"You shouldn't be there," a voice stopped her, and she tilted her head to see a young man with crimson eyes.
"She is with me." he announced in a soft voice but everyone bowed already.
Looking at the dark eyes of the young man, they knew he was a higher ranking vampire and who did not know about the feuds between vampire and witches.
They did not want to meddle in affairs that could cost them their lives.
Dami held Bella's hands and pulled him away from the crowd. And she only struggled when they were at some distance.
"Who do you think you are?" Her pride could not accept that a stranger helped her but when she noticed his dark crimson's eyes, her eyes widened, and fear made her take a step back as the man grinned.
"Do you know where you are standing?" his eyes looking at her like a predator set its eyes on the prey, "That's a slave house. If someone sees a lone girl standing there, you'll be next on the stage and sold before you can blink,"
He warned. She noticed the hostility developing in his eyes and flinched when he referred to her as a witch.
"I'm not a witch!" she hissed. "My hair turned white because of a disease. I had an iron deficiency." The youngster tilted his head and approached her. Despite feeling anxiety at seeing a vampire for the first time, curiosity prevailed as he drew closer.
His movements were agile, but apart from his eyes and pale skin, there was nothing particularly different about him. She couldn't understand why witches were so fearful of these creatures. She could easily handle him.
"Luhan must be exaggerating," she decided aloud, prompting the man to raise an eyebrow.
"You don't smell like a witch," he replied, causing her to roll her eyes. "Most witches, even if they change their appearance, reek of potions and the aftereffects of magic. But I don't sense any of that on you."
Should she be flattered? It was all thanks to her mother, who hadn't allowed Bella to perform any spells since birth. After the explosion four months ago, Bella hadn't made any potions either.
"I never knew a vampire could sniff out witches," she mused. Would her father be pleased if she shared this information with him? Maybe she could use it to persuade him to take her to the high Altar. "What else can you do?"
The man blinked, taken aback by her sudden enthusiasm. Her once-bored eyes now gleamed with curiosity and joy. He raised an eyebrow, "Why should I tell you?"
He scoffed, ready to walk away, but Bella grabbed his wrist. He paused, gazing at their entwined hands as if seeing a new species.
"You are a brave little one. But you should not meddle in the affairs of a vampire." he warned, his voice sweet yet the underlying threat did not go unnoticed by Bella.
"Too bad that you are not the witch i was looking for." he murmured and Bella did not stop him again.
Her mind raced at his words. He was here to find a witch and the whole coven knew if witches were found by a vampire, they would be killed.
Though she did not have a good relationship with witches, she was one of them.
Her eyes scanned the black market, hopking to find the witch before the man could find them.
She checked one after another shop with hasty steps only to see two brown hair girls selling the product. But when they met her eyes, their eyes widened and a second of hesitation showed that they knew who Bella was.
And only witches knew about her existence. Bella ran to the shop. She held the hand of one of the brown girls to notice the ring her mother made.
Each of her mother's jewels had a black mark on it and Bella recognized it too well.
"What are you doing here, Bella?" The shop owner let go of her pretense as she asked the other to take care of customers while she dragged Bella behind the curtain.
"Your father will be disappointed and your mother will be infuriated if they knew you were here?" there was a look of frustration as if they were dealing with a pest who did not deserve their attention.
For a moment, Bella thought it was better that they would be taken away.
"I saw two vampires." Bella noticed how their faces changed instantly, "they knew there were witches here and they were looking for them."
"It did not matter!" the witch yelled, but scanning the room again, she lowered her voice. "We have changed our appearance and thanks to your mother's ring, we will not be caught easily." That was true!
"One of them could sniff witches." she announced, "but maybe the ring could change that too." After all, he was not able to sniff her well.
"I just wanted to warn the witches in the black market. Are there more of us?" the woman shook her head when Bella showed concern.
"No, and you should not meddle in these affairs, it could be harmful for you. Now run home before your parents find your absence." She was not being cold to Bella anymore.
Bella smiled and nodded. She soon came out when another witch offered her a pie too.
Bella took it with gratitude and left their shop. She found an empty seat and enjoyed her pie while sitting there when she heard voices.
She tilted her head only to hear whispers increasing and they all were coming from the shop of witches who were selling pies.
Her feet took her there before she could even realize what happened. She looked mortified and covered her mouth when she noticed that same young man. But this time two more vampires were there.
They were dragging the witches while a large crowd was watching the scene.
"Do you think changing your hair and eyes will save you? You are going to die gruesomely to learn your lesson."