The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 119

Before Victor woke up, I showered and changed my clothes. We'd gotten our homework done quickly. Gray and I were finishing up projects that were due at the end of the week. Next week was all testing, then we'd have graduation and school would be over. It was a relief to know that we'd be able to completely focus on the curse soon. I wanted this whole thing to be over so I could ensure that Victor didn't die. I couldn't live without him. Well, I could, but I didn't want to.

When I went into his room, I noticed Talia sitting on the couch. She nodded to me. I walked over and sat in the chair next to her. "What are you doing, Talia?" I asked.

"I'm here to make sure he doesn't get violent. Go about your business. I'll just be here until he's awake and I know you're safe." She told me.

I nodded, relieved to have the safety net, and headed back over to Victor's bed. I turned on the heated blanket and laid down next to him. He was so peaceful and still, like he usually was. I pretended for a moment that he was normal again. That I wasn't losing him. After a while, he started moving. Victor rolled over and put his arm around me. I tensed a little, because I didn't know if it was really him. I hated myself for that a little, until he spoke.

"Mine." He whispered.

The nature of his voice was a little more guttural. Where he hadn't had an accent before, one crept in, I knew it wasn't him. I worked to hold back my tears. Yesterday, he'd woken up totally normal. I never knew what to expect.

"Good afternoon, my Solus Amor." I replied. "Did you rest well?"

"You are mine." Victor said.

"Yes. I'm yours, Victor. No one is going to take me from you."

"You don't wear my mark." He growled. "No one knows you are mine."

"You decided to wait, remember? Just a couple more weeks. Then you will mark me. Remember how much we were looking forward to it. Only a little longer, my love." I murmured and caressed his face. "Then you'll only be mine." Victor stated firmly.

"Then your mark will show everyone that I am your Solus Amor. This was your decision. We have to wait because you decided it." I reminded him in a soft, calm voice.

He grunted and started kissing my neck. I moved my head to the side, to give him access. Talia told me yesterday that I must not seem resistant or he might get angry at me.

Victor started sucking on my neck and I felt him move his arm. I knew he was going to scratch me before he did it. There was no pain, only pressure before he began sucking at the cut.

Even though he wasn't in his right mind, Victor was gentle. He held me firmly and lovingly. I felt almost safe as he fed on me. I was fine with it. He needed blood and it made sense that I would feed him.

After a couple minutes, he pulled away and started licking the wound closed. I stayed still, waiting for what would happen next. He held me for a few moments longer.

"I'm so sorry, Echo. I couldn't make it stop." Victor whispered.

"It's alright, Victor. You didn't hurt me. You were very gentle." I assured him.

"I hate this. I'm trapped behind my eyes, unable to control my body. What if I had tried to hurt you?" He asked.

"Then Talia would have stopped you. She's sitting on the couch over there. She was there when I came in. Don't worry. I was safe." I told him.

Victor looked up and over to the corner. I followed his gaze. Talia wiggled her fingers and stood.

"Get dressed, Victor. We have much to do tonight." She said and she walked out of the room.

"Victor. I wanted to tell you something. Is it safe? Are you completely in control?" I asked.

"I am. What's going on, Echo?"

"I wanted to let you know that I will not be making love to you or Gray until this curse is resolved. I don't want to risk making you mad or making him feel less loved, because I'm doing things with you that I'm not doing with him." I explained.

"That's certainly a motivator. I agree with your decision, even though it pains me. I know you didn't choose this lightly. You had to have wracked your brain for any other solution. I know you love what we do with you as much as we do." Victor said.

I blushed. "Of course I do. I love you both and you make me feel so good. Why wouldn't I want that all the time? But we can't or it could make this all much harder. I promise to shower and change after school every day, so I don't smell like anyone else and I'll confine my moments with Gray to times when you couldn't possibly see them."

"I love you so much, princess. You've given up a lot for me."

"I was hoping to talk to you about getting something back, though." I told him.

"What did you want, Echo. Name anything and I'll move the heavens and Earth to give it to you." He whispered, kissing my hand and all the way up to my shoulder.

