Page 18 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

At the center of the foyer, a small pond with a delicate water feature rippled softly. A group of orange and white goldfish scythed through the shimmering water.

“Not what you were expecting?” Giselle asked dryly. “Just wait.”

Before she could answer, a girl around their age appeared, hands out for their coats. When she tried to keep her phone, Giselle shook her head.

“It’s not allowed. For security reasons, you understand? They can’t run the risk one of us might release photos of one of their clients.”

“I just need to text my sister, let her know I’m all right.” With shaking fingers, Dani pulled up the texting app. Sure enough, there were three missed messages from Evan, each one more worried than the last.

Evan: Where are you?

Evan: Ava woke up and you were gone.

Evan: I have someone working on tracing your phone. If you’re in trouble, you don’t have to text back, just hang on.

Dani: I’m okay. I should be home in a few hours.

She sent the message, then immediately regretted it. Would she be home in a few hours?

Evan: You’re scaring me. Where are you?

Three dots appeared. Her sister was still typing.

Evan: I’m sorry for what I said. Please tell me you’re not out there trying to find marks at this hour on your own because we had a stupid fight.

Dani: No, you were right. We swore we would never lie to each other even when the truth was hard to hear.

Evan: So where are you?

The servant girl cleared her throat.

Dani: I have to go. I’ll be back by morning.

Evan: For fuck’s sake, Dani. Tell me where you are.

Tears stung her eyes as she powered down the phone. Without that last connection to the outside world and with her coat gone, she felt suddenly vulnerable. While the foyer was warm, it did nothing to make her feel any less exposed, the strapless bodice of her dress leaving her shoulders and arms bare. She tucked her hair behind one ear.

Giselle squeezed her hand. “Come on. The food’s this way.”

She followed the other woman down a short hallway to a small room where tables were set up with platters of fruit and pastries. Half a dozen women were standing in small groups, eating and chatting.

“Take as much as you want,” Giselle said in a low voice. “Whoever buys you for the night may feed from you several times, so you’ll want to keep your strength up.” She handed her a white china plate and began filling her own plate with slices of juicy pineapple, bright red strawberries Dani could scarcely believe were real, and sugary green honeydew.

“All of this comes from the fae wildlands?” She speared chunks of fruit and took a cup of the sweet yogurt dip.

“Pretty sure it’s not nearly as wild as everyone is led to believe.” Giselle popped a grape in her mouth. “I’ve heard King Finneas moderates the seasons so they’re able to grow crops year-round. The only wild part is the forest bordering vampire-controlled land where the trees definitely will eat you if you cross into their territory uninvited.”

Dani took two croissants, one filled with chocolate, the other with cream cheese. She wanted to ask if there was any way she could box up the leftover food, take a few pieces of fruit and a pastry or two back to Evan and Ava, but guessed it wouldn’t be allowed.

“How many girls sell their blood each night?”

“Ten to twenty most nights. And then there’s a separate auction for the men.” She nodded to a silver tray with crystal glasses of various juices. “You’ll want to drink something sweet. The sugars from the fruit give the blood an appealing bouquet of flavors.”

Dani chose a glass of strawberry-orange juice and took a bite of the first croissant. The layers of buttery pastry instantly crumbled against her tongue. She moaned, wanting to load her plate with everything on the table and fill up with as much as she could. When would she ever see this much rich food again? But the last thing she needed was to get sick, or worse, be too slow and sluggish to move quickly if something were to go wrong and she needed to run.

“Thank you for helping me.” Dani finished her first croissant and took a sip of the fruit juice. It was sweet and delicious, tempting her to go back for another glass. They also had pineapple-mango. She tried not to think of how her blood would taste to whatever vampire ended up buying her. “Obviously, this is my first time and I’m freaking out a little.”

“You’ll be fine. I know you’re here for your sister.” Giselle’s voice softened. “That makes it easier, if you have something else to focus on. The first time you’re auctioned off, bidders will pay a premium for someone whose veins are untouched, a sanguine who hasn’t been fed from before.”