"I see you're well informed on the matter," Silas turned towards the shelves to their side and walked along their line.
Arabella cleared her throat once more, "The Lady hasn't exactly been subtle when asking and Edgar explained…," the words died in her throat the moment his glare snapped onto her.
Perhaps it was unwise of her to bring Edgar's name up in the conversation considering his latest reaction.
Though luckily, his expression softened, "What did Edgar explain?" he asked, his voice not as cold as Arabella thought it'd be.
"Well, he told me about the ability that vampires have," her eyes followed his figure, as his fingers faintly brushed over the spines of books he ambled by, "The one to put their prey… Blood provider!" she immediately corrected herself, "Under a certain sort of illusion to prevent them from feeling any physical pain,"
Arabella had stopped talking, but it seemed to Silas she had much more to say thus when her voice took too long to rise, he coaxed her, "And?"
"I was also informed that it wasn't without any consequences," she looked down at her hands.
"Those who'd had the misfortune of experiencing a vampire's bite without being subjected to the Mirari and survived to tell the tale, have all supported the claim that it was pure, unbridled agony,"
His words sent a chill down her spine, but as more questions bubbled to the surface, the feeling quickly subsided, "The Mirari? Is that what the ability is called?"
"Indeed," Silas forsook the shelves to come stand before Arabella again, staring into her eyes as though the action would bring about change into the world, "I am sure, you already know what the side effects of it are,"
She nodded, her eyes drifting away, "I do know about the infatuation that may result from it as I am also aware that its symptoms manifest through the eyes of the… Blood provider, though I am not sure what to look for exactly. I haven't noticed any changes in my own," she slowly shook her head.
Silas pulled one of the heavy chairs near him with great ease, gestured at Arabella to sit, which she did, before towing another for himself, "A thin veil claims your eyes, settles on them like a coat and dims their color. Secondly, when in front of the vampire that fed upon you, your pupils would dilate,"
Without thinking, the words tumble out of her mouth, "Do mine?"
In reply, Silas merely shook his head which earned a faint but visible smile out of her. Delighted to learn she showed no symptoms, Arabella's heart simmered a tad, allowing her a breather.
Shutting her eyes and inhaling deeply, the young woman had turned completely clueless to his reaction at that moment. The way his jaw as well as most of his features had stiffened went unnoticed and so were his clenched fists.
Though it appeared Arabella had more questions. Right as her eyes reopened, her mouth did too, "I… Distinctly remember you asking to see my eyes before you fed upon my blood for the very first time," she paused, her smile no longer apparent, "I do wonder what the reason for that was," she half asked in a sheepish manner.
"I needed to know whether you were untouched before me,"
Arabella's eyes traveled down to her lap as she nodded, "I understand now. Thank you for answering my questions,"
She twiddled her fingers, thanking her lucky star for throwing the question about the Mirari in her way. The conversation had two merits overall; mainly that of distracting her mind from her true concerns, but also that of bridging the immense gap between herself and Silas a little. As miniscule of a progress as it was, Arabella's body no longer trembled in his proximity.
"You haven't been to the map room since I'd summoned you there," he stated as a matter of factly.
Her eyes snapped onto his, wide as saucers and lips apart as her tongue fumbled for a proper response, in vain. It was as though his words had completely sucked the air out of her lungs. Arabella stared blankly at him; puzzlement written all over her face.
"You live in Umbraria now," he started, "The rules you've lived by your entire life up until now in Lustris are no longer applicable," Silas granted her a moment, but her furrowed eyebrows lead him to continue, "Here, women or more correctly females of various species are not limited to a preapproved and restricted number of roles," he stood off his chair, "If you so desire to study history, there shall be no one to stand in your way,"
That was quite enough for the young woman's heart to flutter and for her eyes to light up. Nevertheless, she kept her composure and although still seated, offered him a slight bow as he drew further away from her.
When he reached the end of the table, Silas stopped in his tracks and looked back at her, "Have you learned any new poems?" he asked.
"Yes, I have. Quite a few," she nodded enthusiastically.
The vampire took a moment, seeming pensive before speaking again, "Come by my chambers at nightfall, after dinner,"
Her seat grew instantly colder beneath her, "But I…," she trailed off, at a complete loss of words as the colors continued to drain from her face.
"What is it?" he raised an eyebrow, his traits quite firm.
"It's just that, it hasn't been two weeks since the last feeding yet," she blinked a number of times more than usual, her voice going quiet towards the end of her sentence.
"I know,"
Silas spared neither word nor glance her way after that, and simply turned to leave.