A/N: Sorry for the confusion earlier this week, I accidentally added a chapter of one of my other stories here and had to delete it, so if you got an email saying chapter 25 was out but couldn't find the chapter, that's why. So now, without further delay, the real chapter 25!

SPOV

Eric vamps me out of the council meeting room, going out of the back exit that the council members leave from, not the main one where everyone else does. It's all part of the plan; he's bringing me to a hotel near here where there is a suite already waiting for us, along with the people we've gathered to help us with this battle. Pam, Thalia, and Karin will be a few minutes behind us as they go out of the main entrance to speak to DeCastro. They're going to make up some 'human emergency' that Eric had to help me with in order to keep him from getting suspicious as to why we're not there to receive his summons. Over the last week, Eric has been working with his contacts from DeCastro's compound, one who is one of his guards, so we know where DeCastro is staying and what his itinerary is.

After we all gather at the hotel to have one final meeting, making sure we have everything we need and everyone knows their part of the plan, we're going to attack. According to DeCastro's itinerary for this week, he's planning to stay in California until the supposed council vote pertaining to Eric and me, which apparently he set for the day after tomorrow. As for his plans for tonight, if he follows what's written, he's going to go back to his hotel straight after the council vote to feed and change before going out for the night. We're going to stage the attack as they're traveling to the bar they're going to tonight. It's a very small window, there's only a one-block area on the route he's planning to take that we can attack without being seen beforehand, and where it's empty enough that no one will see. If someone should just happen to drive by, it's unlikely they'd get involved.

Eric puts me down as soon as we're in the room, I look around seeing all the people who are willing to stand with Eric, willing to risk their lives just to help him. It's a lot easier to support and follow someone who's already king or any position of power, really. It's a completely different situation when you know you could be put to death just for being caught seriously talking about doing what we've been planning for tonight. I'm a lot more surprised than I probably should be when everyone in the room kneels down to Eric. I turn to look at him and feel mild annoyance in the bond, even though you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at him.

"Thank you all for coming, as long as we all follow the plan that's laid out for us, this should be over in a quick manner; you should have time to go out and celebrate our victory. My goal is to get this completed as quickly and cleanly as possible; there will be much work to do after the battle is done. As we all know, DeCastro cares more for lining his pockets than keeping his people safe and fruitful."

Pam, Karin, and Thalia come into the room a moment after Eric stops speaking, none of them look really all that pleased. Eric looks at them with his brow quirked, and Pam takes that as permission to speak, "The king has summoned us all tonight."

"Explain," Eric answers simply, and we all can hear the command in his tone. Gosh, I can't wait till this is over, even though I can't lie, Eric in leader mode is mighty attractive, I like my regular old loving Eric more.

"He's ordered me to bring all of his underlings to Bites, the club he's going to tonight. It appears he wants to have a stately meeting before finding his next meal of the night."

"Mhmm," Eric says, thinking it over.

"Well, that doesn't include us, right?" I ask Pam, but then halfway through, I turn to Eric. "I mean, we're not technically part of his state again yet, right?"

"Correct, though it is clear he's expecting Eric, too. And he specifically mentioned 'everyone's favorite little telepath.'"

"It is fine," Eric decides, "The attack is set to happen on the way to the club, so he won't even be alive to know we've missed his summons."

Damon, Eric's friend who I met at Fangtasia, laughs, "That's The Viking for you, even when planning regicide, he still somehow manages to stay honorable to his king."

The others around us laugh, but I'm too worked up and worried to find the humor in it. We're about to go into a battle for life and death, for heaven's sake. I shake my head but don't say anything; I look around. I know Eric wants me to stay here and wait for him to return, but at least he knows me well enough by now not to fight my choice to join him. I walk to the bathroom and throw some water on my face; I'm working hard not to let myself get too stressed out. It's not like this is the first time I've knowingly gone into a battle that I knew could end with my death. I think it's freaking me out so much this time because, in the past, they were never so well planned out, I didn't have as much time beforehand to stop and worry about it.

I turn the water off and look at myself in the mirror. I open my mouth to scream, but a hand is covering my mouth faster than I can make sound come out of it. I feel Eric's alarm in the bond, and he's in the bathroom with me less than a moment later with his fangs down, looking murderous. He looks at me exasperatedly a moment later when he sees who's in the bathroom with me. "Gods, Sookie, I thought you were in danger."

Niall finally lets go of my mouth. "I thought I was in danger! He just popped in here with no warning and didn't make himself known until I looked up and saw him standing behind me in the mirror." I turn to my great-grandfather. "You really have to stop coming to me this way, Niall; I swear you'll give me a heart attack one of these days."

