Page 70 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

He eyed Teya.

She covered her mouth with her hand. “Oops.”

He groaned.

“I did not see you there,” she said with a smirk.

He felt, more than heard, someone approaching from behind. Teya was pure chaos and above him, so she was accounted for. Radmila moved like death riding on the wind. Only Katarina moved so silently, so calmly.

“Master, the students have returned to campus. A new school year begins for them,” she said softly, her hand finding his back. “This will be the year we find her. I am sure of it.”

She could not disguise the lie in her voice.

He didn’t call her on it, knowing he needed to hear it. That she needed to say it. She had grown attached to Mina when she’d been with them in Romania. She wanted to find her too.

After the white light had swallowed them all whole, only to spit them out in Romania, with no idea how it was that they’d been transported so far, so fast, they had all come to an understanding.

They would look for Mina.

They knew he’d claimed her. That for the first time since becoming a vampire he’d taken a woman as his own. And that mating was far different from marriage.

There were no takebacks.

No exit clauses.

It was for good.

For life.

For eternity.

They did not question why Vlad did not sleep with other women. Why he had no interest in sex, or why he only fed from males when he had to. When bagged blood no longer served to replenish his strength and when pig’s blood left him too weak to stand against his enemies—who were many.

They did not question the one-man war he’d been waging against The Order of the Dragon for eighteen years now. Since they’d drawn the line in the sand, drawing him from the shadows and making an enemy they could not shake. In fact, The Weird Sisters had made it their mission in life to be part of his army—regardless his thoughts on the matter. They had been working with Vlad to make a dent in The Orders strength and numbers.

They did not question his burning need to return to Grimm Cove hoping to reunite with Mina. Though Radmila often made it seem as if the trip annoyed her. He knew better. He knew she was worried too.

He took a deep breath and stepped away from the edge of the cemetery. “To the Gallows Lane home.”

Katarina nodded.

Teya leaped down from the tree branch but she shifted into white mist before she would have hit the ground. She was off and flying in the direction on the old funeral home before Vlad could ask about Radmila.

Katarina cocked her head to the side. “We need to hurry. Radmila is already there.”

“What is the issue?” he asked.

She didn’t wait to explain. She shifted into mist and Vlad did the same, following behind her, unsure what the rush was. He skimmed over the campus and was nearly to the Gallows Lane home when he sensed it bursting with life and activity.

Normally, it was dead silent—empty. Like death itself kept the home wrapped in its dark energy, leaving it a time capsule of sorts—a snapshot into the past.

He and Katarina selected a secluded area off the right of the home, in a grouping of bushes and trees to dart behind. They returned to human form and stepped out of the shadows just in time to see Teya standing between two young men, dancingto the world’s worst music. It was horrible and sounded as if someone ruined multiple records in its creation.

There was a huge banner stretched across the home’s porch announcing a Welcome Back to School 80s Themed Party.

Katarina shook her head. “I do not understand. Why are they all here? Did you not purchase this property?”

“The city council is dragging their feet on my more than generous offer. Though, they have given their word they will not sell it to another, but I await their answer on selling it to me,” Vlad said, unsure why any party was being held here. The council had assured him no one was residing within the home.

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