'YOU WANT TO DO WHAT?' Cassius yelled.

'Mind your tone.' Selene hissed between her teeth and gave him a death stare. Cassius seemed to remember his place and bowed his head as an apology.

'May I ask your reasoning, my Queen?' Cassius asked. It took visible effect for Cassius to keep his voice calm.

'Varga has proven himself to be thrustful to both myself and the coven and is a loyal asset to my personal security.' Selene spoke not only to Cassius, but the whole council. 'He has trained the most Death Dealers in the entire coven, securing our safety many times over.'

The other council members nodded and were easy to convince. Cassius was a different story. Selene remembered when she had shown Varga leniency after almost killing her. Cassius was used to Viktor's ways of killing vampires who'd done far less than Varga and he had been furious. Vargas' pardon he could live with but making him her right hand was pushing it. After the trial, Cassius had stormed out of the room and refused to speak to her unless necessary.

Even Michael was easier to convince. The night before she brought it up with him and expected Michael to be against the idea. Some vampires considered it to be intimate and only reserved it for their mate or an emergency.

'It makes sense.' Michael had said. 'He will be more valuable in the upcoming missions and he has earned it.'

'I know, but…' Selene started. 'Wait, you agree?'

'Did I just surprise our Queen?' Michael asked with gleam in his eyes.

'Don't you start as well, it's too bad Varga calls me that. But yes, I am surprised. Most immortals would see this as an act of intimacy.' Selene admitted.

'As long as you don't make a habit out of it.' Michael winked at her.

'I know something we can make a habit out of.' And she almost dove into Michael.

Selene had to remind herself she was in a council meeting and started focusing again. Cassius was still ranting on and on about something or other. She subtly looked around and saw that even David was bored. Time to shut him up.

'That's about enough Cassius. We all know you disagree with every decision regarding Varga, unless it's to put him away in the dungeons or out of his so-called misery.' Selene simply stated. 'Unless there is a real and legit reason not to go through with it, it is decided. Varga will be escorted here in an hour. The council will witness.'

David moved to stand up. 'Just a question, Selene. Does Varga know of this?'

'No, he does not. The idea came to me last night. And to answer your next question, he never spoke of this either. Nobody against?' Selene asked out of politeness. 'Good. Thank you for your time and see you in one hour.'

Selene got up and walked out of the room. She heard a discussion among the council erupting from the room and was glad to be gone. David had followed her and was catching up to her.

'Are you sure this is the right way to go at it?' He finally asked as they rounded the corner.

'You still don't trust him after all these years? After saving your life?'

'I do trust him. I am concerned for your wellbeing.'

Selene walked around the corner and entered the first room she could find. David followed her in.

'Spill.'

'I've heard stories.'

Selene raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. 'Cut to the chase, I want to get back to my daughter.'

'There is this rumour that Varga loses his focus in these matters.' David started.

'You can stop right there. Varga already told me this when he was given his pardon. He will probably use the same argument to refuse.'

'I am sure he will refuse, will you let him?'

'Depends on his argument, but I am sure I can convince him. Are you ok with this?' Selene asked.

'I am, but I want to ask you to have me and Michael nearby in case you need us.'

'Granted, I wanted to ask you the same thing as a matter of fact.'

She knew this would come up, but she hoped to discuss it in private with Varga himself. He had hated to tell Selene the story after she heard the rumours a couple of years ago. After all, everyone in the coven had stories of their past which they weren't proud of.

David and Selene parted ways and she went back to her office.

'Is it true?' Eve stood as soon as Selene opened the door to her office. 'Does he know?'

'No, he doesn't know yet.' Selene answered.

'Can I tell him?' Eve smiled. 'Please!'

'Sorry sweety. It's official council business. We are going to tell him in an hour.'

'I cannot wait to see the look on his face.' Eve said excitedly. 'Did you ever do that for anyone else besides David?'

'Can't say I have. And with David it was different. He died when I got to him and restarted his heart with my blood.'

'This is absolutely amazing! He is going to freak.'

'Eve, he might not be as excited as you are.' Selene tried to calm her daughter down. 'Did he ever tell you the story of how he got in contact with the coven?'

'Yeah, he did. I forgot about that.' Eve sighed and averted her eyes for a second before recovering. 'Well anyway, I am excited for him! This is going to make training so much more fun.'

