Page 25 of The Duke’s Bloody Bargain

Something bothered Alex because the bond gave a twitch.

“Yes, but is this rogue our friend or not?” I asked.

“Who knows?” Alex said in a low tone.

The inspector led us to the exit, his aura a riot of tendrils. “What can I do to keep my family safe?”

Darius clapped his shoulder. “Keep religious symbols close, holy water, and blessed wooden stakes. Don’t go out after sunset and don’t invite anyone into your home.”

It wasn’t much, and the inspector didn’t seem relieved.

“What are you thinking?” I took Alex’s arm as we headed to the carriage. I doubted the deal with Carabosse wouldn’t have consequences, but I had to admit the simple pleasure of taking his arm was comforting.

He smiled at my hand on his arm. “If a rogue is killing thugs in Whitechapel, I won’t interfere. He has my blessing.”

“You must be joking.” Darius scowled. “You’re the Duke of the Dark Court. It’s your responsibility to take care of dangerous supernatural creatures preying on innocents.”

“Precisely. Those men weren’t innocents. And the killings happened close to Knight’s territory. He’s the Moon Duke. He should deal with the rogue.”

I exchanged a glance with Darius. Alex would never leave Knight alone to deal with a rogue vampire, knowing that the Moon Court wasn’t as strong and wealthy as the Dark Court. His lack of care was concerning.

Darius faced him, stopping a couple of feet from him. “What about the Fair Court? The Fair Duchess was clear. She will intervene if the affairs in the Dark Court and the Moon Court aren’t in order. If she gets news of a rogue vampire roaming unchallenged in the Moon Court and killing at will, she’ll declare you and Knight incapable of leading the courts and take charge of both of them. So yes. The rogue is our problem, too.”

The duchess was the oldest and most powerful supernatural being in the kingdom. If she wanted, she could rule all the courts at the same time.

“Darius is right.” I gave Alex’s arm a little tug. “Besides, what will happen when the rogue gets tired of killing thugs? He’ll start biting everyone.”

He pulled down his tall hat to cast a shadow over his face. “We’ll take care of that problem when it presents itself.”

That wasn’t him.

Darius glowered. “You’ll wait for innocents to die before intervening?”

“Am I supposed to protect the thugs who beat you and me within an inch of our lives, set fire to Irene’s house, killed her father, and did the same thing to others?” He sounded frustrated and even hurt, as if he was shocked we wanted to stop the rogue.

He wasn’t entirely wrong. Rothbart’s gang had changed through the years—different members and criminal operations—but their core had stayed the same—causing havoc and killing at will.

I cleared my throat. “But we should plan a strategy to find and catch the rogue anyway. I suppose it’s not going to be easy to stop a vampire who can kill three men at the same time.”

He worked his jaw. “Yes, it’s going to be difficult.” He stiffened, sniffing the air. His power came out, and his eyes darkened.

“What is it?” Darius searched the alley.

“Werewolves.”

I was puzzled. What was upsetting about that? “We’re in the Moon Court. Since when does the presence of werewolves bother you so much as to cause your power to come out?”

“I’m on edge.”

The bond tensing confirmed that.

We took a dark alley to shield Alex from the sun when Knight strode towards us, flanked by two of his werewolves.

Knight’s deep shade of amber eyes and massive build never failed to unnerve me. Graves was shorter and had lighter colours and was less brawny too.

Alex had told me Graves and Knight belonged to two different werewolf clans. Knight came from a clan of warriors, the Molossians. Instead, Graves belonged to a clan, the Argos, that valued the unity of the pack over everything else.

Knight’s aura glowed with a mahogany light, but underneath this layer of determination, worry shone steel-grey.