Page 7 of The Prince of Power

“Yes,” I say. “Send for him.”

Asher leaps up and opens the heavy metal door. He issues a command to the man waiting outside. Minutes later, Rhett walks into the room, his expression tight.

Fuck, he’s a weak link. He’s a social climber, but he has too much of a conscience to be of any real use. I wish I hadn’t selected him freshman year, but he’d reminded me of Ben.

I always liked Ben. What happened to him was…unfortunate.

Rhett sits down in front of me.

“I have a job for you,” I say.

He frowns. “What is it?”

“I need you to bring a few girls to the festival on Saturday. As many as you can.”

He leans back in his seat. “Why?”

“Your job isn’t to ask questions. It’s to comply.”

Anxiety flashes in his eyes. So many of these hopefuls are drawn in by the glamor and the girls. But when they get even a hint of what this life really entails, they cower, because they’re weak. Thousands of years ago, people like Rhett relied on men like me to keep them fed and sheltered.

“They need to be virgins,” I say.

The shock that overcomes his face would make me laugh if I didn’t think that would be unwise. It’s always better with the fearful ones to stay blank-faced.

“That’s…” He scratches his chin. “That’s kind of weird.”

I tilt my head. “Weird?” The word is short, clipped, but it has the impact I intend.

His eyes widen. “Sorry. I’m just… This is all still kind of new to me.”

“I’ve told you before that Thornecroft is ancient. Our rituals are…odd by modern standards, but that’s none of your concern.”

His gaze drops from mine. “No. I’m sorry.”

“Do you know any virgins?”

That fear again, but this time, he quickly schools it away.

He’s hiding something, and I know exactly what it is.

“I mean… That’s hard to know. Am I supposed to ask them?

I lean forward. “What about your friend? The one you’ve talked about. Anna, I think her name is.”

Rhett’s eyes fill with horror. Her name is Ava. If he wanted to protect her, he shouldn’t have talked about her so much back when he rushed Thornecroft. Hell, he even mentioned that she’s a church girl, which means she’s likely chaste. A total fucking bore, but perfect for our purposes.

“Ava,” he whispers.

“She’s a virgin, right?” I lean back into my chair. “Because of her…religion.”

He shrugs, but the movement is jerky. “I mean…she was. Who knows how much she’s changed over the last year since she’s been at college. She and I aren’t as close as we used to be.”

I let my smile spread slowly over my face. “You saw her just this week.”

His eyes fill with horror. “How do you know that?”

I don’t. But my God, he’s easy to manipulate.

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