Her brows raised in confusion. “What?”
“Your curiosity awakens and you'll talk me to death.”
You can't kill something that is not alive, she wanted to say but instead let out another question. “Do you blame me for my curiosity?”
“I just don't like it,” he cut off.
“Good for me, you don't have a choice as to how to tolerate it,” she waved away. “It's an important question though. I wonder why you are so sure these witches will want to help us.”
He didn't hesitate with the answer, his voice didn't lose its chill. “Oh, I don't think they'll want to. You see, death is a natural thing, but rising up from the dead is not. They don't like it; they have the mindset that it's not right. So, I won’t exactly be a welcome guest there.”
Despite his words, Violette didn't notice any concern in his behavior, not a crumb, which only aroused her suspicion.
“Not like you're welcome anywhere else, Dante,” she noted.
She could hardly imagine someone would want to invite a vampire over for a cup of tea. If she knew who he was when she saw him for the first time at the shop, she would kick him out in the span of a second, though it certainly wouldn’t help.
“It would be sad if I cared,” he said apathetically.
Violette bristled. “Were you even going to tell me you’re a vampire?”
“Well, I didn’t hide I'm a vampire, I just didn't mention it.” His figure swayed for a second as if it was something rather funny.
“That doesn’t change the fact you kept me nescient. Did you think I will never know?”
“Of course not. I told you, I was simply curious how long it would take you to guess. I actually expected you to do it sooner. Perhaps I overestimated you,” he breathed coldly.
Violette’s face took on a frown.
“It’s not like vampires are a common occurrence.”
“Exactly why I didn’t mention it when we met. How did you imagine that? ‘Hi, I am a vampire and need your help to take off the mask which I was imprisoned in’?” he ridiculed her. “You already hesitated to trust me, I doubt it would make me more reliable in your eyes.”
“What about your mask then? I don’t think I paid much attention to it before you said you’re a vampire.”
“Well, it’s enchanted in a way that people don’t question it much. It helps with unwanted attention.”
“Wait,” Violette blew, remembering their previous encounters. “But I asked you about it, didn’t I?”
“You did but if I didn’t mention it first you wouldn’t. People don't really pay attention to this thing on my mouth, if they do, they quickly forget what was bothering them. But soon as I mention it myself, the charms vanish.”
That makes sense. Before, she couldn’t really see it properly, it’s like something didn’t let her see the hideous bars, and how erratic the mask looked. Its top edges were protruding with spikes, reminiscent of a dragon crest, a detail which was really hard to miss. But before it felt like her eyes were veiled as well as her mind and any curiosity about his appearance.
“So what are we planning to do?” she asked, following him through the thickets of the forest.
The air meanwhile became only colder, bracing her throat.
“You'll speak with them,” he stated. “They are pretty compassionate about others, especially since you're a witch too. You're just a poor girl who became a victim of an evil vampire'splan. Doesn't it sound so dramatic? They will eat this up.”
“Will they not feel you're something…unnatural?” she wondered.
“No, they won't. However, they’re claiming they can communicate with nature, like hearing the wind. I think they're just brainwashed or hopeless dreamers. What freaks,” he grumbled.
“Said the one who literally raised from the dead and now can't step out the room while it's sunny outside,” Violette pointed out.
“Don't tell me you really believe they can speak with the wind.”
“I just cannot exclude it from being possible.”
