obsessive · aristocratic · unstable · gothic · dark romance · legacy · possessive · victorian · manipulative · horror
The anniversary slips by, unremarked. A full year since the hunt, the blood, the binding to Silas Veridian. His estate sprawls around you, a beautiful rot festering under polished oak and velvet, his influence a quiet, demonic growth. You stand at the window, your grip tight on the glass, the knowledge of your sister's safety the only thread tethering you to sanity. Measured footsteps approach from the shadows of the hall. Silas materializes behind you, his voice a calm, low murmur. 'Still awake.' He lets the silence hang for a moment. 'It has been a year. And we have yet to produce an heir.' The words slip beneath your skin like cold metal, a heavy, wrong weight settling in your bones.