Suddenly, the clock chimed loudly, announcing itself to the entire castle, and I shuddered with surprise, and goosebumps ran down my spine. I feverishly counted the beat of the clock. Running up to the third floor, I opened door after door with desperation, and with two more strikes before midnight, I finally found the dining room. As soon as I entered and closed the door behind me, the lights in the dining room went out, and all I could see was a long table and Grayson standing at the window.

It was so dark I was afraid to breathe: I was in total darkness, alone with a vampire who wanted to kill me. It was a living nightmare. My back pressed against the door, and I froze, not wanting to pull away.

– You're just in time. I was ready to get angry," Grayson's voice came over my ear.

A loud yell erupted from my throat. Damn vampire! Scared the hell out of me!

– You must be really hungry. – His voice was already far away from me. Grayson seemed to be flying in the darkness, making no sound.

But I couldn't answer him: my throat constricted. The darkness and Grayson and the unknown frightened me and made me breathe hard. I put my hand over my heart, and it was beating very fast.

Suddenly a candle was lit, then a second, a third, a fourth… Ten candles in all. To my relief, the darkness had receded, and now the large dining room was illuminated by the soft, dim light of these life-saving candles. They stood on the table, their glow reflecting on the metal domed lids covering the large plates. There were only two pieces of cutlery, each at the end of the long, wide table.

– Come to me," the vampire's voice came from beside me, and it was as if he'd come out of the darkness.

I obeyed silently and walked over to him. He was wearing a black suit, and his dark hair was nicely styled back. He seemed to be well prepared for the "festivities".

My silk dress was so light that I felt naked, and I adjusted the slippery straps falling off my shoulders.

– Have a seat. – Grayson led me over to the table and sat me in a soft chair, then sat down at the other end of the table.

– Can I…" I started timidly, afraid to say what I was asking.

– Can what? – The vampire asked in a sweet voice.

– Can I turn on the light?

– Who are you talking to? If it's to me, I have a name.

His voice was calm, but I could feel it: he was angry.

– B-Brandon? – I said, stammering. His, a name like a blade, cut my tongue.

– Yes, Viper?

– Would you mind turning on the lights? – I asked.

The vampire sat across from me, but it was like he was present in every corner.

– Why? I find the dark very romantic," Grayson said softly, and I heard something glass tinkle, but I couldn't see what – because of the rather dim candlelight and the length of the table, I could only see Grayson's silhouette, and his voice came to me muffled, echoing.

– I'm scared," I whispered, squirming in my chair.

– Scared? – The vampire heard my whisper and, rising from his chair, slowly made his way toward me. – Are you afraid of me? – he asked ominously.

– You already know that! – I exclaimed, panicking at his approach. I jumped up from my chair and backed away, not knowing what was on his mind or why he was coming toward me.

– Am I really that scary? – Grayson continued his interrogation in a sneaky tone, coming closer and closer to me.

– Yes! And you want to kill me! – I answered honestly, my voice shaking.

– I'm just trying to amuse you. I don't like seeing you so scared.

– You don't have to entertain me! Just leave me alone! Lock me in the dungeon, kill me, just leave me alone! – I whispered, horrified to realise that there was nowhere to retreat-I had my back against the wall, and Grayson was right next to me.

His silhouette, lit by the yellow light of the candles, was so ominous that my voice dropped. My body shook with a fine tremor. My breathing quickened. My heart pounded frantically. As the vampire approached me, I leaned against the wall with force. Grayson towered over me, and I had to lift my chin to look into his face, though it was hidden by the darkness. I felt small and insignificant and defenseless, because I knew that one blow from his hand and I'd be dead.

– Why are you afraid of me? – Grayson asked quietly. He touched my arm with his icy palm, then it slid up my shoulder, crawled up my neck, and stopped on my cheek.

– You're scaring me! – I squirmed, feeling a strong revulsion at his touch. My body tensed with terror.

– But you're not afraid of Cedric?

I couldn't answer him with words, so I shook my head negatively.

– Then why do you think I'm so scary?

But I remained silent and continued to breathe loudly and frequently.

– I can hear your heart beating loudly, like a bird in a cage," Grayson whispered in my ear. – And I know that when I brought you that dress, you wondered where I got it. Didn't you? It's just that you're not my castle's first guest, and this dress belonged to a young aristocrat who ran away with me from her mother's funeral.

"God, so it's a funeral dress! And he killed her!" – ran through my head.

– She was very beautiful, even for a mortal, and it felt good to kill her. – His beautiful ingratiating tone was even more terrifying than when he raised his voice at me. – Remember, Viper, if I ever hear you call me by any other name, you're on your own. You don't like being treated like furniture, do you?

– I'm sorry! – I tearfully exclaimed.

– Do you promise me?

– Yes!" I barely whispered, but that little bit was worth the effort.

He took his palm away from my cheek, clapped his hands together, and the dining room immediately lit up with a bright light that almost blinded me. I blinked quickly and saw that the vampire was already sitting in his chair.

But how? How did he do it so fast… Could Cedric really do all of this too?

– Sit down, or the food will get cold, and I don't want you to starve to death," the vampire smiled at me.

I saw that Grayson had already removed the lids from the dishes on my side of the table. I slowly made my way to my chair and sat down, but I didn't dare touch the beautiful cutlery.

– What did Morgan tell you? – The vampire asked suddenly. He sat back in his chair, his gaze fixed on me.

– About what? – I didn't understand.

– Don't play silly. About us.

– About vampires? Not much… Almost nothing," I lied, so as not to give away my lover.

– What kind of things? – Grayson asked.

– All I know is that you're immortal and you kill people… Well, and you keep it from humans that you drink our blood.

– You expect me to believe that?

– But it's true! Cedric is afraid to push me away. He says I don't need to know.

– That sounds very believable, Viper, but I know you're lying.

– I'm not lying! – I exclaimed in desperation.

– Why aren't you eating? – suddenly asked the vampire.

– I'm not hungry. – I had no desire to touch food.

– If you won't eat, I'll feed you myself. – Grayson's voice was cold: the tone of his voice frightened me, because I'd already realised that this vampire was the kind of vampire who always kept his promises.

He left me no choice: I put the first dish I could find on my pretty white plate, picked up my fork and knife, and silently began to eat. I was so hungry, it turned out, that I was glad to be able to satisfy my hunger with a tasty baked potato with some white sauce.

Grayson grinned at me.

– See, I knew you were hungry. You haven't eaten anything in almost two days," he said with a smile.

– Where did all this come from? – I asked. – You didn't make it yourself!