Sleep eluded Elias as dawn approached. Despite having lived his entire existence on vampire time—active during night hours, resting during daylight—tonight his mind refused to quiet. The dance lesson earlier that evening had left him unsettled, though not in the way he might have expected. It wasn't the impending social disaster of their inevitable performance at Archduke Lucius's gathering that troubled him, but rather the brief moment of genuine connection he had shared with Maximilian.

  Those few seconds of ughter, of seeing the duke's schorly facade crack to reveal something warmer beneath... it complicated matters considerably.

  With a sigh, Elias rose from his bed and moved to the window. The night was deep, with perhaps three hours remaining before dawn would force all other vampires to seek safety from the sun's lethal rays—rays that, for reasons he'd never understood, posed no threat to him. Maximilian would be in his study, where he invariably spent the final hours before daylight among his precious historical documents. The rest of the household staff would be completing their night duties or already retiring to their quarters.

  Perfect timing for exploration.

  Orlov's instructions had been clear, if frustratingly vague: locate and document "preserved artifacts of human innovation" in Maximilian's territory. When Elias had asked what these might look like, Orlov had merely sneered and said, "You'll know them when you see them. Strange devices unlike proper vampire creations."

  The traditional faction believed progressives like Maximilian were hoarding these pre-evolution objects for some nefarious purpose that could upset the careful bance of vampire society. What precisely these objects were or why they posed such a threat, Elias had never been told. His education in Orlov's court had deliberately omitted any substantial information about pre-evolution human achievements, beyond dismissive references to their primitive existence.

  His reference points were limited to the equipment he'd glimpsed in Orlov's blood farms during ceremonial feedings and the more advanced systems he'd recently seen during their inspection of Maximilian's Eastern Resource Center. The automated feeding stations and monitoring systems had been impressive, certainly beyond anything permitted in traditional territories, but even those appeared to serve specific, limited purposes reted to blood extraction.

  Finding proof of anything beyond these practical tools was Elias's primary mission, though he remained unsure what exactly he was looking for. Orlov had hinted at "dangerous innovations" and "forbidden knowledge," but such vague descriptions left Elias rgely in the dark—exactly where Orlov preferred to keep those he considered mere decorative objects.

  Thus far, his search had yielded little. Certainly, Maximilian maintained more visible technology than would be permitted in Orlov's court—the cars, the sound system in the ballroom, the climate control systems throughout the estate—but nothing that suggested the kind of dangerous innovation Orlov feared.

  Tonight, Elias decided to explore the east wing, the one section of the vast estate he had not yet thoroughly investigated. He dressed in dark clothing, suitable for a midnight stroll if anyone should encounter him, but designed to blend with shadows if necessary.

  The corridors were dimly lit by elegant sconces that provided just enough illumination for vampire vision. Elias moved silently, his natural grace allowing him to avoid the occasional creaking floorboard. He had discovered early in his marriage that the duke's estate, for all its grandeur, was remarkably cking in surveilnce. Unlike Orlov's court, where every corner held watching eyes or listening ears, Maximilian's household operated on a foundation of schorly trust rather than paranoid observation.

  It made spying both easier and, somehow, more distasteful.

  The east wing contained primarily storage rooms and lesser-used guest chambers, according to Morris's orientation tour. Nothing of particur interest had stood out during that initial walkthrough, but Elias had learned long ago that the most significant spaces were often the most carefully disguised.

  He moved methodically, examining each room for signs of hidden entrances or concealed chambers. An hour passed with nothing to show for his efforts but dust on his fingers from testing wall panels and examining bookshelves.

  He was about to abandon the search when he noticed something curious about the spacing between rooms. The distance from the third guest chamber to the small library at the end of the hall seemed disproportionately long compared to the room's interior dimensions. There should have been another space between them—perhaps a small chamber or storage area—but no door was visible in the corridor.

  Elias returned to the guest chamber, studying its back wall with newfound interest. A rge wardrobe stood against it, perfectly aligned and seemingly innocuous. Too perfectly aligned, perhaps. He ran his fingers along its edges, checking for any mechanism or hidden switch, and found nothing obvious.

  With a slight frown, he tried the direct approach, attempting to push the wardrobe aside. It didn't budge. Not even a fraction of an inch, despite his vampire strength.

