Prologue

Twenty two years ago, our world changed and since change wasn't something that regularly happened the process was glacial. It was there though, but it wasn't always met with acceptance and some people – even after all this time – still struggle to accept that change. Being deeply rooted in ancient customs and beliefs was patriarchal and what ensued after my parents' generation took over was seen by some as anarchy and - had Queen Vasilisa Dragomir not been on the throne – even treason.

My name is Lilith Belikov, the first of my kind. Well kind of. I'm a Damphir, a novice guardian, sworn to protect Moroi – an ancient race of vampires – from Strigoi, an abominable race of vampires that feed off of humans, Moroi and Damphir alike. Since Moroi still need blood to survive, they only take small quantities from willing humans called feeders while Strigoi completely drain and kill their victims – willing or not. Apart from the killing, the biggest difference between Moroi and Strigoi is that Strigoi have this unearthly chalky complexion, red eyes and the inability to walk around in the sun – while Moroi are tall, pale and lithe. Strigoi also possesses otherworldly strength and speed, which is why Damphirs are trained from a young age to fight and protect Moroi – they come first. Moroi need us to protect them and we need them to further our race. Another difference between Moroi and Strigoi – while not physically visible – is the fact that Moroi can wield elemental magic. There are five types of magic, four being elemental – earth, air, water and fire – and the fifth being spirit, a magic that had been lost to the Moroi race for millennia – with only ten or so known wielders in the world. While the effect of spirit magic and its uses had been clarified in leaps and bounds over the past twenty years, there's still some of spirit's effects that remain a mystery to us. One of those mysteries being my father, one of – if not the – best guardian alive today, Dimitri Belekov. Centuries ago Damphirs were born out of relations between humans and Moroi, making us sturdy like humans but fast and strong like vampires – without the need to consume blood - we're basically the best of both worlds, but as the human race expanded and they started heavily outnumbering us Moroi and Damphirs secluded themselves. Now the only way to create Damphirs was through Damphir and Moroi relations, until me. Remember I said I was the first of my kind? Well that's because I'm the first Damphir to ever be born to two Damphir parents and it's all thanks to spirit and the lasting effects it had on my father.

Spirit has many uses, one of them being the ability to change a Strigoi back into whatever it was before the change. That's exactly what happened to my father when Queen Vasilisa – at the time she wasn't Queen yet – drove a spirit infused silver stake through my father's heart. It might sound rather Dickensian but according to my uncle Adrian that's exactly what happened. Dad doesn't like talking about it and my mom seemed really sad when I had asked her about it years ago, but the transformation had caused something to happen inside him that made it possible for him and my mom – the fiercest and most decorated Damphir guardian besides my father – to have me, their miracle as they like to call me. The coolest thing about this was that if you've been changed back once, it was impossible to become Strigoi again. Years ago - with the help of Mrs. Sonya Tanner (then Karp), uncle Adrian – both spirit users – Alchemists (an enhanced race of humans sworn to keep our world secret from humans) and my father – a vaccine was created to inoculate all races against being turned Strigoi. Soon after a decree was announced making the vaccination mandatory for all Moroi and Damphirs, but not everyone agreed with the decree and fled to remote and isolated parts of the world to evade capture and as such retracted their loyalty to the throne. That's why special academies all over the world – like St. Vladimir's - still train Damphirs to become Guardians and Moroi to use their magic defensively and offensively, because no matter the rate at which our exceptional guardians take out the Strigoi there never seem to be an end to their numbers.

My two best friends are pretty special as well, Alexandra Dragomir – daughter of Queen Vasilisa Dragomir and Lord Christian Ozera – was just as odd as they had labelled her mother growing up. Lexi had the power to wield not one, but all of the four types of elemental magic and according to history the only Moroi to ever have that ability. Back when our parents were students, Lexi would have been seen as a Spirit user because spirit users had affinity over all the elements but not strong enough to specialize in any, but Lexi's magical affinity was so strong that she has specialized in earth, air, water, and fire by the time she was twelve. She had so much mastery and control over her magic that she rivals graduate Moroi three times her age and still her control seems to grow daily. James Ivashkov – son of Adrian Ivashkov, the previous Queen's great nephew, a spirit user and Alchemist Sydney Sage with magical blood (the same blood that helped cultivate the Strigoi vaccine) – a Damphir like me, well not quite like me, but also first of his kind being the offspring of a Moroi and an Alchemist. Then there's me, Lilith Belikov – daughter to Dimitri Belikov and Rose Hathaway, two of the most decorated guardians in the history of our kind – the first ever Damphir birthed by two Damphir parents.

Foreboding, is what uncle Adrian calls us. And while it does sound like a really wicked name for a band, he explained that in history things like these only happened when trying times are coming. Times of great change or calamity and while our parents' generation had already brought some much needed change he believed the latter to be the case this time around, but none of us really pay him much mind when he's on a spirit induced rant – though we probably should have.