Page 123 of Vampire so Virtuous

“Yes.”

“No,ma chérie.It only helps your healing.”

She frowned against his shoulder. That didn’t seem to track—not with her training with Joon (when she wasn’t hiding because of the marks Antoine had left), nor with the way she had dispatched Minh’s thralls with only a hit or two.

Maybe there was an easy answer on that last point. “Would you expect me to be able to take down a thrall like I did tonight?”

“In truth, I would not. You are more a warrior than I had thought, and it was enjoyable to watch.”

That wasn’t what she’d meant. She tried again. “How strong are thralls?”

“About twice as strong as a normal human.”

He leaped again, and she hardly noticed the abrupt surge. “Strong enough to withstand several blows? From a normal human?”

“Yes, easily.”

“So am I stronger than a normal human?”

He hesitated. “That is an interesting question. I would have to say, based on what I have seen tonight, that you are.”

“But not from your mark?”

Again a hesitation. “I have never heard of such a thing, but the mark on you is already unusual. I suppose we must consider the possibility.”

So that was the answer. She would have to be even more careful when she sparred with Joon. Or maybe not spar with him at all.

“What did you think of Minh’s club?”

“Aside from the horrendous choice of music and the horrible décor?”

She smiled. “Yes, aside from that.”

“There is indeed a sense of evil from the floors beneath. Your vision was accurate, it seems.”

“Oh.” The word came out quieter than she’d expected. It came as no surprise, but it meant Eve had been correct all along—somewhere there was magic in her ancestry. She hadn’t just seen the club, the presence she felt was real too.

“And he has a lot of thralls,” Antoine added in a thoughtful tone.

“Oh? How many?”

“It’s not so easy to be accurate. Thirty, perhaps, within that one floor of the club. There would be no reason for him to have all of them there.” He sounded like he was reasoning out loud. “No, it makes more sense that he has even more than that. Which is many indeed for a vampire of his age.”

“How many do you have?”

“Twenty-three.”

Twenty-three people enslaved.“That sounds… a lot.”And Minh’s enslaved even more.

His body stiffened, catching the judgment in her tone. “I do not like to make thralls. I have done without for decades. The reason I have them now is to defend against Minh, and in light of the Curia’s presence, it seemed wise. Also, I wished to keep you safe.”

She shook her head against him. “Don’t put your thralls on me.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said.“Your safety is a bonus, not a reason. In truth, Marcel’s safety was the driving factor. Did you hear Minh threaten him, that night in the parking lot?”

“No, I missed that.”I had a lot on my mind that night.“Would he really go after Marcel? That’s needlessly cruel.”

“So is Minh. He would do it to strike at me.”