Sofía Tepes's Arc

Chapter 1 of 4

Sofía Tepes had fed on a deer at dusk, and now she hunted a way to end all human blood forever. She was Dracula's third wife, queen of the Aztec clan, married to bind the witches to his line. She hated him. Tonight she moved through the library to break his oldest law. The stronghold rose black against the sky, its domes and spires glowing from within. Sofía slipped past the tall doors and climbed to the upper stacks. She wanted one thing: a white-magic rite that could bind a vampire to feed on animals only, never on humans. If such a rite existed, her son would find it here. Dracula's law was plain. Human blood stayed sacred to his line. Any wife who touched a rite like this would be punished. So Sofía searched in the dark, alone, her Aztec crown wrapped in cloth to hide its shine. "You'll ruin your gown crawling like that." She turned. Miguel stood among the shelves, dressed all in white, his pale reddish hair loose down his back. Dracula's son. She had raised him from birth as her own. He fed on animals, like her. He loved the human world his father wanted to feast upon. "Keep your voice down," Sofía said. "If your father learns we searched these shelves, he'll punish me. Not you." Miguel came close. He set a thin book on the reading table. Its cover bore witch runes worn soft by hands. "I already found it," he said. "A rite that binds a vampire to animal blood. Forever. It needs stored moonlight to work." Sofía's chest tightened. For years she had wanted this exact thing. A way to make her kind stop killing people. A way to prove her marriage bought nothing but her cage. She touched the runes. Then she heard boot steps below. Slow. Certain. Guards, or worse, his spy. She thought of the dark-suited woman who served Dracula's every ear, and her hands went cold. "He knows we're here," she whispered. "Or he'll know soon." Miguel did not run. He tore the rite's pages free and folded them into his cape. "Then let him find an empty shelf," he said. "You've hidden long enough, Mother. Hiding won't free you." Sofía looked at her son. She could put the pages back and stay safe in her cage. Or she could carry them out and lose the last bit of Dracula's trust. She pulled the cloth from her crown. The gold caught the glowing glass. "No more hiding," she said. They walked out the tall doors together, the stolen rite against Miguel's chest. Behind them a lamp flared on. A figure stood in the entry, watching them go, and said nothing. By dawn Dracula would know his law was broken. Sofía had chosen the rite over his mercy. Now she needed enough stored moonlight to make it work, before he made her pay.