Enchanted -N. Lantsov

Nikolai was well versed in the fine art of lying. He practically mastered it before he hit double digits. He had to if he wanted to come out of the Royal courts sane.

He'd create such complex lies and characters to play that he'd get so lost in them and he couldn't find his way back to who he really was. Nikolai wasn't sure if he did want to go back. Nikolai spent most of his life carrying a heavy burden nobody else saw on his shoulders.

So the creation of a pretty privateer with a love for his country and an even bigger love for money was a blessing. Sturmhond was a fantasy an adolescent boy created as a form of teenage rebellion, it was always meant to be temporary, but it didn't make it any easier to accept that it was coming to an end.

When he heard of the Darkling's coup against his father and learned the Fold expanded, Nikolai knew his carefree days had to come to an end. So he did as any logical person would do, pretend to work for the Darkling and betray him.

That was what he kept repeating to himself. Pretend, lie, deny, betray the Darkling, and then steal the Sun Summoner.

It was supposed to be a simple plan but the Saints love to test him.

Nikolai still remembers seeing her for the first time since he was sixteen, on his stolen whaler ship. How his whole world shifted, everything faded from existence except her.

Every single carefully crafted lie he created was beginning to crumble at her feet simply because Olysia Kuznetsova was in front of him. For the first time, Nikolai did not want to be someone else. He wanted to be Nikolai, not because of his duty, but because that person once meant something to her.

Any purpose that might have driven him before lay forgotten with any common sense he had left,

Nikolai had to keep reminding himself constantly what he was there for, to pretend, lie, deny, betray the Darkling, and steal the Sun Summoner.

He hoped if he said it enough times, then it would become true, but how was he supposed to focus when he saw how isolated and scared Olysia was, how cold she had become, how terrible she was treated by the Darkling and by his loyal followers.

So maybe Nikolai added another step to his plan. Help Olysia.

Nikolai was not super successful in his plan because it seemed like she helped him more than he helped her. Nikolai could feel his eyes shine brighter than the sun when he saw her fight alongside the twins and the tracker. He had never seen a Fabrikator do the things she was doing and it was incredible. And when she took his hand, everything suddenly felt right.

But it didn't seem to matter to anyone else that everything was brighter, that he could see colors he couldn't before without her. Olysia seemed to be unbothered and unaware of how much she affected Nikolai. She kept her inner thoughts and feelings hidden behind an impenetrable wall.