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ONE

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      There are worse things to fear than death. The world is made up of the tales told to scare human children and Vale Lithiana Faelin was one of them. Vale had become a shadow of the night and the blade of those who outranked her. The sad thing was she used to be like the rest of the humans. Vale had been a young girl without a fear in the world. The Throne of Souls meant nothing to a human girl that had never looked beyond The Spires. It was only a story told by parents to frighten their children into behaving.

       She remembered hearing that the Council was made to keep the balance of power in Eradia. They would have control over the Seat of Souls, an ancient artifact that allowed its users to communicate with the dead, and would only use it for the greater good. It had been an honorable idea that had earned the support of all the countries involved, but like everything else, it quickly crumbled to dust and became the power everyone had come to fear.

      It, among many others, should have stayed a story. Instead, it became the bane of Vale's existence and the leash that chained her to the world that doomed her. The Council had bought her from the Masters of the quarries in The Void and Vale had consequently become one of their slaves. The Council didn't prefer to call it that, though. They preferred the term agent of the Council, which meant that Vale was their eyes and ears. If needed, she was their sword. Vale couldn't count how many people she had killed for her masters and the number just kept growing with every passing year.

      She was eleven when they brought her to Monarch's Perch. Vale could remember wearing nothing but the brown rags that she had been wearing for the whole two weeks it took to travel to the Council's Keep in Monarch's Perch. Her feet were bleeding and her hands had been cut up from the rough terrain. Even her wrists were torn because of the iron clasps they had secured around her small, pale wrists. The city was a sight to behold, both for its beauty and the fear that came with the new surroundings. The towers were made of crystal and diamonds, and the homes around it were made of silver and gold.

      Now Vale was eighteen and had been trained by the best fighters in Monarch's Perch. She couldn't say she was proud of what she had to do but she didn't really have any other choice. The home she had grown up in was gone and she couldn't return to the quarries. She would rather die than return to that blasted place. At least, The Council gave her a way to earn her share without threatening to throw her out onto the streets just because they felt like it was beneficial. Everything came with a price, though. Vale's price had just happened to be her humanity, or at least what was left of it.

      She stood in the center of the Council's chamber waiting for her next assignment. All five men and women watched Vale like a blood hawk and the air in the room thickened as their gazes grew darker. Sonya the Betrayer stood from where she sat against the eastern wall and looked down her nose at Vale. She was by far the one to fear most in the room.

      "You have been summoned because we have a task for you to complete." Her bright red hair swayed as she made her way to where Vale stood. "The Medici family has committed crimes against the Council. You are to eliminate the threat and return back to us with each one of their heads."

      Everyone knew who the Medici family was. They were a family of Shapeshifters that were sitting in as the ambassadors from Amaranthine. Alfred was the husband of Alleyah and, together, they had four children that were all under the age of nine. The family had to have committed treason in order for the Council to want them all dead. Dread coiled in the pit of Vale's stomach.

      "Yes, Mistress." She bowed her head slightly to acknowledge the vampire.

      Sonya still didn't seem pleased. "You will have until midnight to get back to us or you will be whipped until your skin drags across the ground when you walk. Do you understand me?"