If she could guess a dozen things that Reginald expected her to say, that was definitely not one of them.
His eyes bulged. "No?"
She nodded. "That's right. Instead, I have a proposal."
Now he was intrigued. She could tell by the glint that came into his eyes as he leaned back in his chair. She took it as a good sign and came closer, sitting in the chair beside him. It made her a little fearful but his eyebrows raised when she did so, exactly what she wanted him to do. He was probably thinking that she must be trusting him a bit more to come so close, which just might get him to trust her in return. And to trust what she was about to say.
"You have a proposal?" he repeated. "For me?"
"Yes, I do." Then she dove in. "You're aware of the fact that a usurper now sits on the throne, correct?"
"Correct."
"And you're also aware of the fact that I'm on the run from this usurper, right?"
"That's right."
"And what you probably don't know right now but I feel a little inclined to trust to you, is that I'm not the only one on the run."
This sparked his interest even more and he leaned over on the table, folding his hands before his face. This brought them much closer than they were before, and she was weirdly shocked by the brightest of his red eyes against his dark skin.
Don't forget he's a vampire, Mynera. He may seem civil but say the wrong thing and you might have your throat out in a second.
"Is that so?" he asked, lacking all the sarcasm she normally pushed into that sentence and replacing it with genuine curiousity. "There are more with you?"
"Yes. Saenar Baronius, Hale Naiger, Queen Madeline and a mercenary that recently switched sides, Barron."
By the time she had reached the end of her sentence, his head had shifted, looking away into the distant as if feeding on that tidbit of juicy information. "I had thought that the queen and the prince were killed during the attack. No one has seen them since."
Mynera shook her head. "We escaped the castle together and Saenar has been leading us since then."
"Truly? Leading you where?"
She was running her finger over her thumbnail, she noticed. She was nervous, anxious. Well, who wouldn't be in front of a century old vampire?
"We're heading to a ... safe haven."
"You don't want to tell me?"
"Surely I cannot disclose everything to you when we've only just met. There has to be ... conditions."
She was doing a very good job at keeping his attention. "What conditions would that be, my lady?"
Okay, here it was. She hoped that he would be at least half way open to it, to make her job easier.
Mynera took a deep breath. "Under the conditions that you and your people join us to retake the capital."
A short pause.
"You must be crazy," he muttered. He sounded honestly serious when he said it too, his mouth opened slightly. She understood why he would react that way; it was crazy. But, as they say, the crazy ideas are the ones that just might work.
"There is a slim chance that I am."
He ran his hand over his face, looking at her. "So you're asking me that we leave the refuge that has kept us safe for years to join you, a human whose ancestors tried to exterminate us, to retake the capital?"
Well, when he put it that way...
"Yes," she answered seriously. Maybe if he saw how serious she was he would be swayed.
It didn't work. "No."
"What? Hey, just think about it for a second."
"I have thought about it and frankly, that sounds like the stupidest thing anyone has ever said to me."
"No wait, just hold on one second." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. She had to convince him in some way. The more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed to her. She just need him to jump on board.
She would figure out what to say to a certain brown eyed prince later.
"What if I said that if that I could guarantee safety for you and your people to live amongst us. As one."
He looked at her with suspicion. "How will you attain that?"
"I could ..." What could she do? She was about to say that she could issue the decree herself since she would be queen but would she be? The king was dead. There was no longer anyone holding Saenar back from marrying his beloved Charmaline, if she happened to survive the attack. Mynera would probably be kicked out as soon as Lord Gavin's corpse hit the ground.
"Can't come up with a good enough lie?"
"Oh, I came up with one alright," she assured, still trying to think of how she could alott him his safety. "But I've decided to be honest."
"How praiseworthy of you."
"Isn't it?" Mynera turned to him. "I'm close with the prince. Once he's on the throne I'm one hundred percent certain he will issue the decree himself."
He just had to. She might not become queen but she knew Saenar; he was a good person. He would surely make sure that anyone who helped him achieve victory will get their reward.
She hoped.
"Surely you don't believe I'm going to throw away the life I've had for years over what you think may happen? Endangering my people at the same time?"
"I know it's a lot to ask for but –"
"I brought you here because I was sorry to you for what one of my men did. But if you continue to talk about this I will just ask you to leave."
