I don’t recognize any of the businesses or street names, which means we must be in Wardthorpe. Long ago, Father forbade everyone in the mansion from coming here. It’s the biggest district in the city, a place for vampires who defy the king’s color-coded system and free humans. Their freedom comes at a steep price, though. The vampires exist without the protection of guards or the royal purse strings. The unclaimed humans may be fed upon or outright killed. They, too, are forced to find other ways to pay their bills. Alexei drives us out of Wardthorpe and into more familiar territory. The
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