Selene raised an eyebrow. Eve loved to train and fight, so she let her train with the recruits sometimes. Selene had to admit that the recent incident made her wonder if an actual Death Dealer training might be better for Eve to defend herself. She just couldn't think of her daughter as a Death Dealer yet.

'Just like her mother.' Michael came in. 'Don't look like that, she got it from you. You too love a good fight.'

'Just the person I needed.' Selene said, trying to change the subject. 'We're going to tell Varga the news in the council meeting and your attendance is required.'

'What time is the meeting?'

'I think we still have half an hour before we need to be in the council room.'

'Eve, can you give us the room? I want to discuss something with your mother.' Michael said.

'Sure.' Eve said a bit confused, looking from her father to her mother.

'Do you mind waiting to go to the training area until the council meeting?' Selene asked. 'Varga cannot know upfront and he will know something is up if he sees that smile on your face.'

Eve grinned, nodded her answer and left the room. Selene turned to Michael and saw on his face she probably needed to sit down for this. They both sat down in the chairs and Selene waited for him to start.

'I know you are against this, but please hear me out.' Michael started. 'I have been thinking about Eve's training and it might not be enough. Like you, she is a target whenever she goes out of the mansion, she needs to be able to defend herself.'

'She needs to get proper training.' Selene sighed. 'I was just thinking about it myself before you came in. It pains me to say this, but our little girl needs to learn how to be a Death Dealer.'

'Who are you and what have you done with Selene?' Michael mocked.

Selene punched him in the arm.

'Sorry, but last time Varga brought this up, you lectured him for an hour. And if I remember correctly, you wanted to kill him for 3 days straight whenever you saw him. It took him a week before he dared to be alone with you in a room again.' Michael said. 'To be honest, I expected you to explode.'

'And you thought half an hour before a council meeting was the best timing for me to explode?' Selene raised her eyebrow.

'Is there ever a good moment to tell a mother she needs to let go of her daughter?'

'Perhaps not.' Selene mused.

'But we agree, Eve will be getting her Death Dealer training.' Michael stated. 'Like her mother, she will be a force of nature.'

'She will be and let's hope she may never need it.' Selene added. 'We will tell her on her birthday next week, she will be thrilled.'

'Will her mother be as well?'

'We'll see.' Selene ended the conversation. 'We need to get to the council room.'

Selene and Michael were on their way to the council room when they met David on their way.

'Selene, did you already think of a place you want to do this?' David asked.

'I was thinking about Viktor's old office.' Selene said. 'Nobody ever comes there.'

'Good. Do you need anything else?'

'There is a desk and a couple chairs. That will be enough.' Selene replied. 'Ah, the council. Guards, please summon Varga. He will be in the training area.'

'Yes, ma'am.' They said in unison and walked away.

All the council members went back into the council room and sat at their usual places. Selene had to sit in the centre of the table with David next to her. Whenever Lena wasn't there, her seat would be given to Michael if he attended the meeting. Most of the time however, her seat would be empty. Michael hated the meetings and was summoned from the infirmary when needed.

There was a soft murmur in the room until someone knocked on the door.

'Enter.' Cassius said.

Two of the council guards opened the doors with Varga standing in the middle. Selene noticed he looked a bit nervous and even his heart rate was elevated. As this was official council business, she had to keep a neutral face.

'As per request of the council, presenting Varga.' The guard said and Varga walked into the room. He looked around as he walked to the centre. His hands were behind his back and he bowed to the people in the room, waiting for the council to start.

'Varga, you have been summoned by the council. Have you somehow been informed of the reason?' One of the council members started the meeting.

'Council.' Varga strictly followed protocol and bowed again. 'I have not been informed.'

That was Selene's que to speak. She rose from her chair and heard Vargas' heart skip a beat.

'After deliberation with the whole council, we have decided to grant you the honour of walking in daylight.' Selene spoke to the entire room. 'With this honour comes added responsibility as head of personal security. You will be accompanying Michael, Eve and myself on all our missions, independent of the time of day. Additionally, you will also be responsible to accompany Elders David and Lena on missions when asked for.'

As Selene was summoning up his increased responsibilities, she saw a vacant look in his eyes. Varga wasn't listening anymore. She knew him well enough to know a million questions were racing through his mind. To keep up pretence for the council, Selene continued.

