Victor led me down the hallway to his bedroom and rang a bell, calling for Roy. "Please bring Ayana's things to my room tomorrow morning. You can place her things on the left side of the closet."
I watched Roy leave, and Victor closed the door behind him, the soft click of it echoing in the otherwise silent room. The air felt unnervingly cold, and my skin prickled with an overwhelming numbness as his hands guided me toward the large body mirror in the corner. It was framed in dark wood, illuminated by the flickering light of a single candle, casting eerie shadows on the floor. My reflection seemed distant, almost foreign, as I stared at myself.
Melinda's blood splattered across my face and down my chest, the rubies gleaming faintly in the dim light. I could feel Victor's hands unbuttoning my dress, then my bra, which fell to the floor with a soft rustle. I instinctively covered my breasts, disgusted with myself, and turned my gaze away from the mirror.
"I'm not going to hurt you," Victor's voice was low, almost too calm as he interlaced his fingers with mine, guiding them down to my waist. His touch lingered on my skin, brushing against my breast as he kissed my neck.
This wasn't right. I pushed him away, quickly covering myself again as tears slid down my cheeks. He didn't seem to care, his grip tightening as he pulled me into a tight embrace, locking me in place.
"Stop fighting me," he hissed, forcing my chin to lift so that I had no choice but to look up at him. My stomach twisted, bile rising in my throat as I struggled, pushing against him with what little strength I had left.
Finally, I shoved against him hard enough that he released me, and I fell backward. My head collided with the floor, the impact making the room spin as a sharp pain throbbed through my skull. I gasped, trying to catch my breath, but everything felt too heavy, too wrong.
Before I could gather myself, I was being lifted from the floor and placed gently on the bed. I didn't want to open my eyes; I knew he was there, watching me, waiting. My mind screamed that this was a nightmare, that any second I'd wake up and find myself in Theo's arms, safe and sound.
But no. When I finally opened my eyes, the nightmare hadn't ended. Victor was there, straddling my waist, his body pressing down on mine.
He didn't give me a chance to react. Before I could move, he held me in place, his grip forcing my arms to the bed.
"Listen to me," he said, his voice cold as ice. "You will stop fighting me, or I will hurt your family. I will find Theo and use him to make you submit to me. Do you understand?"
My body went rigid, the weight of his words sinking deep into my bones.
"Please, please don't," I whispered, my voice breaking as the tremor in my hands became impossible to control.
He didn't respond immediately. Instead, he let go of my arms, sitting at the edge of the bed as though waiting for me to pull myself together. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door, and I pulled my knees to my chest as Victor went to answer it.
"Victor, tonight was such a success that we didn't even get to say goodnight." The voice was sweet but laced with venom as the woman stepped into the room, her eyes scanning me with hatred.
The woman I saw wasn't the elderly figure I'd once known; she now appeared youthful and vibrant, her features sharp and calculating. When her gaze fell on my discarded dress, her expression faltered, and a cruel smile twisted her lips.
"You've fallen for it again, haven't you?" she hissed, her voice rising in bitterness. "I thought this time would be different. That you would finally see me for all that I'm worth."
Victor sighed and took a seat on the bed, his eyes turning toward me as though weighing his next words. "Can we discuss this tomorrow?"
Miriam's face flushed red, the anger flaring across her cheeks as she spun on her heel, storming out of the room. The door slammed behind her, and the moment the latch clicked, chaos erupted.
I heard a loud crash from down the hall, followed by the sound of furniture breaking, glass shattering. Victor's face hardened, his eyes narrowing as he stood, rage practically emanating off him. Without another word, he sped down the hall, disappearing from my view.
I stumbled to the door, my heart pounding in my chest as I peeked out into the hallway. Objects were being thrown from the room—lamp shards scattering across the walls, and the air was thick with the sound of destruction. Then, with terrifying speed, a body was hurled from the room, slamming against the wall before crumpling to the floor in a heap.