"I want my sister and brother to come stay with us. We need to learn what we can do together and we rarely see each other outside of school. They can train with me in the mornings and we can experiment with our abilities in the afternoon." I said. He was quiet. I could see the thoughtful expression on his face. I was ready for any argument he could throw my way. I was ready to fight everyone for this.

"I worry about them here with the curse growing." He sighed.

"Don't. The other you is concerned with things that threaten your territory and our relationship. My siblings are neither. They can't change my mind about loving you." I insisted. "You're right. See if they're amenable to the arrangement. We have more than enough room. Are you okay with having that many more people in the house?" Victor asked.

"Yes! I would love to have them here. Are you okay with Cam coming too? I don't think he'll be okay with Harmony being here without him."

"Of course. Anything to make you smile. Can I get up now? Or are we spending the afternoon in bed?" He purred.

"Get up. You have a lot of work to do and I have to meet with Sean's parents." I told him and kissed him on his lips.

Victor held me to him for a while. I loved the feeling of his arms around me. It was really him and that made me feel safe.

I left so he could get ready. Gray was changing into his work clothes, which he normally did in the locker room at the restaurant. He said this way he would be able to just clock in and get to work.

Before we went to Sean's I checked in with everyone else and let them know my sister and brother may be coming to stay with us. They all seemed concerned, but I knew it would be alright. This is what had to happen. It was the only way to ensure that we got time to explore our abilities.

-

Gray and I pulled up to Sean's house around six. He was a little antsy about me meeting Sean's dad on my own. He even tried to argue about how I would get home, until I reminded him that I only had to want to be home and I would be there.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Gray asked for the fourteenth time.

"Gray. I'm not a child. I can meet with them on my own. Sean will be there and I can just go home if I don't like what's going on." I chided.

"I just worry about you. This is the first time you're doing something like this alone and I don't like not knowing what's going on. What if they put another curse on you or cast a spell or something?" He pressed.

"Now, stop. This is Sean's family. Why do you think they would do something like that? You can't decide they're like Fenton Aimes without ever meeting them. That's like someone deciding all werewolves are bad because of the one bad one they met." I scolded him. Gray had the decency to be embarrassed. He sighed heavily. I put my hand over his on the steering wheel.

"I'm going to be alright. Trust me, Gray. Even if you don't trust anyone else." I pled.

"I trust you, Echo. I'm sorry. I'm just on edge." Gray smiled tightly.

"Go to work and be the best waiter there. Okay? When you get home, I'll tell you all about it." I offered.

"Promise?" He asked.

"Absolutely." I smiled.

I got out of the truck and waved to him as he drove away. I knew he would worry, so I planned to text him when I got home. I kept telling myself that everything would be fine. This was just a formality before I was given everything I needed.

After ringing the doorbell, I waited. The neighborhood was quiet. I was surprised that there were no kids out playing, but that could easily be explained by the time. Maybe they were all eating dinner.

The door opened and Sean smiled at me. It was nice to see a friendly and familiar face.

"Hi, Echo. My parents are in the living room. Come with me." He said.

I followed him through the house. When we came to the living room, I saw two people sitting on the couch, deep in conversation. Sean cleared his throat.

"Mom, Dad, this is my friend, Echo." Sean announced.

They stood. Sean's dad was the same height as him and had dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He reminded me of a smaller, slighter, version of my brother. I stuck out my hand and he accepted it. "Brian Flowers." He said.

"Echo Nightshade." I replied.

Next to him was a blonde woman with the same freckles Sean had across her nose. If Sean were a girl, I felt like he would look just like her. I offered my hand and she accepted it.

"Hope Flowers, Sean's mom. Did you find the place okay?" She asked.

"Yes, thank you." I smiled.

"Before we sit. I want you to drink this." Mr. Flowers said, handing me a little bottle of something green.

"Brian. I don't think that's a good idea. She won't lie." Mrs. Flowers scolded.

"She's part vampire and I learned never to trust a vampire." He responded.

I blushed. I hadn't quite prepared for this. I knew people didn't trust vampires, but I didn't ever expect them to treat me like one. You would think with my experiences so far, I'd have learned my lesson about that. "What is it?" I asked.

"It's a truth potion. The effects last about three hours, but it makes it impossible for you to lie. I promise it is nothing more than that." Mr. Flowers told me.