'The Elders and council have decided to grant you this honour directly following this meeting. I also decided to let you drink my blood directly to make sure of the change. When you agree to the terms mentioned, we will move to a more private chamber to start.'

Selene made it sound like he had a choice, but unfortunately, Varga would have to agree with the terms until they could speak in private. The council was not big on refusals, and it was almost never done in front of them. Selene felt reluctant to treat Varga this way, but she too had no choice in the matter.

It had been a couple of seconds after she spoke and Varga still hadn't responded. Selene felt the council getting anxious.

'Varga?!' Selene subtly said. 'Do you agree with the terms mentioned?'

Varga snapped out of his own thoughts and seemed to remember where he was.

'I want to express my gratitude toward the council and Elders and hereby accept this honour.' Varga recited. But Selene could hear they were only words, there was no feeling behind them.

'Thank you, Council, for witnessing this event. You may go as we finalise the details.' Selene closed the meeting and dismissed the council.

Varga bowed as the council exited the room. Cassius lingered a bit longer and Selene could see him flash Varga an angry glare before he left. Varga didn't even respond to Cassius and Selene knew something was wrong. Varga loved to smirk at Cassius. Varga looked Selene in the eye for the first time and she saw a hint of devastation in his eyes.

'Did you hear anything I told you in the last 5 minutes?' Selene started when only the four of them were left in the room.

'Yes, my Queen.' Varga vaguely responded.

'Cut the crap, Varga! The council might not have recognized your vacant stare, but we sure did.' Selene tried to stay calm, but she couldn't help sounding a bit annoyed.

'My apologies. I do recognize the honour, but I do have some reservations.'

Vargas' reply was too official for Selene's taste. She wasn't sure if it was due to David being in the room or him still processing his thoughts.

'Can you explain them to us?' Selene asked, but she already knew he would only talk to her alone.

'With your permission, I would like to answer your questions in private.'

'You have my permission. Let's discuss this in an office.' She gestured to him to follow her.

Selene and Varga, followed by David and Michael, went to Selene's official office. Since Selene never used it, it was the perfect place. Nobody would come to look for her here. It used to be Viktors office when he visited the coven. The first time she sat foot in here, the whole room was filled with trophies of his victories. Selene had turned around and ordered them to empty the room first. But despite getting rid of his stuff, she felt uncomfortable sitting there and decided to set up an office next to her private chambers.

Selene let Varga go in first and closed the door behind her. The only things left in the room were a desk and 2 chairs, which was all they needed. Selene felt Vargas' reluctance to be there. She motioned him to sit on the chair while she moved to the one behind the desk.

'What are your reservations?'

'Speaking freely?'

'Of course.'

'You know I have a problem with this, right? I know you remember I told you the story of draining someone dry because I couldn't stop. I am not proud of it, but I get so power hungry when feeding on flesh.'

Varga stopped, but Selene knew there was more coming.

'Varga, get out with it.'

'How the hell can you propose this!' Varga got out of the chair and started pacing the room in frustration. 'You want me to kill you too? You hate me that much? What the hell Selene! And what the fuck is wrong with Michael for accepting this! Did you tell him what I did? Are the both of you that stupid?'

Varga was panting now. 'Shit! I didn't mean…' But Selene raised her hand to stop him.

'I said to get out with it and you did. No need to apologise.' Selene reassured him. 'To come back to your questions. No, I do not want you to kill me and you won't. The person you drained was a human that couldn't stop you. I, on the other hand, would like to think that I am a bit stronger than a mere human. So, no I don't hate you either.

'Michael knows about the story and he too, is quite confident I can defend myself if needed. But we are both sure it won't come to that.'

Varga stopped pacing and looked up. There was still conflict in his eyes as he processed her answers. She knew it would come to this. He was being so hard on himself, never letting go of his strict discipline. She gave him all the time he needed to process.

'Are you absolutely sure?'

'Yes, I am. After serving me for the last years, you deserve this. And speaking practically, we need you on daylight missions.'

Varga sat down on the chair again and looked her in the eyes for the first time. She could see he was still thinking it over and she kept silent until he was ready to speak again. He was one of the few people she would actually listen to and give time to process instead of just walking out of a room.

