“Then why?”
He raises his hand in a clear sign that he wants to continue to speak without any interruption. “Your kind has been entering my territory and trading without permission.”
“That can’t be. I would know. I don’t need to trade with your kingdom. I have no record of that happening. What would we trade for?”
“Diamonds. One of your sailors gave you away. He’s a Lycan. He works for one of the houses under your control. I have been turning a blind eye to the trading, but then my sister disappeared. Taken by one of you. The only reason I ordered the kidnapping of your wife was so I would have something to trade with you. I want my sister back. That is all. I’ll leave you alone if she’s safe and unharmed. But I won’t back off if she has been killed or sold to slavery.”
I let his words sink in as I think about everything that has been happening for the last few weeks. “When did your sister disappear?”
“Three months ago.”
“What were they trading the diamonds for?”
“Wine and colorful fabrics. Davina loves to sew and embroider. For a year, she went to the market each week and brought something new. She was curious and wanted to see the outside world. They must have tricked her. She escaped her guards and no one else saw her after the Lycan merchant ship was gone.”
“Have you thought about the possibility that she might have run away?” I ask as my fingers turn white.
“I did. Davina is gullible. Still, vampire blood is an expensive commodity in certain markets. It can cure several diseases.”
“The Lycan houses under my protection aren’t free to trade with who they want. They need to inform me and pay the taxes. If there was a Lycan house trading with your kind, it was without my consent. Still, we don’t approve of slavery and the kidnapping of females. I’m not going to let this pass or ignore your claims. Your sister is gone, and someone has been trading without my permission. I have an idea of who that might be since they have been showing signs of wealth that is unparalleled to anything they’ve shown before.” I got up. “If this family has put the rest of us at risk because of greed, I’ll put an end to this tonight.”
The Vampire King rose with a surprised expression.
King Tritan rose as well. “Does this family know about the reunion with the Vampire King?”
“It has been spoken about to the other families.”
“Then, they might be escaping and taking the princess with them if they were holding her captive here.”
“You are right,” I mumble while pacing to the door. I swing it open. “Leonard, is Sir Julian attending the party?”
“His ships were in the port. His men were storing supplies and merchandise. I haven’t been to the ballroom, so I can’t say if he’s there or not.”
“Send men to the port and stop his ships from leaving. He should be put into custody on sight. We have reason to believe that he has committed an unspeakable crime and needs to be questioned.”
Leonard’s face becomes pale. “Yes, my king.”
“My men can help with the search, they are fast,” the Vampire King proposes. He walks beside me as I move to the ballroom.
“Your men don’t know my island like my men do. I’ll go after him if he tries to escape. You have my word. We’ll find your sister.”
I push back the heavy doors, and everybody at the party stops. Gasps of shock and horror echo inside the room as the noble guests understand that there’s a vampire beside me. It’s been ages since one has set foot on my island.
I have no time for pleasantries. “Sir Julien. Is he here? Has anyone seen him?”
Searching the crowd, I spot Lady Janice, his sister. I head in her direction and the crowd splits in two.
We grew up together. Janice and Julien are more than just acquaintances and loyal subjects of a royal Lycan family under my care. “Where’s your brother, Janice?”
“He is indisposed.” Janice looks terrified as she stares from me to the Vampire King. “He said that I should stay home... What’s going on?”
“Is this his sister? Does he care for her?” The Vampire King grabs the girl’s arm.
Janice shrieks and pulls away. “What’s going on? Why are the vampires here?”
Before I could reason with Lord Lazarus to let the lady go, Dana grabs his hand and removes it from Janice’s arm. “She’s innocent. You are not going to use a helpless woman to get to her brother. If he cared enough for her, he wouldn’t let her come here knowing she would be in danger.”
The Vampire King’s gaze softens with Dana’s intervention. “They have my sister.”
“And we’ll get her back, but you need to punish the ones that are guilty and leave the innocents alone,” Dana reasons.
“My sister is innocent, too. At least, she was until this monster took her from her only family,” he argues.
“My brother isn’t a monster!” Janice protests. “If you are talking about the girl who’s sick, they are in love. He didn’t kidnap her. He said she wanted to escape her family. But she’s sick, and he’s trying to find medicine to cure her.”
Everybody turns their heads to look at Janice. I close my eyes and rub my forehead as my queen takes my hand in hers and leans against my arm.
When I look at Janice, she’s blinking fast. “Is she a vampire? Is that why she’s so white and can’t go out in the sun?”
“Well, this explains a lot,” Dana mumbles as she folds her arms and glares at the Vampire King. “She was so scared to tell you that she was in love with a Lycan that she ran away.”
Lord Lazarus seems too baffled to argue with the sassy mermaid princess.
Leonard sprints into the ballroom. “We better hurry up. Sir Julian’s ship is leaving the port. He has the fastest ship in our fleet. We’ll never catch it if he’s on the run.”
“If he’s in the sea, he’s going nowhere,” Dana says as she grabs the Vampire King by the arm and drags him out of the ballroom. “Let’s get you your sister, you big bully. But you’ll listen to what she has to say and won’t kill her lover.”
“Daddy, aren’t you going to help?” Mirella asks her father who is watching everything with an amused grin on his face. I wonder what he knows that we don’t know.
“Your sister can handle this. I’ll just stay here and keep you company.”
Several of my guests follow behind Dana and the Vampire King, including Janice. I need to leave with Leonard who is waiting for my order, but first, I need to make sure that Mirella is safe.
“Stay here with your father. I’m going to make sure that they don’t harm Sir Julian and that I understand what’s going on. If this is just a misunderstanding and the princess and Julian are in love, I’m sure that the animosity between our two kingdoms will stop.”
Mirella grabs my arm before I can leave. “And Julien and the vampire princess, what will happen to them?”
“I’ll see what I can do to convince the Vampire King to let them stay together. Julien is my friend. I wish he’d come to me with his problem instead of kidnapping the princess...”
“I would run away to be with you too,” she mumbles, hugging me.
I caress her head and hug her back.
“Love makes everybody do stupid things. You should remind Lord Lazarus of that,” the Sea King says.
I bow slightly to the Sea King, kiss my wife on the lips, and rush out of the ballroom with Leonard following behind.
Chapter 16—The King’s Promise
MIRELLA AND I HAD ANOTHER wedding to attend, but this time it was Julien and Princess Davina’s.
All’s well that ends well. Their marriage allowed us to have a trading relationship with the vampire kingdom. In the meantime, Julien moved with Davina to a fortress on the vampire island where the perpetual fog prevents her from getting sick.
With the kingdom at peace and the trading routes prospering, I could finally give my wife the attention she deserved.