In my current outline draft. It calls for Nikita to be killed half way through the story, coincidently right after she's rescued from torture.

However i have built up the fact that when she was 16, she and her sister travelled to Rossia only to be set upon by Bandits. Sarana is raped and notices her sister hiding in the bushes, watching, hiding. Then as Sarana was taken and sold to body slaves a resentment grows as she now is rather pissed off that her sister in her eyes let her be raped and taken away. When she escapes at the age of 22 she is intent on revenge. But seeing as Nikita is "dead" she arrives and meets Anthorn who tells her this.

Sarana feigns sadness, then mentions to Anthorn that they've all been cleverly manipulated, she mentions Xara, the woman who figured in all of their pasts and tells him that she knows where she lives "Wil you come with me to kill her?" He accepts. They journey to this place and he kills the woman, as he does he is unaware that Sarana plans to kill him too.

Back at the camp though Rosina Tulwinkle arrives with a warning and a casket. Inside is Saranas dead body. (Revelation. She's been dead for a year.)

That was the current one. But i was thinking. Do you think i should hold off on Nikitas death and the reveal of Sarana to not be Sarana until book 2 and have Sarana playing happy families for the rest of the book, with only the reader knowing what she has planned for Nikita. And have Nikita's death be done by Sarana. Cause i'm not sure.

I'm thinking that revealling Sarana to be an imposter, after having the reader only meeting her half way through the book, might be too early.

Nikita is a masculine name, as in Nikita Kruschev.

And so is Brian, to some people.

NVM. I googled “anthorn and nikita” and I’d say just listen to the advice all those other writers gave you.