An Education in Royalty: A Somerset Novel (Somerset Series Book 1)

by Isadora Brown

  The procedure took another twenty minutes, but Nikolai was successful at keeping Elizabeth awake by distracting her. He told her what an amazing kisser he was and how lucky for her to have experienced it. When she was finally allowed to fall asleep, she wasted no time, which was perfectly fine with the two men. Carl needed to talk to Nikolai, and he thought it might be best if Elizabeth wasn't conscious to overhear it. Just to be sure she couldn't eavesdrop; Carl led Nikolai deep into the library, far away from the woman, before turning and looking at Nikolai.

  "I have some news about the bullet," Carl began, preparing the news instead of just telling Nikolai what it was. Nikolai pursed his lips in order to maintain his patience, and Carl continued. "This bullet was regular in texture. It wasn't laced with werewolf venom whatsoever."

  Nikolai looked at Carl, unsure of what it meant. He knew that he would have eventually put two and two together if he just had a little more time. He had to push aside his desire to remain with Elizabeth and make sure she was okay.

  "And that means?" Nikolai asked, perking his brow.

  "It means," a voice said from behind him. Both men were surprised to see Elizabeth up, but then again, there was no way she could fall asleep in that much pain. "It means that whoever this person was, they weren't aiming for you. They were aiming for me."

  Nikolai tore his eyes away from Elizabeth and looked over at Carl, needing to hear confirmation.

  "That is what I interpret as well," the butler agreed cryptically, giving a curt nod.

  25

  "You know I have to interrogate him, right?" Lizzie was giving Nikolai an expectant look. Asking him was just a formality; she would question Lewis, whether Nikolai allowed it or not.

  "That's not going to happen," Nikolai told her in that same firm tone. Because of his accent, it came out rougher than anticipated. Nikolai liked to tease her a lot, she knew, but when he was serious, he was really serious. His dark blue eyes were locked into hers and his body was tall and straight, muscles tense. He looked as though he was preparing for a battle with the woman in front of him.

  She clenched her jaw, her emerald eyes flashing dangerously. "And why is that?" she asked him, articulating every word. To be honest, she was surprised with herself at how patient she was being. Normally, she would have crucified him with an argument he couldn't refute and, before he could stop her, turn around and head towards the dungeons. She didn't do that, however. She was giving him… respect.

  "Do you wish for me to remind you what just happened, Elizabeth?" he asked, completely baffled that she couldn't see it for herself. "Your arm is in a sling. He tried to kill me and nicked you. We're lucky it didn't pierce your heart."

  "I still don't think he was aiming for you," Lizzie told him. "I think he was aiming for me. If he was aiming for you, the bullet would’ve be laced with werewolf venom so if the bullet did hit, it would kill you."

  "He can't kill me," Nikolai told her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. Lizzie gave him a look of outright disbelief, and Nikolai contained a growl at her obvious frustration before collecting himself in order to explain. "Look, this is a secret among royal vampires. It's been kept out of books and documentaries because the secret is necessary in order to keep royalty alive. Even if Lewis did kill me, he couldn't be king. My father would still have to choose him to take his place. Because vampires can live forever, my father could choose to stay king forever. If I die, Lewis doesn't automatically inherit the throne."

  "Then why would he want to injure you in the first place?" Lizzie asked, still confused. Lucky for her, the pain killers Carl had given her wouldn't lose effect for another six hours. Vampires, it would seem, stocked up in the strong stuff. "Why not kill your father and then kill you in order to get what he wants?"

  "That wouldn't work either," Nikolai said, shaking his head. "Vampires have royalty, yes, but if the king should die before choosing an heir or if a king and his chosen heir dies, a counsel is called and they decide who the next king is, whether there is remaining blood lineage or not. They do what's best for the people. Yes, there's a strong chance that if my father and I died, the throne would go to Lewis, but there is a chance my mother would inherit it or even a complete stranger. And knowing Lewis, he would never take that chance."

