The castle had fallen into a wild mess of noise and confusion. Luther moved through the halls with long strides as the elders, council members, and senior guards followed him, all of them shouting over one another as they rushed toward the outer gates.
The moment they reached the courtyard, the shouting died.
Dozens of bodies lay scattered across the stone floor—guards, soldiers, even a few elite bloodborn with rank marks carved into their armor. Some were slumped against pillars, others sprawled across the ground with weapons still in hand.
Luther stared at the sight with a look that was equal parts surprise and disgust. He wasn't the only one. The elders gasped and stuttered, trying to make sense of what they were looking at.
"How… how is this possible?"
"A human did this?!"
"This is humiliation! Absolute humiliation!"
"It's not even the red moon anymore, how the hell did so many vampires fall to a single intruder?!"
And then came the predictable stupidity.
