Married to the Vampire Prince

Chapter Eleven

Grace

The back of my head pulsed as if a stampede of wild horses were running through my brain. I put my hand against the place where the pain was the strongest. Sure enough, I had a large bump there.

I sat up, finding myself on a bed in a very dark, small room. The only opening was covered by bars – a prison cell then. The air was damp, and a smell of rot hit my nose; a disgusting odor suggesting decay and doom.

Slowly the memory of being attacked in the royal gardens came back to me. Three vampires had kidnapped me from the place where I was supposed to have been safe. In hindsight, maybe I shouldn’t have wandered around without any guards, but I had grown to think of my new home as the most secure place in Estone. How had the enemies breached the grounds and gotten close enough to capture me?

Who were those men? Whom did they work for?

I got up from the bed, my vision hazy. I swayed on my feet and gripped the metal headboard. Breathing in and out, I did my best to regain control of my body. When I finally felt steadier, I took a few steps towards the bars and put my hands on them.

The corridor was lit by overhead lights, and the low ceiling made the prison feel even more oppressive. I looked to the right and left. To the right, as far as I could see, there were just more and more cells like mine. To the left, I saw a few more cells and then a steep staircase leading upward.

The door to my cell was locked – of course – by a large, sturdy padlock. I had no skills at picking locks unfortunately.

Vaguely. I remembered drifting in and out of consciousness during my journey here. My kidnappers had kept me in the back of a van, tied-up and gagged. Whenever they had noticed me starting to wake up, they had pressed a damp cloth to my nose and mouth. The pungent substance on the rag had quickly sent my mind back into darkness again.

Slowly the realization of how terrible my situation was dawned on me. I had no idea how to get out of this prison. There was no window in my cell, and the only exit was through the locked door. There was also nobody around whom I could beg to help me find a way out.

Would I actually be able to talk anybody into releasing me even if I did encounter someone? I had never considered myself particularly persuasive.

The sound of someone in pain came from the cell to my right.

“Hello?” I called into the silence of the prison.

I only heard more agonized moaning in response.

“Are you alright?” Fear gripped my heart. I was afraid of my situation, of ending up like that person – in pain and unable to receive aid. I feared dying in this dungeon, alone and forgotten.

“Silas…” I said my husband’s name. I truly wished he would come to save me. Yet how could he possibly find me? I had no idea where I was, only that I had traveled quite a distance.

Footsteps sounded from the direction of the staircase.

I looked to my left to see three men approaching. One of them, the one at the front, had short light blonde hair. He was one of the tallest men I had ever seen, of a similar height and build to my husband – however the similarities ended there.

The man wore a cruel smile on his face and carried himself with an aura of arrogance. He wore a brown leather jacket and loose cargo pants.

When he approached my cell, he looked me up and down with a disinterested gaze. I shivered at the cold look in his eyes.

The other two men took positions behind him. Guards, maybe?

“Silas will come to get you soon enough,” the domineering man told me in a curt, sure voice. “I have informed him of your whereabouts.”

A wave of relief washed over me. I gripped the bars tightly, suddenly feeling faint. Then, however, doubt crept into my heart.

Was I really important enough to my husband for him to come and get me from this terrible place? I had ruby blood, but so did many others. I could be replaced. I wasn’t great at being a Princess anyway. Maybe Silas regretted picking me and would just use this opportunity to find another wife?

The cruelty of the man’s smile only increased when he saw the emotional turmoil on my face. “You don’t believe you’re important enough for Silas to rescue you?”

I swallowed hard, but I didn’t feel ready to lie right now. As unsettled as I was, I wouldn’t be able to convince anybody of my importance. “N-No…We’ve only been married for a few weeks…”

“That’s enough time for a man to grow fond of his wife,” my captor chuckled. “I never thought Silas Hoyt would actually care about another being, but my informants tell me he is rather fond of you.”

I blinked a few times. Why would this man think such a thing when Silas had barely even spoken to me since our wedding?

“He comes to your room while you sleep to watch over you, you know. The spy I planted amongst the palace’s servants said so. He also has your attendants report to him about everything you do,” the man said with a gleam of amusement in his eyes. “He is rather fond of you. He cares enough for my purpose.”

My eyes widened when I heard his words, and my heart warmed. So Silas did care. He was keeping an eye on me, and the only reason he hadn’t spent time with me himself was because he really was busy. He wasn’t avoiding me on purpose.

