Page 78 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

“How often does he come?” Alex asked the aberrant boy. “I might know a way to get a copy of the key. But I need information.”

It would be a big ask. Finneas hadn’t exactly been willing to help the rebellion when Sera had pressed him. They had to first find the missing fae.

“Every three days.” The woman glanced down the hall. “We were all picked up in the last raid. The king doesn’t seem right, Your Highness. There’s a madness in his eyes. Please, you have to help us. He’ll be coming for another one of us in two days if he keeps to his schedule.”

That didn’t give them much time.

“This is very important,” Alex said. “I need to know if any of you have heard of fae being abducted near the border at the east side of the sector.”

“One of the girls they brought in on the first night of the raids was fae.”

Alex hurried down the line of cells to find a thin woman wrapped in the blanket from her cot. She’d been beaten so badly one of her eyes was swollen shut.

“You’re sure? You saw her?”

“We were all in the holding cell together. She was quiet, scared. Kept to herself. There were several like her that were very young and we were trying to protect them.”

“That was very good of you.”

Her expression darkened. “When they brought out the silver manacles, I think she might have tried to will herself back to the fae realm. She was breathing really hard. I’m not sure why she couldn’t. Maybe she’d been injured when they captured her or they dosed her group with something. As soon as they locked the manacles around her wrists, her glamour fell away. We could all see the pointed ears she’d disguised, the too-sharp teeth. They immediately grabbed her. At first, I thought they would just put her in a different cell, like maybe the fae were a danger to us, but they took her away immediately. We haven’t seen her since.”

That was a start, at least.

“You’ve been very helpful.”

“Can you get us out?” The woman reached through the bars. The moment their hands touched, Alexander felt the dark power of the fae manacles leaching his strength away. He quickly pulled back.

“First, I have to find a copy of the key.” He glanced down the corridor. Henri was hurrying towards him, twirling his finger in a wrap it up gesture. They needed to go.

“If you walk out of here, if you turn your back on us, we will all die.”

“I’m coming back.” Alexander lowered his voice. He could hear guards approaching from the end of the corridor. “I need you to trust me.”

“Your Highness, we have to go,” Henri said urgently.

The woman’s eyes widened in surprise. Immediately recognizing his error, Henri swore.

“I thought it was your voice,” she whispered. “Please, Prince Alexander, don’t abandon us.”

“I’ll be back. I swear it. I’ll find a way to get the keys.”

“Sire, we’re out of time. I’m sorry.” Henri gripped his arm, ghosting them out of the prison block.

They reformed back in Alex’s apartment. A fire was burning in the grate. Sera was curled up on his sofa in leggings and an oversized hoodie, staring into the flames. She didn’t look up when they approached.

Henri cleared his throat. “I’ll be just outside if you require my services, Your Highness.”

“I think I’m staying in for the night. And thank you again for earlier.”

Alex waited until the door quietly closed behind Henri, then sank into the armchair opposite his sister. Sera’s dark auburn hair was loose over her shoulders, and she was toying nervously with the black gloves she always wore. Now he was pretty sure he understood why.

“Is it true what Finneas said?” he asked gently.

She bit her lip. “Do you hate me?”

“I could never hate you. I wish you’d told me. I hate that you’ve been dealing with this on your own.”

Sera swiped beneath her eyes. “For a long time, I was convinced I wasn’t going to manifest with any powers. It’s rare enough, you know? Dad is freakishly strong, but Mom was human and I thought I wouldn’t have to worry. But then I started feeling sick at night. Terrible fevers. I would sweat through all my clothes. I would feed all the time and nothing helped. I was in med school by then, and it was grueling.”