Page 8 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

The ruling had been applauded by the aristocracy. It was popular among young vampires in particular, who were frustrated by a stagnant economy that had failed to make any meaningful steps towards recovery and rebuilding thirty years after the worldwide population had been decimated.

In reality, the only ones who benefitted were the merchants who no longer had to pay a decent wage. The change had essentially forced all other members of the household to work for slave wages instead of taking legitimate jobs. Anyone hired without a permit was paid half what a permitted worker earned, often less, and had to perform the most dangerous and undesirable jobs.

“Good luck,” Giselle said as she was called back for her appointment.

Prince Alexander stepped back from the podium, allowing one of the sector police captains to take his place.

“In order to ensure the security of all citizens in our sector, new procedures will be put into place for all persons moving in and out of the city, effective immediately.”

The captain droned on about increased inspections, new checkpoints, and consequences for anyone caught harboring known criminals.

“We believe this person to be a suspected terrorist who attacked multiple victims two nights ago in the Old City. Due to the nature of the assault, she is believed to be infected with the aberrant virus and should not be approached.”

Dani forced herself to glance up with bored disinterest as her image flashed up on the screen. The picture was the same grainy one that had gone out across the media feeds the first night. While it was alarming knowing it was an image of her, it was difficult to discern much detail at all besides a thin woman with dark blonde hair in a long black coat struggling between two men.

Her phone buzzed, and she nearly jumped a foot. A woman in the next row of seats glanced over, frowning.

Stupid.

She had to be more careful, especially now that everyone in the sector was looking for her.

She pulled out her phone, heart sinking when she read the text from Ava.

Ava: I heard you the other night, when you thought I was asleep. I know where you and Evan want to send me.

Dani thought she would be sick. She’d been frustrated. Panicking. They’d both been sure Ava was out cold. And that was no excuse. Evan would feed all her scraps of sketch paper into the fire when she realized what they’d done.

Dani: First of all, that is not even up for discussion. I will cage fight any werewolf who dares to darken our doorstep, and you know how scary I can be during period week when Evan accidentally hides the hot water bottle.

Ava: True.

Dani: And I’m so sorry you heard that. It was total sister fail on our part. Can we talk about this more when I get home?

Nothing about their government-issued phones was secure. Every citizen in their sector over the age of ten was required to carry one. They were a way of maintaining official documents, but mostly of tracking and monitoring movements throughout the city. If Evan’s contacts weren’t so handy at altering data and removing tracking software, they all would have been picked up long before now.

Ava: I’m not a little kid. You two shouldn’t be talking about me like I’m not there. This is my life. I should get to decide.

Except, how was she supposed to tell her sister who one minute would be dancing around the house in her sock feet with Evan to Christmas songs on the radio and the next, crying because her toes were so numb she could barely feel them, how bleak their options truly were?

Dani: You’re right. From now on, we talk things through together. Along with The Supreme Overlord.

She sent a picture of Cinder that she’d taken by the window that morning, just before she’d let her out to prowl the back alley for rats. Smoked salmon, indeed. If His Royal Highness had a cat, she was sure it was spoiled rotten.

“Dani?” She looked up to see a young vampire standing in the doorway, dressed in a gray waffle shirt and worn jeans.

Though she knew there were a handful of vampires who volunteered at the center, Zander Hunt was the only one she saw regularly. Dark, wavy hair escaped the hockey cap he always wore, bearing the logo of his favorite team, the Ice Slayers.

“Still convinced they’ll win the Cup this year, I see.”

“Daniela Girard, you wound me.” Zander pressed her case file to his chest.

Thick, dark-rimmed glasses framed hazel eyes that always seemed to absorb every word Dani said as she sat across his desk, often in tears, describing her family’s latest situation. His mother was chronically ill, too, he’d explained on her first visit to his office, touching the protective mask he had on before passing her a box of tissues. While he couldn’t make any promises given the lack of resources in the system at the moment, he would do everything within his power to help.

This small thing, knowing they both had desperately sick family members at home that they were caring for, had caused her, against her better judgement, to slowly let her guard down.

Dani knew he’d only been practicing law for a few years. She guessed that put his age at maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven, though in truth, with vampires it was impossible to say. There were theories as to whether they would reach lifespans that rivaled the fae, but since no vampire had existed for more than thirty years, changed or born, it was anyone’s guess.

“Did you get a new coat?” He frowned at the old army-green trench she’d traded with Evan, and she wondered if he could smell her sister’s scent on the fabric.