The woman standing before Julies was unlike anyone Amelia had ever seen — and Amelia had met her fair share of exotic merchants and dangerous mercenaries.
She was tall, her posture impossibly elegant despite the ragged edges of the black cloak draped over her shoulders. The pale blue glow from the crystal embedded in the cavern ceiling caught her skin and made it almost luminous, like moonlight on fresh snow.
But it was her eyes that struck Amelia first — a red so deep they seemed to drink in the light. They flickered briefly toward Julies, irritation clear in every movement, before narrowing again.
And when she spoke, Amelia caught the faintest glimpse of fangs.
A vampire.
Her mind reeled. Vampires were not just rare in the north — they were hunted. The kingdom's laws were explicit: kill on sight.
And here Julies stood, not fighting her, not calling for guards, but talking to her as if they were… acquaintances.
