Chapter 26: The Mage in His Glory

Amanda’s fingers weaved their way into Cord’s thick locks. She accepted him with no hesitation, making herself available for his ministrations.

Guilt may have poked her again, but she didn’t let that deter her. Surrendering to her need of him was more important than her apprehension or any other matter.

Had she trusted him more because he poured himself to her?

Yes. Because he looked sincere enough while mentioning he had atoned for his sins.

Aside from immortality, with the wealth, social status, and power vampires held, no one would actually want to become human again. But Cord was willing to, just so that his suffering would end.

And hearing him share that, truly changed Amanda’s perspective of him. She was no longer afraid and Cord knew that to his joy. He of course didn’t want the woman he cared about fear him for what he had become. For what he had done. Yes, he had a darkened heart, he could accept that, but with her, it was always bathed in light.

“Cord...” Amanda managed to whisper once their lips parted. A burning ache inside her had started to present itself and it was hard for her to ignore.

“Come with me in my chamber,” he stated. He ran the tip of his nose along her flushed cheek, her scent he had loved so much since the day they met, and to be able to bask in it without limitation now was pure bliss.

“Yes, I’d like to come with you,” Amanda answered. She met his gaze and smiled at him, knowing full well what will happen there once she lies in his master bed. What happened to them last night in her room had been in her mind in a constant pace, though overlapped with her momentary fear, but still there, ever flaming. Ever needing.

Cord, if he could, would have teleported them using his shadow ability, but his shadows could only teleport their Master - him, so that meant they had to walk the rest of the hallway to get to his chamber. And that meant some difficulty considering he was aching to touch her again.

Before moving, he kissed her in the forehead, trailed it down her swollen lip and devoured her again like a glutton.

But that would have continued all the way to his chamber if not for another interruption: Calvin.

“Cord!” his voice erupted in the air like a siren call.

Naturally, the two stopped their kiss, but it was a difficult process. Cord immediately glared at his cousin while Amanda cleared her throat.

“Fuck, what now Calvin?” he growled.

The one glared at sighed but wasn’t guilty of his interruption at all.

“Garett. He is gone,” he then informed.

The latter, in response, hissed, while Amanda gasped in shock. They looked at each other and it was Cord who immediately saw the tinge of worry in her eyes.

“Stay in your room. I’ll put my shadows there to protect you. Understand?” he instructed.

“What about Noman and Matteo? They have blood too. They could become targets or used as pawns in order to get to me.”

Amanda straightened her spine. Amidst feeling the threat in her life, she was ready to run where Noman was and protect him. But Cord had other plans.

“I’ll have Calvin secure their safety, bring them to your room if its a must. Just please don’t leave. I don’t know yet what Garett is capable of. I don’t want the pond incident to happen again.”

Cord pressed his palm on her cheek, gently, surely, assuring her as much as he could.

Amanda felt grateful for the sense of protection he was giving but somehow a part of her wanted to prove she was not a burden to him.

“I am not that helpless Cord. I’m a full-pledged witch now.”

“Yes,” he agreed, “But you don’t know yet how to use your ability - whatever that is, and besides, I love protecting you.”

Amanda blushed at this. Using the L-word aside, who knew that a vampire would actually protect a witch from another vampire?

She remained speechless so Cord used this to kiss her on the lips again. It wasn’t a kiss of goodbye really nor was it a good luck kiss. To Amanda, it was just him taking advantage of the situation.

And then, after a long minute, he pushed her to the side and said, “Now, go.”

Amanda nodded and turned heels, aiming to get to her room as fast as possible. Memories of her attack in the pond surfaced again but this time, it didn’t rattle her hard. She had two backups after all. One was her growing confidence on protecting herself due to the ability she held and two was Cord’s protection on her.

She had Matteo on her side too, who was a powerful mage, but that’s if Calvin will find him asap. For now, she had to stick to what she had and hoped for the best.

When she arrived in her bedroom, the light fixtures were off. Light from the garden outside was the only form that illuminated her room.

It didn’t hinder her to see her visitor though.

