"Well, stop asking!" Lestat shouted, knocking a box of old cassette tapes to the floor with a wild sweep of his hand.

He was dangerous in that moment, but more than that, he was wounded. He did not like being caught off-guard. It so rarely happened. He might have torn down the entire building with his bare hands. He might've dropped to his knees and wept.

Instead, he turned, a frown creasing the brow of his otherwise impassive face. "If I wanted you dead, I would've done it myself." He shook his head, and turned to look away in a gesture so human he ought to have been ashamed.

"Snuffed out the only source of companionship I have in this hideous place," he continued, crowding in close once again.