Page 29 of Married to the Vampire Prince

“Son,” Dad said in a firm voice, making me focus my attention on him. “Calm down and think rationally. We can’t enter into another conflict so soon. There should be a way to get your wife back without declaring a war on Rosworth.”

I did my best to keep my head clear enough to think through his words, but my thoughts were still racing. If I had a beating heart, it would have been leaping out of my chest now.

“Silas,” Luke said in a soothing tone. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get Grace back.”

I closed my eyes, imagining her safe in my arms again. The image calmed me down enough to finally relax.

“We should break her out,” Luke gave me a mischievous smile. “Just like old times – you and I should go undercover to Rosworth and find where they are keeping her. Then we can kidnap her back.”

“Kidnap her back,” I repeated his last words.

I liked the sound of that idea. If Rosworth vampires could break into our palace, Luke and I could do the exact same thing to Logan’s holdings.

I nodded. “Alright. We will leave immediately.”

“Of course,” Luke gave me a firm nod. “I’ll get us supplies for the journey. Meet me in an hour at the usual spot?”

Our usual spot was at the border of the capital, where the city gave way to the dense woods. I knew the exact place he meant. “Acknowledged.”

“And I have some guards to fire,” my dad said in a dejected tone. “They really didn’t handle the situation as they should have.”

“They did not,” I replied in monotone, my mind already focused on the mission.

“Good luck. Get Grace back here, and don’t cause an incident,” Dad said.

“Of course, your Highness,” Luke nodded.

I wasn’t so sure we would be able to perform the mission smoothly, but I would still try my best to get us in and out of the place where Logan was holding Grace without attracting attention.

After all, Luke and I had infiltrated enemy locations together in the past and succeeded. This adventure wouldn’t be any different.

By this time in a few days, Grace would be safe in the palace again.

I immediately promised myself that I wouldn’t avoid her anymore, especially now that I realized just how much she meant to me. I needed to get to know her better, to treasure her more, to be the best husband possible.

Grace was my wife, and I was happy I had chosen her.

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.

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