When Lief opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the radiance.
The golden light of the sun poured in through the window, flooding the room with a clarity that had been impossible in that land for four hundred years.
Sharpening his hearing, he caught the bustle coming from the ground floor. The hurried steps of the servants and Velkan's voice.
Which no longer sounded somber, but was an energetic voice.
Everything was different.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he ran a hand through his hair.
And inevitably, his mind returned to the previous hours.
The images of what happened in the bathroom remained vivid before his eyes: the steam, the reddened skin against the tiles and the moans drowned by the water.
He sketched a half smile upon remembering the ferocity with which she had given herself.
'What an intense princess...' He sketched a half smile of satisfaction upon remembering the ferocity with which she had responded.
Without dwelling on the matter anymore, he got up, got dressed in clean clothes and left the room.
…
Upon going down to the main hall, he found her immediately.
Anna was in the center of the hall, having recovered her role as lady of the house.
She was directing the servants with a firm voice, ordering them to remove one by one the black mourning crepes that had covered the ancestors' portraits, replacing them with clean velvet cloths.
The morning light poured in through the large windows, bathing her figure.
There, dressed and under the sun, she seemed surrounded by a halo of untouchable, sacred dignity.
But that illusion lasted little.
As if she felt the weight of a gaze on the back of her neck, she stopped her instructions dead and turned quickly.
!
An intense blush rose from her neck to her ears, setting her cheeks on fire.
She lowered her eyes instantly, unable to sustain eye contact.
There was no longer even a trace of that wild woman who had cornered him in the shower, nor of the fierce determination to "risk everything."
Now, in the light of day, the reality of what she had done hit her full on.
"Good morning..." she murmured, pretending to adjust a lock of hair to hide her face.
"Good morning."
Smiling calmly, Lief walked quietly toward her, closing the distance until invading her personal space.
"I see you are very hard-working," he commented in a low voice, only for her to hear, "Does that mean that the 'lineage continuation project' is proceeding according to plan?"
!
"You... not another word!" she hissed, looking frantically to the sides to make sure the servants hadn't heard anything.
The shame was such that she felt her skin burning.
She couldn't understand where she had gotten the courage last night to enter his room, tell him those things and to let him use her in that way.
"Stop..." she pleaded, with eyes shining with embarrassment, although unable to move away from him, "If someone hears you, I'll die."
"..."
Lief amused himself a moment longer observing her discomfort, she seemed genuinely adorable to him but he decided to give her a break and not press the wound further.
His expression became more serious, although relaxed.
"Actually... I came to find you to say goodbye. I'm leaving now."
The embarrassment disappeared suddenly from Anna's face and the shyness gave way to an expression of visible disappointment, almost painful.
"So soon...?" she asked, and her voice sounded smaller than she intended.
"The job is done and there are people waiting for me...." Shrugging, Lief nodded toward a corner of the hall.
There, Adam remained motionless, as silent and stoic as a stone gargoyle. "Besides, I have to take the big guy. I promised him I would find a place where he fit in, and here he would attract too much attention."
"..."
Anna remained silent, swallowing the protest that wanted to escape her throat.
Deep down, she knew this was going to happen.
Looking at him standing there, with that aura of otherness that always surrounded him, she understood that Lief did not belong to Transylvania, nor to a domestic life in a mansion…
He was a hurricane that had passed through their lives: he arrived, destroyed the hell that bound them and now, simply, continued his course.
Trying to tie a man like that to a single place was impossible.
Velkan entered, interrupting the moment just when the conversation was ending.
He had heard enough to understand the situation.
He approached them, but there were no long speeches or eternal thanks; between men who have survived hell together, words are usually unnecessary.
He simply put a hand on Lief's shoulder and gave him a firm squeeze, charged with respect.
"Take care, friend."
"You too, Velkan."
The four walked to the foyer, stopping in front of the large full-length mirror that decorated the entrance.
Thanks to the connection that Lief had established, any reflective surface served now as an exit door.
The atmosphere became heavy.
It was the type of awkward silence that precedes farewells.
Lief looked at Anna again, noting that in her eyes there was no longer fear, but a deep and silent sadness that she tried to hide without success.
Seeing her like that softened his heart.
Extending his hand, he caressed her cheek gently.
"Relax. From now on, these lands are safe."
"I know..." Anna nodded, with her voice a bit broken and shiny eyes.
Lief stopped a moment, thinking.
"If things go wrong, or if something comes up that you can't handle... you can call me."
"And how do I find you?" she asked, with a flash of hope illuminating her gaze.
"You don't need to look for me" Lief smiled with that usual air of mystery, "Just say the password in front of a mirror. 'Devil May Cry'. If the price is right, I will come."
Having said that, he considered the farewell done.
He signaled Adam to come closer and turned toward the glass.
However, before he could take the first step, he felt a tug on his hand.
Anna stopped him, intertwining her fingers with his.
And this time, there was no urgency nor hunger from the previous night in the shower. There was only an infinite tenderness and the desire to prolong the moment a second longer.
