"Silvia," Neil rasped when they were gone, his eyes reaching hers finally with a look between awe and horror. "Do not do that again."

"I'm really sorry. I didn't realize that would happen. I've never–"

"It's all right." Neil chuckled over her. "I can barely handle my own pleasure and remain stable. Adding yours does not help."

"So you did feel that," Silvia said nervously, and Neil's expression lightened to near bliss.

"It wasn't your pleasure exclusively, Silvia. For an instant, I felt you, all of you. I was you, which is creepy." Neil rubbed his arms, and she frowned. "But I, I felt your love for me," Neil lifted his eyes and they were such a soft cherry color. "That, along with the way you felt when we were one, combined with your pleasure on top of mine. That's... too much for anyone to feel. It's so euphoric that it hurts, if you can understand."

"No I get it." Silvia groaned as she sat up, teetered, but managed to find her feet. "What do I wear?" she asked, realizing Neil didn't want her in Jesse's clothes any longer.

"I had clothes brought for you. They..." Neil let out a slow whistle as he looked at the demolished wardrobe and shredded clothes.

"Here," another voice joined them, dropping clothes on her lap, and Neil let out a growl as he looked to where Vice had to be standing. "Neil Arc, I am not looking at your mate," Vice said before he probably moved away from them, but she had to guess at this point. Either way, Vice must have slipped in before the door had been put back on.

"Thank you for the clothes, Vice," Neil ground out as he was given one of his normal black suits embroidered with swirls of cream and white wind.

"My pleasure, Neil," Vice responded cordially.

They dressed, but it didn't bother Silvia much that Vice was there. Sometimes, she just assumed he was always there, and his personality didn't strike her as a person who liked to peep, just one who was loyal to the core and didn't care much about what could be misunderstood.

"I love your desert clothes," Silvia commented to Vice as she spun in a short-sleeved top of beige and tans that overlapped back and forth on her chest in interchanging light and dark. The bottom lay on her legs like a skirt, but had pants under it if she were to flip it up.

"Thank you, Silvia. Those were custom designed for you. We did not put but a few garments in the wardrobe in this room. The rest are kept down with your father and your house one level below.

"My house?" Silvia asked.

"Yes," Neil spoke, straightening his suit coat and combing the tangles out of his hair with a brush he'd found in the wreckage on the floor. "Before the unity gathering, we already knew about what was to befall us, so we made a tactical, preemptive retreat. The Arcs have taken refuge in Sol territory, and without them, the Copses and Cascades were vulnerable, so we brought them as well."

"They just came with the vampire house north of their border?" Silvia asked, as he pulled his hair from the brush and passed it to her to use.

"Right, you have been away, so we couldn't tell you much about me. The Arcs and the Copses forged an alliance in your absence and we have been comfortable intermingling for some time now. There was some hesitance in fleeing their complex, but they understood the danger. As our allies, they are working with us to fight for our home so that we might return when this is all over."

"So you and my dad got along after all?" Silvia finished brushing her short hair back into some sort of place and hopped over to join Neil.

"Your father has been a great source of comfort to me in your absence. Forest is a man I have come to deeply respect over the last year. I hope that makes you happy."

"Does it!" Silvia chuckled, taking his arm in hers and walking to the door. "Now I don't have to worry about him whining at me about you."

Vice moved the huge arched door to the side and leaned it against the wall, and they slipped by, right into the waiting arms of Damien, Wren, Talamayas and of course, Forest.

"Do you mind leaving my doors attached?" Talamayas spoke first, and she reddened as all the eyes were on them. "You know this castle is built into a cliffside, right? You want us all sliding down into the canyon. Pretty sure my men will be fine, pissed, but fine. Not so sure about the two mage houses."

"Not...it," Neil said with a slow hiss, and Talamayas raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze to Silvia.

"I'm sorry, all right. Can we just not talk about this?" Silvia slipped behind Neil, but just like when he tried to hide behind her, neither of them were good for obstructing sight.

"As long as you're okay, Silvia," Forest said, opening his arms, and it was then that she realized she hadn't hugged him since she'd gotten back. Everything had been saving Kopje, making sure he was alive, then passing out all over Neil. She left Neil's side and he trailed her with his eyes as she jumped into her father's arms. Forest let out a slow sigh of relief and wrapped her in himself.

"I was really worried about you when the mages didn't turn you over, but you seem to be the same as always. I'm happy you're safe," Forest said, and she squeezed him. With his long brown hair loose around his shoulders from sleep still, she practically had to dig herself back out as she stood up, and her father chuckled.

