Prologue
1864
My eyes snapped open in fright as shouts made their way through the house and into my bedroom. I cautiously pulled back the comforter on my bed and lightly placed both of my feet onto the cold wooden floor.
As I got closer, I began to distinguish the voices and recognized them as my father's and Stephan's. I made sure to avoid the creaks of the floor as I got closer; if father knew I was listening in, I would be in trouble for sure.
I slowly bent both knees to peer through the keyhole of the door to father's study. I felt a scream ripple its way through my throat as I saw my brother stab my father. Stephan's head snapped in the direction of the door. He no longer looked like himself, he looked like a monster.
I took off running through the hallway; terror and shock were the only two emotions that managed to reach the surface. I was almost to my bedroom, but within seconds my brother had appeared in front of me. I didn't have time to think of how this was possible before I found myself clutching the small metal of the cross tied around my neck.
I began to beg God for forgiveness, to spare my life, if only-. My prayer was interrupted as Stephen snatched my wrists into his hands, bruising them, and pulling me against him. I looked up terrified at the monster that was once my brother.
Another scream made its way through my throat as Stephan's teeth plunged into my neck, breaking the skin. The pain wasn't like anything I had ever experienced before and I knew in this moment, I was going to die, and to the one person that was supposed to protect me; my brother.
He greedily drank the blood from my body, taking what little I had, and consuming it for his own pleasure. My eyes fluttered close as they had begun to become cloudy and I was close to losing consciousness.
I was seconds away from losing everything, yet Stephan jerked away from me, causing my body to slam into the wood. I was numb. I made myself open my eyes as to look at the monster that had taken my life.
To my surprise, I saw a look of horror. But, I did not feel pity.
The darkness began to pull on me; I accepted. The last thing I would ever feel was the sinking feeling as a potent, thick liquid found its way into my mouth.
