Page 68 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

“You can’t let her wind you up. She thrives off it.” Dani retrieved the oven mitt.

“You’ve been off at the palace,” Evan snapped. “I’ve been trying to coordinate opposing factions who apparently would rather live under another three decades of vampire oppression than compromise on anything.”

“I’m sorry.” Dani wrapped her in a hug.

Evan pulled out her phone. “Let’s get the others here.”

Sera and Alex materialized less than a minute later.

“We don’t have long,” Alex said by way of greeting. “The king is suspicious. He’s going over all the security footage, trying to figure out how Giselle was able to bypass palace security protocols and get into the castle. That was an incredibly reckless thing you did, Evan.”

“Is she someplace safe?” Dani asked, looking away when Alex made a careful study of her tear-stained face and frowned. Nadine’s words stung like a raw wound across her heart, made all the more terrible because cruel as they were, she knew on some level they were true.

“She’s in a secure location,” Evan confirmed. “And for her safety, that’s all I’m going to say for now.”

“I’m assuming Dante wasn’t able to get her out of the city, not in the timeframe he had,” Sera said. “We need to think about moving her.”

Evan shook her head. “Moving her is the riskiest option.”

“There’s going to be a massive manhunt,” Dani pointed out. “She tried to poison the king.”

“Trust me, my father will break down every door, and burn every apartment block to the ground in the dead of winter if that’s what it takes to send a message to the resistance.” Sera ran a gloved hand over her hair. “You really believe some starving family hiding her in the back of their closet won’t give her up?”

“She has a son,” Dani said quietly. “Or at least, she told me that she did.”

“Could they be moved across the border?” Alex asked. “Taken to the wolves?”

Sera leaned against the counter. Cinder hopped up beside her, mewing hopefully for food. “That’s a big risk. Some of the wolf factions cooperate with us when the price is right and our interests align. But they’re very mercenary, and it’s hard to blame them after thirty years of war and failed peace treaties. They trust us no more than we trust them and I can’t fault them for that. Would they be helping us because they want to liberate the sector, or because their long-term goal is a wolf Alpha ruling over our territory?”

“It gets very cold being cast out into the bleakest parts of the forests and mountains that not even the fae and vampires want,” Alex said. “The wolves are survivors. We shouldn’t underestimate them.”

“Giselle is an asset,” Evan said quietly. “I agree that the child needs to be moved to someplace secure. But there are very few aberrants capable of taking out Judas or Luciano Cavalieri. We have to consider the long-term ramifications of moving her out of the sector. How many more people will die under their reign of terror while we wait to act?”

“They know her face now.” Alex shook his head. “They’ll have captured her image on all the palace security feeds. She’s been burned as an undercover operative. Judas and Cavalieri will have already doubled their personal security details. It won’t be easy getting another shot at either of them.”

“Your father harvests power from anyone he touches,” Dani said. “Anyone who tries to get close to him will have their power drained. That’s why Giselle’s attempt very nearly worked. It was subtle.”

“A physical assault, then,” Evan said. “Could a vampire materialize into the room, execute him, and then ghost out?”

“The castle is heavily warded.” Alex sounded tired. “That’s the reason Sera and I, along with every other person with a security clearance, are currently under such heavy scrutiny. They’re questioning how Giselle could have gotten in. Only approved people can materialize on or off the palace grounds.”

“And you won’t have any luck bribing a guard to carry an assassin in,” Sera added. “Judas is very careful not to hire people who have nothing to lose. Everyone on his staff has wives and children, siblings and aging parents they’re supporting, all of whom they understand will be executed if they betray him. Someone close to the king will have to take him out. But who that someone is, remains to be seen.”

“Sorry that I’m a bit useless on that front,” Alex said dryly. “Despite you stabbing me every chance you got with your practice sword when we were kids.”

Sera studied him thoughtfully. “I could be wrong, but I’ve suspected for a while now that your blood serves as a weak amplifier. It would explain why Dani’s ability to erase memories has gotten stronger since she was exposed to your venom. And also, why the guards holding you the other night might have been overcome by the king’s attempt to drain you. They felt his power, but amplified through you. It’s why they lost consciousness so quickly.”

“Which makes me responsible for their deaths.”

“You’re not,” Dani said softly. “None of this is your fault.”

Alex drew his arm around her, and instinctively, she stepped into his embrace. But where before, the gesture would have drawn only comfort, now she couldn’t ignore Nadine’s words.

Has he proposed? Put a ring on your finger? Make no mistake, he will move that aristocratic bitch into his castle by the end of the month. She will be his queen. And where will that leave you?

“Speaking of Alex and Dani,” Sera said, setting the cat down. “I think I found a way to break the binding.”

Dani froze. Alex’s fingers tightened imperceptibly at her hip. As the silence stretched and they failed to answer, Evan and Sera began exchanging worried looks.