On the second day, the manor saw a surge of visitors—but this ti, they were no friends or honored guests of the Lordship. Instead, they were heavily ard and had the general vibe of people who took their jobs way too seriously. Knights, most likely.
anwhile, Sir Kai had been living his best (and most inconvenient) life on the roof, a place so far beneath the Lordship’s concern that no one had even thought to check it.
It was a decent hiding spot—except for the occasional mont of agony when the sun rudely reminded him that he was, in fact, flammable. Thankfully, Durpol was about as sunny as a dungeon, so those incidents were rare.
From his lofty perch, he had a perfect view of the manor’s goings-on. When necessary, he relocated, sotis masquerading as a very suspicious bird in the branches of a high tree to peer inside. But by now, he was fairly certain—he had seen enough.
The knights who marched into the manor weren’t part of the household staff—unless the Lordship had suddenly decided to upgrade from butlers to heavily ard, very serious-looking warriors.
Their armor bore a familiar emblem, and Sir Kai had a pretty good idea who they were. Still, he needed to get closer before jumping to conclusions.
If they were Nightwarden knights, then that ant the Lordship wasn’t just so noble with expensive taste—he was part of the Nightshade Coven. And his important guests, currently locked in an urgent eting were probably the rest of the coven’s ancient mbers.
Now ca the real problem: figuring out how to start this conversation. How exactly does one casually approach the ten oldest and most powerful vampires in existence, get them to admit who they are, and then convince them to help politely?
With a bribe? A well-written letter? Or just by walking in and hoping they didn’t imdiately rip his head off? That was going to be trickier than avoiding sunlight in an open field.
With no brilliant plan magically popping into his head, Sir Kai decided to start with the basics—figure out exactly who these knights were. Just to be safe, he assud the worst: that they were Nightwarden knights. Which ant dialing up the stealth and caution to maximum levels.
Unlike regular knights, who were often just rich guys in armor, Nightwarden were the real deal—highly trained, dangerously perceptive, and way too good at sniffing out trouble. If they so much as suspected sothing was off, he’d be in for a very bad ti.
With that in mind, he crept onto the nearest window ledge, balancing just close enough to confirm the emblem but far enough to (hopefully) avoid becoming today’s strangest arrest. Or worse, an unexpected sparring partner.
And just like that, his worst fear was confird. Those knights were Nightwardens.
The good news was he had officially found the mbers of the Nightshade Coven. The bad news was there was now an extrely high chance he wouldn’t be leaving in one piece. Or at all.
As the Nightwarden warriors lined up in the courtyard, awaiting orders, their generals strode into the manor to et with the Lordship.
Sir Kai took this as his cue to slip inside, carefully avoiding any corridor that might lead to the Lordship’s chambers—because, really, why make things easier for his capture?
Instead, he went straight to the third floor. Moonlight poured through an open window, illuminating his path as he moved swiftly through the halls. He pressed his ear to each door he passed, pausing to listen before cautiously peeking inside.
Guest chambers. Drawing rooms. Other completely useless spaces. Nothing that gave him new information, let alone a lead.
That was, until he reached the chamber at the end of the hallway—where he promptly ran into soone. Or rather, into trouble.
When he had pressed his ear to the door, he’d heard nothing. So naturally, like the genius he was, he assud the room was empty.
It was not.
The mont he stepped inside, he found himself staring at a room full of silent, motionless vampires.
Ah.
These were the Lordship’s esteed guests—the ancient and powerful mbers of the Nightshade Coven. While the Lordship was busy barking orders and explaining things to the Nightwarden Generals, his terrifying undead friends had apparently been waiting right here.
And now they were all looking at him.
Most notably, her. The one the maid had whispered about. The goddess. The beautiful one. Madam Silvia.
Did it matter that he now knew the na of one of the ten original vampires? Not in the slightest.
Because before he could so much as blink, the nearest vampire had him pinned. No introductions. No questions. Just boom, captured.
What if he’d just been a clueless Nightwatch who got lost? What if he was a salesman? What if he had a really good excuse for being here? Didn’t matter. These vampires clearly had an uncanny sense for sniffing out threats.
Which, frankly, was debatable. Sir Kai wouldn’t even consider himself a threat. He had zero ill intentions toward the Nightshade Coven—he was actually here to ask for their help.
But considering they were the type to keep their identities under tight lock and key, he had to admit... their ’eliminate first, ask questions never’ policy did make a certain kind of sense.
"Wait! Please—just wait! I’m a Nightwatch!" Sir Kai pleaded, struggling against the bindings around his wrists. He had no idea what they were planning to do to him, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t a friendly chat over tea.
To his mild surprise, the ancient vampire looming over him actually paused. Unfortunately, it was only to sneer dramatically and say, "No, you’re not," in the kind of villainous hiss that belonged in a bad stage play.
Well, that was discouraging.
The only one who didn’t imdiately dismiss him was Madam Silvia, who tilted her head slightly, eyeing him with sothing that almost resembled curiosity.
"His physique looks solid to ," she noted as if he were so fine warhorse up for auction. "And the way he moves—silent, controlled—that certainly screams a Nightwatch warrior."
Sir Kai had no idea why Madam Silvia was suddenly playing defense for him, but at this point, he wasn’t about to question it. Help was help, and if it kept him from getting torn to pieces, he’d gladly take it.
"Yes! Exactly! I am Kai Stahl, a Nightwatch from Eira," he confird, nodding far too enthusiastically. "His Majesty, King Valentin, personally sent here on an extrely important mission."
Now all he had to do was pray they believed him. Or at least that they were willing to hear him out before deciding whether or not to rip his throat out.
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