Ariane:
Varek stood from the table, his movement smooth and unhurried. His presence stretched to fill the room with all of its graceful brutality. He watched me for a moment, then gestured toward the arched doors leading outside.
"Come," he said. "Walk with me before bed." I hesitated, my fingers curling against the edge of the table. A walk?
"…Is that a good idea?"
"Why not?" His shrug made him look more boyish and playful than the big, muscular, brutal vampire king the rumors make him out to be.
"What if we see someone?" his eyebrows raised. The wheels were clearly turning in his head, and his expression made no move to hide it.
"Are you ashamed to be seen with me, Ariane?"
"What? NO!" I blurted out, flustered, my face heating up instantly. "Why would— I meant, what if? No! I j
