Page 41 of Blood Magic

“The vampires would not rule the world,” he said. “They would simply die. Though we are hunted and despised by those who know we exist, and though our depth of pain would be unimaginable to a human woman, the status quo is as it should be. This is not the type of change we should champion.”

I nodded. He was right. I just hadn’t expected him to admit it. “You never gave me the phone number I’ll need to call the council.”

We had left the loud club and now walked down a long quiet hallway. At the end were double doors. He pushed them open after pressing his palm to a keypad, then led me down a red-carpeted stairway.

When we reached the next landing, he stopped walking, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his phone. “Your number?” he asked.

I hesitated.

“It would be good if I had a way to contact you should the need arise,” he told me, his voice, as usual, holding no expression.

I gave him my number, but reluctantly, because fuck. I did not want the time to come when I was exchanging texts with a vampire.

“Do not worry,” he told me, smiling a little. “I will not casually text you.” And then he texted me.

I yanked my phone from my pocket and glared at the screen.

Hello.

“Not funny,” I said. But I was surprised. The vampire had a sense of humor. Who would have thought?

Five minutes later we were entering an underground club. This was the real Scarlett’s. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to be here. As a matter of fact, I was sure that I didn’t.

“Why am I here?” I asked.

“Because you are afraid of the unknown. Because I want you to know my world, this world, a little better. Because when you kill Frederick Axton, I will be the one to take over. I will be the county master. And I would like for you to be my human ally.”

Well son of a bitch.