The Garden of What Once Was

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

At the hellish hour of 5:30 AM on a Monday, Ember was woken from her sleep by a loud knock at her door. The strange tension in her body and the goosebumps on her skin told her that she definitely shouldn't ignore this person. Sure enough, her intuition was right. Standing right outside her door with attire fit for a ballroom dance was Abaddon, a very punchable Abaddon.

"Good morning," Abaddon greeted her, humored by Ember's unsightly appearance that consisted of a long green shirt and smiley face boxers.

"Goodbye," Ember yawned as she went to close the door in his face.

Much to her surprise, she managed to close the door on him. A victorious smile spread across her face as she turned around, only to come face to face with Abaddon who had slipped past her without her even noticing. Screaming, she jumped backward, raising her arms in self-defense. He simply just looked at her with a faint crease forming between his brows.

"Look, Mr.Kreo, I don't know what type of things you think you can get away with as an Elder, but this is definitely not one of them! So, get out of my dorm before I call security and tell them there's an old-ass vampire lurking in the girls' dorms!" Ember threatened him, completely misinterpreting his intention for this visit.

"Old ass vampire?" Abaddon repeated, suddenly closing the distance between himself and Ember. He bent down so that their heads were leveled. "That's not how you should refer to your boss."

"Boss...? Boss..."

Realization fell over her quite quickly as her mouth dropped open in disbelief. There was no way he had actually taken her offer to be his assistant seriously. Unfortunately, the look on his face told her otherwise.

"Oh my God! You can't be serious! I was drunk when I made that deal with you"

Abaddon pouted, mimicking her whiny attitude. "Aw, well, that's too bad." He pointed his finger at her, causing her to step back immediately. "You made a deal with a vampire, Ms.Septhis, whether you were drunk or not does not matter. What matters is that you honor it. Mr.Kararyan should have detailed you on this already, but it seems he has been slacking off. I'll have to have a chat with him about that."

"Leave Reed out of this. I'll honor the stupid deal, but that's only if you get out of my dorm and let me go back to sleep," Ember conceded, unable to put up a fight when she was barely even able to keep her eyes open.

"As my assistant, you are required to be at my beck and call at all times. How are you supposed to do such a thing when you're sleeping? Please tell me, Ms.Septhis."

Instead of swearing her head off and getting angry, she just let out an annoyed groan, throwing her head up to the ceiling. Why did I even make such a deal with him in the first place? Oh, that's right. She finally remembered her motive behind making this deal. Although she might have been drunk, she did the right thing by setting Cohen free for the day. While she took Cohen's place, she could also get some much-needed revenge for him. This is perfect. A smirk appeared on their faces at the same time.

"Come on," He beckoned her to follow him, "I shouldn't have to tell you to follow me. When I move, you move with me. Don't make the same mistake twice."

Now it made sense as to why the High-tiers named Cohen the 'Elder's dog'. She certainly felt like a dog that was being tugged around on a leash by its self-entitled owner. If only she could bite like a dog, then she would definitely take a big chomp out of Abaddon's ankle. As this thought entered her mind, it went into Abaddon's as well. He covered his mouth, stopping himself from letting out a laugh.

After Abaddon was sure that he wouldn't accidentally let a laugh slip from him, he glanced over at Ember, telling her, "I'll have you change into more suitable attire when we get to my stylist. He should be able to find something that will make you look presentable at the gala."