"What a pretty way of phrasing it. And what a strange family," he laughed. Pain and pleasure, siblings? Perhaps. Two sides of the same coin? Agony and ecstasy were intertwined. That may well have been true. Lestat could concede that much.

"Is there? I don't know. I learn quite well from kisses; rewards certainly have their place." But pain was a stark and plain teacher too. Lestat was simply a terrible student, as he'd always been. Lessons weren't learned the first time. Not always the second time either.

His gaze roams over Cobweb once more, as if taking him in anew. "You're very engaging. The sun isn't the only shining thing I've found here so far." This world grew more and more exciting, and he'd barely set foot in it.