Something soft pressed against her face and dark energy hummed over her arm. Someone was holding her hand, but it wasn't Neil. If it was, she'd know. After having his magic coursing inside her every nerve and vein, it wasn't something she'd confuse with another vampire's power. Still, the energy climbing up her arm was an easy affectionate roll, so it was fair to assume it was Lorenzo. Other vampires' dark power was too overwhelming to touch comfortably.

With a groan, she turned and regretted it. Everything spun, even though her eyes were closed, and she ached everywhere. Curse every vampire in existence to hell right now. It wasn't fair of her to think, but if Vincent hadn't been so cruel and set his son up like this, and some twisted Angelus bastard hadn't ripped the mage complex apart, this wouldn't be happening.

It didn't take a genius to figure out why Neil had been avoiding kissing her, let alone sleeping with her all together. That was not something she wanted to repeat. The whip wounds had to be gone because she was on her back and when she moved it didn't rip pain through her. Stupid healing mages that served the vampires. If they didn't have them, they couldn't beat the life out of her without restraint and then heal her. She doubted it was going to get better from here.

"Silvia," Lorenzo said her name as a whisper. It sounded like he was in as much pain as she was.

Everything hurt, but it was mostly a dull ache, nothing compared to being tied down and whipped. Opening her eyes, she found a mage on her right-hand side monitoring her vitals, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Was this the same dick who had healed her insides and just watched while they dragged her half naked to be whipped?

It at least gave her an inkling of who was working for Angelus. While she didn't know him personally, she knew a Shield when she saw one. Dyed purple hair and a matching tattoo under his right eye gave him away; they all made themselves the same color. The man looked down at her and grimaced away from her gaze as he went back to the monitor in front of him.

Well, he didn't like what Neil had done to her, even if he was working with Angelus.

At least he'd healed all the whip cuts, though she knew there would be scars all over her back for the rest of her life. Healing mages sealed wounds and sped up the process, but they always left marred skin where the cuts had been if they were bad enough. Fang marks could fade, but the wounds she'd suffered would be painted on her back for life. Just another thing Neil was going to use to fuel his belief that he was a monster.

Dark magic grazed her cheek and pulled her focus to her left. Lorenzo's blue eyes were shadowed in pain, and he clenched his teeth as he removed his hand from her skin.

"You'll be okay, Silvia." Lorenzo's gaze fell to the floor.

She felt bad for him. The way Neil was acting was to fit in with the deranged extremist faction of Angelus that was fighting with Lorenzo's rule. Lorenzo cared about her, but she was still glad it had been Neil who'd tortured her. Any other vampire would have been ten times as vicious and probably would have actually raped her. She was certainly ten steps backwards in her relationship with Neil, and she was going to crumble at the sound of a whip forever, but it was better than what it could have been.

She knew what she'd signed up for when she'd taken this mission.

"I did not know he was going to do that to you. They don't tell me anything around here anymore." Lorenzo clenched his hands together as if he could crack the men around here like his knuckles.

"It's all right, Lorenzo." Silvia rolled but couldn't get anywhere with how tired she felt.

"It's not all right!" Lorenzo hissed, but he lifted her hand and set it on a controller to her left.

It was the bed controls, and she pressed a button so she could sit up better. It tore at her back in a way she hadn't felt as of yet, pulling on the old wounds. Even healed, they would feel pain for a bit as the new skin thickened over what would be scars.

"Lorenzo, I am committed to Angelus. If there is someone infiltrating from the inside, I don't want them destroying what we could achieve here. If I have to suffer pain to see the world I want, then I will take it with pleasure. Please don't turn on your own because of something so trifling." Silvia knew Lorenzo understood that she meant her mission, but it didn't stop the sickened look that displayed on his face.

"Is Silvia Copse awake?" Trent came into the infirmary, and she wanted to gut punch him but was unable to do so as a human. The man smiled at her, and the way his eyes brightened and crinkled around the edges, she knew he'd enjoyed Neil torturing her.

What a sick fuck.

"Piss off, Trent, she can barely stand," Lorenzo snapped, but Trent put a hand on either hip in annoyance.

"We don't need her to stand, only sit and listen. We don't have time to dawdle." Trent's hiss of a voice reminded her that most vampires weren't like Neil, and she squeezed Lorenzo's hand involuntarily out of fear.

"It's all right, Lorenzo," Silvia said, and he tore his heated gaze from Trent's to soften in her direction. "I want to do my part here." She tried to scoot off the bed to stand, but her legs were too weak to lift her.

Lorenzo took no time in scooping her into her arms, and she wrapped her hands around his neck to hold herself still as he walked with her out of the room. It was embarrassing to be pressed against his chest, and she tucked her face into his shoulder to hide her blush as she passed by several other vampires and humans who were out and about.

Unlike Neil, who was slim and her height, Lorenzo had a foot on her and a gracious amount of muscle on his chest and arms. She worried that if he and Neil fought, Neil wouldn't win. The man had been the master of his own house for far longer than Neil, and his attachment to her could prove dangerous.

What could she do about it though?

