Roman Volkov was one of the children tested upon by George Mercer. He appears in The Darkest Legacy as one of the main characters.
| “ | Eyes of a poet, hands of a killer | ” |
–Zu about Roman, in The Darkest Legacy | ||
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Roman was born in Russian and would be raised as an only child until his younger sister, Lana, was born. When his mother was at work, he and Lana would be kidnapped and would be taken to an orphanage in Ukraine. Lana and Roman would be bought by Gregory Mercer, a large crime boss, with six other children and would be shipped to the United States. When the rehabilitation camps fell and the world would become aware of the fact that Agent Ambrosia was the cause behind the psi race powers, Gregory would join forces with Jonathan Wendall and start a cascade of experiments on non-psi children.
Lana nearly died during the experiment programs, but she would pull through and would become a limit. Roman himself became a Mirror, which meant he could temporarily copy another psi's powers. Mercer originally didn't see any use to the mirror ability, but eventually came around.
Mercer took Lana into his personal security unit, and Roman would join an assassin unit for Mercer alongside Priyanka Acharya and Max Wendall. Max would locate the Targets, Priyanka Acharya would break through security systems, and Roman would kill the target. The three on the unit would become extremely close with one another. On a random assassination mission, Max goes rouge. Fearing for their lives Priyanka and Roman would flee. Before they separate, Roman confront's Max, who says he can't kill someone with children nearby. Roman is destroyed about leaving Lana behind, but decides at the last minute to do it anyway.
The Darkest Legacy[]
Roman and Priya track Suzume (Zu) Kimura to a press confence where she is giving a speech at the beginning of the book. When the venue is bombed and Zu is blamed, they help her escape. They join Zu on the run as fugitives and travel with her to Haven, a safe place Liam and Ruby had set up for PSIs, while being on the look out for Roman's sister, Lana. Priyanka and Roman lead Zu to believe that they are a part of the Psion Ring, an organization of PSI kids who have done a lot of damage lately. After the pair comes clean to Zu about this, and she decides to help them, Zu and Roman share a kiss. He continues to travel with her and breaks Max out of his detention facility, helps heal Lana, and create a new Psion Ring.
Personality[]
Roman is observed to be a bit quiet and contemplative though he does have a humorous side. One of his quirks is his attempts at turning Russian phrases into English ones, much to the amusement of Priya and Zu. He cares deeply about his friends and family.
Powers[]
As Roman was experimented on using IAAN, his powers are unlike any of the standard color designations. His power is known as Mirror, which allows him to copy another Psi's powers through touch for a short while. A side effect of this power, is that after using it he passes out and remains unconscious for some time.
Physical description[]
Roman is described to have chestnut hair that is slightly curled, strong features, tanned skin, and pale eyes. He is also very tall and broad-shouldered.
Relationships[]
Priyanka[]
Priyanka and Roman are extremely close. They grew up together and understand each other really well. Priyanka told Zu that Roman was 'all she had left'.
Suzume
Zu and Roman develop a good relationship throughout the book and become attracted to each other. They kiss near the end of the novel.