Later that night, after Baron Edevan and his wife had gone to bed, Vivienne and Seraphina had other plans.
They weren't going to sit quietly and obey. Not this time. Something was wrong—deeply wrong—and they were determined to find out exactly what had their father so worked up… and why they suddenly had to leave the village.
They had already stolen the keys to the solar—the one place they were strictly forbidden to enter.
Now, in the stillness of the night, they tiptoed across the cold floors and slipped inside.
The room was shadowed, thick with the scent of old books, parchment, and dried ink. A heavy silence clung to the space. Without speaking, the sisters spread out, rummaging through shelves, opening cabinets, flipping through papers and ledgers.
"Ughh, I don't think we'll find anything here, Sera!" Vivienne groaned, her voice low but exasperated.
"Shhh, just keep searching, alright?" Seraphina answered, still scanning a high shelf. "Father keeps records of everything. You know that. If there's a truth, it's in here."
Vivienne huffed and dropped into the large armchair by the desk—until something caught her eye.
Hidden beneath the lip of the desk, almost unnoticeable unless one was seated close, was a narrow drawer, carved into the wood itself. Her eyes widened.
"Sera… look what I found," she whispered.
Seraphina hurried over. "What is it?"
"It's locked." Vivienne tugged at the small drawer, to no use.
Seraphina pulled out the bunch of stolen keys and began trying them one by one.
Click.
The drawer creaked open.
Inside, they found two journals—one old and brittle with age, the other newer, its pages still firm.
The girls looked at each other, heartbeats rising.
———
In a steaming chamber of the castle, the three brothers lounged in their marble bath.
Maids moved quietly through the scented mist, massaging their shoulders, rubbing oils into their skin, and whispering pleasantries.
"Well," Soren said lazily, "it seems Isabel has no plans on telling you anything useful. Shall we just kill her?"
Lucian smirked, though his jaw clenched tightly. "It would be my pleasure. But I need her to talk first."
Elias leaned back, watching them both. "Didn't you have a thing for Isabel?" he asked Soren.
Soren chuckled, glancing at one of the maids. "Oh, I did. But now?" He kissed the maid roughly. "Now I want her dead."
Elias gave a knowing look—this was just another evening for them.
Another maid waded through the water toward him, her body bare, her hands bold. "Let me serve you, my lord," she murmured, her fingers trailing across his chest.
Elias grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her deeply.
Lucian closed his eyes, sinking deeper into the water, silent.
———
"Oh goodness," Seraphina whispered, flipping through the older journal. "This one's from when Father was younger… look—fangs? Bites?"
Vivienne leaned in, eyes wide. "That's exactly what you saw, Sera."
"Does it say what it is? A demon? A witch?" Vivienne asked, flipping pages quickly.
Then they found it—written in a trembling hand, ink smudged at the edges:
They were vampires. Blood-sucking demons, void of a heart. I watched them kill Yvonne mercilessly. They had no atom of mercy in them.
Both girls froze, staring at the words.
"Impossible," Seraphina whispered, fear creeping into her voice.
"V-Vampires are just a myth, right?" Vivienne tried to laugh but failed. "There's no way they actually exist here on earth. That's… that's impossible."
Seraphina shook her head slowly. "Seeing how scared father is, I don't think it's fake, Vivi… And Father is right, we have to flee from this village as soon as possible," Seraphina said.
"But what about him?? And Mother?? They'll stay here and face that monster? What if… what if something bad happens to them??"
"We have to find a way to convince them to come along with us, to flee from here and start a new life," Seraphina tried to reason with Vivienne.
"I don't think Father will agree to this…"
Just like that… the night went colder and darker…
———