The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 112

When we arrived at the ball, Victor helped me from the car. I had straightened myself out and everything looked okay. Victor wrapped my arm around his and led me to the door. A large man in a suit opened the door for us.

I thought the place was a restaurant, but it looked like there was a central area for dancing. Several tables were set in it, along with one long table at the head of everything. I tried to make sure not to look around frantically trying to see everything. Tonight, I had to act as cool and commanding as a real vampire. I had to be the mistress of this territory. Victor was counting on me, so was Marius.

Putting on the cool demeanor I had been practicing, I scanned over the room. Pretty much every vampire was trying to get a look at us without staring. I gripped Victor's arm tightly, while trying to seem like I wasn't. I was managing to keep the panic from rising. "I see Talon and Silence. We'll speak with them first." Victor said quietly.

He led me over to where they stood. It had been a while since I saw them. Silence was beautiful. Her hair was piled on top of her head, looking like strands of gold delicately balanced. She was wearing a deep blue dress that made her silver eyes seem to stand out even more.

"Master Nightshade. Mistress Nightshade." She murmured and curtsied.

Next to her was Talon. He was as tall as Finn, but not as thick. His brunet hair seemed to have slivers of dark red in it that brought out his dark red eyes. I remembered the passage from Alpha William's journal. Grigori had red eyes. "Master Nightshade. Mistress Nightshade." He bowed.

'Victor, is Talon one of Grigori's children?' I asked.

'No. He was made in a different brood by Grigori's master. He came with Grigori to set up the territory. Upon seeing the resemblance, Talia questioned him. We have all the information we need from him.' Victor replied. "Talon, Silence, I'm happy you were both able to make it so early." Victor smiled briefly.

"We felt it was best if the majority of the territory's leadership was already in attendance well before you arrived." Silence said.

"It was a show of our support. You are our master as much as theirs. We wanted them to see that we didn't think ourselves more important than you." Talon added.

It was customary for the guest of honor to arrive after everyone else. If anyone else arrived after we did, they would be turned away at the door. I didn't know why they did that exactly, but I wasn't going to argue the rules.

I looked around and saw that Marius was already there with Talia and two other vampires. He caught my eye and I nodded to him instead of waving. He smirked and nodded back.

"Mistress Nightshade, you look lovely this evening." Silence smiled slightly.

"Thank you, Silence. So do you. I have been wanting to tell you how much I appreciate your cooperation in Victor's investigation into his missing childe. You saved my life by being so agreeable." I said.

"I was doing what had to be done. I'm happy that such a pleasant end to the situation was found." She bowed her head slightly.

"As am I." Victor smiled. "Please come with us. I see the High Council. I would like to introduce you to them."

There was a wary look that passed from Talon to Silence. Vampires didn't naturally trust each other. Not unless they were related and, even then, it was a tenuous relationship. They were at ease with each other, but never fully relaxed unless the other vampire was their Solus Amor.

We walked over to where Marius and Talia stood with two other people. They were taller and both dressed in suits, even though I could tell one of them was a woman. She had short, dark brown hair and deep red eyes. I looked to Victor.

"This is Master Phoebe, The Prince. She was Grigori and Talon's sire. Master Phoebe, this is my Solus Amor, Echo Nightshade." Victor said.

"Marius' daughter. He's so proud of you. He showed me your photos this week. I swear I've never seen the man smile as much as he has been. Those photos hardly do you justice. Victor is a lucky man." She winked. "You must call me Phoebe. I can't have my friend's daughter treating me like an elder."

"Thank you, Phoebe. I appreciate it. You're very charming and you look quite handsome this evening." I smiled politely.

She laughed. It was a rich, happy sound that drew the attention of other vampires. The tension in the room was thick. They were nervous at having the Council there as much as I was at being around so many vampires.

"You seem to know exactly what to say. Did Marius coach you, or was that a natural response?" Phoebe asked.

"You weren't wearing a dress, I assumed you would prefer being handsome to being beautiful and that you would rather be charming than lovely." I replied.

"She's smart and observant. I've been told by several brownnosers that I look beautiful this evening. Verity didn't tell me how wise you are."

I worked to keep a frown off my face at the mention of my ex-mother. Marius had told me that she was staying with the Prince until she was healed. I hadn't quite made the connections.

"I hope she's doing well. Has she given any more information that might help us understand why Daniel felt he had a right to me and my siblings?" I asked.

"Don't think that she's just lazing about my manor and doing as she pleases. Verity is physically healed, but mentally unable to support herself. She is forced to live in my dungeon and comes out at night to clean. I refuse to have her walking about in the daylight. She will stay with me until she has worked as you did. Though, I can't bring myself to make her feed vampires because of what the wolves did. That might break her mind even more. She hasn't given me anything useful in a while." Phoebe answered. "This is Master Felix, The Angel. Master Felix, my Solus Amor, Echo Nightshade." Victor said, moving on.

Felix was very pale with white-blond hair and golden eyes. He smiled slightly, but seemed more interested in his drink than he was in me. I didn't think he really wanted to be there.

"Thank you for coming, Master Felix. I understand you must have a busy schedule; it means a lot to us that you're here." I told him, bowing my head slightly. "You're welcome, Mistress Nightshade." He replied and turned to find another drink.

"Just ignore him. He's moody." Talia chuckled. "He honestly didn't have anything better to do, but didn't want to seem eager for free food and drink." "Talia." Master Felix growled.

"We're glad for your presence no matter the circumstance. I believe they're signaling the start of dinner service. We should go to our seats." I smiled.