He laughs heartily; I swear he has the strangest sense of humor, and it only pops up at the oddest of times. "Oh, Sookie, you are always good for a laugh, that's why you're my favorite grandchild."

Eric and I make eye contact for a moment, him knowing as well as I that I wasn't trying to be funny. I turn my attention back to Niall, "Yeah, well, you'll have to buy tickets for my one-man show." I stop myself from rolling my eyes when he looks confused instead of entertained at my sarcastic joke. "What are you doing here, Niall? I thought you said you couldn't get involved."

"I cannot." He agrees, then looks at Eric, "Vampire. Give me a moment with my granddaughter alone, will you." He might word it as a question, but his tone makes it clear it's not. "As you see, she's perfectly safe."

Eric looks at me, and I nod my head once, so he leaves the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. "Why on earth did you decide to pop into the bathroom?" I blush, imagining the embarrassment I'd be dealing with if I was using the facilities.

"Sookie, you're literally in an enclosed space with a small army of vampires. I'd have been foolish to make myself known in front of them, covering my scent or no."

"Oh. Yeah, okay, that makes sense."

"Yeah, there are not many, if any, fairies who are as comfortable around vampires as you, dear girl." He inhales deeply, "You must start being careful, though. You've always smelled delicious to them, but the fairy in you is getting stronger, soon, your scent will change from delicious to intoxicating."

"What? I thought you told me drinking from that fountain wouldn't make me more fairy."

"It doesn't. It strengthens that part inside of you; you're still only 1/8th fairy. Worry not; I will teach you how to cover your scent, as well as other fairy abilities, such as teleportation. After you drink this, you should be strong enough to learn." He says, holding out some vial.

"What is it?"

"More water from the fountain."

"What? I thought it wasn't able to travel. If you could just bring it to me this way, why did I go to the faery those other times?" I ask, putting my hands on my hips.

"It is not just the fountain that gives you power, child. It's the Faery's sun, its atmosphere, and all the power you gain from being around your kind. I'd have rather taken you there today, but you know as well as I that you're on a tight schedule."

"Huh," I say, my hands falling back to my side, "That makes sense, I guess." I take the vial from him, "So the last time I drank some, you said the changes were now going to be permanent, right?"

"That's correct."

"So, if you had to guess, how long will my lifespan be after drinking this one?"

"Hmm," He thinks, looking me over. It's like he's not looking at me, he's looking into me, maybe at the fairy in me, that light Eric says he sees surrounding me. "As of now? Two hundred years, give or take. Though if you continue drinking as you are, you could possibly be able to double that."

My eyes widen. Somehow, I'm happy, panicking, and disappointed all at the same time. Happy because, yeah, that definitely is longer than a human lives, panicking because even though I want to live long and stay with Eric, it's still scary, and disappointed because 400 years, well Eric is already almost three times that age, so that means he'll still have to watch me die, grieve me. At least I'll be able to stay alive longer than that freaking contract, so he'll never have to go back to Freyda's.

I open the vial and drink it down. I feel that same invigorating rush of power I felt the other times I drank this; it's lasting a little longer now, and I feel more in control. I don't know why, but for the first time, I feel like when I shoot a vampire with my light, I'd actually be able to kill them, not just stun or injure them. I give myself a whole body shake, trying to calm myself down, I look in the mirror and realize I have my microwave fingers lit up right now and quickly concentrate to pull the light back to my center.

"Wooh! I forgot how good that feels," I look at Niall and see a small, proud, grandfatherly smile, "Hey, wait, so I should have asked this before drinking the Kool-aid, but since my lifespan is expanded, my aging is slowing down too, right? Like I'm not going to be an old lady with bad knees who has trouble making it up the stairs for a few centuries, right?"

He laughs his big booming laugh again, "Oh, Sookie, you do entertain me." I want to roll my eyes; he sounds as if I'm a pet of his, simply here to make him laugh. "Yes, fear not, your aging has already slowed. The small scent of decay all humans have on them isn't nearly as strong on you anymore."

"Decay?" I ask, sounding as disgusted as I feel.

"Humans are dying slowly from the moment they're born. Your date of decay has lessened significantly. Your vampire hasn't told you this?"

"No," I grumble, "We have been swamped though."

"Hmm." The vampires in the living area are becoming louder, as if they're hyping themselves up before the fight, "I think that is my cue. Be safe, granddaughter, and call to me if you should need me tonight."

"I don't think I'm going to have time to take out my phone in the middle of the battle."

He laughs again, "No, dear girl, call to me. You're far past strong enough to call to your kin. Go on, try it."

