“This is Sir Patrick.”

“Hi,” I said, clearing my throat, “It’s Mel.”

“Ah, your Majesty,” he replied with a sigh of relief, “I was hoping you would call soon. I hope you are feeling much better.”

“I am,” I said, “Thank you. I was calling to discuss the matters of my kingdom.”

“Of course,” he replied, “We can set up a meeting, if you would like.”

“I’m…” I trailed off, lost in my thoughts. I knew that I had to do the right thing, but leaving Erik would break me.

“I’m free today,” I said quickly, “If we could set up a meeting and press conference to follow?”

“That would be very possible,” Sir Patrick answered, “If you’re ready to address the council and your people so quickly, that is.”

“I am,” I sighed, “I have to give them the leader they deserve. Would ten this morning be alright?”

“I will let the council know,” he replied, “And we will see you at ten at our headquarters.”

“See you then,” I mumbled before hanging up the phone. The chef set my coffee and pastry in front of me and walked away. I took the small spoon in the cup and stirred, drowning in fear.

What if you have no idea what the hell you’re doing? You could seriously fuck up a kingdom.

I groaned and laid my head on the table as I heard footsteps approaching. I peeked up and saw as Erik was sitting down across from me.

“You okay?” He asked, sipping his own coffee.

I sighed and propped the side of my face in my left hand. “I don’t know what to do. I mean, I know what to do but I don’t want to do it. If that makes any sense.”

“It does,” Erik replied, reaching across the table and putting his hand on my forearm, “But you have to understand that we will be fine. We can always communicate with the bond. You will be the best queen our kind has seen in a long time.”

“But I don’t know if I can take physically being away from you,” I whispered, “It’s like a part of me is missing.”

“Then I’ll be sure we see each other as much as possible,” Erik replied with a smile. I looked up at him and saw that he was seriously being genuine.

You can get through this. You have to put on your big girl panties and do what Iris wants you to do.

“Fine,” I said with a huff before I took a sip of my coffee, “I am meeting with the council at ten. If something happens, I’ll let you know.”

“Sounds perfect,” he replied, “I’ll be here working on some paperwork most of the day, so whenever you want to just pop inside my head let me know.”

“Oh I will,” I chuckled, “Don’t you worry about that.” I saw a sly look in his eye as the corners of his mouth turned up into that mischievous smile of his.

“I’ll let the driver know what time to take you,” he said as he stood up and walked around to my side of the table. He stood next to me, towering over me with his smell of cologne and shampoo.

I could drool at this sight.

“Better not,” he chuckled, “You would mess up that beautiful makeup.”

I slapped his leg and laughed. “You always pick the worst time to poke around in my thoughts.”

“I think that the times have been perfect,” he said in a low tone, leaning down to plant a kiss on my lips.

“I’ll let you know how it goes,” I said breathlessly, “You need to get to work.” I stood and looked up at him, smiling from ear to ear.

“Fine,” he grumbled, “Guess the paperwork won’t wait, huh?”

“Probably not,” I said, still smiling as I went into the kitchen and put away my dishes.

Erik called the driver around for me, since the ride was about an hour away. I loaded into the back of the SUV and we started our journey through the countryside.

Once we arrived at the council gates, word had apparently already spread that I was coming to take my throne back. There were reporters and people lining the gates, wanting a glimpse inside of the walls.

We slowly pulled through, avoiding the throngs of people shouting from every direction. I sunk down deep into my seat as I felt super uncomfortable with the media coverage.

When we got to the front doors of the huge building there were several guards who came to open the doors of the vehicle for me. I placed my crown on my head and made sure it was fixed perfectly. As I stepped out of the vehicle the guards bowed, and I returned their stone-like gazes with a smile and a nod. I made my way inside of the building and to the front desk.

"Your Majesty!" the front desk worker exclaimed, "We have been expecting you. Please take the elevator to the third floor, and a doorman will be waiting on you."

"Thank you," I replied as she bowed and smiled. I went inside of the elevator and pushed the number three. The machine made a quiet whirring sound as it climbed up to the correct floor, stopping with a sudden thud once it showed floor three. I cleared my throat and straightened my back as the doors opened.

"Right this way, your Majesty," the doorman said, waiting on me just like the woman at the front desk told me. He walked me through the hallway to the conference room where Erik and I had come before.

