https://youtu.be/N_QYJKY1WlA

The next day, we were called to the meeting room again. Besides Lucas, Edgar, Zerav and Rosario were there.

"Why have you called us here for, Lucas?" Zephyr asked and Lucas moved his eyes towards the exiting door.

"Wait a little longer, I'll tell you when he comes here," Lucas replied, making me look at him.

"Who's coming?" I asked but right at that moment, a knock was heard on the door.

"May I come in?" The voice asked and Lucas opened the door for the person. He was dressed in formal clothing with a red scarf around his neck and wore pants that reached to the tip of his toes.

"You are?" I began, eyeing the man curiously.

"I'm Cecil. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been staying in the mansion since yesterday." He gave me a small smile.

"Oh, I'm Irina. It's nice to meet you." I spoke to which he nodded, still with the smile. After that, as everyone introduced themselves to one another, Lucas spoke up.

"Alright. Now that we all are done with introducing ourselves, I'll get straight to the topic." He announced, making everyone nod.

"Cecil got in contact with Damien on the way to the mansion." 

"What?!" I asked and Zephyr held my hand in his, giving me an assuring smile.

"He refused their proposal to be one of them and ended up getting attached due to that," Lucas said and I stared at Cecil.

"A man suddenly came in front of me on my way here and gave me a passionate proposal to join their Coven, which I declined politely. And the next thing I knew, I was thrown off to the bushes by a strong force." Cecil explained, ending with a sigh at last.

"I'm amazed that you were able to escape, Cecil," I said and he looked at me with a small smile.

"I'm really good at running and hiding." 

"Did you see the man's face?" Zephyr asked.

"He was wearing a cloak with a hood so I couldn't see his face. But he had this some kind of uncanny aura." Cecil said.

"Damien..." I said slowly.

"It seems that many of the vampires around us are already being given a choice to join their coven. Threatened to be killed, if they refuse." Zerav said. 

"How low can they get?" Rosario said and Zerav nodded in agreement.

"Since it has come to this, I'll explain everything to the ones who are staying here apart from us and have them move out to a safer place," Edgar glanced at Lucas while saying so.

"Yes, if we leave or do anything like it right now, Damien might think that we're backing down," Lucas replied and turned to Rosario.

"Fortunately, we have strong people on our side." He said, smiling and Rosario shared a glance with me.

"I did hear that Dylan and Jack will be lending us a hand too," Edgar said and Zerav nodded.

"Yes, they're not here now. But Stefan and Gerard have already arrived at the mansion." Lucas announced and I turned my head sideways to Edgar.

"If I remember correctly, Stefan's your relative, right?" I asked and Edgar nodded slowly.

"Yes, he is. And Gerard is Stefan's one and only friend." Edgar explained to me.

"It's amazing actually. How their friendship grew after all those painful times." Zerav said and I stared at him.

"Why? What happened?" I asked but the others said nothing so I guessed that they knew the story.

"Hmm...Well, Gerard and Stefan...They were part of the NightWorth Coven once. Born innocent, they didn't know what was happening. They were used by Damien for their extreme fighting skills and magic. Everything was going well until one day..." Zerav began and I listened to every word.

"The attack was totally unexpected...Everything was turning into ashes...They tried to fight the Elves off but they had to pull back at that time...Gerard was badly injured and Stefan had to carry him on his arm all the way here...The desperate look in his eyes was...Heart-Touching...It was as if he was carrying his own brother..." Edgar said in a sad tone.

"I'm sorry..." I said quietly and he shook his head with a small smile.

"Oh, not at all, it's not your fault. Vampires are much stronger now. Besides, having a royal princess with us 'ought to be an advantage." He said, his smile turning into a crooked one.

"I don't understand what you mean, Edgar," I said, firmly and Zerav chuckled.

"He just loves to get on people's nerves. Don't worry about it." Zerav said, making me nod slowly.

"Anyway, we should stop distracting our minds and think about the outcomes of the attack," Rosario announced and everyone turned to Lucas.

"Right now, there is nothing we can do except wait for their next move. We'll see how everything turns out." Lucas said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll do my best too," I said, firmly.

"Don't work hard too hard, It's not your fight," Zephyr said.

"This is where I stand now, Zephyr. I will try everything to protect you all." I said and he squeezed my left hand tight.

"Damien will definitely show himself on the day of the reckoning. And, it is most likely that he'll come after Irina." Rosario said, looking at me as he spoke and I thought back to all the times I met with Damien.

'He already knew all about my powers, somehow. But, he did say that he didn't need them anymore. In other words, there is no reason for him to keep me alive any longer.' I thought.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Zephyr said and I looked at him.

"I know..." I said back and shared a smile with him and Rosario.

"The day is getting near as days pass by. For now, all of you may go back to your work but do take time to prepare for a sudden attack." Lucas announced and everyone bowed to him. I shared a glance with Rosario again, before leaving the room with Zephyr.