The ornate grandfather clock in the main library corridor chimed ten times, its sound echoing through the vast collection of knowledge that comprised Duke Maximilian's pride and joy. Most of the night staff had retreated to the service areas, leaving the library wings blissfully empty—exactly as Elias had hoped.

  Three months into his political marriage, Elias had developed a reasonable understanding of his husband's schedule. Tonight, Maximilian was occupied with his monthly meeting with territory administrators—a tedious affair that would keep him busy until at least midnight. The perfect opportunity for some uninterrupted exploration.

  Elias moved silently through the eastern library wing, the one containing historical texts from the pre-evolution era. While he'd been sent to spy on Maximilian's collections, he had to admit a growing fascination with the duke's library that had nothing to do with his mission. The mere concept of so many books in one pce still amazed him. In Archduke Orlov's court, books were primarily decorative objects, symbols of traditional vampire refinement rather than sources of actual knowledge.

  "His organization system makes absolutely no sense," Elias muttered to himself, running his fingers along the spines of ancient books. "Historical texts next to poetry next to—is that a cookbook?"

  He pulled out the unexpected culinary volume, then frowned when it refused to slide all the way out. Stubbornly, he tugged harder.

  Rather than yielding, the book made an audible click.

  Elias froze, his vampire reflexes instantly on alert. Slowly, he released the book, which now protruded at an odd angle. Nothing happened for several seconds. Just as he began to rex, the entire bookshelf made a soft mechanical sound and swung inward, revealing a dark passage behind it.

  "You have got to be kidding me," Elias whispered, eyes widening. "A secret passage? How delightfully cliché."

  The schor in him—a part he hadn't known existed until coming to Maximilian's territory—was immediately curious. The spy in him saw valuable intelligence. And if he was being honest, a third part just thought it was exciting.

  Gncing around to ensure he was truly alone, Elias slipped through the opening. The passage beyond was dark even for vampire eyes, illuminated only by small blue lights running along the floor at intervals. The walls were smooth metal rather than stone or wood, completely unlike the historical aesthetic Maximilian maintained throughout the estate.

  Elias had taken perhaps ten steps when the bookshelf swung shut behind him with a definitive click.

  "Well, that's unfortunate," he said to the darkness, trying to ignore the first flutter of concern. He turned back, hands searching the wall for a release mechanism. Finding nothing but smooth metal, he sighed. "Forward it is, then."

  The passage stretched ahead, occasionally branching or turning. Elias maintained a mental map, confident in his vampire memory to navigate back once he found another exit. The deeper he went, the more unusual the surroundings became. Strange panels with glowing symbols lined some walls. Unidentifiable humming devices were embedded in alcoves. All of it was utterly foreign to someone raised in Orlov's traditional court.

  "Is that... music?" he paused, hearing a faint melody ahead.

  Curiosity overwhelming caution, he followed the sound to a circur chamber with multiple doorways. In the center stood what appeared to be a pedestal with a glowing blue surface. Elias approached it cautiously, marveling at the symbols that danced across its surface.

  "What is this pce?"

  Unable to resist, he touched the glowing surface. Instantly, the soft music stopped. The blue light turned red. A mechanical voice filled the chamber:

  A loud, shrill arm suddenly bred throughout the chamber, the noise assaulting his sensitive vampire hearing.

  "What in the blood moon is that?" Elias gasped, covering his ears and backing away.

  Small panels in the ceiling slid open. Elias barely had time to register the change before jets of water sprayed down, soaking him completely.

  "What in the—" he spluttered, leaping away, only to trigger a pressure pte in the floor.

  The arm suddenly changed tone, becoming deeper and more pulsing. At the same time, small red lights began fshing throughout the chamber.

  A translucent barrier suddenly dropped from the ceiling, separating him from three of the five doorways. Simultaneously, from one of the remaining exits, came a mechanical whirring. Elias turned to see a small wheeled device rolling toward him, a red light blinking on its top.

  "Is that... following me?" he backed away, only for the device to adjust its course to match.

  Elias darted toward the remaining open doorway, accelerating to vampire speed. The device unexpectedly matched his pace, whirring louder.

  "Oh, come on!" Elias compined, sprinting now down a corridor that sloped gently upward.

  Behind him, the arm changed pitch again, becoming a rapid staccato sound that somehow seemed more urgent and threatening.

  The chase was both terrifying and absurd. Elias—a vampire noble, consort to a duke—fleeing from what appeared to be a glorified cleaning device with unusual determination. Each time he thought he'd lost it, the persistent machine would appear from another corridor, its red light blinking accusingly.

  A normal vampire might have simply destroyed the device, but Elias had no idea what would happen if he damaged Maximilian's property. For all he knew, breaking the little wheeled menace might anger whatever strange magic animated it, or worse, summon his husband to witness his trespassing. Besides, some part of him found the situation too ridiculous to take entirely seriously.

  "This is undignified," he informed the device as it cornered him yet again. "I am Lord Elias, consort to Duke Maximilian. I demand you cease this pursuit immediately."

  The device blinked its red light faster, apparently unimpressed by his credentials.

  Elias sighed dramatically and turned to flee again, only to slip on his still-wet clothes. He tumbled forward, crashing against what appeared to be a bnk wall. Instead of impact, however, he felt the wall give way, rotating rapidly and depositing him unceremoniously onto a plush carpet in a completely different room.

  A room that was very much occupied.

