Caught in Between

-37-

We were all back in the council room on different circumstances, and there were no vampires allowed to lay witness to what came next. The councilmen refused to sit on the podium this time, so we all huddled closely in a circle in the center of the room. My rage subsided and my fangs and claws were retracted, and my eyes that were once red turned back to normal.

Edgar and I stood face to face, holding our stares with one another. He spoke up in attempt to break the silence and gain my forgiveness. "My apologies, my queen. I hope you can understand that I've been ruling the entire vampire race along with my other councilmen for four centuries. We all have given up on the belief that our vampire queen would return to us. Especially, after what had happened to late Queen Liliana."

I could feel Liliana wince in pain. Edgar did mention that he was appointed by her. I wondered what kind of relationship they had toward each other, as it was still evident that Edgar's loyalties still lie with her. "Rebecca, please tell Edgar how sorry I am for dying the way that I did. And remind him of Troygen," Liliana spoke to me and I sighed.

"Edgar," I called out, gaining his full attention. "Liliana has spoken to me, and she wants to tell you how sorry she is for.. for dying the way that she did. Troygen was her mate and betrayed her, and now I have to tell you what he's been doing. He's been assisting the werewolves and making several attempts to create a hybrid species, mixing werewolves and vampires together in hopes to create a new and stronger race that he can command. It is his effort to win the war."

What I said shocked Edgar. His eyes were widened and jaw slightly opened. He turned away, shielding his emotions from me and he began to slowly pace back and forth in front of the podium. His councilmen were by his side, waiting for his next words.

"If that is true.. we must calculate each move we make extremely carefully. We must post almost every one of our spies there to gather as much information as we can," Edgar stated before swiveling on his heel to face me, his hands clasped and his face looking more determined as ever. "Your coronation has to be done right away. We can't afford to waste time getting you seated where you rightfully belong. And once we retake the castle, that is where you'll be staying, but for now, the headquarters building will do."

"My coronation?" I asked in curiosity.

"Yes, my queen. It won't be anything too fancy as our resources need to be used for war, but we would need to make it official so we can start conducting business in an orderly fashion."

"My request is to not be made a bigger target than I already am. I wish to hide my identity from the werewolves until the very end," I explained, but Edgar shook his head. He seemed to not care about my pleads.

"Queen Rebecca, there are laws in which we must follow. Everyone knows you are the Vampire Queen, and as we speak, the werewolves are sure to know of it by now. The power you displayed out there at the..." He paused, feeling remorseful. "...at the public execution, which I apologize again for, will have been heard for hundreds of miles. All we can do now is move forward officially and let you lead us. And your councilmen will be at your service." Edgar bowed followed by Anthony and Reina.

Keith stepped forward. "Your Excellence, if I may, but this was our plan from the very beginning so please understand that we wish to continue following that."

Edgar raised up his hand at Keith. "Your plan has been already soiled. I advice you either do what I have suggested, or come up with a new plan. But our people need our queen."

"I will continue to uphold my promise that I made to her until the day I die. She is not leading the front lines in this war," Keith countered, clearly displaying how irritated he has become with Edgar.