Maria sat huddled in the corner of her room, the wooden cross clutched tightly to her chest. The tears had finally stopped, leaving her eyes red and puffy. She stared at the door where Father Gabriel—no, Viscount Gabriel—had been standing. His footsteps had retreated almost an hour ago, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

  The silence felt heavy. Her mind kept repying what she had seen—Father Gabriel drinking blood from Rebecca's wrist. The gentle way he had held her arm. The way Rebecca hadn't seemed afraid. None of it made sense with what Maria knew about demons.

  A soft knock at the door made her jump.

  "Maria?" Gabriel's voice was gentle. "I've brought you some tea. I'll leave it outside your door. We can talk whenever you're ready."

  Maria listened to his footsteps retreat again. She waited several minutes before curiosity drew her to the door. She moved the chair and peered outside. A small tray sat on the floor—a steaming cup of tea, some bread, and honey. The kindness of the gesture confused her even more.

  She took the tray and closed the door again, but didn't repce the chair.

  Another hour passed before Maria found enough courage to open her door. She stepped into the hallway, still clutching her wooden cross. The corridor was empty but lit with soft mplight. She followed it to Gabriel's study, where she knew he spent most evenings.

  He sat at his desk, a rge book open before him. He looked up when she entered, his expression careful, neutral.

  "You came," he said simply.

  Maria stood in the doorway, not quite entering. "I need to know the truth," she said. Her voice was steadier than she expected. "All of it."

  Gabriel gestured to the chair across from him. "Please, sit. Ask what you will."

  Maria hesitated before stepping forward. She sat on the edge of the chair, back straight, cross still in her hand. "Are you a demon?" she asked bluntly.

  Gabriel shook his head. "No, Maria. I'm a vampire. There's a big difference."

  "What's the difference?" she demanded.

  "Demons would be evil spirits from another world," Gabriel expined patiently. "Vampires are humans who were changed by something in this world—what some call a virus, though it's more complex than that."

  Maria frowned. "Virus?"

  "A tiny thing that makes people sick," Gabriel crified. "Too small to see. This one changes people into vampires."

  Maria considered this. "How did it happen? How did people turn into... vampires?"

  Gabriel leaned back in his chair, his fingers forming a steeple under his chin. "It started about thirty years ago. There was a man—they called him Subject 23. Scientists were trying to make people live forever. They mixed many things, including special blood from someone named Elena."

  Maria's eyes widened. The name sounded familiar from whispered stories among the older resources.

  "Subject 23 died from what they gave him," Gabriel continued. "But then he woke up changed. He attacked the scientists, bit them, drank their blood until they died. But they didn't stay dead. They woke up changed too."

  "Like him," Maria whispered.

  "Yes. His saliva—his spit—had the virus in it. When he bit someone and they died from blood loss, they would wake up as vampires too. Those vampires bit others, and it spread."

  Maria tried to make sense of this. "But how did you...?"

  Gabriel's eyes grew distant. "I was a priest before. When people started getting sick and changing, I stayed at the hospital to help. To give st rites to the dying." His voice softened. "One night, a newly-turned vampire attacked the hospital. Many died. I was bitten, my blood drained. When I woke up, I was... this."

  Maria stared at him. The pain in his voice sounded real. "So you were human once? A real priest?"

  "Yes," Gabriel said simply. "I still try to be, in many ways."

  "But you drink blood," Maria said, her voice hardening again.

  "I need it to survive," Gabriel admitted. "But I only take from those who agree, and only a little. I make sure they stay healthy."

  "Why did the Light let this happen?" Maria asked suddenly, her voice breaking. "Why would the Light let demons—vampires—take over?"

  Gabriel sighed deeply. "That's a question I've asked myself for thirty years, Maria. Why does the Light allow suffering? Why does it allow evil? These are the hardest questions of faith."

  "You still believe in the Light? Even as a... vampire?"

  "I do," Gabriel said firmly. "Being a vampire didn't change that. I believe the Light works in ways we don't always understand."

  Maria looked down at the cross in her hand. "The teachings say vampires are demons sent to punish us."

  "Maria," Gabriel said gently, "think about this. If vampires were sent by the Light to punish humans, why would vampires like Baron Cassian and myself try to treat humans well? Why would we care about making blood farms better pces?"

  Maria had no answer for that.

  "And why," Gabriel continued, "would humans who never did anything wrong be punished? Babies taken from their mothers at blood farms? Children working until they colpse?"

  Maria's hands trembled. "Because... because of the sins of those who came before..."

