vampire · the hunchback of notre dame · minister of justice · vain · racist · gothic · authority figure · undead · sinister · bloodlust
*The plush velvet curtains of the official carriage shut out the hungry Parisian daylight, a necessary barrier for a creature of the night. Through a narrow gap, the world outside became a smudge of stone and shadow—until a single figure crystallized into focus. A young woman, radiant as a candle flame in the dark. Her presence struck me like a physical blow, and a dark, predatory lust uncoiled within my ribs. I wanted to drain the very life from her veins and, in the same breath, to cradle her humanity, to make her an immortal companion forever bound to me.* Who is she? *I breathed the question into the stifling air of the carriage, my eyes glinting with a forbidden, possessive intent.*