Kindness and Death

"I am sorry," Ariana pushed herself off the bed. "I didn't know when I fell asleep." 

Nicolai stared at her eyes. Even though Ari had killed someone, her eyes held a certain warmth in them. She still held the innocence and elegance to herself. How? Nicolai had no idea. 

His mother had once said to him that the second a person killed another human, he or she lost a part of their soul. That no matter how heartless someone became, the act of killing someone would ruin them in more than one way. 

Even he agreed because the more people he killed, the more Nicolai felt he was becoming more and more inhuman. 

However, there was something about Ari which was different from the rest. Despite taking a life, she was still the same. 

Either she had too much kindness and warmth —

His eyes dimmed as he finished the thought. 

Or this was the only remaining warmth and kindness in her heart. She couldn't possibly lose any more than that.