Chapter 6: Greatest Loss
After drinking with Braun and Callum, I went straight home. Pagkapasok ko sa kwarto ay agad kong hinubad ang coat ko.
"I have been waiting for you," I heard a voice from behind, but I refused to look back. Nung naka-shorts na lang ako ay umupo na ako para gawin ang mga trabaho ko.
Our family-owned businesses are still getting bigger after so many decades. I may pay them a visit one day. I also miss interacting with humans.
"Lord Caezar was right in his assessment of you. You might not be the most powerful vampire, but you certainly are the most intelligent one. It's not easy to deceive you."
I turned around my swivel chair and faced Brienne. She was lying again in my bed, with her head resting against the headboard. Hindi katulad nung huli ko siyang nasilayan bago umalis no'ng gabing 'yon, sa tingin ko ay tanggap na niyang nabuko na ang plano nila.
"You are forever stuck here, Brienne. Makakalaya ka lang kapag pinalaya kita," sambit ko sa kanya habang pinapaikot ang pen sa aking mga daliri. "You know what I want."
"Forever?" she laughed sarcastically. "Nakakalimutan mo na bang hindi ako bampira, Lord Oscar? I am not here to stay forever."
I smirked. "But you will suffer as long as you are here. You are not a vampire to endure everything."
"I don't think I will experience the same suffering you have been experiencing throughout these years," she gave me a smirk. "I can only imagine how torturous, eerie, and agonizing it must be."
Tumango ako saka tumayo para lumipat sa kama kung saan siya nakahiga. Sumandal din ako sa ulunan ng kama habang nakatingin sa kisame.
"It must be lonely in the jail," I whispered. "Kaya lagi mo akong binibisita rito, hindi ba? Ano pa ba ang plano mo sa akin?"
I shifted my focus to look at her. Sa sobrang lapit ng mukha namin at sa dami ng parte ng mukha niya na pwede kong pagtuonan ng pansin, natulala ako sa kanyang mga mata.
"What if I told you that I am not siding with Lord Caezar because I owe him something?" she said in a low voice.
That was, I think, the closest I had ever felt her with me. It was as if she was actually here, and I could feel her breath against my face. What was it about her that I found somehow familiar? As far as I know, she was just trying to imitate Celeste's style to get me. It was strangely working for some reason.
"Would you believe me this time?" she asked.
"You tell me," I dared.
"I was there during the great war," bulong niya saka suminghap ng hangin. "I was part of the coven that Lady Majika orchestrated against your brother, Brixton. I understand that you don't remember me, given how chaotic everything was that night and that I was also hiding behind, but I was part of it."
"Yeah." I nodded. "I don't remember you being there. But I remember how your leader failed to realize that you were being deceived by one of your kind into thinking that vampires would give a damn about witches, especially Brixton."
"You mean your mother?" she chuckled. "Yeah. Lady Grenda is really a deceitful but powerful witch. Nagawa niya kaming lokohin."
I couldn't bear to look at her longer. Tumihaya na lang ako saka tumingin sa kisame. Ilang bote ng alak ang naubos ko, pero tila nanunuyo ulit ang lalamunan ko.
"But Lady Grenda was a Cardinal. Isang Cardinal pa rin ang trumaydor sa amin." Dumiin ang tinig niya ngayon, parang may pait pa rin ng kahapon. "What is it about Cardinals that makes them so hateful?"
