The Vampire's Executioner

Chapter 13

The first thing Lizzie did once William left was to ensure the library door was fully closed, hoping that everyone would take the hint and leave her alone. She didn't want to deal with vampires and she needed to concentrate on the task at hand. She walked back over to the couch to collect her files, and then headed to the desk. She started sifting through them, frowning as she did so. She wasn't sure how often she had read these things in the past forty-eight hours. What more could she possibly do? She propped her elbow on the surface of the table and pinched the bridge of her nose.

What had she got herself into, or more accurately what had Jackson gotten her into?

Marie hated her; there was no doubt about that. And in some way, Lizzie couldn't blame her for it. Some random woman suddenly walked into their life for an indefinite amount of time. If she were in Marie's position, she'd be more than a little suspicious. That didn't mean Marie had a right to be downright rude to her, especially after Nikolai explained everything. She should know that her fiancé was in danger on an everyday basis simply because he was the son of Vladislaus Dragulia and the prince of the vampire race. Geography didn't matter – Nikolai was prince of them whether they lived there in Somerset or all the way in Romania. Many people adored the Dragulias as their rightful royal rulers, but there were some people that didn't agree with their choices, just like with every kingdom. Marie should be thankful that Nikolai had enough common sense to hire the best damn assassin to protect him.

Lizzie chuckled at the thought and rolled her eyes. Now she was thinking to herself, amusing herself with silly nothings. She must be really bored. Placing her chin in her hand, she started to twirl her hair around her long index finger, trying to imagine what she would be doing if she wasn't here,. Probably at a club with Rachel, losing herself in the music and dancing.

She liked to swim, but after surveillance of the grounds, she found out there was none.

She sighed again.

Lizzie pushed herself into a standing position, trying to shake out the ache that currently resided in her legs from sitting for such a long period of time. She walked on shaky legs over to the nearest bookcase and ran her fingers over the ancient spines. She knew it would take her a while to go through all the books when there were thousands upon thousands occupying the library, but she loved books. Right now, she figured she would see if anything interesting came up, but if nothing did, she was completely content with exploring the contents of the library.

The library held all types of works, but seemed dedicated to the classics. First editions of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Shakespeare's Sonnets and every single collection of his plays, Dante, Milton's Paradise Lost, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, every novel Charles Dickens' ever wrote, Chaucer, Jane Austin, and Lord Byron. Lizzie smiled at the irony of having Lord Byron in a vampire's book collection. Legend had it that Lord Byron was the first English vampire to appear in literature – and the Dragulias had the book, Lord Ruthven by Byron's ex-physician, John Polidori.

Lizzie ran her fingers across the spines, a small smile playing on her lips. She loved history and mindless trivia that other people didn't know about such as Lord Byron being a vampire. Her preference was American history, but there were certain things she was passionate about, such as the love affairs of King Henry the Fifth, the Golden Age of Piracy, John Dillinger and cowboys – outlaws in general, really – and yes, even vampires. Not only was it because of her job, but she had always been fascinated by the mysterious brooders, despite her disdain for them.

Oh well. She was getting off-topic and needed to focus.

After a thorough search of the first bookcase she encountered, Lizzie felt her eyelids get heavy and decided she should take a break and take a seat on the couch. Her body, completely disconnected from her mind, sunk into the comfortable plush, and she rested her head on one of the oversized pillows.

Now don't fall asleep, she instructed herself as she gently closed her eyes. This is simply a power nap. Just twenty minutes, and then it's time to wake up. You need to get your body on his schedule and falling asleep won't help.

However, despite her mind's insistency, when her eyelids met their counterparts, it felt as though they were going to stay together. It didn't help that her body was completely relaxed, the library wasn't cold but slightly warm, and that she had been tired out by her excursion to the small town she had encountered earlier that day.

What had Nikolai called the place?

Lizzie couldn't remember, but knew that the way he said it was beauty vocalized. And slowly, she felt herself drift to sleep.

***

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