Page 38 of Kingdom of Chaos
The corner of Talon’s mouth quirks. “Depends on what you consider a fun time,” he says.
The spark in his eye can’t hide that there’s a part of him looking forward to this. My first instinct is to think he’s crazy, but if I’m honest with myself, there’s a restless charge building in my chest and I can’t tell if it’s anxiety or excitement.
Shoot. Maybe I’m as messed up as Talon.
“Let’s get out of here,” Talon says as he slides out of the booth.
I nod and push to my feet. Titus and Ensley slide out of the booth after me and we all leave the diner and head back toward the Valkyrie. When we get there, Imogen is leaning against the side. There’s a rosy hue to her cheeks that wasn’t there earlier, and she has the self-satisfied look of the cat that just ate the canary.
“You seem chipper,” I say as I yank open the front passenger’s door. I’m the only one who hasn’t had a chance in the front seat. I don’t care that after Imogen, I’m the smallest. I want the opportunity to ride shotgun too.
“A good meal will do you wonders,” she says. “Pro tip: always make sure I’m fed. I’m not pleasant when I’m hangry.”
My eyebrows pinch in confusion. “But you left the diner before?—”
Oh.
She doesn’t meanfood. At least, not in the sense I do.
I know drinking blood is a natural thing for vampires. They don’t usually flaunt it, and in modern times there are plenty of ways to pick up a pint or two without having to tap a vein, but the satisfied look on Imogen’s face makes me think she didn’t go with the traditional method of buying a blood bag at a pop-up stand.
Seeing my face, she laughs. “Relax. There was a blood stand on the other side of the diner.” She rolls her eyes and climbs into the SUV.
I climb into the seat just as Talon slides behind the wheel. He pulls onto the road with smooth precision, merging onto the highway without a word. No one says much. Everyone’s wrapped in their own thoughts.
I sneak a glance at Talon. His profile is sharp in the early light, his naturally darker skin tone is unusually pale. Imogen’s fresh, glowing face from earlier flashes through my mind. The contrast nags at me.
Is he like her? Does he need blood too?
“What?” Talon says without taking his eyes off the road.
“Huh?”
His gaze shifts to me and he arches an eyebrow before looking forward again.
Busted.
“You’re a vampire, right?” I blurt out.
Imogen cackles in the seat behind me. “He wishes.”
My jaw drops. “You aren’t?”
The hint of a smile curves the corners of Talon’s mouth, but besides that, he doesn’t respond.
Ensley leans forward from the middle seat, popping her head into the space between Talon and me. “Snake shifter, right? I mean, at first I thought vampire too. But I’ve come around to Locklyn’s train of thought. Definitely snake shifter.”
Talon’s lips press into a hard line and he shoots Ensley a side-eye, but he still doesn’t engage.
“I don’t know. I think he might have some fae in him,” Titus speaks up from the back seat. I glance back at him and he has a look of mischief in his eyes.
“Fae, no way,” Ensley says, wrinkling her nose like the idea that Talon is a fae as well disgusts her.
“You’ll never guess. And even if you do, he’ll never say,” Imogen says in a singsong voice.
“Is that true?” I ask Talon.
“I was taught that revealing your creature was to make yourself vulnerable.”
