They organized a meeting at the eastern complex not more than a week later to discuss the implications of what had happened. Before she arrived, her father had given her the gist if what he knew. An organization known as Angelus has sent assassins to all of the mage complexes at once to execute the mages. It was a coordinated attack, and they lost several mage generals, but more survived the attacks and executed their attackers.

Without Ares, she would have lost her father too, and she would make a point to hug him next time she saw him. He would probably hate it, but she had so much gratitude for the Arcs that she could hardly contain it. Idus had shown up immediately on sight of trouble, and he had called Ares to help when he was in over his head. Neither of them had thought of walking away even though the fate of the mage house was of no consequence to them.

It only mattered to her, and she as sure Ares had known that.

Despite everything the Arcs had done for them, they weren't present at this meeting, and it made Silvia uneasy. At least most of them weren't. In the corner of the meeting room, Remus Shade was sitting with Meredith Aurion, and Damien was not far from him, leaning against the wall. Neil wasn't with him, and it didn't make her feel good. Why would the man be here without his house head? It was evening, so there was no reason for Neil to not be here.

They were assembled to go over a plan to strike back at Angelus, and after they'd lost so many mage generals, they were a bit short on men to carry out their attack. That was why the Shades were being represented here.

"Why should we trust the Shades in this matter?" Forest asked, voicing her concerns. "How do we know you weren't involved?

The Aurions had organized the meetings with the eastern and western generals. Involving the Shades seemed strange, considering the mages didn't know which vampire houses were trying to take them out. The Shades' territory was cut off and on the other side of the Arcs, so the Copses had no interaction with them.

"I am invested in Angelus' eradication," Remus said with a darkening expression. "They attempted to kill my father and me once last year, and I intend to pay them back in full."

"Angelus is a relic of the Arc past, and I too would like to see them gone," Damien said, explaining his presence. "Vincent led them with a few other Vampire houses that I never met, and upon his death they closed communication. It was a mage from among their ranks that he used to try and kill the Shades when he attacked in the incident last year.

"I don't know how far their clutches go into the remaining Arcs, so Remus and I have discussed perhaps an infiltration mission with the mages. If you can infiltrate and make sure we are going to be getting them all, the Shades will commit men to wipe them out, and I will also help."

"You're offering to do our work for us, but only if we sniff out your target?" Forest snapped.

"You won't be able to completely get rid of them with a mage attack," Remus responded with a far too even tone. "Vampires are too fast, and some will flee. But the Shades are hardline against them, so I have no one to infiltrate with. It would be best if you had a mage that would seem natural. Someone who is upset with the mage order, and is also skilled enough to play along with the façade of adoring vampires. Angelus is a radical sect and they feed off of humans worshipping them. It's not that we wouldn't do the dangerous work if we could, we just don't have the angle necessary."

"I'll do it," Silvia said, crushing her fingers into her fists.

"Silvia..." Forest spoke immediately in protest. "A mission like that has a high chance of getting you killed. I can't let you–"

"They killed Corval!" Silvia snapped, and Forest couldn't hold her gaze. "The man was only there because he liked me, and I didn't even give him the time of day. He's dead because of me! No one likes me here, the mages cut my wages, and I can't even afford my own rent anymore.

"There is no one who has been rejected by the mages more. I'm an outcast, and I can cozy up to some vampires if I can get the bastards who murdered Corval and over a dozen mages in the complex."

"You should let her," Leon added, leaning on his hand. "Silvia doesn't have much use to the mages as it is. Her position gives her the best opportunity, which is why we never let mages go, only decrease their wages when we don't have use for them. Each unique person has an advantage in certain situations, and this is Silvia's."

"You know I'm the best we have for this, Dad. They can't control me with their eyes like they could to any other mage operative. Even if they suspect and try to use their allure to get me to tell the truth, I can pretend to be under their control and say that I have no agenda. Who else can do that?"

Silence filled the room as her father's eyes hardened on her. "You will need to learn some things," Forest said after a heavy pause, and she nodded.

"Silvia Copse will need to go over much with us, but we will get her ready for the mission," Remus said. "Her being caught and dying doesn't serve our purposes, so in at least that, you can trust that I will try and keep her alive."

"How considerate," Damien growled before her father could say the same.

