Married to the Vampire King (COMPLETED)

Chapter Fifty-Two

"Just sit down," Nico said, climbing into the passenger seat next to me. "Don't worry about staining the seats."

I dropped into the seat and released a startled gasp when Nico suddenly appeared at my side to clip me into my seat. He checked my seatbelt and then clicked the lock on my door.

"Take us straight to the lodge," he ordered the driver. "Use the closest entrance."

The car rolled forward, and we were moving fast into the mountains.

I leaned back against the headrest and let out a deep exhale. "I told you that I could kill a demon."

Nico raised an eyebrow and replied, "I would lose my job if Casper ever found out."

"I won't tell if you won't tell," I said, looking across at him.

A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Nico's mouth, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold ring.

"Here, I rescued this from the street urchin in the market," he said, handing my wedding band to me.

"My ring," I smiled, sliding the gold band onto my finger. "I hope you reimbursed the boy for his loss."

"A ring like that is priceless, but I did reimburse the boy for his loss," Nico replied, never taking his eyes off the ring. "Did you know the ring once belonged to Casper's mother?"

"No, I did not."

"I was there the day Casper's parents were married. Back then, Port Cressida didn't exist. It was just an idea Casper's father had. He wanted to build a magnificent city that rivalled the undead cities of Europe, Asia and Africa. When he told me about his dream, he was a penniless prince, fresh off the boat from Sweden. But, I believed in his dream, which is why I chose to fight for him and his family," he explained.

Nico paused, and his eyes grew distant as if he remembered another time and place, far from here.

"Tell me about your thoughts on the Spit?" he asked, suddenly staring intensely at me with dark eyes.

"It was terrible. The poverty and desperation were something I'd never seen before. I don't understand how Casper could let a place like that exist," I replied earnestly.

"I grew up in a place like that in Italy. Valentia was one of the five great undead cities in the world, and for the first twenty years of my life, it was my city. But it was run by a tyrant who starved, murdered and tortured the city's people. Back then, it did not matter if you were the son of a ratcatcher or a duke. So, we all starved," Nico explained.

I reached out, placing a gentle hand on Nico's arm, and said, "Poverty and starvation needn't exist in any city."

Nico shrugged off my hand and scoffed at my comment. "You blame Casper for the Spit, but what about the people living there? Did you ever think they chose to live like that?"

I raised my eyebrows at him and replied, "Are you suggesting those children choose to hunt cats and eat rotten fish blood?"

"Places like that exist because depravity exists in every populus. However, nothing stops those people from helping themselves. Port Cressida is not Valentia. No tyrant King is stemming the flow of blood to the city. No soldiers are attacking the women and children in the city," Nico explained.

I stared at him in complete shock. "Tonight, I met women who had been stolen from their families and forced to work in the silver tavern district as playthings for men. How can you have lived this long and been so blind to what was happening in the Spit?"

"They've filled your head with sob stories. Those women are the authors of their misery. They chose to run away from their families with questionable men and end up whoring themselves in some run-down silver tavern."

"Those women are the same women who willingly sacrificed themselves in our backyard. I found out tonight that the witch destroying Casper's family is picking up girls from silver taverns. She brings them to the lodge and brainwashes them into becoming a blood sacrifice," I explained to Nico.

"How do you know this?"

"I spoke to the landlord of the Old Mermaid Tavern, and it turns out that he's been sending a regular supply of girls to our," I explained.

Nico let out a long, drawn sigh and pulled out his cell. "I will send a team to investigate this further."

"You need to shut down the silver taverns," I snapped.

"I think that's a tad excessive," Nico drawled, punching a message into his cell.

I grabbed his cell phone out of his hand and snapped, "Are you not listening? Those women are killing themselves in my backyard because they don't see how things can improve for women like them. We must cut off the witch's supply of women and shut down the taverns."

Nico pressed his lips into a thin line and groaned, "The court will not like this, but I'll see what I can do."

I handed Nico his phone back and tried not to gloat.

Looking out the car window, I saw the gates to the lodge. The SUV started to slow down, but Nico yelled at the driver to speed up.

Outside, security men rushed out from the small wooden guardhouse. They hurriedly opened each gate, and we drove through into the safety and security of the lodge.

Both Nico and I let out a united sigh of relief.

The car slowed down and crawled along the gravelled drive up to the main house. It was dawn, and the majority of staff and guests in the lodge would be heading to bed now. So, all I had to do was tip-toe back to my room, and no one would be any wiser.

Nico's phone suddenly started to vibrate. He answered the phone and seemed to straighten upright when a voice started yelling at him. Nico listened stoically for minute or so and then replied, "I will let her know, Your Majesty."

My heart dropped, when I heard him say 'Your Majesty'.

Nico looked at me and said, "Casper is at the front door waiting for you. He knows you left the estate with Jacques, and he is furious."