The palace of Nacrifa had never truly slept.
Even during peace—
its walls whispered.
Ancient vampire nobles moved silently through crimson-lit corridors.
Servants carried silver trays beneath towering chandeliers.
Guards stood unmoving beside obsidian doors like statues carved from darkness itself.
And somewhere beneath all the elegance—
power crawled endlessly beneath the surface.
Political tension.
Jealousy.
Fear.
Desire.
The royal palace thrived on secrets.
But tonight—
another kind of poison spread quietly through its halls.
Human poison.
The dangerous kind.
The kind born from envy.
Inside the eastern wing of the palace—
far away from Sebastian's chambers—
Lydia shattered a mirror.
CRASH.
Silver glass exploded across the floor violently.
Her chest rose and fell with rage as fragments scattered around her feet like glittering ice.
A maid near the doorway gasped softly in terror.
Lydia immediately turned toward her.
"Get out."
The maid fled instantly.
