Dex cursed the lightheadedness that had sent him reeling when he jumped up and tried to follow Elle. Everything had gone white and then dark. By the time he regained consciousness and found himself staring at the ceiling, he had no idea how many minutes has passed. He should have remembered it always took him a bit of time to recover from an episode.

He rushed through the back rooms of Apollo’s Apothecary. The door Elle must have left through was still open. He ran outside, looked both ways, then chose left. But when he reached an intersection, he saw no sign of her in any direction. He ran back, past the open door, and stopped at the intersection on the other side of Apollo’s. But again, there was no indication of which way Elle had gone.

“Dammit.” Dex patted his pockets for his phone, but found nothing. His thoughts tumbled over one another as he ran back inside Apollo’s. How could Elle be a slave, and yet she roamed the city freely whenever she wanted? And yet … that wasn’t exactly true, he reminded himself. She was always checking the time, and he’d never seen her stay out beyond midnight. And she hadn’t wanted him coming to her home to pick her up. In fact, that spot he’d once dropped her off at probably wasn’t even her home. He hadn’t actually seen her go inside, had he?

Back inside the colorful lounge, he found his phone on the table beside the glass of water. He picked it up and immediately saw several missed calls from Xander. He clenched his hand around the device. Phone Elle, or phone Xander? Which was more important right now?

Leave me alone. That was the last thing Elle said to him. And Xander and Olly had repeatedly told him not to get too close to her. They would be even more insistent if they knew about her slave status. Then Dex’s eyes landed on something on the floor that answered his question for him: Elle’s phone, with a single crack running from top to bottom.

A light inside him went out as he realized he would never find her, and that that was the way it was always going to end. He’d known he shouldn’t feel anything for her. He’d known he shouldn’t kiss her. But he was stupid and reckless, and fate had been forced to step in and remind him of his place in the world—and hers, it would seem.

He swallowed, turned back to his own phone, and tapped the screen to call Xander. Time to move on, he told himself as the dial tone sounded in his ear. Less than a full ring later, Xander answered. “Hey, where are you? I’ve been trying to—”

“I know, I saw. Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I’m … fine.” He didn’t need to go into detail right now about passing out because of the Darkness. He would only end up with an earful from Xander about how irresponsible he was to have let that happen. “What happened to you two?” he asked.

“Just so happens,” Xander said, “that we found someone useful lurking near the bridge.”

Dex’s heart rate quickened. “Who?”

“The vamp who first abducted Elle.”

“And you caught him?”

“We did.”

Dex’s lips pulled into a grin. “Well done. Were there others around?”

“Yeah. Cops caught a bunch. We got this one. But the magic vamp got away.” He cursed beneath his breath. “I can’t believe I just used the words ‘magic vamp.’”

“I know. We have to figure out what’s going on here. Where’d you take the vamp?”

“My place.”

“Good. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”