Page 41 of After Darkness Falls

"It should be," Natalie grumbled. "But no. The order is too old to not have a few sexist attributes. But the head of the entire order is a woman, so there's that."

From the corner of her eye, Chloe saw Jack stiffen.

"Really?" Gwen said, eyes wide. "I mean, witch covens are often matriarchal, because women tend to have stronger magic, but I definitely didn't expect that from huntsmen."

"Throughout our history, we've had three hundred and seventy-four high guard—as we call them. Three hundred and seventy were men. The four exceptions are the most badass human women this world has known. And one of them is his mother." Tris pointed to Jack, who remained entirely stoic and silent.

Ah. There was a story there.

Deciding she'd exceeded her daily quota of nosiness, Chloe stuffed a bite of lasagna in her mouth and chewed slowly to stop herself from asking him an intrusive question.

Gwen didn't.

"How does your ego deal with having a mother like that?"

Jack's glaring game was almost as strong as Levi's. "Just fine, thank you."

Tris snorted. "By ‘fine,’ he means he lives in another continent so he doesn't have to report to her directly."

Jack chucked his knife right at her. She caught it effortlessly and threw it back before returning to sipping her tea. The entire exchange lasted under a minute.

"Do you guys often throw sharp things at each other?" Chloe asked.

If so, perhaps they shouldn't make a habit of eating with them.

"Just those two. It's fine, they're cousins."

Apparently being related gave them leave to attempt murdering each other without cause. Good to know.

"Don't sweat it, Cheetah. Even if Jack shot wrong, Tris will always catch her knife and never miss a shot. She's a fledgling."

Chloe lifted a brow. She'd heard that word three times, the first two to describe her.

"A born vampire?" she asked, remembering Gwen's explanation.

Tris beamed. "My dad's from one of the founding seven, so he can, you know, have kids. My parents aren't putting any pressure on me to turn. I figured I'd wait until I look old enough to have beer in any country before freezing my face."

Fascinated, Chloe asked, "Can I bore you with a thousand questions?"

The girl shrugged. "Shoot."

Holy shit, where did she start? "Do you drink blood?"

Tris shook her head after a moment of hesitation. "Well, I don't need to—yet. But over the last few years, I've definitely preferred my steak blue. And tartare islife. Dad says if I get to a point where blood smells like candy, I need to turn. Or go insane, one of the two."

Holy shit. Could she write a book about this?

"That's pretty awesome, in a rather gruesome way. So, are you different from us in any other way?"

Tris tilted her head, giving the question a moment of thought. "I don't know. People are very different from one individual to the next. I'm faster than most people, but Jack beats me. Some fledglings have magic, or an affinity with animals, or even the ability to charm people, like actual vampires. My thing is weapons."

Her grin had a slightly alarming edge.

"What weapon?" Gwen asked.

Chloe wasn't surprised when Jack replied, "Every weapon. She grabs it, she knows how to use it. It's incredibly frustrating."

"You love me, really."

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