Selene had to admit that after a few minutes, the thought crossed her mind that he would never speak and they would be sitting there forever. Just when she was about to break the silence, Varga opened his mouth to speak.

'If you and Michael are really ok with this, then I am too.' He said with a soft voice.

'We are. Actually, I didn't even need to convince Michael. He has grown to like you.' Selene smiled a genuine smile at Varga and he lightened up a bit. 'Do you still want me to answer your last question?'

Varga looked confused. 'What question?'

'How stupid Michael and I really are.' Selene smirked.

'Any chance you can erase that from your memory?' Varga said as he scratched behind his head. At that moment, a daunting look came over Vargas' face again. 'Speaking of memories, will I be getting yours?'

Selene already wondered when he would ask about that. Normally, vampires didn't have control over the memories they passed to another. Even their deepest secrets could be exposed when they got bitten.

'As our previous elders, I too have learned to order my memories and conceal the ones I do not wish to share. I will not bother you with that specific memory.'

They both knew which memory they were talking about. The one thing they did not speak of anymore.

'Are you ready?'

'I can ask you the same question. But yes, I think I am.'

Selene stood up and took her chair to the other side of the table. She sat next to Varga and opened her sleeve to expose her arm. She took a last look at Varga.

'Are you sure you are ready?'

He smiled half a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He was nervous.

'Try not to think about the past. You are a changed man. Everything will be fine.'

Varga watched as she took the knife strapped to her calf. She gave him one final look before she slit her wrist just enough for the blood coming out and stretched her arm to Varga. Varga looked at her arm and sighed. It took him a few seconds to get the courage to actually do it.

He gently put his mouth on her wrist and started drinking her blood. Michael had done this many times before, but it felt different when someone else did it. Her eyes turned blue as a response. She fought her instinct to pull away her arm.

Vargas' eyes also turned blue as he drank her blood. She let him drink for a few seconds before she tapped his shoulder for him to stop. He stopped and looked at her. Selene immediately knew there was something wrong.

'Varga? You have to stop now.'

There was a gleam in his eyes and instead of letting her go, he tightened his grip on her arm. Selene tried to yank her arm free from his grip. He sank his fangs in her arm, the gentleness was gone from his behaviour.

'Fuck!'

She got out of the chair while pushing Vargas' head off her. She felt relieved as he let go, but it didn't last long. Selene was a split second too slow to realise he had grabbed her hand. He moved to twist her arm behind her back. She heard her arm crack and at the same time he sank his teeth in her neck.

Selene cried out. In addition to the frenzy, her blood had increased both his speed and strength in an instant. With her free hand she held on to his collar and threw him over her shoulder. Ready to fight, she kicked him in the chest. He got hold of her boot mid attack, spun around and smashed her into the wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs the moment she hit the wall. She slit down and started sucking in deep breaths.

Selene expected a next attack, but it didn't come. She looked up and saw Michael and David wrestle with Varga. Michael managed to get his arms on his back. Varga tried to move, but Michael didn't give in.

'David, stop!' Selene called as he moved to knock Varga unconscious. 'Get him blood. It will cool his rage.'

David dashed out of the room, leaving Michael to struggle with Varga. David returned a second later with blood. He forcefully opened Vargas' mouth and poured the liquid in. Varga responded by sinking his teeth into the bag and started gulping. Michael loosened his grip on his arms a bit, but kept a close eye on him.

Selene was still sitting against the wall. Her breathing had recovered. Without thought, she was cradling her arm. She looked down. The angle of her forearm already indicated it was broken and needed to be set.

Her focus went back to Varga. He finished two blood bags and had started the third. The deranged look in his eyes started to diminish. Michael had let go of him and the three of them watched the scene until Varga finally collapsed.

'Bring him to a detention cell to recover. When he is awake, bring him to us.' Michael commanded David.

'He is not to be harmed by anyone.' Selene added.

David shot her a look but recovered fast and called the guards. They entered the room without asking questions. Two of them pulled Varga by his arms and walked out of the room with David following.

'Are you alright?' Michael asked as he walked up to Selene. She stood up to face Michael.

'I have to admit, I did not expect this to happen.'

'I need to set that arm fast before you heal. It will hurt.'

Selene gave him her arm and watched as Michael put the bones back in place.