I clamped my hand over my mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to escape. Victor emerged a moment later, kneeling beside the body with a disturbingly casual gesture, prodding the lifeless form like it was nothing more than an inconvenience.
My legs felt weak, and I instinctively backed away, retreating into the room. The bathroom door clicked shut behind me as I turned on the shower, the hot water rushing over me, washing away the blood and makeup that still clung to my skin. I scrubbed furiously, desperate to rid myself of the night's horrors.
When I finally emerged, Victor was already in bed, the faint glow of a candle flickering beside him. He handed me one of my nightgowns with an air of nonchalance. "Sorry about that little interruption," he said. "Things have been a bit chaotic lately."
I nodded wordlessly, the weight of everything pressing down on me as I changed and climbed into bed beside him. The sheets felt cold against my skin, and I couldn't shake the sense of unease that lingered in the air. Victor lay on his back, his eyes focused on a small black book in his hands. He flipped through its pages, muttering to himself in a language I didn't understand.
After a few moments, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "What're you going to do to me?" I asked, my voice cracking with vulnerability, feeling completely defenseless.
Victor closed the book with a soft thud and turned to face me, his expression unreadable. He took my hands in his, squeezing them gently as he slid beneath the covers, his face inches from mine.
"I intend to marry you," he said, his voice smooth and almost affectionate. "And together, we'll join the convents across the globe, with me leading them, and you by my side." He kissed my hands tenderly, but the force of his grip made my body tremble.
My mind raced. "What are you?" I whispered, the question feeling like an accusation more than a simple inquiry.
Victor's gaze was piercing as he leaned closer. "They used to call me Dracula, Strigoi, devourer of souls," he said, his voice laced with dark pride. "But now they call me a vampire."
A cold shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't speak for a moment, the reality of it sinking in. "Are you going to turn me into one of you?"
Victor cupped my chin gently, bringing his lips to mine in a kiss that felt endless, drawn out in a way that left my chest tight with panic. When he pulled away, he answered simply, "Yes."
I closed my eyes, the vivid images of blood-soaked women and Melinda's face—the terror in her eyes—flooding my mind.
"It won't be as horrible as it was tonight," Victor murmured, his voice low and almost apologetic. "My children... they got a little carried away. I apologize that you had to witness it that way."
I swallowed, my throat dry, the weight of everything that had happened—the violence, the blood, the death—pressing heavily on my chest.
My phone sat innocently on the bed in my room. I prayed Roy wouldn't notice, just long enough for me to call for help, but I knew it was hopeless.
Victor's voice broke through my thoughts. "Ayana, it is in your best interest to go along with what I have planned. If you don't, I will kill your friends and your foster parents." His tone turned colder, sharper. "I don't want to hurt them, but I need you to make this as easy as possible for me. Do you think you can do that?"
His threat hung in the air like a deadly fog, suffocating me, and the choice before me became clearer. He had just threatened the only family I had ever known, and now, I had to decide: agree to his demands or watch them die.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I had no other choice. I had to protect them. "I'll do whatever you want," I whispered, my voice broken, "just... please, don't hurt them."
Victor's grip on me tightened, pulling me closer. He kissed the top of my head, murmuring, "Sleep now."
And, like a puppet with its strings pulled, I closed my eyes, my thoughts consumed by darkness, and drifted into a restless sleep.
The next morning, Victor woke me with cold efficiency. He informed me that Roy had brought my things, and that I was expected to dress and meet him downstairs for breakfast.
I changed into a simple white sundress, my fingers trembling as I brushed my hair, trying to smooth it back to its usual state. When I finally made my way downstairs, I found only Victor sitting at the table, speaking to Mrs. Corpt, who looked at me with an expression of sympathy, before rushing off to prepare my breakfast.
"I don't think I can eat," I muttered, my appetite gone, the thought of food making my stomach twist in knots.
