The Vampire's Executioner

Chapter 11

During dinner, two more men joined the dining table, proclaiming traffic as the reason they were late. It wasn't completely unheard of; the streets turned into one-way roads upon exiting the city, and depending on when someone left, vehicles could get backed up for a while. Both men were introduced as Karina's older brothers, and when they laid their eyes upon Lizzie, they immediately thought Nikolai had gotten her for dessert. Nikolai made it very clear that she was not to be touched in any way, and as a result, both boys decided to flirt mindlessly with her for the duration of the dinner, despite her ignoring them. She didn't exactly feel uncomfortable with their aggressiveness, but she wouldn't trust herself alone with one of them. Though she knew she was a damn good agent, she also knew that while vampires weren't exactly known for their brute force like werewolves were, they were incredibly strong. No matter what Lizzie could do, a vampire would eventually wear her out and then either kill or turn her, and she wasn't in a hurry to have either happen.

"William, Henry," Nikolai said once the men had been seated. "This is Elizabeth Grant. Miss Grant, this is William and Henry, Karina's two older brothers."

To say Lizzie wasn't flattered would also be a lie. Both men were incredibly attractive, mirroring their sister's look with sharper features and clearer eyes. They had black hair, short and coiffed, and were dressed in black as well. They were both tall, well-built, and when they smiled, their elongated canines glinted sparkles at whoever they were looking at. When they spoke, they had Romanian accents much like their sister's, which, Lizzie had to admit, just increased their attractiveness. They weren't twins, but it was difficult to decipher between the two. In fact, she believed that both men had an easy charm about them, and they didn't appear to be too arrogant.

But all vampires were arrogant. It was a fact. They believed that they were the superior species. Ask any one of them and they would tell you exactly the same.

* * *

The five-course dinner took another two hours which included dessert and much socializing. Lizzie preferred to listen rather than to engage with them, hoping to study their personalities, and maybe hear a name mentioned that could possibly turn into a lead. She felt like she was wasting time, sitting around here doing nothing, when someone was out there - or in here, perhaps - trying to plot something against the prince.

In all honesty, she watched Nikolai much more than anyone else. It was hard to look away from him sometimes because he was so interesting to watch. A woman might not find Nikolai to be the most attractive out of the men here but Lizzie found herself drawn to him. As much as she tried to refrain, she was chuckling at stuff he said and finding warmth in his contagious smile – when he chose to smile. This obviously didn't mean that she liked him beyond her professional realm, but it would be silly to try and say she didn't find him somewhat attractive.

Marie might have tapped into her betrothed's effect on the assassin because as the dinner continued, she would be more forward with her advances towards him, whether it was placing her hand over his, leaning over to kiss his cheek, or rubbing her stocking-clad foot against his leg.

For Marie to be jealous of the two, Lizzie would actually have to like Nikolai, which she most certainly did not. At least Marie's antics kept her amused for the long dinner.

When dinner was over, Lizzie excused herself, politely rejecting an offer to have coffee or tea with the vampires. Instead, she headed back to her room and grabbed a binder full of files and descended the stairs and into the library. She needed to do some extensive research on the Dragulia family and its known associates. Jackson had faxed over as many files on them as he could, and Lizzie was planning to go through them in moments. But she knew the NDS's files weren't up to date; vampires were good about keeping what they wanted private. She hoped the library Nikolai had showed her the previous night housed thorough records of the family and their history. Hell, maybe such an assassination attempt was threatened against Vladislaus, himself. Maybe it was the same people.

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