Caught In A Lie

Bonus #1: Lost Stars

He hated lying to her. His daughter, Selene, to whom he was connected by blood... and so much more, as she would soon find out. Tomorrow would be her sixteenth birthday, marking the age at which she would learn of the Order. Of the path destiny had chosen for her.

Nikolaos still remembered the day he had found her. The grief of losing Stella had been fresh in his mind; in her final minutes she had risked everything to reach out to him. He was too late to do anything for his wife, but the toddler crouched near her body was a different story. The child had stared at him for only a few seconds, but it was enough for him to know it was her. Selene. The round, button nose was identical to her mother's, but the dark grey eyes that were focused on him were all his. When he'd reached for her, she had shied away.

I'm your father, Selene, he'd said. I won't hurt you, I promise.

She had shaken her head, planting herself firmly beside her mother. Nik had mirrored her, reaching out to take Stella's clammy hand in his. Her eyelids had fluttered, but not opened.

Nik? Her voice had been faint.

It had been difficult to get the words out, but he did it somehow. I'm here, my star. You're safe.

Nik, she'd sighed. I'm so sorry.

He'd shaken his head. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you. With you.

A twitch of her lips. You knew this would happen someday. Selene needs you now. Teach her about your world... when it's time. She should know, like I did.

Stella...

No, Nik. You have to let this go. Let me go.

That was the last thing she had said. His Stella, whose body had rejected the change to Immortal because she had been pregnant with their child. The child he had to be away from to keep safe. Her final act had been to bring them together. Thirteen years later, he was grateful... except in times like this.

He hated lying to her, but there were some things that had to stay in the dark. He entered Ambrosios's office, locking the door behind him. The other man appraised him as he sat, and like every time before, he kept up a mask of indifference. Here he was Darius the Watcher, one of the Order of Immortals' Intelligence Gatherers, tasked with keeping Ambrosios updated with the events of the Order. He had honed his mental shielding abilities to keep the truth of his family's identity hidden, and so things had been for two decades. If he was found out, he could condemn not only himself and Selene, but also a millennia-old tradition.

As he knew all too well, some secrets need to stay secret... at any cost.