The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 120

When I popped back home that night, all of the vampires were eagerly awaiting me in Victor's office. I handed the notebooks off to Talia. She glanced in them briefly. "We're going to have to have Lila decipher these." She told us. "I'll call Marius so he can take them to her."

I still hadn't met Lila. Victor told me the part she played in finding me, but I still hadn't had the chance to thank her. I figured I would when this was all over.

"Do you think there will be good information there?" I asked.

"Of course. These are all very carefully written and documented bits. I'm sure that Lila will find something." Talia replied.

Victor pulled me into a hug. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed tightly. We were one step closer to saving him. "Tomorrow you meet with Fenton Aimes III, right?" Finn asked.

I pulled out of the hug and turned to him.

"Yes. Sean is borrowing his mom's car to drive us there. I didn't want Gray to be late for work again." I told him.

"Good. All you have to do is figure out who it is who knows more about the curse. Try to get as much out of him as you can. I can't imagine it's him. He was an infant when the curse was laid." Finn said.

I nodded. "Right. Unless his father knew something, he wouldn't know anything."

"Exactly." He smiled.

"You should go relax, Echo. You've gotten a lot for us. I'm sure you're exhausted." Talia said.

"No. I'm scared and I'm nervous. I want to read those notebooks and see if I can figure anything out, even though I don't know a lot about magic. Most of all, I want to take Victor to bed right now. I know I shouldn't because of the curse, but I really want to." I admitted.

They looked stunned for a moment. Victor gripped me from behind. I blushed. I hadn't meant to say that.

"Mr. Flowers gave me a truth potion. Sorry." I said softly.

"So you have to tell the truth?" Talia asked.

"Yes. And I can't even filter out how much of the truth I want to share." I sighed.

They were silent for a little while. Finn got a smirk on his face. I didn't like that at all.

"What do you really think of me, Echo?" He asked.

Talia giggled. Victor squeezed me.

"You don't have to answer that." Victor whispered.

"No. I do. It hurts not to say it. I think you're incredibly needy, Finn. You feel lonely, even though you choose to wander. You seek any attention you can get because it makes you feel like you're seen by others. If you weren't so needy, you might actually be nice to be around, but it seems like every action you take around people is to make them laugh, or be so irritated by you that they react. You don't even really care about the reactions, as long as they involve you getting attention." I told him. "It's really sad." The smile had fallen from his face half way through what I said. Talia was biting her lips together to keep from laughing and I could feel Victor shaking behind me. I really hadn't wanted to call him out like that, but he asked after knowing I had to answer. "Do me next!" Talia laughed.

"Please, don't." I sighed.

"What do you really think of me, Echo?" She snickered.

"I think you're bored. You're very old and there's little to entertain you anymore. You like your frightening reputation, but it doesn't amuse you like it used to. You care deeply for Victor and Finn. You want them to heal their relationship because you know how important broodmates are to each other. Like real sisters and brothers. You like the wolves because they're hard to predict with absolute accuracy, unlike vampires. Traveling is your way of relieving the boredom, but you stay here for more than just the curse. You love Bellamy and want to be around her because you feel guilty, but I don't know why." I said.

"Nailed it." Talia grinned. "You just missed out on one thing."

"The fact that you're sad as well? No, the spell just let me stop talking before I had to talk about how lonely and sad you are as well. You want to be with people who love you, but your Solus Amor isn't here, so all you have are your friends and your children." "That's enough. Echo is a person, not a toy. Stop playing with her." Victor growled.

"You are lucky I know it's the curse making you emotional, Victor. It's never safe to growl at your sire." Talia warned.

I wanted to leave, but Victor still held me and I didn't want to risk the curse getting possessive if I pulled away. So I waited. He moved me with him when he moved to a chair and sat me in his lap.

It was as if I didn't exist. They talked to each other and pretended I wasn't there. I assumed it was the curse making him need me so much. I wouldn't object. It was best if he didn't get upset, and I really didn't have anything else to do.

Marius arrived to pick up the notebooks for Lila and glanced over me before pretending I wasn't there. I stole a look at Victor. His eyes were glowing a little and he had a slightly angry expression on his face, even though he was talking normally.

I was nervous and shifted uncomfortably, making Victor grip my hip and pull me tighter against him. I put my hand on his chest and my head on his shoulder. His grip relaxed.

The rest of the night, I was curled in Victor's lap. The positive was that I got a lot more information for our curse team. It would help as we investigated everything on our own.

When it was time for me to go to bed. I stroked Victor's chest and asked if I could go sleep. He stood, scooping me into his arms at carried me to my room.

After the door to my room was closed, he set me down. I stared at him for a moment before I went to my closet. Victor stayed out in my room while I changed into my pajamas.

I walked back into the room and he looked at me. He had that expression on his face that told me it wasn't really Victor. I bit my lips together and walked over to him. "Take that off." He growled.

"It's time to sleep, Victor. I need to wear my pajamas. You don't want someone seeing me naked if there's an emergency, right?" I asked. "You're mine."

"I know, Victor. You wanted me to go to school. I need to sleep so I can go to school. Remember?" I asked gently.

"School is pointless. You have me to care for you. You don't need school." Victor replied.

"It distracts me from being without you all day, Victor. I need rest so I can pass all of my classes and make you proud of me." I smiled.

too.

I was glad the potion had worn off. I didn't want to agree with him. I'd never seen a point to me going to school aside from seeing my sister and brother. I was pretty sure telling him I wanted to go to school so I could be around other people would have angered him "Fine." He grumbled. "Get in bed."

I did as he said. Victor sat on the edge of my bed. He held my hand and caressed my cheek.

It wasn't fully Victor, but it wasn't not Victor either. The curse must be integrating into his personality. Soon, he would be a blending of both and I wouldn't even see the real Victor for tiny bits of time.

"Don't cry, princess. I'm still here. I love you." Victor whispered.

"Is this going to be what it's like now? Are you going to own me like a possession?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. I needed you. The idea of you taking a potion upset me. It let the curse in. Having you with me helped keep the curse calm. You're doing amazingly at keeping me from overreacting. Thank you for working so hard. I'm very proud of you." He said softly. That made me smile. I wanted Victor to be proud of me. It was hard being exactly what I needed to be, but little moments like this made everything much easier.

"I don't like how the curse is changing you. It's like dealing with a mix of my mother and Gray. I'm walking on egg shells to keep you from being upset and you keep telling me that I belong to you. No one even talked to me this evening because they were concerned that you would get upset about them talking to me." I admitted.

"I'm trying to fight it, Echo. Trust me, I hate the thoughts that I have as much as you do. I love everything about you and I want you to talk and smile. I don't want to make you feel alone in your own home. It's like I took you from one prison and just exchanged it for another." Victor sighed. "It's not fair to you."

"We'll fight together. I'll keep trying to calm you, you keep fighting the change." I told him.

"You know what's happening? It's becoming a part of me. Soon, I won't know what I was fighting or why. Will you stand by me, even when I'm not myself? You can leave now, while I can fight the urge to come after you." He offered. "I'll be by your side forever, Victor." I promised.

He leaned in and kissed me. It wasn't his normal kiss. There was something needy and desperate about it. I could feel his concern and fear. This curse would have to find another way to get my mate from me. I was never letting him go. After Victor left, I pulled out my computer and started typing up everything that I remembered hearing. I emailed it to Sean, Rosario, Val, and Gray. We could add it to our information tomorrow.