Page 37 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

"What about your friends?" she pressed.

"I don't do friends, unless you count my pottery."

"Why would we count pottery?" she demanded.

I shrugged.

"Can you give us a ride?" Dante asked, much more politely than Jazz had.

Considering he was now relying on me for blood, his politeness made sense.

"If you know where it is, I guess," I said grudgingly. Considering I'd been the reason they were all in prison, a ride home seemed like a reasonable request.

"I'll navigate," he agreed.

I gave him a thumbs-up, and all three of them followed me to the back of the parking lot.

None of us said anything else until I hit the button to unlock my minivan. It gave its usual sad, dying chirp.

All three of my undesired companions stopped at the trunk as I strode to the driver's seat.

"This is your car?" Jazz asked, her voice incredulous.

"Yep." I slipped inside.

The entire back was usually full, but I had been so focused on the prison stuff that I hadn't made any other pottery in ages. My bank account was in the gutter, but it might recover eventually.

I'd probably need to go to the fae to ask for help again. I'd already done that when I ran out of money six months earlier, so I wasn't exactly looking forward to it. I'd been living on cup noodles since then, to stretch out the small amount of cash Callum Frost had reluctantly forked over for me.

That guy was an asshole, but him and his Cabinet would probably help again if I asked.

When I asked.

I was pretty sure I only had a few dollars and a few more cups of noodles left. I'd paid the utility bills with the last of my cash a few days before I went into the prison, so at least I had water and power.

Dante took the passenger seat.

Jazz and River climbed into the back, eyeing the piles of blankets, pillows, rags, and foam that I had stacked in random plastic bins. Nothing was organized, or arranged in any particular method.

River had to move some of the boxes to get the seats up, but I avoided looking at him.

"What's all this stuff for?" Jazz asked.

"Pottery transportation."

I reversed, and pulled out onto the road.

Dante fiddled with the air conditioning knobs, and the seat's angle, as he quietly instructed me when to turn.

He was clearly feeling uncomfortable.

So was I.

Jazz gripped the seatbelt a little too tightly. She held River's hand that way, too.

"So, Grayson is mated with the autumn fae queen? Merrily?" Jazz asked.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "All of the fae royals have mates now. That's all I know about politics, so don't ask me more questions."