He's looking at me seriously, so I decide to give it a shot, I concentrate really hard as I say, "Niall."

I stop and look at him, preparing to ask if it works, but his laugh gives away that I failed. "No, Sookie, you don't have to speak at all, just think about me, think about needing me near, pull on the thread that connects us inside you."

I take a deep breath before doing as he says. There isn't a literal string that connects us, but there is something, that same something that makes hugging him so powerful, I focus on that connection while thinking of needing his help. I do it for so long without anything happening, and I'm about to give up until he smiles, looking proud.

"There you go, you've got it. It's weak, but that's alright, I'll know what it means. Don't do it unless your death is imminent, Sookie, because I really should not get involved. I will, however, get you to safety if it is necessary to save your life."

"Oh, you won't help if I call to you, you'll just get me out of there?" I ask, disappointed.

"Correct. I cannot get involved otherwise."

"Okay," I say a little shortly. It's not as if I didn't already know this, but it still pisses me off. He's my family; he's supposed to be there for me."Well, thanks for the delivery, but I've gotta get out there."

He opens his arms, and I walk into them, his hug is a little tighter than normal, "Be safe, dear girl. Do not let your stubbornness stop you from calling to me if you need to."

I nod my head into his chest, "Okay. Thanks for the help."

"You and your vampire will be victorious, I have no doubt. He might not be my favorite person, but there's no denying how skilled he is in strategy and battle."

I smile and nod at him, already knowing that. Niall nods his head at me one more time before popping away. I stand there for a moment, letting out a deep breath before turning back to the sink, splashing water on my face one more time, standing up straight, and walking out of the bathroom, ready for whatever happens tonight.

When I make it back to the living area, I see Eric standing at the front, by the door, and hear the tail end of him talking to the other vampires who are surrounding him, "…remember your orders, I won't have us lose this battle because of some upstart thinking they can have all the glory by taking out the king," He pauses for a moment making eye contact with Sameul, that asshole from the meeting at Fangtasia last week. "Pamela, Karin, keep close to Sookie at all times, you know as well as I that DeCastro would consider it a win if he snatched her and ran away"

They both nod their head low before walking over to me, one standing on each side. Eric nods in approval, "Good, let's move out."

The vampires follow the order, filing out of the room, Eric walks back to where I'm standing, nodding at Pam and Karin, who walk away, giving us space. He grabs my arm lightly and leads me away from the vampires to speak to me alone, "Are you sure you want to come? There's nothing I can do to convince you to wait here for me to return?"

I can see hope and pleading in his eyes, as well as feel them in our bonds. It's almost enough to convince me to stay back. I don't want him too focused on me during the fight to the point where he gets distracted and it ends up with him dead. I can't, though, every part of me knows I have to go, that I'll actually make a difference, help. I'm strong enough now, and I won't leave Eric to fight for our lives and freedom by himself. It seems he sees the conviction in my eyes because his soften, and he leans down to kiss me softly "I heard Niall, Sookie. If things go south, you must call him to bring you to safety; I need you to promise me."

I reach up and place my hands on his cheeks, "Eric, you're insane if you think there's any chance I'm going to leave you out there. What don't you get? We're a team; we're in this together." My voice is pleading for him to understand.

He lets out an uncharacteristic sigh, and I feel his frustration, "Sookie, I know that. Being a team doesn't mean we're equal in everything; it means we work together, playing to each of our strengths to win. I know you're stronger now, stronger than you were when you stole me away from Freyda's, fuck, stronger than ten minutes ago, I feel it, the part of you inside me is stronger too," he points to the spot around his undead heart that my light resides, "But that doesn't mean you're a fighter, I've seen you upset over killing a spider, you don't have to do this, you don't have to change who you are. I can handle this part of things."

I feel my eyes start to get misty, "I can handle it, Eric. Something tells me I have to be there; I'll make a difference, I know it."

He stares at me for a long time before eventually nodding. " I know, and I know better than to fight you, even if I left you here, tied you up to keep you here, you'd still manage a way into the battle." He ran the back of his head slowly down my face before putting a piece of hair that fell out of my bun behind my ear. "It is part of what draws me to you, that fighting spirit. So I won't try to stop you. I just need you to promise me that you'll leave if it takes a turn for the worse, if I'm struck down, you leave."

My breath hitches, just imagining it, "Eric, it's not too late, we can still run. Isn't your house in Sweden already prepared for us?"

"Sookie, I'll be fine, we're speaking of worst-case scenarios. Promise me."

I guess I started crying because he uses his thumb to wipe a tear off my cheek, "I promise."

He smirks at me, "Sookie, do not lie to me."

