(Sable's POV)
The silence in my room wasn't just silence. It had texture, like a heavy velvet curtain pressing against my ears. Dracula's castle didn't creak or groan like a normal old place. It… breathed. Slowly. Like the stone itself had lungs.
I sat on the edge of the absurdly large bed—seriously, you could land a small carriage on this thing—and stared at the fire's last embers. My boots were still on, my back still straight, every muscle waiting for fangs to punch through the door.
"Well," I muttered, rubbing my face, "this is definitely not how I thought tonight was going to end. Five-star vampire murder hotel. Great job, Sable. Really nailed it."
I leaned back, staring at the canopy overhead. My brain was still cycling between three equally stupid thought trains:
Dracula is absolutely going to kill me tomorrow.
Lisa is too nice for her own good and it's going to get me killed.
This bed might actually be worth dying for because these sheets feel like angel wings.
I blew out a slow breath, pressing the heels of my palms to my eyes. I couldn't sleep. Not yet. My mind kept replaying every detail of the evening—Dracula's hand at Lisa's back, his eyes when he looked at me, the way his voice seemed to wrap around the air like chains.
And Lisa… human. Fragile. And yet somehow luminous enough to keep the monster in check.
I stood and paced the room, boots echoing soft against the marble. Shadows shifted when I moved, like the walls themselves wanted to watch. Every instinct screamed at me to get out, but where would I go? Into the snow? Back to the church mobs? No thanks.
I stopped at the window, pushing the curtain aside. Outside, the mountains hunched like giants, and the sky was swollen with stars—my stars, my comfort, the only familiar thing left. I tapped the glass, almost like knocking.
"Yeah, I know," I whispered to them. "Tomorrow's going to be a nightmare. But hey… at least I'm not dead yet."
The hours dragged. I tried lying down, tried staring at the fire, even considered pulling a proxy just to feel less alone. Bad idea. The last thing I needed was a glowing soul-bird flapping around to catch Dracula's attention.
So I lay on the bed, fully clothed, staring at the ceiling until exhaustion dragged me under.
The dreams weren't kind.
I walked through halls that stretched longer than they should, every door whispering my name in voices I almost recognized. Lisa's, then the Bishop's, then worse. When I tried to open one, my hand sank through the wood like water, and I caught glimpses of blood-red eyes staring back. Always staring. Always watching.
I woke with a jolt. My throat was dry, my heart hammering in my chest. For one second, I thought I saw a shadow shift near the fireplace… but when I blinked, it was gone.
"…Great," I rasped. "Haunted too. Perfect."
I dragged a hand down my face and rolled over. Dawn, or what passed for it here, was filtering through the curtains in pale slants. No birdsong, no village noise—just the steady hum of the castle itself, like a cathedral organ that never stopped playing.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, boots hitting marble with a muted thud. My body felt heavy, like the castle itself had settled on my shoulders. But at least I was alive.
"Morning in Dracula's castle," I muttered. "Still breathing. Still not soup. Call that a win."
I stretched, rolled my shoulders, and forced myself to stand. Whatever today had in store, it wasn't going to be easy. But after surviving last night, I figured I could handle one more round with the devil.
Now. Time for a bath.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The castle was too damn big.
I'd been wandering for what felt like an eternity, and the only thing I'd managed to find was a cavernous wine cellar full of bottles labeled with the single word: Wine. Just… Wine.
I pulled one down, turned it over in my hands.
"Wow. Real specific," I muttered. "Could be the year 1420, could be last Tuesday. Very reassuring."
I put it back before Dracula materialized behind me demanding to know why his vintage mystery juice was suddenly missing. The man already looked like he'd happily punt me into a pit, I didn't need to add grand larceny of wine to the list.
So I stumbled onward, trying to sniff out baths like some kind of desperate woodland animal. My nose led me nowhere, but my boots carried me into…
Oh.
The Library.
The place hit me like a cathedral made out of thought.
Towering shelves reached so high into shadow they might have scraped the moon, stacked with tomes bound in cracked leather, copper-banded spines, scrolls older than some kingdoms. A fireplace smoldered low, light catching dust motes in golden haze. Tables gleamed under the soft glow of lanterns, glass apparatus scattered like a scientist had just stepped out mid-experiment.
And at the center… a shattered constellation of floating glass shards drifted lazily, orbiting one another like a suspended galaxy.
I stepped in, boots crunching lightly on the rug. My eyes darted everywhere—titles on anatomy, magical theory, cosmology, even plain herbology. My mind screamed at me not to touch anything, but Tomb was already at work, quietly recording every book my eyes brushed over.
I exhaled through my nose, slow.
"This place…" I whispered, "this is knowledge given walls."
