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“I need to speak with Dracula,” Jonathan said, trying to keep his voice steady.
Andor’s smirk widened. “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. You look... rather disheveled. Been somewhere you shouldn’t have?”
Jonathan’s silence was answer enough. Andor pushed off from the wall, moving towards him with predatory grace. “Come,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. “There’s something you need to see.”
Before Jonathan could protest, Andor grabbed his arm and pulled him along. They descended a spiral staircase hidden behind the main staircase, going deeper into the castle’s bowels than Jonathan had ever been.
The air grew cooler and damper. The walls were rough-hewn stone, and water seeped through in places to form eerie patterns. Finally, they emerged into a vast underground chamber that took Jonathan’s breath away.
Rows upon rows of coffins lined the walls and floor, each ornately carved and inlaid with precious metals and gems. The air hummed with an otherworldly energy, making the hairs on the back of Jonathan’s neck stand on end.
“What is this place?” he whispered, awed despite his lingering fear and anger.
“This,” Andor said, sweeping his arm in a grand gesture, “is where we slept in the early days. Now it’s a tomb to my brothers and sisters who couldn’t handle eternity and wished to go down for the long sleep.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Why have you brought me here?”
“You can’t confront my father now,” Andor continued. “He needs to focus on the coming battle. Your... emotional entanglement would only serve as a distraction.”
Jonathan bristled at this. “I’m not some... some complication to be brushed aside. I deserve answers!”
“Perhaps,” Andor conceded. “But now is not the time. Besides, can you truly trust anything my father might tell you?”
The words hit Jonathan like a physical blow, reminding him of Vigo’s warning. “Vigo told me not to trust you,” he said, eyes narrowing. “He said you abandoned him.”
For the first time, Andor’s composure cracked. A flicker of what might have been pain crossed his features before being quickly masked. “Ah, Vigo,” he sighed. “My greatest love... and my greatest regret.”
“What happened?” Jonathan found himself asking, curiosity momentarily overriding his anger and fear.
Andor was quiet for a long moment, his gaze fixed on a point in the distance. His voice was soft when he spoke, tinged with an emotion Jonathan couldn’t quite place.
“I suppose you’ve earned the right to know this much. Vigo was the love of my life,“ he began. “Perhaps he still is, in a way. But the turning... it wasn’t going well. By the second dose of my blood, he was already showing signs of becoming feral. Like those poor souls you encountered in the East Wing.”
Jonathan shuddered at the memory. “So you just left him?”
Andor shook his head. “I couldn’t bear to see him suffer. I stopped the process and left him in the care of a wealthy family. I even paid for his education, intending to provide for him for the rest of his mortal days. But Vigo...” A sad smile played on Andor’s lips. “He was always stubborn. He set out to find me, nearly losing his life several times in the process.”
“And that’s when Dracula took him in?” Jonathan guessed.
Andor nodded. “It seemed the best solution at the time. He would be safe and cared for. I thought... I thought it was for the best.”
Jonathan absorbed this information, his mind whirling. “Could that happen to me?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Could I become like those... things in the East Wing?”
“It’s always a risk,” Andor admitted. “Not every human takes to the change. What you saw... that’s the worst-case scenario. Personally, I think my father should put them out of their misery. But he keeps them as some sort of twisted penance, I think. A reminder of his failures. Personally, I never liked any of them. They tried to become Béla. Is that what you intend to do boy? Find his journals and adopt his mannerisms like some fool?”
“No! I would never!”
“Then there may be hope for you still. Perhaps you won’t be driven mad in the pursuit like those others.”
“They did that because they loved him...”
Andor cut him off with a sharp laugh. “Love? Hardly. They wanted immortality, and like all humans, they were willing to do anything to get it.”
Jonathan opened his mouth to protest, but if he truly thought about it, he still had no idea what he wanted.
“Why, after everything you had seen and experienced, did you want to return to London?”
Jonathan breathed deep as he thought of his answer. “Fear. I...I was rejected and I wanted to get away. I was afraid of myself and what my attraction to Dracula could unleash in me, and I was afraid of him.”
