Page 79 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

Alex nodded. “I remember how hard it was for you. We were all worried.”

“I wondered if I could have picked something up at the hospital. Then I thought maybe I was just working myself sick from the stress. For a while,” she pushed a strand of hair behind one ear, lip starting to tremble, “I even worried maybe I was getting sick like Mom.”

Alex moved to the couch to sit beside her, and she inched away.

“Please. I know you mean well, but this is easier if you don’t try to hug me. Touch… terrifies me now, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

“Gods, Sera. I wish I’d been paying more attention.” He stayed beside her anyway. When he held out a hand, palm up, she hesitantly placed her gloved fingers into it, eyes filling with tears.

“My power is volatile. Finneas is right. I am strong. Maybe even stronger than our father. But I can’t control it. Sometimes, I think I’m suppressing it, but then something happens and—”

She bit her lip, wiping away a fresh wave of tears.

“We were doing a hospital rotation. It was my turn to examine a patient. As soon as I touched them, all the monitors began to go off.”

“Oh, Sera. That’s why you dropped out of med school.”

It had never been about phobias or anxiety. All of it had been a ruse she’d concocted to keep their father from discovering the truth.

“Once I realized what was happening, I broke contact. The crash team rushed in. They thought it was just a terrible coincidence, that his blood pressure and oxygen levels had plummeted for no reason, but… I knew, Alex. And I couldn’t live with the possibility that I could do that to someone else.”

“Have the gloves worked?”

“Mostly. It’s skin-to-skin contact where I have the hardest time holding back.”

Alex cleared his throat, knowing the question he had to ask was far from polite. “You were… with Micah.”

Sera shuddered, covering her face with both hands. “Micah figured it out. You understand, better than anyone, how it is with our protection details. They’re with us around the clock. They see everything.”

“Sure.”

“Micah knew something was off. He paid attention. Eventually, he cornered me, got me to confess the truth. That was when he told me he was an aberrant, too.”

“Henri never told me Micah had any abilities.”

“Micah didn’t like to tell people. He worried that if they knew about him, it might draw attention to his human mother and brother. But he was a shield.”

“He could block you.”

“A little. We couldn’t maintain contact for long, but it was long enough to, you know.”

“Yeah, I get the idea.”

Sera toyed with her gloves. “It was a mistake on so many levels. I get that now. But by then, I was starved for human contact.”

Alex hated to bring this up, but had no choice. “If Micah knew the truth about you, he may have tried to use that information as a bargaining chip when he learned he was being sent to the front. At that point, he would have been out of options.”

Sera’s shoulders hunched. It was obvious she’d considered this.

“If he’d told, I’d be dead by now. It’s been two years. Father never would have let me live.”

That, at least, was true.

“I know you said your power is volatile right now. But one day, with training—”

“And who, exactly, would train me?” She laughed sharply. “As far as we know, Father and I are the only two Harvesters alive. How would I even be trained? It’s not as if they can line up a row of volunteers for me to murder.”

“As far as plans go, I’ll admit it needs some work.” He sighed, staring into the flames as another memory stirred. “Do you remember, back before Mom got so sick, how sometimes he used to take us out onto the ice, skate with us for hours?”