Chapter 2: The Manor

The first thing I felt when I woke was pain.

My wrists burned.

I tried to move, but something heavy clinked against the floor.

Chains.

I opened my eyes.

Darkness greeted me.

For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was.

Then everything came rushing back.

The battlefield.

The sword against my throat.

Silas.

My chest tightened.

I sat up slowly, only to feel the chains pull against my wrists.

I looked down.

Black iron shackles circled both wrists, connected by a short chain.

My ankles were chained too.

I stared at them.

Then I laughed bitterly.

The Vampire Prince.

The heir to the throne.

Reduced to a prisoner.

I pulled against the chains.

They didn't move.

“Where am I?”

No answer.

I looked around.

The room was small and completely dark except for a narrow window near the ceiling.

Two figures sat across from me.

Guards.

Their weapons rested against the wall beside them.

“Where are you taking me?”

Neither answered.

I clenched my jaw.

“I asked you a question.”

Still nothing.

Anger rose inside me.

I was accustomed to being obeyed.

People didn't ignore me.

Not servants.

Not soldiers.

Not anyone.

But these men didn't even look at me.

I pulled against the chains again.

“Take these off.”

One of them finally looked at me.

His expression remained blank.

“No.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know what happens if you treat me this way.”

The guard stared at me for several seconds.

Then he looked away.

Something inside me sank.

They weren't afraid of me.

Why would they be?

I no longer had an army.

No guards.

No crown.

No palace.

Nothing.

I lowered my eyes to the chains.

My fingers curled into fists.

Silas.

The thought of his name made my stomach twist.

I had trusted him.

I had trusted him more than anyone.

And he had handed me over like I was nothing.

I closed my eyes.

His face appeared immediately.

That smile.

The one I had dismissed.

You always were too trusting.

My throat tightened.

I opened my eyes.

“How long?”

The guards remained silent.

“How long have I been unconscious?”

One of them finally answered.

“Two days.”

Two days.

My stomach dropped.

“What?”

“You've been unconscious for two days.”

I stared at him.

Two days since the battle.

Two days since Silas betrayed me.

Two days since my entire life had collapsed.

I leaned my head against the wall.

“Where are you taking me?”

The guard hesitated.

“Rose Manor.”

The name made me look up.

Rose Manor.

I'd heard of it.

Everyone in the vampire kingdom had.

It wasn't a prison in the traditional sense.

It was worse.

It was where the royal family sent people they wanted forgotten.

Political prisoners.

Traitors.

Enemies who were too valuable to execute and too dangerous to release.

People disappeared there.

And rarely returned.

I swallowed.

“Why?”

The guard's expression didn't change.

“The Vampire King ordered it.”

My heart stopped.

My father.

I stared at him.

“He knows?”

“Yes.”

“And he agreed to this?”

“Yes.”

The answer came too quickly.

I looked away.

Of course he knew.

Perhaps that was what hurt most.

My father had always demanded loyalty from me.

He had trained me to become his successor.

And now, after everything, he had allowed me to be dragged away like a criminal.

Unless—

A terrible thought crossed my mind.

Maybe Father wasn't aware of the truth.

Maybe Silas had already manipulated him.

Maybe—

No.

I shook my head.

I couldn't keep making excuses for everyone.

Not anymore.

Silas had betrayed me.

The king had abandoned me.

And I was being taken somewhere I might never leave.

The carriage suddenly slowed.

I heard the sound of massive gates opening.

The guards stood.

I looked through the small window.

For the first time, I saw Rose Manor.

My breath caught.

I had expected something dark.

Something terrifying.

Instead, I saw roses.

Hundreds of them.

They covered the grounds in thick waves of red, white, and deep crimson.

They climbed the black stone walls.

They curled around the iron gates.

They surrounded the manor like a living wall.

The mansion itself stood in the center of it all.

Huge.

Old.

Beautiful.

Its dark stone walls were covered in climbing roses, their branches twisting across the windows.

It looked less like a prison and more like a palace forgotten by time.

The carriage came to a stop.

One of the guards opened the door.

“Out.”

I stared at him.

He reached for my chains.

I pulled my hands away.

“I can walk.”

He gave me a cold look.

