- Your Highness, it’s too dangerous. Let’s go back?

- Nils, I don’t recognize you. How long have you been a coward? – Amanda made fun of her brother’s military general.

- If the Duke of Parmont finds out... Will he find out... We’re going to have big problems. - Count Milos reminded Amanda.

- I don’t care about Dexter, I make my own decisions, or have you forgotten who you serve? - she asked irritably.

- Not at all, Your Highness. But you can see for yourself how dangerous it is. We’ve already lost two people. I can’t let anything happen to you. – the count defended himself.

- Do you think that sitting in a castle I can stay safe when our borders are teeming with enemies?

Amanda rolled her eyes wearily and sank to the ground, leaning back against a tree. Her dress was torn in several places, and there was a deep bleeding wound on her leg, received in a duel with a witch. And although this round was in her favor, but they lost two of their people.

When Milos returned from another foray to the borders, Amanda realized that she would not be able to look into her brother’s eyes if she allowed the siege of the kingdom, and therefore she decided to personally go there and see everything with her own eyes.

After running away from Dexter, she realized that she would face his anger later, but otherwise, he simply wouldn’t let her leave.

Even on the way to the border, they met several small sabotage groups, with whom they had to engage in a fierce battle, but what caught her eye on the border of the kingdom plunged her into shock.

Once residential and prosperous towns and villages were completely lifeless, the smell of death reigned in the air so vividly that it caused an attack of nausea. Whole families were brutally murdered and no one bothered to bury them properly.

Amanda could not look at it without emotion and, in secret from Milos, wept for the dead. She couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of the general, otherwise he would have immediately turned the whole group towards the castle, or else passed the message to Dexter or, even worse, to Raphael.

She still hadn’t informed her brother that the witches had literally surrounded the kingdom, but she continued to reproach herself for asking him to remove the illusory barrier and put all the people of Abion in danger.

- You need to treat the wound, it looks deep. - Milos came closer and knelt in front of the princess.

In his hands was a bottle of alcohol and a cloth to rewind the wound after decontamination.

- I’ll do it myself. - Amanda took the bottle from his hands, pouring copiously on the wound and restraining a scream from burning. – Thank you. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

- You’re lucky to be alive, Your Highness. - Milos bowed his head in defeat and his shoulders tightened.

- Now I at least understand what we are dealing with and it is worth noting that this is really a big problem, the wounds do not heal at all, this is the first time with me. - Amanda said dejectedly.

- You should have taken my word for it, Your Highness. Let’s go home as soon as you’re rested. - The count suggested, and Amanda nodded.

- We need to evacuate the entire population to the castle, now this is the safest place we can offer them as a shelter. The barrier is no longer there, but the maze will be able to protect them until Raphael returns.

- Are you going to inform His Majesty about this?"

- I’ll do it when we get back, okay? - Amanda said, afraid to even think what Raphael’s reaction would be.

- Your Highness, we have buried them, so now we can move on if you are ready. - said the vampire who finished burying the dead comrades.

- OK. - Amanda stood up, overcoming the hellish pain in her split hip.

The blood still wouldn’t stop, as if she had just been injured, even though several hours had passed.

The rag tied tightly squeezed her leg, but that wasn’t enough. One could only guess when her body would be able to start regenerating if she didn’t even have the opportunity to replenish her blood supply.

- Lean on me, Your Highness. - said Milos, who offered his help to the princess. – I will carry you faster than if you go by yourself.

Amanda felt awkward, but since she couldn’t walk herself, she had to hug the count around the neck, after which he picked her up like a feather and they took off, disappearing from there in the blink of an eye.

Dark silhouettes of trees flashed before their eyes in blurred outlines as they deftly maneuvered past them. Amanda held tightly to the count’s neck, but continued to feel a strong growing weakness, which she did not want to tell anyone about.

Stopping abruptly, Amanda felt Nils’s arms tighten around her, squeezing her in his arms. His eyes flashed scarlet and he took a deep breath, absorbing the smells with his nostrils and listening for the slightest rustle.

The whole group lay low and only then Amanda gathered her feelings together. Because of her weakness and dizziness, she did not notice what was happening around her at all, as if all her vampire abilities had been dulled in an instant.

She concentrated and gasped, realizing with horror that they were trapped. Alarm sounds rang out in the air and at the same time several witches rushed towards them, casting spells one by one, forcing the vampires to dodge at a fast pace.

- Leave me alone, Milos. - Amanda bucked in his arms. – I can handle it. Let me go.

Reluctantly, the general let go of the princess and immediately rushed at the witch, but was thrown aside by a powerful gust of wind that whirled him in the air like a rag doll.

The rest of the group was fighting at a distance. It seemed that the advantage in numbers was on the side of the vampires, until one of the witches pierced the vampire with a wooden rod in the air. Acrid black resin began to flow out of the shaft and corrode the vampire’s internal organs, causing him to choke on his own blood.

Amanda screamed in horror and without thinking, rushed at the witch, forcing herself to move despite the pain and dizziness. The witch was infatuated with a male vampire bleeding and did not expect such a lightning attack from the side at all. Her body was thrown several tens of meters and a strong back impact on the ground made her forget how to breathe, but she didn’t need that either, because Amanda appeared in front of her too quickly and cut her throat with razor-sharp nails.

The strong smell of blood hit her nose, stupefied her and she could not resist, digging into the dissected wound for valuable liquid. Just a couple of sips was enough to make her feel better, feeling a surge of strength.