Chapter 1: Shattered Dreams

Tears slid down Sidia's cheeks and over her hands as she covered her mouth in shock. An intense wave of anxiety spread from the crown of her silky black hair to her heaving chest. She could hardly believe what her parents had just told her. Everything she had ever thought real and possible had been shattered in just a short conversation.

"You can't be serious!" Sidia finally spoke, her voice trembling behind her shaking fingers.

Her mother looked away, preferring to hide her emotions as always. Sophia Amato had never been able to fully express any kind of feeling, positive or negative. This made her the perfect matriarch, of course. But not much of a good mother.

"I am deadly serious. This is why you have never met my older sister Helena. She didn't just cross the mountains and become a famous Parisian artist, Sidia. Every woman in your position has had to face this. I expect you to handle it just as my sister did, just as so many before you have." Enzo Amato always spoke with a stern tone, ready to berate or criticize at a moment's notice. He wasn't even allowing Sidia room to grieve for herself, for the future they just ripped away from her.

Vampires? In the mountains? The thoughts raced through her head; the idea of such monsters living so close to her all this time without her knowledge terrified her. How many nights had she stolen away out her window to walk the gardens in peace? On any of those nights, had some mysterious stalker watched from afar, eager to see her grow and turn into the next sacrifice? How many vampires had smelled her scent mixed with the salty air of the Mediterranean as she grew up in Monterosso? Worst of all, her parents had hidden this secret from her all along. They knew from the moment she was born that she would never live a full life. They knew as soon as she first cried out and breathed that her life was forfeit. She was like a pig raised for slaughter.

"You expect me to just accept the death sentence you offered me? I'm sure Aunt Helena took it with such grace, too." Sidia couldn't keep the bitterness from her voice.

"This isn't a punishment or a death sentence, Sidia. This is an honor. We are giving you to the coven on your birthday to continue our pact with them. Your noble sacrifice means continued peace and happiness for Monterosso." Enzo paused for a moment, adjusting his sleeves just to keep his hands busy. "Obviously, if you don't want to do this, that's fine. Stay here and live your life."

"What do you mean? You just—"

"I can't make you sacrifice yourself. However, if choose not to follow the family tradition, and if you choose to save yourself, think about what will happen to the rest of the village." Her father leveled his steely eyes at her. "If you don't do this, our people lose the centuries of magical protection we have enjoyed. We don't know how the vampires do it, but Monterosso has never experienced plague, famine, or war because of our sacrifice."

"Then we could live normally like everyone else." Sidia interrupted. "If that's all the vampires do for us, why can't we just live like the rest of the world? Why must we live this way?"

Enzo rolled his eyes and laughed without humor. "I'm so glad it's easy for you to imagine taking away the comfort and joy all these hundreds of people possess. But it's not that simple. The vampires are the ones who made the deal with us, Sidia. They initiated this pact. Obviously, they need this generational sacrifice for some reason. If we take it away from them, do you really think they would just consider the deal null and void? Do you really think they wouldn't retaliate? For whatever reason, they benefit from this arrangement. If we took it away, I can't imagine they would be happy."

Sidia hugged her arms over her chest as she considered her father's words. He was right, of course. She could decide not to do as her family had done all this time and save herself, but what would happen to everyone else? What would happen to the people she had grown up with? What would happen to the children?

"I need some air." Sidia dashed to her bedroom window and threw it open, welcoming the rush of warm summer air tinged with the smell of ocean. She could see the beach from her room, and she tried to let the sight of the crests crashing into the shore under the moonlight with the faint rumble of sound soothe her fears. Her parents said nothing as they waited for her to gather her thoughts. At least they had the decency to give her that much space.

Just this morning, Sidia had been sketching out the sunrise as it peeked over the Tuscan mountains. She was full of anticipation for her eighteenth birthday, excited about the possibilities. The eldest daughters in each generation of her family had always been allowed to leave Monterosso when they turned eighteen. She had always thought – always been told – that they pursued their dreams elsewhere in the world. They became artists, poets, nuns, or healers. Her entire family history was built on lies, though. All her life she had stared at the stars and dreamed of what greatness she would contribute to her family. How would she make her mark on the world?

But no. Her parents had just destroyed those illusions. She let her tears loose once again at the thought of her impending doom. As it turned out, the eldest daughters of the Amato family didn't go off on wild adventures. No, they were brought to the foot of the mountains on their eighteenth birthdays and willingly sacrificed to a secret coven of vampires dwelling there. According to Enzo, this tradition started centuries ago, and it was the reason the villagers of Monterosso had never faced any hardship. The crops were always plentiful, the sea offered delicious sustenance, no one ever fell ill, and no invading army had ever trespassed. Everyone lived long and happy lives under her family's rule. No one had ever questioned that.

Why hadn't Sidia questioned it? Why had she lived her whole life never wondering why her female ancestors had been granted such liberty? She never wondered why her father allowed her an education. He gave her access to books and knowledge only permitted for men. Now she knew it was because it didn't matter how she conducted herself or how she turned out. He was never going to have to worry about marrying her to another noble family. He never had to worry about her reputation or image. All he had ever been strict about was her keeping company with other young men. He had never allowed her a suitor or a fleeting crush. She had never had the opportunity to meet anyone who would catch her eye. Her destiny must have been yet another reason for that.

"You have no idea what they do to us? What they did to your sister?" Sidia asked through clenched teeth.

"Watch your tone." Enzo bristled. "I know it's not an… ideal situation, but—"

"Not an ideal situation?" Sidia whirled around, anger finally bursting through. "What a way to describe it, Father. Sacrificing your firstborn to bloodthirsty demons is not ideal to you?"

Enzo stiffened in his chair, eyebrows furrowed. He clearly had to hold his tongue and restrain his own rage. "I do not take this lightly, child. This is how it has always been done. We cannot sacrifice the happiness and security of our people. This is a sacrifice we must make."

At that, Sophia Amato stood up from her chair, knocking it over as she fled the room. Sidia crossed her arms over her chest as the door closed behind her mother. At least she seemed to care about her daughter's fate. It was the most overt expression of love her mother had ever shown her.

Wait, Sidia thought to herself. Maybe her mother wasn't as cold and heartless as she had always perceived. If she knew her daughter's fate from the beginning, why would she attach herself? A small pang of grief ricocheted in Sidia's chest as she realized her mother's lifelong distance had been her attempt to protect herself from this day.

"Is there nothing else we can do? This coven insists on a daughter from each generation?" Sidia sat in the window seat, gazing once more at the ocean as she waited for her father's response. His voice was much softer than she would have expected.

"I'm afraid not. We do not have a way to contact them or negotiate. We simply follow the instructions, and life is always good and long for the villagers." Enzo stood up from his chair and straightened his clothes. "I assume you will not run away from this responsibility. Am I correct in that assumption?"

Sidia nodded weakly, still refusing to look at him.

"Good. Think about the story you want us to tell the villagers. After all, we can't let anyone know about this, and we need to fabricate some kind of tale, so they think you're alive and well. You get to choose that much." He did not wait for another response from her. He left the room, the door clicking softly behind him. Sidia was left alone with the terrible truth of her fate, the weight of what she would have to do for Monterosso.

Sidia fought another wave of sobs, fear gnawing at her heart. She clutched at the gold cross she wore around her neck and whispered a silent prayer for help. For a moment, she briefly hoped this mysterious coven would simply kill her. She cried harder as she imagined the other things they could do to her. What kind of sick imaginations did demons possess? What sort of hellfire and brimstone would they subject her to? What on God's green earth were they going to do to her?