Chapter 24: But You Are!

The councilwoman had a stern expression with wide eyes that were full of anger. "You must understand that if our king doesn't get a good woman as his wife, our kingdom would be ruined. Sedora was a strong queen, but she was far too powerful and everyone feared her because of her darkness. Now that there is a change, we need a queen who would be close to her subjects, and not a human who was turned into a vampire because she was dying! You must take this mission as if this is for Ixoviya. It is not personal." The woman stopped to take a breath. "You should try your best to seduce the king and make him reject that stupid, weak and useless vampire who has no knowledge on how to rule a kingdom!"

Laurel placed her hand on her heart. "Oh my god!" she rasped in her soft voice. "You don't mean that, do you? Rejecting a mate is so… painful." Her lips quivered, as the tear on the edge of her gray eyes spilled onto her cheek.

One of the councilmen leaned forward. He said, "We do want a strong queen for Ixoviya. You have to do this for Ixoviya and not yourself, okay? We have pinned all our hopes on you!" She was such a sweetheart—was all he could think. As compared to the one who ran away, she was someone who was too considerate for everyone and had her heart in the kingdom.

Laurel jerked her head back. She gazed at every one of them with her wide eyes and a tear that had fallen on her other cheek too. She gulped when all she saw was stubbornness on their faces. When her gaze settled on Urhan, she said, "Brother, are you sure? I feel so terrible about this..."

Urhan picked up his sister's hand in his and squeezed it. "It is for Ixoviya, Laurel. You must be successful in your mission, because none of us want the vampire to be our queen." He wiped her tears away. "She is not fit for a powerful kingdom that is full of sorcerers. She doesn't have magic. How can she deal with us, when at every step she is going to be threatened with our powers? In fact, I am so surprised what kind of a mate the Lore has given the king, who is the most powerful sorcerer. She is weak, fragile and she doesn't want him." He smiled at her in a reassuring way. "I understand that you are feeling bad about this mission, but my dear sister, it is not for you, it is for our kingdom. Weaklings have to be eliminated, for they become a burden to the others in every way. And if you look at it from my perspective, we are actually helping the king. I know that he will have a tough time rejecting his mate, but he will cope up. He is a strong man and I recently heard that he overthrew the demon king of Galahar, Edyrm, in order to help his cousin sister, Iona Volkov."

There was a collective gasp. "He is very powerful…" the woman said in a low voice filled with reverence and awe and fear. She exhaled and returned her gaze to Laurel. "Now do you understand the importance?"

Laurel's lips quivered and then she nodded slightly. "Okay, but…"

"That's it!" the woman thumped the table. She didn't give Laurel another chance to speak. "She is going to Fulshire forest to convince the king to not commit a folly so grave."

Laurel bit plump, rosy lips and lowered her gaze. After a long moment she said, softly like a lamb, who was about to be sacrificed "Okay… I am doing it for Ixoviya." She gave a side glance to all of them. "But I will need your support." She needed their support so that she could throw them under the bus when needed.

"We are right here!" said one of the councilmen. "Whenever you need us, you can summon us."

"But beware, you can't use magic in the human realm. It is against the treaty and we do not want to jeopardize that," Urhan reminded.

Laurel listened to him and again nodded slightly.

"So, are you ready?"

"I am," she replied with a sigh.

---

It was no surprise that nightmares found their way in her sleep.

"You've got to leave this place, Elize. You have to get out and hide for the rest of your life——"

Elize stilled, and then she felt a stab on her back—a sharp jab through her thin and sensitive skin. She tried to stay in control. Nessa's head tilted and when Elize glanced back, all she saw was something black as night. Nessa's eyes were glistening red through that darkness. She moved fast, faster than she could ever imagine and spinning around, she plunged the knife in her heart.

Elize jerked awake with a stifled scream and bile burning the back of her throat. Her tired gaze swept across her surroundings and she tried to make sense of the hard chest pressing her, the familiar scent surrounding her, the darkness and water she was submerged in.

"Elize," Caleb called her, his voice heavy with tension. A moment later he pressed her against his chest firmly and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's fine, Elize. You are safe. You are with me."

Elize's heart thudded so hard that she could hear it in her ears. She stared ahead and then she looked up at her… captor. He had trapped her in his arms, locked her. "Leave me," she said in a hoarse voice.

"What?" Caleb asked, shocked.

"Leave me! Now!"

Caleb swallowed his saliva down his sore throat. "You were burning and that's why you are with me. Are you feeling okay?"

"No," she said, her voice very hoarse. "But I will be when I go away from you, from here…" she scrambled out of his lap. As she stood up, her legs wobbled. Caleb moved quickly to help her, but she put her hands up in the air and stopped him. She started panting heavily with just that much and leaned on the branches behind her.

Caleb stood in front of her, his hands clenched into a tight fist as he stared at her with sharp focus. Her skin looked so much better, though she was definitely pale. And he knew that she hadn't been blooded in a while. He grew antsy. Would she accept blood from him again?

Tired and exhausted, she looked at Auril who was sitting on a thick root. "Is it still day?" she asked him.

"It is," he replied. "And I am sorry that you got in this mess because of me, but had it not been for Caleb, you wouldn't have been well."

Elize chuckled mirthlessly. "Had it not been for Caleb, I wouldn't be in this situation!"

Caleb's neck muscles corded as fury rose in his chest for talking with another man in his presence and that too against him. 'Stay in control' he silently screamed against his anger. While Elize was holding onto her pride, Caleb was holding onto terror also—terror of rejection.

"I see that you are free," Elize said to Auril, ignoring Caleb's physical and mental state. He was soaked just like her and angry, just like her.

"I am, and I have struck a deal with your husband," Auril said.

Elize narrowed her eyes at the word 'husband'. "Well, whatever deal you've struck, I am not a part of it!"

"But you are," Auril replied confidently, shamelessly and with a wide grin.

Elize raised an eyebrow.