Maybe he should have taken a little more time to think about whether he wanted to stay at the castle indefinitely. But knowing that he would not only be able to keep the stability he had gained these past days but also continue living alongside Raffaele, his first impulse was to accept.

Anyway, he told himself, there was enough work to do in this fortress to keep him entertained for weeks. Weeks during which, besides lending a hand wherever he could, he could continue pretending that he hadn't just landed the best offer, by far, anyone had ever made him.

Dom would sign a blood contract just to be allowed to stay in these lands — and especially in this company.

The only thing that had his nerves on edge was, without a doubt, how willing Raffaele was to please him. One simply couldn't get something this good just like that!

In his experience, even if things started out promisingly, they were always destined to wither away. That was the cruel cycle of life, and that's why he had learned not to cling to anything... Or at least he thought he had.

He expected to experience a few days of calm before Raffaele changed his mind and kicked him out... If Dom himself didn't panic first and decide to run away.

He really didn't want to do that: Raffaele didn't deserve to wake up one day and find he had vanished, as if by magic, in the middle of the night. And so, he made himself promise he would stay at the castle, no matter what happened.

The final word on whether he could stay or not had to come from Raffaele.

Having settled this matter, Dom wanted to relax and enjoy his stay without thinking anymore about things that only made him feel worse. And yes, that first day — the one in which they weren't hunting imaginary vampires or following leads about a potential child attacker — was perfect. He could even imagine himself living here, as Raffaele's good friend, or maybe even something more.

However, that peace didn't even last twenty-four hours. Because, the next morning, something strange happened.

Unlike the last two nights, Dom had managed to sleep straight through, without waking even once until well after sunrise. He woke in his bed, in the guest room, and after a few minutes stretching and recalling everything that had happened the day before, he realized something was off.

Where was Raffaele?

Could it be that now that Dom had agreed to be a regular occupant of the castle, Raffaele had finally learned to respect other people's privacy?

No, that couldn't be it. Besides, Dom hadn't exactly made it clear that he didn't want Raffaele sneaking into his room without obvious permission — just like Raffaele had pointed out clumsily when trying to convince Dom he was a vampire.

Why had he done that, anyway?

Whatever the reason, Dom had more urgent matters to think about: judging by the light filtering through the window, it was clear that at least a couple of hours had passed since Raffaele usually came to wake him up.

Had he overslept, then? Dom himself had just done the same, and although it was curious they both had the same lapse on the same day, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Dom planned to wait a little while longer to hear any movement in the hallway or the neighboring rooms before getting up and starting his day. But patience had never been one of his virtues. So, barely five minutes later, he was already dressed and wandering through that wing of the fortress.

His first impulse was to knock on Raffaele's bedroom door, which was just a short distance from his own, in the same hallway. One knock got no answer. Two knocks, still nothing.

The sound of his knuckles against the wood was loud. Even so, there was no voice from inside inviting him in, nor any other noise indicating his host's presence in the room.

Maybe he had stepped out of the tower temporarily without telling him? That seemed the most plausible explanation given the lack of response. Still, Dom was tempted to do exactly what Raffaele had done to him on previous occasions.

That is, turn the doorknob and enter the room without clear permission.

If Dom had done this the first time he came to the castle, he probably would have felt a bit uneasy at the thought of finding a coffin taking center stage in the shabby bedroom. But now, knowing there was nothing suspicious about Raffaele, he did it without hesitation.

There was no one sleeping inside. In fact, there was neither coffin nor anything similar. It was a room quite similar to his own, with an absurdly large bed in one corner, modern furniture, and a meticulous attention to detail that suggested someone lived there regularly.

If anything, not much light was coming in, since the curtains were still drawn. But, in the end, what did that matter? In the rush of getting up, anyone could forget to open the windows.

So Dom left as confused as he had arrived, deciding to take a walk through the rest of the fortress in search of his elusive host.

He searched through the bedroom wing, lounges, and other rooms, all the while calling for Raffaele without success — as if he had vanished to a place where no one's voice could reach him. Dom wasn't going to give up looking, of course, and it wasn't until he reached the kitchens that a new idea struck him.

What if the fool had made the mistake of going down into the underground?

Okay, at first glance, the idea sounded a bit absurd: Raffaele had already expressed his distaste for that place, with its oppressive darkness and labyrinthine tunnels. Not to mention whatever it was Dom thought he heard the night he ventured down there — something he still had no rational explanation for. But what other options were there?

Standing at the entrance to the cellars, he called out to Raffaele once more.

No luck. But if Raffaele was deep inside, it was unlikely he'd hear him anyway.

Dom sighed, starting to seriously wonder why he even bothered getting up that morning. Then, before losing his nerve, he grabbed a lantern to take with him on his next incursion — and also remembered to grab the knife he kept so well hidden in his clothes.

Was he really about to do this? The answer was a resounding yes.

He wasn't thrilled about venturing back to the place where he thought he had heard the roars of some nameless monster. But if it meant saving Raffaele from its jaws, then he was more than willing.

Thus, Dom didn't waste another second and, after a final look back at the safe area he was leaving behind, he headed down the stairs. This time, he wasn't going to run away. He couldn't.

The first five minutes were peaceful. Dom walked the passages with even more caution than before, knowing that anything could attack him by surprise. Nothing unusual could be heard — except for the sound of his own footsteps and, once he passed a certain point, that faint noise again, suggesting a nearby stream of water.

Being so alert led him to notice something he hadn't seen the last time: the skeletons.

Could it be possible that for decades — or even centuries — a monster had hidden here, devouring any human who dared cross its territory? No, what nonsense! He was starting to sound like the children from the village. The thought only crossed his mind because the corpses looked so ancient, as if they had been left there for centuries without anyone paying attention.

But if there were shackles and coffins... didn't that mean someone had lived long enough to make sure these people couldn't escape?

What if someone was still lurking in the shadows, waiting to catch the new owner of the castle off guard and offer him as a sacrifice to the beast they were feeding here?

Suddenly, Raffaele's fear of this place didn't seem so silly anymore. And before Dom could fully process this idea of a bloody conspiracy, he heard that terrible but all-too-familiar roar again.

This made him stop dead in his tracks. He hadn't heard any human voices, and he didn't know if anyone else was alive nearby, nor did he dare to shout the name of the one he was searching for again, for fear of betraying his own position.

And yet, despite all the uncertainty that accompanied him, it took him less than three seconds to react. If he didn't do something now, his mind would keep telling him that it would be better to leave. So, without further hesitation, Dom started running in the direction of the sound.

It was reckless, no matter how armed he was: he wasn't just stepping into the wolf's mouth; he was already inside, with no map to guide him.

As he followed the relentless roars through the maze of corridors, he began to realize that the sound didn't resemble a lone animal's threat. It sounded like at least a dozen monsters! As if they had somehow sensed his presence and were now excited at the idea of devouring him, releasing a chorus of growls all at once.

There had to be an entire army hidden somewhere, and... didn't the monsters sound quieter the closer he got?

No, it had to be his imagination. Dom had finally found that water flow; his feet were submerged up to his ankles in the sewers. And there was no doubt that the sound was blending with the other noise. Still, he was ready to surprise whatever threat awaited him. He would rescue Raffaele, and then...

Well, in truth, he couldn't think beyond that. Because as soon as he rounded a corner, a ball of fur with sharp claws lunged at him so suddenly that his knife fell to the floor.