"Amelia."
The name pulled at something deep in Chen Mo's mind. Immediately a memory surfaced — the image of a noble, icy vampire elder: tall, cold, impossibly elegant.
Could it be her?
In the world of Underworld, the vampire hierarchy was ruled by three elders. Two were known: Marcus, the progenitor, and Victor, the grand lord. The only woman whose rank matched theirs — the one called Amelia — had always been a mystery.
Long ago there had been only Marcus. He and his brother William had been changed by strange bites: one by bats, one by wolves. Marcus became something other than man — immortal, powerful, and cursed with a need for blood and a fear of sunlight. William, by contrast, was transformed into a wolf — savage, feral, stripped of human reason. From his savage hunger, more lycans were born.
Both species shared a fatal weakness: silver. Blades forged of silver could wound or even kill them.
To hide his nature from terrified humans, Marcus fed on animals and livestock, always careful to remain hidden by night. But William grew uncontrollable, and werewolves multiplied until the countryside teetered on the edge of ruin.
Marcus needed allies who could move in daylight — humans who could stand against the lycans — and so he sought out a powerful lord famed for slaying werewolves: Victor. Not the vigorous Victor of legend, but the older Victor, decades after endless campaigns, lying near death on his sickbed.
Marcus promised Victor immortality. Victor accepted the bargain, was turned into a vampire, and in return pledged his legion to Marcus's cause — not to destroy William, but to find him. Victor's host followed — strong men remade into vampires, with Victor as their leader. Thus Victor rose to become one of the three elders, a ruler whom most vampires revered even above the progenitor in power and influence.
Amelia's origins, however, remained obscure. But now, hearing Andrew's name for her, Chen Mo suspected the truth: the Marchioness Amelia might be the very woman who, in time, would sit among the three vampire elders. Perhaps Marcus had turned her to secure Victor's help in searching for William. Why Marcus would spare the marquis himself remained a question for later.
Knowing the reason behind Andrew's unusual behavior, Chen Mo felt a new respect for his captain. The quiet, taciturn knight hid a life of drama — a love that once bound him to the marquis's daughter.
That bond changed Chen Mo's plans. He could not simply march on Leonard's lands without weighing the cost to his faithful vassal.
"If I had not asked, and simply launched the campaign against Marquis Leonard," Chen Mo asked, voice flat, "what would you have done?"
Andrew's eyes flickered with conflict, then settled into steel. He had already decided.
"I would seize the land for you, my lord," he said, low and solemn, "and afterwards beg you to spare her and her family."
Chen Mo nodded. He rose and spoke with the authority that bent men's wills.
"Call the order. We move in thirty minutes. Target: Marquis Leonard's lands."
Andrew's face tightened, then he bowed.
"Yes, my lord."
After several days of forced marches, the order finally reached the borders of Leonard's domain. Chen Mo halted his knights several miles from the castle.
Word had traveled ahead. Lookouts beat the alarm bells, the gate slammed shut, and the battlements swarmed with soldiers who gripped weapons and watched the cold line of heavy cavalry arrayed on the plain.
The newly anointed Marchioness Amelia mounted the ramparts in her ornate feminine armor. Her helm shadowed her face — none on the wall could see her features.
"Lord," one of Amelia's knights reported after a quick glance, "by their arms, banners and numbers, that appears to be the heavy cavalry from Blackstone."
"Blackstone…" Amelia muttered — the name sat like a stone in her throat. She had never wanted to hear it.
Chen Mo ordered his knights to hold while he and Andrew rode forward alone. The two figures thundered toward the gate. From the ramparts, the mounted shape in gleaming armor — the woman who had once belonged to Andrew's past — came into view.
Chen Mo felt Andrew's pulse spike. The man's composure creased; his whole body bristled with contained emotion.
Seeing only two riders, Amelia did not command an immediate strike. She wanted to know what they intended.
They reached the foot of the wall. Chen Mo reined in his horse and called up in a voice that carried.
"Open your gates. We have matters to discuss."
Silence answered for a long moment. Then, under the watchful eyes of the garrison, Amelia finally spoke.
"Open the gate."
Her knights protested urgently. Rumors of Chen Mo's power had spread far and wide—stories of how one man could tear down massive iron-bound gates by force alone. Letting him through might invite disaster.
But Amelia's expression was resolute.
"You all know the rumors about this lord," she said, voice quiet but firm. "If they're true, letting them in might make no difference — or it might change the outcome in some way."
"If the rumors are false, so much the better. There are only two of them; they cannot pose a great threat. Our gate is far away from their forces. We have time to close it and seize them."
Curiosity lingered in her face. She wanted to see what this mysterious, mighty lord intended to say.