  Lizzie digested this information for a long moment before looking back at Nikolai. Her eyes weren't as harsh as they once were, but they were determined. "That still doesn't explain why he would merely injure you," she said, trying to figure it out but remaining continuously confused.

  "If I inherit the throne and then choose my heir twenty-four hours later, that's legal," Nikolai told her. "I could literally accept the crown, be king for a day, and then tell everyone I was giving it to Lewis."

  "And if Lewis injured, captured, or threatened you, you would have no choice but to give into him," she finished, her voice softer as it trailed off.

  "Everyone has a choice, Elizabeth," Nikolai said, taking a step towards her, placing a hand on her good shoulder. "Everyone thinks there's not if your life is being threatened, but there really is." It was as though his eyes were trying to tell her something, but she couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

  "You would give up your life for your kingdom," Lizzie said in a soft voice. It wasn't a question, but a realization. Surprised, and yet not so surprised at all. There was a reason why Nikolai was chosen to replace his father, after all.

  "I would give up my life for what's most important to me," he told her seriously, squeezing her shoulder as he spoke. He wouldn't tell her what he was insinuating, and she didn't guess. The message was left unspoken and misunderstood, but now was not the time to discuss and to correct.

  "I still want to interrogate him," she told him. Her voice wasn't as firm, but it was serious.

  "Fine," he conceded, "but stay behind me. I might have hired you to protect me, but I can live forever and you humans drop dead every second."

  "Yeah, thanks for the reminder," Lizzie muttered under her breath, but she was grateful he had agreed.

  Since he had shot her, Lizzie looked at Lewis differently. How could she not? Beforehand, she thought he was the well-mannered younger brother overshadowed by his handsome, charming brother that would soon be king. Obviously there was jealousy between them, on both sides, and maybe it was rather naïve of her, but she never expected the threat against Nikolai was made by family.

  Yet here he was, standing rigid, eyes hard. If Lizzie had to guess why, she believed it was because Lewis refused to sit down on the floor due to the fact that he believed he was better than that. What a laugh. Subconsciously, her eyes narrowed in his direction, and somehow, her arm throbbed even more than it already was whilst in his presence, as though it knew that the reason it was injured was because of the man before her.

  "It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that you're here with her, brother," Lewis said, taking steps forward in order to get closer to the couple. His eyes flashed over to Lizzie's arm, and an enigmatic look took hold of his orbs. He seemed proud and yet disappointed at the same time. "How's your arm, human?"

  "Healing already," she told him with a slight smirk.

  "All right," Nikolai cut in, taking a step forward so a portion of his body was shielding her. "We're not here for idle chitchat. You know exactly why we're here."

  "No I don't," Lewis said, shaking his head with a smile on his face that said otherwise. "Do tell, Your Highness."

  Nikolai muffled a growl as his teeth clenched together in obvious frustration. "Why?" he asked, his voice low, sharp, and demanding.

  Instead of being intimidated in the slightest, Lewis threw his head back and laughed, a chortling sound that was in no way attractive or contagious. It bounced off the walls, a hollow sound, until it disappeared. Lizzie felt a shiver of something she couldn't quite name slide down her spine. Logically, she knew she shouldn't be afraid of him; Lewis was locked up and caught, which meant that she was safe. But the way he laughed, the way
his eyes looked at her… Sometimes, logic didn't factor in at all.

  "You know exactly why," Lewis said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You're smart, brother. Don't play any games with me. I'm your brother, remember? I know you like the back of my hand, and don't deny it." Another smile touched his lips. "You, on the other hand…" He let his voice trail off with obvious insinuation, his smirk only deepening.

  "Lucky you're such a bad shot," she said, her voice stronger than she thought she was at the moment. "If I was in your position, I would disappear before the body even hit the ground. What happened to you?" She peered inquiringly over Nikolai's shoulder so she could look at him. "Did the pressure get to you?"

  "If I hadn't been distracted," Lewis said, finally losing control, "you would be dead, whore. Know that."