As soon as they arrived in the meeting room, a growl rolled out of Lorenzo's throat on sight of Neil sitting with papers spread out on the table. For a moment, Neil kept his eyes glued to them and she knew he was avoiding looking at her, though to Lorenzo it probably looked like he was ignoring him.

"Lorenzo, I see you brought our new liaison," Neil finally spoke, lifting his crimson eyes to Lorenzo's with a smirk. They flicked to her for an instant to judge her state, and she smiled back, awkwardly in another vampire's clutches.

Standing in the doorway, Lorenzo was a wall of steel and didn't bring her any closer to Neil.

"Do you intend to hold her the entire meeting? Or can she sit in a chair?" Neil chuckled, and it was a hollow sound. It was clear he was not amused, but Lorenzo didn't care.

"Can I sit down?" Silvia asked to remove the tension

Lorenzo frowned but deposited her in a chair across the table from Neil. It was as far as Lorenzo could get her from him, but it was a small table. This wasn't the same meeting room as before, and at most, this table seated six.

"What can I help with, Master Neil?" Silvia said pleasantly.

Neil stopped what he was doing to meet her gaze firmly. While a smirk was glued to his face, something darker in his eyes was trying to figure out how she was going to react to what had happened. Was he afraid she'd no longer love him? That she'd think he was a monster?

"I was hoping we could work closely together in recruiting and managing the current mages in Angelus." Neil dropped his gaze to the papers, his grip tightening on the one in his hand. "They get unruly when left to their own devices, and I want to use a softer approach to gain allies who are a bit more... aesthetically pleasing."

"Did you just ask me to help you pick up chicks?" Silvia asked, and Neil choked on his next words.

Covering his mouth, he was unable to hold the dark chuckle in, and his eyes flashed a brighter crimson at her. That was better. She wanted them to go back to normal.

"No." Neil stacked up the papers in front of him and folded his hands under his chin. "By aesthetically pleasing, I don't mean exclusively female. In fact, male mages are usually more powerful as far as influence due to your human gender bias in leadership, but the extent of one's magical power is not gender specific.

"What I meant was, that the mages we have are not well received by their peers. We need powerful houses, but also mages with a good head on their shoulders. Too many power-hungry people don't make for a very functional organization. I want people who align with our ideals, not ones who are here just to gain something from the power vampires can provide, if you understand."

"I get what you're saying," Silvia said, glancing over to Lorenzo when his power fluctuated.

"Why are you still here?" Neil asked the vampire at her side, and his eyes darkened.

"I care about Silvia's wellbeing and prefer not to leave her at the mercy of masters she doesn't know," Lorenzo spat, narrowing Neil's eyes.

"I also care about Silvia's wellbeing. She is an irreplaceable asset. You needn't worry on my account. If you insist on staying, have a seat. You are also a valuable member of this organization, though not as... charming as Silvia." Neil smirked, and Lorenzo slammed his hands on the table.

"You're a deranged little mongrel, Neil Arc. Whatever sick shit you get away with in your own territory, it won't fly here. I will find a way to make you suffer for what you did."

The last thing she needed was the people on their side fighting against one another, but this was only going to get worse between them.

"As long as it's at a later time." Neil stood and sat in the chair next to her, setting a stack of papers in front of her. "You have a gathering of new mages each year to promote growth and foster relationships between houses. Do you normally attend?" Neil asked, and she fingered the papers and nodded.

They were profiles of each and every mage that would be going. Whoever the mage was that was working with them had high clearance to get these. That meant that he was general class like her father, so it was even more important that they figured out who it was. They couldn't leave a mage with such connections unchecked to undermine the mage order.

"I do, with my cousin," Silvia answered. "The younger ones like to talk to those of us who have been to the battlegrounds and have experience to share."

"Good. I want you to walk among them and get a feel for who has gentler sentiments towards our kind. Luring them young but in their prime is best. They will do riskier things to chase their ideals before they settle into the mage organization's expectations. Can you sift among them and perhaps get a few together to meet after? Tell them it's an exclusive invitation they have to keep secret. They will trust you?" Neil prodded.

"I guess, but they all like Alec more. My cousin also shares the tamer sentiments of the Copses. Perhaps if we could work him into joining, we could gain more."

"Do you trust him?" Trent asked, leaning on the table across from her, and she leaned back to get further from him. She'd half forgotten the guy had followed Lorenzo, and was unhappy to remember he existed at any time.

"Alec and I grew up together as children. We keep each other's secrets, so even if he didn't agree with them, he'd never give me away. Worst scenario, he knows what I'm doing and stays quiet, and best case, we can convince him to join our cause."

"That sounds fine. Even if he might give you away, you need only come to me and I'll make sure he doesn't." Neil trailed his fingers over her chin, and she blushed as he dropped his ice-cold fingers back to the papers.

"Can I suggest something?" Silvia asked, and both Trent and Neil eyed her suspiciously. "You want humans who will give in to the idea that vampires are safe, right? Work with us? I assume you won't tell them the full details of any of your plans, so you'll need them complacent and ignorant.

"It's better to wind them up in missions that they don't understand the consequences of until they are too deep to back out. Then you have them under your fingers with no way to go back to the mages and only you to lean on. Is that about right?"

