Royal Renegade

Chapter 23: Nightmare

Princess Axelia

A branch.

It's the only barrier between me and the drooling monster baring a mouth of fangs in my face, and it snaps.

Whimpering, I squeeze my eyes shut.

This is it.

Lukewarm, grimey fluid drips onto the skin of my neck makes me cringe, releasing a small cry, but when a bite doesn't follow, I peek open my eyes. The Feral's heavy body still pins me down, but is distracted. Its milk white eyes stare up into the trees where colonies of bats and a parliament of owls make the pine trees appear as though they're dancing. 

Amidst the hundreds of flapping wings, I catch sight of a flickering black sword falling in twirls through the mass of birds. 

The owner lands with a thud, his boots sinking into the snow straddling my head before he drives the tip of his sword through the Feral's neck.

Its thick blood glops out of the wound as it continues to bare its teeth and thrash its arms. Groaning, I use my legs to kick its body off while my rescuer withdraws his blade only to then decapitate the beast with a single swipe.

Scrambling, I bury my numb hands in mounds of snow as I crawl to my feet. "Th-there," I rasp, pointing to the other feral as it quickly descends the trunk of a tree to attack.

Leonidas turns to face the beast, waiting until it launches at him before lowering to a knee and raising his sword allowing the momentum of the Feral to cut its own body in half splattering the snow in blood, brains, and guts.

Yet, somehow, the Prince's deep blue tunic and black pants seem to remain stainless as he rises to his feet turning in the direction I have just come from.

It's then that I notice the ground shakes as a team of horses emerge from the shadows behind him. Nearly a half hundred soldiers adorned in sliver and blue armor rush past us with javelins, swords, and crossbows drawn while ground troops carry longbows. Glancing over my shoulder, the forest appears like a sky of stars as white eyes come rushing towards us. 

There's no time to blink before the Reriman warriors collide with Ferals.

Defenseless, I spot a gap at the base of an oak tree that I run to and hide in while a war between the two vampire species unfolds before me. 

It's a nightmare.

Horses drop in thumping heaps as the savage Ferals butcher their bodies while any soldier who falls loses their life in the same way. Heads are rolling, guts splatter and pile up, shouts turn to snarls, the metallic smell of blood becomes the air, and all I can do is watch the barbarous scene. Hyperventilating, I scoot until my back presses against the inside of the tree as though the contact will provide comfort as panic sends my heart racing.

Pulling my knees to my chest, my body shakes and shivers. My exposed arms and legs tingle from the various depth of wounds, but I'm not cold anymore. Everything simultaneously feels numb and yet on fire.

Cries, screams, shouts, hisses, growls, gurgles, and the thunderous drum of bodies dropping finally gets me to close my eyes as I press my elbows into my knees and wrists against my ears.

Something grazes my leg and I scream, delivering a kick that misses its target.

Opening my eyes, I watch as Leonidas catches my ankle and eases my boot back to the ground while he squats, leaning an arm against the tree. He peers in at me, eyes vibrant and covered in blood. It doesn't seem to faze him in the slightest, and I can't help but wonder if it's because of what he is.