“Then walk.”

I stepped out.

The moment my boots touched the ground, I felt strangely exposed.

There were no soldiers waiting for me.

No crowd.

No executioner.

Only silence.

A man dressed in black stood at the entrance of the manor.

He looked to be in his fifties, with silver hair and a perfectly straight posture.

His eyes moved over me.

Not with fear.

Not with pity.

Simply assessment.

“Prince Cassian.”

I hated the way he said it.

Like the title no longer meant anything.

“Who are you?”

“Edmund. I oversee the manor.”

“Then tell me why I'm here.”

Edmund's expression remained unchanged.

“You already know why.”

“I want to hear it from you.”

He studied me for a moment.

“You are to remain here until further orders from the Vampire King.”

I stared at him.

“And when will those orders come?”

“I don't know.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?”

Edmund glanced toward the gardens.

“Whatever you like.”

I almost laughed.

“Whatever I like?”

“As long as you remain within the manor grounds.”

I looked around.

“So I'm imprisoned.”

“Yes.”

At least he was honest.

I stepped closer.

“My father will come for me.”

Edmund said nothing.

“He will realize what happened.”

Still nothing.

“Silas betrayed me.”

The man's eyes flickered.

It was so brief I almost missed it.

“You knew?”

Edmund looked away.

“I know nothing about royal affairs.”

“You're lying.”

He turned back to me.

“And you're no longer in a position to demand answers.”

The words struck something deep inside me.

I wanted to argue.

To remind him that I was the Vampire Prince.

But the title tasted bitter now.

Prince.

What was a prince without a kingdom?

Without an army?

Without a family?

Without a throne waiting for him?

I looked down at my chained wrists.

Edmund nodded toward the guards.

“Remove his weapons.”

They stepped toward me.

I instinctively reached for the sword at my waist.

It wasn't there.

They had taken it already.

One of the guards removed the small dagger hidden beneath my coat.

Then the other took the ring bearing the royal crest from my finger.

I stared at it in his palm.

That ring had belonged to my grandfather.

It had been given to me when I was declared heir.

Now it sat in a stranger's hand.

“Give it back.”

The guard didn't move.

“That's mine.”

Edmund's voice was calm.

“Not anymore.”

My chest tightened.

I looked at him.

“What did you say?”

“You are no longer to be treated as the heir to the throne while you remain here.”

I stared at him.

The words were simple.

But somehow they hurt more than the chains.

No longer the heir.

Just like that.

I looked toward the manor.

The roses swayed gently in the wind.

Beautiful.

Peaceful.

Almost mocking.

Edmund turned toward the entrance.

“Your room is on the second floor.”

“Room?”

“You'll find clothing inside.”

He began walking away.

I followed.

“Edmund.”

He stopped.

“Will I ever leave?”

He didn't turn around.

“That depends on the Vampire King.”

Then he disappeared inside.

I stood alone at the bottom of the steps.

The guards left too.

For the first time since the battle, no one was watching me.

No one was threatening me.

No one was attacking me.

Yet I'd never felt more trapped.

I climbed the stairs.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

When I reached the second floor, I found a long corridor lined with paintings.

I slowed.

Every painting showed roses.

Roses in gardens.

Roses in vases.

Roses climbing walls.

Roses beneath moonlight.

There wasn't a single painting of a person.

Only roses.

I stopped in front of one.

A single red rose growing among hundreds of white ones.

Its petals were dark and almost black beneath the moonlight.

I reached toward it through the open window.

My fingers brushed one of the petals.

A thorn pierced my skin.

I pulled my hand back.

A small bead of blood formed on my fingertip.

I stared at it.

Then I laughed quietly.

Of course.

Even the roses here had teeth.

I looked out over the garden.

The manor was silent.

Too silent.

I didn't know how long I would be trapped here.

Days.

Months.

Years.

But standing there, staring at those endless roses, one thought settled heavily in my mind.

I had lost everything.

My title.

My kingdom.

My family.

My future.

And somewhere far beyond those walls, Silas was probably already preparing to take my place.

I closed my bleeding hand.

I would never forgive him.

Never.

But I didn't know then that Rose Manor wasn't the end of my story.

It was only the beginning.