There was silence as all three vampires in the room leered at her, Lorenzo in worry, Trent in disbelief, and Neil in approval.

With a smirk, Neil tapped his fingers on the table and chucked. "Yes, Silvia Copse. That is the idea. Do you disapprove?"

"No. You have to hook mages with something unexpected to get them to your side at all. Eventually, with numbers, they will come on their own, but to start a gathering you have to lure them with something... appealing." Silvia flicked a disgusted glare up to Trent. "Trent isn't appealing."

Neil chuckled as Trent growled at her. "I have to admit, no, he's not."

"Give me Oz," Silvia said, and Neil frowned. "Not to do anything behind your back. For drawing them in. He's young, friendly, and attractive."

Neil grimaced on the word, and a possessive growl slipped out of his throat. It was simultaneous with his grabbing the side of her head and pulling her neck down to his fangs. "Say that again in my presence," Neil threatened, and she groaned.

"Attractive to the mages, Master Neil." Silvia turned into his face, and he let her go to sit back in her own chair. "He's a good representation of extended youth, and proof that you can become a vampire without becoming Trent. He'll attract men and women, and if I bring them to him with my cousin, I think we could sway a few. As nice looking a Style is, he has a twisted personality that will push them away, but he serves his purpose to root out rats. We don't need that here. We need appeal.

"If they agree to come to us, I will bring them to you, not Lorenzo, if that is your concern, Master Neil. I know you don't like me, but like you said, you own me now, and I will be loyal to you."

"Sure you will." Neil's power flowed into her from his eyes, and she relaxed in her chair as it weighed her down. "I will give you Asmodeus de Fleur for you mission, and you will bring any prospects only to me. Do you understand, slave?"

"Yes, Master Neil," Silvia replied, letting out a small breath of pleasure as his hands trailed over her face and down her neck. Whenever he used his allure and connected it to the magic under his fingertips, it was blissful to feel his caress.

"You will also forget this promise. Merely do what I say," Neil continued, and she nodded against his hand. "Good. Now continue on as normal." Neil's eyes dimmed and his power faded.

She couldn't help the smile that curled her lips so close to Neil's face. She certainly couldn't tell him that she was immune to his allure. That would make him know that she remembered the gruesome encounter they'd had in bed, so she would just play along until after the mission.

"You look... lively after last night," Neil commented, looking her body up and down.

"Piss off, Neil." Lorenzo growled, and Neil stood aggressively.

"Leave, Lorenzo," Neil demanded as dark energy sparked off of him. "I own Silvia Copse, and she has made it clear that she isn't interested in your affections. Does it spurn you that she likes something a little, rougher?" The husk to Neil's voice as he slid his hand down her neck caused her heart to speed up.

Trent was at Neil's side in an instant, and Lorenzo took a step back as a few other vampires sensed the scuffle and slid into the room. One of them was Asmodeus, and he pulled Lorenzo's arm to get him to back off. Under vampire law, Lorenzo had no right to demand anything of Neil regarding her. Turning away from them, Lorenzo didn't meet her eyes as he stormed out the door, and Asmodeus trailed him protectively.

As soon as Lorenzo was gone, the other vampires save Trent left, and Neil fell back into his chair with frustration. "I'm sick of his meddling. How did you follow such a human sympathizer for so long?"

"Lorenzo has connections and money, but with you, we can rid ourselves of him." Trent shared Neil's disgust, though for different reasons. "The man sees that and is getting antsy, but he's loyal to his kind. We'll eliminate him if he turns, but he still has connections we want. It would help if your new pet could turn him down hard, so he backs off."

"I did," Silvia flexed her hands. "I told him I wasn't interested, and he insisted that if I was Neil's I'd regret it." Silvia was getting good at lying with the truth.

"Do you?" Neil flit his eyes over to her, and she stood immediately.

Closing the small gap between them, she stopped in front of him but didn't know what to do with her shaking body. He patted his lap with a smirk, but she groaned in pain as she clutched the table to hold herself up.

"I... can't lift my legs that high, Master Neil," Silvia said, dropping her eyes to the ground.

She jumped as he slipped his arms under her own and set her on his lap with her facing him, leaning her into his chest and delving his hand into her hair. It was so pleasant, his familiar dark energy soaking into her, that she gasped and pressed further closer into him.

"You are in no condition to do anything fun, Silvia." Neil chuckled against her face. "But I want to do something fun. We need you strong and unmarred for the meeting of mages early next week, so I can't sink my fangs into your neck."

"There are... other places you can bite, Master Neil," Silvia whispered into his face, and a hum of dark energy and a growl vibrated from his throat as he inhaled against her hair.

"Don't tempt me. After. After, we will play. Prove yourself first, and then I will reward you." Neil nuzzled her face. "Fail, and you know what pain I can inflict upon you. Last night was only a taste, a gentle tease, if I'm honest. My family specializes in pain, so don't doubt my abilities."

"I won't fail, Master Neil." Silvia rasped as he squeezed her throat.

"Good." The word tickled her ear, and she wheezed in a breath as he released her from his grips.

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Word Count: 3296