The Vampire's Executioner

Chapter 18

Early that morning, when the night was still prevalent throughout the sky, Lizzie was doing her usual rounds, circling the perimeter of the castle. She started doing these the previous night and walked around once every two hours. Many of the inhabitants thought she was being silly for checking the land because a vampire's hearing was sharp, and they would be able to tell if someone was coming from at least a mile away. However, it calmed her to know that she was taking care of things to the best of her abilities. Walking the grounds also gave her time to be alone, away from vampires and royalty in general, allowing her body to relax and her mind to slow down. She was getting more and more familiar with the property and began to find beauty in the desolate forest – winter was making its claim, it would seem.

Running her fingers through her hair, Lizzie tried to calm herself down. For whatever reason, her confrontation with Marie really had her riled up, which was unusual for her. Normally, she was good at remaining professional, even when she dealt with people she didn't like and those who didn't like her, but there was something trying about the fair-haired beauty that got to her and made her wonder why Nikolai was marrying her in the first place.

Oh, that's right. It was that arranged marriage he was stuck in.

She wondered why Vladislaus Dragulia would make his sons go through something like that when he didn't have to. He had married Elise, not because he was forced or obligated to, not because he was trying to please his family in any way, but because he loved her. It was as simple as that. But for Nikolai to marry Marie Cozma, a woman that he didn't love...

Unless, he did love her. That was the real question now, wasn't it? She knew that Marie must have loved him a long time ago, but that love faded and now she was looking forward to being queen. So, while Lizzie believed that Marie was capable of love, when it came to Nikolai, that love was misdirected. Instead of loving the man, she loved what he would be.

But whatever worked for them, right?

She also had to wonder if what Marie said about Nikolai was true, that he had cheated on her before. Lizzie knew that in vampire culture, such a thing was natural and common, but it would still disappoint her one way or the other. Vampires were capable of monogamy; they just chose not to dabble in it. If Nikolai chose to mess around on Marie, did that mean she did the same to him? Maybe she was forbidden; if she wanted to have the title of queen, she would have to be faithful. But that didn't seem fair either.

Shaking her head, Lizzie thanked God she wasn't a vampire.

At that moment, before she could further analyze the questions in her mind, her phone began to ring. It was an unknown number that could only belong to one person.

"Lizzie Grant," she greeted.

"Miss Grant, it's Jackson," the familiar voice on the other end replied. "But you probably already knew that." She rolled her eyes. Of course she did. "Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we've looked through your research, and some of our people have added to it. We've also listened to any phone calls and questioned witnesses, you know; the boring stuff as you so lovingly refer to it."

"Jackson," Lizzie said, trying to keep the smile out of her voice. "The point?"

"We've found a suspect," he told her. "I'm sending all of the information we have on him to your phone as we speak, but here's what we have on him so far. His name is Dimitri Coran, and he runs a bar in the nearby town of Apusul Soarelui. I have sent you his picture, and let me tell you, he has had a vengeance for the royals ever since Vladislaus Dragulia gave the word to execute his father, a well-known rebel at the time. He's been screaming about revenge ever since, but before now, his threats weren't classified as being viable."