1202 AD

Marcus could not believe Viktor or Amelia. Especially Amelia, that rotten bitch! For the love of Corvinus, he had been the one who turned them, and how did they re-pay him? Those two conniving ungrateful sons-of-bitches locked away his twin brother.

Marcus's biggest regret now was that he had turned all of Viktor's men. Luckily, Viktor didn't know about Marcus's own special army…

Pegasus walked into the room. "Sir, it is a misfortune, what happened."

"Pegasus, my old friend, spare me the useless pity. I already tire of it."

"Yes, sir. What shall we do about it?"

"Nothing, as of yet. I do not yet know the location those barbarians are holding my brother captive. Until I do, there is nothing to be done."

"Understood. Then what is the reason for our unplanned meeting?"

"Pegasus, I need you to continue recruiting mortals into immortals. Something tells me that this will come in handy in the future. Perhaps not now, but one can never over-prepare, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"When the time comes, Viktor and his damned Death Dealers will fall. And we shall rise. And Pegasus?"

"Sir?"

"The world will be brought to its knees."

Not only the world, Marcus planned vengefully, but Viktor, the scheming bastard, too. Soon… soon…

Present-day


Silence, since Selene's theories had been spoken. Michael had had enough of it.

"Selene, how could Marcus have killed the American Coven so quickly?"
"There have been rumors over the years that Marcus has a secret army, working just for him. But it was never proved."
"So, what? Viktor had Kahn and the Death Dealers; Kraven had Soren and his Goons; and Marcus has some own secret guys working for him, too?" Michael let this slip out of his mouth before he caught himself. He had referred to Selene, a Death Dealer, as "Viktor's". He hoped Selene didn't take it offensively.
"I… I didn't mean that you were Viktor's, I just—"
Selene dismissed it with a wave of her had. "It's fine. I mean, it's not FINE, but it's… okay."

Awkward silence cut in like bullets at the shoot-out in the subway days before.

Michael decided he mind as well bring up the subject they'd all been dreading.
"Selene, when I got impaled at the pier…"
"Michael this is the last thing I want to talk about right now, believe me."
"Selene, we have to talk about it eventually. Why not now?"
"Because I'm trying to figure out whether or not the American Coven is dead or alive. This can't wait; that can."
"I would've done the exact same thing, Selene."
"Done what?" Her eyes were still glued to the computer screen.
"Selene," he brought his fingers to her chin and turned it involuntarily.
"What?" Her eyes locked onto his. Her eyes seemed to melt him at a glance.
"Cried. It's not a crime to cry."
"Oh, really? Because I read in the Bible it's one of the Sins." She rolled her eyes, but still faced him.
"Selene. Seriously."
"Michael, I don't know why we're even talking about this. An entire Coven could be dead. The other one –the one HERE – is, already."
"And you wouldn't shed a tear."
"No!" Selene said, as if it was the most absurd thing she'd ever heard.
"Why not?"
"Because they're not my Coven!"

Michael sighed. "You didn't cry when you heard that your own Coven had been burnt to the ground."
"Those were the aristocrats and the other rich shit-filled immortals in there. All of the other Death Dealers were not."
"And where were they?"
"Dead in the sewers." Selene stated, with not an ounce of sympathy.
Michael took a deep breath. Getting Selene to open up would not be easy. "Selene. I know you've been, like, brain-washed that emotion is a weakness by Viktor or whoever the hell trained you..."
"Michael—" Michael continued, ignoring Selene's interruption:
"…and I know that it's hard to actually have emotion or being to feel some after all this time. But it's not wrong. It's not a weakness; it's a strength. It won't get you killed, and it won't blind you; it can make you fight like hell, and it helps you, sometimes see things for what they truly are. Think about Viktor; would you have ever suspected him of the murder of your family had you never met me? Think about Marcus; if he didn't piss you off by antagonizing you, would you have had the determination of ripping that talon out of your chest and shoving it through his head? No, you wouldn't have. Emotion does not hinder us, Selene; I know I don't know much compared to you when it comes to fighting, but I know that much."

Selene was silent.
"Any comment? Because I could keep talking, but the chances of me screwing up get bigger and bigger the longer I talk…"
Selene finally spoke. "It's fine. You haven't screwed up… yet."
They both chuckled.
"Selene, I know it's scary. This, us – it's all scary. Believe me, I'm scared as hell. But we've got to be willing to… take risks, try new things, you know?"
Selene nodded.

"I know that you were trained to believe that to be devoid of emotion shows more devotion to 'the cause'. And it might've worked for you so far. I'm not disputing that. But we're not warriors, anymore. We're not Death Dealers in Ordoghaz, slaying Lycans nightly. We're survivors. And survivors need emotion to keep on being survivors. Especially if it's gotten them to where they are. And its gotten us this far, hasn't it?"
"Yes, it has."
"Then let me be the first to take the risk…"
Selene smirked. "Ooh, don't tell me; another woman?"
Michael chuckled. "No."
"Yikes, another man?"
"I did think Kraven was quite sexy."
Both of them burst out laughing. It was a pleasant sound to hear after all that had happened.

"So, Michael. What is your 'risk'? Not another woman; not another man…"
"I love you."
It was silent, then. Neither of them, until that point, had actually said it. Of course, both had thought it, both had done actions that proceeded the typical "love", but no one had actually said it.
"Michael, I love you, too."

Another silence, but a feeling that went beyond "just love", or "soul mates" lingered in the air.

But something cut through it all – Marcus's voice over the speakers.

"Hello, Michael. Hello, Selene. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems the American Coven has been destroyed. It is quite probable that there are no more vampires alive. Such a tragedy..."

Author's Note
I really want to thank those of you who have left a review, they have been great motivation. They've been giving me the confidence and the "guts" to keep typing and putting the chapters on. Thank you, all of my readers.

By the way, I might try to put some action in the next chapter, it depends on if it fits in.

-continues brainstorming-

KateB819