Page 36 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)

Violette's curiosity was beyond worrying very often, it was the thing she was very scared about, but she couldn't fight it.

Dante's forehead wrinkled. “Never tried to fill my head with such information. But I think he is as old as the ancient forgotten stories.”

Violette tried to imagine Caidas and her mind came off with an image of an old wrinkled bony man that looked more like something scary and totally unhuman than the beautiful vampire Dante was. Something she'd better never meet in her life.

She reflected about it, voicing, “It is hard to believe a vampire thinks about humans' well-being. What is his interest in it?”

“He believes everything has to have a balance,” Dante said. “He knows about humans and immortal life like no one else. And thinks the best way to survive is to be in harmony with mortals. He came up with rules for vampires to follow and they honor them like laws.”

“If there are laws, do they have punishments for not following them?” A stupid question to ask, she realized only after voicing it.

“Yes, that's why vampires are not in a hurry to break them.” He shrugged and with such conversation Violette noticed how Dante's features softened and he no longer looked irritated.

She fixed her gaze on his face, on the covered part of it.

“Did you break the rules?” It wasn't really careful of her but this question bothered her mind for a long time.

Dante raised his eyes to her with a slightly arched brow.

“I mean…” She tentatively circled her finger around her jaw, hinting about his mask.

“I've never been part of his squad to break the rules to begin with,” he said and then stood up. “Come,” he called and started to make his way back into the forest .

Violette blinked, pondering what he meant, her gaze shifted back to the crypt towering over the snowy ground. The symbol on the roof kept her interest until she heard his voice again.

Taking a last glimpse of the tracery on the stone, she rushed to catch up with Dante as he had already started to disappear between the trees.

“What happens with vampires who break the rules?” She puffed, moving away a branch in her path and ducking down, whereas Dante was ambling unbothered by anything in his way.

“Nobody knows exactly. But I am a great example of what happens with vampires who don't listen to Caidas. So they won't dare to disobey the laws if they want to stay the way they are, saving all their privileges.”

“The privileges?” Violette dodged another spruce branch.

“Vampires can't be a part of the human world, they don't belong there. Most of them don't respect or perceive people like something important or clever. Caidas gives them an opportunity to have a home, living among the same as them. Nobody wants to be exiled and live their life far beyond.”

“And yet, you do,” she pointed out.

A little smug smile touched his face as he looked at her, just as he always did when she tried to analyze him, as if her attempts were too pathetic and pointless.

“I still don't know what exactly you did,” she noted, side-eyeing the black mask covering his mouth, her gaze lingering on its sharp, threatening edges. “Maybe you are not a part of his court, but you definitely did something to deserve it.”

She didn't know but she could guess, however she wanted to hear it directly from him. Perhaps there was something she didn't know. Her little puzzle could never be solved as she still didn't have a lot of important pieces, without which she couldn't see the true image.

"Want to guess?” he aired, not looking at her.

Violette lowered her gaze to the ground, too timid to look at him or pretend it's something regular to ask.

“Did you kill many people?” she asked cautiously and then shot a glance at him.

A cold answer followed her question, “I did.”

He didn't turn his sight at her, walking with his head straight.

An unreadable expression took place on his face, not a muscle moved, Violette believed he wasn't even blinking.

It wasn't even coldness or thoughtfulness, he didn't look like he tried to distance himself from her, rather he just locked up his emotions or…

could it be, he didn't feel them at all?

Either way, Violette kept staring at him.

She studied his face in the light of the antique street lanterns, not as much trying to figure out what he was feeling but amazed by his declaration.

And to her own surprise she wasn't much horrified by his words as dazed that he didn't try to play his way out of this conversation.

Mixed feelings veiled her heart: an angst and turmoil and yet, Dante looked even more in scrutable and dark in this light. Her lips slightly parted.

Whatever expression she had, Dante probably took it as fright and finally turned his gaze to her. The shadow of his tall figure fell onto her face.

“Are you scared?” A ghost of a smile appeared on his face but his voice still sounded serious.

“No. Not actually,” she confessed.

And to her own surprise it was true. She said it so easily, without a second thought.

She wasn't scared, at least, not like she thought she'd be.

Maybe she was just prepared for an answer like this – she couldn't find another explanation.

She knew he killed the servant in the past, he was imprisoned in the mask covering his face, of course, she was ready to hear he did something horrible.

That made sense, however, somehow she didn't know how to react to this.

She knew she was speaking with a dangerous vampire and still didn't feel like he was dangerous to her, and not because he couldn't bite her but she just couldn't imagine him hurting her, even if it was a naive thing to think.

“That woman,” she kept getting bolder, “seemed to be happy to disappoint you. It didn't seem like she liked you at all.”

“Vampires don't like anyone. Especially other vampires.” His shoulders loosened.

“Then why do they live together? ”

“Because they don't like people even more.”

Violette tried to evaluate his words and then said, “I don't quite believe you.”

“Little Witch, I am a vampire who was punished with a mask and who doesn't live with other vampires. Who would want to hang out with me? Of course, except you. You rather enjoy my company,” he taunted, the corners of his eyes twitched upwards.

“Hooey!” she spat out.

He bolted her a satisfying smirk as if it was something rather funny how she'd tried to deny the simple fact to him.

“They might not like you because of your self-centeredness,” she calmly stated.

“All vampires are slightly selfish,” Dante said earnestly.

“And you outdo all of them, right?”

He chuckled under his breath, bowing his head to the ground.

“Look, I'm not bothered if some vampires don't like me. I actually don't care about them and would like not to meet any of them ever again. I'd gladly refuse this sweet little invitation of Caidas and forget all about it. Believe me, I don't want to go there any less than you or any human.”

“I presume, you're trying to say that we should accept his invitation?”

“If we won't come – he'll come for us. It's better to say a few greetings to him first. ”

“And where are we going?” she finished abruptly as her cloak got caught by a tree branch and she stopped to release it from the annoying stick.

“To the Vampire Kingdom.”

The fabric of the cloak slipped through her fingers, leaving Violette flabbergasted. The pinch between her brows became clearer.

“I hope I misheard you. Don't want to sound rude but are you out of your mind?”

He looked over his shoulder, not showing any concern, well, like almost all the time.

“I will remind you because maybe you forgot but I am a human. You know. The mortal,” she pressed.

“You have nothing to worry about.” Then he added after a little pause, “Pretty much.”

It didn't sound relieving or earnest, not for her, not for any human who was about to go into the heart of a vampire lair. And he surely understood it by her worrying expression.

“As I said, we have rules over there. Vampires indeed do not respect people but they respect the laws and other vampires, even if they don't really like them.

If a human was claimed by one vampire the other can't do anything about it.

It's become forbidden,” he tried to explain.

“A claimed person belongs only to the one and others can't encroach on them.”

Violette didn't like how it sounded.

“You are talking about people like they are property,” disgust surged in her voice, her nose bridge creasing.

“Welcome to the vampire world.” He threw his head back and continued the walk. “A human's voice means nothing there, they're just toys in their bloody hands,” he said with an impassible tone.

Violette grimaced.

“You broke the rules and don't live with them, where's a guarantee they will respect you? Respect me?”

“It's not about respect. At least not to me. But they won't go against these rules. It's too risky. As I said, nobody wants to be an outlaw.”

Violette's face turned bleak. She lowered her eyes to the snowy ground thinking about everything Dante said. She knew vampires were no good but she couldn't believe they could be so arrogant to claim people as if they’re something that can belong to someone. It can't be true.

“They were humans once…” she said with disbelief, bitterness filled her voice.

“They don't remember how it is to be a human.”