Standing on tiptoe, Anna shortened the distance with delicacy, and pressed her lips against his.
It was a soft, slow, and warm kiss.
A kiss that tasted of sunlight and eternal gratitude.
Her lips moved over Lief's with a sweet cadence, transmitting everything she couldn't speak: that she was going to miss him terribly.
She separated slowly, lowering her heels, but without letting go of his hand immediately.
"Goodbye, Lief…"
"See you, Anna."
Giving her one last genuine smile, Lief without hesitating anymore, let go of her hand and patted Adam's back.
"Let's go."
Both advanced toward the mirror.
The glass surface rippled as if it were mercury upon contact, swallowing their figures and leaving behind the Valerious mansion.
...
The transition was fast.
But what he found made him stop dead in his tracks. Lief blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust his eyes, because architectural logic had gone to hell.
It was still his office... or at least, the heart of it.
There was his desk, the blinking light sign with the business name, the jukebox, and the pool table.
Everything was in its place.
But the container had changed radically.
The red brick walls and the low ceiling had disappeared. In their place, the space had expanded into an absurd immensity.
His "office" now occupied the exact center of the great main hall of Dracula's castle.
He looked up.
Where before there were damp spots, now rose a dizzying dome that was lost in the shadows of the heights.
The walls were colossi, adorned with tapestries and chandeliers.
It was a visually aggressive fusion, but strangely functional.
The electric red light of the sign reflected on the stone gargoyles, and the modern coexisted with the medieval in a chaotic unity.
Lief scanned the place with his eyes until stopping at the back.
Over there, on a solitary elevated platform, the vampire's throne still rested, empty, presiding over his new workplace.
"Damn..."
A smile of satisfaction curved his lips as he shoved his hands into his pockets, turning on his heels to admire the magnitude of the change.
This went far beyond a simple expansion of square footage.
Basically, he had kept the damn castle.
Just at that moment, a familiar sound rang in his ears.
"Woof!"
From behind the sofa, a small creature came running out with enthusiasm.
It was a bull terrier, but not just any one: his body was covered in stitches.
It was Sparky.
The dog saw Adam and stopped for an instant.
However, instead of retreating with fear before the giant's immense figure, he ran toward him wagging his tail, sniffing with curiosity around his heavy boots.
Adam lowered his head slowly.
He saw the suture marks on the dog's back, the patches on his skin, and the familiar vibes that animated him.
He understood instantly that he was not looking at an equal.
A sense of connection hit him. For the first time, he didn't feel like a solitary abomination.
With a delicacy that contradicted his size, he squatted down. He extended a finger and caressed Sparky's head with great care, fearing he might break him.
"He..." He looked up at Lief. "He is like me."
"His name is Sparky," Lief explained with a faint smile. "And I think you will get along very well with his owner."
He had barely finished speaking when the entrance door opened.
Two figures entered. A small boy in a lab coat and an expression of absolute concentration, followed by a gothic-looking girl, expressionless and with two dark braids.
They were Victor and Wednesday.
"Lief, I have the results of the experimen…"
Victor stopped mid-sentence. He stood still, scanning Lief from top to bottom with a frown.
"...Why are you dressed like that?" asked Wednesday looking at the medieval clothes with pure skepticism, "You look like an extra from a renaissance fair...."
Lief opened his mouth to respond, but Victor had already lost interest in his clothes. His gaze had shifted toward something much bigger behind him.
To Adam.
The boy scientist stood paralyzed.
He wasn't looking at a monster. For Victor, there was no fear. He was looking at the ultimate masterpiece, the culmination of everything he aspired to create.
"It's... it's magnificent"
Completely forgetting his previous conversation, he ran toward the giant.
His hands floated near Adam's arms, examining the seams of the skin, fascinated by the surgical technique.
Adam, for his part, stood petrified.
He lowered his gaze toward that thin and pale boy who vibrated with fanaticism. In those big and obsessive eyes, Adam saw a reflection he hadn't seen in centuries.
It was like looking at a ghost.
Through the boy, he saw the man who gave him life.
"Is he a relative of Lurch?"
Wednesday's monotone voice broke the mystical moment.
The girl approached with her usual calm, arms crossed, and scanned Adam from top to bottom with a critical look.
"He has the same build," she commented coldly, "although I think Lurch is a bit taller. And he definitely has better posture."
Lief laughed briefly.
"Well, I'll let you get acquainted," he said clapping once to get their attention, although Victor was already too busy taking mental notes about Adam.
Satisfied with having left his new and strange "family" in good hands, Lief walked toward where another full-length mirror hung.
He had already had enough action for a day.
"Home."
Whispering, he touched the glass and, like a stone falling into a deep pond, generated a circle of ripples on the surface of the mirror before disappearing completely.
________
Time: If you're craving more (and I know you are!), I have just what you need. On my Patreon, you'll find exclusive chapters. Join our community and be the first to discover what happens next!
👉 [patreon.com/Athome790]
Your support fuels me. Thank you for the support! 💖