"Dad, don't make my friend take that. She's a really good person. I swear." Sean pled.

"It's alright. I can take that potion. I trust you, Sean and I trust your family. It would be very stupid to invite the Solus Amor of the Master of the territory here just to poison me. Everyone would know who did it." I chuckled and held my hand out for the bottle. Mr. Flowers handed it to me and watched as I opened it and drank the contents. It tasted terrible. I managed not to make a face, though.

"Thank you for doing that. Please, have a seat." Mr. Flowers said.

I took a seat in one of the arm chairs. Sean's parents sat across from me and Sean sat next to me. I looked around a little.

The room reminded me of the living room at my old house, except it was filled with pictures of Sean and his family. There were school photos for Sean and a girl, I assumed was his sister, covering the walls.

It was a really warm and friendly feeling. I hoped that my house would be like that one day. I wanted to have pictures of the kids all over with family trips and holidays. All of the things that made people smile. "So, Echo. Why are you trying to break the curse?" Mr. Flowers asked.

"Because it's unfair to the supernaturals who live here and it will kill Victor if I don't." I answered.

"Who is Victor?"

"The Master of the territory, a vampire, and my husband." I replied.

"Husband?" Sean asked.

"I bit him. By vampire law that makes him my husband. In a couple weeks, he'll bite me back and we'll be bound to each other for eternity." I said softly.

It wasn't just that I told the truth, I was compelled to tell the truth. I had to respond. I sighed internally. Only three hours. I could surely avoid questions at home for that long.... I hoped.

"Did you become friends with my son in order to break the curse?" Mr. Flowers pressed.

"No. I wanted to be Sean's friend because I always wanted friends." I answered.

"What will you do with the information I give you tonight?"

"I'll take it to Finn. He's Victor's broodmate. Finn will decide what to do with it. We'll use it to try and break the curse." I admitted.

"Have you ever lied to Sean?" He asked.

"Little white lies, a couple misleading answers, few outright lies. I prefer to be honest when I can, but I'll lie if I feel like it will save me." I told him.

"What will you do after you break the curse?"

"Start my life with my mates. Help stabilize the territory. Go see my sire's home. Travel." I replied.

"You won't wage a war on witches? You won't come after our family?" Mr. Flowers asked.

"Sean is one of my best friends. I can't blame you for what your ancestor did. My brother is a witch and I would never back a war against them. Plus, I'm part witch. That would be like fighting my own people." I said.

He nodded. It looked like he liked my answers. He reached below the coffee table and pulled out a dozen large notebooks. I sat up a little straighter.

"I've logged every trace of every ingredient I could find. Every spell those ingredients could make. Every spell that was remotely similar to what he did to any of the people. He did a Heart's Forgetting spell. I'm assuming that was cast on Grace and the vampire. My work last night revealed that." He explained.

"Thank you, thank you so much! I can't even begin to tell you how much this means to me. I was starting to think we wouldn't break the spell and that we were just going around in circles until the curse took Victor from me altogether. I can't lose him. I'll do anything to save him." I sniffled.

"Why are you so attached? You've only known him for a month." Sean asked.

"Victor is the other half of my heart. He saved my life. He gave me everything, including love. He cares for me like no one ever has." I admitted.

"Then what is Gray?" He pressed.

"Who's Gray?" Sean's mom whispered.

"He's my other husband. The other half of my soul. The one that makes me whole in spirit. He's the fire to my ice. He melts me and gives me life." I said softly. "Sounds like you love them both very much." She replied.

"I do. I can't live without either one of them. I'll end up too cold with Victor, and burn up with Gray. Together, they keep me perfectly centered." I smiled.

"Did you need anything else? How are you getting home?" Mr. Flowers asked.

"I can travel to places I've been before. That was my plan. It would get me home faster than a car." I told him.

"A vampire ability?" He asked.

"Yes. From my sire. Is this everything? Did you need anything else from me?"

"Would you like to have some dessert before you go? I made an apple crumble." Mrs. Flowers offered.

I smiled. "Yes, please."

We were planning for this to take much longer than it did. I could have a little dessert to reward myself. I did a good job and I earned it.