The Vampire King's Possession
Chapter 446. Gloaming

Chapter 446: 446. Gloaming

Mauve noticed Jael’s frown at the end of the meal and less than a second later, the doors of the dining room were thrown open and Danag walked in.

He rushed to Jael and whispered something into his ear. Jael’s expression didn’t change, instead, he turned to Louis and without saying anything, Louis nodded.

He stood to his feet and touched her shoulders. "Unfortunately, I have to leave now," he said. "Louis will make sure you get to your quarters."

Mauve looked at Jael with a dazed expression. She wanted more explanation but she knew now was not the time to ask so she diligently nodded and watched him leave the hall with Erick and Otis closely behind him.

Mauve could tell it had something to do with Palers. She had been worried for a second. She had thought something had happened to Damon.

"Why do you look relieved? You don’t even know what happened?" Louis interrupted.

Mauve pulled her gaze from the closed door and turned Louis. "I thought something happened to Damon but since it isn’t just Erick going with them I don’t think that’s the case."

She didn’t want to say Otis’ name. Haney was still here and she didn’t want to piss off another vampire.

"How are you so sure?" Louis asked.

"I am not, I am hopeful."

"That’s a good enough response. Are you ready to go now?" He asked.

"I suppose," she said and made to get on her feet but Louis stopped her.

She frowned at him and was about to ask what was wrong only to see him rush to her side.

He held the seat and carefully pulled it backward as she stood you.

She squinted her eyes at him, "You didn’t have to do that."

"But I’m a gentleman."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Whatever."

Mauve made her way to the entrance of the dining room and walked through the open door.

"Where are you headed?" He asked as he walked in step with her.

"I was thinking of going to the library. I might pick up a book there and go to my room."

"You use the library?" Louis sounded shocked.

"You don’t have to sound so surprised."

He chuckled, "I’m not. It was Victoria’s hobby. I don’t think she even read them. She was an avid collector. It didn’t matter what kind of books they were. As long as they were books she wanted to have it."

"Yeah, Jael told me she liked books."

"Like is an understatement. It was pretty much an obsession. Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said as he shook his head.

"You sound like you two were close."

Louis jerked his head to Mauve. He shrugged. "You could say that but I think it’s mostly because I was less stubborn. She couldn’t force Jael to do things he didn’t want to do but I never declined her request which often included being dragged around the castle."

He paused and looked around for a bit and Mauve could see from his expression that he was thinking about an earlier time.

"But enough about sad topics. Is there a particular book you want?" He asked.

"Not really. Oh, that reminds me, could we make a stop in my room first?"

"Of course," Louis said with a questioning gaze. "Whatever you want."

"There is a book I need to return."

The book Jael gave her she had taken it with her and she wanted to return it. She could have finished it before she left for Greenham but she didn’t.

Aside from the fact that the book was exceedingly boring, she had also wanted something for a keepsake. She was glad she didn’t have to rely on the book anymore. She had the real thing.

"What’s the name of the book?" He asked.

Mauve paused at the top of the stairs. "Gloaming," she said.

"What?" Louis asked.

"Yep. Why did you read this book? It sounds boring."

"It is. I thought it was a story but turns out it was someone’s write-up of studying sunsets. It wasn’t too boring as he did mention the troubles he ran into during the process. Overall I do not recommend it."

"You sound disappointed," Louis said walking in front of her.

"I am," she said. "When I asked Jael to pick a book for me to read, I didn’t think his plan was to bore me to death."

"Well, you know you won’t ask him for any book to read ever again."

"I wouldn’t even dream of it. He said he had read it. I expected something completely different but now that I think about it, it’s not too far off."

"Wow sounds like torture," he said, sympathizing with her.

"It was, I don’t like those sorts of books."

"Sounds lazy," he commented.

Mauve glared at him, "Nothing’s wrong with being lazy. What about you? Do you read? You were with..." Mauve paused slightly unsure of how to address Jael’s mother.

If she called him Jael’s mother, she would be excluding Louis. If she said the late queen, it felt a bit rude and if she called her by her name, it felt too informal.

"Victoria," he replied, coming to her rescue. "You can call her by her name. At least in my presence."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep," Louis replied. "To answer your question. I am not an avid reader, I only care about the things I care about and everything else is secondary."

"That doesn’t even answer the question."

"Enough loitering, go and get your book," he said as he pushed open the door.

She glared at him and walked into her bedroom. She heard straight for her dresser, the book should be in one of the drawers.

"Found it," she said and quickly made her way out of the room.

"That was fast," he said as she walked out of the door.

"Yeah, I remembered exactly where I kept it. So it wasn’t so hard to find."

"Shall we then?"