28

The one behind the door had been Vesper, her friend, but with a totally different look. Regan blinked, her eyes widening with shock. She couldn't believe it.

"Vesper?" she blurted out, her hand not releasing the doorknob. So it had been the same Vesper. Sirius's lover, the woman Althea had talked about and her best friend. It had been all one person with many faces.

The realization stung like a knife on the back. They had been playing a sick game with her. She had trusted Vesper, never thought her friend was betraying her like this working with this....this bastard. She stumbled backwards.

Vesper's expression was unreadable but she masked a smile on her face. 

"Reggie," she said, her voice barely trying to contain her rage.

"Don't call me Reggie," Regan snapped through gritted teeth. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. "You're with him."

Vesper seemed caught aback by her bluntness, her expression confused for a moment. But she laughed, a cruel, mocking sound then left her expression turned dead serious. "How do you know?" she demanded sharply.

"I know everything," Regan shot back, "You're his mistress. You betrayed me," she said, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. 

Vesper's smile was smug, "Oh, you poor thing," she said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Are you jealous? You wanted him for yourself?"

Regan could feel her blood boiling. What kind of people were these? She remembered Althea's words and they turned out to be true. That was Vesper, her 'friend', now his....his lover.

"Get out," Regan said and turned away from her. She tried to control it, she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of breaking her. Vesper stepped in the room, her expression darkening. She sat down on a lounge couch, crossing her legs.

"Get out," Regan repeated, hating her voice that sounded shaky.

"You don't get to tell me what to do, you little prude," Vesper hissed back, her voice laced with anger. "You're going to listen to me."

"I'm not going to listen to anything!" Regan spat, turning behind and glaring at Vesper. "You're just a part of his harem."

Her words struck a nerve and Vesper stood up over to her and grabbing Regan's arm painfully. "I'm not a part of his harem. I'm his partner," she snapped, her eyes burning with anger, "Do you understand? I'm his partner."

Regan jerked away, "I don't fucking care what you are! Get out of my sight," she retorted, her voice shaking with rage. She felt like she had been stabbed in the back by the one person she had always trusted.

Vesper's grip tightened, her nails digging into Regan's skin, "I'm not done, you loser!" she hissed. "You think you're so special, but you're not. I've done terrible things to you and I've had fun watching you cry and squirm. I've spread rumours about you being insane, and laughed when people looked at you with pity."

"Of course you have," Regan shot back, fury fueling her voice. She wasn't going to let Vesper's revelation break her. "You were just carrying out orders of that monster. You didn't have the guts to stand up to him."

Vesper's teeth gritted, the veins on her neck pulsing with fury as she took a step closer to Regan, "You think you're so much better than me? You're just a wretch who stumbled into a world you can't even begin to comprehend."

"Get out of here!" Regan demanded, shoving Vesper off her. "Just get out!"

Vesper laughed cruelly, "Oh, Reg, you're so gullible. You never questioned why your life turned into a nightmare, did you? It was all part of the plan, and you played your role perfectly."

"Just like you," Regan retorted. "Just like-"

Before Regan could finish her sentence, Allegra and Circe stepped in, their expressions filled with malice and amusement.

"Well, well, look who we have here," Allegra sneered, circling Regan like a predator closing in on its prey. "The lord's favorite toy."

"Too bad she's not playing along," Circe added, her eyes gleaming with amusement as she took in the scene before her.

Vesper turned to Allegra, her eyes narrowing, "Lord's favourite, huh? Where did this come from?" she questioned with a sneer.

"Oh, come on, Ves," Allegra said with a smirk. "You were the one who said that wretch human was his toy."

"I'm not his toy," Regan spat, her fists clenching tightly. "You're all going to pay for this."

"Oh, someone's trying to play brave. Do you know what you're dealing with, you fool? You're pathetic," Allegra taunted with a wicked smile.

"You're powerless against us," Vesper hissed angrily. "You'll see what it means to be at our mercy." Without a warning, Vesper launched an attack, a dark sphere swirling between her hands. Regan knew she had to get out of this, but she couldn't afford them thinking she was scared. And when Vesper's spell was about to hit, the sphere stopped mid-air and dissipated as Regan tried to defend herself with her hands.

"How?" Vesper's eyes widened as she saw her magic didn't work. Regan was shocked as well, she had expected to be struck but she was standing on her feet like before.

"I think your magic is a little frozen Ves," Allegra teased, stepping forward with an evil grin.

"Shut up!" Vesper snapped at her sister.

"Maybe we can try convergence," Circe suggested, her eyes glinting with malicious excitement.

"Convergence?" Vesper repeated with a sneer, "Why should we try convergence for such an easy target?"

"If you say so," Allegra shrugged, "but you failed with your solo act, so let's see what we can do together."

The two sisters linked their hands, and Vesper was forced to follow suit. Regan watched with a mix of fear and fascination as their hands began to glow with an eerie light. A moment of silence fell before the room trembled with power.

"You think you can handle this?" Vesper whispered through gritted teeth, her eyes shooting daggers at Regan.

Regan's heart raced as she took a step back, her eyes flickering to them all. She didn't know what was going to happen. But then they launched their combined attack, a swirl of dark energy that looked like a tornado of shadow aimed directly at her. Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't move. She felt a sudden force of protection within her, something she had never felt before. Not even on Vesper's first attack.

"What the hell?!" Vesper shrieked as the dark tornado bounced off an invisible barrier around Regan, dissipating into the air.

"Maybe we should try once more," Circe suggested, doubt filling her voice. As they prepared to hit once more, that time, a furious, gruff voice interrupted through the room.

"What the hell is going on here?" Sirius's hoarse voice echoed through the chamber, cutting through the tension like a sharp blade.

The sisters froze, slowly turning to face the furious demon. Their mischievous grins quickly morphed into expressions of irritation, frustration and fear.

"We....were just having a conversation with the enemy," Allegra said, her voice trembling slightly, eyes downcast, Nothing much, my lord."

"Don't you dare speak to me like that!" Sirius thundered, his eyes ablaze with anger. "What were you three doing here? Does this look like a battle arena? Does this look like a place where you little fools get to play with magic?"

The sisters exchanged glances, their resentment growing as Sirius was shouting and offending them, in Regan's presence.

"Sirius, we were just handling the situation. You should be on our side, not defending her!" Vesper snapped, her frustration boiling over.

"Don't tell me where my allegiance lies," Sirius growled. "You dare to make plans behind my back and then come here to confront her in her own chamber?"

Regan stood there, not knowing what to do. She didn't know why he was so angry with that. He seemed very furious.

Circe, feeling a surge of anger, said, "Maybe if you would share your plans with us, we wouldn't have to take matters into our own hands."

"You insolent fools!" he roared. "I don't owe you an explanation for every move I make. Now, get out of here, all of you!"

"Fine," Allegra grunted.

The three, seething with resentment, stormed out of the chamber, shooting venomous glares at Regan. He looked at her once, his expression unreadable and vanished behind the door, slamming it shut. 

Regan stood there, alone in the aftermath of the confrontation, her gaze fixed on the closed door. She couldn't help but feel a strange satisfaction. She hated him, but the way he showed them their place was just....astonishing. It was remarkable. The authority, the power and the way he asserted control.... Regan face-palmed herself for thinking that.

Anyway, the bitter betrayal was like a slap, but not something she couldn't get over. She wondered what he'd do to them, he seemed

very angry. Was he angry just because they had attacked her? Regan had to stop thinking about it like that.