Page 27 of King of Blood and Sin

I’m stuck somewhere between awe and terror. A nobleman, maybe, or someone even higher, and I just knocked him out.

I force myself to glance away, heart racing, as I spot the small sack spilling from his coat pocket. I shouldn’t, but this is my chance to save Sable, even if it means certain death if I’m caught.

I lean closer, I’ve never been this close to a vampire, but I’ve heard stories of their magnetism, their allure, and how easy it is for them to seduce your mind. Something about the tilt of his mouth, the curve of his lashes, and the way his elegant fingers twitch makes it impossible to look away.

I have no idea what I did to him, but vampires heal quickly. I just hope he doesn’t wake before I’m gone. With my eyes trained on him, I rush to my pile of clothes and boots in the armchair and pull them on.

Once dressed, I step closer, lean down, and snatch his pouch of coins and move for the door, keeping an even pace to avoid drawing the wrong attention. As I come into the foyer, humans stare petrified at the wall across from them. That’s when I spot the royal guards, only they don’t look like King Zander’s men.

Head down, I pass them quickly, but none of them look my way. The clerk is leaning across the counter with her breasts on display, so she has their full attention.

Everything feels heavier than it should: the foyer door, the cold air in my face, and the pouch of coins clinking in my pocket.

The wind feels even colder after my blood loss, and my head swims as I take off at a full run. Any second, someone is about to find a vampire unconscious on the floor in that blood bank, and every guard on this island will come for me.

During the nightly auctions, the streets are thick with bodies, and as I weave through the crowd with my head low, the sharp cry of a siren blares from the streets behind me.

Shit!

People around me slow, but I walk faster, knowing I need to get as far from the blood bank as possible.

I don’t remember the run, just the sound of my heartbeat crashing in my ears.

I have the coins, but by the time I reach the end of the pier, the ships are leaving.

I’m too late.

A heavy horn sounds across the water, low and final, signaling their departure.

I shove past a line of people, slipping through a narrow alley. My boots are skidding in the mud while my hands are shaking.

I burst into the markets by the loading bay just in time to see the last cargo ship pulling away from the docks. The cages are stacked three high on the ship’s deck, chained to the hull. I scan everyone, desperately trying to spot her.

Please, no. Please still be here—

“Alessia!” she screams, and my knees threaten to give out from under me.

Clinging to the bars of the topmost cage, eyes wild as they lock on mine.