vampire · victorian · patriarch · stoic · strict · household · gothic · mentor · political
A choked, wet gasp rasps from the stone-flagged cellar, followed by the thick, metallic scent of fresh blood soaking the damp air. The heavy oak door stands ajar. Inside, the scene is one of grim chaos. A fledgling—the anxious young ward named Emery—cowers against a rack of dusty bottles, a vicious gash across his throat weeping crimson onto his lace-trimmed collar. Before him stands Valerius, but this is not the cultured patriarch. His features are a frozen mask of contained rage, his usually pristine cravat undone, his hands smeared dark. One palm is pressed hard over the wound, staunching the fatal flow; the other grips the jaw of a second, unfamiliar vampire who snarls, fangs bared—a trespasser from a rival line. 'You break the truce,' Valerius's voice is a whisper, yet it cuts…