I jolted awake to the sound of screams echoing in the corridor. My heart raced with fear. What was happening? Should I check outside? The chaos made me hesitate—what if someone was attacking again?Maids rushed past my door, panic etched on their faces. I wondered what could possibly threaten vampires. Maybe rogue vampires had turned on the humans. My mind raced with questions, but the screams only deepened my terror.Footsteps approached, and I hoped it was William. Still, I felt the urge to stay hidden. My powers were still so limited; I had just mastered a few basic spells. The thought of facing a vampire again terrified me.Suddenly, the footsteps stopped outside my room. I held my breath. "I hear you!" a voice echoed. My pulse quickened as I called out, "Who's there?"Before I could prepare myself, the door burst open. A man with glowing red eyes and blood dripping from his mouth stepped into the light. He had an unsettling smile, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me as he appraised me like I was a meal."What do you want?" I stammered, backing away, desperately trying to hide my fear.His expression hardened as he strode toward me, making my heart skip a beat. This was my second encounter with a hungry vampire. He smirked, running his tongue over his fangs."Got you," he said, his voice dripping with malice as he grabbed my hair and tightened his grip around my neck. I couldn't let this happen again. I had my powers now.Desperate, I clawed at his hands, but his grip was too strong. I gasped for air, feeling my face turn blue as he leaned in, ready to bite.I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. Suddenly, warmth surged through me, filling me with confidence and washing away my fear."You shouldn't have come after me," I said, meeting his gaze with newfound boldness. I smirked and struck hard at his groin. He released me, and I fell to the floor, gasping for breath.As he regained his footing, I stood my ground, refusing to back down."You're feisty. I love a good hunt, darling," he taunted, his fangs gleaming."Try then," I challenged. Just as expected, he lunged at me with vampire speed. Summoning my strength, I caught him by the neck before he could sink his fangs in. He struggled, but I held firm, shocked at my own power."Not so chatty anymore huh?" I said smirking before my hold became tighter and his neck bone shattered into pieces inside his neck. I threw his dead body across the wall. I heard his bones cracking sound and my smile grew bigger with confidence. I heard the footsteps of a few more vampires and within a second they were inside my room near the dead vampire. All three of them held the same shocked expression."What are you waiting for?" I asked in a mocking tone looking into each of their eyes. Their red eyes starring at me. Their fangs came out and blood dripped at the side of their mouth."You are dead bitch." One of the vampires sneered."Let's see." When I said those words, the vampire lunged toward me. I caught him in the same way as I did with the other one and snapped his neck with a little more force. His head separated from his body and rolled down onto the floor. The second one managed to kick me in the hips from the side, followed by a punch to the face that made me stagger a few feet back. He smiled at his little victory."You are just what I need." "Witch blood is indeed a rare one.""Ah. So you know," I said sarcastically and smiled at him as my expression remained passive and uncaring, and it unnerved the vampire."You chose the wrong girl," I said, gritting my teeth. A fresh swell of rage rose in my chest.They made the mistake of stopping what they intended to do and looking me in the eyes. I kicked one of them in the gut before punching the other in the face and breaking his jaw.I could feel the magical powers pulsing in my brown eyes, which changed to a bright red and were ready to be released. The vampire took a step back. Fear was evident in his eyes when his gaze took in my glowing hand.Menedek qual suurentaa! The spell passed my lips with ease. My palm was outstretched towards him.His face paled when a white light passed from my right hand and set his body on fire. His scream reverberated in the castle. The other one tried to run off. I quickly grabbed his neck from behind with one hand and ripped his heart out with the other. His black heart with red blood painted my hand.My body worked faster than my mind as I found myself walking to the door and stepping out of the hallway.I gasped at the sight. There was blood splattered on the wall. I found a maid's body on the ground. A huge chunk was missing from the left part of her neck. I got down on my knees to check for a pulse, placed my fingers on the other side of her neck, and felt nothing;, she was dead.I sighed. A vampire caught me off guard and managed to pull me back by my hair. I let out a small yelp. I clutched his head with my left hand, pulled him before me with force, and kicked him in the stomach. The vampire backed away, screaming in pain and clutching his burned neck. The smell of burning flesh filled the air."Kristen, Run." I heard William and John's voices in unison as they were fighting more than ten vampires on either side of them. I turned my head and smiled. I pulled out the heart of the one who attacked me and made my way towards them with the dead vampire's heart in hand. I went to the one closest to John and threw him out with ease. Using my strength, I reached the other two of them and grabbed each one by the hair, sending them flying down to the ground floor. I chanted the spell in my head, and the vampires turned into ashes within a second. John ripped the other one's heart out and looked at me with shocked eyes. William managed to kill three at a time, but there were more than five left. Using my power, I ripped them from him and burned them to crumbs."What the fuck are you?" A vampire asked with a look of wanting to rip me to shreds and drink from me until he was satisfied. But no vampire made a move to touch me, as my entire body was covered in white flame."I don't know. "You tell me," I said darkly and burned them. I smiled wickedly at the two vampires who tried to scramble away from me. Burning them effortlessly brought weird satisfaction, and I wanted more. William just stood there, mirroring John's look of disbelief."Wanna see a piece of my magic?" I asked William and John. Something about the way they looked at me had me feeling a bit off.I chanted another spell in my head, and the two vampires were lifted off the ground. They started thrashing, which made me laugh. The sound of my laugh seemed different; it was true that I enjoyed burning these sick bastards, but I was enjoying it way too much for my liking. I felt like a different person."This looks fun," I said and placed both of my arms in front of them, curled my fingers halfway inwardly, and moved my arms with force. The power emitted from my arms shredded them into pieces like chopped meat, blood splattering across the place.William and John looked a bit scared of my stunt and took a step away from me.William's sharp green eyes cut over towards me, and I let out a smile when our eyes met. "I guess we got scared for nothing," John said, beaming at me."We came to save you but got our asses saved instead." He said, amusingly."Are you okay?" William asked and hugged me tightly. I am pretty sure I looked more deadly than the vampires, as I am covered in blood all over me. What shocked me more is that I had an unbothered expression while killing them."I'm fine," I said calmly, noticing John's hurt expression as he looked away."That was amazing!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. I smirked, enjoying the praise."You're stronger than all of us combined, Kristen. You made it!" he added, grinning ear to ear. I nodded, feeling proud."Just a few days ago, you were attacked and almost died, and now you're out here ripping hearts. I'm impressed, girl," he joked, patting my back. I rolled my eyes."I'm not that weak girl anymore, John. I know what I am," I said, meeting his gaze with confidence. His happiness was evident in his smile."I'm proud of you," William said, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. There was a flicker of fear there, but I brushed it off."Why am I getting attacked by vampires when your father promised my safety?" I finally asked, the question weighing heavily on me.William looked down, silent. John sighed."I'm wondering the same thing, Kristen. This time, I won't let it slide. I need to speak to my father. The vampires attacked because you're a witch, but they came after us too," William said."Attacking the Prince is treason; we need to find out who's behind this," John added, clearly upset."I don't think any vampire would dare go against the King. If anyone is behind this, it has to be him," I said boldly."What do you mean?" William asked, confused."Think about it. The first attack happened when I was just starting to learn my powers. The last one came after I showed everyone what I could do. Today, a bunch of vampires attacked me again. This feels like a test from the King to see what I'm capable of. Who else has the power to give such orders?" I challenged.They both looked taken aback, but I saw realization dawning in their eyes."I'll speak to my father right now," William said, storming down the stairs in anger."You should get back to your room. I'll see you later," John said with a tight smile before following William.I sighed, exhaustion weighing me down as I walked back to my room.