Page 40 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

“That’s a good idea.” Dani wrapped her little sister in a hug. “I’ll start dinner. How does grilled chicken with pasta and broccoli sound?”

An hour later, they’d both had showers and Dani was finishing up the dishes from dinner when Evan finally texted.

Evan: Are both of you safe?

Dani set her dishtowel aside and leaned against the counter. Her dizziness and headache had improved after eating something, but she still felt off.

Dani: We’re both home. Power just went out. We’re using candles. Call when you have a chance, please.

She knew better than to ask if Evan was coming home soon.

Her phone rang.

“I only have a minute,” Evan said by way of greeting. Dani could make out muffled shouts in the background. “What’s going on?”

“So, I got stopped on the road coming home tonight,” Dani said in a low voice. “There was a group intercepting delivery trucks, and someone recognized me from the tabloids. They were going to hold me until they could extract some sort of ransom.”

“Damn. I’m sorry.” Evan swore. “There are a lot of factions working together on this. Some of them are a bit shady. Are you okay?”

Ava came into the kitchen from where she’d been working on her homework, an old quilt wrapped around her shoulders.

“I’m fine. I resisted when they tried to take me, told them to stop, and two of the men holding me dropped to the ground. I was wearing gloves. I couldn’t touch them. I can’t explain how I could have wiped them without direct contact.”

“And you’re sure it was your magic?”

“Yes.” Dani hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but now as she remembered the two rebel insurrectionists staring blankly up at the sky, she felt certain. “I’ve never been able to focus that much power before. As soon as it happened, I felt drained.”

“Did anyone see you?”

“There was a girl trying to break into my phone. She was the one who recognized I was an aberrant. But we were both pretty shaken up when the trucks exploded, and I managed to wipe the last few minutes and her memories of me. But there’s always the chance that someone saw. It all happened so fast.”

Ava leaned over the kitchen table to get a piece of bread that had been leftover from dinner, the edge of the quilt dangling too close to the flickering candle flame. Dani pushed away from the counter, lips forming a warning—

—just as her vision went spotty.

The ground rushed up to meet her, the room spinning like her head was full of water.

“Dani,” Ava gasped, voice small and terrified.

In the background, she heard her sisters talking.

She tried to hang onto the words, tried to make out what they were saying, and couldn’t. But her head was starting to clear.

“Ava, I’m okay.” She sat up.

Her sister hurried over.

“Drink this.” Ava helped her to sit up, pressing a glass of juice to her lips. “Evan is on her way home. She’s calling Sera.”

“I just need to rest. I probably got shaken up when I was knocked to the ground.”

“You’ve been off all day,” Ava said sternly. “You have to take better care of yourself.”

“Now who’s the older sister?” Dani couldn’t help but smile, thinking of how many times their places had been traded.

She sipped her juice, leaning back against the kitchen cupboards while Ava looked on with wide, frightened eyes.

“Do you think it’s a concussion?” her little sister began.