Chapter 201: A Sinister Wedding Gift
In a dingy, dark cavern, Mord stood before the watery silhouette of a man.
Bowing his head low, he spoke. "Master, the witch is dead."
"Did she give up anything useful?" his master asked carelessly.
"No, she bit her own tongue before I could pry anything more out of her," Mord answered.
"Dark witches, such tricky little creatures." His master clicked his tongue in displeasure.
Mord silently agreed.
He felt deeply irritated that even after hours of torture, she had given them nothing. He had only been able to vent his frustration by mangling her body beyond recognition, and the memory of it brought a dark, twisted joy to his chest.
He cleared his throat and spoke again. "There is more, Master..."
"What is it?"
"Someone has been running interference in our operation. We do not know who they are, but the power they possess does not seem to belong to anyone of this world."
"Oh? And what kind of power are we talking about?" his master asked, his tone dripping with intrigue.
"A power that melted our recent subjects. I have never seen anyone possess such capabilities."
His master fell silent, as if that small piece of information had plunged him into deep thought.
When the silence stretched on, Mord slowly lifted his head. "Master?"
"Find out who they are," his master commanded. "Kill them without hesitation. As far as I know, there are only two individuals who were ever capable of such a feat. Although I doubt it could be them in this era, we still cannot take any chances. They must not live."
"Understood, Master," Mord said, bowing once again.
"What about that woman? Did she display her power again?" his master asked.
"No, Master. Our informants were killed before they could deliver a proper report. I suspect Gavriel was behind it," Mord replied.
A slight ripple distorted the dark water the moment the implication of speaking Gavriel’s name hung in the air.
Mord knew better than anyone how deeply his master loathed that man. It was an animosity so intense that everyone was strictly forbidden from speaking his name.
Quickly realising his mistake, Mord lowered his head further. "F-forgive me, Master. It was a slip of the tongue."
His master remained eerily quiet before he finally rasped, "It would do you well to remember your place, Mord. As a punishment, why don’t you bring me the head of someone close to that woman?"
Mord lifted his eyes in silent question, and his master continued, "They are about to get married, are they not? It would be rude of us not to send a wedding gift. Perhaps that red-headed woman will do."
A dark, echoing laughter erupted from the water and Mord’s lips curled into a sinister grin. "As you wish, Master."
"Do not forget to handle that interference," his master added. "As the date of the event draws near, I want every single obstacle removed from our path. Understood?"
"But Master, what about Ga- I mean, what about him?" Mord quickly corrected himself, referring to Gavriel.
"Him... I have some delicious plans in store for him. For now, continue to lie low and stay off their radar. They are all searching for you."
"Understood, Master," Mord replied.
The black water rippled one final time, and the dark silhouette dissolved back into the depths.
.....
Back in Astoria, at the Archon Group...
Cillian stepped out of the conference room with several top executives following close behind.
A few excused themselves to tend to their urgent tasks, while three remained by his side to iron out the final details of the project.
They walked together across the executive floor, passing the rows of cubicles where senior employees vetted high-level documents before sending them to the CEO’s assistant, Kevin, and finally to Cillian himself.
Every time Cillian walked through the office, the women working there could not help but freeze, gawking at him with starstruck expressions.
They simply could not help it.
Cillian was incredibly attractive, carrying a distinct aura of authority, arrogance, and playful charm all at once. His sharp wits and sarcastic humour only added to his undeniable appeal.
As he walked towards his office, talking with the people accompanying him, his footsteps came to an abrupt halt when his brown eyes landed on the one woman who had never fawned over him.
If anything, she either glared at him or looked at him with the suspicion one would reserve for a murder suspect. Those deep emerald-green eyes of hers were always fixed on him without the slightest hint of admiration.
A part of him was always deeply annoyed whenever she was near, yet another part of him was intensely intrigued by this infuriating woman who loved to boss him around whenever she pleased.
Right now, intrigue heavily outweighed his annoyance, especially since she was standing right here, inside his company, waiting directly in front of his office door.
Silently, he turned to look at his assistant, Kevin, who quickly shook his head, indicating he had no prior information about her visiting today.
Cillian turned back to face her, a charming smile gracing his handsome face. "Miss Ross, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked, interest lighting up his eyes.
"Hello there, dem-," she stopped herself just before calling him a demon, quickly correcting her slip of the tongue. "Mr. Pierce."
She looked him straight in the eyes and addressed him so formally that it brought a grin to Cillian’s face because, until now, she had only ever addressed him as "hey," "demon," "narcissist," or even "diva."
He raised a brow at her, and she quickly cleared her throat as she glanced at the group of men standing behind Cillian, all of whom looked like they held important positions within the Archon Group.
Not to mention, they were all leaning in as though they were eager to hear some gossip after seeing a woman standing outside Cillian’s office.
Turning her focus back to Cillian, she pushed past her embarrassment and continued, "I came here to discuss a few details regarding the wedding day after tomorrow."