She sighed. "Okay, okay. I'm done. For now."
His eyes narrowed at that but she was already out of her chair. She was far from done. She still had one more trick up her sleeve.
Please let this work.
"I'm feeling a bit tired," Mynera lied, nearing the flap of the tent. "I think I'll take a short nap before leaving."
He began to rise. "Then let me –"
"Oh, don't trouble yourself," she said quickly. "I'm sure I know how to make my way to an empty tent by myself. And besides, you said it yourself: They won't attack me."
A glimmer of suspicion crossed his face but he sat nonetheless. Which was just what she wanted. For him to stay put so that she can make her move.
She gave him a simple curtsy, not able to help it and regretting it immediately since it probably made her look more suspicious. Before he could say anything about it however, she ducked under the tent flap and went back to the cold of outside.
The fire was beginning to die and so the light was dimming rapidly. It was strong enough, however, for her to see what looked to be hundreds of vampires waiting for her outside the tent. Her steps faltered when she saw them staring.
All those hungry eyes. All on her.
Goodie.
Mynera swallowed back the fear that rose and edged her way to the dying fire. Their eyes watched her every move, even as she got on her knees and began to blow. Soon enough, the fire burned brighter and higher and she could see around her a bit more.
Which wasn't as good as it sounded. The ones right before her were baring their teeth; subconsciously, she knew, since the one standing a little way before her elbowed his vampire friend to get him to stop. Reginald was right. They weren't going to hurt her. At least not on purpose.
That didn't dim her terror however, but she pushed it aside and steeled her nerves. To the left, she noticed a large rock, almost flat at the top. It was good enough.
Mynera ran over to it and pulled it up to the fire. She tested it to make sure it was stable first before she stood on top.
"Hello everyone," Mynera greeted loudly. Standing on the rock, she could see that it was way more vampires than she thought at first. "I am Lady Mynera Antarian of Typena, but I think it'll be best if you just call me Mynera. It'll make things much easier." She paused, looking around. No one answered. They just kept staring at her.
She took a deep breath. "You're probably wondering why I'm standing here talking to you. You're probably wondering why I'm even here in the first place. I'm a human, a part of a race that conspired to exterminate all vampires. I'm actually here because I was attacked by one of your people."
When a murmur went through the crowd, she took that as a good sign, as progress. She pushed on. "He saw me sitting in a tavern – yes, a tavern – when I got drunk and he decided to drink my blood. And I don't blame him. I was vulnerable, I was weak, sitting in the corner worrying about ... things. One thing most of all."
Mynera's voice was getting stronger by the minute. From the corner of her eye, she saw Reginald and Thael join the crowd that had gathered around her.
"The Nations is in shatters and a usurper sits on the throne! Lord Gavin killed the king, drove the prince and the queen out of the capital and into hiding, massacred the surrounding villages and has his men roaming all over the Nations!"
"In search of you!" someone shouted.
She nodded. "Yes. In search of me. He wants me through a sick obsession. But he won't get me. All he will get is a sword through his heart when we take back the crown. And I need your help."
"Why the hell would we help you?" another asked. Mynera looked at the owner of the voice. It was an attractive woman, with wild, curly hair and sharp red eyes. "After you drove us into hiding, we've finally got used to this life. Why would we help you? Where will it get us?"
"I've thought about that too. To be honest, I can't force your hand. This place, wherever it is, is your safe haven and you have no reason to leave. But I can promise you a life in the outside world. When we take back the crown, we will give you a chance in this world again. You no longer need to hide from us. After one hundred years, you can finally be free!"
"We can be free?" the question roved over the whole crowd. She watched them turn to each other, asking the same question. She could hear the growing wonder and excitement in their voices.
"All we need is your help. All we need is an army to go up against the thousands that Lord Gavin has. With this many vampires, your speed, your strength, surely we can retake the crown!"
"What about the lycans?"
Her head swiveled around to Thael. He had his arms crossed, looking at her. "Excuse me?"
"The lycans. Surely you don't think that if we're going to be given the chance to come out of hiding, that they will just sit still."
The lycanthropes were alive too? "I wasn't aware of the fact that they still existed."