"I'm not lying!"

"You are, I feel it."

I huff and cross my arms, "I'm not leaving you."

"Not even if I've already met the true death? That's idiotic, Sookie!" He's starting to become angry.

"Oh yeah? And what would you do if someone were to take me down?" I ask angrily.

I feel everything in our bond still before swirling with dark, evil emotions, I've never felt anything like it before; my skin starts to itch, and I feel like I have to move, I don't like it, not one bit. When he speaks, I'm surprised I can understand the words under all the growling, "I'd kill them all."

I don't doubt his words for a moment, and I don't even want him to lose control like that, it feels like just thinking of that situation is making him hold on by a string. I stand on my toes and kiss him, "It's okay, we'll be fine." I sigh, "And I promise to call to Niall if I feel like I have to."

He stares at me for a long time before eventually nodding, feeling the truth in my words. He pulls me in for another kiss, this time hot and passionate, his tongue demanding entrance into my mouth, who am I to argue? I moan, damn this man can get me going so easily. I'm not sure how long we stand there because I completely lose myself in the kiss, but when he finally pulls away, I'm panting. He says, "We'll continue this tonight."

"We better," I say after I've caught my breath enough to no longer be panting.

He leans down and kisses me once quickly, "I love you, Sookie, be careful."

God, only he can say something sweet while simultaneously making it a demand. "I love you too, bossy. And you better make sure you're careful too or… or, well, I don't know what, but it won't be fun!"

He chuckles as he grabs my hand and starts walking us to the door, "I promise, Sookie."

"Where is everyone?" I ask once we're walking down the hall.

"They left."

"What? I thought we had to be there first. We're late!"

"We will be there first." He says as he scoops me up again and vamps to the nearest window, and up into the sky.

It's so much different flying with him now compared to flying with him on our date night; it's clear this trip isn't for pleasure. He has his serious blank face on, there's no talking, and we're going a lot faster than we were last night. Wow, it's hard to believe that was only yesterday, it feels a lot longer than that. I guess a lot has changed since then; we don't have to worry about Freyda anymore, at least. And if all goes well, we won't have to worry about DeCastro soon, either. All though, then again, we'll have a whole new bunch of worries and responsibilities after tonight, too.

It feels like almost no time at all that Eric is bringing us to the ground on a dark, deserted road with nothing but trees. He's right, we're the first one here. I look at my wristwatch; there are about thirty minutes before DeCastro is supposed to be driving through here, if he follows his itinerary. The rest of the group better get here soon.

No sooner than that thought crosses my mind, Pam and Karin would vamp up, each stopping on one side of me. It seems they're taking Eric's orders very seriously. I spare each of them a small smile, happy that they're willing to protect me if I should need it. Plus, these are two of my closest friends, I'm happy to be here with them and will do everything in my power to make sure they're safe, too.

The rest of our mini-army arrives in the next few minutes. Then, with a quick order from Eric, we all hide in the trees, far enough away that the vampires driving by don't spot us too soon. There are supposed to be three cars in DeCastro's brigade, the first filled with his invited company, him, and his most trusted in a limo, and the other two filled with guards. I'd say he was paranoid if we weren't literally planning on ambushing them.

It's quiet, deathly quiet, as we wait, the only sounds are my breath and those of the bugs and animals in the trees, vampires can make absolutely no noise if they don't want to, they don't fidget, they don't breathe, their hearts don't beat. If I try really hard to, I can pretend I'm here alone. So, I take a moment to try to calm down before all hell breaks loose in a few minutes.

Turns out I don't even have those few minutes because just seconds later, I hear Eric's voice in my head, 'They're about a mile down the road.'

I appreciate the notice, as the only human, I'm sure everyone else can hear what Eric does, so I send that appreciation back to him through our blood bond. A few seconds later, if I listen really hard, I can hear the cars making their way down the road. I feel my heart starting to beat faster as the adrenaline starts pumping through my system. I take three quick, deep breaths when I see the lights from the car start to brighten the road. I start to take a step forward, but Pam's hand on my shoulder stops me.

"Someone's excited, aren't they, little fairy princess? Well, why don't we wait back here until the fun actually decides to pop off? After all, you are the only one of the lot of us who can die by getting hit by a car; it's probably best to wait until there aren't multiple tons of metal speeding down the road at 90 miles an hour, yes?"

I huff, but know I can't fight that logic. I just want to get this thing over with. Plus, I can't lie, I'm a little excited to see how my light works on vampires now. I haven't had a chance to check it out since I started drinking from the fairy fountain. I look at Eric, who's already looking at me, he winks at me and then takes off into the air.

