Page 77 of Blood Magic

Joe stewed quietly for about two minutes, then, “Actual fucking trolls?”

Bastien laughed. “No, but they prefer that name to tunnel rats.”

“What are they?” I asked, as curious as Joe. There was so much about my city and its inhabitants that I didn’t know. “Not vampires?”

Bastien didn’t answer for a few seconds. “They’re vampires.” He hesitated. “Bad ones.”

“There are good ones?” I curled my lip, still angry.

“I am sorry, Kait,” he murmured.

I caressed my demon blade. If Bastien considered these “trolls” bad news, they were definitely some scary sons of bitches. I was going to get my fill of fighting tonight. I hoped I survived it.

“I need some protein,” I said abruptly, and Joe turned into the first fast-food drive-thru we came to. I leaned toward him to shout into the crackling speaker.

“I’ll take six double cheeseburgers, a large vanilla shake, and three large fries.” I looked at Joe. “What do you want?”

He gaped at me. “Really?”

“Sure,” I replied, not understanding at first that he was simply shocked by the amount of food I’d ordered just for myself. “Food is fuel.”

He shook his head and then added another double and a large fry to the order. “How does all that even fit into your stomach?” he muttered.

From the back seat, Bastien snickered.

I put my nose into the air and ignored them both. Joe ate as he drove, and I finished every one of my burgers—though I took the bun off the last two and only ate the meat—and slurped down my milkshake before we reached Scarlett’s ten minutes later. I did have some fries left, which Joe confiscated.

I felt immediately more energized and less morose, my emotions all gathering into one big ball of eagerness to fight. My wolf slavered and paced, and I was pretty sure I’d have to shift before the night was done.

So when Bastien and I jogged through the parking lot toward the entrance doors, I gave him a very important job. “When I shift, I’ll need you to grab my stuff.” I patted my demon blade. “Especially this. Even if you can’t get the rest, make sure you get my blade.”

“I will protect it—and you—with my life. And,” he added, “I will try to retrieve your clothing. Running out of the biker club naked would have Joe concerned.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. That was the damn truth. “What about the bikers? What do they think about the tunnel exit inside their club?”

“They’re all nonhumans. They will barely notice you.”

I nodded, then froze when someone familiar stepped out from behind a car and into my path. Remy Simon.

“Hello, Kait. I had a feeling I’d see you tonight.”