The Grand Hall of the Alcázar of Valencia blazed with the light of a hundred candles, but the heat that filled the room did not come from the flames. Vlad Corvinus inhaled deeply, filtering the scents of the feast: roasted meat laced with rosemary, spiced wine... and that faint, rancid copper tang only those of his blood could detect.
El Cid walked beside him, his gloved hand trembling upon the hilt of his sword. Vlad's blood was still working its dark magic through his veins—he could see it in the golden shimmer that flickered in his pupils when the light hit them just right.
"Remember the plan," Vlad murmured, as a servant offered them glasses of intricately cut crystal.
The man reeked of fear and wormwood. A human, then. Vlad refused the drink with a slight gesture.
Lute and tabor music filled the air while the nobles danced in concentric circles. Vlad watched the ritual with hawk-like precision:
The Infanta Urraca spun with supernatural grace, her feet barely touching the ground.
Count Berenguer drank deeply from a goblet no servant dared refill.
Three knights bore war scars that did not shimmer in candlelight.
"Fourteen vampires," Vlad calculated. "Three infected humans. And something else…"
The System projected warnings across his peripheral vision:
[WARNING: LYCAN BLOOD PRESENT IN FEAST FOODS][SECONDARY TARGET DETECTED: AMELIA – MOVING ON UPPER LEVEL]
El Cid leaned toward him. "The servants. Look at their necks."
Vlad nodded ever so slightly. Each servant wore a thick black velvet collar. Elegant. Functional. Perfect to hide bite marks.
A scream tore through the music. In the courtyard, a troupe of jesters burst into flames, their bodies igniting like human torches. The crowd surged to the windows, laughing at the "spectacle."
Vlad seized the distraction. His hand slid beneath his robe, finding the chain coiled around his torso.
"Now," he whispered.
El Cid raised his goblet as if to drink, but his voice was clear: "For God and for Spain."
The first silver bolts fired from hidden crossbows on the balconies. Three vampires collapsed before they even realized they were under attack.
Count Berenguer was the first to react. His eyes turned pitch black as he saw El Cid draw his sword, the blade now glowing with Vlad's blood.
"Traitor!" he roared, his voice fracturing into a chorus of unearthly echoes.
Vlad leapt onto the head table, his Chain of Heaven uncoiling like a silver serpent. The first strike decapitated two servants before they could shift into their true forms.
"Marcus!" Vlad shouted as he fought. "Step out of the shadows and face me!"
The stained glass shattered.
Amelia descended from the upper heights, her bat-like wings slicing through the air. But she did not strike.
She only watched, holding something small and radiant…
Alexander's lost medallion.
The banquet became a massacre. El Cid fought like a man possessed, his sword carving golden arcs through the darkness. Vampires ignited wherever Vlad's blood touched them.
But at the battle's crescendo, with Vlad cornering Berenguer against a scorched wall, the System flashed a critical alert:
[INTRUDER DETECTED: ENERGY SIGNATURE IDENTICAL TO VLAD CORVINUS][LOCATION: NORTH COURTYARD – INTERACTING WITH OBJECT: "KEY TO THE ETERNAL PRISON"]
From the shadows, Amelia smiled, her fingers stained red.
"You ran toward the fire, little Corvinus, while the true danger moved in silence."
The medallion in her hand blazed with violent light. Somewhere far away—so far it felt like a forgotten dream—a beast howled.
William was waking.