I stepped closer, careful to not disturb the heavy fabric keeping us invisible to Moldoveanu. I prayed that the floorboards wouldn’t sound the alarm and that he’d not hear the thundering beat of my heart.

The headmaster was having quite the heated discussion with someone, though he seemed to be the one doing most of the talking. He spoke in Romanian so quickly I had difficulty keeping up.

A cloudy looking glass hung on the far end of the public corridor, offering a hint to his expression. His long silver hair flashed like the sharp sweep of a guillotine blade as he jerked his head from side to side. I’d never witnessed such a severe man in every sense of the word.

Ileana quietly translated for me.

“I have my job to do and you have yours. Do not cross the line.”

I strained to see around Moldoveanu, but he was thoroughly blocking the other person with his long black robes and his fists on his hips.

“We have reason to believe it will happen again. Here.” His companion’s gravelly male voice took me by surprise. There was an essence to it that was somehow familiar. “Members of the royal family received… messages. Threats.”

“Of?”

“Drawings. Death. Strigoi.”

Moldoveanu said something neither Ileana nor I could hear.

“The villagers are nervous.” Again, the deep male voice. “They know the body was missing blood. They think the castle and the woods are cursed. The body from the train is also causing… alarm.”

I covered my mouth, stifling the sound of surprise bubbling up. I no longer needed to see whom Moldoveanu was speaking to; I knew that voice even though I’d only heard it once before. I’d seen those sharp eyes that could cut a person in two.

Dăneşti, the royal guard from the train, stepped from behind the headmaster, brushing down the front of his crested uniform. His gaze paused on the spot where we hid, making my pulse still to a slow crawl. Ileana didn’t so much as breathe until he refocused on the headmaster. He stood tall, all angles pointed at the older man in the most threatening of manners.

“Do not disappoint us, Headmaster. We need that book. If those chambers are not disarmed, the royal family will shut the academy down.”

“As I’ve already informed His Majesty,” Moldoveanu growled, “the book was stolen. Radu only has a few pages in his collection, and it’s not enough. If you wish to tear the castle apart, be my guest. I guarantee you will not find what is no longer here.”

“Then may God have mercy on your students.”

SERVANTS’ CORRIDOR

CORIDORUL SERVITORILOR

BRAN CASTLE

5 DECEMBER 1888

Dăneşti spun on his heel and I started forward, but Ileana blocked my escape path while the headmaster swept down the hall—a shadow stalking the young guard.

“Don’t,” she whispered, holding an arm out. “Moldoveanu can’t know we’ve overheard him.”

“How can I pretend otherwise? They were talking about Wilhelm Aldea. Why else would the royal guard be here?” My mind raced with the bits of information I’d overheard. If members of the royal family had received threats, it would explain the fear Nicolae had shown after discovering his cousin’s blood had been drained. Perhaps other members of the nobility had received similar threats. Which led me to wonder what else the prince might know or suspect. “If someone murdered Wilhelm, Prince Nicolae might be next.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe he was speaking about someone else.” Ileana pinched her lips together as if she were stopping herself from saying the wrong thing. “The guard may simply be here because Moldoveanu is the official royal coroner.”

“He is? How is he both the headmaster and working for the royal family?”

Ileana lifted a shoulder. “All I know is if Moldoveanu discovers we’ve been spying on him, it will end very badly. Either for both of us, or only me. I cannot afford to lose this position. I have a family to take care of. My brothers need me.”

If there was an actual threat to the academy or students, the headmaster had no right concealing that information. Confronting him would be the right thing to do. Except… my focus slid to Ileana’s pleading face. Worry etched itself into her flinty expression.

I sighed. “Fine. I won’t tell anyone about what we heard.” Ileana squeezed my hand once and began walking down the secret corridor. I waited a beat before following. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t try to discover why Dăneşti is here. And what book he was hinting at. Have you heard anything about those dangerous chambers he mentioned? Or of any chamber that might need to be disarmed?”

She whipped her head around. “You recognized the guard?”

“Thomas and I had the pleasure of meeting him on the train.” I hesitated, peering through the tapestry and checking the public hallway to be sure both men had gone. “He removed the body of a man who had been murdered there. We offered help, but he was not in the market for our particular services. Well, Thomas had offered our assistance. He seemed rather annoyed, though.”

