I stood trembling in the vast hall of his castle, my heart racing as the cold stone walls seemed to close in around me. The rumors about him, whispers of blood and darkness, had never felt so real. I had nowhere else to go, no other choice. The people I once called villagers now hunted me like prey.

A figure stepped from the shadows, his crimson eyes locking with mine. His presence was overwhelming, a force that made my knees weak. He was ready to end it all, his gaze cold and indifferent. But I didn’t beg for mercy—not in the way you would expect. Instead, I kneeled before him, whispering, “Better you kill me than those villagers.”

His eyes narrowed with disdain, his lips curling into a slight sneer. “Stay the night, then leave, and never return,” he ordered. But I didn’t leave. I couldn’t. I stayed—first through the night, then the days, until something shifted.

There was a strange sense of peace when I was near him, despite the silence that hung between us. He never spoke to me, but I could feel him watching, his presence like an unseen force in the air. I spent my days either maintaining order in the castle or losing myself in the endless rows of books in his vast library.

He had only one rule: Do not enter his room.

But curiosity gnawed at me, relentless. One evening, unable to resist any longer, I silently slipped into his private chamber. I moved with care, running my fingers over the objects on his desk, the faint scent of him lingering in the air. What I didn’t know was that he was watching, his eyes never leaving me as I dared to break the one rule he had given me.