Page 44 of The Duke’s Bloody Bargain

“Cara.” Darius stepped in front of her. “The last thing the Dark Court needs is a duke out of control. The Fair Duchess is breathing down our necks. And there’s a rogue vampire at large. Soon, we might have two.”

Cara tilted her chin up. “Perhaps the Fair Duchess is exactly what this stuffy, priggish place needs.”

“Reverse the spell.” He didn’t step aside when she tried to brush past him.

“I don’t blame you for being ignorant about dark magic…” She touched her chin. “Actually, I do. You’re so conceited and think you know everything. Well, you don’t.”

“Enlighten me, then.” Darius folded his arms across his chest.

“I can’t reverse the spell without casting another one, which means another deal with Ravenhill, and who knows what the price would be? I’m not sure that would solve Ravenhill’s problem.” She waved her hand, and dark smoke came out of it.

The smoke coiled around Darius.

“Cara!” He struggled against the smoky ropes but to no avail.

They lifted him and removed him from her path. At the same time, the lights in the hall wavered and dimmed. One of the gas lamps was snuffed out, and the temperature dropped. Frost glazed the window. I rubbed my arms.

“Ravenhill knew what he was doing. Except what he knew was wrong.” She wiggled her fingers and left.

Darius swatted away the smoky ropes. “Great. Just great.”

“What did she mean by that?” My breath turned into mist around my mouth.

He patted my shoulder, his strands of hair jutting in every direction. “That we need to find a way to keep Alex and us safe.”

16

RULES ARE RULES

Alex

Two days had passed since Bethlen had attacked me, and my control had improved. Eating raw meat, sparring all day, drinking Darius’s blood, and sipping a stinking calming potion he had brewed for me had helped me find my composure once more. Composure I might lose quickly after Darius finished reading out loud the latest letter from the Fair Duchess.

Irene’s presence in my study also distracted me. Her heartbeat and scent teased my senses, but I remained focused on Darius.

Dear Ravenhill,

It is with great dismay that I learnt that two humans had been killed by the rogue in London.

You guaranteed that the situation was under control. I am sorry to say that this does not seem to be the case.

It is of vital importance that the rogue be promptly stopped.

I do not want to invoke the Merlin Act and take control of your court.

As if catching a super-strong four-hundred-year-old vampire were easy.

He folded the letter and placed it on the desk in my study. “We must find your sire, which means we need you.”

Irene kept her distance, leaning against the wall next to the door, and I couldn’t blame her. “How do you feel? Can you go out tonight?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I feel better, but catching Bethlen is a different matter. Sensing his presence is useless if I can’t fight him. Darius, your magic?”

He slumped his shoulders. “It’s not back yet. Alas, I’m a common human right now.”

Guilt pricked me. It hadn’t been the first time I’d fed from him, but that was the first time that I’d fed from him every day. I must have taken too much if his magic hadn’t returned, not even a little.

“I don’t see how we can find Bethlen and stop him without your magic and my control.” I refused to believe I would never be in control again.