"A good hostess and polite. Marius has taught you well." Master Felix said.

"This was not what I taught her. Echo was made to support a leader. Anyone can see that my daughter is a natural at this. I didn't need to teach her any part of it." Marius huffed.

Victor led me to the long table at the front of the area. Behind the table was a small stage where a band with stringed instruments played softly. I liked the sound of it and the way the music seemed to fill the room, without being too loud.

At the table, we found the two seats at the center had cards with our names on them. Marius sat to my right and Talia sat to Victor's left. Phoebe and Master Felix sat next to Marius while Talon and Silence sat next to Talia.

As the vampire guests found their seats and turned to us. I noticed some surprised looks. Marius had explained how seating went. The head table was for hosts and honored guests. The side people sat on meant that they supported the person at the center whose side they were seated on.

To all the vampires in the room, I had the support of almost all of the High Council. It made me the most powerful person in the room, who wasn't on the Council itself. Victor picked up my hand and kissed it.

"They were allowed to sit wherever they wanted. Talon and Silence were instructed to take whichever seats the Masters didn't take. You won them over in just a short while, my princess." He murmured. "I don't know how. I just introduced myself." I shrugged.

"No, you saw them. You always see everyone. Who they really are. It's what makes you so special. Even though you didn't know me, you trusted me to keep you safe. You could tell Master Marius was trying to do something when you first met him. You saw Grayson's arrogance and pride. The things he had to learn to get over in order to deserve you. Once you saw him again, you marked him as yours because you knew he wasn't the same boy you left behind." Victor said quietly.

I focused on the food that was served to me and tried not to blush. It happened whenever Victor complimented me and my abilities. I felt the familiar rush of heat in my cheeks.

Marius chuckled next to me. "He's in awe of his powerful little Solus Amor. Enjoy it. One day he will have seen everything you can do and will no longer be amazed."

"I will always be amazed by my Echo." Victor replied. "Every evening I wake up amazed that she is with me. Every time I see her do something I wouldn't have imagined the meek little girl I first met to do, even if it's the twentieth time she's done it, I am amazed. Echo is growing into the most amazing woman I could ever imagine."

"As you should be. I will be watching and if I ever see you acting anything less than amazed by her, we'll have a... talk." Marius smirked.

"That will never be needed, Master Marius. I promise." Victor said.

"Call me 'Marius'. You're engaged to my daughter. You deserve the privilege."

"Thank you, Marius. I need to make my speech now. If you'll excuse me." Victor told him.

I had barely realized that the first course had been completed. I was so busy trying to make sure I was using the right utensils and eating properly, while also trying to make sure I monitored Marius and Victor's conversation. I didn't want Victor to get angry in front of everyone. Marius would be lenient in private, but his public image was important to him.

Victor stood and guided me to stand next to him. He didn't need to call attention to himself, because every vampire there had been watching us. Trying to decipher the new Master.

"Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you all for joining us tonight. I am proud to be Master of this territory. It only took a few deaths to bring it to heel." He said.

There was a chuckle from the vampires around the tables. They had odd senses of humor. I smiled slightly and looked again to Victor.

"In the last month, we have started healing this territory. We found and dealt with vampires who were breaking laws that the Council takes very seriously, including feeding on children."

The audience gasped. I realized most vampires would actually not break that law as I heard some of them saying to their tablemates that the vampires who died deserved it if they were feeding on children. It made me feel a lot better about the people surrounding

me.

"In the next several months, I would like to have a new daylight servant agency up and running in the area. It's important that the needs of the vampires here are taken care of. I would also like to announce an alliance I have formed with the local werewolf pack and the largest rogue collective in the region. This alliance will help everyone. It will create a safer place for all of us to live. I intend to enter into a similar agreement with the witches' coven and the fae." Victor told them.

There was a smattering of applause and some grumbling. I understood. They were at odds with other supernaturals for most of their lives, it would be hard to change.

"I want to thank my sire, Talia the Traveler, for her continued support of my goals. I would also like to thank Master Marius Aconitum for his support in how I choose to grow this territory. I would like to thank him most of all for granting me the blessing to propose to my Solus Amor, his daughter, Echo Nightshade. The greatest sign that I was meant to be here came in the form of this young woman." He stated and kissed my hand. "My Echo has been waiting here for me for most of her life. And now we start a new life together." "What of the curse, Master Nightshade?" Someone called out from the back.

"We are close to getting the curse broken. As you can see, I am in top mental and physical condition. Do not worry, I fully intend to free the territory from this curse as quickly as possible. Should anything happen to me, though, my Solus Amor will remain here to find a resolution. She will be in the care of her father, so I don't recommend anyone trying to hurry me to my final rest in order to gain the last living dhampyr of her level." Victor chuckled. "Unless you want to tempt Death."

Marius stood up beside me and took my other hand. He looked around the room in a defiant way. As if he were challenging someone to try it.

"Are there any other questions before we finish our meal?" Victor asked.

There was a person asking if any laws were going to be changing. Victor told them his territory would follow all the laws of the Council. There were a couple more questions about how everything would be changing with the alliances and who would be in charge of the new daylight servant service.

Victor surprised me by naming Grant and Gareth as the ones he was intending to tap for this service. Both men were seated at one of the tables directly in front of us. They bowed and accepted the position.

We finally sat and were served the next course. I looked around and saw an older man looking at me. He nodded his head at me and returned to his meal.

I wondered about him and decided I wouldn't approach him without either one of the Council members, Finn, or Victor beside me. He was the only one still interested in me after the announcement that I would be cared for by Marius if something happened to Victor. It was cause enough for concern.