"They do," the sharp eyed woman jumped in. "And we know where they're staying too. We've made a truce with each other so as not to cross paths. If we win back the capital for you, then they are going to be mad."
"Why would they be mad?"
"The truce we have with them. To keep ourselves hidden, we've promised to watch each other's backs. What's ours is theirs."
"So," she said, understanding. "If you are granted freedom, then they are going to want it too."
"Are you willing to take that on?" Thael challenged.
She looked at him. He had no idea that she was at such a state of desperation that she was willing to take anything on. "The more men, the better off we'll be. The lycans can join our army."
"You seem to forget that we're vampires. Vampires cannot walk in the sun."
"You and I both know that isn't a problem for you. You've been walking in the sun before the Puritans War. As long as your skin is not directly exposed to it for a extended period of time then you'll be fine. All you need is a lot of covering."
"Don't forget that the lycans turn every full moon."
She looked at the sharp-eyed woman. "I know. But I am in no position to be deterred by these obstacles. I vowed that I will one day take back the capital and I'm going to make sure that happens if it's the last thing I do. Now, I am offering you a chance to get out of your life of solitude and enjoy your freedom in exchange for your word that you will charge by my side in battle. Now are you with me?"
The murmurs went through the crowd again but this time it gave her a good feeling.
"I said, are you with me?!" The vampires all roared at Mynera's shout, mimicking her fist pumped into the air.
She did it. She got the masses on her side. Now, hopefully it'll be easier to convince Reginald. She turned to him while he watched her steadily.
"Reginald, leader of the vampires, do you accept my proposal?"
He stared her down but in no way, shape or form was she backing down. She returned his stare, eye for eye.
Then finally, his lips quirked up and he looked over at the excited vampires. Suddenly, he was before her in a flash. Mynera's heart skipped a beat when his breath suddenly heated her forehead. She looked up at him, refusing to flinch.
"You better not be getting their hopes up for nothing, my lady," he muttered to her.
"I'm not. I give you my word."
"Why should I trust your word?"
"You were the one who said trust goes both ways. I trust that you won't tear me apart, and you trust that, when this is all over, you and your people get your freedom."
"And what's stopping me from just killing you right now so as not to risk anything?"
"Nothing," she answered honestly. "But you are just as excited as the rest of them at the prospect of being in the outside world again."
His eyes narrowed. "You better not make me regret this."
She couldn't help the smile that graced her face. "You definitely won't."
Reginald gave her one final look before he turned around and held his hand up. Immediately, all excited chatter ceased and all eyes were on him.
"You heard the woman speak," he bellowed. "I won't tell all of you to come with me. Some of you would rather stay here, safe, where you know that no one can hurt you. But for those who are like me, you don't want to be here anymore. You want a chance at freedom and here comes Lady Mynera Antarian offering us that chance. Some of you may not trust her but those who are like me is willing to put aside all wariness and follow behind her. Some of you would rather spend your days here than head out into a battle where you could probably lose your life before the dream of freedom is even realized but those who are like me are willing to take that chance. So, for those who are like me, let us go fight for our freedom!"
The vampires made an uproar, a much louder noise than she had succeeded in creating. She smiled.
She was glad her little showcase moved Reginald to her cause. Now, there wasn't much to do other than to take the capital. After Saenar finds out that is, which just might be a much messier fight.
"We leave by the morrow!" Reginald continued. "Cover yourself from head to toe so that you won't be burnt by the sun."
They all dispersed, talking all the way to the tents about this mission. Some were excited, some calling them foolish for even listening. She was just glad that the 'foolish' ones outweighed the others.
Mynera looked at Reginald. "Thank you."
He looked at her and nodded. A blossom of hope bloomed in her chest. Look out, Lord Gavin. We have an army.
--
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Just a few questions for you guys
What do you think of Reginald?
What are your thoughts on the vampires and lycanthropes being alive?
Do you think she'll be able to take back the throne with her new, unstable army?
How do you think Saenar's going to react?
Bonus question: Are you Team Saenar or Team Hale? ;)
Don't forget to vote and comment! This book will be joining the Wattys 2016 and I would love to some support. Vote, share to twitter or another social media, comment, spread the word!
Love all you guys! xoxo