Dawn came reluctantly, as if the sun itself hesitated to rise over the village.
Mist clung low to the ground, curling around boots and cart wheels as the villagers gathered at the outskirts. Horses stamped nervously, breath steaming in the cold air. Children whispered, and elders clutched charms and muttered prayers they hoped vampires would not hear.
She stood among them, hood drawn low, hands folded tightly in front of her.
The invitation had said all villagers. And so they came—farmers, merchants, blacksmiths, widows, dreamers. No one wanted to be the one left behind; no one wanted to be the one who refused a king who ruled the night.
Her sister stood beside her, practically glowing.
"Do you think the castle will be as beautiful as they say?" her sister asked, smoothing her dress for the third time. "Black stone, silver towers, floors polished like mirrors…"
She didn't answer right away.
Her gaze had drifted to the forest road ahead.
It was darker than it should have been.
The trees leaned inward, branches tangled like reaching fingers. Even in daylight, shadows lingered thick between the trunks, swallowing the path before it disappeared into the distance.
"I think it will be dangerous," she said finally.
Her sister laughed. "Everything is dangerous to you."
"That's not what I mean." She hesitated, searching for the right words. "It feels like… stepping into someone else's dream, or nightmare."
Her sister rolled her eyes. "You worry too much. Tonight, we dine in a king's hall. You should be grateful."
Grateful.
The word felt wrong in her mouth.
The procession began slowly.
Carts creaked forward, horses guided carefully onto the forest road. Soldiers in dark armor rode alongside them. Their presence alone was enough to silence conversation.
As they moved deeper into the woods, the air changed, becoming cooler and heavier.
She felt it first in her chest, a tightening just beneath her ribs. Then in her back—a dull pressure she had grown used to ignoring; it was worse today, spreading like a slow burn.
She shifted uncomfortably.
"You're fidgeting," her sister whispered. "Stand straight."
"I can't help it," she murmured. "Something feels off."
Her sister leaned closer, voice low and sharp. "Don't embarrass me when we arrive."
That stung more than she expected.
She looked away, focusing on the road, on the rhythm of hooves against dirt, and on the way the forest seemed to watch them pass.
They stopped once to rest near a narrow stream.
Water ran clear over smooth stones, the sound deceptively peaceful. Some villagers knelt to drink, others stretched stiff limbs.
She crouched at the edge, dipping her fingers into the stream.
The moment her skin touched the water, the surface rippled outward violently—far more than her movement should have caused.
She pulled her hand back, heart racing.
"Did you see that?" she whispered.
Her sister didn't look up from adjusting her hair. "See what?"
She stared at the water.
It had already settled, smooth and innocent.
You're imagining things, she told herself again.
As the sun climbed higher, the castle revealed itself, not all at once.
First, the towers—jagged and black against the sky, rising above the treeline like spears, then the walls, massive and unyielding, carved from dark stone that seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it.
Gasps rippled through the villagers.
Some fell silent in awe and others in fear.
Her sister inhaled sharply. "It's magnificent…"
She couldn't look away.
The castle felt… alive.
As they approached the gates, her steps slowed without her realizing it, every instinct urged her to turn back, to run, to disappear into the forest and never look back.
And yet her feet kept moving.
The gates opened soundlessly.
No guards announced their arrival. No horns sounded.
They were simply… allowed in.
As they passed beneath the archway, a sudden dizziness washed over her. She stumbled, catching herself on the cart beside her.
"Hey," her sister hissed. "Watch where you're going."
"I'm fine," she said, though her vision blurred briefly.
By the time they were escorted into the outer halls, her palms were damp, her heart restless.
She didn't know why.
She only knew one
thing with absolute certainty, the journey was over.