"A vampire!"
"No way!"
"Run!"
"Protect us, Your Highness!"
The air rippled with panic as villagers scattered like startled birds. Gasps and shouts echoed off stone walls as people stumbled backward, forming a wide, trembling circle around her—around Alicia. Their eyes were full of disbelief, but more than that… fear. Pure, bone-deep fear.
She stood alone now, no longer hidden by the crowd. Her crimson eyes gleamed in the morning light, and her pale, porcelain-like skin did little to comfort anyone. To them, she may as well have been a walking nightmare.
Ernest, who had been frozen in place until now, finally broke his silence.
"Surround her. Now."
The knights obeyed instantly as they formed a tight ring around Alicia unsheathing their words.
I stepped forward and in a blink, I vanished and reappeared beside Alicia. A collective flinch rippled through the knights. They weren't expecting that.
"What do you think you're doing?" Ernest asked, raising a brow.
