Vail just lifted his good shoulder in a shrug when Victoria thanked him for walking with her. The Crest manor wasn’t terribly far from the Hygraces, so he didn’t feel like he was going [i]that[/i] far out of his way to help her. Though he would have liked to go straight home after feeding, it didn’t seem to be particularly risky for him to accompany her either. No member of the Order would believe a vampire would walk his victim back to her front door. The idea of it was practically laughable. If anyone saw them together, they would probably assume the two were just getting to know each other or were perhaps even betrothed. The only thing that might give him away were the fresh punctures in her neck, although someone would have to get quite close to them to notice that.

He glanced down a nearby alleyway, keeping a halfhearted watch as they headed through the city. Given that Victoria’s blood had such a powerful scent to it, it was likely that there was at least one other vampire in the area, stalking her in the hopes that she would find herself alone before she reached safety. He wasn’t worried about running into any of them though. Every clan in London knew the Hygrace name. A rival of his kind would have to be quite bold to try and fight him over the Lady, especially after he’d fed on her just minutes before. His strength was at its peak now, and he could no longer feel the ache of his still-healing wounds.

Absently, Vail rolled his shoulders. It actually impressed him that he was feeling so good after drinking such a small amount of Victoria’s blood. Even when he had drained some of his past victims close to death, he hadn’t experienced a vitality like this. He wondered if it would speed up his recovery too. Though he didn’t plan to leave the Hygrace manor again for a while, it would be nice to wake up tomorrow without being in pain. Nursing wounds was a nuisance he preferred to avoid when possible.

Vail had gotten so used to the comfortable silence as they walked that the suddenness of Victoria’s voice was jarring to him. He turned to her, mildly surprised that she would be interested in striking up a conversation with the [i]demon[/i] who had just used her for a meal. Then again, she had also been compliant when he’d subdued her and was now ambling down the street with her assailant by her side. He studied her curiously. The more he thought about it, there was hardly anything conventional about this Lady at all.

At her comment about “talkative vampires,” he nearly snorted. That was the last description he would have chosen for himself. While he had an active mind, he preferred to process everything internally, only speaking when he believed he had something necessary to communicate. It was a habit he had developed throughout the course of his life, since he had learned that men who carelessly ran their mouths often came across as fools. Though he would never call himself a skilled conversationalist—he spent far too much time away from company to practice that ability—he liked to think he was straightforward, at the very least.

Her question was an amusing one too. It was quite presuming of her to ask him his age. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been quizzed about that, since he rarely found himself chatting with humans, and it wasn’t a common subject for his kind to discuss. To the immortal, age was a rather unnecessary number to keep track of. Unless one had lived across the span of a millennia—and he doubted there were any millennial vampires left after the Order had begun hunting them down—there was no reason to be mindful of one’s exact age.

Despite this, he saw no reason to avoid sating her curiosity. It was an innocent enough question, and it [i]had[/i] been quite a while since he’d last done the math. “It’s 1878, right?” he mused, letting his eyes wander up to the night sky as he mulled it over. “I believe that puts me at about two hundred and eleven this year.”

Though he knew he was quite a bit older than any living human, it wasn’t a very outstanding number in his opinion. The generation before his had been born in the middle ages and had seen twice as much of life as he had. The vast spans of their lives did cause for some interesting dynamics in their families though. Though his parents were twice as old as he was, they had all been around long enough to have gained invaluable experience and were all capable of taking care of themselves. The same went for every other vampire family he had met. Because of this, there was a sense of equality between the older and younger generations, and the former didn’t feel compelled to act as an authority over the latter. The only reason his own father was so involved in his life was because he was the leader of the entire Hygrace clan. His position was what gave him power, not his age.

At Victoria’s following question, Vail casted her a sidelong glance. [i]That[/i] was something he’d been asked about even less than his age, and he found it brazen that she would be so willing to inquire about such a personal aspect of his life when they had only met three days prior. However, she clearly recognized her mistake, even going so far as to apologize for bringing it up. Her sudden bashfulness brought a hint of a smile to his lip. Knowing she meant no harm, he really didn’t mind her inquisitiveness. Besides, he hadn’t spoken about himself to anyone in decades. Although he had no intention of telling her everything, he could stand to give up some privacy. He supposed he owed her that much after she’d let him taste her sweet blood.

“I hunt alone,” he said simply, ignoring her apology as he let his gaze wander to another nearby alley. “Some prefer to travel in groups for safety, but I find it easier to be by myself.” Deciding the alley was clear, he turned back to the Lady with an amused expression. “Though… no… I’m unattached.”

As she gave him permission to ask her whatever he wanted, Vail took a moment to think. Overall, there wasn’t much he wanted to know about a member of the Crest family. He preferred to keep his nose out of human affairs as much as possible. However… there were [i]some[/i] things about Victoria that piqued his curiosity. He snuck another glance at her. The way she spoke about her father, he got the impression that she had never been involved with the Order, yet she had quite the obsession with learning more about his kind. He couldn’t help but wonder why she was so intent on getting involved with the apex predators of London.

Unfortunately, he saw no good way to bring up the subject without pouring salt in the wound of Lord Alexander’s recent demise, so he elected to address a different query on his mind.

“Your… betrothed,” Vail started slowly, unable to prevent the hint of disgust that slipped into his voice at the mention of a Wynter. “What are your thoughts about him?” He had been curious since the Lady’s party just how much she knew about the man she was to marry. It seemed likely that she had no idea Lord Spencer wasn’t human, let alone that he was part of the most dangerous vampire clan in the city. Though he didn’t want to get involved in their relationship, he felt some pity for her dismal fate. He met her gaze quietly as he waited to hear her response.