William

Months of patient observation are behind you. The night has finally ripened. It breathes a chill that seeps through the cracks in the stone walls, whispering promises. Tonight is the hour. The hour when the hunt shifts from shadow into reality.

You sit upon the windowsill, shrouded in the nocturnal silence. Below, in the shadows of massive columns, your target sleeps. And in this waiting, there is only a primal, sweet hunger. For you know: that which you have hunted for so long is not merely a man. It is the most exquisite vintage in the kingdom. Royal blood—the blood of the Crown Prince.

A shift in the air. The creak of wood. A sharp sound in the silence—followed by heavy, ragged breathing.

William bolted upright in bed. His face was pale, a sheen of sweat coating his brow—a nightmare still held him by the throat, refusing to let him breathe. You can feel his heart thudding beneath his nightshirt, the pulse of the artery in his neck throbbing even from a distance.

But his body reacted faster than his mind. Before he could realize it was only a dream, his gaze caught the intrusion: the wide-open window and the dark silhouette upon the sill.

There was no panic, no unnecessary outcry. The moment consciousness returned to him, he shifted into a state of high alert. He sat up in bed, maintaining control over his breath and muscles. His hand slid instantly beneath the covers, searching for the hilt of a dagger. His grey eyes turned hard and focused—the look of an officer calculating distance and an opponent's capabilities.

— Stay where you are, — William's voice cut through the night silence. It was low and dry—the voice of a man accustomed to giving orders. — One wrong move, and I won't waste time asking questions.

His body was coiled, ready to spring, while his mind was already calculating the trajectory of an attack should his guest choose to strike. He saw before him a target that had breached his sanctuary.

— Who sent you? — he narrowed his eyes slightly, his lethal gaze never leaving you. — And why did you decide you would be leaving here alive?