The men were humans. All of them were scowling, their eyes flashing with violence.
The skin on her arms prickled, and even the snowflakes falling leisurely from the sky and dusting the dirt road in white didn’t relieve the tension in the air.
She adjusted her grip on her sword.
The prince had had the foresight to draw his dagger, but the blade looked laughably small in the face of the larger weapons. Even though he was no longer swaying, his face was paler than usual.
Of all the times for something like this to happen, why now?
Felix stood with his back tall, a crimson sword made of Death Elf magic pointed at the chest of one of the scowling humans. A long cut ran down the groom’s left cheek, and blood trickled down his chin.
Vivienne hissed at the sight, her fangs burning.
“Well, hello there, little lady.” A man with greasy black hair and a scar across his left eye stepped away from the others. His steps werefilled with authority as he approached Vivienne, his cocky demeanor at odds with the lecherous gleam in his eye as he looked her over. “You boys didn’t say you were hiding such a tasty little treat in your carriage.”
He raised a hand as though to touch her, which was laughable. Vivienne had vowed on the night of her Making that she’d never let another man touch her without her permission, and she didn’t intend to start now.
Growling, she raised her sword and kept it between them. She kept her mouth shut and prayed they couldn’t see her black eyes. Something told Vivienne that keeping her vampiric nature hidden would be vital tonight.
Marius snarled, “Don’t touch her.”
That was sweet, but she didn’t need the prince to defend her. She was fully capable of protecting herself.
This wasn’t the moment to tell him that, though. She shot him a warning smile that she hoped said,Let me take care of this, please.
He was just so far from her.
Keeping the sword between her and the humans, she inched towards the prince. She needed to get to him as quickly as possible.
“Stay back,” Vivienne warned, careful to keep her fangs hidden. “Don’t come any closer.”
The scarred man laughed as if she’d made a joke.
“What do you think you’re going to do, hurt me?” His eyes narrowed on her weapon. “That sword looks awfully heavy. Maybe you should put it down before you injure yourself.”
It was just like a man to see a woman holding a sharp blade and immediately assume she didn’t know what to do with it.
“I’m good.”
Part of her hoped the human would push her further. She could use afight. It would be the perfect outlet for all the anger and frustration she’d been dealing with since she took this position.
She took another step towards Marius, keeping her gaze locked on the leader of the humans.
Maybe if she kept him talking…
“What do you want?” she asked.
He raised a brow and adjusted his grip on his own sword. “Times are tough, as I’m sure you know.”
She nodded, taking another step. “I’m aware.”
Times were always tough in the north. The population was low in the northern villages, since most of Eleyta’s humans bordered the Western and Eastern Kingdoms. Life wasn’t easy for humans in this cold, inhospitable land.
“Winters are long, and our village has needs.” The human’s gaze flicked to the carriage. “We want your carriage and horses. Give them to us, and we’ll let you live.”
Damned highwaymen. They were a known problem on Ithenmyrian and Eleytan roads, but Vivienne had hoped they wouldn’t run into them.
Luck clearly wasn’t on their side.
