The Billionaire’s Baby(61)

Nana stepped forward, gently hugging him in gratitude, “Protect her.” She whispered in a hushed tone, and Ellis again heard that strange hidden meaning.

Ellis stepped back, nodding and striding towards the door without a glance at his companion.

“I’ve packed several things for you both.” The old woman continued, pulling out two stuffed packs. A brown bow hung from the smaller, “Nourishment, tools. I saw this coming.” She shrugged, handing them to the two departing.

“Thank you for everything.” The vampire said, awkward in his gratitude. He wasn’t used to situations like these, he hadn’t felt thankful in…decades.

A smile played on the old woman’s lips as she nodded, sweeping her granddaughter into a hug and kissing her forehead, “Find Lili.” She said, “Get the answers.”

Nia nodded, glancing up as Ellis headed towards the door. After a rushed hug with Kellen, Nia paced after the tall vampire.

“Where are we going?” She gasped after him, struggling to keep up.

Though Nia was feeling much better, and the bandages around her middle no longer tinted pink, she was not up to full health yet.

“I need to see a friend, you have places that you need to go as well.” Ellis replied, glancing over his shoulder at the girl.

“I can help you find your friend!” Nia offered, “…I didn’t realize you had friends…”

Ellis stopped so short that the small redhead crashed hard into his back, falling backwards onto the ground as the vampire whipped around on his heel.

“I have friends!” He retorted, crossing his arms, “Well. One. Who we’re going to see.”

“Two!” Nia said smugly, “And don’t you try to deny it.”

“You’re right.” Ellis sighed, hands on his hips, “I do have another friend.”

As Nia beamed smugly, Ellis leaned down to call forward the kitten who followed them several paces behind.

“Isn’t that right, Potatoes?” Ellis cooed, “We’re the best of friends!”

Nia groaned and rolled her eyes, watching as Ellis straightened and looked around.

“Tell me about this friend we’re finding.” Nia sighed, “Where does he live?”

“A cottage, normally. West of Thade I believe.” The vampire said, observing the stars over their head.

Nia nodded, gazing around her. She knew the area faintly, hopefully well enough to find a single hut on the miles of land. Fortunately, the border that Thade shared with Landrian was relatively passive.

On paper, their journey would be smooth and unhindered. In reality, however, that was definitely not the case.

“Is it a human friend?” Nia asked, trotting beside the vampire.

“Who is it?” Nia pressed insistently. She wasn’t about to let him off easy on this one.

“A prince.” Ellis sighed, glancing at the girl who refused to stop speaking.

Nia raised her eyebrows curiously, “You know a prince?”

Ellis nodded, still not giving Nia a spare glance in his examination of the area, “I killed him.” He shrugged, as though he was commenting on the cool weather.

Nia choked, sputtering in shock, “What?”

“The Prince of the North. He made the mistake of crossing my path. I made the mistake of not finishing the job.” Ellis ran a hand through his dark hair. This was not a story he enjoyed recounting.

The Prince was the reason George had tracked him down, the Prince was the reason Landrian was in despair.

“Tell me more.” Nia persisted. His pained expression didn’t help her curiosity.

“I was too young. I turned him just to find out what it was like. Maybe I was lonely. Maybe I was stupid.” Ellis tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“Or both.” Nia muttered, shaking her head.

“He tried to go back to his people originally, but they weren’t exactly welcoming of a vampire prince, and they tried to kill him, they’d rather have a dead prince than a vampire one.” Ellis winced, shaking his own head.

“And then they started chasing you.” The girl murmured quietly with a shake of her head, “All this time, it’s just been about what you did so long ago?”

A tiny smile curved the pale man’s thin lips, “It’s possible that may not be the only reason.” He chuckled.

Nia frowned, tilting her head slightly, “Then why, Ellis?”

Ellis shrugged, “I’m not exactly sure. I thought they were just really obsessed about hunting vampires, but they seem to think I have something to do with…some kind of rock.”

He shook his head, looking down at Nia in confusion, “I’m honestly unsure what they’re talking about, they keep saying something about a stone, and how they think I’m connected with it.”