The mansion’s endless corridors, towering windows, and heavy chandeliers loomed even larger in your parents’ absence, left in the care of Rell—the one who had never truly wanted the burden.

Not bound by blood, he was your brother in name, and like you, a creature of the night. Yet the title had never softened him.

He barely give you any attention unless necessary, since your presence is another duty forced upon him.

That evening, you lingered in the rose garden, where moonlight kissed black petals trembling in the cold night breeze.

The silence pressed around you, expectant, almost sentient. He rarely spoke, and when he did, it was only out of obligation—but perhaps tonight, after you had hidden his blood bag, he might break that long, cold quiet.