"I don't cry for every mage lost like you do, Damien. The Shades protect their own, as do the Arcs. If it was between the Arc house and mage lives, Neil would make the same decision. I would even go to say that they are more loyal to their house. The Arcs have always been a proud people.

"And don't think I don't know why Neil isn't here. You don't know if he or Ares are involved with Angelus. Ares was loyal to the death to Vincent, so you doubt him more, I know, but I wouldn't put it past Neil to embrace freedom and power where he can get it."

"You think Neil is involved?" Meredith spoke up for the first time, sounding concerned.

"I doubt it, but I wouldn't put it past him," Remus said calmly. "The man is a little more vicious than the other house heads and hasn't changed much since he was an heir. The Arc house lost a lot of power with Vincent, and Neil needs to have strong leadership. If Ares urged him, he might go to them. That's why Damien wants an infiltrator, to see if Ares has corrupted his precious master."

Silvia kept her mouth shut, but she wanted to stick a wood spell right through his chest. If only she knew anything offensive. Neither Ares nor Neil would be involved with a messed-up organization like that. While she wouldn't call Ares gentle like Neil was, he had a kindness about him that he'd shared with her, and she knew he wasn't capable.

Plus, he'd saved them from the Angelus assassin, though Forest had not reported that and kept the other mages quiet. It would tarnish the Arc reputation if Forest let it be known that they had defended mages with no other selfish motive. The Shades were only partnering with them for their own house's gain. Silvia had no doubt that Ares had saved her father because he was her father, and for no other reason that benefited the Arcs.

"Regardless of my motives, I will wipe Angelus out, no matter who is involved," Damien said quietly. "The only thing I ask of the Shades is that they allow me to take Neil into custody if he got caught up with them. Neil is my master, and even if he has fallen, I will protect him, and I don't wish to fight you."

Despite doubting Neil, Damien was still loyal, and she respected him for that. Damien sounded like he believed that Neil might have gotten caught up from another's influence, more than he thought Neil was inherently evil or driven toward control and power.

"Allow me to coach, Silvia Copse," Damien said, and Remus leaned on a hand.

"You're too tame, Damien. She needs to be familiar with vampire auras around her and taught the proper ways that we like to be treated. You're a mage and know little of how we live and thrive."

"We can both work with her. I don't trust you to not scar a mage if I leave you alone with them." Damien growled, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"Very well."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nearly a month later, she arrived at the meeting place with nervous jitters, but this was where the Angelus operative had asked to meet. She'd visited all of their normal grooming and recruiting points, and she'd finally gotten one of their vampire's attention.

The man she was set to meet had taken weeks to convince online that she was sincere, and in all that time, she wasn't allowed to have any communication with the mages or her normal home. They'd gotten her an apartment in the town they needed, and she was lonely after so long without her family and without Neil.

What did he think When she'd just disappeared? Especially after the last conversation they'd had. Did he think she'd left him? Had grown tired of his inability to be with her? Or perhaps that he'd scared her away when he'd lost control at the training complex and then latched onto her throat the same night. It was something she couldn't discuss with Neil until she got back, and so she stood tall as a man approached her.

"Silvia?" a man with ice blue eyes and attractive, tousled blond hair, greeted her.

He looked like a regular university student with a bright youthful expression, and he was slim built with an expensive taste in clothes. His ornately embroidered white silk shirt made his jeans look ordinary, but his smile glinted in the light with perfect teeth, two of which were longer. The dark energy that permeated the air round him gave him away as a vampire but he looked comfortable out in the day.

"Yes," she answered, and he scrutinized her. "You must be Style."

After seeing how meticulously he cared for himself and fashion, the smile snuck out all on its own. It was good for her, because Style mirrored it.

"I know, it's a bit vain. It wasn't a name I gave myself. The other vampires thought my attention to my physical appearance was a bit over the top."

"Well, it works for you." Silvia calmed as he regarded her kindly. "I can't say I've seen anyone more attractive walking around today."

"Thanks. I'm a good face for new recruits. While also making sure we aren't bringing anyone nefarious in, we like to put a friendly outward appearance on our operation. You are much more pleasant than I imagined. When I was told you were a mage, I expected a less friendly reception."

"If your name wasn't so ridiculous, I might have still been nervous," Silvia admitted with a blush, and it relaxed the vampire further. Thank god they'd made it easy for her to fall in line. If their first meeting didn't go well, she'd get nowhere, so she was off to a good start.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word Count: 2025