Bitten by Time (The Vampire Genesis Chronicles Book 1) by Lara Bronson

the older man gave. I looked at the umbrella, and its quality stunned me. It didn’t resemble the cheap foldable umbrellas they sold here for the price of gold. No, it was a classic, straight umbrella I used to see in vintage movies. When I opened it, I could feel the luxurious smoothness of the wooden handle, and the frame had an undulated shape with a long, metal point in the middle. I had yet to see such excellent quality in an umbrella. I peeked several times in the direction of my benefactor in hopes he would return. All the while, without realizing it, I found myself in front of the ticket booth’s glass window. I paid for my ticket, handed the umbrella to a person from the back of the line, and climbed toward the main entrance alongside a group of tourists. With each step, my heart began beating faster to the point of wanting to run toward my childhood dream. The stories my dad told me and the memories he shared with his family visiting the history of his own country all came alive in my mind. I wished he, mom, and my sister could’ve traveled with me. Yes, this wasn’t Dracula’s castle per se, but it impacted my life far more than the cartoonish stereotypes many were familiarized with at an early age. The castle looked carved out of stone due to its rocky foundation, while the top, in contrast, displayed intricate ornamentation. The towers were added later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, by Romanian royalty. Hence, some structures reminded most of a gothic sty