At this point, I can see the cars coming down the road, in the front is a sedan, probably one of the two full of security, in the middle is the limo with DeCastro and the others, and then behind him is another sedan with more security. If all their seats are full, they outnumber us, I think. We have 10: me, Eric, Pam, Karin, Thalia, Damon, Samuel, his two friends whose names I forget right now, and James. James seems nice, but I haven't had a chance to get to know him, he came with Damon, although Eric seems happy to have him.

I look in the sky and can pick out Eric right away, less because I can see him and more because I can feel him. When the cars are only a few hundred yards away, Eric starts descending very fast, almost like a bullet. If he was diving into a pool, he'd be doing the pencil dive. I'm not sure how he times it so perfectly, but by the time he's hitting the ground, he lands directly on top of the hood of the first car. He's going so fast that the car crumbles into itself and then rolls over. Eric's left standing, but I scream because the limo is going too fast to stop, even though I hear the screeching of the driver slamming on his brakes. It's going to run right into him, I know he's strong, and I even know that won't kill him unless something goes into his heart, but I also know it will hurt him, take him out of the fight. Thankfully, Samuel and his people already knew this was going to happen, and they run to the side of the limo as it is still moving, they hit it hard enough to dent it and roll it over, saving Eric. However, I know the vampires inside are uninjured. The last car manages to stop in time.

There are about ten seconds of calm as the people in the car try to figure out what is going on before all hell breaks loose. I have time to take one more deep breath before both Karin and Pam take hold of each of my arms, helping me move faster into the battle. There are already sounds of swords hitting each other, which I know why we have them, but why the hell are these people driving around with so many swords? Vampires are weird.

I let my light move to my hand as we're getting to the street, I see Eric fighting someone who looks familiar to me. I've never met them before, but other Sookie has, he's someone Felipe trusts and keeps close, I forget his name, though. The four guards get out of the back car, ready for battle, since we're closest to them, we're who they attack first. Without thinking about it, I aim my hands at the one in the middle and let my light out. I must close my eyes when it happens because I realize I have to open them a moment later. My eyes widen when there's a pile of goo where the vampire was. I did it; I really managed to take a vampire out with just one shot of my light! The three vampires who were with the now-dead one seem just as shocked as I am. Pam and Karin both take the opportunity to attack, each getting a hit off on them. Pam's swing hits the mark, so another one is reduced to a pile of goo. Karin doesn't take her's out, but he is down an arm, I think that was her plan the entire time, she seems more like the 'playing with your food' type.

I look around as I'm bringing the light to my hands again. Unfortunately, this time, it's a little harder and takes longer than the first time. Perhaps my stamina isn't as good as I hoped. I see Felipe being helped out of the limo; it seems he was hurt in the crash, and he's looking around frantically, trying to figure out what happened. When his eyes land on me, more specifically, my now lit-up hands, I can tell at that moment he knows. He makes eye contact with me as he drops his fangs before looking for Eric. I assumed he was going to go after Eric when he spots him, but no, a sinister smile comes over his face as he starts making his way through the battle towards me.

I hold my hands up and prepare to let go of my light once he's close enough. I take my eyes off of him for a moment when I feel like I've been stabbed in the shoulder, but I know I haven't. I'm terrified as I look for Eric, breathing a sigh of relief when I see his wound is already healing, thanks to the blood I gave him earlier, and the one that hit him is now dead on the ground. I look back at DeCastro and get scared when I see how close he's made it in two seconds. I let my light go, managing to keep my eyes open this time, and feel distraught when he manages to miss most of the attack, only getting his arm singed. It seems to have hurt him but also pissed him off immensely, going by the look in his eyes.

I start to power up my light again, knowing he'll make it to me before I'm able to use it again. Fuck, I really hope he's in the mood to hear his own voice like he usually is, I need him to waste some time talking before he goes in for the killing blow. I see out of the corner of my eyes that both Pam and Thalia notice where Felipe is at the same time. They both run at him from opposite sides as I shake my hands, hoping for some reason it will make my light go quicker, but it's too late, he vamps to me, and the next thing I know he's behind my back, one arm around my waist, the other hand grabbing my hair roughly, pulling it to the side to leave my neck wide open for him. I refuse to make a sound of pain even though it freakin' hurts.

"Everyone, stop!" He bellows, his people listening automatically, ours only following after Eric sees where I am, his vicious growl is enough to warn our people not to move a muscle.

Cheese and rice, maybe Eric was right, and I should have stayed back at the hotel, our team was kicking ass before me, and the weak link (me) ruined everything for us. No, I have to figure out a way to fix it. I will, I won't let this asshole be the one to take me out.