“Your Majesty,” Sir Patrick said as I entered the room. Everyone bowed and I smiled back while I scanned the room for uncle Harry.

Thank god he is here.

I took the seat that Sir Patrick was holding for me. I crossed my legs and stared at him.

“So,” he said, sitting down and shuffling through some paperwork, “Shall we cut to the chase or make a deal out of this?”

I fidgeted my fingers together and bit my lip. “I suppose my rightful place now is on my throne, taking care of my kingdom.”

“It is,” Sir Patrick said, “But that choice is yours. We can always recruit if we need to.”

Take what is yours.

Iris’s words buzzed in my head like she was sitting next to me. I had to shake my head to get my thoughts straight.

“There is no need to recruit,” I said firmly, “Although my intentions were to stay with King Donovan, I am needed by my kingdom. They have been with an unfit ruler since the death of my parents, so I will take my crown and rule the kingdom to the best of my abilities.”

“You must be one hundred percent sure that is what you want,” uncle Harry piped in, “Because there is no turning back once you make your choice.”

“That is what I want,” I replied, “I’m sure of it. It is what my parents would want, and it is what I know needs to be done in order to unite all of our kind together as one.”

The room grew tense and I could feel the anxiety rise.

Shit, you said too much.

“What do you mean by that?” Sir Patrick asked, leaning forward a bit. I squirmed in my seat, terrified to tell them my link with the other world. I wasn’t sure if Iris would be mad if I told them what she wanted of me.

They need to know the truth.

“When I died that night after the altercation with Malachi,” I started after hearing Iris in my head, “I formed a bond with those who have passed on. One of those, who I found out to be one of my ancestors, was Queen Iris.

“She told me that I was going to be the one to unite the kingdoms into one. She told me this was the only way for our kind to live in peace and harmony. I took a vow to her that I would complete this mission. Once that was finished, I was able to channel powers from her and all of the other powerful ancestors.

“That’s how I was able to defeat Johnathan, and that is how I will defeat anyone who stands in our way of making our life as vampires miserable. We might be seen as monsters in some peoples’ eyes, but that’s not who we are. We can live in harmony together, just like we did when Iris ruled.”

The room was silent. Dead silent. I looked over at Sir Patrick who was deep in thought, then at uncle Harry who was beaming with pride.

I fidgeted my fingers in my lap. "Please, say something. I promise I'm telling the truth."

"We believe you," Sir Patrick finally replied, "And I feel that is a great idea, but, it will take some work to unite kingdoms into one. A lot of other rulers want what is theirs to stay theirs."

"I completely understand that," I said, "It's not something that will be done overnight. I just want to focus on my kingdom right now and then work my way toward Queen Iris's goal."

"Are you prepared to make a statement to your people?" Sir Patrick asked.

I nodded my head quickly. "Yes sir. I can come up with something to say to them."

"Perfect," he breathed, "When would you like to start moving things back into your old home?"

"We can start sooner rather than later," I answered, "There is a lot of cleaning up that needs to be done. The first thing is that I want nothing of Johnathan's to remain in my home. Burn all of his belongings."

"I will let them know that," Sir Patrick replied, writing on a piece of paper, "Is there anything else you would like done before moving in?"

"I think that will cover it," I said, "Everything else appeared to be like it was when I was young."

"Great," he said, "If you want to go ahead and start your statement preparations, I will let the media know you will be speaking at lunch."

"Okay," I replied as everyone started to get up. I stayed seated in my chair as they began to file out. I held my head in my hands and sighed before I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I looked up into uncle Harry's shining eyes and smiled softly back at him.

"You're doing good," uncle Harry said, patting my shoulder, "And you will continue to do good. Don't worry about anything else other than taking care of your kingdom."

"That's a lot to worry about," I chuckled nervously, "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"But you do," he replied, "You led an army and took down Johnathan. That's enough for you to run a kingdom if I think so."

"I guess you're right there," I said, "I guess I need to start figuring out what I'm going to say at this presentation."

"You'll find the right words," uncle Harry replied as he began to walk out, "You always do, Mel."

I groaned and tried to get my gears in my head turning as I realized that I, in fact, do not hardly ever find the right words.

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