I lost myself like that for a while, letting the spines and sigils wash over me. But eventually, my gaze dragged back to the thing in the center of the room.
The floating shards pulsed faintly, rearranging themselves when I focused. It didn't have a frame—just raw silvered glass, piecing and un-piecing itself as though the room itself breathed.
My chest tightened. Seeing it on a screen was one thing. Seeing it here, floating and humming with power? Completely different.
I stepped closer, the air tingling on my skin.
"…Is this the Transmission Mirror?" I breathed.
"Yes," came a voice like velvet draped over steel.
I yelped. Actually yelped. My heart leapt into my throat as I spun around, nearly tripping over my own boots.
There he was, filling the library's entrance.
Dracula.
Black and red, every inch of him carved from shadow and firelight. Red eyes, sharp claws, that heavy moustache framing a mouth that had smiled at kings and slaughtered armies. High-heeled boots clicked faintly against the stone, cape pooling like spilled night, waistcoat embroidered with filigree so intricate it almost glowed.
He didn't move. Just… stood there. Watching.
I lifted a hand, halfway between surrender and a nervous wave.
"I was just, uh—admiring the, um—knowledge."
He raised one eyebrow. Just one.
And somehow that single brow reduced me to deflated air.
"...Yeah, I don't believe me either."
A sound broke the silence. A low, warm chuckle.
My jaw almost hit the floor. Dracula. Chuckled. At me.
I wisely kept my mouth shut.
He stepped forward, slow, each stride as measured as a ticking clock. Then he extended a clawed hand—not at me, but in a showcase gesture, sweeping toward the shelves.
"This library," he said, voice carrying like rolling thunder in a cathedral, "is the culmination of centuries. I have collected all knowledge—mundane and magical—that could be found, stolen, or preserved. What kingdoms sought to burn, I safeguarded."
His eyes flicked past me, to the shards hovering like stars.
"And that," he continued, "is indeed a Transmission Mirror. It can carry one across vast distances in an instant. Or scry across horizons no human eye could reach. I acquired it from Carpathian scrying hermits… four hundred years ago."
I swallowed, hard. Yeah, I already knew most of that, thanks to binge-watching Netflix. But hearing it? Seeing it? My awe must've been plastered across my face, because his gaze lingered there for a beat, almost amused.
Then his eyes sharpened back onto me.
"And you, Sable… why are you here?"
Something was different. His eyes were still piercing, but not the same razor-wire scrutiny from Lupu. This was more… curious.
I scratched the back of my neck, chuckled nervously.
"Honestly? I was trying to find the bath."
Blink.
He blinked.
For one blessed heartbeat, the Lord of Darkness actually looked caught off guard.
Then he inclined his head.
"...Allow me to show you the way."
He turned, extending an arm toward the door with a dignified sweep, like he was inviting me into an opera.
I froze, stunned at the formality, then scrambled to bow.
"Uh—thank you. Really. That'd be great."
And just like that, he strode into the hall. I trailed behind, nerves jittering in every joint.
The walk stretched in silence. His steps were silent even with those ridiculous boots. Mine clunked like a drunk donkey. I debated saying something, anything—until he spoke first.
"You act," he said, with the faintest hint of amusement in his voice, "like a frightened rabbit."
I flinched.
"Hey, look—yeah, okay, maybe a little, but it's not my fault! I'm in a vampire castle the size of a city, with—you—just trying not to step on any landmines. Or fangs. Or, y'know, end up a decorative corpse on a pike."
He sighed. A long, quiet exhale that somehow made me clamp my mouth shut.
"I owe you an apology," he said. "For what occurred in Lupu. I was not… in the right state of mind. You have little to fear from me now."
That hit different. I straightened, sobering.
"…I don't blame you," I said, voice firmer than I expected. "Honestly? Can't even say I disagree with how you reacted. They took Lisa. If it were me…" I trailed, smirking crookedly. "Though I could've done without the choking part."
His eyes flicked to me—unreadable, sharp. Then he turned away with a low hum.
Before I could tell if that was approval or a warning, he stopped.
"We have arrived."
I looked past him to see a tall, carved door.
"I will return in half an hour," he said, voice clipped but even, "to take you to the dining hall."
And with that, he turned and strode away, cape whispering against stone.
I stood awkwardly, hand half-raised in a wave.
"Yeah. Uh… see you there."
Then I opened the door—only to be greeted by the sweet, blessed sight of a bath waiting for me.
"Finally," I groaned. "Civilization."
——————-
A/N: Finally a bubble bath our MC is finally clean 😫
So we are in the big bars lair, wonder how he will navigate it now?
So anyway
Comment, review and....
see yall next chapter