Page 27 of Queen of Darkness
Drakul nodded slowly. “You and Alaine. More friends. You smell, Alaine.”
He could smell Aaron on me. Which apparently meant we were more than friends.
“He claim you,” Drakul said. “Yes?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Hewantsto. But not yet.”
Drakul was silent. I waited for him to say more, but he was doing the same to me. Given that he had centuries to practice being silent, I didn’t challenge him on it.
“How do you know Alaine?” I asked, speaking slowly as I started walking again. Drakul wasn’t going to kill me, so I might as well explore the castle while I waited for Fred to return. It was likely to be some hours, if not longer. For all I knew, Aaron could be long gone from Seguin by now.
“Alaine. Here.” Drakul waved his arms wide, encompassing the castle around us.
“Yes, I know he was once here,” I said. “Fred told me about that.”
Drakul shook his head stiffly, white hair getting all tangled. “That Alainereturn. Alaine here.Before.”
I frowned at him. “He was here before that? Is that what you mean?”
Drakul stared at me, considering my words, then slowly nodded.
“Was this where Aaron was born?” I asked, pointing down at the castle floor. “Alaine. Born. Here?”
Drakul nodded. “Born. Die. Born. Here.”
Born-die-born? What does that mean? How are you born a second–
“This is where he was made into a vampire? Where he was turned?”
Drakul nodded slowly.
“Were you here for that?” I asked.
The count shook his head. “Before.”
It happened before Drakul came around. Yet Drakul knows of it. He knew Aaron better than I did.
Which wasn’t hard. It seemedeveryoneknew Aaron better than I did. Whether as Aaron, Alaine, the Prince of Darkness. Everyone seemed to know his history except for me.
“For someone who wants to claim me, he certainly isn’t doing a great job of letting me get to know him first,” I said, not expecting any sort of response. “How did he even get the title Prince of Darkness? Why does he call himself Aaron now and not Alaine? I don’t get it. Stupid secrets!”
My frustration echoed off the walls. Maybe if I knew more about him, I could understand why he was so reluctant to go after Elenia. I’d learned more about him from the severely broken English of the Count than I had spending time with Aaron himself.
“Shame.”
I looked up. “What?”
Drakul made a face. “Shame.”
“Shame,” I repeated to myself. “What about shame? Are you talking about Alaine or me?”
“Shame. Alaine,” Drakul grunted.
I ground my teeth together, wishing I could understand the ancient vampire better. Every other immortal creature seemed to speak multiple tongues with ease–it probably helped pass the time—so why couldn’t he? It was arrogant of me to expect him to be fluent, of course.
“Why would Alaine feel shame?” I asked Drakul.
Drakul turned abruptly, heading down a side passage without warning. I hesitated. Was I supposed to follow him? Or was he done talking to me? This had to be the most contact he’d had with someone in a long time.
