{IRIS}
I didn’t know where I was, but I was certain I was far, far away from my previous pack now.
Val—Vladimir Nightborne—had conjured a portal, dark and shimring like the surface of a restless lake, and within seconds, we had stepped through it, leaving everything behind.
Magic. Portals. Vampires.
Before coming to the pack, I had never known such things were real. I had never imagined that the world I lived in held so many hidden layers—so many creatures that lurked in the dark, unseen yet powerful.
And now, I stood at the gates of a looming castle, nestled deep within an ancient forest, its towering spires disappearing into the misty night sky.
The air was thick with sothing otherworldly, a quiet hum of energy that made my skin prickle. The trees surrounding the fortress were gnarled and endless, their twisted branches reaching like skeletal fingers toward the storm-laden sky.
"Uhm . . . where are we?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, as my gaze locked onto the castle’s dark silhouette.
"Sowhere in Romania," Val murmured.
Before I could even react, he moved.
A swift, effortless motion—one second I was standing on the damp forest floor, and in the next, I was inside the castle.
The shift in space sent a sharp dizziness through . My vision blurred, my stomach twisted, and for a brief mont, I thought I might collapse. Before I could fall, strong hands steadied .
Val’s hands.
His grip on my waist was firm, his presence overwhelming. I clutched his forearms instinctively, feeling the coolness of his skin beneath my fingertips.
For a breath, our eyes t—his silver, ancient gaze emotionless yet intense. Then, as quickly as he had caught , he pulled away, leaving only the ghost of his touch lingering on my skin.
A voice shattered the silence.
"Welco back, Lord Val."
I turned my head, startled by the sight before .
Lined up in perfect formation, a group of attendants bowed in unison—tall figures clad in immaculate black uniforms, their expressions solemn.
At the center stood an elderly man, his presence both commanding and severe. His long, pointed beard was stark white, matching the sharp, upward arch of his brows and the slicked-white strands of his hair. Even his eyes—narrow and gleaming red like embers—seed to pierce through with quiet scrutiny.
I knew, without question, what they were.
Vampires.
Their skin was pale, almost luminous under the castle’s dim torchlight. Their eyes, varying shades of crimson, watched with unreadable intensity. The air in the grand hall felt heavier, charged with sothing I couldn’t quite place.
Val was different from them.
At first glance, he looked almost human. Almost. But I had seen what he truly was when he fed, when his fangs glead under the moonlight, when his control slipped, if only for a mont.
His voice broke through my thoughts. "Take care of my guest. See to it that she is taken care of."
And just like that, he was gone.
Vanished into the shadows without another word, leaving standing alone in the midst of creatures who could tear apart without a second thought.
The mont he disappeared, the atmosphere shifted.
The attendants’ gazes sharpened.
The red in their eyes flared, glowing ominously as their expressions darkened. A deep silence settled over the hall, thick and suffocating.
I swallowed hard.
"Uhm . . H-hello, my na is Iris Snow," I managed, my voice small.
The old butler, I assud—tilted his head slightly, regarding with a look I couldn’t decipher. When he finally spoke, his voice was raspy, touched with sothing almost haunting.
"Lady Iris."
I flinched. There was sothing unnerving about the way he said my na—like he was testing how it felt on his tongue.
"My na is Sebastian," he continued, his tone calm. "Do not worry. As long as you are our lord’s guest, you will not be hard."
He glanced over his shoulder at the attendants behind him, his crimson eyes narrowing slightly.
"Am I correct?"
As one, the maids and butlers bowed. Their voices, eerily synchronized, answered in perfect unison.
"Yes, Sebastian."
A shiver ran down my spine.
There was sothing chilling about their coordination—how seamless it was, how rehearsed. But I didn’t sense hostility. If anything, Sebastian carried an air of authority, and from the way they reacted to him, it was clear that he was the one in charge of the servants here.
"I will show you to your room now, Lady Iris."
"Uhm . . . just call Iris."
Sebastian rely gave a slight bow, then turned on his heel.
"This way, Lady Iris."
I sighed but didn’t argue. With one last glance at the darkened corridor Val had disappeared into, I followed Sebastian into the heart of the castle, my footsteps swallowed by the vast, endless halls of a place that now felt like a gilded cage.
I didn’t bother correcting him anymore and simply followed, staying close as we walked through the eerie, silent halls of the mansion.
There was sothing unsettling about this place. It felt haunted—like the kind of vampire lair one would read about in dark, forbidden tales. But more than the suffocating silence, it was the feeling of unseen eyes watching that made my skin prickle.
My gaze drifted to the towering paintings lining the corridor walls. Their gilded fras shimred under the dim candlelight, casting shadows that seed almost alive. Most depicted regal figures, all possessing the sa striking features—pale skin, high cheekbones, piercing crimson eyes.
And then, I saw him.
A portrait larger than the others, hanging at the very center of the hall. The man in the painting stood with an air of power, dressed in black and crimson. His expression was severe, stony, and yet . . . hauntingly familiar.
"Uhm . . . is this Lord Val?" I asked hesitantly. I knew it would be disrespectful to call him simply by na when everyone here seed to revere him so deeply.
Reviews
All reviews (0)