A man was standing at the center of her furniture set, one hand in his pocket while the other was coolly dangling along the side. Amanda’s heart leaped once when she saw him, thinking it was Garett, but upon closer inspection, it was Matteo.

“Matt! I’m glad you’re safe!”

She smiled, relieved, but as soon as she flicked the switch on, her mind took a hundred and eighty-degrees turn. She saw her bestfriend sprawled in the sectional sofa like an unconscious drunk man.

“Oh my God, Noman!” She raced to his side and carefully inspected for a bite mark in his neck. Luckily, there wasn’t, but it made her feel even cautious. “What happened to him Matt?”

Matteo, staring down at her, just ran a hand through his hair smirking, and said, “He is bothering too much, Cait. I didn’t like it so I put him to sleep.”

Amanda blinked twice, not registering his words at first, but as soon as she did, she stood up and consciously stepped an inch back from him.

“What’s going on?” she asked, but Matteo just shrugged his shoulders.

“You know, I just realized how stupid I am for not noticing, since the very first day we stepped in this place, that this is actually the lair of vampires. Your enemy, Amanda. How could I have let this slip my attention.”

“Matt...” Amanda’s face heated, feeling guilty of not telling him since the beginning.

“Also, how stupid of me to toss you into their Master.” His eyes turned an icy blue. “I’m supposed to guard you, but I failed. However, I didn’t actually expect you’d give in to his temptation. I thought you were strong, Cait, seeing that you shove my advances for this past two years. ”

“Matt, I-” she inserted, but Matteo brought his hand up to stop her.

“Uh, no. You don’t need to explain it.” He shook his head and glanced at the floor.

From there, Amanda saw the glint of pain, disappointment and possibly, anger in his eyes.

“I saw it Cait, you kissing him fervently. Heard it with my own ears, your conversation earlier.”

Amanda’s breath hitched, stunned to know this tidbit.

“Aren’t the strategy of vampires like that? They lure you into their world, make you love them, worship them, and then drain your blood and ability. Aren’t these the reason why your kind is now extinct?”

She knew that. Knew it from the bottom of her heart, but she also knew that the Vitalis Master was different from the others. He was the exception.

Matteo curled his fingers, shot her a displeased look, and continued, “You know, you, as a young witch, are their last hope for justice, but it seems you are not taking your family’s side.”

“Justice...” Amanda sputtered, tightening her hands as well, “Where’s the justice in putting a dreadful curse in a family? If that witch didn’t create it, then our kind’s extinction wouldn’t have happened!”

“Ahh, so he had told you his past. That confirms my suspicion that you’ve been intimate with him.” Matteo’s jaw tightened.

Amanda inhaled and lifted her chin.

“Who I choose to be with is none of your concern, Matteo. I didn’t agree to the betrothal. It was my mother’s silly promise!”

“Silly yes, but I honored the bargain. I protected you. Made you invisible to vampires these past few years of your vulnerability. And I want you, Amanda. I love you.”

“No.” She immediately shook her head. “We are not going to that path. You are not using the L-word on me.”

The L-word.

Yes. That.

Somehow, when Matteo used it, it didn’t sound palatable at all.

In response, Matteo clucked his tongue feeling disappointed. “I can’t explain more if you’re not in your right mind to listen.” A corner of his nose creased, seemingly disgusted of a sudden fact. “Have you given him your blood? I hope you didn’t, but if you did, then your brain now lacks the blood to properly understand what I am saying.”

“How dare you talk to me like that?!” Amanda scowled at him.

“No. No.” He raised a hand again and gave her a pale smile. “Let’s not argue Caitlyn. Especially here. Let’s leave this place first.”

“No.” Amanda, without hesitation, answered.

Matteo’s lips twitched in displeasure. “Huh, I know you would say that and I know that Cord’s shadows protect you, so I brought along a new friend to help me whisk you away from here.”

Friend? Amanda somehow felt uneasy with the word.

“I’ve just known him see. Just this afternoon. He informed me the nature of this house and it’s residents and what you have been up to.”

Amanda unconsciously cleared her throat. She may not be sure but she had great belief that this friend hated the Vitalis Master. Probably even have a personal vendetta against him.

