The next hour was chaos. Guards came and went bringing with them new pieces of information about Casper's escape, while the diners were quickly evacuated from the restaurant under the pretence that there had been a fire. Standing out on the private veranda, I had watched annoyed customers being led out of the restaurant by very apologetic staff who did their best to try and mollify the anger and disappointment of the diners whose evening had been cut short.

The people looked over their shoulders as they walked to their cars and to steal a glimpse of the strange solitary girl standing alone on the veranda- although I wasn't really alone. Five guards were stood in the shadows watching over me as my husband discussed 'important matters' inside. What kind of 'matters' I was unsure of, because Luc would not tell me. He had told me that Casper had escaped and that the prison guards would stay with us until the palace guards arrived to escort us to a safe place. After that I was sent outside onto the veranda with several guards so that Luc and Nico could discuss the details of the escape with the prison guards. I didn't know why I wasn't included in on the conversation but I had a feeling that Luc wanted to spare me any unpleasant details that might be too violent for my sensitive ears.

Before I had walked outside Luc had shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it around my shoulders, then he had held me close and promised to me in hushed whispers, "Don't worry Mia, I will get you out of here as soon as I can- I will never let this happen to you again- I swear. I will protect you, I promise. I swear..."

I had rested my head on his chest and listened to him and silently thought, 'You cannot save me.'

After that I had gone outside and stood on the veranda and took in the view. Nico had been right earlier when he had said that an autumn storm was rolling it. Over the mountains heavy blankets of thick clouds appeared and the sky became a bleak dark inky gray. The storm clouds began to devour the night sky and the brightness of the moon's silver light began to wane. The forest disappeared into solid black and I could no longer see what lay ahead.

So I looked backwards at the familiar lights of the restaurant and the people walking to their cars, getting ready to go home. They watched me as I watched them, and secretly I longed to be them. I secretly wished that I could turn back the hands of time so that I never went to that stupid graveyard, or stood under that tree. I wished I had never been turned into a vampire, or that I had been cursed with seeing the dead. I wished I was human again.

I was trapped between two worlds, not really belonging to either. I was born a human and made a vampire, and because I was born a human I never really felt like a vampire, but because I was made a vampire I was no longer a human. So here I am, a creature of two worlds, belonging to both while belonging to neither.

The human world was boring, while the vampire world was novel- but at least the human world was safe. Both Nico and Henrietta had warned me that the vampire world was a dangerous one and I had never doubted that danger, but I never dreamed that the danger would one day have a name or a face.

Casper was the danger, and the danger was looking for me.

Standing out in the cold night air I closed my eyes and remembered Casper's voice calling to me. Casper had been searching for me but why? Casper had been thrown into prison and cut off from the rest of the world, yet somehow he knew my name and knew where I would be. How could that be?

"You should come in now, it looks like rain."

I opened my eyes and saw Nico standing next to me, leaning against his elbows on the wooden railing that edged the veranda. His sudden presence made me jump a step sideways and I had to stop myself from cursing at him in fright.

"How do you do that?" I eventually snapped at him, "Do you have a 'creeper' super power or something?"

Nico ignored my childish remark and shrugged nonchalantly, "I've been alive long enough to know how to move quietly and quickly around other vampires."

I quickly began searching for something else nasty to say but then the thought of Luc suddenly floated into my mind.

"How is he?" I asked quietly.

"Not good- not good at all." Nico said quietly.

I looked over my shoulder back at the bar and saw Luc listening to the guard. Luc looked tired and gray like he was coming down with an illness. I turned back to Nico and asked, "What's the matter with him?"

"This is too much for him- too many bad memories." Nico sighed.

Suddenly through the windows I saw Luc raise his hands in a gesture of silence. The guard stopped mid-sentence and looked guilty and bowed his head downward in regret like he had accidentally said too much. Luc walked away from the guards into the bar area with expression of grief and pain and returned back to the bar and pulled himself a drink.

