Chapter 25: The Beginning of the End

*VICKY*

My eyes went wide. I felt a tremble shoot through to my hands and placed them in my lap to hide my fear. "You want me to kill Baden?"

Lord Tybrius fell back into his seat. "Can you?" he asked, still eyeing me. "He's an old friend of yours, after all. An old subordinate."

I now knew where this was going. The others thought I was called here on accords of the photo in the news. But Lord Tybrius knew otherwise: I was here on business.

"Won't that entice a war?" Zerger asked. "Between the Predators and Kindred?"

"If Baden is a Predator," Lord Tybrius continued. "Then that means they already called for a war when they attacked a Kindred—a superior at that."

Baden had been badly injured the last time, but he could feed on human blood. He would recover soon. However, there was one thing that remained doubtful.

"I don't think he's one of their leaders," I suddenly noted. "Baden was a good Commander, but I don't think he has it in him to command the Predators."

"I agree," a fourth Elder