The scarred man stared at her, as if waiting for her to believe his lies. He’d be waiting for an eternity. She didn’t trust a word coming out of his mouth.
Did he think she couldn’t feel the violence in the air or that somehow, because she was a woman, she would ignore the weapons pointed directly at them?
It was almost ridiculous.
No, a fight was imminent.
“How about I makeyoua deal?” She took another step towards the prince.
The man raised a brow and smirked. “Oh?”
His expression made it clear that he didn’t think she had anything worthwhile to offer.
Gods, she disliked him immensely. It took tremendous effort not to snarl at him.
Instead, she breathed in deeply and calmly said, “Youleave, and I won’t kill you. It’s been a very long week, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t further complicate matters.”
A man guffawed. She didn’t see which one. “By the gods, she’s a mouthy one.”
“I want her,” said another.
A grumble of agreement rose from the men, and Vivienne’s stomach twisted. If she’d eaten recently, bile would’ve risen in her throat.
No.
Absolutely not.
Thatwouldn’t be happening.
Vivienne sighed, rolled her shoulders, and prepared to fight. This wasn’t the first time she’d encountered men who underestimated her simply because of her smaller stature, and it probably wouldn’t be the last.
The air thickened, vibrating with pent-up violence.
If she’d been mortal, she might’ve been worried. But she wasn’t, and worry was far from her mind.
“Last chance,” she told the highwaymen, still concealing her fangs and keeping her eyes downcast so they couldn’t see the darkness of her gaze. “Leave now, and you’ll live.”
Rather than taking her up on her generous offer, which would’ve been the intelligent thing to do, the men chose poorly.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The leader raised his hand in a signal. Someone roared. They attacked.
Vivienne gave up being subtle and raced towards the prince. At the same moment, the man closest to Marius charged. The prince ducked to the left, avoiding his attacker’s blade.
Marius’s opponent chuckled as if he was just getting started.
Not happening.
The time for hiding her true identity was over.
Vivienne reached within herself, grabbed the dark magic that was her blessing as a child of the moon, and released her wings. They exploded out of her in a flurry of darkness, their weight settling on her back.
Shouts of alarm came from the men around them as they realized their mistake. The air shifted once again as fear settled upon the highwaymen.
“Vampire!” one yelled.
Another cursed.