I scrub a hand over my face.
“Okay, let me try to explain. The Shadow Realm—which is the name for this whole world—is divided into different territories and each one is ruled by a Don. There’s a Vampire Don—that’s Lucian. A Demon Don—I met him yesterday.” I shiver, remembering Kael. “There’s also a Dragon Don, a Shifter Don, a Fae Don… oh, and a Necromancer Don, who you already met,” I continue.
This time it’s Hanna’s turn to shiver.
“So…they each run a territory down here?” she asks.
I nod.
“Yeah—they seem to run things like crime families—there’s all kinds of alliances, rivalries, and power plays. You think of a plot point from a Mafia romance and they’ve got it.”
Her mouth opens…closes…and opens again.
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
“I wish.” I sigh. “But you haven’t even heard the weirdest part yet.”
“What…weirder than being abducted into a Mafia Vampire romance?” she demands.
“Uh-huh.” I nod. “The strangest thing about this place is that women like you and me—curvy girls—are highly prized.”
Hanna frowns.
“Prized how?”
“They call us ‘Curvy Queens,’” I say. “Apparently, having more body—more flesh—means more magic. More power. Or something like that. I had someone tell me why each separate Syndicate would want me—or any curvy girl—but I can’t remember all of it. Only that over here, curvy girls are like trophy wives.”
Hanna stares at me.
“You’re telling me that over here my big hips and wide behind are a hot commodity?”
“Welcome to the Shadow Realm,” I say, shrugging. “But it gets worse—we’re so prized over here that the Magistrate actually outlawed us.”
“They who?” Hanna asks, looking confused.
“He’s this big, scary guy who polices the whole realm,” I explain. “Apparently, there have been wars fought over Curvy Queens in the past. He’s trying to keep the peace by keeping anyone who isn’t a skinny-minny out because otherwise, all the men would fight over us.”
Hanna goes pale.
“Is…is that why that skull-faced guy was so interested in me?”
“Probably.” I nod. “They all want us. I tried to escape and ended up in the Carnal Bazaar with the Demon Don—Kael—yesterday. “He was determined to keep me—Lucian had to pay a price to get me back.”
Her eyes flick to the door. “And Lucian is…?”
“The Vampire Don,” I say. “He’s the ruler here in The Bleeding Court—the Vampire part of the Shadow Realm. Apparently he saw me through some kind of magic mirror and decided I was the one for him. So he sent Whistler in disguise to take some of my blood?—”
“Wait—so he’s the one who had you drug tested?” Hanna interrupts. I had been bitching about the “drug test” to everyone at Book Club, so of course she knew.
“Uh-huh.” I nod. “Apparently because I’m a certain kind of ‘Curvy Queen’ my blood has this special ingredient. Sanguis Vita or something like that. Lucian wants it to help cure some kind of family curse, but he also really loves my curves. Like really loves them,” I confide in her, feeling my cheeks get hot as I remember how his big hands roved over my body last night, making me come again and again.
“That’s just…all of this is so crazy,” Hanna bursts out.
“Tell me about it,” I say. “It’s bizarre, but I’m trapped here. I feel like I fell into the pages of the book I was reading and got stuck.”
She exhales shakily.
“I always thought Book Club might get wild,” she murmurs. “But this feels like a lot.”
