Sofía Tepes's Arc

Chapter 3 of 4

The knock came before dawn. Sofía knew the sound of armored fists. She swept the dark ritual stones under a cloth and stood. Miguel rose beside her, his white catsuit still glowing faintly with the new binding in his chest. Two royal guards filled the doorway, spears held ready, red eyes burning behind black helms. Behind them stood a woman in a plain black suit. Sofía's stomach turned. She knew her at once. "Alexis Tomar," Sofía said. Dracula's spy master. The one who found what others hid. Alexis stepped past the guards and lifted the cloth off the table. Her fingers touched the burned-out stones. She did not smile. "You emptied every stone," Alexis said. "You broke his sacred law. He already knows. I only came to confirm it." She looked at Miguel. "And the boy no longer hungers for human throats. That is your work too." Sofía's hands began to heat. The old fire crept up her wrists. She could not fight the guards. She could not fight Alexis. Running would only prove her guilt and leave Miguel to answer for it. So she did the one thing left. She lifted her chin. "Take me to him," she said. They walked her through Castle Dracul to the throne room. Dracula sat on his black stone throne, crimson velvet at his feet, gold spires climbing above his head. Sofía felt small under it. She did not kneel. "You stole my rite," Dracula said. His voice was quiet, which was worse than shouting. "You spent power that took centuries to store. You bound my son against my law. You tested the will of Hecate herself." "I did," Sofía said. "And I would do it again." Miguel stepped forward. "The choice was mine, Father. I asked for the spell. I fed on animals long before she cast it. Punish me, not her." Dracula's red eyes moved between them. Sofía waited for the guards' spears. She waited for the order to burn. It did not come. Dracula leaned back. Something crossed his face that Sofía had never seen. Not rage. Something closer to pride. "You defied a goddess and did not break," he said to Sofía. "Few of my brides would dare it." He turned to his son. "And you, Miguel. Your white magic freed you from the hunger. It was a fool's risk with the stone. But it worked. I forgive it." Sofía breathed. She was not to die today. But Dracula's mouth hardened. "Hear me," he said. "You will free no other vampire while you live under my roof. The stones are dark. You have no power left. And I will be watching your hands, wife." He waved them out. Sofía walked from the throne room alive and unpunished. But Miguel's binding used the last of the moonlight. To free even one more vampire, she now needed a new source of stored power. And Dracula's eyes would follow her everywhere she searched.