I heard Nico speak the words, but my brain couldn't comprehend what he was saying- or perhaps it didn't want to. How could I face the ugly truth that Luc might be the true murderer? I clung to Nico's arm, feeling the world spinning around me. He quickly lifted me into his arms before I fell on to the floor in a heap.

My whole world was falling apart around me, and I was struggling to grab on, and hold on to any kind of reality. I rested my head on his shoulder as the black spots began dancing in front of my eyes.

"Oh shit, I think I'm going to pass out," I whispered. The adrenaline I'd been running on when I was fighting off the nurse had now run dry, and I could feel the strength in my body now rapidly evaporating.

Somewhere behind us, up the corridor, I could hear Luc's panicked voice echoing towards us. Nico tensed and lowered his voice and said, "He's going to find us soon."

"Please don't let him find us. I don't think I can hold on much longer," I replied woozily.

His arms tightened around me, and he said softly, "It's okay, you can go to asleep. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"No," I said shaking my head in protest, "I don't want to faint – I don't want to be weak."

"Mia, your body has reached its physical limit. You need to rest now," he said.

"But Luc is coming," I said.

"I swear, I won't let him touch you," he said suddenly taking off running down the corridor.

Behind us I heard yelling and shouting, then heavy footstep running after us. Nico muttered a curse and took a sharp turn into a darkened corridor I'd past earlier. He slowed his pace and turned right, kicking open a door and walking into a large empty room.

It was terribly dark and dusty, and I struggled to see in the dark. "What are we going to do?" I asked.

Nico gently lowered me to the floor and propping me carefully against the wall. Then he shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders and said, "I've got no choice, Mia. I'm going to have to fight him."

"What?" I gasped.

"I don't have any other choice. If we're going to get you out of here then we need to get past him," he explained.

"What will you do?" I asked.

"I'm going to kill him," he said.

His words rang unpleasantly in my ears and I watched in slow motion as his hand drifted towards his hip, where the gun he'd used earlier to shoot the nurse had been safely stowed away in its holster.

Oh my God, he was really going to shoot Luc.

Nico spun away from me, as Luc appeared in the doorway with three other guards. Filling the doorframe with his massive frame he yelled, "What the hell do you think, you're doing Nico?!"

Nico stepped protectively in front of me and said, "I'm not going to let you touch her."

Luc peered around his shoulder and saw me sitting on the floor behind him. His eyes softened and he murmured softly under his breath, "Mia."

There was such warmth and tenderness in his voice, my heart turned over achingly in my chest, and I felt compelled to go to him – in spite of everything I'd learned about him in this past hour. I leaned forward, wanting to be near him but felt Nico's flat palm sharply pushing me back.

"Stay where you are," he hissed.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Luc thundered. His dark eyes had left me, and were now focused solely on Nico who was staring back at Luc with equal hate and malice.

The soldiers behind Luc rushed to his aide, but he dismissed them with a flick of his wrist. "I can handle this by myself," he said confidently.

"You've always been so arrogant," Nico scoffed with his hand hovering over his gun.

The room around us trembled and Luc let out a low growl in reply. He paced restlessly from side to side, his eyes never once leaving Nico. In contrast Nico remained completely still, seemingly unflustered by Luc's aggressive display.

Quietly I wondered to myself if Luc could see Nico's gun. Did he know that Nico could pick up that gun and empty a round of bullets into his heart before he had even the chance to make a pass at Nico? My chest tightened with that unpleasant thought and I wondered what the hell I was going to do.

Without thinking, I softly whispered, "Luc."

It was one word, and it was one word that should've been followed by a plea for calm and sanity, but I'd no time to follow through. I spoke and Luc immediately lost focus on Nico and looked at me. His dark eyes lightened and felt the invisible connection between tighten and try to draw us closer.

My heart fluttered and for a second I forget everything and everyone around us. His expression lifted and the corners of his mouth began to curve upwards into a smile. My heart ached and leaned towards, silently urging him to come close. He smiled and took a step forward whispering my name, "Mia."

I opened my mouth to reply, but saw Nico's hand out the corner of my eye, reaching down to his gun. I let out a guttural scream and dived forward grabbing the gun out of Nico's holster. I took the cold metal object in my hands and pulled it away from Nico, who tried grabbing for it. Luc wasted no time taking advantage of this opportunity. He body slammed into Nico, and sent him hurtling into the ground. The stone floor cracked as Nico's body impacted against it, and tiny pieces of rubble and dust were sent flying upwards into the air.

Luc grabbed a wooden stake from one of the guards and strode over to Nico who was lying stunned on the floor. The room around us began to tremble and shake as Luc loomed over Nico with the wooden stake. His eyes were now completely black and his whole body was radiating this dark and horrible aura that reeked of evil and destruction.

I muttered a soft whimper as I realised what I'd done.

I had to make this right...

With trembling fingers I lifted the gun I'd taken from Nico, and pointed it at Luc.

Luc didn't notice me at first. He was standing over Nico waiting to drive the stake straight through his heart. It wasn't until I took a deep breath I yelled, "Move another inch, and I'll shoot you dead," that he stopped.

He looked across to me and saw the gun pointing at him and said, "Well, this is an interesting turn of events."

********

Hi guys,

If you're having trouble viewing updates then please check out the FAQ in the first chapter for trouble shooting advice.

From now on every fortnight I'll be posting a different cast as suggested by YOU! I'll also being creating pintrest boards based on your dream cast suggestions and sharing them on pintrest and facebook. To create a dream cast all you need to do is send me a PM on wattpad or via my facebook book page detailing who would be in your dream cast for Married to the Prince of Darkness. So which actors or celebrities would you cast for: Luc, Mia, Henrietta, Jacques, Nico, Louis and Casper (and whoever else you can think of).

I'll use your suggestions to create pintrest boards and post photos of your cast in the multimedia section of the chapter! So I look forward to hearing your suggestions!!! xxxx