"I don't understand." I replied confused.

"Luc and Casper were close which is rare for royal families, as royal families are generally not that close. Kings and Queens do not raise their children. They leave their parenting to duties to the royal nannies and servants who will rear their screaming infants in some far flung forgotten wing of the palace where no one can hear them. When Luc was born his brother Louis had just turned a hundred years old and was embarking on a great tour of the continents, while his parents were busy governing the court. Luc grew up with no one to play with and no one to love. All he had for company were a couple of nannies who would be replaced every year so the young Prince would never grow attached to them. Luc learned to lonely and it was during this time that his darker nature began to show." Nico said.

"What do you by 'darker'?" I asked curiously.

Nico shifted uncomfortably on his heels and said in a low voice, "At first it was small 'accidents' like the odd small fire or flood, but as Luc grew older it soon escalated. I remember once when Luc was playing outside and all the flowers suddenly wilted. And there was the time when he had his first swimming lesson in the lake and he became cross with his instructor and all the fish in the lake floated up to the surface dead- Luc never went back in the water after that."

I imagined Luc as a child lonely and scared of what was happening to him. It must have been terrifying living day to day not knowing what was going to happen or what might accidentally happen. I couldn't understand why Luc's parents would just leave him like that. How could they have abandoned Luc in some forgotten wing of the palace to be raised by strangers? It was no wonder he was dysfunctional as an adult.

"Before Luc's darkness got really bad the Queen fell pregnant again and gave birth to another boy. By this time Luc was teenager and his new baby brother became a distraction. Luc adored Casper and never wanted his baby brother to have the same miserable childhood he had. Luc virtually raised Casper, ensuring that he was never alone and that he had always friends to play with. Luc adored Casper and when Casper was arrested it broke his heart," Nico explained, "It is hard to stop loving someone when you have invested so much of yourself into that person. Luc still loves Casper even after everything that has happened... he cannot bring himself to hate Casper."

For a few moments words failed me. I looked over at Luc and my heart bled for him. He done everything in his power to give Casper the kind of life and love he had never had but it had all been in vain. Despite all the love and nurturing Luc had bestowed upon Casper, Casper had gone on to commit one of the worst crimes imaginable.

"After Casper was arrested Luc's condition went into a serious decline. The darkness in him was eating him alive and Luc struggled every day to control his powers. Everyone knew Luc was a ticking time bomb and Louis had to make the difficult choice about what to do with Casper. Our law said that we should execute him but if Louis executed Casper it would have driven Luc over the edge. So Louis made the choice not to execute Casper and instead had him locked away far from the city and palace. This worked for a little while but then Luc began to lose touch again and that is when Louis sent him to find you, his precious Princess." Nico said.

"Nico, come on. Luc sounds like he needs a therapist- in fact the whole family sounds like they need a therapist... I can't fix Luc by just being with him, that's not how relationships work. People don't magically get better by falling in love." I said.

"You and Luc are not people. You are vampires and vampires have incredibly strong bonds to their mates."

I rolled my eyes at the mention of the word 'bond' and replied, "The only thing 'the bond' does for me is make me physically attracted to Luc. That's it. A relationship needs more than mutual attraction to work. It needs more like love, friendship, and trust- qualities that have to be built or earned over time with care patience. We all come with baggage and Luc is never going to forget all that has happened just because of some stupid bond. That's not how people or vampires work."

Nico fell quiet. He turned his gaze from me back to the night sky.

"Maybe you are right, maybe not. But Louis is counting on you Mia. You have to save him because otherwise..." Nico's suddenly trailed off and became suddenly vague and distance, like he was recalling a bad memory.

"Otherwise, what?" I prompted softly.

Nico let go of the wooden edge and straightened up, "Then you will have to figure out a different way to contain the dark inside him." He replied coldly.

"And what if I can't? What happens then?" I asked.

Nico lowered his voice and replied, "If you fail then the King will have no other option but to have Luc killed."