Anything For Rachel

Chapter Twenty Five.

I waited for what felt like forever to me.

"Rach, why don't you come sit down?" Logan asked, sitting on the couch with Octavia and Patrick. "You're making me nervous with all of that pacing."

I ignored his request and kept walking my track into the carpet. "You should be nervous." I pointed out. "I think we all should."

"You don't think the council will agree to your idea?" He asked and I looked over to see Octavia shaking her head as she looked down at her black boots.

"I doubt it." I told him. "More than that though, Lexton would have to agree to it too, and after what's happened to her, I don't think she'd be willing, and I won't go through with it if she isn't."

Patrick looked up from his paper. "You know Calvin could just force her." He said. "She's been living as a citizen here, so she must answer to her king."

I stopped walking and crossed my arms over my chest. "I would never force her to do it." I sighed. "And neither would Calvin."

"So what do we do then?" Logan groaned. I could tell by looking at him, the way his hair was all shoved to one side and his face was unshaven, that he was stressed. I know the feeling. I'm there myself.

I covered my face with my hands and took a few deep breaths. "That's something that we are all going to have to discuss." I reminded him.

"Well where is he?" He snapped.

The door clicked open and Calvin stepped in tentatively. "I'm here." He said, hanging his head in shame. I dropped my hands and sighed in relief when I saw him. With all of the bad things going on, him being out of my sight too makes me feel uneasy to no end. I need at least one certain thing in my life right now. He glanced across the room to me for only a second before dropping his eyes again. "Let me go get changed." He muttered, disappearing into the back bedroom.

I was glad he was changing. The blood smeared all over his shirt was jarring. It only made me remember him hovering over me viciously, and I didn't want to think of that.

When he reemerged from the room he joined the others in the living room, standing in front of the coffee table. I went and sat in the large chair to the side and we all looked at each other for a moment. The only people who could be trusted in all of Castrum de Petra, gathered in one room.

"So?" Logan said, trying to get everyone talking. "A plan?"

Calvin shook his head and took my place in pacing. "No plan is going to work." He said dully. "I just saw my men off to attack the rebels in Britain." He said. "If they're successful, when the men are done, they'll come back here and root out any other supporters, although I feel there aren't many. Lexton said there were two men who attacked her." He explained. "I assume that one of them is probably the one who toyed with Rachel."

Logan rubbed his jaw in frustration and Octavia put her hand gently on his shoulder. "If your men are able to kill the rebels, that keeps Rose out of the picture, but what about Rachel?" He asked. "What do we do now that the competition can't go on?"

Everyone was looking at Calvin, and I could practically see the weight of everyone's fears on his shoulders. He has been dealing with so much, more than I probably even know, and he is responsible for so many people. I know how he tortures himself, and I hate to see any more pressure put on him.

I cleared my throat to pull everyone's attention back to me. "We don't really have many options." I stated the obvious. "All I can think, is maybe since the whole idea of the king needing an heir was something that King Gordo thought up, not something that was practiced for thousands of years, then the council may agree to let that condition go, and then the queen could be a vampire." I explained. "That's a big uncertainty though." I admitted. "They seem pretty set on this idea of me staying, and so I am sure it is a long shot, and it would also matter what Lexton wants to do."