had been made in the past and that had been when the former lord of Venia, Nikolai, had been sentenced to death for revealing their existence to humans and arranging for Russian royalty to mate with a Venia. As Nikolai’s Chosen Son, Timur inherited the bloodline against the wishes of many. The man that had attempted the assassination had been dealt with slowly and very painfully. Timur had used it as a chance to show his new bloodline exactly what fate awaited any who tried to stand against him.

Marise walked into the mansion, not bothering to take in the opulence of the interior as she passed through room after room. She had seen it all many times when she was a youngling. Back then, she had loved this house and everything it stood for.

Now, she hated it with all her heart.

She stopped when she reached Timur’s chambers. The two guards outside looked reluctant to let her in. It was understandable. Their lord had been hurt during the attempt. Who better to finish the job than a Law Keeper like herself?