Tatiana had never seen the young woman sitting across from her. She was unfamiliar... unknown in the criminal underworld and certainly not soone who should have any quarrel with Imperial Haven. And yet, here she was, calm and unbothered, having walked through Tatiana’s defences like a knife through butter. The power her subordinates had demonstrated was not sothing Tatiana could overlook.
She studied the woman quietly for a few monts. Despite the tension in the air, this girl remained composed. Not a flicker of fear or any other emotions. Tatiana narrowed her eyes. She decided to test the waters... with intimidation.
"Young Miss," Tatiana said, voice steady, slow, asured, "I don’t know who you are, but this is not a place where you can run wild and do as you please. Don’t assu that the small fries you defeated are the backbone of Imperial Haven. If that were true, I wouldn’t have held this post for years. What you did here... damaging property, harming my n... you’ll need to pay for it."
Her gaze hardened. "You’re locked in here with now. The facility is sealed. No one from the outside can help you. So, I suggest you start cooperating."
But Eleanor remained perfectly still, her expression unchanged. If anything, she looked more bored than threatened.
"Major General Tatiana Lebedeva," Eleanor said in a voice so calm it felt like a breeze before a storm, "even after retirent, you wear your uniform in hopes of inspiring fear. I’m sorry to tell you... it didn’t work. And even if you were still in active service... I still wouldn’t care."
Tatiana’s brows furrowed.
"I ca here to talk," Eleanor continued. "But your people made it abundantly clear that diplomacy wasn’t welco. Two of your teams attempted to kill . They’re now buried beneath the ocean. I didn’t co to pick a fight... I ca to end one."
Her eyes shifted briefly to the laptop screen that showed live footage of the hall.
"You think sealing the place and jamming signals would prevent from reaching the outside?" she asked dryly. "That’s cute. But I don’t allow others to control my surroundings."
With that, Eleanor reached for the chain around her neck and pulled out a diamond pendant. It shimred with elegance, catching the dim light. She pressed it lightly.
A brilliant glow erupted from the gem, casting dancing reflections on the walls. Everyone in the room paused, montarily entranced by the spectacle.
Then, a deep male voice ca from the pendant, smooth and respectful.
"Boss! What can I do for you?"
"Take control of every cara within a one-mile radius," Eleanor said without missing a beat. "Wipe any footage that captured . There’s a jamr nearby. Disable it."
"Understood, Boss."
Tatiana sat stiffly in her chair, uncertain whether to speak or remain silent. Her instincts told her not to interrupt.
A couple of minutes later, the voice returned.
"It’s done."
"Good. Now shut down all the caras near my current location."
Instantly, the screen in front of them went dark. The live feed blinked out. Eleanor pressed the pendant again and tucked it back under her suit.
Tatiana’s composed expression wavered. She tried to hide it, but the anxiety was beginning to show.
"You can use your phone now," Eleanor said calmly.
Tatiana hesitated, then asked in disbelief, "Who... who are you? How can you do sothing like this?"
Before Eleanor could answer, her sharp senses caught sothing unusual. She sniffed the air, then frowned.
"Vampires," she muttered, her tone darkening.
She turned to Sebastian. "Go. Deal with them."
Without hesitation, the Shadow Team sped out from the room, their speed defied common sense.
Only Isadora remained.
"You should go too," Eleanor told her. "There are five of them. It won’t be easy."
Isadora nodded once, then sped out like the others.
Eleanor turned her attention back to Tatiana, who was clearly unsettled. Both of them silently stared at each other.
In truth, Eleanor was monitoring the battle taking place in the underground parking lot. The vampires were on the upper hand, but the mont Isadora joined the fight, the battle evened out. One-on-one duels began to form between the attackers and the Shadow Team. Satisfied, Eleanor withdrew her ntal presence and refocused.
"This was your main force?" she asked Tatiana. "Don’t worry. They won’t interfere with my work. As for how I could control your systems... simple. I control the sky."
Tatiana stared at her. The quiet confidence in Eleanor’s voice wasn’t arrogance... it was certainty.
"I don’t know who disturbed your peace," Tatiana finally said. "But we receive missions. We don’t interfere. We just execute."
"I don’t need you to interfere," Eleanor cut in. "I want the na of the person who posted the mission. Once I kill them, the mission ends."
The cold directness in her words made Tatiana flinch. For Eleanor, this wasn’t vengeance... it was procedure.
"I didn’t kill any of your people," Eleanor added. "Not yet. And I hope you won’t give a reason to. But if you insist... I don’t mind adding a few more nas to my long list."
This ti, Tatiana nodded, defeated.
"If you give your na and the location where you were attacked," she said quietly, "I can try to find who issued the mission."
"Na: Eleanor. Location: Manchester."
Tatiana reached for the intercom and spoke into it, "Find out who requested a hit on a woman nad Eleanor, based out of Manchester. I want full details."
She placed the receiver down and looked back at Eleanor. "Please wait. My n will deliver what you seek."
But before Eleanor could reply, she suddenly froze... eyes widening in alarm.
She bolted from the room.
Tatiana barely registered a blur. By the ti she stood up, Eleanor was already gone. Horror filled her heart. "What kind of monster have we invited into our walls?" That was the only thought in her mind.
When Eleanor reached the parking lot, she was already late.
Her five shadow guards were locked in fierce combat with five vampires, the clash of blades and fists echoing through the air. The battle was in a deadlock... each fighter evenly matched, neither side gaining ground.
But then, a blur of movent ca from outside the fray... a noble vampire. Faster, stronger, and far more lethal than the others. Without warning, he slamd a brutal kick into Alaric’s side. Caught off guard while parrying another vampire’s strike, Alaric had no chance to dodge. The force of the blow sent him crashing to the ground, skidding across the pavent.
Before he could recover, the noble vampire lunged again. This ti, his punch aid straight for Alaric’s head... swift, deadly, and final.
In that frozen mont, as the attack descended, Alaric saw his life flash before his eyes... every mory, every success, every failure. He knew. He was going to die.
But the blow never landed.
Eleanor’s foot connected with the noble vampire’s ribs just in ti. He was flung across the parking space, crashing into a reinforced pillar. Cracks spiderwebbed across the concrete.
Enraged, Eleanor walked forward, murder in her eyes.
But before she could strike again, another vampire leapt in front of the noble. He spread his arms, shielding him.
"Please," the man said urgently. "Miss Eleanor Elizabeth Raynor, please spare him. He’s one of the few purebloods left in my lord’s clan. I deeply apologize for his reckless actions."
Eleanor narrowed her eyes. The man had spoken her full na.
At his appearance, the remaining vampires abandoned the fight and dropped to one knee. Even the injured noble remained lying silent.
"You know my na," she said coldly. "So, tell yours."
The man bowed deeply.
"I am Dimitry Petrov, Knight of the Night Council. I serve under Lord Alexander Ivanov of Greater Caucasus, the caretaker of Eastern Europe, a respected mber of the High Council."
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