Maya shifted again, clearly not done with the thought, her voice lowering into something more reflective.
"I just… find it attractive," she said, a little more firmly this time. "Even though I've never actually seen it before."
Darcien's gaze sharpened.
She didn't notice. Her eyes had gone distant again, pulled backward by memory.
"Where I'm from," she continued slowly, "there were stories you could watch. Moving pictures. People loved telling stories about things they were afraid of." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Werewolves. Vampires. All of it."
He stared at her now, openly puzzled. Most people crossed themselves at those words. Some fled entire villages over rumors alone.
"You are… fond of them," he said carefully.
"Yeah," she answered easily. "I always was."
That earned her a long, assessing look.
"Most people fear such creatures," he said.
"I know," she replied, shrugging. "But fear isn't the only reaction."
She leaned back in her chair, warming to the topic despite the way he watched her.
"Vampires," she said thoughtfully, "are terrifying when they hunt strangers. Cold. Merciless. That part is scary." She paused, then added, almost casually, "But when it's their mate?" She tilted her head. "It's different. Intimate. Dangerous in a controlled way."
Darcien's expression froze for half a second.
"They're… sexy then," she finished bluntly, completely unaware of how still he'd gone.
Silence pressed into the room.
She went on, oblivious. "And werewolves—everyone focuses on how violent the shift looks. Bones, muscle, all of it breaking and reforming. It looks painful." Her voice softened. "But there's something honest about it. They don't hide what they are. They endure it."
She smiled faintly. "I always thought that part was… nice."
Darcien did not respond immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice was controlled, carefully neutral. "You speak of things most would not dare admire."
Maya glanced at him, finally noticing his expression. "Is that bad?"
"It is… uncommon," he said.
She hummed. "Figures."
He continued to look at her as if trying to understand how a human—untrained, unguarded, openly curious—could speak of the most feared beings in the world with fascination instead of dread.
Maya, meanwhile, frowned slightly as another thought brushed the edge of her mind.
Why does this all feel so familiar…?
The feeling passed as quickly as it came.
She shook her head lightly and smiled at him again. "Anyway. Just stories I liked."
But Darcien didn't answer.
And this time, the silence between them felt heavier than before.