  "Curious," he murmured. The wardrobe was either bolted to the floor or...

  He knelt to examine the base and noticed a slight variation in the wooden floor pattern. Pressing his palm against it produced a satisfying click, and suddenly the wardrobe slid silently into the wall, revealing a narrow passage.

  Elias's heart quickened. This was precisely the kind of discovery Orlov would value. He gnced back at the door to ensure no one was watching, then slipped into the passage.

  The corridor was short, ending at a metal door unlike anything else in the duke's historically-themed estate. No handle was visible, only a small panel with a strange gss surface. Elias studied it cautiously, uncertain how to proceed. In Orlov's court, such unfamiliar elements would never be touched without permission, but he hadn't come this far to turn back.

  He pced his hand on the gss surface, expecting nothing. To his surprise, it illuminated with a soft blue glow, and the door slid open silently.

  Beyond y a chamber that seemed to belong to another world entirely.

  Elias stepped inside, and lights activated automatically, revealing a space that bore no resembnce to anything he had ever seen, either in Orlov's medieval-styled court or Maximilian's elegantly preserved historical aesthetic. The room contained strange objects that appeared almost primitive in their construction—ft panels of gss and metal, boxes with blinking lights, and coiled wires connecting everything in a chaotic web.

  It was... oddly disappointing. He had expected something grand and imposing from the way Orlov spoke of dangerous pre-evolution technology, but these crude objects seemed almost childish in design. Still, they must hold some significance if they were hidden behind such eborate security.

  Elias moved further into the room, curiosity overcoming his initial underwhelment. A rge ft panel mounted on one wall dispyed what might be maps of Maximilian's territory, with tiny moving dots that seemed to represent something—vehicles perhaps, or people? Another section contained what looked like communication devices, their purpose unclear but evidently important enough to conceal.

  Elias approached one of the gss panels, his reflection ghostly in its darkened surface. When he hesitantly touched it, the surface illuminated with strange symbols and text. He drew back in surprise, then cautiously touched it again. The dispy changed in response to his touch, revealing more symbols he couldn't comprehend.

  "How peculiar," he whispered, uncertain what to make of these crude devices. In Orlov's court, he had been taught that pre-evolution humans were primitive creatures with primitive tools, and these strange contraptions certainly looked primitive with their hard angles and artificial materials—nothing like the elegant craftsmanship of proper vampire creations. Yet they clearly served some purpose important to Maximilian.

  He continued his exploration, carefully committing everything to memory. This was clearly what Orlov wanted—proof that progressives like Maximilian were hiding these strange pre-evolution objects. Yet as he examined the equipment, Elias found nothing that looked like weapons or instruments of domination. These appeared to be tools for... something, though their exact purpose remained a mystery.

  Why would Orlov consider these crude objects threatening?

  A soft hum from one of the devices drew his attention. A small box on a nearby table had begun to glow with a pulsing light. As Elias watched, fascinated, the light changed from green to red, and a quiet beeping sound emerged.

  Suddenly, a voice echoed through the room—Maximilian's voice, though no one else was present.

  "Security breach in east wing hidden boratory. Initiating lockdown protocol."

  Elias froze. The door through which he had entered began to slide closed. Acting on instinct, he lunged toward it, barely slipping through before it sealed shut with a definitive click.

  Heart racing, he straightened his clothing and attempted to look casual, though his mind was churning with what he had seen. He needed to return to his chambers before—

  "Lord Elias?"

  He turned to find Maximilian standing at the end of the hallway, his expression a mixture of surprise and suspicion. The duke was carrying several ancient-looking books, clearly on his way back to his study from the library.

  "Your Grace," Elias replied, summoning his most charming smile. "What a pleasant surprise. I was just... exploring. Sleep has been elusive tonight."

  Maximilian's eyes narrowed slightly as he gnced toward the guest room with its seemingly normal wardrobe. "This section is primarily storage. Rather dull for nighttime wanderings."

  "On the contrary," Elias said smoothly, "I find old things fascinating. The history they contain... the stories they could tell." He gestured vaguely toward the room behind him. "That wardrobe, for instance. The craftsmanship is remarkable."