“The shadows of Cord are powerful stuff, Cait, so I needed him to nullify that to get to you.”

By the mention of him, two hands immediately embraced Amanda from behind, caging her arms in place.

Amanda caught a strong scent of spice and wood, something she had ignored ever since the attack in the pond, but now, this was the very clue that told her about the man in her back.

“Garett!” Her eyes widened.

“Hello, birthday girl.”

On impulse, Amanda wriggled, trying to free herself, but Garett only tightened his hold on her, making sure she wouldn’t touch any part of his body again to avoid getting petrified if she so wishes to use her ability.

“Stay still. You’re just wasting your energy,” Garett murmured near her ear.

“Fuck you!” she spat. “Matt!” she turned her attention on the man in front of her and shouted, “This man is the murderer in the Circuit! Why enlist his help? What could you possibly get from this mad union?!”

“Oh, we aim the same ending, Cait,” Matteo answered whilst tilting his head to the side, acting unconcerned of her plight. “Garett and I, we want the Vitalis Master dead. But not just any kind of death, we want him to suffer.”

Amanda’s rate of breathing increased. “Why? What is your reason?! Tell me!”

“Because I want you of course, and he is my obstacle to getting you,” Matteo replied. He then cocked his head towards Garett and continued, “He however has his own reasons which are his to tell.”

The man in question released a wicked grin and pointed his eyes on the exposed skin of her shoulder.

“I just want him to suffer. See to it that he pays for his sins. Badly.”

Amanda huffed. “Huh, I’d probably expect you to say that, but you Matt, you’d go through great lengths just to get me? I’m not some damn prize! I have a will too!”

“I don’t share my possessions, Caitlyn, put that in your head.” Matteo frowned at her.

Amanda, feeling helpless, gnashed her teeth. She shot Matteo a fiery look, hoping beyond hope that he’d turn into ashes with it. But he didn’t, so the next thing that came to her mind was to threaten them.

“Cord will know of this! He always does! Maybe he is even on his way here, now, as we speak!”

But her blood ran cold when Matteo just laughed out loud. Garett joined too but it was with an overconfident throaty chuckle.

“I don’t think so, Caitlyn,” Matteo stated once his sick humor settled. “I had cast a barrier in the whole of this room to fool him.” He gestured a hand towards the ceiling, pointing to something invisible, and showed a smile full of pride. “This shrouds us from his ever keen attention on you, enough that we can leave in time.”

“I will never go with you!”

“Oh, but you will.” Matteo stepped forward and pulled out the amulet in his pants pocket. “Wearing this, you will.”

“No...” Amanda this time showed an alarmed face. She wriggled again, but the damn vampire was just too strong.

“Hate that man like you are supposed to. Sever any intimate ties with him. Come with me. Love me.”

It was as if Matteo was casting a spell. Every word made Amanda shiver. She tried to block them out of her hearing but with Garett behind her, securing her, she failed.

She shot Matteo a cold look just as he slipped the necklace into her neck. There were two tears that fell then, one on each eye, being unable to hold them anymore.

“I cared for you. I trusted you. How could you do this to me?” she asked, voice seemingly thinning.

“I want your love, Caitlyn. Not your care.”

And after those words, Amanda’s eye color changed. From hazel-violet ones, they now turned into pure swirling amethysts. She seemed to be in a trance though, her body still and her face expressionless.

“Leave us or you’ll be her first victim when the amulet wakes the past memories of her ancestors inside her. You are a vampire after all,” Matteo voiced out, aiming them at Garett who speedily released Amanda and stepped out of reach.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Lord Nikos,” Garett grinned and bowed his head low in mock respect. “With the power of that amulet controlling her, Cord’s shadows won’t be a problem anymore.”

“Good.” Matteo bobbed his head.

One second was all it took for Garett to vanish on the spot. When they were left alone, Matteo studied Amanda from head to toe with lust and licked his bottom lip.

“Now, let’s get out of this place.”

There was a bright circle of light on the floor right below them then. Matteo reached for Amanda’s waist and pulled her in; their bodies slowly disappearing just as Cord’s pet panther, Bagheera, burst inside the room, growling a mad sound.