Chapter 9

The next morning, I was dragged out of the dungeon before I had managed to get a decent amount of sleep.

My back ached from lying on the hard floor, and my eyes burned from exhaustion. I had lost count of how many times I had woken up during the night because of the rats crawling near my feet. At some point, I had stopped trying to sleep and simply sat with my knees against my chest, waiting for the darkness to pass.

Now, a guard stood outside my cell, looking impatient.“Move.”

I pushed myself to my feet.“Where are you taking me?”

He gave me a look that made me regret asking“You’ll find out.”

He unlocked the door and grabbed my arm. I stumbled into the corridor, trying to keep up as he led me towards the stairs.

For a brief moment, I wondered if Vladimir had finally decided what to do with me.Maybe he had grown tired of keeping me alive.

Maybe today was the day I would learn what happened to humans who stabbed princes.

Instead, the guard took me to a small room where a familiar maiden was waiting.

I recognised her immediately. She was the quiet one who had tried to stop the others from scrubbing my skin raw the previous day.

She stood beside a wooden table, her dark hair tied neatly at the back of her head. She looked just as pale and beautiful as the other vampires, but there was something gentler about her expression.

“Arissa,” the guard said, “show her what she’s responsible for. Make sure she understands the rules.”

The maiden nodded.“Of course.”

The guard released my arm and left.Arissa turned towards me.

“My name is Arissa,” she said quietly. “Come with me.”

I followed her into the corridor.

“You’re going to be working in the castle,” she explained.“Cleaning. Carrying things. Helping the servants when you’re told.”

I looked down at my brown dress.Of course.

I had somehow imagined that being Vladimir’s personal prize would mean something different. I hadn’t expected special treatment, but I hadn’t thought he would throw me into a dungeon and make me a servant the following morning either.

Then again, why would he care?I was human.And apparently, humans weren’t worth much in his world.Arissa led me through a narrow passage and into a large room filled with tables and chairs. Dust covered the shelves, and several silver candlesticks sat on a long wooden cabinet.

“You’ll clean this room every morning,” she explained. “Dust the shelves, polish the silver, and sweep the floor. The servants will bring you whatever supplies you need.”

She pointed towards a cupboard containing brooms, brushes, and buckets.

I stared at the equipment.

I had spent my life trying to survive, but I had never imagined I would end up cleaning a vampire’s castle.

“Do I have to do all of this alone?” I asked.

“For now.”

She didn’t sound cruel when she said it. If anything, she seemed uncomfortable with the arrangement.

I followed her into the next room.

This one was a long corridor lined with portraits. Arissa showed me how to clean the floors without disturbing the decorations, then led me down another passage where servants were carrying baskets of linen.

She explained which staircases I could use and which doors I was expected to clean.

There were rules for everything.

I wasn’t allowed to enter the kitchens without permission. I couldn’t touch anything belonging to the royal family. I wasn’t permitted to speak to the guests unless they addressed me first.

And I was never, under any circumstances, to enter the royal family’s private quarters.

Arissa stopped in front of a set of enormous black doors.

Even from the corridor, I could tell this part of the castle was different. The walls were decorated with golden carvings, and two guards stood on either side of the entrance.

“These are the royal quarters,” she said.

I glanced at the doors.“What’s inside?”

She looked at me sharply.“It doesn’t matter.”

“I was only asking.”

“And I’m telling you not to ask again.”

Her voice wasn’t harsh, but something in her expression made me fall silent.

“Never come here unless someone from the royal family has summoned you,” she continued. “Don’t wander around these corridors looking for something to do. If you’re told to leave, you leave immediately.”

I swallowed.“Have you ever been inside?”

She shook her head.

“Not without permission.”

There was something strange about the way she answered. She seemed less afraid of the guards than she was of whoever might be behind those doors.

I decided not to ask anything else.

We continued through the castle, and the deeper we went, the more I realised how enormous the place was. There were private dining rooms, libraries, galleries, and staircases leading to floors I hadn’t even seen.

I caught glimpses of vampires moving through the halls, their expensive clothes and jewellery shining beneath the chandeliers.

Some barely glanced at me.

Others stared as if they were surprised to see a human walking around without a chain around her neck.

One woman stopped in front of us.

She wore a dark red gown, and a diamond necklace rested against her pale throat. Her eyes moved over my brown dress before settling on my face.

“Is this the girl from the games?”

Arissa bowed her head.“Yes, my lady.”

The woman smiled.“So the prince really did keep her.”

I lowered my eyes.

“How amusing.”She walked away with a smirk on her face.

I waited until she was out of sight before speaking.“Do they all hate humans?”

Arissa continued walking.“Most of them do.”

“Why?”

She stopped so suddenly that I nearly walked into her.For a moment, she simply studied me.

“Have you never wondered why humans are treated this way?”

I let out a bitter laugh.“I think the answer is pretty obvious.”

She didn’t smile.“Then you understand more than some people who have lived here their entire lives.”

She resumed walking, and I followed.

“Count Dracula believed vampires were born to rule,” she explained. “He believed humans existed to serve them. Those who were useful could be kept as servants. Those who weren’t could be hunted for sport or used as food.”

My stomach tightened.“That was centuries ago.”

“His laws were written centuries ago,” Arissa replied. “Many of them still stand.”

I thought about the hunting games, the girls sitting on the floor beside the dining table, and the rats in my cell.

“Apparently, nobody has bothered changing them.”

“No one has been powerful enough to make the royal family change them.”

There was no pride in her voice.Only resignation.We passed a tall window overlooking the castle grounds. Beyond the walls, the forest stretched towards the mountains, dark and endless beneath the cloudy sky.

“Was Dracula really that cruel?” I asked.

Arissa glanced at me.“He was a king. He believed fear was the easiest way to keep people obedient. Under his rule, the vampire houses were forced to recognise his authority. Those who challenged him lost their titles, their lands, or their lives.”

“And the humans?”

“They had even fewer choices.”She looked through the window again.“Dracula believed that giving humans freedom would eventually lead to rebellion. He made sure they understood the consequences of disobedience. The hunting games became one of the ways the powerful entertained themselves while reminding humans where they stood.”

I thought about the contestants in the forest.

People like me, running for their lives while vampires watched for entertainment.

“His descendants inherited his throne and his laws. Some things have changed over the years, but not enough to make a difference to people like you.”

People like me.

I looked down at my hands.I wanted to tell her that I wasn’t going to spend the rest of my life cleaning floors and eating scraps. I wanted to tell her that I would find a way out of the castle, even if I had to crawl through the sewers to do it.

But the memory of Vladimir pulling the knife from his chest stopped me.

I had already learned how little my courage mattered when I was standing against someone like him.

Arissa led me towards another staircase.

“Keep your head down,” she said. “Do your work. Follow the rules, and don’t attract attention. The old laws still apply here, and the people who enforce them have no sympathy for humans.”

I swallowed.“And if I break a rule?”

She looked away.“Then pray the person who catches you is in a good mood.”

That was hardly reassuring.