  "Elias?" Duke Maximilian stood frozen in the center of what was unmistakably his private bedchamber, halfway through changing into formal evening attire. His shirt was unbuttoned, his hair damp from a recent shower, his gsses slightly askew, and his expression a perfect study in bewilderment.

  Elias, still prone on the floor, dripping wet, hair pstered to his forehead, looked up at his husband and managed a weak smile.

  "Good evening," he said with as much dignity as possible. "Lovely... chamber you have here."

  Maximilian blinked rapidly, his mouth opening and closing several times before he found words.

  "Did you just... fall through my wall?" he finally managed.

  "To be perfectly honest, I'm not entirely sure what happened," Elias admitted, pushing himself to a sitting position. "Though I do seem to have discovered some sort of secret passage system." His eyes narrowed. "Which apparently contains small wheeled devices with vindictive tendencies. Since when are there ghosts in metal wheels haunting your passages?"

  As if on cue, a mechanical whirring approached from the still-open wall panel. The tracking device emerged, red light blinking furiously, and continued its determined path toward Elias.

  "Oh, for heaven's sake," Elias scrambled backward on the carpet.

  Maximilian finally snapped out of his shock. With three quick strides, he reached a panel on his bedchamber wall and pressed a sequence of buttons. The tracking device immediately powered down, its light fading.

  "It's a... mechanical servant," Maximilian expined carefully, choosing his words with obvious restraint. "Part of the estate's protection system." He eyed Elias's soaked appearance. "I see you also encountered the water defense."

  Elias stood, attempting to wring water from his sleeve with as much dignity as possible.

  "Is that what that was? I thought perhaps you had some sort of magical water feature for unwelcome guests." His voice was desert-dry despite his soaked appearance. "Most educational."

  Maximilian's lips twitched. For a brief moment, Elias thought his normally serious husband might actually ugh. Instead, the duke cleared his throat and grabbed a towel from his bathroom, offering it with awkward formality.

  "The system is... calibrated for unauthorized entry," he expined, watching Elias attempt to dry his hair. "It's preserved technology from before the evolution. I maintain several systems that the, ah, more traditional court might find excessive."

  "Is that what we're calling 'being water-bombed by your house' these days? Excessive?" Elias raised an eyebrow, but his expression held no real annoyance. In truth, he was fascinated. "What does this have to do with those blood farm devices? I thought 'technologies' were just the machines for harvesting blood from humans, not attacking innocent consorts."

  "Nothing like what you're imagining," Maximilian said, adjusting his gsses nervously. "Those machines you're thinking of are just one kind of technology. Technology isn't just the blood farm devices—it's a broader term for all kinds of mechanical and electrical creations from before the evolution. This system is designed to... discourage uninvited guests. Though clearly it needs recalibration if it's treating my own consort as an intruder."

  Elias stared at him for a moment, absorbing this information. "So 'technology' refers to all these strange devices? The wheeled ghost, the water sprayers, the glowing surfaces?"

  "Exactly," Maximilian nodded, seeming pleased at Elias's quick understanding. "Archduke Lucius encourages preserving pre-evolution knowledge, while more traditional territories like Archduke Orlov's... prefer to keep such things limited to practical applications like blood extraction."

  An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Elias was suddenly acutely aware of Maximilian's state of undress, of the intimacy of being in his private chambers, of the water dripping onto undoubtedly priceless carpets.

  "I should go," Elias said quickly, looking toward the normal door. "You have your meeting to prepare for, and I need to change into something less... aquatic."

  "Yes, of course," Maximilian agreed immediately, then hesitated. "But perhaps tomorrow night, if you're interested, I could show you the proper way to access the passage system? Without activating the security protocols."

  The offer hung in the air between them—not a reprimand for snooping, but an invitation to explore together. Something shifted in Elias's perception of his schorly husband.

  "I'd like that," he said, surprised to find he meant it. "Though perhaps we could avoid the security drones? They seem to have developed a particur dislike for me."

  Maximilian's mouth quirked into what might almost be called a smile. "I'll deactivate them temporarily. The water system too."

  Elias nodded and backed toward the door, leaving wet footprints on the carpet. He had almost escaped when Maximilian called after him.

  "Elias?"

  He turned, one hand on the doorknob. "Yes?"

  "Next time you want to explore the library, you could just ask. I'd be happy to show you around." There was no accusation in Maximilian's tone, only a hint of something that might have been hopefulness.

  Elias found himself momentarily speechless. He settled for a nod and a small smile before slipping out into the corridor.

  As he hurried to his own chambers to change, Elias's mind raced with this new understanding of "technology." All his life in Orlov's court, he'd been taught that technology was simply those specialized machines used for blood extraction—necessary but distasteful devices that proper nobility needn't concern themselves with. But now he understood it encompassed an entire world of devices and inventions from before the evolution—things that could move on their own, create strange lights, even spray water when triggered.

  It was like discovering an entire realm he never knew existed. No wonder Orlov's court kept technology hidden away from most nobles—the power and knowledge it represented would fascinate even the most traditional vampire. He remembered how as a child, he'd once been severely reprimanded for asking about a strange clicking device he'd glimpsed in a servant's quarters. Now he understood why—knowledge was power, and clearly Archduke Lucius's faction embraced this power openly while Orlov's faction pretended to disdain it while using it in secret.

  What else had been hidden from him all these years?

  The realization was as uncomfortable as his wet clothes, and considerably harder to change