  Without warning, Nikolai pulled his arm back and managed to sock Lewis directly in the face between the cool, steel bars. Because Lewis was not expecting it, he stumbled back a couple of times, his hand clutching his face as his sapphire blue eyes pierced directly through Nikolai's.

  After a moment, Lewis steadied himself and he straightened, his whole body regaining perfect posture. "You should probably know," he said, another smirk on his bloodied lip. "I wasn't aiming for her because she was protecting you, brother. I was aiming for her because that was the mission all along."

  26

  To say Lizzie was surprised would no doubt be an understatement. Her entire body froze and yet she was incredibly aware of her pounding heart, echoing throughout her ears. She didn't notice the triumphant smirk littered across Lewis' cold face and the way Nikolai was just as surprised as she was. All she could feel was her heart disintegrating into ashes – a painful feeling that would leave emotional scars over the healed ones she had received from Brick. That seemed like so long ago, yet these ones hurt so much worse than with Brick.

  It was because she knew better and yet still took a chance when it came to her feelings and desire. Just like with Brick, this blew up right in her face. Lizzie felt like a complete and utter fool. How could she let herself get sucked in by Nikolai's devilishly good looks and charm? Something inside of her really thought that he actually cared about her in some way. She was more to him than a sexual object of related gratification; she was a woman with a mind, quirks, and feelings for the next king of vampires. There were probably women all over the world who got played just like she did. Of course Nikolai didn't care about her. How could he? He was a vampire, and it was all a game to him. Get the one human woman who had no interest in him attracted to him. And he had succeeded. Well, round of applause for him. He got her. He won the stupid game.

  The only reason Nikolai hired her was because he wanted to kill her, and he had enlisted his brother to do it for him. He wanted her dead. She could understand why. She was the best goddamn assassin at the Nocturnal Defense Society. She had the ability to kill anyone in twenty-four hours. She was like a shadow; no one knew she was there until she was gone.

  But why did he want her dead? It wasn't as though she ever had the order to kill him. It was a rare occurrence when leaders were ever assassinated, but that didn't stop them from happening. Was Nikolai planning on doing something that would cause him to become a target? Did he need her out of the way? She couldn't figure it out, and at that moment, she didn't really want to. If anything, she just wanted to get out of there, away from all of this, and far from these vampires. She knew this sounded melodramatic, but she wished she could cut her heart out just so she didn't have to feel it anymore. She hated this, hated pain. The worst part was that it was all her fault.

  She knew better than to trust Nikolai Dragulia.

  Lizzie finally got the courage to look up at Nikolai, who was looking down at her with as much confusion in those dark blue eyes of his as she was feeling. But she had fallen for his games before, and she wouldn't let herself fall for them again, no matter how innocent he seemed.

  He was just like Brick. All vampires were the same.

  She opened her mouth, to say something along the lines of how she needed to get away and yet no words came out. Instead, she gently shut it, looked away, and without another word, backed up. She couldn't be too close to Nikolai; her wounds were still fresh. Her brow furrowed on its own accord as she turned around, her bare feet padding silently along the cobblestoned floor, the only sound she could hear.

  The vampire prince watched her go, unsure of what to do. He needed more information out of Lewis, and yet something inside of him said it was necessary that he follow her. It was essential that he reassure her he had no idea such a thing was supposed to happen. He had to make sure she that knew, especially since he didn't want anything to ruin their relationship… Did they even have a relationship? If anything, she was his employee, but she was so much more than that. He could admit it, at least to himself; that he cared for her very much. Yes, she was one hell of a kisser and drop-dead gorgeous, but he wanted her as more than just a goddess he slept with. If he wanted a woman to get his rocks off with, he could find any women in a blink of an eye. There was more to her, though. He didn’t want anyone else. He only wanted Elizabeth.

  Nikolai managed to catch her back at the main staircase. He reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, stopping her from ascending them and instead, compelled her to turn around. He paused for a moment, the thought of releasing her wrist not once crossing his mind.

  "You know I had no idea that was the sole purpose of hiring you, right?" he asked, his voice soft but his eyes firm. If he needed anything, he needed her to believe him. "I received a legitimate threat against my life and I hired you to ensure that it wouldn't be carried out."