  "Would a just Light punish children for what their grandparents did?" Gabriel asked softly.

  Maria felt tears welling again. Everything she had ever believed was crumbling. "If vampires aren't punishment... if the Light didn't send you... then what is happening? Why is the world like this?"

  Gabriel leaned forward. "Sometimes terrible things happen not because the Light wills it, but because people make mistakes. The scientists who created Subject 23 were trying to do good—to help people live longer. They didn't mean to create vampires. But once it happened, once people changed, everything spiraled out of control."

  "You're saying... it was an accident?" Maria looked incredulous.

  "A terrible accident that changed the world," Gabriel confirmed. "And afterward, some vampires—many vampires—chose to treat humans badly. Not because the Light wanted it, but because they forgot their own humanity."

  Gabriel paused, looking troubled. "But there's something else you should understand, Maria. Something important about why vampires took control of the world."

  Maria looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"

  "If vampires hadn't taken control," Gabriel expined carefully, "we would have been hunted to extinction. The remaining humans would have seen us as monsters—not as people who were changed by accident."

  "They would have... killed you?" Maria asked.

  Gabriel nodded gravely. "Humans fear what they don't understand. They always have. Before I was turned, I saw how people reacted to the first vampires—with terror and violence. Military groups were already forming to hunt them down."

  He leaned forward, his expression intense. "Had vampires not established dominance quickly, humans would have captured some vampires for experiments—to study how we worked, how to kill us more efficiently. The rest would have been hunted and destroyed. All in the name of 'protecting humanity.'"

  "But that's terrible," Maria whispered.

  "Yes," Gabriel agreed. "And that's the difficult truth that few speak of. Vampires took control not just out of hunger or power, but out of fear—fear of being wiped out by the very people they once were." He sighed deeply. "It doesn't excuse the cruelty of blood farms, but perhaps it helps expin why they exist."

  Maria sat in silence, trying to absorb this. Finally, she asked in a small voice, "Are there good vampires and bad vampires? Like there are good humans and bad humans?"

  Gabriel smiled slightly. "Yes, exactly like that. Even before vampires existed, when there were only humans in the world, some humans were cruel enough to be called demons. They hurt others, started wars, kept sves. Being human or vampire doesn't make someone good or evil—their choices do."

  "And you choose... to be good?" Maria asked hesitantly.

  "I try," Gabriel said simply. "I fail sometimes. But I try to remember what being a priest taught me—to see the Light in all beings, to help those who suffer."

  Maria stared at the cross in her hands. "Everything I've taught... everything I've believed..."

  "Wasn't entirely wrong," Gabriel said kindly. "You believed in hope when there seemed to be none. You gave comfort to those who suffered. The Light works through many vessels, Maria, even through imperfect understanding."

  "I don't know what to believe anymore," she whispered.

  "That's all right," Gabriel said. "Finding the truth is a journey, not a destination. We can walk that path together, if you wish."

  Maria looked up at him, studying his face. The same face that had been kind to her, that had taught her letters, that had listened to her questions. Vampire or not, demon or not, he had shown her more kindness than anyone since she was taken from her parents as a child.

  "I need time," she said finally. "To think about all this."

  Gabriel nodded. "Of course. Take all the time you need. I'll be here when you're ready to talk more."

  Maria stood, still clutching her cross. "Can I ask one more question?"

  "Anything."

  "Why am I here? Why did the Archduke send me to your territory?"

  Gabriel's expression softened. "Cassian and Nara requested a pce for you after your... difficulties at their territory. The Archduke assigned you here because of my background as a priest. They thought I might help you understand your faith in a different way."

  "So I was just... passed around? Like property?" Maria's voice hardened.

  Gabriel nodded sadly. "That's how the system works, yes. But since you've been here, I've seen something special in you—a brilliant mind trapped in a world that gave you no education. Your faith shines brightly despite everything you've suffered. In you, I see hope for a better world—one where humans and vampires might understand each other someday."

  Maria nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She turned to leave, then paused at the door.

  "Thank you," she said quietly, "for the truth."

  As she walked back to her room, Maria felt as though she were walking through a fog. Everything she had believed about the world had been turned upside down. Vampires were not demons sent by the Light. They were humans changed by accident. Some were cruel, some were kind—just like humans.

  She closed her door and sat on her bed, looking at the wooden cross. The symbol still meant something to her, even if everything else had changed. Perhaps the Light was still there, still listening, even in this confusing new world she found herself in.

  For the first time since arriving at the estate, Maria prayed not for protection from demons, but for wisdom to understand the truth.