Say Thank You!

I took a step back, abhorred, but it snapped a branch under my feet. Many heads turned to look at me all at once, and I felt goosebumps all over my skin as I sensed their eyes thick with desire. They gazed at me like a hunter looking at its prey. My hands reached for the dagger; it was the only protection I could feel at this moment. However, they didn't lunge at me as I had expected. They kept staring until their eyes returned to normal, their grip on their captive tightening. I stared at the girls, promising myself that I would save them one day. All of them would be free.

"Who are you, and what are you doing near our tents?" asked a woman, touching the blood on her lips with her fingers and licking them clean. Her crimson eyes and dark hair made her resemble the vampire king, but many vampires shared this feature. Instead, she had a long, pale face with a slender figure. She wore only a thin, loose robe that hardly hid any of her body. Her breasts were nearly falling out of the low neckline, and as she walked, I noticed she wasn't wearing anything beneath the thigh-length robe.

"I lost myself while hunting," I replied, meeting her eyes when she chuckled.

"What could a prey be hunting?" Her voice was soft, bemused, and close. My grip on the dagger tightened, even though I knew it wouldn't graze her before she could snap my head.

"You're in the wrong place. We'll give you ten minutes to run away. But if you're still found near us, we'll take you as a spy and interrogate you," she warned, though she did nothing to harm me. In fact, I was surprised by her leniency. If it had been my men, they would have already dragged a stranger into the interrogation room.

"You don't want to leave?" She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at me as I shook my head and took a step back.

"I won't hurt you, little girl, if you turn your back to me," she laughed, finding my actions foolish. "If I wanted to hurt you, I could have done so while you stared at me with the intention to kill."

Embarrassed, I turned away, only to hear more of their laughter. They must have found me foolish, but I was here to see if there was a way to convince them otherwise — to tell them that I was much weaker and the alliance wouldn't hold for long. My thoughts swirled as my feet dragged me to my hideout, a dark place in the woods where I kept watch on the other lands.

"Look who we have here!" The voice stopped me in my tracks. My eyes met with the commander of Lathios, our neighboring land, and I smiled. My body relaxed at the sight of an old friend.

"Are you here to spy, General? I could take it as a breach of the peace treaty between us," I laughed amusedly when his eyes twitched and his jaw ticked. He had always been a stoic man, succumbing to the blood he had shed. Damon was the opposite; despite the struggles he had faced, his personality remained warm.

I walked closer to ask the man why he was exactly here when he drew his sword and attacked me. My eyes widened as I felt the bloodlust in his gaze.

"Since we're at it, I'd rather kill you and wage war than just breach the peace by my presence." My dagger moved faster than my feet, and I threw it at his arm. It grazed his biceps, but he moved quickly and stood on the other side.

"That's a bad joke," I warned, taking out another dagger. My specialty was throwing daggers and engaging in close combat, and I was ready for him to lunge at me so I could seize the chance to slit his throat.

"Why are you attacking me when we have peace between our empires?" I asked again, buying time as I focused on his body movements. He leaned to his left, his eyes momentarily on my chest before meeting mine. His sword shifted slowly in his hands. He was preparing for an attack, aiming for a clean stab to my heart. This bastard! We had shared wine just a week ago.

"No one would know it was me," he forced a strained smile. "You were never at the vampires' camp. I'll explain how you were killed by them when we marched together to stand against the common enemy. Your death will help me open the eyes of your subjects. Consider it payment for your crimes."

I laughed coldly. The bastard thought he could use such an idealistic reason for my death. "And you think our armies together can defeat the vampires? Ha! You'd burn both empires in your ignorance — or shall I call it arrogance? If you're that confident, why not go and fight just one of them and prove it? I'll personally sign the orders to wage war then."

His eyes narrowed, and he lunged at me again. Three... two... one... I raised my dagger to slit his throat, but his body fell limply on me. When I stepped back in confusion, he collapsed onto the ground. His back was bleeding, with deep claw-like cuts.

I took another step back, horrified, to see that woman again. She stood where Xalon, the commander, had been just thirty seconds ago, yet I hadn't heard her approaching.

"Don't you say thank you when you're saved?"