  Elizabeth's brow furrowed once more, but this time it was due to her bubbling anger rather than her confusion. "You know, I want to believe you," she said in a quiet – dangerous - voice. Nikolai almost wished she would yell at him; it would make him feel better. "But I don't."

  "So you honestly believe I got you here to kill you?" Nikolai asked, losing his patience and throwing his arms out. "That was my whole plan?"

  "You tell me," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him expectantly.

  "Well, it wasn't," Nikolai said, his tone flat, his arms returning to his side.

  "So you say," she said with a roll of her eyes. She turned to head up the stairs. "You know the worst part of it all? I can't believe I actually thought –" She stopped herself short and let out a frustrated growl, her eyes raised up to the ceiling.

  "Well, what are you going to do now then?" Nikolai called, his voice upset but his eyes – if only she noticed – pleading.

  "Leaving," Elizabeth said in a voice just above a whisper. She couldn't say it any louder. It was an impossible feat that she wasn't willing to push. And just like that, she disappeared down the hall leaving Nikolai by himself, save for his cluttered thoughts.

  The first thing Lizzie did when she was in her room was make a call to Rachel. She didn't say anything as an explanation of why it was imperative that Rachel pick her up at that moment, but promised Rachel that she would explain everything once they were in the car. She knew it would be a drive – considering she had taken a train to get here – but she needed Rachel. After she got off the phone with her friend, she packed what little belongings she had. The tedious task gave her something to focus on instead of Nikolai and those eyes that could lie to her face. The pain in her arm had yet to come back thanks to the morphine, and she hoped she would be away from here by the time it did. She didn't want Nikolai to see her in pain. Physical or emotional.

  A knock broke her out of her thoughts, and she held her breath. She wasn't sure if she had been waiting for fifteen minutes or hours, but at that moment, she really didn't think it mattered very much.

  "Miss Grant," Carl's voice said gently. "A Miss Rachel is waiting for you outside."

  Lizzie let a sigh of relief slip out of her mouth and stood up, grabbing her bag as she headed out the door. She would miss Carl
; he had been nothing but nice to her. Without a word, he gave her another capsule of morphine in case the pain came back sooner than expected while simultaneously grabbing her bag.

  "Thank you," she whispered to him as he led her down the stairs. Her heart cautioned itself, as though she was preparing for Nikolai to try to stop her. Surprisingly enough, she found the doorway empty save for Rachel, who seemed too anxious to wait in the car. Nikolai wasn't there. Lizzie wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed.

  "Oh my God, what happened to your arm?" Rachel asked upon seeing Carl and Lizzie.

  "I'll tell you in the car," she promised, and after Rachel grabbed the bag from Carl, the two women left.

  Nikolai watched the car leave from his bedroom window. He wasn't surprised when Carl joined him.

  "Why are you letting her leave?" Carl asked him, knowing he shouldn't question his prince but unable to stop himself.

  "What else am I supposed to do?" Nikolai snapped, a bit harsher than originally intended.

  Carl looked at him as though the answer was the most obvious one in the world. "You go after her, of course," he said.

  27

  To put it in the simplest terms, when Nikolai didn't get what he wanted, he threw a tantrum. The only thing he wanted was Elizabeth, and because it didn't seem likely that he was going to get her, he threw his tantrum. For the past couple of hours, he had been snapping at anyone who breathed in the same vicinity as he was and continuously sulked next to his bedroom window, hoping to see the headlights of the car come back down the driveway.

  But that wasn't going to happen. And Nikolai knew it.

  He really had no idea about Lewis' supposed plan – that Nikolai had never been threatened in the first place and that it had all been some ploy to get Elizabeth in the castle in order to kill her. It didn't make sense. He had heard from viable sources and trusted men that his life had been threatened. Lewis had not mentioned Elizabeth's name once. He hadn't even mentioned NDS at all. That had entirely been Nikolai's idea. He valued his life more than anything and wanted none other than the best protecting him.