Maybe he did want me around enough to rescue me?

“A truly funny pair you are,” my kidnapper laughed.

“Who are you?” I finally found my voice. It creaked and broke when I spoke, so I cleared my throat and went on. “What do you want with me?”

“I’m Logan Sherman, my lady,” he gave me a mocking bow. “The King of Rosworth. And what I want is to trade you for an important promise to me. Your kidnapping is nothing personal – at least, not officially. I have captured you for purely political reasons. Rest assured no harm will come to you as long as Estone complies with my demands.”

“But…” I said, confused. “Rosworth and Estone have a peace treaty. Aren’t you afraid of breaking it by capturing me?”

“Bigger matters are at stake, and there would have been far more dire consequences hadI not kidnapped you. Trust me, once Estone abides by my simple request, you will be released and all will be well.”

I was still confused, but I nodded. What else could I do?

“You just wait here patiently. Your husband should request your release soon,” Logan gave me another dishonest smile.

I bit my lip. “Alright.”

I could do nothing else but believe that Silas would come for me soon.

Logan turned around and walked away, his guards following him. I was once again left alone in the dungeon.

I sat on my bed and wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my chin on my knees.

Hope that Silas really cared about me was such a new, fresh feeling in my heart. Should I really believe my captor’s words that Silas had been checking on me while I was in the palace? Again I couldn’t resolve the conflicting images of the bloody war hero and the doting husband in my brain. I still didn’t know who my husband was.

I wanted to find out more about him.

Hopefully he really did care enough for me to come save me, and we could still have a future together back in Estone.

Time flew by slowly in the cell. I drifted off to sleep, then woke up, then slept again.

At one point a muffled scream coming from the direction of the staircase stopped my dozing and put me on high alert.

I got up and wandered over to the bars, looking to the left. Two masked men came down the stairs, their movements a blur – they were using vampire speed. They stopped in front of my cell.

Both were dressed in black cloaks that covered their whole bodies and masks that covered their mouths. One of them revealed his face. It was Silas, looking at me with worry.

“Grace, are you alright?” His low, pleasant voice rumbled.

Tears filled my eyes – he had come for me after all.

“Where’s Logan?” I asked. “Are you doing the exchange?”

Silas shook his head. “There will be no deal between Rosworth and Estone. We came to break you out.”

“But…” I started protesting, then stopped myself. I didn’t know enough about politics to tell Silas what he should and shouldn’t do in this situation.

Silas put a large key in the lock of my cell and opened the door with a creak. He stepped close to me.

“Can I carry you? You can’t run as fast as a vampire.” He gave me a tender glance.

“Y-Yes, please do.” I mumbled, embarrassed. He was right though – my human limitations would only slow him down.

Silas took me in his arms bridal style, and we exited the cell.

I looked at the other masked vampire.

“That’s Luke,” Silas explained when he noticed my worried glance.

“Ready?” Lukas asked.

“Yes, let’s get out of here,” Silas nodded.

They took off at a run, up the stairs and down a long, elegantly decorated corridor. It seemed we were in a castle of sorts. Silas and Lukas ran down toward a small door and exited into the backyard. We passed by some guards lying on the ground – killed or unconscious, I couldn’t tell.

Silas and Luke ran to a staircase leading up the wall encircling the grounds.

Just when they were about to jump down from the wall to freedom though, we heard an amused voice behind us.

“So you chose war, Prince Silas,” the man said.

I turned my head to see Logan Sherman. I gasped. He stood a short distance away from us on top of the wall, and behind him were a dozen vampires.

Silas and Lukas stopped and turned towards Logan and his men.

“Only if you choose war as well, Logan,” my husband said in a voice devoid of emotion. “All I’m doing is getting back what you stole from me.”

Logan sobered up. He gave Silas a short nod. “You may go. Rest assured though, there will be consequences of your actions tonight. Be ready.”

Logan and Silas stared at each other in silence. After a moment, Silas nodded back at his enemy. “Let’s go,” he said.

He jumped off the wall with Lukas following right behind him, and they took off on a run into the woods. The world blurred around us. I wanted to ask Silas about the exchange he had just shared with Logan, but for now I needed to close my eyes and focus on not getting nauseous as the world around me moved by at a pace overwhelming to my human senses.

I would have to restrain my curiosity for now. I was certain of one thing though;Silas’ decision to break me out would have dire consequences, not only for us but all of Estone as well.