Victor thanked Mrs. Corpt as she hurried away, then sat down beside me, his hand resting heavily on my thigh. "Try to eat," he urged. "You'll need all of your strength for this week."
I glanced at the glass of crimson liquid he held to his lips, his eyes closing briefly as he took a long, deliberate sip. I knew it was blood.
The memory of his words last night pressed into my mind, and though my stomach turned, I picked up my fork, forcing myself to take a bite. The food was rich, almost too smooth, and the more I ate, the more I felt a strange pull to obey, to bend to his will.
Victor's blood had to be in the food. The thought sent a chill through me, but it was too late to turn back now.
Victor pulled out a small stack of polaroid's from his pocket and handed them to me along with a crumpled piece of paper. I opened the piece of withered paper carefully and it was a drawing of a woman. The paper read, "Genoveva Belmore, accused of witchcraft and consulting with the devil will burn February 12, 1572."
"Her mother, the old bitch didn't approve of me and knew what I was before I could tell Genoveva but it was too late to warn her. The town people had already been informed of her late night meetings with me in the forest and caught her one night coming to meet me. I watched her burn alive and screaming for me to save her but it was too late by the time I reached her. I laid waste to the entire village and killed her mother." Victor said folding the piece of paper back up and putting it into a worn folder.
Flipping through the polaroid's I found another picture of the woman I saw last night in a wedding gown and she was smiling at the camera happy. The photo read, "February 15th, of 1847. Elizabeth Belmore." My mouth was tingling as I looked at the black and white of photos of this woman who so looked just like me. "Elizabeth was the last time I met you, she was mentally ill when we met and took her life the day of our 5th wedding anniversary. She had been sad a very long time and it was too late to help her when we found her. She had hung herself from the balcony landing that night and I laid her to rest in my families cemetery."
She seemed so happy in the photos but only she knew what demons she was battling in her mind. "My second wife, before Elizabeth was an inventor and she was brilliant at almost everything. I had the library built especially for her when we were married and yet she died tragically as well. The men in her field did not want a woman making discoveries or feeling that their duties were anything more than being a house wife. In 1634, they raped and murdered her in her laboratory at the college she was attending. In retaliation I murdered their wives, children, parents, even the animals."
I put the photos down feeling the urge to throw up, "So does that mean I will die just as tragically as the others before me?" Victor turned his chair so that we were facing each other. "This time you will have the strength to protect yourself and a voice to tell me all that troubles you. I intend for this to last forever as it should." I nodded in silence thinking of how everyone had died tragically young and the only thing constant about that fact was Victor.
When I was finished Victor walked me to the study and asked me to read while he did some homework. I ended up falling asleep on the couch and having a terrible nightmare. The dream was back in the ballroom with men and women twirling and dancing and there was the woman from the Polaroid, Elizabeth, standing across the hall staring at me with a rope around her neck. I made my way through the crowd to her as she turned away from me leaving the dance hall. When I finally caught up to her she was walking up the grand steps and I chased after her as she stopped on the landing.
Elizabeth turned around and spoke to me, "Tell Victor that the door is open just a crack but enough to get through what it needs to get through. Tell him that it will still come for you and history will repeat itself for the fourth time. There is no changing fate, there is no denying it what it so desperately wants." with that she jumped off the landing, and with a thud I jumped up looking around the room.
Victor was still at his desk and looked up at me, "Are you alright? You were talking in your sleep." I brought my hands to my arms as I felt the goosebumps coming and got closer to the fire.
"I had a nightmare is all, it's nothing." I sat staring into the flames. The door was open a crack and something desperately wanted me. Victor probably had all the answers for the nightmare I just had but I wasn't too keen on trusting him. Something was coming to get me and Elizabeth said that no matter how hard Victor tried it would get what it wanted in the end and for the fourth time. There was nowhere to run and no one to turn to as I sat staring at the fire and thinking of my untimely death.