It took all of a second before Neil appeared at her side, and she jumped but calmed when he linked his hand with her arm.

"Just remember, I warned you that vampires are clingy of their mates," Forest said, narrowing his eyes at Neil, but her mate only smirked and pulled her tighter to his side.

"Is Silvia, alive?" A voice came down the hall, and she turned from Neil's hold to see Alec.

There was nothing like the sight of those innocent blue eyes and his dishwater blond hair flip-flopped all over his scalp. Slapping Neil's unbreakable hold off of her, she flew down the hall and jumped Alec so hard that they toppled. Alec went down with a squeak, and she yanked him back to his knees with excitement.

"You got tall," Silvia growled, and Alec blushed.

"I grew like two inches, Silvia." Alec chuckled, but she was too busy looking him up and down and scrutinizing everything about him.

"You also got mage general attire. Look at you, all fancy." Silvia yanked him back to his feet and dusted off his new suit. It was black as a base with emerald leaves adorning winding vines as they ran down the front. "How come I don't get cool clothes for being an infiltrator?" Silvia pouted, and Alec hugged her in a desperateness for her touch that she knew. They'd been best friends since before they could walk, and she had missed her cousin just as much as Neil.

"You're quite calm for your mate being all over another man." Damien hissed through his lips, and Silvia glanced over to Neil where he was watching her, but calmly."

"Alec is her cousin and my friend," Neil responded with his hands comfortably in his pockets. "I'm more concerned about leaving him alone too long with Idus than Silvia. Pretty sure half the time he's checking him out."

"I am not!" Alec said with a growing blush.

"I meant Idus is checking you out." Neil flashed his fangs with a cackle, and Alec whitened. "Idus doesn't have any other blood bonds, so he is unhealthily attached to you."

"Did you really bring my whole house here?" Silvia asked, dusting Alec off and pulling him by the hand closer to her and Neil. "How did you get Tide on board with that?"

"Manhandling," Talamayas chuckled darkly as they left the hallway and headed down a floor to where most of the mages were crawling into rooms to pass out.

Man, was her schedule off because of Jesse. While most of the mages were passing out, Tide remained sitting at a table with... "Kopje?" Silvia said with excitement, and he looked up to her with a tepid smile, which was much better than what she had expected with how he'd reacted to being in the Sol territory before Wren had knocked him out.

"Silvia, I'm glad you're all right," Kopje said, but he remained in his seat several feet away from her. It wasn't like him, and as she took a step toward him, a growl erupted from behind her. Silvia froze as Kopje whitened, turning around to Neil with his lips rolled back in hostility. When he saw her concern, he dropped it, but remained ready to rip off Kopje's limbs if she came closer.

"Forest warned me not to get too close to you," Kopje explained. "He said that vampire's with mates tend to get a little territorial around other males after recently joining with their females officially."

"Are you okay?" Silvia asked, walking around the table and parking herself at Tide's side, considering that safe since he was her uncle.

To make sure the threat was clear, Neil stalked around and plopped himself right at Kopje's side, and Kopje stiffened his arms where they were on the table before pulling them off of it to get them further from her. Neil smiled at the gesture and leaned on his hand.

"I'm as good as one could expect." Kopje spoke as calmly as possible, and Forest and Damien sat down, her father next to her and Damien watching Neil to keep him from disarming Kopje. "Missing half of my sight will take some getting used to, but I'm not dead, thanks to you and Wren Song."

"Our plans are moving forward as well," Forest said to Neil, and his gaze focused on her father.

"You were able to communicate with the mages?" Neil asked and Forest nodded.

"They agreed to a meeting, but only during the daytime and in a bunker that suppresses dark magic completely," Tide warned, as if he were concerned about Neil, which was new. "We'll be able to take you there, but you'll be reduced to your physical capabilities without our protection."

"I expected as much. That is fine. What of Lorenzo?" Neil asked, and Silvia looked over to him inquisitively. "We are putting together our allies for a stand against the northerners, Silvia. With Lorenzo's desire to form an alliance with the mages and their need for protection after the council repealed their protection of them in society, we need to band together or we'll both fall."

"That makes sense, but will you really trust mages you don't know to fight with you?" Silvia asked.

"Oh, hell no." Talamayas laughed from where he was still standing near the wall. "We want them to agree to be bait, not fight."

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Word Count: 1940