He chuckles, shaking his head. "For the record, I didn't mean night person, as in, simply a night person. I mean the night crowd." He gestures at the people in line. "The party time crowd."
"Party time crowd?" I arch a brow at him, smiling. "You're making my mom's club sound like a place where vampires go to throw their offspring birthday parties."
His lips quirk. "Fine. Keep teasing me. At least I got you to smile." He lifts the rope up to let me through.
"These guys are with me." I gesture at Effie and Anders, who are both giving me goofy grins.
Great, did their blood boost kick in? Because mine still feels dormant.
"What?" I mouth. They both just giggle in response.
I shake my head and turn back toward Hawk just in time to see his gaze jerk upward. I glance down at the ground, wondering what he was looking at, but I can't see anything except pavement.
Hawk clears his throat and motions for us to come through. "Does your mom know you're here?" he asks as I start to step by him.
I stop beside him and shake my head while Effie and Anders bounce past me. "I'll tell her. I need to talk to her, anyway." My gaze strays to the extra bouncers. "So, what's up with all the extra security?"
"Too many rebellions going on these days." He heaves a sigh. "Last week, we had three fights break out within one night. They tore up the club and injured at least ten vampires. Your mom hired extra security, hoping it'll scare all the vampires' fangs back into their mouths. But I don't know … I worry things are only going to get worse until we can find a way to get some more orders and laws in motion." He pauses, considering something with uncertainty. "I heard a rumor that supposedly, maybe, possibly, Fate proclaimed a king the other day."
My jaw nearly smacks the ground. "Seriously?"
He wavers. "Well, that's what I heard. But I heard the story from a friend of a friend who heard it from their friend who wasn't supposed to tell anyone, so I'm not sure how much truth there is to it."
I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Still, it'd be good if it were true, right?"
"I agree. I don't think we've ever needed a king more than we do right now."
As if to prove a point, a fight breaks out across the street. Growls fill the air and blood splatters across the pavement as bites and punches are thrown.
Hawk sighs heavily. "We need a queen, too. Maybe even more so than a king. That's kind of why I'm not sure if the story I heard is accurate. Normally, a queen is chosen first."
"Maybe she's already been chosen. Maybe your friend of a friend of friend or whatever," I say and he smiles, shaking his head, "didn't hear that part of the story."
"Well, that, or the council is keeping it secret." He eyeballs the fight across the street, his fingers drifting toward the gun in his shoulder holster.
The gun doesn't carry normal bullets, but wooden ones sealed with demon venom powerful enough to knock a vampire out for days.
"Why would they keep it a secret?" I inch forward as one of the other bouncers storms by me and strides toward the brawl.
Hawk tenses as the fight moves across the street toward us. "A lot of reasons, but mainly because her powers won't manifest for a couple of weeks after she's been announced queen, which puts her in a vulnerable position to be assassinated. So, to protect her, they might keep it a secret until she gains her powers and can protect herself."
My eyes widen. "Why would anyone want to kill her?"
"Because she has enough power to put a stop to everything-the madness, the chaos, the murders." He gives an insinuating look at the fight going on, which has gained momentum with at least ten people joining in. Blood is beginning to pool the night-kissed streets and the metallic scent strangles the chilly air. "And not everyone wants that to happen."
I watch the fight grow more violent, bones snapping and blood spilling everywhere. The sad part is, at least one of them will probably die. And for what? Because some vampires want to throw their fists around and prove they're tough?
Right as I'm about to turn away, a male vampire amid the fighting mob snaps his head up. He sniffs the air, and then his red eyes lock on me. I've seen him before. It's the emperor who was with Rhyland the day the demon attacked the school. He looks different, though. His red eyes are filled with untamed hunger, as if he hasn't eaten in ages or has drank too much powerful blood and now lives in a blood frenzy all the time.
As he stares at me, unmoving in the mayhem, his lips curl upward, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. I want to look away, but I can't get my gaze to budge, as if my eyes are bound in some magical trance.