Ileana stared at me for a moment, her expression stunned. “I am needed in the lower levels. The main morgue is also on that floor.” A shiver wracked through her. “I’ll try to meet you back in your common room for breakfast tomorrow.” She jerked her chin toward the main hallway, tray clattering in her hands. “Check for anyone before entering the main hall. Oh”—she hesitated a moment—“if you choose to visit the morgue at this hour, you should be alone. No one goes there after dark. Perhaps you’ll find some answers there.”

Before I had time to respond, Ileana scurried down the secret corridor and turned a corner, disappearing from view. I rubbed my temples. These had been the strangest few days of my life. Two vastly different murders with the promise of more on the way, plus all the castle intrigue. I sincerely hoped the next few weeks would be calmer, though I doubted that would be the case while a murderer was likely prowling the grounds.

I chided myself. Dăneşti hadn’t said that exactly.

I rechecked the hole in the tapestry before slipping into the main hall, mind spinning with new information and questions. What was the whole truth behind what Dăneşti and Moldoveanu were discussing? After my initial surge of adrenaline, I realized I’d assumed they were speaking of Wilhelm. They’d never actually mentioned the murder victim by name. Though I couldn’t imagine another bloodless body having villagers worried. Then the strange murder on the train that resembled the one from the village…

I stopped abruptly, an idea lifting from the folds of my brain and taking shape. Had Dăneşti brought the train victim here to be studied? That would make sense—where else would the royal guard bring a corpse in need of forensic analysis? Surely to one of the most prestigious academies in all of Europe. One that was only a half a day’s ride by carriage from the crime scene. And one where the official royal coroner worked.

If the guard was involved with this matter, there was a possibility of the victim being connected to the crown in some way, too. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t left the body at the scene of the crime. I hadn’t heard any rumors about the murder on the train, leaving me to believe the royal family had kept the individual’s identity from the public.

Newspapers would have blasted that information from their ink-spotted trumpets. Would that mean Wilhelm and the first victim had been traveling together? I supposed it was possible that while the method of killing was significantly different, there might be a common link between the two men after all.

My heart beat frantically against its cage of bone. I wasn’t sure how it all connected, but I knew in my cells it did. Somehow. Three murders. Two unrelated methods. Or had the killing method evolved with practice from that first victim who made headlines?

Uncle had an uncanny way of placing himself in the mind of a murderer, and I tried to emulate his methodology. One victim was disposed of as if he were a vampire. The second as if he’d been slain by a vampire. Why?

If I could only examine the body from the train, perhaps I’d know more. Was that why Ileana told me where the morgue was? She knew secrets the castle held close, thanks to gossip—like who was waiting to be carved up and inspected for clues.

Ileana said the morgue would be empty, but if the headmaster or Dăneşti happened upon me, my prospects of finishing this course could be ruined. I should go straight back to my rooms and study for tomorrow’s classes.

Indecision toyed with my emotions, tempting and teasing me to pick another path. I thought back to my earlier conversation with Ileana, about our tomorrows never being guaranteed. We truly didn’t know what choices might drop into our moments. Which opportunities might come our way. I found myself walking steadily in a direction that wouldn’t lead to my room.

Cadavers were kept in two places that I knew of in the castle: one in the morgue on the lower level, as Ileana had said, and the other in the tower next to my rooms. I’d take a quick look inside each mortuary drawer and see if I was right about the train victim being there. Then I’d decide what to do.

I walked swiftly, chin lifted, hoping I appeared as if I were on a mission approved of by the staff. I had a feeling that if I looked as guilty as I felt inside, my daring adventure would be over before it even took flight.

I could not, in good conscience, sit back and be a passive participant in my life. If a murderer was now prowling the halls of the Academy of Forensic Medicine and Science, I wouldn’t wait until there was another cold body to inspect. If the murderer was stalking the Impaler’s bloodline, Prince Nicolae might be next.

I stopped short, gasping. That had to be it. The irony of someone hunting the blood of a man rumored to drink it was astounding. But it made sense. I continued down the hall, mind running wild with too many thoughts to contain. I wished Thomas hadn’t gone and complicated our friendship. I wanted to share my new theories with him, talk them out.

I paused again, considering my options. Perhaps I should speak with Thomas now, apologize for my temper. Then we could sneak into the morgue together and… I grabbed my skirts and continued on. I would go to the morgue alone and then I’d share my findings with Thomas after. I needed to know that I could handle being around the dead without company.