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"Are you afraid of me, Eloise?" Lilith's voice was a silken whisper, her reflection in the moonlit windowpane a study in pale beauty. Her fingers, deft and long, moved through her raven hair, each stroke sending a shiver down Eloise's spine.
Eloise, nestled beneath the crisp linen sheets of the four-poster bed, forced a smile. "No? i am not"
A hint of a smile played on Lilith's lips. "Then why is your heart beating so fast, my love?"
Eloise sat up, her cheeks flushed. "It is not fear, but...nervousness. I have so many questions, and your calmness is maddening"
"Ask away then, my sweet" Lilith said, her eyes sparkling with an unnerving intensity.
Eloise's breath hitched. "Can you...read minds? And do you...kill? And can you not...go into the sun, like the stories say?"
A light chuckle escaped Lilith's lips, but she quickly stifled it. "My dear Eloise, I can only read your mind, but I choose not to. I have never killed a human, and I can go into the sun. I am a half-vampire, not a full one"
"How can you read my mind?" Eloise asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Lilith's gaze softened, "You are my mate, Eloise. I have waited many years for you" she whispered, her eyes holding Eloise captive.
Eloise's breath caught. "How old are you?"
Lilith sighed, her face a mask of boredom. "We both need rest, i'll answer more questions tomorrow"
Eloise, impatient, knew she had to get to the bottom of it all. "I know you do not sleep, so don't act fatigued"
Lilith's gaze held Eloise's, her expression turning serious. "One hundred and seven years old"
A gasp escaped Eloise's lips. "How?"
"My mother was a human, and my father is a vampire"
"Your father?" Eloise's voice was a mere thread.
"Dracula" Lilith replied, her voice low and steady.
"Dracula?" Eloise echoed, her mind reeling."The King of Vampires?"
Lilith cringed at the word, her face scrunching up. "Oh god, please don't start calling me that. I despise it"
"Fine" she ran a hand through her hair, her mind racing with more questions. "How is your father so...bright?" Eloise questioned, perplexed.
"My father tries to fit in, to blend with the humans. He is a clever man" she chuckled, shifting in her spot.
"But why did he threaten to send you away if you didn't marry?" Eloise pressed, confusion swirling in her mind.
Lilith's eyes softened, a flicker of pain crossing her features. "That was a lie, Eloise. A plan he made so that i could leave London without drawing attention, so that i could go back to our kingdom, back home"
Eloise's brow furrowed. "Amelia...Who was Amelia, and why...why can't you get over her?"
Lilith's eyes darkened, her gaze distant. "Perhaps" she whispered, her voice laced with a sorrow that pierced Eloise's heart, "Perhaps we can discuss that tomorrow"
A surge of anger, laced with jealousy, flared within Eloise. "Go away, i wish to be alone"
Lilith's face contorted with hurt, her eyes wide and desperate. "Eloise..."
But Eloise's words had been spoken. Lilith, defeated, turned and walked into a shadowy corner of the room, disappearing into the darkness.
